¹ The Act for the Better Government of India which transferred the territory and property of the East India Company to the control of the British Crown.

² Sir Henry Rawlinson (1810-95) was an antiquarian and student of the Near East with a deep interest in foreign and Imperial questions. At this time he was Vice-President of the Council of India.

³ William E. Forster (1818-86) was Liberal MP for Bradford. Along with Gladstone he was primarily responsible for the Education Act of 1870. His bid to succeed Gladstone as Liberal leader in the House of Commons was turned back largely by nonconformist enmity. Forster was married to the daughter of Dr Thomas Arnold.

⁴ Dost Mahomed was the Ameer of Afghanistan from 1834 until his death in 1863. The Agreement of 1857 was negotiated by Lord Lawrence and Herbert Edwardes acting for the Government of India. The Ameer was to receive a monthly subsidy from the British Government and in return he was to maintain enough troops to defend his possessions and permit British officers to enter his territory to see that the subsidy was properly administered.

⁵ T. D. Sullivan, Irish Home Rule MP and editor of the Irish Nation. ‘Our Own Affairs’, Nation, 23 November 1878.

⁶ George Joachim Goschen (1831-1907), Liberal, later Unionist MP. Highly respected for his knowledge of finance. Personal friend of Ripon, with whom he served in Gladstone's first Ministry.

⁷ Beilby Lawley was a personal friend of Ripon's. He was a Liberal of somewhat Whiggish tendencies. He was returned as MP for Chester in the election of 1880 but was subsequently unseated on charges of corruption.

⁸ Francis Hooper was Master of Ripon Grammar School from 1872 until 1879. The school was facing serious financial difficulties as it was failing to attract a sufficiently large number of students. For a history of the Grammar School, Philip Rogers, A History of Ripon Grammar School, privately printed, 1954.

⁹ Clare Vyner was Ripon's brother-in-law. De Grey was his only son and heir, Frederick Oliver Robinson, 3rd Earl de Grey, 2nd Marquis of Ripon (also known in the family as Olly).

¹⁰ Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook (1826-1904) was former Viceroy of India, 1872-76, and a close personal friend of Ripon's. The Memorandum was published in The Times, 30 November 1878.

¹¹ The Cranbrook Dispatch was sent out by the Secretary of State for India, Viscount Cran brook, summarizing the reasons that forced England to go to war with Shere Ali, the current Ameer of Afghanistan. It placed part of the blame for the situation upon Lord Lawrence and Lord Northbrook, Liberals, who had served as Viceroys of India.

¹² John Dent was Liberal MP for Scarborough from 1868 to 1874.

¹³ Sir A. Fairhairn was Liberal MP for York, West Riding.

¹⁴ Argyll's letter attacked Cranbrook's dispatch and treated the question with characteristic gusto and voluminous detail. He excoriated the Beaconsfield Ministry for its forward policy and defended both Lords Northbrook and Lawrence. The Times, 28 November 1878.

¹⁵ Hugh Childers (1827-96), Liberal MP for Pontefract from 1860 until 1886, whose special field was financial matters. His speech at Pontefract followed the same general lines as Argyll's letter, but he was particularly concerned to answer the charge that it was earlier Liberal policies that had brought about the current situation in Afghanistan.

¹⁶ Daily News, 28 November 1878.

¹⁷ Goschen's letter to Ripon stated that he understood Ripon's situation regarding Lawley's candidacy. He believed that the party had made a good choice in Lawley as he was more in agreement with them on major issues than Goschen himself was. Ripon Papers, British Museum, Add. MSS. 43532, Goschen to Ripon, 27 November 1878.

¹⁸ Hat was Harriet Vyner Robinson, Ripon's wife.

¹⁹ Sir Algernon West and his wife. West was a former private secretary to Gladstone.

²⁰ Childers spoke at Pontefract on 27 November and at Knottingley on the next evening.

²¹ Henry James Coleridge (1822-93), an ardent follower of Cardinal Newman. He converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1850's and was later ordained. A close friend of Ripon's, he served as editor of the Catholic journal, The Month, from 1865 to 1881.

²² Thomas Hughes (1822-96) was the author of Tom Browrfs Schooldays. He served for a short time as Liberal MP. In his youth he helped to found the Christian Socialist movement in England. He and Ripon were old friends. William Vernon Harcourt (1827-1904), Liberal MP for almost forty years and one of the leading figures in the party.

²³ Sir Henry Norman, Sir William Muir and Sir Barrow Ellis were all members of the Council of India.

²⁴ Edward Bulwer Lytton (1831-92), poet and politician. Joined the diplomatic service and was appointed Viceroy of India in 1876.

