The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-05-07
TIVE NEW YORK PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF THE LEADING JOURNALS
Upon CURRENT ToPICs-ooSfPmED EVERY
DAY FOR THE EVENING TRLEgRAPH.
NTr. DisraeIi - The Leadership OF the
House OF Commons,

Whenever tne career Ol MI OlhIdeu tOubb
20 be fully narrated, it will prove to be one
pf the most instructive of which the annals of
bublio life in England bear record In very
many ways it sheds a singular light upon the
causes which elevate man into favor, as well
as upon those which retard or hinder his pro-
yress. Never has there been a harder contest
for mower and fame than that carried on dur
ing the last thirty years by the present Chan
oellor of the Exchequer. Men of ordinary
courage or determination would have been
disheartened long ago by the difficulties which
Mr. Disraeh has had to encounter, and
thew would have abandoned an object which,
40 the superficial eye, it appeared impos-
sible 10 accomplish. There must have been
times when Mr.. Disraeli's indomitable spirit
faltered secretly beneath the heavy blows it
has had to bear. But if he has undergone
moments of dependency, he has never be-
trayed the slightest evidence OF them to the
world. Master of many things, he is in no art
more proficient than in that of concealing
personal feeling and emotion. On that worn
and soulless face the most vigilant observer
can read nothing Under attack or praise it
is alike passionless and immovable. No one
who has happened to be in the House of Com
mons on a night when the two gladiators of
the assembly, Mr.. Gladstone and Mr.. Dis
raeli fairly met each other, will ever forget
the thin Jewish UOuntenance, shaded by a
nat, with a curl or two hanging over the fore
head, the unconsciousness of manner, the ap-
pearapce of apathy and Indifference, which
are characteristic of the "adventurer" who
leads the country gentlemen of England.
The knife may be cutting into vital parts, and
causing him to bleed inwardly, but he gives
no sign. Often when it has seemed that the
fabric of his fortunes must inevitably fall with
a crash around him, he has suddenly cast off
the mask, and risen to meet his fate with the
courage and strength of twenty men driven to
bay pouring out upon the House marvel
Sous torrent of inveotive and scornful elo-
quence, electrifying his hearers by the bril-
liancy of his wit and repartee, and scattering
his opponents with rapid succession of
stiletto thrusts, sharp, glittering, and cruel,
as if the hand that delivered them knew well
that it was engaged in war to the DEATH
After one of these great displays the House of
Commons would rise in mass, and shout
itself h0arse in cheering the man whose
splendid talents have so often turned ruin into
victory and maintained him in one of the
greatest positions in England, in spite of an
unpOpularity which has extended over quar-
ter of a century.
The long and interesting series of events
which have occurred in connection with the
demand for reform, have resulted in what
seems likely to be the crowning point of Mr..
Disraeli's life. We are disposed to believe
for reasons which we shall proceed to ex-
plain, that if he has not attained the ultimate
end of his ambition, he has accomplished all
that even an incompatible energy and an in
tellect cultivated till every fibre of it glows
with life and vigor, can bring to pass. He
has, indeed, done much. Even his lifelong
6atrnntnrc nOnfacc fbaf ha iS bo
most popular man in the House of Commons
In ability, sagacity, skill in the management
of an intricate question, he has surpassed
Mr.. Gladstone. His enemies-and few public
men have ever had more-own that some
of his speeches this year are equal to any
which have ever been delivered within the
walls of the House. But with this acknow-
ledgment of his intellectual prominence,
the voice of praise stops. The deadly stigma
of dishonesty and insincerity has been affixed
TO his name, and nothing that he can do will
wipe it away. We believe that calm and
Impartial scrutiny of his career would excul-
pate him from the blackest of the charges
which it is common to hurl against him. His
public acts at least have been straightforward
and consistent He has not changed his
opinion so often as Lord Derby, or the late Sir
Robert Peel, or Mr. Gladstone. But to these
men public opinion gave the credit of sim
cerity, while to Mr. Disraeli none but the
most reprehensible and disgraceful motives are
attributed. He is judged not SO much by his
actions as by the preSumptiUe and coniectural
motives which are said to have prompted
those actions. 1t is alleged, for instance. that
he is not "sincere'' upon the question of
Reform, and yet the recent publication of
his speeches proves beyond a doubt that
for nearly twenty years past he has been
advocating reform measures in the House
OF Commons. This is surely an evil
dence of earnestness and reality of CON
viction; but we should be much mistaken il
we supposed that it would have any influence
In mouding the popular estimation of his
charactefgA4 People, as a rule, do not read Ia
change their opinions; they read what will
support their views and strengthen their nre
judices. 1t has been the fashion to crv tba,
Mr.. Disraeli is insincere, and the General
public take the fact for granted. II woniG
occasion them some trouble to inquire into tn,
subject for themselves and that trouble tbe,
cannot or will not take. 1t is easier To aecen
cry than to investigate policy. And !
thus arises that the imputations which res
upon Mr.. Disraeli will never be remove
during his lifetime; they form one of tn
burdens which he must carry with him to hi
grave.
This is one of the reasons which lead us {
believe that we now see Mr.. Disraeh at I'll
pinnacle of his fame Partly through tn
extraordinary blunders of Mr.. Gladston
partly by his own dexterity, he temporaril
seized the commanding position in the Hou
of Commons. But Z. will require somethiI
more than fortuitous accidents to enable hi
to hold it. He will require what it is impo
sible for him to obtain-public sympathy al
public confidence. What he has achieved
present is purely an intellectual triumph
The heart of England distrusts him--distrus
him because he cannot comprehend it, al