New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-04
THE REPPESENTlTITE ENGLTSHMfN

The relative importance Of great public "a
rccrS is determined 10y laws Of historical per
spcctivc Other tests and methods Of com
parlson are superficial Mr.. Gladstonc's period
Of service rs Prime Minister has not been long
or than Lord I.ivcrpoul's. but his influence has
been UNNECESSARILY greater. The elder Pitt was
never Prime Minister In a technical sense. but
II is his career that forms the best parallel 10
be found in English history for the public life
OF the Great Commoncr which has been brought
To a close by resignation NJ Windsor Castle.
II is the perspective opened by two generations
Of political activity since The passage of the
Reform bill of lSi2 that reveals the true pro-
portions of Mr. GladStoncs character, work and
influence. In comparison with his public ser
ricc the careers of rivals and associates shrink
into inSignihcancc. PalmcrSton becomes party
tacticlan. Russell Il compromise middlcman.
Peel Il master Of debate Canning an asiutc
diplomatist. Golden an academic economist
Bright tribune Of the people AMI DlSracli a
man Of mystery. lncomparably greater IMAM
these has been the representative Englishman
OF the Victorian reign.
We may perhaps express the thought more
clearly in another way. The political history of
the English people under the llnnovcrian
dynasty Is to be read in the biographies of four
men. Sir Robert WalpOlc was the first great
Commoncr under whom the transfer of power
from the Upper to the Lower House WAS com
pctcd and rendered irrcvocablc. 4 foX-hunting
squire ignorant of books and fond Of the bottle.
he was educated by public service and became
equally great as financicr and political leader,
recognizing his responsibilities rs a represent
ativc Of the people, and discerning that il was
the main business If craftsmanship to promote
The material prosperity of the nation. The elder
Pitt throughout his long career in opposition
and in Office stood for that growing. prosperous
middle class which was not represented in the
Commons So also did the younger Pitt al
though his earliest plans for the political re-
generation Of the people were not carried ont
during his lifetime, and his greatest triumph
was the legislative union with Ireland. Ills
power as Il Minister lay in the support Of The
commercial caSsc,, 10 whose prosperity he
steadily mnisicrcd by his financial measures
and pacific policies. Walpolc, Chatham and
Pitt were the three representative EngliShmcn
Of the eighteenth century. They embodied in
their own careers the practical instincts and
genuine patriotism Of the people and the energy
pride and conservatism of the commercial
classes.
Mr.. Gladstone more than any other English
man Of this century has taken up the work Of
these three Parliamentary giants and powerful
Ministers OF the Crown. II Is in his career,
with its successive transitions and gradual cyo-
luton Of conviction from ultra-C Conservatism
Of the trading middle class 10 Frcc-rradr Con
scrvatism, Liberalism and Progressive Radical
ism that the recent political history of the Eng
lish people Is 10 be unerrngly traced. All the
landmarks Of reform from 1880 have borne the
Impress Of his strong hand. his lucid intc !
gcncc and his noble heart. SagacOus as a party |
leader like Walpoe, an imprisoned oratCr like
Chatham, and with Pitts genius for finance !
industry in administration. skill |
In debate and far-reachng conceptions Of ma
tiona policy, Mr.. Gladstone has combined the !
talents Of them all. while retaining to the full |
,st extent their representative character as trib-
ines of the English people Whether he has
been in Her Majesty's Opposition or has been
conducting the Government. he has been armed
With that plcItudc Of supreme authority that
AN be conferred by the people only upon rare
men Of genius. who worthily represent what Is
'cst in the life. temper and sympathics of Il
nation.
The disappearance Of so great an actor from
he Commons, where he has been for two gen
'rations pre-emincnt In debate and leadership
$ rendered dramatic by the pathos Of the cir
Prime Minister'S blindness, In
irmitles Of age and invIncible spirit. Partisan
hip Is dsarmed. even his most rancorous
Jnonlst critic being forced to confess that the
House will sadly miss his restraining influence.