²⁵ Sir Lewis Pelly had been sent to Shere Ali in January 1877, to convince him to accept an English envoy at Cabul. His mission was futile as Shere Ali had no faith in the English who, he claimed, had supported his sons in rebellion against him.

²⁶ George, 2nd Earl Granville (1815-91) was Liberal leader in the House of Lords and party spokesman on foreign policy. He was Foreign Secretary briefly in 1851, from 1870 to 1874, and again between 1880 and 1885. His unfailing good cheer made him the repository of every Liberal's confidence. Because of his jauntiness and dapperness, he was affectionately known as ‘Puss’.

²⁷ Possibly refers to Colonel Waterfield, Commissioner of Peshawar, India.

²⁸ Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington, later 8 th Duke of Devonshire (1833-1908), succeeded Gladstone as Liberal leader in the House of Commons in 1875.

²⁹ General Frederick Roberts, later Earl Roberts, was military commander in Afghanistan. He had launched an attack against the Hill Tribes at Peiwar Kotal on 30 November, only to have it repulsed.

³⁰ James Stansfeld (1820-98) was a longtime radical-Liberal MP. He served in Gladstone's first Ministry but then turned to combating prostitution in England and devoted the rest of his career to this politically unrewarding task.

³¹ Edward, Viscount Cardwell (1813-86) was a close friend of Gladstone's and, like him, an old Peelite. He served as Secretary of State for War in Gladstone's first Ministry where he carried out extensive Army reforms.

³² Sir Arthur Hobhouse (1819-90) was a lawyer, legal reformer and member of the Council of India in the 1870's. A strong Liberal, he vigorously opposed the Government's policy in Afghanistan.

³³ Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830-1903). Conservative politician and states-man. In the second Disraeli Ministry he served first as Secretary of State for India and on the resignation in 1878 of the Earl of Derby, as Foreign Secretary.

³⁴ Samuel Whitbread (1830-1915) of the brewing family was a long time Liberal MP for Bedford.

³⁵ John Wodehouse, Earl Kimberley (1826-1902), Liberal statesman and one of the leading party authorities on foreign and imperial questions. He served as Colonial Secretary in Gladstone's first Ministry.

³⁶ Ly EB was Lady Jane Emma, the daughter of Lord Northbrook and his constant companion after his wife's death. Miss Motley was the daughter of the former American minister to England, the historian John Lothrop Motley. She was Harcourt's second wife. Reginald Brett, later Viscount Esher (1852-1930) was private secretary to Lord Hartington during the period from 1878 until 1885. Lord Ripon was largely responsible for his securing this post.

³⁷ The Queen's speech totalled only eight short paragraphs.

³⁸ Earl Grey (1802-94) was a Liberal with strong Whiggish tendencies. Later, he went over to the Conservative camp largely due to the Irish Question.

³⁹ The Afghan Committee was organized in the middle of November by Lord Grey and Lord Lawrence to co-ordinate resistance to the government's policy toward Afghanistan. Ripon was one of the charter members.

⁴⁰ Both Ravensworth and Inchiquin dwelt at great length on the Russian menace to Afghanistan as a way of galvanizing more support for the governments policy. Hansard, House of Lords, 5 December 1878, Cols. 5-23.

⁴¹ Cranbrook in his speech renewed his attack on Gladstone's Liberal Ministry and Lord Northbrook for bringing the present situation in Afghanistan to a head. Hansard, House of Lords, 5 December 1878, Cols. 38-47.

⁴² Salisbury had answered a question put to him by the Duke of Argyll in June of 1877 by denying that the Government had sought to force the Ameer of Afghanistan to accept an English resident. Salisbury thus tacitly accepted the policy of the preceding Libera! Government. Later it developed that at this very time the English were preparing to send a resident to Afghanistan.

⁴³ Northbrook asserted that Cranbrook's Dispatches had not contained the full details of his exchanges with the Gladstone Government. He challenged Cranbrook to order a full release of these dispatches. Hansard, House of Lords, 5 December 1878, Cols. 64-74.

⁴⁴ Charles Wood, Viscount Halifax (1800-85), Whig MP for over forty years, including a period as representative for Ripon. A great landowner in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he shared Ripon's deep interest in India and the East.

⁴⁵ After the Afghan tribes had an initial success at Peiwar Pass in late November, Gen. Roberts regrouped his forces and won a startling victory at the Khyber Pass. The road to Cabul was now open. Sir Clements Markham (1830-1916) was a well-known geographer and historian. He was President of the Hakluyt Society for twenty years.

