William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, (29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881)
- The lion and the unicorn
- Were fighting for the crown
- The lion beat the unicorn
- All around the town.
- Some gave them white bread,
- And some gave them brown;
- Some gave them plum cake
- and drummed them out of town
The children's author - Lewis Carroll used the lion and the unicorn as characters in Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. He depicts the lion as dimwitted instead of being alert and calculating by making this particular one slow and rather stupid, although clearly the better fighter. The Unicorn sees Alice as a "monster", although he promises to start believing in her if she will only believe in him. Sir John Tenniel's illustrations caricature Benjamin Disraeli as "the Unicorn", and William Ewart Gladstone as "the Lion", this is possible because of their regular debates.
There is no doubt that the two statesmen hated each other. Disraeli referred to his rival in a letter to Lord Derby as '...that unprincipled maniac Gladstone - extraordinary mixture of envy, vindictiveness, hypocrisy and superstition'. And Gladstone more moderately said of his old enemy, 'the Tory party had principles by which it would and did stand for bad and for good. All this Dizzy destroyed'.
Gladstone, as a rising young Tory, was given office in 1841. Disraeli, who had expected a government post, was not, and he never forgot it. Hitherto Disraeli and Gladstone had had little occasion to notice each other. But in 1846 there occurred one of those rare convulsions in parliamentary life that shape politics for a generation. This was Peel's decision, as a result of the Irish famine of the late 1840s, to complete his policy of free trade by repealing the Corn Laws. These protected British agriculture from cheap foreign imports of grain - which could have alleviated some of the hardship in Ireland. They also, however, as many Conservatives believed, protected the livelihood of the party's sturdiest supporters, the agricultural interest, the farmers and landowners.
Disraeli saw this as an opportunity. Acting ostensibly as adjutant to Lord George Bentinck, the leader of those with landed interests, he made a series of brilliant attacks on Peel, who replied to them feebly and, as Gladstone said later, with a sort of 'righteous dullness'. Unluckily Gladstone, who, though still a minister, had lost his seat, was not in the House to support his hero.
Disraeli saw this as an opportunity. Acting ostensibly as adjutant to Lord George Bentinck, the leader of those with landed interests, he made a series of brilliant attacks on Peel, who replied to them feebly and, as Gladstone said later, with a sort of 'righteous dullness'. Unluckily Gladstone, who, though still a minister, had lost his seat, was not in the House to support his hero.
The two leaders were now face to face. Their style of debate was as different as their personalities - Gladstone torrential, eloquent, evangelical, vehement and 'preachy'; Disraeli, urbane, witty and worldly, with a streak of romance as well as cynicism. Campaigning on the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Ireland, Gladstone won the election called at the end of 1868, and proceeded on a strenuous programme of what would nowadays be called 'modernisation'. Entry into the army and civil service was reformed, the judicial system was overhauled, electoral procedure was rationalised and the secret ballot was introduced. Disraeli saw which way the tide of opinion was moving and confined himself in Parliament to detailed criticism rather than blanket opposition.
In 1874 the tide turned, and Disraeli - to his own surprise - won the first clear Conservative victory since Sir Robert Peel in 1841. He saw that the country had had enough constitutional reform. The English people, he said, would be 'idiotic' if they had not long perceived that the time had arrived 'when social and not political improvement is the object which they ought to pursue'. And his government passed a series of measures of that sort in the field of health, housing, sale of food and drugs, factory conditions and agricultural tenancies. They may not have been as important as later Conservative propagandists have claimed, but at least they showed that the party was not opposed to all changes and had a reformist side.
It was after 1874 that Disraeli's love affair with the Queen began. Her power was limited, but mattered just enough for it to pay a prime minister to be on good terms with her. This Gladstone could never do. He lacked Disraeli's gift of flattery, and some of his ideas were anathema to her, especially in the field of foreign affairs. These clashes of policy and personality came to a head over the eastern question, in 1876-78.In 1874 the tide turned, and Disraeli - to his own surprise - won the first clear Conservative victory since Sir Robert Peel in 1841. He saw that the country had had enough constitutional reform. The English people, he said, would be 'idiotic' if they had not long perceived that the time had arrived 'when social and not political improvement is the object which they ought to pursue'. And his government passed a series of measures of that sort in the field of health, housing, sale of food and drugs, factory conditions and agricultural tenancies. They may not have been as important as later Conservative propagandists have claimed, but at least they showed that the party was not opposed to all changes and had a reformist side.
It is difficult to compare such very different characters. Perhaps one should not try but go back to Lord Granville - 'Lord Beaconsfield and Mr Gladstone are men of extraordinary ability' - and leave it at that.
Reflection questions:
1) a. What main topic does the artifact relates to? In what way?
It relates to the universe through a microscope and telescope, since I can not relate to other main topics, it is like viewing history through lenses, analysing and examining what they've done and understanding it.
b. Which other main topic does it also relate to?
ans: It does not relate to any other main topics.
2) Why did you choose this artifact, and how much time did you spend creating and /or processing it?
ans: I didn't choose this artifact, It took me around 1 hour to finish it.
3) What insights and understanding have you gained from the creation and/or processing of this artifact?
ans: how funny it is that people like to listen to them fight.
4) Does this artifact reflect your best work and/or ideas? Why, or why not?
ans: I think it does not reflect mybest work, it is not very well revised.
5) Rate this artifact on a scale of -5 to 5 (0 is neutral) for the following four criterion.
a. Impact on the quality of your portfolio. 1
b. Impact on your level of enjoyment and happiness. 0
c. Impact on your learning. 1
d. Level of creativity and Originality. 2
ans: 1.5
6) Any additional comments.
ans: No comment.
