The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1873-01-02
"A Portrait Of Earl Russell.

a Portrait Of Earl Russell.
His manner was siugularly cold and re-
pelling. People said that his aristocratic
hauteur was indomitable. The joyous
donho8tie with which Palmerston could
make himself at home amid group of
rural voters was utterly foreign to Rus
sells frigid manner. Lord John was
said to be miserably parsimonious. He
seemed only formal, bloodless, and fshy
sort Of little man. He is a very little
man and he has or had a way of folding
his arms and expanding his chest and
deepening his voice, and, in fact, trying
to swell himself into physical dignity,
which oddly but inevitably reminded one
Of the frog trying TO rival the OK. His
speaking greatly improved, but it was
only speaking which suited the House of
Commons Russells voice is at once
weak and husky; be is hardly taller than
Louis Blame, and he has not the bright
eyes and the wonderfully mobile and ex-
pressye features OF the French orator.
But he studied the ways Of the House of
Commons, resolved to become a good de-
batter there, and he succeeded. He al
ways watched with keen eyes for any flaw
IN the reasoning or inconsistency i'm the
statement Of an adversary, and he made
cruel work with anything of the kind.
He was fluent and ready-a kind of slow
huency; ii sort OF forced readiness but
however achieved, the result was there
III a capacity to reply on the spur Of the
moment, and to speak for as long a time
~ was necessary. His language was
clear, precise, and expressive there was
Il cold emphasis about it which impressed
1t on the listeners attention like the steady
dropping Of chilly water. Russell had u
broad and general knowledge Of history,
and was sure to remember something
which his antagonist had forgotten or did
not know, and which came in with unex-
pected and damaging effect as an argu-
ment or illustration. He brought every
thing to the test OF cold, sharp, intelli-
gence, and had no pity tor the enthusiasm
or the crotchets of anybody. He had
the great advantage over many of his con-
tempOraries, that he understood the spirit
of politics to be principle and their gui-
dance a science. Thus he always seemed
TO speak from higher intellectual platform
than Palmerston or than Derby, and even
Il crotchet expounded by him had an APP
appearance of calm dignity and wisdom
debate. lie had not CLEAN of humor,
but he had sort of glittering aud frozen
sarcasm, that seemed like pointed icicle
Nothing is more difficult than to convey
to foreign reader any idea of the effect
of happy hit in political debate. But
| think one or two of RusselPs clever
touches may be easily appreciated. He
was once accused in the House of Com
H,l1. -, Al r
triotism." The accuser was man who,
having originally been Liberal, had de-
serted his party and turned Tory. Rus
sell in the course of his reply coldly said: .
/ quite agree with the honorable baronet
that the cant of patriotism is bad thing.
But | need hardly remind him that there
is something worse-the recant of patriot
ism. More lately, when Earl Russell
was introducing one of his unsuccessful
Reform Bills, the then member for Ed
inburgh very warmly opposed it on the
ground that by lowering the suffrage the
voice of intelligent and educated constitu-
ences like that which he represented
would be drowned by the voices of mere
numbers and ignorance. Now it must be
borne in mind that Lord Macaulay had
not very long before been unseated by
majority Of votes in Edinburgh. When
Russell came to reply to the arguments
of the Scottish member, he loked that
parsonage composedly in the face and
said in his slow and freezing way: g The
honorable member has spoken of the pc
culiar intelligence of the constituency of
Edinburgh. Iquestion whether it is well
to say 50 much about the intelligence of
city which rejected Lord Macaulay subse-
quently elected the honorable gentleman.
. 1t would be hard to convey any idea
of the chill disdain, at once aristocratic
hautetT and intellectual pride, with which
Russell could deliver such a retort as this.
/ remember seeing SO sharp and reckless a
debater as Mr. Roebuck almost literally
frozen into defeat by the manner in which
LordJohn Russell treated one of his splen-
etic attacks. 1t seemed TO say, Between
Us there can be no contest You are A
poor and obscure adventurer am of
the house OF Russell You change your
opinions whenever you like l am the
representative of the principles of Fox and
Earl Grey With you can have no con-
troversy. - Earl Russell" Gg Justin
MeCarthg, Ia January Galary