⁴⁶ James Danell, Bishop of Southwark. Baron O'Hagan (1812-85) was a Liberal who had served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor for Ireland in Gladstone's first ministry. William Monsell, Lord Emly (1812-94) succeeded Lord Hartington as Postmaster-general in Gladstone's ministry in December, 1870. Like Ripon, he was a convert to Roman Catholicism.

⁴⁷ Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914), the Birmingham industrialist who made a fortune in business and entered Parliament as a Radical Liberal in 1876. He had initiated the caucus concept of political organization in the mid-70's and was seeking to have it adopted by Liberal Associations throughout England. The old-line Liberals and Whigs saw this type of political organization as a threat to their party supremacy.

⁴⁸ Henry Austin Bruce, Lord Aberdare(1815-95), was along time Liberal MP who served as Home Secretary in Gladstone's first Ministry.

⁴⁹ Richard Doyle (1824-83) was a well-known artist and caricaturist. A Roman Catholic, he resigned from Punch in 1850 over its attacks on restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy.

⁵⁰ Lady Amabel Kerr was a relation of Ripon's who had converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before him. She encouraged him to make his decision and helped him to overcome some of his strongest doubts. See her letters to Ripon in Lucien Wolf, Ripon, I, 324-35.

⁵¹ Society of St Vincent de Paul, a Catholic organization that worked among the poor.

⁵² Hansard, House of Lords, 9 December 1878, Cols. 219-98.

⁵³ Halifax's speech had a strong moralistic tinge to it. He was particularly upset by the effect of British aggressive action on the Indian people. Hansard, Cols. 245-62.

⁵⁴ Henry Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (1826-93), son of the Conservative Prime Minister. He was Foreign Secretary in Beaconsfield's Ministry from 1874 until his resignation in March 1878, over differences on the Balkan Question.

⁵⁵ Henry Howard Molyneux, 4th Earl of Carnarvon (1831-90), a Conservative Peer who served as Colonial Secretary in Beaconsfield's Ministry, from 1874-78. He resigned in opposition to the government's forward policy in the East.

⁵⁶ Arthur Godley, later Lord Kilbracken (1847-1932), had formerly served as Gladstone's private secretary. Now he was serving in the same capacity for Lord Granville. Following the election of 1880, he returned to service under Gladstone as his principal private secretary.

⁵⁷ Hansard, House of Lords, 10 December 1878, Cols. 406-522.

⁵⁸ Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (1819-85), was Lord Chancellor from 1874 until 1880.

⁵⁹ Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne (1812-95), Liberal politician and legal authority. He was regarded as the greatest Chancery advocate of his age. He served as Lord Chancellor in Gladstone's first ministry.

⁶⁰ John Alexander Thynne, 4th Marquis of Bath (1831-96), was a Conservative Peer who opposed his government's foreign policy during the late 1870's.

⁶¹ Hansard, House of Lords, 10 December 1878, Cols. 509-20.

⁶² Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-85), was the famous spokesman for the social conscience of Victorian England.

⁶³ William Thomas Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (1815-1902), was a member of one of the most prominent Whig families. Increasingly, he found the direction which the Liberal party had taken since 1865 distasteful. He later broke with his old party over the Home Rule issue.

⁶⁴ Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie (1848-1909) was a professional soldier who served in India first in a military and later a civil capacity. He was an agent to the Governor-General in Central India in the late 1890's and in 1901 he was made political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India, Lord George Hamilton. He was assassinated by a Punjabi fanatic in 1909.

⁶⁵ John Bright (1811-89) was a Radical-Liberal MP for over forty-six years. He was prominent in practically every major reform movement in English politics during this period. He had served in Gladstone's first ministry until his health failed. Later he would break with the party over Home Rule for Ireland.

⁶⁶ At Maldon the Liberal candidate George Courtauld defeated his Conservative opponent, 671 to 530. The result reversed a Conservative majority of 113 at the general election of 1874.

⁶⁷ Sir George Otto Trevelyan (1838-1928) was the son of Sir Charles Trevelyan and a long time Liberal MP. He broke with the Liberals over Home Rule for Ireland but returned to the party in the late 1880's. He was the father of the noted English historian, George Macaulay Trevelyan. Lord Frederick Cavendish (1836-82) was the younger brother of Lord Hartington and related to Gladstone by marriage. He was assassinated in 1882 in Phoenix Park, Dublin, by members of the Irish terrorist society, the Invincibles.

⁶⁸ Sir Stafford Northcote, later Earl of Iddesleigh (1818-87), was a long time Conservative MP. He succeeded Disraeli as Conservative leader of the House of Commons on his elevation to the Peerage. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Conservative Ministry of 1874-80.

