Produced by Charles Franks, David King and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team THE LIFE OF THE RT. HON. SIR CHARLES W. DILKE BART., M.P. BEGUN BY STEPHEN GWYNN, M.P. COMPLETED AND EDITED BY GERTRUDE M. TUCKWELL LITERARY EXECUTRIX OF SIR CHARLES DILKE WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II. CONTENTS OF VOL. II. CHAPTER XXXIV. HOME AFFAIRS (OCTOBER, 1883, TO DECEMBER, 1884) XXXV. EGYPT (1884) XXXVI. FRANCHISE AND REDISTRIBUTION (JULY TO DECEMBER, 1884) XXXVII. FOREIGN AFFAIRS IN 1884 XXXVIII. DIVIDED COUNSELS (JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, 1885) XXXIX. THE FALL OF KHARTOUM AND THE PENJDEH INCIDENT XL. REDISTRIBUTION: COERCION AND DEVOLUTION (1885) XLI. FALL OF ADMINISTRATION (JUNE TO JULY, 1885) XLII. OUT OF OFFICE (JULY, 1885) XLIII. THE TURNING-POINT (JULY, 1885, TO JULY, 1886) XLIV. THE RADICAL PROGRAMME _VERSUS_ HOME RULE (JULY TO DECEMBER, 1885) XLV. BEGINNING OF THE HOME RULE SPLIT (DECEMBER, 1885, TO FEBRUARY, 1886) XLVI. THE FIRST HOME RULE BILL (FEBRUARY TO JULY, 1886) XLVII. LADY DILKE--76, SLOANE STREET XLVIII. FOREIGN POLICY XLIX. PUBLIC LIFE AND RETURN TO PARLIAMENT (1886-1894) L. INDIA AND FRANCE--RHODES AND BISMARCK (1886-1892) LI. PERSONAL LIFE--IN OPPOSITION (1895-1904) LII. LABOUR (1870-1911) LIII. WORK FOR NATIVE RACES (1870-1911) LIV. THE BRITISH ARMY LV. IMPERIAL DEFENCE LVI. ARMY AND NAVY IN PARLIAMENT LVII. DEATH OF LADY DILKE--PARLIAMENT OF 1905 LVIII. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (1890-1910) LIX. THE LAST YEARS LX. LITERARY WORK AND INTERESTS LXI. TABLE TALK INDEX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. II SIR CHARLES W. DILKE IN THE YEAR 1908 From a drawing by W. Strang. MRS. MARK PATTISON From a photograph taken about 1878. SIR THOMAS WENTWORTH, 1ST BARON WENTWORTH (DIED MARCH 3RD, 1550-51) From a painting ascribed to Theodore Bernardi. BISMARCK From a photograph given by him to Sir Charles W. Dilke. SIR CHARLES W. DILKE ROWING From a photograph reproduced by permission of the _Daily Mirror_. DOCKETT EDDY From photographs. PYRFORD ROUGH From photographs. LADY DILKE IN THE YEAR 1903 From a photograph by Thomson. THE LIFE OF SIR CHARLES DILKE CHAPTER XXXIV HOME AFFAIRS OCTOBER, 1883-DECEMBER, 1884 I. The interval between the Sessions of 1883 and 1884 was critical for the question of electoral reform which interested Liberals beyond all other questions, but involved the risk of bringing dissensions in the Cabinet to the point of open rupture. As the months went by, Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Hartington used less and less concealment of their differences, while it was well known to all the Cabinet that the alliance between Chamberlain and Dilke was complete and unconditional. Whoever broke with Chamberlain broke with Dilke. Fortunately a certain bond of personal sympathy, in spite of divergent views, existed between Lord Hartington and Sir Charles Dilke, and this bond largely helped to hold Mr. Gladstone's Government together.