The feeling in the Press did not
become general until the 11th, and on the 14th Lord Granville, in
his telegram to Mr. Gladstone, for the third time proposed the
appointment of Gordon. Clearly, on the part of Lord Granville at
any rate, there was no extreme desire to resist the wishes of the
Press. Nor was the Government as a whole by any means incapable
of ignoring public opinion; a few months were to show that,
plainly enough. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that if
Ministers had been opposed to the appointment of Gordon, he would
never have been appointed. As it was, the newspapers were in fact
forestalled, rather than followed, by the Government.
How, then, are we to explain the Government's action? Are we to
suppose that its members, like the members of the public at
large, were themselves carried away by a sudden enthusiasm, a
sudden conviction that they had found their saviour; that General
Gordon was the man--they did not quite know why, but that was of
no consequence--the one man to get them out of the whole Sudan
difficulty--they did not quite know how, but that was of no
consequence either if only he were sent to Khartoum? Doubtless
even Cabinet Ministers are liable to such impulses; doubtless it
is possible that the Cabinet of that day allowed itself to drift,
out of mere lack of consideration, and judgment, and foresight,
along the rapid stream of popular feeling towards the inevitable
cataract.
Pages:
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354