The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-01-26

o'CoNNOR POWER CONTRASTS Glad
STONE AND DlSRAeLl.

D,sraeil the Consuumate Artist, tho Man
of &c, ius--C ladstonc. the Indofatigabie
vorLes. III. Great Statesman, the Great
est Orator of England at Present.
Especial Curresp ondence.l
LONDON, Jan. ll.-Whcn | was first elected
10 the British parliament, III tho year 1871,
Mr. Disracli was prime minister and leader
of the victorious Conservatives, and Or Glad
stone was in opposition and the actual though
not the nominal leader of tho Liberal party.
| belonged to a taird party, independent OF
both, and therefore ! was free to judge of
English men and English measures with an
open mind Though Mr.. Gladstone had re-
signed tho leadership of his party in favor OF
Lord harrington II short time before, he was
still the most considerable figure ON the oppo-
sition side of the house, aud felt the greatest
interest in observing the contrast between
him and his distinguished opponent, Mr..
Dsrach The contrast was striking III
the personality of the men and in their
aims and methods Disraeli was al
ways so careful in his attitudes, gcs
lures and movements. He wore his black
frock coat buttoncd tightly across lis ample
breast, and whether he sat on the treasury
bench, where other ministers allowed them
selves to lounge in the most self indulgent
manner. or stood at the table 10 speak, he
was always model of conventional pro
priety. Nhat first struck me about Glad
stones manner was that there was nothing in
it which you could stereotype. It was al
ways graceful, but sDfrcc and uucunstrainad,
so energetic and variable that you soon for
got all about ii in your ovcrpowcring interest
in the man. D,sracli was master in artls-
tic posturinr, and every limo Of his garments
and every movement Of his body was touched
Off with an air of studied deCOrum. II was
impossible not TO ba attracted by him, for
his art fell short of perfection 10y one little
step only; he had not fully acquired the art Of
concealng the art, without which, of course,
perrection is unattaiuabe. in observing
C;ladstone's style one hardly ever thought Of
art mt all. for his art disappeared in the in
tense earncstness Of his whole manner,
and was always subordinate TO the
object he had in Wow In Disraeli yo,. ad-
mircd tho artist, in Gladstone the man,
though, it must bo Cddad, Gladstone was not
without art, and Disracli, besides being an
artist, was also man of genius.
In his younger days of which only know
what has been written and published 10 all
the world, Disrach was, it is said fop both
in dress and manner However that may be,
there was nothing Of the fop about him as
saw him. day after day in the parliament of
1874 And the contrast 10 Gladstone afforded
in his outside behavior at that period might
be accounted for by the difference IN the
temperament Of the two men Daraci was
calm and cool at all times and his mind
seemed to he quite at ease. Such men, | am
Convinced, are, without approaching fOppery,
moro attentive % dress and personal appear
arcc and manner than those of IA warmer
nature They are able to disenga%e them
solves from the serious business OF life with
out much effort and have time TO consider its
artistic requirements. The only drawback 10
the effect they are able to produce is that
IL lacks spontaneity; II IL e!nnently
proper and faultlessly conventional, but IL
does not excite enthusiasm. Gladstone
is perhaps the most passionate and enthUsl-
astc of political leaders. He has pro-
digious power FOR work, and Is constantly
seeking fresh outlets for his superintendent
intellectual vitality. To such man attitu-
dinizing is impossible, if not inconcelvable,
and during the long sttings of the house,
when he was obliged to keep his seat for
hours at stretch, / have seen him resort to
every available means by which he could
keep himself ocCupied-now watching every
word that fell from tho lips of the member
addressing the hoUse-and any member, be
his position in the house high or low, who
had ANYTHING to say worth saying, was sure
to find in Gladstone an attentive auditor
now engaging in earnest conversation with
his neighbcrs sitting beside him, and again
writing letters on his knee, 50 that not one
golden moment should bo lost from the open
ing to the Gloss of the day. Disraeli never
moved or tossed about Oh lis SCAT like his
great rival, but, with one leg thrown over
tho other and his head resting peacefully on
the cushioned back of tie bench, he could sit
motonlcss for hours, enjoying no doubt a
philosophic rcpoSo.
I Perhaps there isuo position which affords q
better test Of mental character than that of
leader of the house Of commons The head of
the government for the time being, if he is u
member Of tho house, if not, the next to him
in authority if the prime minister is in the
house Of lords, as at present, is the leader OF
the house of commons. There is no position
in congress analogous to this, because in tho
United States the executive and legislative
branches Of the government are separate, and
not combined rs they are in England. | have
seen Disrneli's leadership Of the house for q
period of SIX years, and Gladstonc's for a
period nearly as long, and if merit is to be
awarded 10 success In overcoming obstacles
and smoothing away difficulties without too
close regard 60 the way in which it was
achieved: il The rower of retaining the al
legiance Of your own friends in every vicissi-
tude of fortune, and of maintaining the dis
cipline of your own party unbroken by a
single detection in every encounter, IL q
proof of good generalship, then Dis
raeli was better leader of the
house than Gladstone lie had az
easier and more effective way of dealing with
the most troublesome of his opponents, and
when row occurred the petrels Of the house
whether i'll his own party or belonging to the
opposition, often found that he had clipped
their wings before they Ind time TO rise above
tho storm. The man that Gladstone would
argue with for an hour Disrael would dis
pose of in one contemptuous sentence, or with
; q wave of his hand. There is one noted mem
ber of the house today, Lord Randolph
, Churchill who owes his sudden distinction to
the fact that Disraeli was removed by death