Gladstone's early life
Gladstone (Gladstone) William Ewart (Ewart) - the famous English politician, born December 29, 1809, died May 19, 1898. His father, John Gladstone, a Scot by birth, a wealthy merchant who settled in Liverpool, was in 1819 - 1827 a conservative member of the House of Commons . Young William Gladstone brought out of the house a rare industriousness, deep orthodox-Anglican religiosity and excellent home preparation. Already in his school years spent at Eton (1820 - 1827), he discovered at the meetings of various school circles a strong oratorical talent, a versatile education, which was reflected in his numerous articles in the school (printed) magazine Eton Miscellaneous, published in 1827 under his editorship, and the ability to make a deep impression on everyone around. Raised under the influence of his father, and also Canninga, who was a close friend of his father, Gladstone, who at that time dreamed of a spiritual career, then a career in politics, was a certain conservative of Canning's shade. During his student years (1829-1832), which he spent at Oxford, Gladstone's conservatism remained unshaken; at meetings of student political societies, in which he took the most ardent part, he spoke against parliamentary reform, against the emancipation of slaves in the colonies, for the tribal aristocracy. After graduating from the university course with a double honor for ancient languages and mathematics, he traveled to Italy. At the end of 1832, Gladstone was elected a member of the House of Commons in Newark County, which was under the strong influence of the Duke of Newcastle, who patronized him.
William Gladstone's first speech in the House of Commons dealt with the question of slavery in the English colonies; without speaking unconditionally against release in principle, Gladstone found it untimely, insisted on the need to reward slave owners and, in particular, defended his father against charges brought against him for ill-treatment of slaves on his sugar plantations. This speech and Gladstone's activity in the House of Commons in general brought him forward so quickly in the ranks of the Tories that already in 1834 Robert Peel upon taking office as head of government, he offered him the post, first junior lord of the treasury, and a few months later assistant secretary for the colonies. In 1835 William Gladstone retired along with Robert Peel's ministry.
The following years, besides current parliamentary studies, he devoted to a deep study of Homer, Dante, and Blessed Augustine. The fruits of the study of theological literature were the books The State in its Relation to the Church (1838) and The Principles of the Church Evaluated by Their Results (1840); in them, Gladstone, proceeding from the idea that the state, as such, "has a conscience", argued the need for the state to support and spread the Christian religion with the help of the state church. At this time, the future liberal Gladstone, according to Macaulay, was also "the rising hope of the stern and inflexible Thorii" who followed Pil, terrifying him.
Gladstone's evolution from conservative to liberal
In 1841, R. Peel appointed Gladstone vice president of the Trade Bureau, and in 1843 president; at the same time, William Gladstone became a member of the Cabinet. In the course of this office, Gladstone, as well as R. Peel, underwent a significant change. From extreme protectionists and, in particular, supporters of agrarian protectionism, they, gradually softening, became supporters of the abolition of the Corn Laws, and then free traders (adherents of free international trade). At this time, Gladstone did significant work on the revision of the customs tariff in the direction of its significant mitigation, and then spoke in favor of the abolition of the Corn Laws. However, the implementation of this last measure was no longer Gladstone's business, since in February 1845 he resigned due to disagreement with R. Peel's promise of state subsidies to a Catholic educational institution in Ireland.
At the end of 1845, William Gladstone re-entered the cabinet as Colonial Secretary, but, having lost his seat in the House of Commons, he did not find it possible to appear before the voters of Newark, who was under the influence of the strictly conservative Duke of Newcastle. Only in 1847 he was again elected a member of the House of Commons from Oxford University. From 1846 to 1852 Gladstone was a prominent member of the opposition (Peelite party) against Rossel's liberal ministry; however, this opposition was no longer a conservative one. Such government measures as the emancipation of the Jews, Gladstone supported; at the same time, he was a resolute opponent of the aggressive foreign policy of Lord Palmerston. In 1850, when Palmerston presented the Greek government with a demand for the payment of a significant reward to the English subject of Pacifico, and motivated this by the need to achieve exceptional respect for the title of English subject so that such could proudly say everywhere, like an ancient Roman, "civis romanus sum" ("I - Roman Citizen"), Gladstone attacked this chauvinistic principle as unchristian in a remarkable speech.
In 1850 - 1851 William Gladstone spent in Italy. Its political system, and in particular the situation of prisoners in prisons in the Kingdom of Naples, attracted his close attention, and he published the result of the study in the form of two letters to Lord Aberdeen “Two letters to the earl of Aberdeen on the state prosecutions of the Neapolitan government »; in these letters he severely castigated the despotism of the Neapolitan king, the arrests of the best citizens of the state without trial by administrative order, and especially the situation of prisoners in prisons. The letters made a deep impression throughout Europe and, although they could not have an immediate practical impact, aroused special respect for Gladstone in Italy and brought him closer to many members. Young Italy". In 1852, the Earl of Derby, making up the cabinet, offered a place in it to Gladstone, but Gladstone refused; this refusal marked his final break with the Conservative Party. He even issued a scathing critique of the budget introduced by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Disraeli.
