and third reading on 1 September by 34 votes. However the House of Lords killed the Bill by voting against by 419 votes to 41 on 8 September. Gladstone wanted to call a general election to campaign against the Lords but his colleagues dissuaded him from doing so. Public expenditure in the years 1892–93 was £80,000,000 with income tax at seven pence in the pound. In 1894 Britain's imports totalled £408,000,000, with total British-made exports at £216,000,000 (and the re-export of imports valued at £57,000,000). In December 1893 an Opposition motion proposed by Lord George Hamilton called for an expansion of the Royal Navy. Gladstone opposed increasing public expenditure on the naval estimates, in the tradition of free trade liberalism of his earlier political career as Chancellor. Almost all his colleagues, however, believed in some expansion of the Royal Navy. Gladstone also opposed Sir William Harcourt's proposal to implement a graduated death duty, which Gladstone denounced as "the most radical measure of my lifetime". Gladstone decided to resign the Premiership, ostensibly on health grounds, on 2 March 1894. The Queen did not ask Gladstone who should succeed him but sent for Lord Rosebery (Gladstone would have advised on Lord Spencer). Notes Further reading Adelman, Paul. Gladstone, Disraeli and later Victorian politics (Routledge, 2014). Aldous, Richard. The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs. Disraeli (2007) Beales, Derek. From Castlereagh to Gladstone, 1815–1885 (1969), survey of political history online Bebbington, D.W. and R. Swift, eds. Gladstone centenary essays (Liverpool University Press, 2000). Boyce, D. George, and Alan O'Day, eds. Gladstone and Ireland: Politics, Religion and Nationality in the Victorian Age (2011) Bright, J. Franck. A History of England: Period V. Imperial Reaction: Victoria 1880–1901 (vol 5, 1904); detailed political narrative; 295pp; online; also another copy Ensor, R.C.K. England 1870–1914 (Oxford History of England Series) (1936), 652 pp online edition Feuchtwanger, E.J. "Gladstone and the Rise and Fall of Victorian Liberalism" History Review (Dec 1996) v. 26 online; also online Hammond, J. L. and M. R. D. Foot. Gladstone and Liberalism (1952) 220 pp online edition Hirst, F. W. Gladstone as Financier and Economist (London: Ernest Benn, 1931). Hoppen, K. Theodore. The Mid-Victorian Generation 1846–1886 (New Oxford History of England) (2000) Jagger, Peter J., ed. Gladstone (2007), 256 pp Jenkins, Roy. Gladstone: A Biography (2002) 698 pp; Jenkins, T. A. Gladstone, Whiggery and the Liberal Party, 1874–1886 (1988) Langer, William L. European Alliances and Alignments, 1871-1890 (2nd ed. 1950). Leonard, Dick. "William Ewart Gladstone – From ‘Stern Unbending Tory’to ‘the People’s William’." in Leonard, ed. Nineteenth-Century British Premiers (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2008). 286–309. Magnus, Philip M. Gladstone: A biography (1954) Matthew, H. C. G. "Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–1898)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004); online edn, May 2011 Matthew, H. C. G. Gladstone, 1809–1874 (1988); Gladstone, 1875–1898 (1995) excerpt and text search vol 1; vol 1 online; Matthew, Gladstone: 1809–1898 (1997) is an unabridged one-volume version. online Morley, J. The life of William Ewart Gladstone, 3 vols. (1903) vol 2 online classic biography with many primary documents Partridge, M. Gladstone (2003) 284 pp online edition; also excerpt and text search; online edition Shannon, Richard. Gladstone. Vol. 1, 1809–1865.; (1982) 580 pp.; Gladstone. Vol. 2: 1865–1898. 1999. 702 pp. Shannon, Richard. The crisis of imperialism, 1865-1915 (1976), pp 76–100, 142–98.. Southgate, Donald. The passing of the Whigs, 1832–1886 (1962) Vincent, J. Gladstone and Ireland (1978). Primary sources Matthew, H. C. G. and M. R. D. Foot, eds. Gladstone Diaries. With Cabinet Minutes & Prime-Ministerial Correspondence (13 vol; vol 14 is the index; 1968–1994); includes diaries, important selections from cabinet minutes and key political correspondence.