But in these days the Irish party were beginning to apply and develop that use of Parliamentary forms for obstructive purposes which had been first systematically attempted by the "Colonels" in opposition to Mr. Cardwell's Bill for abolishing purchase in the Army, and Liberals were a little scandalized by their allies. In the close of July Sir John Lubbock, then a Liberal, 'foreshadowed his future Unionism by observing that "the obstructive Irish were the Bashi Bazouks, who did more harm to us by their atrocities than good by their fighting."' A couple of days later, when Liberals supported an Irish amendment, Dilke himself agreed with Mr. Rylands's pun that "they would have had a bigger vote if it hadn't been Biggar." Upon this matter Sir Charles's attitude was naturally affected by that of Butt, in whose company he delighted. The great advocate believed in his own power to effect by eloquence and reasoned argument that change of mind in the British House of Commons which five-and-twenty years' experience of Ireland had wrought in himself since the days when he opposed O'Connell on Repeal, and this led him to resent the methods of unreason. Mr. Parnell, who never believed that England was open to reason in the matter of Ireland, was only beginning to impress his personality on the House; there is but one incidental mention of his name in the Memoir for 1877. But notwithstanding all the claims of home politics, in Sir Charles's judgment every statesman had, under existing conditions, to study the details of modern warfare, and he kept closely in touch with naval armament: 'On February 24th I suddenly went down to Portsmouth to go over the dockyard and see the ships building there, taking letters from Childers and from Sir Edward Reed to Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock, the Arctic explorer (Superintendent), and to Mr. Robinson, the Chief Constructor. I went over the _Inflexible_, the _Thunderer_, and the _Glatton_, which were lighted up for me. Noting the number of sets of engines, and the number of the separate watertight compartments of the _Inflexible_, I wrote: "All these extremely complicated arrangements are handed over to a captain, of whom ... is a favourable example, and to engineers who are denied their due rank in command."' Nearly thirty years later the necessary reform which the last words indicate was carried out by Lord Fisher. CHAPTER XVI THE EASTERN QUESTION--TREATY OF SAN STEFANO AND CONGRESS OF BERLIN At the beginning of 1878 Parliament was summoned a month earlier than usual to tranquillize public feeling--a result not thereby attained, for the Russians, now completely victorious, were but a short distance from Constantinople.