In the same 1852, William Gladstone became Chancellor of the Exchequer in the coalition Liberal Peelite cabinet of Lord Aberdeen. The policy of the Cabinet, despite the constant peace-loving statements of the prime minister himself and Gladstone, led to a war with Russia (see Crimean War), a share of responsibility for which lies with Gladstone, and which is in undeniable contradiction with the statements of principle made by Gladstone in his dispute with Palmerston 1850. From 1855, with the fall of the Aberdeen cabinet, Gladstone went into opposition. He protested against Lord Palmerston's Chinese Expedition 1857, and contributed to Palmerston's defeat in the Commons on this occasion. He remained in opposition during the administration of Derby (1858-1859). He took advantage of comparative leisure to complete a large three-volume work on Homer "Studies on Homer and the Homeric era" (1858), to which Juventus mundi. Gods and Men of the Homeric Age" (1869), "Homeric synchronism" (1876), "Landmarks of Homeric studies" (1890) and some minor works by Gladstone. Gladstone's conservative mindset is reflected in them in an original way, forcing him to treat all traditions with the deepest respect, but not preventing him from being a reformer in the political field. In these works, Gladstone proves the historical authenticity of the Trojan War, the historical reality of the personality of the poet Homer who sang of this war, and the unity of the poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey. In his attitude to these facts, he finds himself not only behind Wolff and other modern philologists, but even behind the New Alexandrian scholars, since he proves the authenticity of those verses that they had already suspected. Yet these writings belong to remarkable studies. Incidentally, Gladstone put forward in them the theory (later rejected) that the ancient Greeks were not able to see the color blue.
In 1858 Gladstone received an order from the cabinet of the Earl of Derby to go to the Ionian Islands in the capacity of an English commissioner to decide the fate of these islands; Gladstone presented a report on the need to annex the islands in Greece, which was carried out by the next ministry of Lord Palmerston. In this ministry in 1859 Gladstone, despite significant disagreements between him and the prime minister, agreed to take up the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The following years discovered in William Gladstone a remarkable financier. Under him, a long series of reforms were made in the financial system of England in a democratic direction; among other things, the tax on paper was abolished, postal savings banks were introduced, the national debt was reduced, etc. In the field of foreign policy, Palmerston's ministry supported the South American States in their struggle with the North, and Gladstone defended this policy. In the 1865 elections, Gladstone was voted out of the conservative Oxford University, but received a parliamentary mandate from South Lancashire (which he had to replace in 1868 with a mandate from Greenwich, and in 1880 - from Midlothian, whose representative he remained until the end of his parliamentary career in 1895).
William Gladstone, photo 1861
After the death of Palmerston (1865), William Gladstone retained his post in the cabinet of Lord Rossel and at the same time took the place of leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons. In 1866, he introduced a bill of parliamentary reform into the House. The failure of the bill forced the ministry, and Gladstone along with it, to resign. However, this bill was introduced in an amended form by the new Conservative cabinet of Derby-Disraeli, and Gladstone, having made some significant amendments to it, was his strong supporter.
Gladstone's first cabinet
After the new elections (1868), which gave a large majority to the Liberal Party, the Queen entrusted the drafting of the cabinet to Gladstone. The first cabinet of William Gladstone (1868 - 1874), based on a large majority in the House of Commons and having strong support in public opinion, was rich in reform activity. In 1869 the church was separated from the state in Ireland. To justify the accusation of betrayal of the principles he set out in his books on the relationship of church to state, Gladstone published "A chapter of autobiography" (Lond., 1869), in which he explained the motives that forced him to abandon his former views. In 1870, the Irish Land Act was passed, which eased the position of Irish tenants of plots from English landlords, and a law on compulsory education; in 1871, the sale of positions in the army was abolished;
After the elections of 1874, which gave a large majority to the Conservatives, Gladstone wanted to give up political activity; The Marquess of Hartington was elected leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons. In 1876 Gladstone published the famous pamphlet, immediately translated into all languages, "Bulgarian Horrors", and organized a public movement against Turkey and the Turkophile policy of the conservative British government of Disraeli. Thanks to this movement, Disraeli-Beaconsfield was unable to actively intercede for Turkey during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
Gladstone's second cabinet
In 1880, new elections again gave the majority to the Liberal Party, and Gladstone formed his second cabinet (1880 - 1885). The main task that the cabinet had to solve was the pacification of Ireland. In 1881, Gladstone passed a new Irish land act, but since this measure did not calm the anti-English movement in the country, he decided to apply severe repressive measures to the Irish, which he entrusted to the Secretary of Irish Affairs, Forster. The Irish Land League (the main body of national resistance to the British) was closed; Habeas Corpus Act "a canceled in Ireland. The most prominent Irish figures, including Parnell, were arrested. Since this system also did not achieve its goal, Gladstone entered into negotiations with the arrested Parnell and concluded a contract with him, on the basis of which Parnell and his comrades were released, Forster was replaced by Cavendish, and some conciliatory measures were promised. But Cavendish was killed by Irish patriots- Fenians immediately after arriving in Dublin, and this gave Gladstone an excuse to re-enter the road of severe repression. In 1882 Gladstone's cabinet bombarded Alexandria and occupied Egypt, turning it into an English colony. In 1884, the same cabinet carried out the third parliamentary reform, again increasing the number of Englishmen who had the right to elect members of the House. In 1885 clash between England and Russia in Afghanistan nearly led to war. Gladstone's compliance with Russia led to Gladstone's defeat in the House of Commons, which forced him to resign on June 9, 1885.
Gladstone's third cabinet
But after new elections in January 1886, William Gladstone formed his third cabinet, which included Chamberlain, Morley and other radicals, and the former allies of Gladstone, the moderate liberals Goshen, Hartington and others, did not enter. Chamberlain, however, soon left the government. The need to support the Irish party in the House forced Gladstone to agree with it, and he introduced the famous project home rule(autonomy) for Ireland, from which an epoch begins in the history of the Liberal Party of England and in the life of Gladstone himself. A significant part of the liberal party, led by Hartington and Chamberlain, not wanting Irish autonomy, formed a new party unionist liberals. The rest of the liberals, headed by Gladstone, have since received the name Gladstoneians and have shown a clear inclination towards radicalism. The home rule project led to the defeat of the ministry in the chamber, and after its dissolution, to defeat in the new parliamentary elections. Gladstone resigned as head of cabinet to the Marquis Salisbury and became the leader of the opposition.
