New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-07-30
MR. BRIGHTS RESIGNATION.
SOME FURTHER ACCOUNT OF WHAT LED
TO IT

al hope this news is not true, SAID in"V'u
II is true answered Mr. Bright, how oouiu YOU
suppose IL was not true !" Those were '"o o''","e
sentences Of a long conversation on Saturday
,,,or,,r, of which I tclegraphed you the leading
,oints: or s.me of them. The talk Was very Tree
ono Mr. Bright is n man who says nothing OF
norrs ont his mind | told him as the beginning
that his resignation would have great influence on
American opinion, probably TO the prejudice oil MI
Gladstonc'S Government. II thcrc Is aiy'l'nK
You would like to have said or Will allow 10 20
said about it, any statement of the reasons for H.
Americans would be very glad TO near t"c iV"
TRUTH No." was the first answer. thero - "o,"
ing to be said" Then all at once; " buo 'ho" "'u
Won hear ANYTHING about il p SAID queS'o
had been asked in the House late iast his"' - "1
hooD mentioned in one morning paper rs roPoi'
1 o.sar,ed os 4 fact in another. He knew OIL Vhe
onestjon. did not seem to know anythlhg "oo"' '"9
raners II was now o'clock III the alterhoon' anu
:. noe nerfectly obvious that no single journalist
had beon to see him the subject. When inc
evening papers out they still discussed IL as
rrmor I SUPPOSE you in America would SCI this
down as lack Of enterprise Perhaps IL was uue u
the etiquette which surrounds designations ana APP
nointmcnts Til the Queens pleasure has been
4aken nothing is considered to have been done.
nresnme the bare fact that Mr.. Bright had an
uounccd TO the Prime Minister his determination 10
resign Office might have been learned hau any oo"y
taken the trouble to learn it. But the reserve anu
decorurn of English journalism are rather 10 DC
praised than criticised.
Mr.. Bright has occupied for some wears curing
each Parliamentary session an apartment on 'lc
sec,nd floor of house in Piccadily looking over
the Green Park The drawing room IS large rather
well furnished for lodging house, airy. cheerful
and in no way remarkable except for the presence
,f, Cabinet Minister Lord Palmerston once made
m observation about the impOssibiIity OF having
maid servant to open Cabinet Ministers door
Lord PalmerstOn's house was not many doors OH
from this a rather stately mansion with an ,en-
trance court and gateways where the inald-ser-
want il is clear would have been quite out OF place
Cambridge House. as it then was, is now the Naval
and Military Club, and tho mald-servant more I'M
possible than ever. But Mr.. Bright has small re-
gard for conventonahties of any sort and not much
respect for the memory maXims OF Lord PalnerS-
ton In his case the impossible has come TO pass
the maid-servant does open his dool mas done so
for years both in this and other houses and shows
Won up two flights of stairs. and. on the whole, inc
British Constitution has survived It, never hearu
of ANYBODY who thought the worse of Mr.. Bright on
this account but l can imagine people who would
be scandalized by it, and for aught l know The
ghost of the last Englishman as Carlyle called the
last Wing Prime Minister may haunt the granite
precincts of his ancient residence, and pace IN
horror the pavements of Piccadilly.
The CHARACTERISTIC of the Duchy of Lancaster is
not Iaborlous office. The departmental business
can never be of very formidable kind, and MI
Brght's paror has very few signs OF the pressure
Of public work. Not much red tape tied and united
here not even many papers about 1t is not very
recent hard work that has left its mark on Mr.
Bright. There is story of Pitt which came into
NV head as sat looking at the strong face with It's
sinpnar purlty of express ion. Three OF Pitts
friends were discussing the causes OF his early
death One said work; the second port wine
of which Pitt consumed great quantities. The
third who was ply sican, said No, 1t Is neither
work nor wine that killed hun, but worry" Worry
is not very adequate word for the anXle'y ana
sense ofresponsibility which weighed on Pitt but II
explalns a great deal. SO it does In Mr. BHghts
case All his life long he has "worrled about
things He could not deal with great questions
lightly He never took moment0us decisions with
the fanny grace which was posi- bic to Pamerstoh'
Peace and war, prosperity at home. tranquility
abroad Irish grievances slavery American union
these and many other matters III which he mas
borne a leading part were serious to him. lie gave
himself up to each of them in turn. and to each OF
them went 80 much of conscience and moral sense,
so much zeal to promote truth aud right such an
overmastering desire and effort to bring his own
views to prevail as shook and at times all but
shattered his strength. The traces of these mighty
efforts are visible and more visible today for the
conflict he has just gone through.
When Mr. Bright said he did not care to make a
statement about his resignation, the conversation
turned to other matters. But he came back to
the resignation, and the policy of the Government
which had brought it aoout 1t would have been
strange if he could think or talk about anything
else. All London was talking of his resignation.
For the moment only remembered Egypt as
connected with the retirement of Mr.. Bright from
the Cabinet. Not only his appearance but HIS
manner showed something of the struggle and dis
treSs he had through. 1t light thing for
Minister to leave Cabinet. In Mr.. Bright's case
there were many reasons why he should hesitate
long before taking such resolution-mauy reasons,
but not one OF them selfish. Others cannot help
regarding it as Mr.. Brehts final disappearance
from Official life In one sense that matters little
to ms fame the completeness of lis His
fame was not won in Office. 1t may said with all
respect that Office has added little nothing TO it.
The CHARACTERISTIC of the Duchy Of Lancaster is
nothing But membership of the Cabinet is a great
deal, and Mr. Brights counsel on many weighty
matters of domestic policy has been source of
strength to this Government. He will never again
he Cabinet Minister. This not his remark but
my inference from the circumstances OF his 1esigna
ton. ! NAV say once for all that nothing in this
letter is TO be attributed TO Mr. Bright directly or
indirectly unless it is quoted AS his
shall not repeat here what have already tele-
graphed. The points of divergence betw -en the
Government and Mr. Bright were sufficiently
dicated in my dispatch Of Saturday Mr. Bright
talked them over fully. Once he said rs he fin
Ished a clcan-cuU sentence. You are not TO tee-
graph that of course" Many other things he said
quite obviously not meant for the public, and on
the whole think had better not add much to my
previous account of his statements There not