⁶⁹ Count Peter Andreivitch Schouvaloff (1827-89) was the Russian Ambassador in London from 1874 until his recall in 1879. He had many friends among members of both political parties, though he was especially close to Sir William Harcourt. His protest arose from an answer given by Northcote to a question put by Harcourt as to whether the Russian Mission and Envoy had been withdrawn from Cabul. Northcote in the course of his answer stated adamantly that ‘the Government will not acquiesce—and does not intend to acquiesce—in the exercise of Russian influence in Afghanistan in … any form’. Hansard, House of Commons, 12 December 1878, Col. 602.

⁷⁰ A Committe was organized to present the case for drainage control to the Government's representatives. This committee led by Ripon met with the Home Secretary and the Duke of Richmond on 17 December 1878 and asked for Government assistance. No promises were made by the Government as to future action.

⁷¹ Wandsworth Training College was a school for girls in London, founded by Cardinal Manning in 1850.

⁷² Sir F. Sandford, Secretary of the Education Department.

⁷³ Sir, John Adye, The British Army in 1875—a reply to Mr John Holms, M.P. (London, 1875).Google Scholar

⁷⁴ Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff (1829-1906) was a Liberal MP who specialized on questions of foreign policy. Grant Duff's speech dealt with what he called the reversal of British policy in the Near East which was carried out during the past years. In brief, he found no sense in Beaconsfield's foreign policy. Hansard, House of Commons, 12 December, 1878, Cols. 640-62.

⁷⁵ L. Shadwell (1823-87) was an old family friend of Ripon's. He had served as assistant to the War Office from 1866 to 1871 and was made a General in 1881. His father, Sir Lancelot Shadwell, was MP for Ripon in 1826.

⁷⁶ Ripon's efforts were unavailing as de Grey did not arrive in London in time to vote or to be paired.

⁷⁷ The Gaekwar case occurred in 1875 while Northbrook was Viceroy of India. The Gaekwar or ruler of Baroda was deposed for infamous conduct, including the attempted poisoning of the British Resident, Colonel Phayre. Some people later questioned the fairness of the tribunal that judged the Gaekwar.

⁷⁸ A rebellion of the Moslem residents of the Rhodope district of Bulgaria, the Pomaks, had broken out in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish war. The rebellion lasted from April to October 1878, and was put down with great cruelty by Russian and Bulgarian troops. Over 40,000 people were left destitute after the failure of the revolt.

⁷⁹ Reynell Taylor was a former political officer of the Indian Army who had served in numerous frontier campaigns. He wrote extensively of his views on the proper conduct of relations with the Indian frontier peoples. His Notes on the Afghan Campaign was published in London in 1878.

⁸⁰ Richard Assheton Cross (1823-1914), a long time Conservative MP, was Disraeli's find in his 1874-80 government. He was Home Secretary. Charles Gordon, 11th Marquis of Huntly, was a minor figure in Liberal circles. Sir Henry Brand was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1872 until 1884. On his retirement he was raised to the Peerage as Lord Hampden. Francis Charles Hastings Russell was 9th Duke of Bedford. Edward Montagu, 8th Earl of Sandwich, was Liberal MP for Huntington from 1876 to 1884.

⁸¹ Charles Henry Gordon Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond (1818-1903), was Lord President of the Council and Conservative leader in the House of Lords.

⁸² At Bristol the Liberal candidate, Louis Fry, defeated his Conservative opponent, Sir Ivor Guest, by 1,547 votes. The Liberals increased their majority by 354 votes at this by-election over the election of 1874.

⁸³ Northcote withdrew the motion to render assistance to the people of Rhodope because he said that it was obvious the House was divided over the measure. Hansard, House of Commons, 16 December 1878, Cols. 862-3.

⁸⁴ Egerton Hubbard was Conservative MP for Buckingham; Spencer Walpole was Conservative MP for Cambridge University. He wrote the standard biography of Lord John Russell.

⁸⁵ Traill, H. D., ‘The Democracy and Foreign Policy’, Nineteenth Century, November, 1878, pages 910–24.Google Scholar ‘Personal Rule: A Reply’, Kebbel, T. E., Ibid., December, 1878, pages 1139–50.Google Scholar

⁸⁶ Henry Fawcett (1833-84), former Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge. Though blinded by a shooting accident when he was twenty-five, he pursued an active political career as a Radical Liberal. He moved that it would be unjust to use the revenues of India to defray the extraordinary expenses of military operations in Afghanistan. Hansard, House of Commons, 16 December 1878, Col. 885.

⁸⁷ Princess Alice of Hesse was a daughter of Queen Victoria. She died of diphtheria on 14 December while nursing her children through a bout of that dread disease.

