ABSTRACT
Ireland, which had long been like a thorn planted in the body politic of England, had at last worked its way into the heart of her parliamentary system. The representatives of irreconcilable Irish opinion had gradually become so numerous in the House of Commons that they stopped the regular working of the old party system by interposing between the two parties, or even paralyzed the activity of Parliament by their systematic obstruction. Mr. William Ewart Gladstone's mighty voice was making its way into the national conscience, and in face of the Gladstonian flood which began to rise in the Associations, a good many of their members withdrew from them or were ready to go. The final result of the elections was unfavourable to Mr. William Ewart Gladstone and to Home Rule. The chapter presents the distance traversed by the English party Organization known by the name of the Caucus.
