New-York tribune., 1868-10-31

Mr. Bright has lt is body inpatient of OratOTy
he has taught il to listen with respect and admIra-
tiOn to his highest flights. 1t dslikcs earnestness
and despSes enthusiasm, but tOlerates and appauds
both when Mr. Bright is on his feet PathOs, the un,
checked expression of natural emotions reckoned
as much out of place in the Commons as at a dinner
table, but nothing seems out of place when Mr.
Bright is the speaker Lord Halifax, then SIR ChaIles
Wood, said many wears ago that NT Bright was the
first debater in the House-of which Sir Charles
Wood dull man, was good Jndge-lnu tlIdo nc
was much more; that he had used nguIes Oh sPeecn
which no other orator i'll modern times couIu nav
yentuTed upon. He might almost nave Inlom nnooHn
Burke's dagger the floor In the speech Oh Deced
ber a. 1854, when the British army ay oto, s he
freezing IN the stupid trenches before SeOasop9i. . m
sought TO impress the House with sense oi Inc .no
reality of the losses they were suffering no" md
came home to the fresides ana hearIS Oh o The mas
how the Ministry was responsible Tor all nv p
sage il indescIibaby touching and is q goou
of the employment of details to give lie 10 Pouio
we ak an Eios e very often sat the Member for Frome
1Co BOye) met him short time before i9 I9d M par
ot Mr. WestertOn's, the bookseller near y rte am
Corner asked him whether he was gong OUT t re an
swered he afraid lie was; hVt - M saId vim look
d tone shall never forget Itsno light matter ior
man who has wife and five ttle chlinren INC STiy g
F'Xne is his grave; his wife is widow, MS chhureh
fdtherless." -, n.
The conclusion of the speech in which this passage
occurs may be quoted as an example OF the hlgIt 10
which the orator rises IN concluding great olatlo
and of his unsparing condemnation OF the war ana
those who were responsible for 1t:
am NOT. did ever pretend to be statesman
and that character tainted and cquiVOca III our day,
,St ,, ann not snTe that pure and honorable ambition
would aspire toit lhave not enjoyed ior tht es h9
these noble lords the hOnors and emOluments OF Office
have my sails to every passing breeze am
pil p a s,lio f The Fmpre rspresentng feeby
perhaps hat honestly dare aver the opinions OF very
many and the interests OF all those who nave sent
me here Let it not he said that am alone in my con
demnation OF this war and OF this incapable ana giy
Adninistration And even il were alone, If mine were
n solitary voice raised amid the din Of arms and the
clamOTs Of vena press, should nave the cOlsola0n
have to-nght-and winch trust will be mine TO the last
moment OF my exsence-the priceless consolation That
no word of mine tended promote the squanderngo
my country treasure or the spllbg Oi one SuEe uoP
of my country's blood
II is not easy to find one among living orators be-
tween whom and Mr.. Bright there Is much resen-
hlance number of men have great fame as public
speakers both in England and America. Among the
English Lord Derby probably deserves 10 be INST
mentioned The success of his puDhc career mas beeil
due TO his OTatOry more than 10 any otheT personal
0uaty-mOre than 10 anything but hlS rank and
wealth. which gave HIM national leadership OF the
aTstocTacy. Mr.. Bright SAID IN 1866 that the acces
sion to office of Lord Derby was declaration OF war
AGAINST the working classes Still more vehemcntIy,
in November of the same year ne described MN as
man who had never shown one atom OF statesman
ship or spark OF patriotism And Lord Derby
described himself rs a man whose mission III was 10
stem democracy. Such man could never be
popular orator. He has been the orator OF good
society and conferred signal benefit upon the House
of Lords by importing into that rather sleepy con
clave a viyaCOus element He early got the name OF
the Rupert of Debate" and long deserved IT. de
serves IT evennow in his SEVENTEEN year. In speech
As in action he fery and rash. Ihe lmpetnous
cavalry leader of the Cavaliers was not more so.
But he is in vulgar haste. His speech parl-
clan. He delights in ornate sentences, abounds In
classical illusions and peascs himself by taking it for
granted that all his hearers know Greek.
