CHAPTER NINE - A POLITICAL PROPOSITION
Beatrice was greatly upset at the change in Jack’s fortune following the election in 1874 and set her mind towards deciding upon the best course of action. Jack had undoubtedly lost favour with the Liberals but in any event it looked very likely that the Liberals as a party would be on the losing side for some years to come certainly until Disraeli was no longer at the helm of the Conservatives.
Her anger against Jack had been cold and controlled when he described the circumstances that had led to his being “sent to the back benches.” She had thought him a fool, and for the first time in their marriage, she had told him so, and castigated him on his behaviour.
“You are a fool Jack. What sort of game do you think you are in?” she had enquired sarcastically. “You are in politics, the game of manipulation. You do not tell the truth unless it is cloaked in deception and unrecognisable. Nobody will appreciate your reality and it will do you nothing but harm.”
He had been quite shocked at her appraisal of his profession and her understanding of deviousness. He had realised at that instance how different they really were and how little they had in common. She would have been better served as a man, he thought. She would have made a capital politician. She had all the calculated appreciation of political manoeuvrability to obtain power at the expense of others, and yet he knew that there was some merit in her words. Perhaps he should not have embarked upon a political career unless he was prepared to play the game to the end, to thrust honesty aside and not have a conscience at all.
They parted that day on bad terms after Jack had seriously defended his corner. He skulked off to the House, and then went to Emily’s haven. He did not return to the house in Chelsea until late at night. Beatrice never asked where he was, and if she cared she never voiced any concern. He was reliant upon her she knew that.
Several weeks after his removal to the backbenches, Mr Charles Davidson a Conservative backbencher approached Jack. During a period of a few weeks Jack had observed Davidson making every effort to be extremely friendly towards him and he warily decided that Davidson was not conducting himself in this way without an ulterior motive. He played the game, showing an amenable comradeship towards his adversary and waited for Davidson to make the first move. He did not have to wait too long. Eventually one afternoon Davidson sidled up to Jack in the MP’s dining room and sat down at his table as he was lunching.
CHAPTER NINE - A POLITICAL PROPOSITION
“Mind if I join you Jack?” he asked.
“Not at all,” replied Jack. “It is still a free country I believe.”
Davidson selected his lunch menu, talked of pleasantries and Jack thought. He has decided that this is the time, any moment now he will begin to move towards his real area of discussion.
“How do you like sitting on the back benches now Jack?” he asked.
Jack shrugged his shoulders
“I heard some very creditable remarks concerning your performance in government. Such a pity about you having to move from the front bench,” said Davidson.
If Davidson was hoping for a response from Jack, he was disappointed. Jack made no comment. Eventually after a pause Davidson added. “Why was that?”
“A slight difference of opinion,” said Jack but did not elucidate upon the statement.
There was a pause. “Of course there are always openings in government for talented people,” said Davidson cautiously, as he took a last mouthful of meat and potato pie.
“Indeed?” enquired Jack. “I would certainly be interested to hear of any.” He was curious to know what Davidson was inferring.
“If you were for instance interested in crossing the floor it might well be the case that a ministerial position might be available to you,” said Davidson and he commenced to eat his dessert.
Jack eyed him carefully. For all the man’s joviality and his supposition he was quite serious in what he was saying. He was offering Jack the possibility of a senior appointment in government in exchange for transferring his allegiance to the Conservative party. He was being sounded out to see whether he would be agreeable to a change. Jack did not openly reject the “offer”.
“Obviously that is something I would need to think very carefully about,” he said.
“Plenty of time,” said Davidson. “Let me know when you are ready.”
He changed the subject and no further mention was made of the matter. It was as if it had never been referred to and they talked of other problems that had occurred in one of the Bills that was due for a Third Reading and ready to be made into law.
CHAPTER NINE - A POLITICAL PROPOSITION
Jack knew what the next procedure would be. If he was to affirm the suggestion made by Charles Davidson he would be moved further up the line for an interview by his new political masters. They would undoubtedly require a statement from him for public consumption denigrating the worth of the Liberal party and incorporating his views for crossing the floor of the House of Commons to the opposition bench. He would then be seen as the epitome of the political animal, the turncoat, prepared to go to any lengths to ensure that he was in a position of power and unprincipled into the bargain. After a short period of a few months he would be given his ministerial role and drop into oblivion.
Jack took the proposition back to the house in Chelsea to chew on the matter. It was a ticklish problem. Whilst Sir Geoffrey Phillips was in such a prominent position in the Liberal party there was no chance of Jack ever serving in a future Liberal government. Sir Geoffrey was still a young man and he would remain in politics for many years to come. He was not a man to forget a slight and he always remembered his enemies. Jack had made an enemy of him with criticism which had rung true. Eventually Jack decided to put the matter to one whose understanding of politics and human nature was far more devious than his own, he consulted Beatrice.