⁸⁸ Not reported in The Times until 27 December 1878. The Times believed that the English Government would support an annexation of Chitral but not of Swat and Bajour.

⁸⁹ Abbé, Martin, ‘What Hinders Ritualists from Becoming Roman Catholics’, Contemporary Review, December 1878, pages 77–107.Google Scholar This article was in answer to an attack by Richard Littledale, ‘Why Ritualists Do Not Become Catholics’, Ibid., November, 1878, pages 792-824.

⁹⁰ John, Malcolm Ludlow, British India, its Races and its History (London, 1858).Google Scholar

⁹¹ Chamberlain's invitation to Hartington was rejected for two main reasons. Hartington believed that his attendance would be looked upon as strengthening the Radical section of the party. He also disliked the whole idea of the Caucus which reminded him of American machine politics. Bernard, Holland, The Life of the Eighth Duke of Devonshire, I, pages 245–8.Google Scholar

⁹² Lord Beaconsfield spoke to a delegation of British residents from California. The Times, 20 December 1878.

⁹³ Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk (1847-1917), was the Premier Peer of the Realm and the unofficial spokesman for English Roman Catholics.

⁹⁴ This conversation refers to efforts by influential English Roman Catholics to secure a Cardinal's hat for Father Newman.

⁹⁵ Henry Edward Cardinal Manning (1808-92) was Archbishop of Westminster and religious leader of the Roman Catholics of England. Cardinal Howard was a member of the distinguished family of the Dukes of Norfolk. He had resigned a military commission and joined the Roman Catholic Church, serving the Vatican in various diplomatic capacities. He was made Cardinal in 1877.

⁹⁶ Kensington College had been founded by Cardinal Manning in 1874. He had hoped that it would serve to draw the Roman Catholic children of the aristocracy as well as bright and industrious middle class children away from English public schools and universities. For the difficulties faced by the College, see Vincent, A. McClelland, Cardinal Manning: His Public Life and Influence, 1865-92 (London, 1962), pages 115–25.Google Scholar

⁹⁷ Juan Riano was a Spanish artist and critic. He was the author of the Industrial Arts of Spain, published in 1879.

⁹⁸ Professor Henry, Fawcett, Free Trade and Protection (London, 1878).Google Scholar

⁹⁹ Rigg, J. H., The Living Wesley, as he was in his Youth and in his Prime (London, 1875).Google Scholar

¹⁰⁰ Yorkshire Post, 28 December 1879.

¹⁰¹ General Edward Hamley (1824-93) served in various military capacities in the Balkans and in Egypt. Author of The Operations of War in 1866. Hamley's lecture was titled ‘The Strategical Conditions of our Indian North-West Frontier’.

¹⁰² Thomas B. T. Hildyard was the Conservative MP for Nottingham.

¹⁰³ John Dundas was Liberal MP for Richmond in Yorkshire.

¹⁰⁴ Sir, Henry Norman, ‘The Scientific Frontier’, Fortnightly Review, January 1879, pages 1–14.Google Scholar

¹⁰⁵ Jean, Baptiste Lacordaire, Lettres à un jeune homme sur la vie Chrétienne (Paris, 1858).Google Scholar

¹⁰⁶ Sir, John Seeley, The Life and Times of Baron Stein, 3 volumes (Cambridge, UK, 1878).Google Scholar

¹⁰⁷ In the light of subsequent events this proved to be a shrewd guess, see diary entry for 7 September 1879.

¹⁰⁸ This report concerned the introduction of reforms promised by Turkey at the Congress of Berlin. Salisbury pointed out the difficulties that the Government found in urging reforms on a recalcitrant Turkey. The Times, 2 January 1879.

¹⁰⁹ The Daily News reported that the Khyber Pass was still closed and they saw this as an ominous sign. 3 January 1879.

¹¹⁰ The first part of Forster's speech was devoted to a discussion of differences which had arisen among various Liberals, specifically the trouble he was having with the Liberal Association of Bradford. The second half of the speech contained a rather sharp attack on the Government's blunders in dealing with reforms of the Ottoman Empire. The Times, 7 January 1879.

¹¹¹ The Bradford Liberal Association sought to bring Forster under its control. He was resented because of his role in passing the Education Act of 1870. Forster had only been returned to Parliament in 1874 with considerable Conservative support. Mr Ulingworth, the Chairman of the Bradford Liberal Association, offered to give his support to Forster in the coming election if Forster, in turn, would bind himself to the Association. Forster refused on the ground that the Association would ‘stand between me and the constituency I have so long represented’. Annual Register, 1878, 129.

¹¹² Beginning in 1874 Ripon instituted an annual exhibition to the Ripon Grammar School, open to all pupils of the Ripon elementary schools. The winner had all his fees paid plus £10 to £15 for books and other expenses.

