Herbert Gladstone, the son of W.E. Gladstone, revealed to the press that his father was seriously considering Irish Home Rule. In a letter published in The Times he attributed the following words to the Grand Old Man: ‘Nothing could induce me to countenance separation, but if five-sixths of the Irish people wish to have a Parliament in Dublin, for the management of their own local affairs, I say, in the name of justice, and wisdom, let them have it.’ This was the culmination of a series of press speculation and disclosure. It paved the way for a Liberal political accommodation with the Home Rulers and victory in the 1885 general election.