§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH (Bristol, W.)It is reported—I do not know with what accuracy—that the right hon. Gentleman opposite the First Lord of the Treasury has made a statement, at a certain meeting, with respect to the Government of Ireland Bill. As that Bill stands second on the Orders of the Day for this evening, I am quite sure the right hon. Gentleman himself would wish, before proceeding with the debate, that the House, as a whole, should be in full possession of the intentions and views of Her Majesty's Government in that matter; and I will ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he will make a similar statement to the House now?
§ THE FIRST LORD (Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE) (Edinburgh, Mid Lothian)I must say I feel flattered by the Question of the right hon. Gentleman; for I do not recollect that, on any former occasion, a meeting of Members of any particular Party in this House has been viewed with such general interest as to cause requests to be made across the Table to the person principally concerned in that proceeding to give to the House the purport of what he stated. As I said, I feel it to be a great compliment. If we could only have had the company of the right hon. Gentleman, he would not need to ask us our intentions; but it was impossible, however catholic our intentions might have been, for us so to frame our invitation as to make it possible for the right hon. Gentleman to give us the benefit of his attendance. It is true that the Bill stands second on the Orders of the Day for tonight; but I am not able to say whether it will be reached. I hope it may; but the greatest objection I have to complying in full with the suggestion of the right hon. Gentleman is that I am afraid that, though I considered it was my duty to detain that meeting of my political Friends for upwards of three-quarters of an hour to an hour, I should feel considerable difficulty in inflicting so long 212 a statement upon the House, for physical causes and other grounds. Nor could I undertake to abridge it. I have no guarantee, but I hope it will be reported—accurately reported—in the newspapers to-morrow, so that, if it be of any interest to Members at large, they will be in possession of it, or, at any rate, of the greater part of what I said.
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHI will put a Question to the right hon. Gentleman, which, perhaps, he will be able to answer within a reasonable compass. I will ask, did that statement announce any change in the intentions of Her Majesty's Government with respect to the measure; and, if so, will he tell us, before calling on us to proceed with the debate, what that change is?
§ MR. W. E. GLADSTONEIf the right hon. Gentleman thinks that any thing has taken place so material——
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHI do not know.
§ MR. W. E. GLADSTONEIt is very difficult, perhaps, for him to form a judgment; it is also extremely difficult for me; but there is no change that I can state in the course of a few words. It has been a general development. I told that meeting what the object of the Government was in inviting our political Friends—those who were Friends on this question—to the Foreign Office. Our object was to convey to them precisely the views of the Government with respect to the second reading, and what was involved in the second reading; and, likewise, the views of the Government on certain points which had been more or less mentioned in the debate, and which we knew to be subjects of interest to them. It would be extremely difficult for me, and I do not think I could undertake to give a repetition of the statement I then made here. I will say, however, that our intentions were expressed in a former debate on the subject of the intervention of Ireland by her Representatives on Imperial questions; but I could not undertake to make a repetition of that statement except in full.
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHI will ask, then, a Question on one definite point. Did the right hon. Gentleman state that, supposing the Bill to receive a second reading at the hands of the House, it would then be withdrawn?
§ MR. W. E. GLADSTONENo, Sir; I did not use those words. I could not state even this, without giving the reasons for it to which I adverted. I stated that no application would be made to take further steps in the prosecution of the Bill within the compass of the ordinary Session of Parliament.