To his constant correspondent, Miss Giberne, he wrote three days later :

My ground of hope and trust-not confidence-is that I believe I am doing my duty. I could not help it, unless I had shirked for fear of personal consequences to myself; and it does not matter what happens to me or to my reputation if for the time being the work is going on.

So I trust that all my real friends, such as you are, will pray God to give me the wisdom, the strength, and the courage I need for the great work thrust upon me, and I comfort myself in the belief that I shall have all that is good for me.

This advance of Smith to the highest place in the House of Commons coincided with an event which gave him deep pain. The Earl of Iddesleigh, as Sir Stafford Northcote, had been the first departmental chief under whom he had served-a kind of political godfather to him: there had grown up between these men a warm personal friendship.

The course of events had now brought about Lord Iddesleigh's retirement from the Foreign Office, in order to facilitate the changes in the Cabinet consequent on Lord Randolph Churchill's retirement, and there was some talk of his leaving public life altogether. On January 9 Smith wrote to beg him not to do so :—

I see by the 'Western Morning News' that there is some doubt whether you will remain in the Cabinet. As an old friend, will you let me say what pain it would give me if you went from us? I hold on, greatly against every personal feeling and inclination. I do not like the work I am called upon to do. I distrust my own powers to do it, and I remain and try, probably facing political death because I am told it is my duty. I do not attempt to use such language to you. I do not know, for Salisbury has not told me having intentionally kept away while all these changes have been going on-what he has said to you, but I am quite sure of this, that it would be a real sorrow to us all if we were not to meet you again in Cabinet.

Three days later, on January 12, Lord Iddesleigh came to London to take leave of his subordinates at the Foreign Office. He called at the chambers of the First Lord of the Treasury in Downing Street, and, while his arrival was being announced to Lord Salisbury, was seized with an

A.D. 1887.]

DEATH OF LORD IDDESLEIGH.

291

affection of the heart, and died in the course of twenty minutes. The circumstances were such as deeply to move his friends, and indeed the whole country, for it could not but appear as if an old and faithful servant of the State and of his party had been gently shelved to make way for younger and bolder men,

You have heard the news [Smith wrote on the same day to one of his daughters]: it is very sad, and yet it is not an unhappy ending for the man. I hear that Lord Iddesleigh appeared at the Foreign Office to be in exceedingly good health and spirits, and he said goodbye to Sir James Fergusson very cheerfully, implying that it was only for a time, and that he was coming back again to the Government. He then left the Foreign Office, crossed Downing Street to No. 10, and walked up-stairs to the vestibule of Lord Salisbury's room, was seen by Henry Manners1 to stagger, and was caught by him before he fell, and placed on a sofa, from which he never rose or spoke. He lived 20 minutes, and in the time three doctors were brought to him, but they could do nothing, and Dr Granville, his own attendant, said he was not at all surprised, for he knew, and the whole family knew, that the end might come at any time in this way.

Just before I heard of this I had a really touching letter from Salisbury on one I had sent him, enclosing a letter from Harry Northcote about his father and himself. It will be of historical value, as it will really prove conclusively how tenderly Salisbury wished to deal with his old friend and colleague. It is doubtful if we go down to Osborne under the circumstances. Salisbury was to have gone by the 3.40 train, but under the strain he postponed his departure, and telegraphed to the Queen. She was probably out driving at the time, as no answer had been returned half an hour ago; but I will write by the late post if I do not go down.

Smith was, as may be supposed, deeply affected by this

event :

It is very sad, is it not [he wrote on 13th to another correspondent]? and yet mainly for us, the survivors and spectators of the abrupt termination of an honourable, an useful life-useful to the end.

And again on 16th to Miss Giberne :

I am writing to you in very low spirits, for here in this house died only four days ago one of my oldest political and personal friends. It was not an unhappy death for him, for he had shown only a few minutes before by his manner and his conversation that he was at peace with all men, and he had done his work with all his might up

1 Now Marquis of Granby, M.P.

to the end. But still it was a great shock to us all, and although I have known for years that there must be a sudden close to his life, yet the termination of a protracted dread is a shock and blow.

CHAPTER XX.

1887.

It was under the discouragement of the events narrated in the last chapter that Smith had to enter upon his duties as leader of the House of Commons. Parliament assembled on January 27, and it immediately became evident that the Opposition had drawn encouragement from what had taken place since the autumn. Their spirits were further raised by the speech of Lord Randolph Churchill, who, taking an early opportunity to explain the causes of his resignation, dwelt not only on having been unable, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to become responsible for the Estimates presented to him by the heads of the Admiralty and War Office, but added that there were other important questions on which he was at variance with his colleagues.

