The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-10-29 00:00:00

,07

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SIR W. HARCOURT AT GL-...G0W.
Sir William Harcourt was preAted on Tuesday
afternoon with the freedom of the City of Glasgow, in
recognitiojukhkrniuenl_abilities.adad Allis position
AZT(377ICeS as -Hotne Secretary; a• • ini,the evening
lildrsse a.res,t,..Libecal.gathe lig liaeld in his
. thennipentat4a*sre •••:. y, which took
-in theYlha, itrin firesende o ala e company
of the citizens, the right hon. gentleman:was accom-
panied on the platform by the Earl of Rosobery, Lord
Napier and ttrick, the Lord Advocate fa* Scotland,
id *ty of the Ltperal members of the west
TrLcid fe ovost, • pr.: . • is : • - Burgess ticket,
7e , cititl of he ~- r• ' o . • e . t hon. gentle-
-an,:,:ipftiiringspalall• .' • e 1- -- .' contributed by
him to The Times under the signature of "Historicus
by which he first became known to fame. '
Sir William Harcourt, in the, course of a, review of
home toilica„ lyre testimonyrto- the loss the country
had austainedby the death ortbrd Beaconsfield. He
said ;•,-- ,
You, my Lord 'Provost, have said that thin ,is not a politi-
cal occasion, and that it is not directed btfcarty motives I
cannot forget/hat a te%* yearahgq an illti/i us man, to whom
I was politically opposed aird- to "them.' was personally
attached—l mean Lord Beaconsfiefd—was mad* a citizen of
Glasgow. (Cheers.) The loss of a mati'efienius is always a
great loss to the country, and every man who knew Lord
Beaconsfield will bear testimony to one of the qualities
which belong to greatness—the sympathy and kindness which
he always exhibited to younger men, of which, I myself, had
a most fortunate experience.

`?1,11'

„riar

Sir William announced that in future he would be
assisted in his office by the Earl of Rosebery. By
this arrangement he believed that Scotch affairs would
receive the increased attention which had become a
matter of Parliamentary and national necessity. The
Home Secretary thus concluded his speech :
I have now only to thank you my Lord Provost, for the
too kind manner in which you have spoken of me, and to
thank you, fellow-citizens of Glasgow, for the kind recep-
tion you have given me. I assure you I am deeply grate-
ful to you for this high honour you have conferred
upon, rue ; -r accept the freedom in this beautiful casket
in which it has been presented (Cheers.) That casket
will remain with me during my life as one of my most
valued possessions, and when I cease to be a Burgess ef
Glasgow it will pass as a precious recollection to those who
come after me, I am glad to think that my boy to whom it
may descend is present here to-day. (Cheers) Because
when, in the course of nature, it passes to him it will not
only be a valuable heirloom, but it will be a precious lesson,
because it will teach what it is worth the while of every
young man to know—that anyone who makes honest exer-
tions to serve his country, however humble may be his
abilities or however feeble his performance, will always
receive from the generous indulgence and sympathy of his
countrymen a reward far beyond his memory. (Cheers.)

Sir William Harcourt was in the evening presented
with an address by the Glasgow Liberal Association.
In reply he said that he bad not come there to be the
apologist of the Government, whose policy had been
amply vindicated at Leeds. He said :
The policy of the Government has been recently expounded
and vindicated at Leeds (cheers) by a states man, the
sweep of whose comprehensive eloquence and genius leaves
little for those who come after him to glean. (Cheers.)
Mr Gladstone has traversed the whole field of politics,
and the national mind still teems with those thoughts
and brave words that burnt like fire the heart of York-
shire as they carried Mid Lothian by storm. (Cheers.)
I sometimes watch with a quiet amusement the con-
sternation and dismay with which our political op-
ponents look upon the public utterances of Mr. Gladstone.
(Loud cheers.) Whether it be in the Cloth Hall at Leeds
or the Guildhall at London, I really do believe they regard
him as a sort of wicked magician, who by the aid of
occult arts and subtle incantations somehow or other has
mystified and bewitched the heart of the nation. At his
" Open sesame" they say that the will of England op-us
and yields to his charm. They consider that everything
that is bad and base and dangerous is the work of his terrible
eloquence—(laughter)—but somehow or other before it they
fly like chaff before the wind—(laughter); and as when
Napoleon rode at the head of his army, or when Nelson
trod the quarter-deck, the battle appears to be won
almost before it is engaged in. (Cheers.) I think every
man who was present at the Guildhall in an audience not
particularly partial to Liberal politics will bear witness to
the unbroken ascendency of that statesman who presides
over the councils of the Queen. What is the meaning of all
this? (Laughter.) It is not that the Tories have not had
their innings too. They have said their say. They have
been hunting the country in couples. (Laughter.) I do not
know whether you have seen a delightful illustrated story-
book, and it you have not you had better all of you buy it.
It is called "Three Jovial Huntsmen." (A. laugh.) It com-
mences, "Three gentlemen go out hunting, but find no game,"
and the last verse says :

"They hunted and they ' hollered'
Till the setting of the sun,
And had nought to bring away at last
When the hunting day was done.
Then one unto the other said,
'This hunting doesn't pay;
But we've powdered up and down a bit,
And had a rattling day."
(Laughter.) I say they have "powdered up and down a bit
and had a rattling day " at Newcastle and Beverley and Hull
(laughter), but I ask myself what is their bag?

The Hume Secretary then proceeded to criticise the
speeches of his political opponents, especially Sir
Stafford Northcote and the Marquis of Salisbury.
He then referred to the foreign policy of the present
Government as contrasted wit ti that of their pre-
decessors, which, he maintained, was really over-
thrown by the nation. In conclusion the right hon.
gentleman justified the action of the Government in
its dealings with Ireland, and said—

We are told that if the Conservative Government had been
in power they would have nipped the Land League in the
bud I They instituted a prosecution, but they did not go on
with it. They had gone on far Ido not know how many
months, and the Duke of Marlborough said that if they had
continued in office they would have gone on with it ; but they
met Parliament in 1880 without any proposal of measures
against the Land League. They did nothing whatever,
but they attacked us for not having continued the Arms
Bill. Do I blame them for that? No; I think it was quite
natural on their part, because it is not desirable to repress
what pretends to be a constitutional agitation, especially
if it is connected with a real grievance. (Cheers.) And
that was the reason of the reluctance of the late Govern-
ment, and of the present Government, to proceed at an
early stage to extremities against the Land League; but
when the agitation of that kind avows illegal ends in my
opinion no Government will fail to be supported in any or
all the measures which it may take for the safety of the
society of which it is the appointed guardian. (Cheers )
The ta.k, you win believe me, is a difficult and painful
one. You will not suppose that we have entel A upon this
course without deep reluctance or otherwise th 111 under an
overwhelming sense of our duty, but having set our hands
to the plough depend upon it we shall not turn back. (Pro-
longed cheering.) In the performance of that duty we have
and we can have but one effectual support, and that is the
confidence of the nation. We shall have that support,
because I am sure you are satisfied, as we are satisfied, that
the vindication of law and justice is as essential to the wel-
fare of Ireland as it is to the safety of our United Empire.