New-York tribune., 1884-11-24
MR.. TAwCETT.

roryc ox ma CHARACTER AND CAREER.
s,no,, rur REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or THE IRihoNh
""'" Inn LONDON November II.
80 ,,..,s ,oa.b was sudden in the sense that
,,o W.. Lnew he was in danger. OF oven scrl-
-, IN mt some of his colleagues in the Gov
s,,,,,.nt had been warned the day before that the
aoc,ors thought his ease grave. ana at tne IoS'
Oa,ce II was known that he would not he on uuS
,yain for n month. lie had gone down 10 'a"'
br,lpc where he had little house, on the Satur-
a,v What the papers described az n cold seizeu OH
him almost at once. 1t was pleursy win So'.o
pulmonary complications. and on the lhnrsnaS no
was dead Sir Andrew Clark saw him on "enhcs-
,av aud told his friends there was no nope, raw
cet,'s constitution once very strong. had oeon
SHAKEN hv the long typhoid illness which brought
him near death two years ago. So slow VAS MS
,yolrsrence M that time that months after MS re
on,,a,anre IN the world he used to describe himself,
b,if serionsly. as wreck But presently he seemed
,n ,realn All his old vieor and suppose only his
nearest friends knew how delicate he really was.
have known Mr. Fawcet, long time, bnt never
in,lmatelv ilis friends always spoke 81 MN rs
man ,B he idve,i sri no lonbt they were teht NV
IA ,b,sp astsle Bf that etee he seemed pre- emi
nen,lt 4 han vs. be respected. What has been sad
ef h,,n s,nee h,s aeah piaees how universal the ie
s,,set w,s asi haw h,sh was the epinoa the We''h
hai b,aa ~ hls character sRN abilities Tvs s'np'
tiaes said the wagia takes NAN ~ hs eNh eaas7
tiaa, sai Fhs is perhaps tlHe eheash w IaNe'''s
case. II wnuid ha hart 10 name mah Whe ha""
more campele confidence IN hlnselh lh's p"h
idpneo was not vain egotsn, " spihhs i'eM "
reasoned conviction, lilo had q habit at Judging ny
the daylight of reason and no applied this process to
himself as to other subjects of interest lie had no
doubts about anything lie was sure OF himself
as of proposition in geometry. Ills mind had u
mat6Saatioal cast which to certain extent uh-
fifts5 ~ for politics He argued in straight INES
md Ia,H the hexblity which is in most cases, n
cona,;a A,f success in English public life. When
he had a. Nonstrated that thing ought to be on
princnla lac became impatient OF those who woniu
have sbown,. him it was impossible III the clrcuh-
sfapooa premature He had contempt Tor
practice, O:ics though he would have been very
mncb s, po"t ! If you had told him so. Before he
tool a thorn in the side of the Liberal
}oyernn,o, htto which he thought himself friend.
10 was Ithdd friend. unsparing in reproof' IN re-
nike !, -" xhortation with all long-sufering ana
octrine 1trcgardless whether his friends would en-
ure g. SSund doctrine not. He was one OF the Two
. three Liberals who defeated Mr.. Gladstones
Irish University bill in 1873; an incident when
shook the Ministry and prepared the way Tor lts
overthrow in 1874. lie early took up the cause OF
India and came to be known by ana by IN the
House as Member for India When ne took once
in 1880 it was with a reservation in favor of India
He was to be free to speak his mind that subject
and to abstain from voting for any Government
measure for India of which he might not approve
Ills services to the natives Of Ilindostan were con-
siderable. but it may be doubted whether he ever
brought himself TO admit that India Is after all q
military dependency of Great Britain or to uhuei-
stand what Pascal meant when he said that truth
varies with the meridian and that there is hardly
any Justice or injustice which does not change its
nature as you change the climate. He applied
Westarn IDEAS tO Eastern communities. And yet
this very stubbornness of intellect made him
useful man IN country where the word principle
is unpopular in politics None the less it often mis-
led him. A man who applies the diherehtai
calculus to the solution of political problems is sure
to arrive at queer results. He was partisan
of woman suffrage. and of something very ike
equality between the AsPostmascr-Cieneral
he employed large numbers of female clerks IN post
and telegraph Offices. His friends speak of the ex-
pertinent as a success should like to ask them
how many kilograms they get in which there is
not mistake and whether they think the general
business of the Post Office is done more or less ac-
curatev since women came to have large snare
in H. The female mind II hope IT will he under
stood | speak of the British female only may by
and bv be educated into habits of precision, but
the education is carried on at the expense oil the
service and of the public. Fawcett was a not less
cnthusias partisan of what proportional re-
idea born of mpaticnce the rule of the majority
md fruitful of fantastic schemes. the permanent
adoption of which would make government by ma
jority impossible.
Iawcett's blindness has made him object of
central sympathy. No words can be too strong to
express the admiration due to the cheerful iorti-
tude with which ne faced that calamity when it
came unon him Everybody knows that hs sight
Was desirovel by the accidental discharge oi gum
~, raplt
eve. aud vision wns gone forever The calamity
that wunid have crushed most men was the her to
tawrrtts surtnss II Developed his nmafhs energy
of character aud II concentrated his pihs. llr Wns
then tWpni, i've nnd icadina Tor the bar We IN
ttantiy rave up the hhi ani lra'lVel un rnliir7,
aud politics With hhn meant a Prat 10 the llnnae oi
Coinmona aud ultimately place IA the V"Neihs
mont ilul u meant hso ~ have nai ahh,", thp
chi, alrous champion at every oanaa 'htl Wahtud
champion II lao happened 81 believe II gopd 'hnhr'
llu refused all concessions b. what is commonly
called hs nhrmlty, lor people seldom Hp"ho lh
plain terms of his blindness lie pursued his
studies wrote book, was chosen Professor ol
Political Economy at Cam4rdge. lie delivered
lectures lie stood for Parliament and was Ie
peatedly unsuccesslu Ills friends urged him to
give up his ambition for public life. llo had htto
or no money. He refused, and said lac should WIN
In the end. Brighton. after once rejecting HIM,
chose him in 1859, but turned him out IN 1874,
since which he has sat for Hackney. At first, IN
spite of the kindness lclt toward him, Fawcett was
ANYTHING but a success in tic House. To put il
blunty be bored honorable members The House
does not like Professors. and Fawcett eciured As
years went on he got the ear OF important sections
OF the Chamber, aud still more Important sections
OF the public. His logical faculty, his obvious
slncerity his earncstneSs, his argumcntatye
mowers his mastery OF his subjects, hls lucid and