Parliament and Parties	117
than in. This even applies to their whig predecessors, twice
studied in just such a situation.^725 The most significant book
to have been written on this party is Vincent's which sought
to analyse the manner of its emergence, but it is not easy to
say in just what its significance lies.^726 He has clearly destroyed
some pious legends about the influence of principle, morality
and religion; but it remains hard to tell what in fact happened.
At least we hope to hear less in future of the part played by
middle classes and nonconformists. McGill and Tholfsen con-
tribute to our understanding of liberal party organization.^727
While McCaffrey still sought the cause of the electoral
debacle of 1874 *^n Gladstone's conversion to home rule for
Ireland, Maehl more subtly finds it in Gladstone's incompetent
handling of his party.^728 Hurst uses Birmingham as the centre
of a discussion of the changes produced by the home rule split
of 1886; at greater length, he also deals with the narrower
question of why peace-making failed in i887.^729 The disastrous
failure of the party to come to terms with Gladstone's dis-
appearance, and the battles for the succession, are handsomely
narrated by Stansky.^730 Decline had now started. Butler shows
^725 Austin Mitchell, The Whigs in Opposition, 1815-1830. O: Claren-
don: 1967. Pp. xi, 266. Rev: ERR 84,407^ - Abraham D. Kriegel,
'The politics of the whigs in opposition, 1834 - 1835', JBS 7
(1968), 64-91.
^728 John R. Vincent, The Foundation of the Liberal Party, 185? -1868.
L: Constable: 1966. Pp. xxxv, 281. Rev: EHR 82, 8o2&; HJ 12,
iSiff.; Hist 57, 358f.
^747 Barry McGill, 'Francis Schnadhorst and the liberal party organi-
zation', JMH 34 (1962)5 19-39. - Trygve R. Tholfsen, 'The
origins of the Birmingham caucus^9, HJ 2 (1959), 161-84.
^728 Lawrence J. McCaffrey, 'Home rule and the general election of
1874*9 Irish Hist Studies g (1953-4), 190-212; W. H. Maehl,
'Gladstone, the liberals and the election of 1874', BIHR 36 (1963),
53769-
^7a* Michael C. Hurst, 'Joseph Chamberlain, the conservatives and the
succession to John Bright, 1886- 1889', HJ 7 (1954), 64-93,-
Idem, Joseph Chamberlain and Liberal Reunion: the round table conference
0/1887. k: Routledge: 1967. Pp. xv, 407. Rev: HJ 11, 394.
^780 Peter Stansky, Ambitions and Strategies: the struggle for the leadership
of the liberal party in the z&jos. O: Clarendon: 1964. Pp. ix, 312.
Rev: EHR 8i» 424^,