The next six years of relative leisure between his third and fourth cabinets, William Gladstone devoted to passionate agitation for Irish Home Rule, which he led in the House of Commons, at countless meetings and in the press; then - writing a series of articles on the state of Italy, in which he severely condemned the policy Crispi, a number of works in the form of books ("The impregnable rock of Holy Scripture", 1892) and many articles in various journals on issues of theology, in which, among other things, he argued with Huxley and Darwinism and defended the truth of the Mosaic cosmogony. In 1890, when the court ruled a divorce between the O'Shea spouses and found the leader of the Irish movement Parnell guilty of adultery, Gladstone declared it impossible for him to continue relations with the Irish party while Parnell was its head, and this dealt the latter a severe blow. In 1891 on annual meeting of the National Liberal Federation in Newcastle, William Gladstone delivered a remarkable speech in which he outlined a new program for the Liberal Party, which included: Home Rule for Ireland, the separation of church and state in Wales and Scotland, a new democratic reform of the suffrage, the state's expense of electoral struggles, the introduction of salaries for MPs, the expansion of local government, the end of the occupation of Egypt.The reform of the House of Lords (which had the right to override the decisions of the House of Commons) was scheduled conditionally, if "the Lords did not show prudence."
Gladstone shortly before his death
Gladstone's fourth cabinet
During the election of 1892 "the great old man" (the great old man) Gladstone, as he was called, showed a remarkable activity, striking in his advanced age. The election gave a majority of 42 votes to the Gladstoneians, allied with the Irish, and Gladstone formed his fourth cabinet. This Cabinet passed Home Rule for Ireland through the House of Commons, but the House of Lords voted down its bill, as did some of Gladstone's other liberal bills. This time, Gladstone did not have enough energy to fight the Lords, and he, suffering from eyes and some deafness, retired in March 1894; his place was taken by the Earl of Rosebery. In the elections of 1895 Gladstone no longer spoke. After a long illness, he died in 1898 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, near the grave of his long-term political rival, Lord Beaconsfield (Disraeli).
Evaluation of the personality and activities of William Gladstone
The whole life of William Gladstone represents one slow and sure process of transition from one camp to another, a transition that is far from being entirely explained by the change in the political mood of those social classes of which Gladstone might be considered a representative. This political evolution of his is largely a matter of personal change in mindset. At the beginning of his career, Gladstone acted as a representative of the interests of the aristocratic class, then he defended the interests of the middle and small industrial bourgeoisie, and towards the end of his life he began to be intensely interested in the social question. Previously a strong opponent of the legislative regulation of the working day of adult men, he now wavered in his conviction. In connection with this change of heart, an important change took place in Gladstone. In his own words, neither Eton nor Oxford taught him enough respect for the individual freedom of a person, the importance of which he later appreciated.
The constant work of altering one's own views resulted in a certain inconsistency, not only between the actions of William Gladstone in different eras, but also between his policies of the same period. Thus he showed a remarkable pliability towards Boers of South Africa, the war with which, inherited (1880) from the Beaconsfield cabinet, he stopped by the voluntary recognition of their independence by England, despite the defeat inflicted on the British at Majub, offensive to English pride and demanding, according to the patriots, retribution. This compliance is sharply contradicted by the occupation of Egypt in 1882 - insufficiently motivated even from the point of view of the British conservatives. Gladstone's repression in Ireland is at odds with his liberal activities there. However, the Irish repressions, the occupation of Egypt represent only individual deviations in Gladstone's activities, sometimes explained by the circumstances of the moment, in general, since 1852, she has been constantly aimed at serving the ideals and interests of that democracy in England, which at the moment took an active part in political life.
Gladstone was married from 1839 to Catherine Glynn. The eldest of his four sons, William Henry (1840 - 1891), was a member of the House of Commons and briefly Lord of the Treasury. The second Stephen was a pastor. The fourth, Herbert John, studied at Eton and Oxford, from 1880 was a member of the House of Commons, in 1880 - 1881 he was his father's private secretary, in 1881 - 85 the junior lord of the exchequer and one of the prominent figures of the Gladstone party.
Gladstone William Yuart Gladstone Career: Doer
Birth: 29.12.1809
English historiography, without proper grounds, created for Gladstone the glory of a great statesman. K. Marx applied to Gladstone the expression great in quotation marks, calling him an arch hypocrite and a casuist.
