'At the Cabinet Committee of May 1st on Ireland, Carlingford and Harcourt, in Spencer's interest, violently attacked Chamberlain's scheme; Hartington less violently; Childers, Lefevre, and Trevelyan supported. Spencer seeming to waver, Harcourt rather turned round, and Mr. Gladstone afterwards told Chamberlain that Carlingford's opposition did not matter. 'On May 1st I again saw Manning, who told me of further interviews with Parnell and Sexton. I noted in my diary: "2nd to 6th. The Irish row--Mr. Gladstone between Chamberlain and Spencer: the deep sea and the devil, or the devil and the deep sea--continues." 'On May 7th the Cardinal wrote: "How can the _Standard_ have got the Irish scheme? Nothing is secret and nobody is safe. My copy of it is both safe and secret." On May 8th I wrote to Grant Duff: "Chamberlain and I have a big Irish Local Government scheme on hand, which is backed by the R. C. Bishops--which may either pacify Ireland or break up the Government." On the 9th, Harcourt having come over, Chamberlain's scheme received the support of all the Commoners except Hartington, and was opposed by all the peers except Lord Granville. Mr. Gladstone said to me in leaving the room: "Within six years, if it pleases God to spare their lives, they will be repenting in ashes." At night he wrote to Lord Spencer and to Hartington that he intended to go out upon this question. 'During Sunday, May 10th, Harcourt tried hard to patch matters up on the basis of "No Home Rule, no coercion, no remedial legislation, no Ireland at all."' On May 13th 'Cardinal Manning dined with me, and we further discussed the position of Chamberlain's scheme.' Then suddenly a new and complicating factor was introduced: 'On Friday, May 15th, there was another Cabinet, from which Trevelyan was absent through illness. A Land Purchase Ireland Bill was suddenly presented to us, to which I expressed strong opposition, unless it were to be accompanied by "Chamberlain's Local Government scheme"; and a Coercion Bill was also presented to us, against which Chamberlain, Lefevre, and I, protested. We, however, declared that we would yield as regards some points in the Coercion Bill provided the Land Purchase Bill were dropped or the "Local Government measure" introduced.' [Footnote: A Land Purchase Bill had been proposed in the end of April, 1884, by Lord Spencer, which after preliminary consideration by a Committee was discussed in Cabinet.