The
Home Rule movement led by Charles Parnell
was an attempt to re-establish an Irish parliament to be responsible
for internal affairs. William Gladstone
eventually became convinced of the need for Irish independence and
in 1886 he made the first attempt to persuade Parliament to pass a
Home Rule Bill. The bill that proposed an Irish Parliament in Dublin
was defeated in the House of Commons. The proposal split the party
and Parliament rejected the measure.
William Gladstone was defeated in the
polls in the 1886 General Election but was
once again elected to office in 1892. The
following year the Irish Home Rule Bill
was passed in the House of Commons but was defeated in the House of
Lords.Gladstone tried again in 1893 but it again failed to get through
Parliament.
In this Punch
cartoon, Harry Furniss shows William
Gladstone trying
to persuade his Cabinet to support his proposed Home Rule Bill in
1893.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