¹¹³ The meeting was held to support the candidacy of Fairhairn. Ripon's speech was devoted almost exclusively to a vigorous attack on the government's foreign policy. Yorkshire Post, 11 January 1879.

¹¹⁴ Robert Offley Ashburton Milnes was the only son of Lord Houghton of Fryston Hall, Knottingley. Lady Galway was young Milnes’ aunt, while Lord Drewe was his uncle.

¹¹⁵ The Yorkshire Post referred to Ripon as possessing a mind always inclined to the medieval. They regarded his remarks as puerile and suggested he read Adam Smith to find out what free trade is really about. 11 January 1879.

¹¹⁶ Duncombe Park was the Yorkshire home of Lord Feversham. It had been designed by Sir John Vanbrugh. The fire completely destroyed it along with a number of art treasures belonging to Lord Feversham, including a Rubens, a Rembrandt, and a Da Vinci. Annual Register, 1879, Part II, 8.

¹¹⁷ Harcourt gave his annual address to his constituents at the Oxford Liberal Association Meeting. It was a full-fledged and witty attack on the Government's policy, especially in foreign matters. The Times, 15 January 1879.

¹¹⁸ Allies, M. H., Three Catholic Reformers of the Fifteenth Century (London, 1879).Google Scholar

¹¹⁹ James Chadwick, Bishop of Hexham, was a Lancashire Irishman.

¹²⁰ Catholic Poor School Committee was set up in 1851 through the efforts of Cardinal Wiseman. The Committee received grants from the Government for education.

¹²¹ On 20 January Dufaure's Moderate Cabinet had withstood an attack on it from the Deputies of the Left who demanded a more thoroughgoing Republican program and ministry.

¹²² Bishop William Stubbs, The Medieval Kingdom of Cyprus and Armenia (Oxford, 1875); Professor Henry Fawcett, The Economic Position of the British Labourer (Cambridge, 1865).

¹²³ At the North Norfolk by-election, the Conservative candidate, Mr Edward Birbeck defeated his Liberal opponent, Sir Thomas Buxton, by a margin just under 500 votes, 2742 to 2252. The Conservatives increased their vote by 400, while the Liberals added only 60 votes since the last election.

¹²⁴ Augustus, G. Stapleton, George Canning and His Times (London, 1859).Google Scholar

¹²⁵ The Convent of San Damian in Spain was purchased with Ripon's help and the Franciscan Fathers were re-established there.

¹²⁶ Word is unclear.

¹²⁷ Jean, Baptiste de Saint-Jure, La Science des Sciences; ou VAmour de Jesus, ses motifs, sapratique, 2 Vols (Paris, 1871).Google Scholar

¹²⁸ The letter warned of the imminence of war and in brief took the view that war would be unnecessary for the territory to be gained was not worth the effort. The Times, 28 January 1879.

¹²⁹ Augustus, G. Stapleton, The Political Life of the Right Honourable George Canning, 3 Vols (London, 1831).Google Scholar

¹³⁰ At a Liberal demonstration in Ipswich.

¹³¹ This was an attempt to force President MacMahon to rid the state of anti-Republican elements. President MacMahon signed orders dismissing members of other departments of Government, but he balked at removing Generals from commanding Corps. Later, MacMahon resigned on this issue on 30 January, bringing down the Dufaure Ministry with him. Jules Grevy was then elected President of France to succeed MacMahon.

¹³² Ripon wrote January for February 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

¹³³ Emmanuel, Bayonne, Étude sur Jérôme Savonarole … D'après de Nouveaux Documents (Paris, 1879).Google Scholar

¹³⁴ In an attempt to thwart the possible surge of Bulgarian nationalism and to placate the sensitivities of the Turkish Government, the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin divided the Province of Bulgaria into two states, Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia. The Times article dealt with the difficulties involved in stopping the movement toward a united Bulgaria. It reported that Bulgaria revolted at the idea of remaining in any way under Turkish suzerainty.

¹³⁵ Robert Kearsley was the chairman of the Liberal Association of Ripon.

¹³⁶ A full report of the Ripon meeting can be found in the Yorkshire Post, 8 February 1879.

¹³⁷ William Davidson was a Radical Liberal of Ripon who sought a Liberal candidate more in tune with working-men's views.

