ABSTRACT
In the last Government Herbert Gladstone and Chamberlain had almost always been on the same side on Irish questions with Hartington and Harcourt as their chief adversaries. In the last crisis over the Central Board Harcourt had changed sides and supported Chamberlain; at the election he had come out as his strong ally. The division between Whigs and Radicals had been sharply defined and greatly embittered during the elections, and it is certain that even if the Irish issue had not arisen there would have been a considerable defection from the Liberal party. Gladstone’s problem was complicated by the uncertainty about the future caused by Chamberlain’s Irish hesitations. When Gladstone asked him to join the Government Chamberlain made no secret of his difficulties. Gladstone’s unfortunate tendency to become absorbed in one question to the exclusion of all others had thus a serious effect on the fortunes of his Home Rule policy.
