The title of the book reflects the fact that throughout his ministerial career, as home secretary and chancellor of the exchequer under Gladstone, Harcourt was supported by his son Lewis ("Loulou"), who acted as private secretary and confidential advisor, and whose unpublished journals were one of the main sources for the book. The author also made extensive use of other contemporary diaries (particularly those of John Morley, only recently made accessible) and thousands of manuscript letters to and from Harcourt."--Jacket.

This book traces the history of the "Church Crisis", a conflict between the Protestant and Anglo-Catholic (Ritualist) parties within the Church of England between 1898 and 1906. During this period, increasing numbers of Britons embraced Anglo-Catholicism and even converted to Roman Catholicism. Consequent fears that Catholicism was undermining the "Protestant" heritage of the established church led to a moral panic. The Crisis led to a temporary revival of Erastianism as protestant groups sought to stamp out Catholicism within the established church through legislation whilst Anglo-Catholics, who valued ecclesiastical autonomy, opposed any such attempts. The eventual victory of forces in favor of greater ecclesiastical autonomy ended parliamentary attempts to control church practice, sounding the death knell of Erastianism. Despite increased acknowledgment that religious concerns remained deep-seated around the turn of the century, historians have failed to recognize that this period witnessed a high point in Protestant-Catholic antagonism and a shift in the relationship between the established church and Parliament. Parliament’s increasing unwillingness to address ecclesiastical concerns in this period was not an example advancing political secularity. Rather, Parliament’s increased reluctance to engage with the Church of England illustrates the triumph of an anti-Erastian conception of church-state relations.

A biography of Sir William Harcourt, a prominent British politician and member of parliament in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Harcourt served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary, and was known for his eloquent speeches and progressive politics. This second volume covers Harcourt's later career and his relationship with other political figures of the era. The book includes analysis of Harcourt's speeches and writings. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.