When Lord Randolph Churchill had delivered his personal explanation and sat down, Smith rose to make his first speech as leader of the House, and prefaced his observations on Lord Randolph's statement by a few deprecatory words, almost homely in their simplicity :

I have, sir, on rising, to make an appeal to the House. Placed in the position in which I am, I desire to appeal to hon. members for their indulgence and for that favourable interpretation of all my actions which are necessary to one who feels deeply his own deficiencies in following in the steps of the many great men who have held the important position which I now fill. I appeal to them in the hope that by the cordial support of my hon. friends on this side of the House, and by the generous interpretation of my acts by right hon. and hon. gentlemen opposite, I may be enabled, to the best of my ability, to maintain the order and decorum of the proceedings of this House, and the decencies of debate.

A.D. 1887.] MR BALFOUR MADE IRISH SECRETARY. 293

As it turned out, the hopes of the Separatists, alike in the future action of Lord Randolph Churchill and in the fruits of the Round-Table Conference, were destined to disappointment. In the meantime, however, they sufficed to inspire the Opposition with extraordinary activity, and the debate on the Address was prolonged till February 17, and even then it was only by application of the closure that it was brought to an end.

There was yet another trial in store for Ministers. Sir Michael Hicks Beach, who occupied the post of Irish Secretary, was compelled, by a serious malady of the eyes, to resign his office on March 3; and the appointment of Mr Arthur Balfour to succeed him conveyed little confidence to the Unionists in general, to whom as yet he had only been known as one of the less forward members of the extinct Fourth Party. Those who knew him intimately had better hopes, because they were aware of the "grit" which lay under his languid demeanour; but even they must have felt some misgivings when they saw committed to him a task which had already within seven years severely taxed, and in some cases overtaxed, the endurance and moral courage of no fewer than eight statesmen of the first rank: and this all the more because the first piece of work for the new Chief Secretary was to be the odious one of introducing a new Crimes Bill; and the second-almost as onerous and almost more delicate the passage of a bill dealing with the ulcerated question of land tenure in Ireland.

But Mr Balfour justified, and more than justified, the confidence reposed in him. The session of 1887 has become memorable as the most trying that has ever taken place, whether from the acrimony of the debates or the late hours to which the sittings were prolonged. In addition to work in the House, Ministers were called on to take part in a number of functions connected with the celebration of her

Majesty's Jubilee, and the labours of this summer left a lasting mark on the constitutions of more than one member of the Government. Smith's letters abound in references to the harassing experience he had to undergo :—

HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 10.

You seem to have plenty to do, and to find amusement in doing it. I have plenty to do, but the amusement-well, that is not much. We had a rough night last night. put the closure on two or three times, and only reported progress in Committee at past 4, getting into bed at about past 5. To-night things have been quiet, but quite as obstructive as ever, and we shall have to do something more yet to get the Bill through. This morning I drove for an hour in the open carriage, for I was tired. We called at Arklow House, and poor Beresford Hope is, I fear, dying. . . . It is now just 11. I shall not stay up so late to-night.

May 11.

We have had another dreary day-5 hours in Committee, and we have hardly advanced as many words in the bill; but I used the closure again, and got majorities of 100. It is very sickening work, and if it were not duty I should throw it up; but the people behind me are very warm, and very good.

May 12.

We had asked Sir F. Stephenson and Sir F. Grenfell-both from Egypt to come to a 9.45 breakfast, and they talked very pleasantly; and it was very pleasant to me to go back on my old War Office experiences. They left at 11, and my day began again. I came down to Downing Street about 1, and had more than my ordinary share of work. I lunched at the United Service Club, and there saw admirals and generals who seemed glad to recognise me; and then at our meeting here we read the Duke of Connaught's Leave Bill a second time by 318 votes against 45. The House is now going on droning over a quantity of motions which mean little or nothing, and about 2 I hope we shall get the Jubilee Vote.

May 13.

It is really very pleasant to know that you are enjoying your treatment. I cannot say I very much enjoy mine, but it has to be borne, and the work must be done. To-night we are still on that weary first clause of the bill, and Mr Gladstone is staying and dining here to be ready to make a speech against us, but he will not inflict much, if any, harm. You see we finished the work we had cut out for ourselves last night. On Monday we take Supply again, and I hope then we shall get all that we want before the holidays begin; but I am still in a very anxious state as to the condition of public business. The obstruction of the two Oppositions now united in one is beyond anything that has been seen in this House, and unless it gives way under

1 Written to his daughter, who was at Aix.