John Morley

But if you have to drive a man out of a wood, you must yourself go into the wood to drive him.

The governing idea of the man who directed the party seemed to be not so much to consider what ought to be proposed and carried, as to make sure that, whatever it was, it should be proposed and carried by those now in power.

The bill on which the House of Commons eventually proceeded was a measure, I should suppose, without precedent or parallel, as, on the other hand it was, for the purpose of the hour, and as the work of a government in a decided minority…

Some towns would have large enfranchisement, some none at all, and no principle but the accidental state of local law would determine on which side of the line any town was to be found.

But the government, it must be admitted, bowled us over by the force of the phrase; and made it our next duty to bowl them over by bringing the reality of the bill into correspondence with its great profession.

But the grand question of compound householding, which was really to determine the character of our legislation, was one on which we could not reckon upon either the conscientious or the intimidated and prudential support of our liberal…

The tories, having been brought to accept household suffrage on the faith of the limitation imposed by personal payment of the rates, found at a moment’s notice that that limitation had been thrown overboard, and that their leader had…

Disraeli was strong enough to secure by means of the votes of a body of liberals who approved it, and which he accepted to humour or comfort the Lords a little, while he detested it, and made, as Bright said, the best speech ever delivered…

We always do best to seek rational explanations in large affairs.

It may be true that “if there were no blunders there would be no politics,” but when we have made full allowance for blunder, caprice, chance, folly, craft, still reason and the nature of things have a share.

The same timidity that made the ruling classes dread reform, had the compensation that very little in the way of popular demonstration was quite enough to frighten them into accepting it.

It is worthy of remark that not one of the main changes of that age was carried in parliament without severe agitation out of doors.

Catholic emancipation was won by O’Connell; the reform act of 1832 by the political unions; free trade by the league against the corn law.

In other words, he had found out that the men whom he had placed in power, were going to fling him overboard in what he called this miserable auction between two parties, at which the country was put up for sale, and then knocked down to…

What an invaluable gift,” he reflects, “a present of phlegm from the gods would be!

Gladstone said, “you must yourself go into the wood to drive him.” The bystander of a later time, however, may be content to keep outside the thicket until the driver and the driven both emerge.

He told the House that reform should no longer be allowed to determine the fate of cabinets, and the House laughed.

Disraeli saw that he would regain by disorganising his opponents more than he would lose by dislocating his friends.

Gladstone moved an amendment to remove the personal payment of rates as an essential qualification, and to confer the franchise on the householder whether he paid the rate direct or through the landlord.

I do not plead guilty to the indictment for “non-attendance.” I think that for three months I have been in the House for more hours than the Speaker.

I am against all needless waste of life or anything else.

Instead of these you will have a horde of selfish and obscure mediocrities, incapable of anything but mischief, and that mischief devised and regulated by the raging demagogue of the hour.

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.

He counted, not wholly without some reason, on the public sharing this inspiration of his own indwelling light.

It is good, says the old Greek, that men should carry a threatening shadow in their hearts even under the full sunshine.