ade. _April 18._--H. of C. 4-1/2-8-1/4 and 10-2. Spoke 1-1/4 h.
My voice did its duty but with great effort. _April 25._--Spoke for
an hour upon the budget. R. Churchill excellent. Conclave on the
forged letters. _May 4._--Read earlier speeches of yesterday with
care, and worked up the subject of Privilege. Spoke 1-1/4 h.

In June (1887) Mr. Gladstone started on a political campaign in South
Wales, where his reception was one of the most triumphant in all his
career. Ninety-nine hundredths of the vast crowds who gave up wages for
the sake of seeing him and doing him honour were strong protestants, yet
he said to a correspondent, "they made this demonstration in order to
secure firstly and mainly justice to catholic Ireland. It is not after all
a bad country in which such things take place."

It was at Swansea that he said what he had to say about the Irish members.
He had never at any time from the hour when he formed his government, set
up their exclusion as a necessary condition of home rule. All that he ever
bargained for was that no proposal for inclusion should be made a ground
for impairing real and effective self-government. Subject to this he was
ready to adjourn the matter and to leave things as they were, until
experience should show the extent of the difficulty and the best way of
meeting it. Provisional exclusion had been suggested by a member of great
weight in the party in 1886. The new formula was provisional inclusion.
This announcement restored one very distinguished adherent to Mr.
Gladstone, and it appeased the clamour of the busy knot who called
themselves imperial federationists. Of course it opened just as many new
difficulties as it closed old ones, but both old difficulties and new fell
into the background before the struggle in Ireland.

_June 2, 1887._--Off at 11.40. A tumultuous but interesting journey
to Swansea and Singleton, where we were landed at 7.30. Half a
dozen speeches on the way. A small party to dinner. 3.--A "quiet
day." Wrote draft to the associations on the road, as model. Spent
the forenoon in settling plans and discussing the lines of my
meditated statement to-morrow with Sir Hussey Vivian, Lord
Aberdare, and Mr. Stuart Rendel. In the afternoon we went to the
cliffs and the Mumbles, and I gave some hours to writing
preliminary notes on a business where all depends on the manner of
handling. Small party to dinner. Rea