New-York tribune., 1890-07-13
LORD CARNARNON.
Ills PLACE IN PUBLIC LIFE-IIlS GIFTS
HIS Personal CHARACTER.


robust politician, or one type, and Sir William
Uarcourt as another LORD CarnarNon certainly
had not much in common with either oi Hl'ih'
In these DAYS, when the caucus Outa'e an"
obstruction inside the House OF commons "'o
two recognized instruments OF pactica P'ii'l'' "
con be rrproach 10 no man that he Ie'''l'S "
,rogo,orco cor earlier methods What IS S3id
about his lack of ROBUSTNESS does not, lhdc"' rIc-
TO either of these matters, bnt they S'Ne J''O
as well as illustrations oi what ''e Iop"SI
,,ol,ic,, viii accent as condition Of l5 pol'lcaI
existence and prosperity. BF 10 S'i'"" " "'
inarioation is it possible t. conceive OF L''o
Carnarvoa as taking any part III the co"I''I
,,orl, oC nubc life "I lie carried Sc;upuioGSH'SS
ard .oositiypncss in public life almost TO iauI'
savs In. same writer If they be faults Lore
Carn9ryon had them. There are, PERHAPS sun
a few natures 70 whom they would seem NH'"o''
H.. thrice resicncd high oncc-that IS WY
wc are asked 70 believe that Iurd 'IE'I w."
was not q robust politician. lie reSSH'" ="
each case because his colleagues III thc '""'
had resolved on measures Whch lc U"''7"
wronE measures Ia which he WAS oPP'''" va
rrircinlo. measures in each case, Of surh import
that if wrong they could not p"' "' "'P-'
iniurious n his country. The robust poh'lci"l,
Of coarse. would not Lave resigned; ne "ou"
have swallowed his scruplcs' put ms Pf'nc'P''S
away for safe keeping till a more CONVENIENT
ecasou. clung 10 lis place in The NLAlsl> "r"
from his place in Parliament would nave s'"uiS
defended the measures he had st""'N "PPoSo" -
the Cabinet Thus, and not othci"iSc' 30"
accent this view of public duty, can Uhe gown,
mcnt of his country, or OF any c0Wl'IN' "' van
cn We may agree or disagree W!'h loI" 80
maroon in each or all Of The thIcc casts "''
10 man doubted then, or doubts ho"' '""' u,
acted in each case from conviction. from i',Sol'"
conviction, and that hc resigned because IL was
,o him morally impossible 10 do OjHcr"ls''
lie had, nevertheless, stalcsmahiNe 4"'i.''
of n kind nore 100 common, now or ever 40"
bave only to look across the Canadian DoI"T ~
..o ono nroof of this lie was the aAthor Oh
he Dominion of Canada perhaps the most SUCCESS,
mi Of many recent English experiments IA co4oi''
oolicy. Lord Durham lad conceived t'e F'c'
thirty wears before Lord CarI"cH had "oIhe"
ON il later, but it fell 10 LORD OarI"Noi '''
Colonial Minister in e6' to carry thc hilI VIousH
Parliament The political economists VIII" Va,
Lowe al their lead were aghaSt. one P"i' VI
the .cucral scheme the proposal OF guar
antee for an intcrcolonai railway. Nj LOW
and his fellow said there was no "t-
nord for snch a railway lit could not he nui''
if v.ould never pay. and 50 on. BHi I-oId N'--
norvop had n trait OF character not less Nalu"o!c
sometimes than the robust pcdahuS Vi ~"
disciples of Adam smith, lie had IM'h an"
IMAGINATIVE energy enough 70 ueHc\c CIV" ~
sonnet hing not tangible OF NISlpIc' lic C''i'''
lis measure triumphantly with results no" N"'""
of a Il men and recognized even ny tho u"O'l
II he were an impractlcaGlc p0lIlIcldH' no" -
,t ,Lot DisracE twice sought his services as Min
ister and that Lord Salisbury, with two nsl=hl-
tors staring him in the face, again IN 1861 o'-
fcred him office and seat in til" CABINET L''"
.arnarvon resigned in lsc' hecauSc he was Ao'
nrepsrcd to hand over the government oi tAls
kingdom 10 the WORKING classes. The working
classes of this l;in.d wcTc al that tln"' a4lh0S'
wholly uncducalcd. The Education Act came
thirteen years later. They were without kho"l-
rdee and without political experience oI tram
ing The author of the Reform blll OF 1907 was
MI Dsrac Was his name 10 inspire conn
dence? Mr.. DIsrach returned 10 power seven
years later, and Lord Carnaivon came hack WIN
him again. as Minister for the Colonies lie Ie-
NAMED Minister for the Colonies for four Gara.
Early in 1913 Lord Bcaconsicd thought himself
appointcd by Providence 20 preserve The lurtish
Empire from the cncroachmento of Russia and
ordered the British Fleet to the Dardanclci.
Such step meant, in all probability, war, and 10
such a war Lord Carnorvon would not be a party.
Nor would Lord Derby; the TWO resigned for the
same reason, though Lord Derby's retirement came
a little later.
From 1873 10 1885 Lord CarnarvOn was out Of
Office: then Lord Salisbury wanted man OF
character and capacity as Lord-Lleut"nant OF Ire
land and once more turned 10 his Old colleague.
The Tory party were about to enter upon a novel
experiment in Irish policy; man was needed
whose nauIc should he guarantee to the country
Of sincerity. The experiment WAS tried II may
well cHoa.h be that the new Viccroy went farther
than the Prime Minister wished or expected him
10 20. The Parncll interview took place: one of
The most curious incidents in tie perplc>cd records
of Auglo-Irish politics. After IL had become pub
lie and a controversy had arisen over il. Lord
Carrarvon resigned the Viceroya1y II WAS sup
poscd and said that his experience in Dublin had
converted airi into Home Ruler, and t!ia' he
wcuid 10 longer work with Government which
he could not convert. There is JUS; enough
foundation for that sappcstion 10 make it IN
tircly misleading. The story, as told q, tn" tmc
and repeated since, is inaccurate. Bat Lord Car
naryon's public lie in the ordinary sense Of the
words there cane to an end. His service T. th"
Sta,e had hccn long and useful and honorable.
There was. lowcycr more ittcrc ting person
age than Lord Carnarvon the Minister. and that
was Lord Carnarvon himself lie was one of
the most dcliclt"ly modelled figure, of the period
IL must bc admitted that ne belonged 10 the
Classcs: that he came of patrican stock; was. in
deed by descent. Of the very flower Of the English
nobility, with the blood both Of the IIerbcrts
and the Howards in lis veins. lie had almost
evcrythin. mau can have almost all the gifts
of fortune were his; and of all ne made noble
use He was admirable in all the relations OF
life. He had culture of a kind becoming
unhappily each year more rare. He did not dis
dain the classics which he knew well not as a
German professor knows them. but rs part of
tie literature of the world which minister's to
the growth Of a mans mind, TRANSACTIONS of tie
"Agamenmon7 and the Odyssey" into English
wr!c the fruit of his political leisure. He wrote
en- various subjects, had much caming IN history
ard tiagc Of ecclesiastical learning, also, that
colorci his whole life.
Thcrc were lew more devoted Churchmen and
perhaps none more free from intolerance, whether