The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-09-01 00:00:00

(From_the Britannia.)

The military fame of the Duke of Wellington is a rock.
The surges of time will lash it in vain. It has withstood all
the detraction of contemporary hatred, and it is so identified
with the stirring events of revolutionary era, that it can
never sink into the comparative oblivion of mere cursory
mention by the historian. It could not be forgotten, indeed,
even had it not that indelible stamp, of permanency ; for the
military tactics of the Duke of Wellington are a system—one
that will be followed by men of a certain order of mind as
long as war is a science. That the-Duke was not a mere
soldier, even as a soldier, the publication of his despatches
by Colonel Gurwood convinced the world. By that wonder-
, ful exposition of the comprehensive, wise, and philanthropic
mind of the man, even his enemies were subdued.
But it is not of the military character of the Duke that I
would speak. Nor am I about to enter into a disquisition on
the principles and tendency of his policy while at the head of
his countrymen in a civil capacity. Upon that subject there
sire differences of opinion—ill-founded, I think, and short-
sighted, when looked at in reference to the course of events.
But it is to his personal character as a politician, and his pe-
culiarities as a speaker, that I address myself.
Look at the course of business in the House of Lords, and
you will observe that the Duke of Wellington is the presiding
spirit of that assembly. Nothing is done—nothing could be
done—without him, for he carries with him the proxies of all
the thinking, experienced, far-seeing, influential of his
countrymen. Is a new measure introduced for the settle-
ment of some great national dispute, the first question is,
" What will the Duke' say to it ?" Is a compromise to be
effected between contending parties in the state, on some
question of religion; constitutional reform, or general home
policy ? The Duke dictates the terms, and whatever he sug-
gests is ultimately adopted. Is our foreign policy under dis-
cussion—is the front we ought to present to the world disfi-
gured and weakened by party diSsension ?—who is the first to
rally all the combatants under one great national standard,
by reminding them that Englishmen have ever been united
against a foreign enemy, and that the arm that is to strike
the strong blow must not be paralyzed by the indecision of
the head ? The Duke of Wellington !
But it may be answered that the Duke of Wellington , a
pos-
sesses all this influence by virtue of his leadership of
powerful party. Of course this means that any other leader
of the conservatives would possess as much, or it means no-
thing. It is a monstrous fallacy. Undoubtedly the man
who has the confidence of a body so influential must always
be great and powerful ; but the Duke of Wellington's claims
are almost entirely personal. It is to himself alone that all
this silent homage is paid. Even were he to retire from ac-
tive life to-morrow, still would he be followed into his re-
tirement by political pupils, eager to imbibe those distilla-
tions of practical wisdom which his sagacity extracts from
his vast stores of experience.
The fundamental basis of this power is high military repu-
tation; though that alone would not have secured it unless
accompanied by his firm principles and habits of observation.
England differs from France in this respect,—that, while our
neighbours are more ready to elevate talent above property
than we are, they are less choice as to the degree of the talent
which they exalt. But if the English once know that they
possess a first-rate man, they place him from that hour se-
curely on an eminence, whence he may look down, as from
the heavens, upon wealth, rank, blood, and every earthly
distinction. The Duke of Wellington is a first-rate man,
and his countrymen acknowledge it with pride. But his
mind is sui generic. His qualities are eminently useful—he
could never have condescended to be brilliant. His mind is
of that iron mould that defies alike warping, meretricious
polish, or demolition. He looks to the practical common
sense bearing of every subject brought under his notice.
His first aim is the public good; his next how to attain that
good with the least departure from established principles of
policy. He is an utilitarian, without the absurdities of the
Benthamites. This practical turn of mind, joined as it is to
a far-seeing and prophetic spirit has contributed to confirm in
the minds of his countrymen the admiration and influence
which his military genius and success first created. They re-
pose the utmost confidence in his sagacity. He is a party in
himself. Whatever is essential to the national reputation, the
welfare of the whole people, and above all, to the stability of pro-
perty, is sure to be originated, or, at allevents, warmly supported
by him. For this reason a revolution never could have oc-
curred under the government of the Duke. He has too in-
tense a horror of the evils of civil contention ever to have al-
lowed matters to come to that pass. This, it will be admitted,
is a quality rarely to be found in a soldier, too, of such an
inflexible cast as the Duke. Not less intense is his regard
for national faith and honor. He would maintain the honor
of the state at any expense, even of his own personal preju-
dices on home politics ; for the Duke, like all strong-minded
men, has his prejudices. He has vanquished, and obtained
the mastery of, the spirit of change, by showing that he can
curb it, while he does not affect to play the tyrant over it. He
knows when to be firm and when to yield. Many acts of the
Duke of Wellington, in the course of his political career, that
have called forth unlimited censure, have been based upon
calculations which only so well-tutored and so well-stored a
mind could have made.

It is an intellectual treat of the highest order to see the
Duke of Wellington's demeanour in the House of Lords. It

is essentially different from that of every other man there.
He is almost the only unfettered man in the house. Others