New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-03-18
LIFE OF LORD SHELBURNE.
CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

CONTENTS HE OCSOSb 'N'
,,opr LIGHT on THE AMERICAN REVoLCIloNARf
prp,op-sAGACIOUs MAXIMs OF LORD Shell
nroxv.pUsEs IN MANAGING BRITISH ESTATES
-ovyRcsARGEs BY LONDON TRADEsMEN-MAR-
r,s,s sTATfsMAN's YEAR BOOK.
ryr prauLAR CORRESPONDENT THE TRIBUNEI
nov Feb. 23.-Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice's
..eond volume of the Life of Lord Sheiburne mac
;IIo e. Col includes only the ten years from 1855
,~za and the portion of it which relates directly
'. American affairs is but small. Indirectly, how
W.. al, English history of this period touches MS
', ons mint or another This volume, accordingly,
:" ;n,erestipg though the scale upon which LORD
ramond has laid out his ancestors life Is a large
L. on6 in the events with which he has to deal,
7 I'd shclburne is by no means always the central
sonrs In this rs in the first volume, Lord Edmond
Los shown many qualities of the Dl0srapher. Ills
;ustrv is great in collecting materials-for whlch
.-Jooa he has had unusual advantages the ability
.-,b which he uses them is much above the aver
100, his knowledge of the general history OF the
.;mes is full his partisanship not perhaps more
onsn,v displayed than is n biographers privilege.
The range of his prejudces is, however, toierabiy
wide MS may be Judged from the fact that ne docs
;ust;oc ON the one hand 10 Wilkes and the other
g. Rurke. Judgment on all these matters may be
,ore conveniently postponed till the book is COM
.la
'nsant;me. some personal knowledge of its subject.
II is always pleasant to get glimpse OF the hiah
underneath the Minister'S mask
Putting politics aside then, for the present let MS
49,, 70 the last chapter, "Lord Shelburne on
ATen and Things" which shows one side OF his char
octer nretty plainly A philosopher Lord Shelburne
was not. but he was able man, whose life was
snent in affairs and whose observations on homely
sliects are always worth reading, and often acute
He laws down as fundamental principle never
10 be departed from to put yourself in the power oil
no man. good deal of what follows is but the
,nrlication of this maxim to the business OF life
ge deduces from his fundamental principle certain
niles of conduct two of which he declares essential.
The first is Ito be bound for no man," and lie tells
MS by way of warning that he has lost nearly
100000 by departing from his own rule lie lent
that sum to his private secretary, and was Obliged
70 borrow great part of it rather than put himself
in the power of Others OF ask others to be bound for
him. All the return he had was treachery and
great deal of unjust public abuse. The second rule
is 70 see with your own eyes. by which Lord Shei-
burne means that man should look into his own
affairs himself and not trust an agent. Not trust
him because an agent, let him be ever so honest,
keeps your money rs long as he can ; and makes
every profit which nc honesty-that is, legaliy-can
Mt your expense" The custom of putting ones bust
ness in the hands of stranger has always been
more or less common in England. Lord Shelburne
declares il to be of all folles the greatest. he
sncaks of il rs having been formerly praciced and
still continued in some great families "-as If it were
rather diving out. But apprehend it has increased
instead Of diminishing. There is family he tells
us "whose fortune was entirely made by the fathers
auditing the accounts of different estates, winch
many of the owners were infinitely more capable OF
la cu0~1
this time and many more, if We compute the num-
her of solicitors who make ii business to take care
of other peoples money. They receive rents, pay
charges raise money on mortgages, raise other
money to pay off mortgages and on every transaction
their charge is TO say the least of il, twofod. They
charge interest as lenders, commission on borrow
ings and solicitors fees both. The accounts run
on from year TO year and from generation to genera
ton. No bill is sent in: great part OF the proht
consists in not sending in bill. The longer 1t runs
the less can its items be checked not TO speak of in
terest computed at the end of each year tue years
charges. Ample security for payment is kept IN the
solcitOr's hands meantime. Ore of these gentry,
being asked by another when he meant to send IN
his bill against a certain estate, answered, on, my
bill is too big to send ill.," 1t was rendered to the
second or third holder of the estate Its amount
was Sl75, 900, aud its concluding item was "to
done on such a scale as this in Lord Shelburne's
time cannot affirm but his warnings may profit
ably be read in the light of what has happened since
LET il ALWAYS be remembered suggests Lord
Slelbune, that saints are rare TO be found AFTER
certain age an observation which holds good even
Of the clergy" Among lawyers, agents, servants,
and people of that kind they are not to be looked
for. "A lawyer does not like TO go through the
fatigue of thinking. IL he thought about the in
terest of every client who applied to him, either he
would get very little money or he would quickly de-
stroy his constitution" will not undertake TO say
whether Lord Shelburne's reasoning is correct.
will only say that such lawyers as have come IN
contact with in England do not seem to lack either
money or good constitutions. "A servant let him
he ever so honest, makes it point Of honor not to
tell of brother servant" This is true of domestic
servants and true of legal servants-t the seconds
paid. And servants are, he continues, no matter
how faithful, always extrayagant. II you will
not be economical chow can you expect
servant to do for you what you will not do for your
self The best servants love to order, each i'll
his own department, and to make that the principal
subject of expense" Nor will Lord Shelburnc admit
the excuse that man does not understand business
ut is incredible how much an immediate interest
supplies the want of parts, and how much
less ii requires to judge of mans own
Affairs than to judge those of another. The
eye of the most ignorant owner operates upon bis
agents like wtchcraft' Aud there is after all, no
great mystery in the matter. Economy Is very
narrow science. 1t requires great sense, no parts
little OF sagacty or penetration, nothing but a
very moderate degree of steadiness and clearness OF
head.' The two points upon which, III Lord Shell
burne's view. II all turns are l. Half-yeaily re-
ceipts; 2. Weekly expenditure. These are meant,
NJ IL. .t.tn and tlo ha1f