candidate: By 1885 , Gladstone 's second government was in a very weak position , largely as a result of the death of Charles Gordon , and Spencer 's efforts to renew the Irish Crimes Act and secure passage of a land purchase bill ran into opposition from the radicals in the Cabinet - Joseph Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke - who hoped to use the opportunity of the legislation to pass a greater measure of local self-government for Ireland .