Lord Hartington's speech was one of great power. He contrasted
Mr Glad- stone's earliest speech in Midlothian in November with his present policy. Mr Gladstone had then said that 'every man, woman, and child amongst us is convinced that it is the will of Provi- dence that these islands should be bound together as a United Kingdom, and, from one end of Great Britain to the other, I trust there will not be a single representative returned to Parlia- ment who for one moment would listen to any proposition tending to impair, visibly and sensibly to impair, the unity of the Empire.' Well, said Lord Hart- ington, is that the spirit of the Home- rule Bill? Is it not obvious that, what- ever may be contended as to the unity of the Empire, the 'United Kingdom' vanishes with the legislative unity?
Spectator, 17 April 1886
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