prevails among important interests." Mr. Hume hailed with joy the
appearance of the Premier and his colleagues as converts to the
principles of Free Trade; Mr. Gladstone replied, that, whoever were the
authors of the principles on which the government measures rested, he
must protest against the statement that the ministry came forward as
converts to principles which they had formerly opposed.

During the progress of the debate of 1842, on the revised Tariff Bill,
Mr. Gladstone's labors were very great. He was called upon to explain or
defend the details of the scheme, and had something to say about every
article of consumption included in, or excluded from, the list. He spoke
one hundred and twenty-nine times, chiefly on themes connected with the
new fiscal legislature. He demonstrated his capacity for grasping all
the most complicated details of finance, and also the power of
comprehending the scope and necessities of the commercial interests of
the country. No measure with which his name has since been connected has
done him more credit. He spoke incessantly, and amazed the House by his
mastery of details, his intimate acquaintance with the commercial needs
of the country, and his inexhaustible power of exposition. On March 14th
Greville wrote, "Gladstone has already displayed a capacity which makes
his admission into the Cabinet indispensable." A commercial minister had
appeared on the scene, and the shade of Hoskisson had revived.

Though engrossed in schemes of practical legislation, and in all the
excitements and interests of office, he could, as he has ever done
during his long career, turn aside for the discourse on social and
educational questions with much earnestness and eloquence, as if they,
and only they, possessed his mind. In January, 1843, he spoke at the
opening of the Collegiate Institute of Liverpool, and delivered a
powerful plea for the better education of the middle classes, which was