Gladstone William Ewart (December 29, 1809, Liverpool, May 19, 1898, Harden), British statesman. Born into the family of a wealthy businessman. Educated at a closed aristocratic school at Eton and Oxford, where he studied theology and classical literature. In 1832 he was elected to parliament from the Tory party. However, gradually realizing that the formation of capitalism and the strengthening of the bourgeoisie make the ancient Toryism unpromising, G. began to focus on the liberals. In 184345 he was minister of commerce in Peel's government, and in 184547 he was minister of the colonies. In 185255 Minister of Finance in the coalition government of Aberdeen. In 185966 Minister of Finance in the liberal government of Palmerston; during the period of the American Civil War 186165 acted in support of the slave owners of the Southern states. In 1868 he was elected leader of the Liberal Party. In 186874 Prime Minister; its leadership reformed elementary education, legalized trade unions (while at the same time introducing retribution for strikers picketing businesses to fight strikebreakers), introduced secret ballots in elections. After the defeat of the liberals in the parliamentary elections of 1874, G. led the opposition to the conservative government of Disraeli. Having become head of the government in 188085, G. continued the expansionist foreign policy of the conservatives. In 1882 the leadership of Georgia sent British troops to capture Egypt. In Ireland, while brutally suppressing the national liberation movement, the leadership of G. at the same time made minor concessions. The defeat of the British troops in the Sudan and complications in Ireland led to the fall of the Hungarian government. Having headed the leadership for a short time in 1886, H. introduced a bill on Homerule to Parliament, the failure of which prompted him to resign. The fight over this issue has dragged on. Again heading the leadership in 189294, G. passed the same bill through the House of Commons, but the House of Lords rejected it. G. once again retired, and his more than 60-year political career ended.
English historiography, without proper reason, created G. the glory of a great statesman. K. Marx applied to G. the expression great in quotation marks, calling him an arch hypocrite and a casuist.
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GLADSTON, WILLIAM EWART(Gladstone, William Ewart) (1809-1898), British statesman of the 19th century. Born December 29, 1809 in Liverpool. William, the youngest of four sons, was educated at Eton and Christ Church College, Oxford University, where he studied theology and ancient authors.
In 1832 Gladstone became a Tory Member of Parliament. In his first speech in 1833 he defended the rights of the West Indian slave owners. In 1834–1835, he held minor positions in the Peel government. In 1838 Gladstone's career was in jeopardy. In a book he published, it was argued that the State was neglecting its duty towards the Anglican Church; he also proposed that non-conformists and Catholics be denied access to official positions. Macaulay came out with a sharp criticism of these ideas, and Peel was shocked by the views of his protégé. However, he soon managed to shift Gladstone's attention from theology to the financial sphere.
In 1845 Gladstone lost his seat in Parliament because of his free-trading views. In 1843-1845 he was Minister of Trade, in 1845-1846 - Minister of the Colonies. In 1847 he was elected to Parliament from Oxford University. In 1846, like Peel, he left the Tories. In 1852, he refused to enter the government of Derby, and then contributed to its fall, subjecting him to brilliant criticism of the budget, which was presented by the Minister of Finance, Benjamin Disraeli.
From 1852-1856 Gladstone was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the coalition government of Aberdeen, and again took this position from 1859-1866 in the government of Palmerston. Thanks to him, this post became the second most important in the government. The pinnacle of the first stage of his career were the budgets of 1853 and 1860, which embodied the principles of laissez faire and the idea of freeing citizens from the burden of fiscal restrictions. It was during this period that he became one of the leaders of the Liberal Party (formed on the basis of the Whig party, which was joined by the Peelites and Free Traders). In 1866 Gladstone presented a bill of parliamentary reform, which was not accepted. Nevertheless, his speeches in many ways forced Disraeli to formulate the electoral reform law of 1867 in the form in which it was then adopted. This time saw a change in Gladstone's religious beliefs and his relationship to the High Church, with its emphasis on authority and tradition. In May 1864, Gladstone declared in the House of Commons that every person in good health has the right to vote. This infuriated the Liberal leader, Prime Minister Palmerston, and cost Gladstone, to his chagrin, a seat in Parliament as a representative of Oxford University. In 1865, after the death of Palmerston, Gladstone became leader of the House of Commons, while remaining secretary of the treasury.
In 1868 Gladstone became prime minister. He considered the main task to be the implementation of several highly moral acts, such as delivering the Balkans from the Turkish yoke, and the Irish from British domination. Among the passed laws of this period: the law on the separation of the Anglican Church from the state in Ireland; the land act of 1870, which provided a number of guarantees to Irish tenant farmers; the Education Act of 1870, which introduced a system of elementary schools and compulsory education; a law to abolish the sale of positions in the army and religious qualifications at Oxford and Cambridge universities; the law on the introduction of the secret ballot procedure in parliamentary elections of 1872; law granting trade unions legal rights; judicial act, which was followed by the reorganization of the entire system of the judiciary.
In the elections of 1874, the Liberals were defeated, and in 1875 Gladstone left the post of leader of the Liberal Party, which he had held since 1868. The finest hour of the second period of Gladstone's career was his campaign in the Scottish county of Midlothian in November 1879 and March 1880, during which he against the pro-Turkish foreign policy of Disraeli.
Gladstone again became Prime Minister in 1880, and his government remained in office until 1885. During this period, the Land Act 1881 for Ireland and the third Suffrage Reform Act 1884 were passed. In his second term as Prime Minister, Gladstone faced a crisis of agriculture and trade . Cheap food from America was ruining British farmers; tariff increases limited British exports and caused unemployment and unrest; the growth of armaments in Europe posed a threat to British security. All this contributed to the emergence of two mass movements in British public opinion, demanding a policy of social reform at home and a tough imperial policy abroad. Both of these demands aroused the indignation of Gladstone, who believed, firstly, that the welfare of the country would be undermined if the state took over the work that each person is obliged to do independently; he also believed that the military-political and financial balance of power would be upset if Great Britain rearmed or sought to expand its possessions, compensating for the relative decrease in its influence in Europe. However, Gladstone's foreign policy was not consistent. In particular, in 1882 he sent troops to capture Egypt. Gladstone lost popularity after the defeat in 1884 of British troops in Eastern Sudan and an unsuccessful attempt to save General Gordon, who was killed in Khartoum by Sudanese rebels.
