oon as ever franchise was out of danger. So it happened,
and the door that had thus been shut, speedily opened. Indirect
communication reached the treasury bench that seemed to show the leaders
of opposition to be again alive. There were many surmises, everybody was
excited, and two great tory leaders in the Lords called on Lord Granville
one day, anxious for a _modus vivendi_. Mr. Gladstone in the Commons, in
conformity with a previous decision of the cabinet, declared the
willingness of the government to produce a bill or explain its provisions,
on receiving a reasonable guarantee that the Franchise bill would be
passed before the end of the sittings. The ultras of the opposition still
insisted on making bets all round that the Franchise bill would not become
law; besides betting, they declared they would die on the floor of the
House in resisting an accommodation. A meeting of the party was summoned
at the Carlton club for the purpose of declaring war to the knife, and
Lord Salisbury was reported to hold to his determination. This resolve,
however, proved to have been shaken by Mr. Gladstone's language on a
previous day. The general principles of redistribution had been
sufficiently sifted, tested, and compared to show that there was no
insuperable discrepancy of view. It was made clear to Lord Salisbury
circuitously, that though the government required adequate assurances of
the safety of franchise before presenting their scheme upon seats, this
did not preclude private and confidential illumination. So the bill was
read a second time.

All went prosperously forward. On November 19, Lord Salisbury and Sir S.
Northcote came to Downing Street in the afternoon, took tea with the prime
minister, and had a friendly conversation for an hour in which much ground
was covered. The heads of the government scheme were discussed and handed
to the opposition leaders. Mr. Gladstone was well satisfied. He was much
struck, he said after, with the quickness of the tory leader, and found it
a pleasure to deal with so acute a man. Lord Salisbury, for his part, was
interested in the novelty of the proceeding, for no precedent could be
found in our political or party history for the discussion of a measure
before its introduction between the leaders of the two sides. This novelty
stirred his curiosity, while he also kept a sharp eye on the main party
chance. He proved to be entirely devoid of respect for tradition, and Mr.
Gladstone decl