¹³⁸ Mallock, W. H., ‘The Logic of Toleration’, Nineteenth Century, January, 1878, pages 64–89.Google Scholar

¹³⁹ This refers to the Zulu victory at lslandlwana. Under the impetus of Sir Bartle Frere, the High Commissioner for South Africa, the British Government had pressured Chief Catawayo and his Zulu tribes to meet certain conditions. Among these were the disbanding of his army, permitting his celibate warriors to marry, and substituting fair trials for trial by rifle shot. The former British policy of trying to mediate between native and Boer was also to be reversed in favour of the Boers. Frere was determined to bring the Zulu tribes under full control. The British undertook a military expedition in January, 1879. Within days, a full scale colonial war was under way.

¹⁴⁰ Frederic Augustus Thesiger, Lord Chelmsford, was the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in South Africa.

¹⁴¹ W. H. Smith, First Lord of the Admiralty, spoke at a Conservative Party meeting at Westminster. In the course of his address he declared that large reinforcements were being sent out to the Cape. The Times, 12 February 1879.

¹⁴² George, Douglas, 8th Duke of Argyll, The Eastern Question, 2 Vols, Strahan, 1879.Google Scholar

¹⁴³ Hansard, House of Lords, 13 February 1879, Cols. 1041-71. Beaconsfield stated that the campaign in Afghanistan had placed the frontiers of India in an almost invulnerable position. Cols. 1041-48. Ripon is rather unfair to Beaconsfield in his earlier reference. The only mention that Beaconsfield made of Afghanistan in his opening speech was a brief one toward the conclusion of his remarks.

¹⁴⁴ The Yorkshire Post reported that Davidson proposed A. S. Ayrtonas the Liberal candidate for Ripon, 12 February 1879.

¹⁴⁵ The Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904) was a cousin to Queen Victoria and Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

¹⁴⁶ The Duke's story was very close to the truth. See Buckle, , Beaconsfield, 6, pages 419–24.Google Scholar

¹⁴⁷ Viscount Bury was Under-Secretary of State for War. Under his plan Volunteer forces would be strictly defined, their number limited to 200,000. The composition of the volunteer force and the termination of the period of service were also brought into a more coherent order. Hansard, House of Lords, 14 February 1879, Cols. 1162-76.

¹⁴⁸ John Simon, CB, FRS, was a former Medical Officer of the Privy Council and of the Health Department.

¹⁴⁹ Father, H. J. Coleridge, The Public Life of Our Lord, 5 Vols (London, 1875).Google Scholar

¹⁵⁰ The Halifax Arbitration provided for the readmission of American citizens to fishing rights in specified Canadian waters. A Commission to sit at Halifax was created by terms of the Treaty of Washington (1871). This Commission was to determine what compensation was to be awarded Great Britain for surrendering her fishing rights. The final judgment of the Commission was $5,500,000 in gold.

¹⁵¹ A. J. Mundella (1825-97) was a Liberal politician with excellent connections in the Trade Union Movement.

¹⁵² Sir Francis Clare Forde (1828-97) served in various diplomatic capacities including Ambassador to Spain and Italy. Major-General Sir Owen Burne (1837-1909), Eastern expert and adviser to Lord Salisbury.

¹⁵³ Name is unclear.

¹⁵⁴ The Times, 18 February 1879. Butler, Ullathorne, 2, page 116 argues that the item was slipped to The Times either directly or indirectly by Cardinal Manning.

¹⁵⁵ Robert Cornelis Napier, Baron Napier of Magdala (1810-90),

¹⁵⁶ William S. Lilly (1840-1919) was a well-known Catholic controversialist. He served as Secretary of the Catholic Union for almost fifty years.

¹⁵⁷ The Catholic Union was a non-political association of Catholic laity. Their objective was to watch over Catholic interests in England, especially in matters arising from Government action, proposed legislation or the activities of local authorities and other public bodies. Its president was the Duke of Norfolk.

¹⁵⁸ Baron, Charles Louis de Viel-Castel, Histoire de la Restauration, 2 Vols (Paris, 1860–70).Google Scholar

¹⁵⁹ The Times, 20 February 1879. Article on the Military Expenditure for India.

¹⁶⁰ The Catholic Union Meeting was held at Willis's Rooms. The motion was moved by the Duke of Norfolk and seconded by Ripon. Meeting took place on 19 February.

¹⁶¹ Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, a Catholic, was Home Rule MP for Kerry.

¹⁶² Colonel Charles Knight Pearson had commanded one of the three main British columns at the outbreak of the Zulu war. He was surrounded early in the campaign at a small mission village, Ekowe, and was not relieved until 1 April 1879.

¹⁶³ Frederick H. T. Blackwood, 5th Baron, later Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (1826-1902), had been appointed Ambassador to Russia on 8 February 1879.

¹⁶⁴ Washington Treaty resolved the crisis in relations between the United States and Great Britain as a result of the Alabama incident during the American Civil War.