Gladstone headed the government in 1886; it was then that he introduced the Home Rule Bill for Ireland to Parliament, which was rejected. The last time he was in power in 1892-1894. His efforts during this period were directed mainly towards the passage of the Home Rule Bill (which was again rejected by the House of Lords in 1893). Campaigning in defense of the Home Rule Bill in the last period of his government, Gladstone sacrificed unity in the Liberal Party: the right wing - the Liberal Unionists (i.e. supporters of maintaining the union with Ireland) broke away, and a significant part of them subsequently joined the Conservatives; the Radicals withdrew from government in protest of Gladstone's refusal to sanction moderate social reforms.
- Liverpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
- Hawarden Castle[d], flintshire, Wales, United Kingdom
Early life
William Ewart Gladstone was born in Liverpool. His family was of Scottish origin. He was the fifth child (third son) of six children of Sir John Gladstone (1764-1851), a wealthy merchant, well educated and active in public life; in -1827 he was a member of Parliament, and in 1846 he became a baronet. Mother Anna Mackenzie Robertson instilled in William a deep religious feeling and developed in him a love of poetry. From an early age, he showed outstanding abilities, the development of which was greatly affected by the influence of his parents.
His father gave him a keen interest in social issues, and at the same time a conservative point of view on them. William was not yet twelve years old when his father, in conversations with him, introduced him to various political topics of the day. John Gladstone was at that time on friendly terms with Canning, whose political ideas had a great influence on the young Gladstone, partly through his father, partly directly.
Gladstone received his initial education at home, in 1821 he was placed at Eton School, where he remained until 1828, and then entered Oxford University, from which he graduated in the spring of 1832. School and University further contributed to the fact that Gladstone entered life as a supporter of the conservative direction. Recalling Oxford many years later, he said:
I did not learn from Oxford what I acquired only later - the ability to appreciate the eternal and inestimable principles of human freedom. Some suspicious attitude towards freedom was too prevalent in the academic environment.
Mentally, he took everything he could from Eton and Oxford; hard work gave him extensive and versatile knowledge and aroused in him a keen interest in literature, especially classical literature. He took an active part in the debates of the Eton Society of Comrades (under the name The Literati) and in the publication of "Eton Miscellany", a periodical collection of works by students, being his energetic editor and the most active supplier of material for him, in the form of articles, translations and even satirical and humorous poems. At Oxford, Gladstone was the founder and chairman of a literary circle (called by his initials - WEG), in which, among other things, he read a detailed sketch of Socrates' belief in immortality; He also took an active part in the studies of another society, the Union, where he delivered an ardent speech against the Reform Bill - a speech that he himself later called "the mistake of youth." His comrades already then expected outstanding political activity from him.
Upon leaving the University, Gladstone intended to devote himself to a spiritual career, but his father opposed this. Before resolving the issue of choosing a profession, he took a trip to the continent and spent half a year in Italy. Here he received from the 4th Duke of Newcastle (whose son, Lord Lincoln, was close friends with Gladstone at Eton and Oxford) an offer to stand as a candidate for the Tory party from Newark, of which he was elected on December 15, 1832. With his speeches and manner of action during the election campaign (he had two dangerous opponents), Gladstone attracted everyone's attention.
Career in Parliament. Ministerial post under Peel
Gladstone made his first significant speech in Parliament on May 17, 1833, when discussing the abolition of slavery. Since then, he has been an active participant in the debate on the most diverse issues of current politics and soon established a reputation for himself as an outstanding orator and a very skillful debater. Despite Gladstone's youth, his position among the Tory party was so noticeable that when a new cabinet was formed in December 1834, Robert Peel appointed him Junior Lord of the Treasury, and in February 1835 moved him to the highest position of Assistant Secretary (Minister) for Management colonies. In April 1835 Peel's ministry fell.
In the following years, Gladstone took an active part in the opposition, and devoted his free time from parliamentary studies to literature. With particular zeal he studied Homer and Dante, and read all the writings of Blessed Augustine. The study of the latter was undertaken by him with the aim of elucidating some questions about the relationship between church and state and had a great influence on the development of those views that he outlined in his book: "The state in its relations to the Church" (1838). This book, in which Gladstone was emphatically in favor of the established church, received much attention; she, incidentally, caused a lengthy critique of Macaulay, who, however, recognized the author's outstanding talent and called him "the rising hope of the harsh and adamant Tories."
Robert Peel was skeptical of Gladstone's book, saying: "What a desire he would write books with such a career ahead of him!" The famous Prussian envoy, Baron Bunsen, entered the following enthusiastic lines in his diary: “The appearance of Gladstone's book is a great event of the day; this is the first book since Bork that touches on the fundamental question of life; the author is above his party and his time.
When Robert Peel's new ministry was formed in 1841, Gladstone took over as Under-Secretary of Trade, and in 1843 became Secretary of Trade, his first Cabinet member at the age of 33. He actively participated in the debate on the question of the abolition of grain duties; in 1842, he completed the work of revising the customs tariff in the spirit of partly a complete abolition, partly a reduction in duties. Little by little, from a protectionist, Gladstone became an ardent supporter of the ideas of free trade.
Chancellor of the Exchequer
First cabinet, 1868-1874
The formation of the new ministry was entrusted to Gladstone (in December 1868), who became Prime Minister for the first time. This first Gladstone cabinet lasted until February 1874; its most important measures: the abolition of the state church in Ireland in 1869, the Irish Land Act of 1870, a radical reform in the field of elementary public education in 1870, the abolition of the system of selling positions in the army in 1871, the introduction of secret voting in elections in 1872, etc. e. After the fall of the Cabinet, in March 1874, Gladstone, in a letter to Lord Grenville, announced his intention to withdraw from the active leadership of the Liberal Party. It is curious that he then considered his political career to be over, telling friends that none of the prime ministers managed to accomplish anything outstanding after the age of 60.
in opposition
In January 1875, in a new letter to Lord Grenville, Gladstone formally announced his resignation of leadership. The Marquess of Hartington was chosen to succeed him.
