THE AGRARIAN REFORM OF 1903. 123 



former it was much more than a move in the 

 g-ame of party-politics. It was the outcome of 

 a genuine conception of social reform. The 

 Irish took his gifts with thanks ; but the very 

 earnestness which he carried into his work con- 

 tributed to make him unpopular. It was seen 

 that he had set his mind on real reforms, and 

 that he inwardly despised the parliamentary 

 manoeuvrings of his opponents, for whom the 

 political movement was an end in itself, just as 

 reform was to Balfour. His work will therefore 

 endure, but it will not be recognized until two 

 or three of his successors have been likewise 

 greeted as leaders of reform, and likewise held 

 up as heartless tyrants to the hatred of the Irish 

 people. 



His successor, George Wyndham, continued 

 the policy of conciliation. A brilliant causetcr, 

 one whose charm is hard to resist, an artistic 

 nature, to whom form appears the main attrac- 

 tion — one, however, whose intellect, notwith- 

 standing its spontaneity, coolly takes men's 

 measure amid the surge of personal and social 

 forces — Wyndham knew how to champion the 

 conciliation policy as if it were a matter of 

 heartfelt personal concern, and the Irish blood 

 which flows in his veins makes his line of action 

 all the more intelligible. 



He began his work under auspicious circum- 

 stances. On the throne sat a King w^hose heart 

 was set on the contentment of Ireland. The 

 Premier was Arthur Balfour who possessed a 



