The correspondence between Mr. B. F. Beaumont, M.P. for the
Colne Division of Yorkshire, and Mr. Arnold Morley, M.P., the Gladstonian Whip, published in the Times of Saturday last, brings out in a startling manner the influences at work, before the General Election of last year, upon those Liberals who could not support Mr. Gladstone's Irish Bills. Mr. H. F. Beaumont was one of the few Liberal Unionists who were not attacked by the Gladstonians in 1886. It now seems that this support was obtained by Mr. Beaumont entering into a written undertaking with Mr. Morley, that if he was unopposed by a Government candidate, he would agree to support Mr. Gladstone on the Irish Question, or resign his seat. Mr. Beau- mont having this Session voted against Mr. Gladstone's motion on the proclamation of the National League, Mr. Arnold Morley now calls upon him to resign. This, however, Mr. Beaumont refuses to do, alleging as his reason that his undertaking was not to support Mr. Parnell, and quoting the opinion of the chairman of his committee to the effect that the undertaking was intended only to apply to the support of definite Home-rule measures introduced by Mr. Gladstone. Into the ques- tion of whether Mr. Beaumont should or should not resign, we do not, however, intend to enter. The public interest of the -correspondence is in the fact that a Member of the House of Commons was actually induced by the Gladstonian Whip to undertake to place the question of serving or not serving his constituency in the hands of a third party who was also the Government agent. The tenure of a nomination borough was freedom compared to this.
Previous page
