On Friday, May 2nd, Dr. Cameron's motion in the Commons
in favour of disestablishing and disendowing the Scotch Church was lost by only 38 votes, 218 and 256 being the numbers on each side. The most noticeable point about the division and the debate, was Mr. Gladstone's action. He both spoke and voted in favour of the motion, thus making his position on the subject at last quite clear. In the course of his speech, he quoted Lord Hartington's well-known declaration that" whenever Scotch opinion, or even Scotch Liberal opinion, is put before me on this subject, I think I may venture to say on behalf of the Liberal Party as a whole, that they will be prepared to deal with the question." "In the spirit of that declaration," said Mr. Gladstone, "I waited until the evidence in the case, according to the best of the powers I had of testing it, should come to be clear and conclusive. I think, Sir, we have now reached that point." Lord Hartington, on the other hand, contended that the opinion of Scotland in regard to Disestablishment had not yet been made manifest, and gave his vote accordingly,—his notion evidently being that reforms which would lead to the re-inclusion of the Free Kirk might still be accomplished.
