The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-03-28

The death of John Bright has removed
one of the most illustrious of Englishmer
from that stage on which he long had had
a singularly prominent part.
Mr.. Bright was born at Greenbank, neal
Rochdale, Eng, on the 10th of November
1911. He was the second son of jacob
Bright. one of the members of a great man.
ufacturing establishment at Rochdale. The
death of an elder brother led to his being
taken from school at the age Of Is years, that
he might be placed in the manufactory, there
to be instructed in the business he was des-
tined to carry on. Thus he had far less than
the usual advantages that the run of wealthy
EnglshmeI possess for obtaining what is
called IAN education" but it is probable that
this was no loss to him, as he had good,
practical training in his new line of life, one
that made him intimately familiar with bus
iness and with the condition and wants of
the people. When young man he travelled
extensively on the continent of Europe and
In the East. He was man to profit from
foreign travel.
at the early age of &C. Mr.. Bright began
to attract the attention of his countrymen,
and when the great Anti-Corn Law Associa-
tion OF Manchester was formed, in 1888, he
was made member of its council. Soon
the Manchester Association expanded into
the Anti-Corn Law League, with all England
for its stage, and Mr. Bright was quickly
In the great work that was doing. No two
men could be more unlike In some important
respects, Mr. Bright being as ardent as Mr.
Golden was cool. He was all
+ ior on aggressive sSrIa: war and no carried ed
assaults. The league held meetings all over
the empire, and Mr.. Bright was prominent
at most OF them. 1t was seen that he was
born orator, who moved and swayed the
masses, and it was believed that he would be
In l843 he entered Parliament as a repre-
sentative from the city of Durham. Four
years afterwards he took his seat in the
House OF Commons as a member for Man
chester, which he continued during four
years. In 1857 Birmingham elected him one
OF its members, and he represented that con-
stituency until death. He was president of
the board of trade, 1861, and chancellor of
the Duchy OF Lancaster, 1894. Upon the
advent of Mr. Gladstone to power in 1880.
Mr.. Bright became chancellor of the iDuchy
of Lancaster the second time, but resigned
in 1882 because opposed to the policy of the
government with regard to Egypt. At the
next election he was returned to Parliament
for Birmingham.
Apart from his parliamentary work Mr..
Bright had been during all the active years
OF his life interested in all movements for
the helping of mankind. He bore without
abuse not only the grand old name of states
man, but as well of patriot and philanthrop-
iSt.
But it is as a friend of America that in this
country his memory should be most hOnOred
In the dark hour of the American republic,
when the hands of not only the British gov
ernment, but the great mass of its represent
atlVe men and its newspaper press were Civ
ing material aid and sympathy to the South
ern Confederacy, when Englishmen were
building, arming and manning cruisers to
drive our commerce from the seas, when
Englishmen were fitting at their dock yards
20 fln l.
with munitions of war and supplies for our
enemies's use and when Englishmen were
freely supplying the C0nfederacy with the
sinews of war by purchasing their bonds and
sending back their gold for them, John
Bright stood sturdily forth the champion of
the North, and the more conspicuously be-
cause OF his comparative isolation.
In December. 1861, Mr.. Bright, speaking at
public meeting, said:
Now, whether the Union will be restored
or not, or the. South achieve an un-
honored independence or not | know
not, and l predict not. But this /
think / know-that in a few wears.
very few years, the 20,000,0O0 of free
men in the North would be 30,OO0,OOO, or
even 10000 ,0OO-a population equal to or ex-
time comes pray that it may not be said
among them that in the darkest hours of
their country's trials, England the land of
their fathers. looked on with icy GOODNESS
and saw unmoved the perils and calamities
OF their children. AS for me have but this
to say: am but one in the audience. and but
oneln the citizenship of this country; but If
all other tongues are silenced, mine shall
speak for that policy which gives hope to
the bondsmen of the South, and which tends
to generous thoughts and generous words
and generous deeds between the two great
nations who speak the English language, and
from their origin are alike entitled to the
English name'' VIZ
John Bright was married in November
1889 to Elizabeth Prestman, the eldest
daughter of Jonathan Priestman of New
married again in 1S4S to Margaret E. Leath-
am, daughter of banker of Wakefield. She
died suddenly in 1873 There have been
four sons and three daughters by this mar
riage.