Decision by majorities is as much an expedient as lighting by gas.

Gladstone’s remark treats majority rule not as a sacred principle but as a practical tool—useful, widely adopted, and historically contingent. By likening it to “lighting by gas,” he implies that deciding by majorities is a human contrivance chosen for convenience and effectiveness under certain conditions, not an ultimate measure of truth or justice. The comparison also hints at technological change: just as gaslight was a modern improvement over earlier methods yet could be superseded, so political procedures may evolve. The line can be read as a caution against equating numerical victory with moral rightness, while still acknowledging majority decision-making as a workable expedient for governing plural societies.