Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 2.djvu/156

 government (see his remarkable Report of the Select Committee of 1870), and in substituting methodical administration for the chaotic system, or want of system, which had grown up. On the health of H. C. E. Childers breaking down, Goschen was appointed in March 1871 to succeed him as first lord of the admiralty, a department which at that time was subjected to much public censure. Here his administration proved extraordinarily successful in restoring the general confidence and in winning the enthusiastic admiration of the naval service. In 1874 the unwillingness of Goschen and Cardwell to reduce the estimates for 1874^5 below what they considered the needs of the country required was an important element in determining Gladstone's sudden dissolution (January 1874). This resulted in the advent to power for six years of Disraeli, and accordingly Goschen, who was again re-elected for the City, found himself for the first time in the House of Commons one of a minority, which on Gladstone's withdrawal was led by Lord Hartington. Until 1880 the interest of the public and parliament was mainly occupied with foreign affairs, and Goschen as a leading member of the liberal party was in continual consultation with Lord Hartington and Lord Granville on the serious condition of things in eastern Europe. His great position as a financier and a man of business, and his more than ordinary acquaintance with foreign politics, had led to his being chosen by the council of foreign bondholders, with the approval of the foreign office, and at the invitation of the viceroy of Egypt to proceed to that country, which was in a state bordering on bankruptcy, to investigate and report upon the financial position. With M. Joubert, representing the French bond-holders, Goschen proceeded to Cairo, their joint efforts resulting in the promulgation of the Khedivial decree of 16 Nov. 1876, the Goschen decree, as it came to be called (, Modern Egypt, i. 13-15).

When Goschen returned to England, Gladstone's anti-Turkish agitation was at its height. In 1877, when Lord Hartington accepted on behalf of the liberal party the policy pressed upon parUament by Sir George Trevelyan, of equalising the county and borough franchise, Goschen's strong sense of duty compelled him to protest against what he believed must lead to the complete monopolising of political power by a single class of the community. This difference with his political friends as to a main 'plank' of the party 'platform' proved to be a turning-point in his career. At the general election in April 1880 Goschen, who had retired from the representation of the City of London, was returned for Ripon. The electorate repudiated Lord Beaconsfield, and Gladstone at the head of a large majority again became prime minister. Goschen felt it incumbent upon him to hold aloof from the new administration. Gladstone offered him the vice-royalty of India, which he declined. He consented, however, to go in May 1880 on a special and temporary mission to Constantinople as ambassador to the Sultan, without emolument ; retaining, with the approval of his constituents, his seat in the House of Commons. The object of the British government was to compel the Turks, by means of the concert of Europe, to carry out the stipulations of the treaty of Berlin as regards Greece, Montenegro and Armenia, and to get established a strong defensive frontier between Turkey and Greece. Goschen has recounted at length the difficulties he encountered, and has described his interviews with Prince Bismarck at Berlin, and the negotiations at Constantinople with the representatives of the great powers (Life of Lord Goschen, vol. i. chap. vii.). His mission lasted for a year, and in June he was again back in London, receiving the congratulations of Gladstone and Granville upon the successful accomplishment of a most difficult task.

In the political situation at home he found much that he disliked. The fight over the Irish land bill was virtually at an end. A fierce struggle was raging between the government and the followers of Parnell, and Goschen felt it right at such a time to do what he could to strengthen the executive against the forces of disorder. In June 1882 he declined Gladstone's invitation to join his cabinet as secretary of state for war. In November 1883 Gladstone pressed him strongly to accept the speakership of the House of Commons, which he also declined, partly because he felt that his short sight would prove a disqualification for the successful performance of the duties of the chair. In truth Goschen was becoming more and more dissatisfied with the position of the liberal party, in which he feared the rapid growth of the influence of the advanced section led by Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke. He set himself to strengthen Gladstone against radical influences, and to secure for the present and future that due weight