Such is the simple question; but the reply
is of a very different character. It was delivered in studiously
moderate terms; the voice of Mr. Gladstone never rises above a sweet
coo; but there is fire, defiance, inflexible determination in every
syllable, and the first blow is struck when the wily Old Man
announces--as though it were the merest business affair--that the
closure resolution which the Government will introduce, is founded upon
the principle of the resolution of 1887. He can go no further for
several seconds. The Irish, with their ready wits--their fierce and keen
memories--have caught the point at once; and they burst into a
cheer--loud, fierce, and prolonged. What it means is this: In 1887, the
Tories had carried a closure resolution for the purpose of forcing
through the Coercion Bill of that year; and it was under the working of
that closure resolution that the Bill had finally passed the House of
Commons, with several of its clauses undebated. What, then, this fierce
Irish cheer meant was that the chickens were coming home to roost; and
that the Tories were now reaping the harvest of their own sowing. With
grave face the Old Man waited until the storm had spent itself, and then
he went on to make a little slip, which for the moment gave his enemies
an excellent opening.
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