However, already in 1876, Gladstone returned to active participation in political life, publishing a pamphlet: "Bulgarian Horrors" and taking an active part in organizing a social movement against the Eastern policy of Benjamin Disraeli Lord Beaconsfield. The pamphlet had a significant impact: denouncing the "Turkish race" as "one great inhuman specimen of the human race" Gladstone proposed to give autonomy to Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria, as well as to stop giving unconditional support to the Porte.
When, in 1880, Beaconsfield dissolved Parliament, the general election gave a huge majority to the Liberal Party. This election was preceded by Gladstone's electoral campaign in Scotland, of astonishing energy and a series of brilliant speeches, in the Midlothian constituency of which he announced his candidacy.
Second Ministry, 1880-1885
The drawing up of a new ministry was entrusted first to Hartington (who continued to be considered the leader of the Liberal Party), then to Grenville, but they could not form a cabinet and the queen was forced to entrust it to Gladstone. Gladstone's second ministry lasted from April 1880 to July 1885. He succeeded in passing the Irish Land Act of 1881 and the third parliamentary reform (1885).
Third cabinet, 1886
In June 1885, Gladstone's cabinet was defeated, but the new ministry of Lord Salisbury did not last long: after the general election, in December 1885, a significant majority turned out to be on the side of the Liberals, due to the accession of the Irish party to them, and in January 1886 Gladstone's third ministry was formed. By this time there is a decisive turn in Gladstone's views on the Irish question; the main task of his policy, he set the gift of home rule to Ireland (internal self-government). The bill introduced on this subject was rejected, prompting Gladstone to dissolve Parliament; but new elections (in July 1886) produced a hostile majority. The failure of Gladstone was greatly facilitated by a split in the environment of the liberal party: many influential members fell away from it, forming a group of liberal unionists. There was a long period of Salisbury ministry (July 1886 - August 1892). Gladstone, despite his advanced age, took an active part in political life, leading the party of his adherents, which, since the split among the liberals, began to be called the "Gladstonian" party. He made the realization of the idea of home rule the main goal of his life; both in Parliament and outside it, he vigorously defended the need to grant political self-government to Ireland.
Fourth cabinet, 1892-1894
Salisbury was in no hurry to call a general election, and they did not take place until July 1892, that is, just one year before the expiration of the legal seven-year term of Parliament. The election campaign was conducted with great enthusiasm both by supporters of Home Rule and by its opponents. As a result of the elections, a majority of 42 votes was on the side of the Gladstoneians and groups adjacent to them, and in August, immediately after the opening of the new parliament, the Salisbury cabinet was defeated; a new, fourth Gladstone ministry was formed (this is the first time in the history of England that a politician became prime minister for the fourth time). Appointed prime minister at the age of eighty-three, Gladstone became the oldest Prime Minister of Great Britain in its history.
Main directions of political activity
These are the most important facts of Gladstone's long political career. One of its most characteristic features is the gradual change in the political convictions and ideals of Gladstone, who began his activity in the ranks of the Tories and ends it at the head of the advanced part of the English liberals and in alliance with extreme radicals and democrats. Gladstone's break with the Tory party is dated to 1852; but it was prepared gradually and over a long period of time. In his own words, from those with whom he had previously acted, he "was cut off not by any arbitrary act, but by a slow and irresistible work of inner conviction." In the literature about Gladstone one can come across the opinion that, in essence, among his comrades he always occupied a completely independent position and, in fact, did not belong to any party. There is a lot of truth in this opinion. Gladstone himself once said that parties in themselves are not good, that party organization is necessary and indispensable only as a sure means to achieve this or that lofty goal. Along with independence in relation to questions of party organization, it is necessary to note, however, another important feature of Gladstone's political worldview, a hint of which is already in the first speech he delivered to the electors on October 9, 1832: this is a firm conviction that the basis of political events first of all, "sound general principles" must lie. The special properties of his outstanding mind, clarity and logical thinking developed in him this characteristic feature, which manifested itself early and never weakened. In the course of his entire activity, he constantly searched for and found the fundamental basis for the views and actions of each given moment. These features served as the source of that revolution in the political views and ideals of Gladstone, which took place in him as he became more familiar with the life and needs of the people. Gladstone's political views were constantly in the process of internal evolution, the direction of which was determined by a conscientious and attentive attitude to the general conditions and demands of the country's cultural growth. The more the range of phenomena available to his observation expanded, the more clearly the democratic movement of the century appeared to him, the more convincing his legitimate demands became. It could not help but give rise to doubts about the justice and fidelity of the views that the conservative party continued to hold in its opposition to the new trend. Gladstone's inherent desire to find the fundamental basis of any social movement, in connection with his humane worldview, highly honest views on life and demanding attitude towards himself, helped him come to the right answer to the question, where is truth, where is justice. As a result of a long internal work to clarify the doubts that arose, his final transition to the ranks of the liberal party was.
