New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-03-02
LORD JOHN RUSSELL.
A PATRIOTIC CAREER.

| Svo. DID, X. $50; ZIG. Lonsmans. Green & co.
| This work presents chronicle of liberal states
manship unsurpassed for energy. activity ana thc
only kind of consistency which is OF the icast
imp ,rtancc. namely, that which is compatible
with healthy intellectual development LORD
Johns wisdom and courage were equally shown
! in his bold acceptance Of those changes oil view
which the rise Of new conditions or The appre-
hens,on of new facts demanded. All his changes,
however, were in the direction OF better things,
and whether as Wing a Liberal he may be
| cited as one of the best examples Of the en-.
| lghtencd and patriotic reformer Mr.. Spencer
Wapole, in laying the plans for this biography.
evidently perceived at an early stage Of his pro-
lminarv labors the necessity OF combining himself
as strictly rs possible the fortunes and achieve
mcnts of his subject for these two thick volumes
would have been entirely inadequate 70 the record
ing Of onctenth Of the sidcissucs. considerations
ard explanations which must have grown out
| of any expansion of the scheme OF the work.
| To write history of the siXty-iive years Of Lord
John Russell's Parliamentary life is in any case,
necessarily to epitCmzc the annals OF Great Britain
during nearly the whole of that period. and since.
| moreover it is indispensable TO insert much cor
rcspondencc. many official memoranda, and
sketches Of important measures of legislation pro-
posed or enacted. the most rigorous compression
biograpler
To follow so closely compactcd n record would
he both needless and impracticable in review,
and the reader will probably better appreciate an
outline sketch Of the salient Impressions which the
perusal Of these volumes leaves. Lord John
Russell entered public life endowed with an
illus,rous name. high social position. educa-
ton by no means academic. yet whose fruits
vindicated it. and character in many respects
peculiarly fitted for the work which 10 be his
through an exceptionally long career II was
feared by bis family that an inherited delicacy Of
physical constitution would limit his eXcrtions.
He was In fact. always delicate and often in bad
health. But perhaps no case can be cited which
more strikingly demonstrates Tie dominance Of
mind over body for this feeble. ailing little man
was one of the foremost figures in English history
for more than TWO full generations; nor can ne be
said to have withdrawn his hand entirely from
public affairs until few days before his death. at
eighty three. 1t is unnecessary to say more
corning his boyhood and youth than that he went
10 university, his father, the Duke OF bedford,
mistrustng those so-called seats of learning. Dur
ing the years when most young men Of bis order
are at oxford or Cambridge, he was residing at
Edinburgh with Professor Playfair. under whose
guidance lie developed those qualities Of manlncss.
uprghincss aud high tone of thought which werc
to characterize his Parliamentary oratory and his
craftsmanship when in power.
1t is impossible TO doubt that the memory Of
that Russell whose devotion TO his country led
him TO the scaiioid deeply influenced Lord John
all his life For the dominant note in his meas
ures and policy was not les than in the course
Of his great ancestor, answering loyalty 10 the
highest interests of his country and insiscncc
upon Justice at whatever cost or sacrifice. II is
not given to any public man TO carry into effect
all his best inspirations, 10 put into operation
all the principles regarded b. him as most inl-
portant and Lord John Russell was not more
free than other politicians from the cocrcivc and
| crampng influences which, q rule, result in
compromises more less futile and ephcmeral.
But il is TO be observed that almost at lis en-
trance into Parliament the future Prime Minister
allied himself with the clements which were work
| ing for reform. Parliamentary representation
was at that time in very unsatisfactory condi-
| ton.
In 1915. when Lord John Russell entered Par
| lament, the government, Of the Empire was viz
tually in the hands of icsy hundred persons, who
had seats in the House of Lords VINO nominated
the majority Of the members who sat in the House
| Of Commons. The chief prizes in state and Church
reserved for the relatives the friends or the
acquaintanccs OF the ruling class. The narrow
| est religious preiUuccs influenced legislation. A
Roman Catholic was Ineligible both for Office and
pariiancnt. Nonconlormisu could only hold
office because the legislature was annually in the
habit OF lndcn,,Iilylng him for breaking the law
4 Jew WAS disabled from acquiring real estate
There seemed no prospect of rcmcdyne these dis
abilities. Public meetings, except those authori-
tatiVcy constituted were held TO he illc,ai then
organizers frequently subjected to prosecil-
ton for high treason. Lord JOHN Russcll's first
| elective speech in Parliament was in Opposition
TO tho suspension Of the IIabeas Corpus Act lie
returned the House in 1919 10 oppose the
measure by which Lord Liverpool's admnstra-
| .t,rl,
publjc meetings The pUnislments imposed by
the law were brutal. The criminal code syas
written in characters of blood. and proved incni-
cacious TO repress crime Women cond still he
nogqcd at the carts tail; men could SIN be
placed in the riilory; no reasonable secondary
punishment had been invented The modern
policeman had not replaced the old Dogbcrry Ny
Lord Tom Noddy went to see the last foreer pub
IicIy executed Her Ladyship probably attended
the service in Ncwgetc Oh the Sunday which pre-
coded his execution Debtors langnshed in
prison: real estate not liable for debt. The
bull-ring, the prize-ring and the cockpit were
favoritc places % resort among rich and poor
There was no provision for the education of the
people There were no free libraries. no public
galleries, no rational amuseIncnts for the masses
TIE extent Of the changes covered by Lord
John Russells life cannot be more tersey
pressed than in Mr.. Walpole's statement that
when he entered Parliament the power Of the
First Napoleon unbroscn. When he died
the Second Empire was thing of history. At
the beginning of his career Europe was the APP
panagc Of sovereigns; at the close OF ii the fair
est parts Of it were the heritage of peoples The
modern doctrine Of nationality had asserted itself
against the principles of the Holy Alliance, and
Emperors and armies had given way before
the impulse OF population" In all the wide and
deep changes which during this important period
occurred in Europe, Lord John Russell was found.
with scarcely an exception. on the side Of liberty
abroad and reform at home. lie was the author
of Tho frst Reform Bil of 1872 He continued