She was seated in the small drawing room near the doors that led on to the terrace, reading. He walked to the long doors and looked out into the garden, and he sat down near her.
“I have been approached with a political proposition, Beatrice,” he said.
She looked up. “And what is that?” she enquired.
“I have been offered an inducement to cross the floor. There is the possibility of a government appointment if I do so,” he said.
She did not seem unduly surprised. “What sort of appointment is it?” she asked.
“At this stage I do not know but it would be fairly senior I believe.” He paused and then asked. “However the seniority of the appointment is immaterial for the moment. What would you think to me taking up the offer?”
CHAPTER NINE - A POLITICAL PROPOSITION
She did not reply immediately and then said. “It is unlikely that the Liberal party will achieve power again for some years. They have, as you so rightly said, lost the confidence of the electorate and since you appear to have caused the displeasure of the Liberal leadership it is unlikely in any case that you will be given a place in any future government. If you wish to pursue your career in office there is little choice but to cross the floor or else content yourself with remaining a Member of Parliament only for the rest of your political life. Either way it is not a particularly palatable selection, but the choice is yours.”
Beatrice was being kind to him, something for which she was not noted. She was pointing out his alternatives, the decision was for him to make. She was shrewd. She had rehearsed the speech previously in her mind. She had known that he would come to her for advice and she knew what he would do. He was still extremely capable and ambitious.
He spent a few minutes musing at the window and then said. “Very well, I will agree to it.”
He did not notice Beatrice smile to herself. The substantial payment made to her contact had been worthwhile, she thought. Jack would do well on the Conservative front bench.
Jack left the matter for two or three days to ruminate further upon and then approached Charles Davidson and informed him of his decision. The wheels were then put in motion for the next stage and eventually some time in early June 1875 before the end of the parliamentary session Jack crossed the floor to the Conservative side of the House amidst booing and cries of “traitor” from the Liberals. He could not disguise that the Liberals had proved to be something of a disappointment, they had not put in motion the sort of social changes that he had envisaged. It would seem that Disraeli was now keener to effect social changes to assist people in their work lives and living conditions, at least on paper his government gave that appearance, as such, if not in reality.
CHAPTER NINE - A POLITICAL PROPOSITION
Jack’s reward for his betrayal was the role of Special Adviser to the Home Secretary and this followed some four months after his joining the Conservatives and at the same time as he decided to move Emily and Jonathan to Rotherham.
With Jack in the centre of social activity once more established in an influential position in government Beatrice was all smiles. She even treated him in a friendly and tolerable manner, though if he noticed her change in attitude it did not register with him. He did as he always had. He looked to her for political guidance but that was all. There was no more than a polite warmth between them and limited respect. They were living together as two strangers with individual lives that barely crossed. He sometimes wondered what tasks she undertook in her daily life, but he never asked her.
Jack nevertheless knew that he had made the right decision. He was pleased to be back in government. The work for the most part involved a considerable amount of research and in most areas he was required to use his legal knowledge where law cases were referred to the Home Secretary for additional consideration and evaluation.
His one regret was that Emily and Jonathon were quite so far away, but he had deemed it necessary to install them at Rotherham. He did not intend to allow anything to jeopardize his position in politics nor to allow the matter of his affair to come to the ears of his wife. He would not be in politics forever in any case. One day he might leave Beatrice when he did not need her any longer and then he could spend all his time with Emily.
Jack continued to travel by train to Rotherham on a very regular basis and indeed Beatrice commented one morning at breakfast when he informed her that he would be away for several days.
“How fortunate Rotherham is to have such a diligent Member of Parliament. I feel sure that there are few constituencies in London who can boast of such a fact.”
“I will also be seeing my family as well,” said Jack with a defensive air.
CHAPTER NINE - A POLITICAL PROPOSITION
“Oh yes, of course, your family.” Beatrice had mused and she had smiled in a knowing way. “I do hope they are all in good health.”
Jack had thought there was the slightest hint of irony to her voice and he wondered for a moment whether she was only referring to his brother and Edith or whether she knew of the existence of Emily and Jonathan. Perhaps it was simply his imagination. It was so difficult to know what she was thinking. Obtaining the truth from Beatrice was an almost impossible act to manage. If she did not like the reality of any situation she would change it by underhand methods, or simply ignore anything that was incapable of being altered, and was not pleasurable to her. When she reported anything to Jack he was never certain how much of it was Beatrice’s composition of reality or what percentage was the true position.
For the next eighteen months following his appointment in government Jack continued to enjoy his position and this was further improved with a governmental re-shuffle in the middle of November 1877 when he was promoted to a position advising the Minister of Trade. Jack for all inadequacies was a competent administrator and organizer and his ability had been recognized. However his promotion did give him some cause for concern regarding his “family matters” but in this respect he simply took a leaf from Beatrice’s manner of looking at the unpalatable, he ignored it.