The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-06-01

Il tolerant Of any sense of comfort that an.
Z sllman being in the house of commons
~ II is hard for men who have beef
n brought up In all the, struggles and self
II dsnials Of poverty to understand the in
difference of those who have always beer
able to- enjoy all the luxuries Of wealth
VS. Labby Is certainly a remarkable ex
Il ample of Z. the absolute Indifference t
such things which wealth brings. HI
never touches Wine except for six weeks
every year. For some reason unintelli
J. gible to-. neutrality-suspicious. ., even tt
h1n1se1fs-he falls In with the habits o
the Italians when he is dwelling on Their
lakes so far as to take wine twice daily
except for this curious episodfcat inter
i'm, wine never passes his lips. HI
) claims no merit for this: Labby is mucl
more anxious to claim discredit for him
self than merit; he declares that he does
not drink wine simply because, he doe:
:. not like its taste. He is equally indiffer
ent to what he eats. One of the stories
which he really does tell about himsel1
is this: Coming home one evening tt
his house at Twickenham, he found tina,
his cook had, after the not unknown
fashion Of her tribe, first got drunk and
y then disappeared, and there was nothing
to eat in the house. Labby treated g
situation which appeared tragic, to the
alarmed and shocked butler. with calm
philosophy; asked whether there was
a ham and beef shop in that neighbor-
hood; and finding there was, sent there
for his meal, and enjoyed it so hugely
that he spoke of seriously contemplating
doing away with the bother of keeping
house altogether, and always sending
70 hn hoy Lon Oh for, SIC
lent food. Another story he tells is char
acteristic Of the same trait. In the days
of his wild platform oratory, he found
himself in the house of an earnest, but
somewhat humble Radical in the coun-
try village. The host was most anxious
to do honor to his distinguished guest,
and did so by presenting Labby with
sandwiches made Of ham and sponge
cake. Labby's politeness and Labby's
Indifference proved equal even to that;
and he munched the extraordinary COM
bination with every appearance Of appe-
tite and enjoyment Finally, when go
ing. to political meetings in the poorer
quarters Of London, he has often been. de-
lighted to escape from q carriage or even
d cab into penny tramcar.
Here then. You have an extraordinary
nature-devoid apparently of any of the
common weaknesses Of the flesh; ayerse
TO amusement, hostile to self-indulgence,
and entirely independent of all things
which help to make most people happy.
It is an inevitable conclusion from these
facts that this is nature purely,
supremely,. and exclusively intellectual
And this brings me to the third fact
about Labby which the world does not
yet wholly understand; and that is the
extraordinary ROBUSTNESS Of his intel
ligence tt is not a broad one, but it is
wonderfully strong and clear and sure.
Labby has become SO much of a haneur
and a humerist in the public estima-
ton that this side Of his character is
entirely ignored. And yet there arc
few men in the house of commons who
bring to a policy Or to a scheme an intel
ligence so deadly sure in its critical ap-
probation. MI. Cham berlain is a great
speaker and Labby is not; but as between
the two men, and their power of produc-
ing an intelligihle policy or scheme,
there is not the smallest doubt as to
which has the clearer and truer intellect.
While the shore is strewn with the
wrecks of Mr.. Chamberlain's schemes on
all and every kind Of subject, no plan
has ever yet en1anated from that frigid
and strong brain Of Labby which has not
stood the test of criticism. f..
$ Has Labby a heart? All, here one
comes to matter more debatable. This
very supremacy Of his intelligence
makes it difficult to believe that he can
have great warmth of heart Affection
nearly always requires a. little blindness
and there is no blindness in the intellect
OF Labby. Hard sense is his characteris-
tic; and it. rules his feelings probably as
much as his convictions. For this rea-
Son there is not to be found in his philos-
ophy any sympathy or even profession of
sympathy with the Socialistic leaning of
some Of the members OF the Liberal par
ty. He remains a staunch clear-headed,
somewhat unsvnpathic. Radical of the
old school. But if he be without intense
affections, why is it. that he works so
hard for the popular cause? Is he in
sincere or ambitious, greedy of power. of
revenge or Of distraction? No; there is
a far more credible explanation of his
zeal and tireless energy as a radical
That Indifference to all comfort and to all
show is the secret factor that lies at the.
root of his radicalism. He is a plain
man of ascetically simple habits and
Eastes; and snobbery to him is the :abom-
these things he honestly
persistently loathes; and
therefore when he is making war upon
them, he is acting in obedience to the
primordial instincts of his innermost ma
ture. No there is no affectation about |
Labbys radicalism; it is underneath all
its laughter and mockery a. livery grim |
thing; a very stern creed.
And Labby has a great and honest |
hatred Of wrongs--and Of shans. He |
has hunted down more villains and cheats |
than any man Of his time; indeed, he has |
done more in this respect than any home |
or perhaps than any half dozen |
home ministers. # is part <of the |
strength OF his. nature that he should |
pursue those miserable outcasts and ad- |
venturers fighting for dishonest bread !
IN perchance the abysmal depths of pow
erty. and despair-it is characteristic of !
he strength Of his nature that he should |
1ursue them SO relentlessly. If he had |
oeen appointed to the home secretaryship, !
it is probable that during his years OF Of !
ice there;would have been almost conf
olete exodus from our shores of the vast |
aosts-especially of religious impestors |
who prey on the credulity or charity !
If mankind. -"
It is part Of this same hardness. and |
strength which are the basis of Labbv's
curious and contradictory personality |
hat he rarely forgives; that he is very !
oitter and very formidable as an enemy. !
But here again there comes another con- |
radictfort. When once he has had his
ling, the desire for vengeance gradually !