National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-04-26
"Gath" and Edmund Burke.

anu ubiquitous correspondent to the Cincin-
natl Enquirer appears passage which will
be news to the public. Writing about
seidlitz powders, Jay Gould, Fred Doug
lass, labor, and Queen Victoria, Gath goes
into English history as follows "Gladstone
has hitherto refused titles, in strong con-
tradistinction TO Disraeli, who was the
British successor of Burke. Burke was
bought man from the commencement OF his
career. The English bought him away
from his own race and people, and when
they had involved him In debt TO an enor-
nous amount they used him to resist the
spirit Of the French revolution. A rhetor-
ical prostitute, he possessed not one trait Of
independence, and, at last, Burke romainsthe
high.water mark OF the literary Irishman,
with every opportunity TO be patriotic, yet
yielding to every mercenary tompta-
tlon." This is such an extraordinary
Jo,ieUaScmcm OF facts that one scarcely
knows how to meet the statement except
by publishing In our columns the entire
lite Of the great statesman. Disraell was
q successor Of Burke in exactly the same
sense that "Gath" is a successor of Benla-
min Franklin; he was au English states.
man and came later in the order OF time
than Burke, just as "Gath" is In some way
connected with newspapers and lives about
n century after the time Of Franklin. Here
the parallel ceases, unless we accept the
Welshman's argument about the river In
Macedon and the river in Monmouth. and
the salmons In both. ..
In every characteristic that goes to the
making Of a man no two men have ever
been more Numerically opposed than
| Burke and Disraeli. In private life Burke
was simple, grave, earnest, and sincere;
| Disraeli was bizarre, cynical, mysterious,
and contemptuous. As a statesman Burke
was learned, profound, passionate, and
reverential In mis- respect for existing insti-
tutions, while the man who "dished the
Wings" was shallow and 1lppant, great
phrase maker and defender of paradoxes,
who prided himself upon the fact that he
knew nothing about books, and whose
strength-such as II was--consisted solely
in being able to play upon human nature
as upon flute.
We acknowledge that Dlsraeli was a man
Of genius, but 1t was the genius Of Caglios-
tro, while Burke's was the genius Of Aris-
totle. How did the English people buy
Burke away from his own peopleP In no
other sense than they buy any other man,
born in Ireland, who finds in England a
larger field and richer reward for the exer-
ton Of great abilities; in the sense that all
the great Irishmen who have adorned the
senate, the bench, the bar, the church, the
army, the navy, science, art, and literature
have been bought; in the sense that "Gath''
might be said to have been bought II, after
working for ten dollars week on paper
in Ohio, he should accept an offer OF five
hundred week in New York! ireland has
always been only too proud of her sons who
have legitimately distinguished themselves
In England or any other country, and no
Irishman that the present writer ever heard
Of has accused Burke OF distinguishing
himself by illegitimate methods, or those
antagonistic to what he considered--and
Burke's considerations were not
formed at hap-hazard : the best
interests of his native country.
"Dr. Johnson said Boswell, ~ hear peo-
pie comparing Burke to Cicero" "They
are wrong, sir" said the doctor. "They
should compare Cicero to Burke" Yet
the all-knowing "Gath," In his scidlitz
powder letter, describes Burke as ga
rhetorical prostitute" PERHAPS "Gath''
would describe johnson himself as some
other form Of prostitute-the most con.
venient word in the dictionary to Aing at a
man when one knows nothing about him
so we shall take another opinion upon
Burke. Refus Choate, writing to Charles
Sumner about an article OF the latter to be
published in the North american RevietU
said, "Be sure and give Burke q hundred
pages. Remember that he was the fourth
greatest Englishman; Shakespeare first, Nil
ton second, Bacon third, Burke fourth
Choate then went on to state the number o.
Peels, Macauleys, Russells, Pitts, Foxes
and others that might be cut out OF Burke
leaving as much behind as "would make
greater man and statesman than Fox ant
Pitt put together" and Rufus Choate knew
as much about honor, morals, brains, char
acter, and Irishmen as even the incompara
BILE "Gath."
But as we are on the subject of mora
, character let us have another witness II
Mr.. Parke Goodwin, who compares Webste
with Burke; "Webster possessed talent
, but Burke possessed genius. Burke, there
fore, was the superior in imagination, I,
culture, In earnestness, and in moral sensi
| bHiy. AS an orator, Webster
greatest defect was the want of q thorough
, profound moral sensibility"-with muc
7 more to the same effect. And this is sal
Of the man whom Mr.. "Gathr calls
: rhetorical prostitute, yet surely Mr.. God
win is as good a judge Of morals an
patriotism as Mr.. "Gath,' and would no
have shirked the duty Of a candid critic
Burke had been as ignoble humbug a
Mr.. "Gath" describes him, and as the linea
, political ancestor of Disraeli ought to hay
been.
! One witness more and We shall have fir
/ ished with " Gath " and his omniscience fo
. the present: John Richard Green, in h
History OF the English People"-the mos
liberal, critical, and impartial of Englls
) histories-writes "it was amid the strii
with America that Adam Smith regenerate
) our economical, Gibbon our historical, an
| Burke our political literature" Yet It
, this man, bracketed with Adam Smitt
1 whom "Gathn describes as "not possessin
: one trait Of independence" i" us ''rhetorici
prostitte,m as the "Britlsh ancestor c
Disraeli"
. "Gath" evidently derives his knowledg
( of Edmund Burke from some man he me
4 in the street, as he derived his informatlo
y about Fred. Douglass's speech from ma
in a street car, and some excuse may be el
5 tended for knowledge thus caught upo
the wing. But, all allowances made tn
4 retort obvious to such comments as those {
Mr.. "Gath" upon colossus like Edmun
Burke is summed up in the poets reply t
: Lord Lytton when posturing as "Moder