Lord Russell never won fame as an orator lie is
good debater understands the House as well as any
mau and knows how 10 say a severe thing Scorn
of opponents that is even ll-bred, strong. clear,
narrow way of putting things, and talent for irony.
his chief characteristics as speaker but orator
| Mr.. Cobden's name is associated mperishaby with
NJ RI hoy f41 mn in lS 81
men. not much orators. Mr. Golden was an
| effective speaker, but never a great orator. lie
had vgor without art lils power Iay IN lreSine1s &
of thought and originality of illustrations above all
in practical know ledge of his subject lie spoke as
| an authority. He cared more for substance than
| form. His addresses always had a conversational
| tone which Mr.. Brghts never have The dellbera-
! tion of his style was cXtrome, and could not have
| kept the attention of an audience not thoroughly
interested both in the speaker and his subject. But
| his selfpossessOn was supreme. lie held his ideas
as it were, in solution. They h0ated vsibly before
HIM. and came and went at his bidding He had
habit OF qualifying phrases ana festatng doctrines;
until he arrived AT the exact point which he wished
to impress on his hearers His speeches were never
| complete. while Mr. BTlght's always bad "a definite
| form in his own mind before they were uttered.
! One of the men who in few years more would
have been the leader Of the Tory party III the House
of Commons has been translated 10 the upper House.
Lord Cranborne was power below the gangway.
His speech compact energetic and impassloned.
Nobody could say harder things in fewer words, and
he poured ont the yials of an unineasnred contempt
on the Ministry from which De had " lthdr9wn There
is no match for him in the Lords where he now sits
Marquis of Salisbury. There are four or five
speakers who masters of the conversational
style of debate which is valued aud effective ~ the
House. Mr.. ROebuck projects angry sarcasns with
immense force. He * always disllked but always
listened 10. Mn Lowe distlls eplgTams with tho
most perfectly nOnchaant air Is as full OF facts as
Macaulay. and as sparkling rs Sheridan, perfectly
good -humored, perfectly uuscIupulOus. and one Of
the most dangerous opponents "A Minister or "a
measure has TO confront. Mr.. Mills sue
cess has not been due 10 any display OF OratOrcal
power. Mr.. COleridge, who Will be Attorney General
in the next Government, has persuasive and flow
ing speech. very unusual with an Engllshman and
very popular with the House. Nj. Bright said Ic-
Gently. at Exeter that he scarcely ever heard "A
beautiful speech than that delivered by Mr. Cole
ridge IN the last Irish debate-and beautiful was just
the word. MI Dlsracll Is the best example of that
style of debate which Lord Palmerston practiced.
lLe gnyest subjects are discussed IN the jauntest
tone. For every occasion there Is fundamental
maXn-the House Is 30 be amused, must not be
bored aud IS to be kept III good humOr with itself
and with the speaker IL always enjoys persouali-
ties and Mr. DisIaeli never makes speech without
them. But Mr DisIaehs imitation of Lord Palm
erstOn IS at most an imitation Of manner. and for
every goOd-humored jest with which one amused the
House his successor has a biting sneer. The House
Is "a critic OF style and will stand any amount of
"lhdN geneIalHhtI9n II the dctIon be neat. An
assertion that would he too strong # put forward
nakedly viii bring down cheers when embroidered
with ieclt0us rhetorical cOnccit In all these arts
aud many more, Mr.. Dsrae is expert The en-
plOynent of them all IN speech produces
something that is very curious and often
admirable, considered as a means 10 an end
but 1T does not present Mr.. Disraeli az
a rival III OratOry to Mr. Bright Cnginc TO the
high of that word, there after all one but
Mr. Gladstone who contest his supremacy Mr.
Gladstone has one quality too much for a perfect
orator. His mind IS subtle III He delights IN
reiuemcnts. lie seldom makes the broad. simple,
unqualified statement which alone reaches and con
vinccs a popular audience. The invOlution of his
sentences WOuld drive al nncultlyated heareT to
despair. There is curious skill IN his management
of IA series O qualifying clauses and parenheses, ana
qualifications and explanations which take their
winding way from one end Of sentence to the other
They effective if the audience has logical train
ing as severe that Of the speaker. but they are