would be questioned as to the ecclesiastical policy
of the cabinet. Either you would not be able to answer fully, or you
would answer in such terms as to alienate one or other of the two
numerous classes who will now give you many votes.'

The usual waterspout began to pour. The newspapers asserted that Mr.
Gladstone meant to cut down naval estimates, and this moved the country
clergy to angry apprehension that he was for peace at any price. The
candidate was obliged to spend thankless hours on letters to reassure
them. 'The two assertions of fact respecting me are wholly unfounded. I
mean these two:--1. That as chancellor of the exchequer I "starved" the
Crimean war: that is to say limited the expenditure upon it. There is
not a shadow of truth in this statement. 2. That as soon as the war was
over I caused the government to reduce their estimates, diminish the
army, disband two fleets, and break faith with our seamen. When the war
was over, that is in the year 1856, I did not take objection at all to
the establishment or expenditure of the year. In the next year, 1857, I
considered that they ought to have been further reduced: but neither a
man nor a shilling was taken from them in consequence of my
endeavours.' Other correspondents were uneasy about his soundness on
rifle corps and rifle clubs. 'How,' he replied, 'can any uncertainty
exist as to the intentions in regard to defence in a government with
Lord Palmerston at its head?' He was warned that Cobden, Bright, and
Gibson were odious in Oxford, and he was suspected of being their
accomplice. The clamour against Puseyism had died down, and the
hostility of the evangelicals was no longer keen; otherwise it was the
old story. Goldwin Smith tells him, 'Win or lose, you will have the vote
of every one of heart and brain in the university and really connected
with it. Young Oxford is all with you. Every year more men obtain the
reward of their industry through your legislation. But old Oxford takes
a long time in dying.' In the end (July 1), he won the battle by a
majority of 191--Gladstone, 1050, Chandos, 859.

'My conscience is light and clear,' he wrote to Heathcote in the course
of the contest. 'The interests that have weighed with me are in some
degree peculiar, and I daresay it is a fault in me, especially as member
for Oxford, that I cannot merge the man in the representative. While
they have had much reason to complain, I have not had an over-good
bargain. In