The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

LORD BROUGHAM AND THE WORKING

CLASSES.

THE energy of Lord BROUGHAM and his con-
stancy to his old hobbies at his time of life is
calculated to astonish those who are not deeply
versed in biography, and who are only super-
ficial students of human nature. In a man who
for thirty years used daily to exhibit himself as
a barrister, or debater, or lecturer, or promul-
gator of some novel scheme, or expatiator at
" Freemasons'-hall, or " Henry Brougham " in
proprid persona et de omnibus rebus, it is not
wonderful that the habit of exhibition should
become ingrained and be a second nature.
Lord BROUGHAM, after all, is only five years older
than our present Premier. In 1840, the Duke
of WELLINGTON, then seventy-seven years of
age, sat in the House of Lords, on the discus-
sion of the " Repeal of the Corn Laws," from
five o'clock in the afternoon to five o'clock the
next morning, and wound up the debate in a
vigorous speech. The immense physical efforts
of Mr. O'CONNELL in the Repeal year of 19.43,
when he was sixty-nine years old, and the
wonderful freshness of Mr. COBBETT, after a
life of vicissitudes, and in spite of a painful
organic disease exhibited to the last, are
proofs that Lord BROUGHAM'S " wonderful
energies " are not entirely peculiar to himself,
His activity, versatility, and talking power
were always great ; but " talk," with the help of
" reporting," is very deceptive. NAPOLEON
BONAPARTE, FREDERICK the GREAT, the Duke of
WELLINGTON (during the Peninsular war), often
went through days of intense, patient, and
concentrated head-work far exceeding any-
thing that Lord BROUGHAM could show. The
grand marvel is to do what several literary
men have done, viz., in advanced years to dis-
play increased power of the intellect, and im-
proved force of understanding. JOHNSON'S
greatest literary work, " The Lives of the
Poets," was written when he was past three
score years and ten, and it is a great advance
on his former works in point of thought, style,
and classical treatment. BURKE'S bodily
labours were of an extraordinary kind. His
toil in the early years of the impeachment of
WARREN HASTINGS, and his acquirement of
solid knowledge, as distinct from flashy
generalisation, surpassed aught recollected
of Lord BROUGHAM. In his later years he
produced his terrible " Letter to a Noble
Lord "—the divina Philippica fame of English
political literature—at a time when the chief
powers of his body were prostrate. "Man,"
says PAI.EY, " is a bundle of habits ;" and we
see nothing so wonderful in Lord BROUGHAM
retaining the habits of his early life. Since
the Reform Bill we do not think that he has
shown increased power of acquiring new
ideas, the true test of " progress " in an
intellect. Ho has repeated himself over and
over again; and he has never improved as an
orator since once his style was formed. After
Sir ROBERT PEEL left office in 1830, and when
a seat in the Opposition afforded him com-
parative leisure, there was a surprising im-
provement in his oratorical power, and his
mind acquired more philosophic enlargement
and breadth of view. BROUGHAM, like a huge
machine, was always the same, with a deafen-
ing and incessant whirr of public noise ; PEEL
was more like a tree, comparatively stunted
for many years, but gradually, though_slowly,