A remarkable feature of Gladstone's political activity is also the predominance that questions of internal cultural development have always had in it over the interests of foreign policy. This latter, during the periods when he was the first minister, aroused especially strong criticism from his opponents, and in 1885, for example, served as the immediate cause of the fall of his cabinet. In this area he proved to be the most vulnerable, but only because he was never inclined to attach paramount importance to international issues and has views on them that differ too sharply from the point of view that prevails today in European states. According to his fundamental convictions, he is an enemy of war and all violence, the manifestations of which are so rich in the field of international politics. While the merit of Gladstone's famous rival, Lord Beaconsfield, boils down mainly to a series of clever diplomatic moves and deals, Gladstone's list of great deeds for the benefit of England embraces only questions of her inner life. Quite characteristic is the definition of the role of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which Gladstone made back in 1850, in a dispute with Lord Palmerston over Greek affairs. His task is "the preservation of the world, and one of his first duties is the strict application of that code of great principles, which was bequeathed to us by previous generations of great and noble minds." He ended this speech with an ardent invitation to recognize the equality of the strong and the weak, the independence of small states, and in general to renounce political interference in the affairs of another state.
In his political activities, Gladstone, however, more than once concerned the interests of other states, intervened in other people's affairs, but this interference takes on a peculiar form for him. So, Gladstone spent the winter of 1850-1851 in Naples. At that time, the government of King Ferdinand II, nicknamed “The Bomb” for his ferocity, carried out cruel reprisals against those citizens who took part in the movement against the unbearable regime: up to twenty thousand people were imprisoned in gloomy prisons without investigation or trial, in which conditions existence were so terrible that even serving doctors did not dare to enter there, for fear of infection. Gladstone carefully studied the state of affairs in Naples and was filled with indignation at the sight of this gross barbarism. In the form of "Letters to the Earl of Aberdeen," he announced the details of all the horrors that he had to know and see. Gladstone's letters made a huge impression throughout Europe and did not remain without influence on subsequent events in Italy.
In the name of the same ideals of justice and humanity, Gladstone raised his voice against the horrors of Turkish rule in Bulgaria revealed in 1876 (in the pamphlet: "Bulgarian Horrors and the Eastern Question"). Gladstone, in his speeches, expressed the opinion that an Islamic state cannot be good and tolerant towards "civilized and Christian races", and also that as long as there are followers of "this accursed book" (the Koran), there will be no peace in Europe. In 1896, he zealously supported the demands of the influential Armenian lobby for a British military invasion of the Ottoman Empire as the "Christian duty" of the government. However, the Queen condemned this "unreasonable and half-witted attitude of Gladstone". O. A. Novikova Homer had an undoubted influence on Gladstone's views. In 1858 he published an extensive study entitled: "Studies on Homer and Homeric Age"; in 1876 - "Homeric Synchronism", and later - a number of small studies about Homer. In addition, he wrote a large number of articles on a wide variety of issues - philosophical, historical, constitutional, about the phenomena of current literature, about various political topics of the day, etc. For their separate publication, in 1879, it took seven volumes of the collection, under titled "Gleaning of Past Years". In 1886, Gladstone engaged in a lively journal debate with Professor Huxley on the relationship between science and religion. In recent years he has written a number of articles on the Irish question. The December 1892 editions of Notes und Queries published a detailed bibliography of everything Gladstone had written since 1827. Gladstone's speeches, both in Parliament and outside it, were published many times, but it was not until 1892 that the publication of a complete collection of his speeches was undertaken, under his personal supervision. So far only one volume has been published, the tenth, in which his speeches for 1888-1891 are printed, mainly on the Irish question ("The Speeches and Public Addresses of W. E. Gladstone, with Notes and Introductions").
) . The infidel within: Muslims in Britain since 1800. - C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2004. - P. 80. - 438 p. - ISBN 1850656851, ISBN 9781850656852.Pronouncements made at regular intervals by giants from the Liberal Party in the late Victorian and Edwardian period were vehement against Islam and the Ottoman Turks. W.E. Gladstone expressed his deeply-rooted suspicion of Islam, which he thought "radically incapable of establishing a good and tolerable government over civilized and Christian races". In a public speech he asserted that for as long as there were followers of "that accursed book" (the Quran), Europe would know no peace. In his view Europe-in other words Christendom-should have united to impose its will. Only over "lesser" peoples such as the so-called "Orientals" and "Mahomedans", where there was no "complication of blood, of religion, or tradition, or speech", did Gladstone accept the Turks" ability to provide imperial rule . So firm was his belief in the reality of Muslims" fanaticism and their capacity to commit atrocities against Christians that he completely accepted Bulgarian allegations of massacres in 1876 and reports of Armenian persecution in the 1890s, ignoring any evidence that pointed to similar acts committed against the Turks. consequently his passionate and immensely popular pamphlet, The Bulgarian Horrors, or The Question of the East, reinforced British perceptions of Muslims as an "anti-human specimen of humanity". Not surprisingly such rhetoric encouraged an outpouring of anti-Turkish emotion and agitation.
GLADSTON WILLIAM EWART (eng. William Ewart Gladstone) - English statesman, prime minister in 1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886, 1892-1894.
Gladstone was born into the family of a wealthy Scottish entrepreneur. The formation of William's personality was greatly influenced by his parents, who managed to instill in their son a deep faith in God, a love of literature and an interest in public affairs. He graduated from school at Eton (1821-1828), then studied at Oxford (Christ Church College), where he discovered an interest in theology and was one of the best students. Gladstone dreamed of devoting himself to the service of God, but his father saw his son's future in the political field and forbade him to take orders. Having completed his education, in 1832 Gladstone went on a trip to Italy, after visiting which he changed his attitude towards Catholics. In Rome, he said, he especially felt the loss of unity in the Christian world, and for some time after his return, remaining an evangelical, he was carried away by the ideas of the Oxford movement.
