The incident did not, however, end here. On Tuesday, Sir
J. Fergusson took the unusual course of remarking that the Foreign Office had not spoken upon Uganda, the department most concerned being, as was now usual, excluded from the debate. This brought up Sir Edward Grey, who made a most decided reply, insisting that if we quitted Uganda the Slave- trade would revive, and remarking that "it would be a pretty state of things if a country within our sphere of influence was to become one of the last refuges of the Slave-trade." "The evacuation of the country meant for certain the massacre not only of the missionaries, but of the natives." The Govern- ment had no other course but the one it had pursued. The Radicals were greatly excited by the Foreign Office declara- tion; and on Wednesday Mr. Labouchere declared that the Under-Secretary had thrown over the Prime Minister. As this was the precise truth, the situation looked a little strained ; but it is not in Mr. Labouchere's skin to get the better of Mr. Gladstone. The Prime Minister rose, gently patted Sir E. Grey on the head, as a promising lad "who had taken advantage of an opportunity to express his own opinion" —an expression he did not regret—and observed that the question was fall of difficulties. There were eleven difficult points raised, which he recounted as "specimen points," and on not one of them bad the Government sufficient informa- tion. He could not, for instance, be sure whether he himself was right, or Sir E. Grey was right, about the original treaty with King Mwanga; but if the Under-Secretary was right, he did not quarrel with him for saying so. Only he could not see that that rendered necessary a further discussion on the Mission. There was some further talk, however, before the discussion dropped ; and the House clearly perceived the situa- tion, which is this : Mr. Gladstone cannot, at his vast age and with his Irish preoccupation, attend to everything, and so Lord Rosebery manages his Office for himself,—a very good, though not quite usual, arrangement.
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