¹⁶⁵ The Austrian Ambassador had only recently delivered his credentials, 4 February. Montagu Corry was Disraeli's long time private secretary and adviser.

¹⁶⁶ James Anthony Froude, the famous historian, had undertaken a mission to South Africa in the early years of Disraeli's government. His report as to Boer backing for Lord Carnarvon's plan for South African federation was later found to be highly misleading. His accuracy as a diplomat was not much better than as an historian.

¹⁶⁷ Ripon spoke in support of this Medical Bill. Hansard, House of Lords, 25 February 1879, Cols. 1726-27.

¹⁶⁸ Henry G. Calcraft (1836-96) was the Assistant Secretary of the Railways Department of the Board of Trade.

¹⁶⁹ Henry, N. Oxenham, Catholic Eschatology, new edition (London, 1878). Oxenham was a well-known Catholic poet and controversialist.Google Scholar

¹⁷⁰ Lawson's motion was intended to invest local inhabitants with control over the liquor trade in their own areas, granting them a form of local option.

¹⁷¹ Professor Fawcett moved the appointment of a select committee to report upon the operation of the Government of India Act of 1858, and other Acts amending this legislation, with a view to securing for Parliament a more effective control over the expenditure of India. This matter had been a pet hobby of Fawcett's for years. The motion was ultimately rejected by 39 votes in a House of 241. Hansard, House of Commons, 28 February 1879, Cols. 1975-2034.

¹⁷² 1st Earl of Redesdale (1805-86) was deputy Speaker of the House of Lords from 1851 until his death in 1886.

¹⁷³ Lord Blatchford, The Causes of the Zulu War, pages 563-75; Professor St George Mivart, The Government of Life, pages 690-714.

¹⁷⁴ Ripon spoke in favour of free trade while the cause of reciprocity was upheld by Henry Chaplain, the Conservative MP. Ripon's influence may be measured by the fact that after he left the chair, a motion was passed calling for positive Government action to help the suffering agricultural section of the economy, including some form of duty ‘on corn and stock imported from other countries’. Yorkshire Post, 1 March 1879.

¹⁷⁵ Newman was allowed to reside in England, at the Oratory, under the precedent that a similar right had been granted to Cardinal de Berulle in France during the 17th century.

¹⁷⁶ Henry Oakley was the general manager of the Great Northern Railway, James Allport was the general manager of the Midland Railway and Myles Fenton was general manager of the Metropolitan Railway.

¹⁷⁷ A British rearguard force was attacked. One officer was killed along with five troopers, while some twenty men were wounded.

¹⁷⁸ Sent to explain the events leading up to the massacre at Islandhlwana.

¹⁷⁹ Henry William Ripley was Conservative MP for Bradford in Yorkshire.

¹⁸⁰ General Petrus Jacobus Joubert was then Commandant-General of the Transvaal Republic.

¹⁸¹ John Simon gave evidence before the House of Commons Committee on Amendments to the Medical Bill.

¹⁸² The bill was designed to correlate all the earlier measures and bills effecting the conservation of rivers. Boards were to be appointed for all major riverways. Members were to be of two types—life members and elected members. Former would be landowners of the district and number one-third of the Board. The elected members would be chosen by Sanitary Authorities for a period of three years. Their duties would be to see that the rivers were kept cleaned and were widened or deepened as the need arose. They would have the power to remove obstacles to river travel and to carry out laws of the nation regarding waterways. Hansard, 7 March 1879, Cols. 368-72.

¹⁸³ Granville managed to save all his books and rare manuscripts, as well as much of his valuable furniture. The Times, 10 March 1879.

¹⁸⁴ In the course of the debate in the House of Lords, Cranbrook stated that General Roberts was not given specific authority to make such a statement but that he did have general authority to do what was necessary to secure the allegiance of the Afghan tribes. Cranbrook saw his statement as an attempt to assure those tribes who wished to show loyalty to Great Britain that they would be protected. Hansard, House of Lords, 10 March 1879, Cols. 512-13.

¹⁸⁵ On 24 February, the Queen sent a message to the Secretary of State for War, F. A. Stanley, in which she voiced her sympathies for the losses suffered by her troops in South Africa. She also stated that she placed ‘her entire confidence’ in Lord Chelmsford and his men. (Also cf. entry for 21 March 1879.) When the question was raised in Parliament, Lord Truro questioned the wisdom of this message and whether it had been concurred in by the Cabinet. Lord Beaconsfield revealed a touch of irritation. He declared that the message was only one of sympathy for the troops and should not be ‘tortured into an expression of unlimited confidence in the Commander-in-Chief. Hansard, House of Lords, 18 March 1879, Cols. 1146-48.