Gladstone began his political career as a Tory, sharing conservative views on major issues of domestic and foreign policy. He was a supporter of repressive measures against Ireland, opposed the admission of Jews to parliament, dissenters in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and also against the abolition of corporal punishment in the army. He was opposed to the parliamentary reform of 1832 and the prohibition of slavery. At the age of 23, he won the parliamentary elections. Gladstone's program included maintaining the union of the Anglican Church and state. Subsequently, he believed that the Anglicans. The Church, being one of the branches of the one Catholic Church (the so-called branch theory), has retained its own doctrines and organization.
From 1832 and for 63 years, Gladstone has consistently taken an active position and spoke in Parliament on all the most important issues.
In 1834-1835 he was a member of R. Peel's 1st conservative government. In 1838 Gladstone published The State in Its Relations with the Church, which was a defense of the status of the state church. Gladstone argued that the purpose of the state lies in the service of religion, and the Church in this union needed state support. The book was the reaction of a young man to the granting of political and civil rights to Catholics in 1829 (the so-called emancipation of Catholics) and the demands of non-conformists to eliminate the state status of Anglicans. Church and caused heated debate in society. In subsequent years, Gladstone's books and articles focused on church history and theology. He wrote essays on the history of the Reformation, works on the authenticity and authority of Holy Scripture, etc.
Gladstone's deep inner religiosity remained unchanged, but his views on domestic and foreign policy of the state underwent serious changes, which eventually led him to the liberal camp. The revision of the position was the result of deep reflection, flexibility of the mind, openness to new trends, facts, phenomena, the ability to abandon delusions. Gladstone understood the need for social and political change that the extreme Tories opposed. As Minister of Trade in 1843-1845 in Peel's 2nd cabinet, Gladstone supported his policy of establishing liberal principles of trade (free trade), and encouraged the development of railway construction. He advocated the expansion of self-government in the colonies, which was sought by the colonists and radicals. His position testified to the transition to the camp of liberal conservatives, supporters of Peel's policy. Gladstone's resignation in 1845 was due to his opposition to an increase in the subsidy to a Catholic college in Ireland. Gladstone was convinced that the state should only support the dominant Anglican religion.
In the 50s, he finally broke with the conservatives and entered the coalition governments of Aberdeen (1852-1855) and the liberal cabinet of Palmerston (1859-1866). After the death of G.J. Palmerston Gladstone became in 1868 the leader of the Liberals in the House of Commons. Gradually he came to religious tolerance. Reflections led him to the conviction of the need to strengthen religious institutions and change the nature of the relationship between the Church and the state. In 1865 he spoke of the unsatisfactory position of the Anglicans. Churches in Ireland. The church relied on a minority of the population, but the Catholic majority supported it financially by paying tithes. Therefore, the first act of the Gladstone government in 1869 was the abolition of the state status of the Anglican Church in Ireland. According to the law, the issuance of maintenance to priests was stopped, all church property was transferred into the hands of the royal commission; Irish bishops lost seats in the House of Lords; ecclesiastical courts were abolished. Gladstone believed that the law would serve to appease the Catholic population of Ireland, but these actions aroused great indignation among Gladstone's opponents. Oxford University, which he represented in Parliament from 1847-1865, severed all ties with him. However, Gladstone did not doubt that he was right, and in 1890 he spoke of the need for similar changes in Scotland and Wales. Gladstone's first cabinet went down in history as a reform government. An administrative reform was carried out, the principles of admission to the civil and military service were revised; abolished the system of selling positions; secret ballot was established in parliamentary elections; introduced universal primary education; trade unions legalized; The Land Act was passed, limiting the rights of landlords in Ireland. The colonial policy was aimed at expanding the sphere of influence of Great Britain and granting greater independence to the migrant colonies, which consisted in the development of forms of self-government, the expansion of economic ties between the mother country and the dominions based on the principles of free trade: freedom of trade and non-interference of the state in private business activities.
After the cabinet resigned, Gladstone stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party, believing his political career was over. He wanted to pay more attention to issues of religious and spiritual life. The strengthening of Catholicism and non-conformism, as well as the success of the natural sciences, caused a new wave of interest in religious problems in society in the 60-80s. Gladstone believed that the decisive time of the struggle "for the minds" in matters of faith was coming. In the mid-70s, he published a number of works in defense of the principles of religious freedom, for example against the Vatican. A large role in the evolution of Gladstone's views towards ecumenism was played by the so-called. the case of Bradlow, an atheist who was elected to parliament in 1880, but did not become a deputy due to his refusal to take an oath, which spoke of faith in God. Reflections on the current situation brought Gladstone to the opinion about the possibility of separation of Church and state, to tolerance in matters of faith. In an 1883 parliamentary speech, Gladstone spoke of the need to separate the question of religious difference from the question of civil rights and power. In the years 1880-1885, the 2nd Gladstone government continued the electoral reforms (1884 and 1885), as well as the expansionist policies of their conservative predecessors, intervening in the Egyptian conflict and suppressing opposition in Ireland. At the same time, Gladstone was looking for ways to solve the Irish problem and carried out the 2nd land reform (1881). By 1886, Gladstone came to the conclusion that it was necessary to further change England's policy towards Ireland, and during the 3rd term in power, he proposed introducing self-government (home rule) in it. The Home Rule Act failed, which led to the resignation of the government. Differences over Irish policy caused a split in the Liberal camp and weakened Gladstone's position. In 1892-1894, Gladstone managed to pass the Home Rule bill through the House of Commons, but the House of Lords voted against it, and the law did not come into force.