The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-22

been intrusted 10 one Of those Radicals VIII
seem unable TO forgive the present head OF Oh
Colonial Office for deserving Mr.. Gladstone I
the heat OF tho first great battle over home rul,
Mr.. John Bright, the Duke of Devonshire, Nj
Goshen, and Lord James OF Hereford. also for
sock their old leader at the same crisis. but tn
offence given by Mr.. Chamberlain cut NOR
deeply because he took with him q large organ
ized following. drawn from the very class o
voters which, but for him. might have remained
faithful TO Mr.. Gladstone. The other Liberia
Unionists are not denounced with bitterness
but the member for West Birmingham Is hated
because he transferred to tho enemy q solit
block Of constituencies in the very heart o.
England.
Mr.. Chamberlain Is not n graduate Of any
university or Of any Of the large public schools
He was born in Camberwell on July 8. 1895,
and comes Of a stock In which Sonoonformis
traditions have been long hereditary. About
the middle of the last century the son OF Daniel
Chamberlain a maltster In Wiltshire. moved TO
London and set up as q boot and shoe manufac-
tureri In the city. The business had been carried
on for two generations at the same address. when
Il passed TO Joseph Chamberlain, ST.. the father
of the subject OF this sketch. Ills wife was the
daughter Of a wholesale provision merchant
There were nine children Of the marriage, the
eldest OF whom was Joseph Chamberlain, Jr. At
the age OF g, the boy was sent tn n preparatory
establishment. and, a year later, his parents
having removed meanwhile to Islington. he
attended as a day boarder a private school
kept by the Rev. Arthur johnson. who Is de-
scribed as a good scholar and capable teacher.
At the age of "A no was admitted to q day
school. the University College School. which
offered, without religious teaching, something
.nawerinu IN m bublic school training. 40 far "a
that can be obtained by boys who live in thoir
parents homes. Here for two years he
studied Greek and Latin, but IL was In
modern SUBJECTS" as they are called.
that he distinguished himself. gaining fret
prizes for mathematics. natural philosophy.
and French. At the age of sixteen he was put
into his fathers business and worked at 1t for
two years. Yet. although hts education in the
conventional sense of the word. ceased at such
an early age, he continued tn spend much OF his
leisure time in reading. and acquired, through q
natural love of knowledge. At least a. good an
acquaintance with the English and French
literatures as 10 possessed by many Of those
whose education Is prolonged into manhood.
In 1854 n change occurredi IN his prospects. His
fathers brother-in-law Mr.. Nettlefold. q MEM
Ter of a firm of wood screw makers of Birming-
ham. having acquired the English rights in an
American patent for improved machinery. in
NllCu IIC CpOpCEdtlOu " Soooph hsibs
sr.. and at the age OF eighteen the
subject of this sketch was sent to
Birmingham as tho active representative of
his fathers interests In the new partnership.
The young man threw himself into
with remarkable energy. and IL was largely
through his exertions and ability that the
great success of the firm was attained. 80
large were the profits acoruine to the partners,
that Mr.. Chamberlain was enabled to retire at
the comparatively early age Of SO. and to de-
vote himself entirely to what had been hitherto
a relaxation, the study and the practice Of poll
tics. 1t seems that though be has come to be
one of the readiest and most coherent Of de-
baters. he was at first compelled to prepare his
speeches with the utmost care. and to
commit large portions to memory before
he ~ventured to get on his legs. His
powers of self-expression anu self possession
were trained by constant exercise in q Birming-
ham debating society, and he was already known
as an effective speaker whom in his thirty-third
year 1889 he was elected Chairman OF the
Executive Committee of the National Educa-
tional League. a polemical association which
played a vigorous part in the struggle between
the claims of secular and religious training
under the school boards about to be estab-
lished by Mr.. Forster's act of 1870. That the
league was beaten in its crusade. and forced
by q Liberal Government to accept a compro-
mise still in force, was a bitter disappointment
to the militant Nonconformists. They nearly
broke with Mr.. Gladstone, and never forgave
Mr.. Forster. The feud between the latter
and Mr.. Chamberlain seems to have dated
from this time. In the Town Council. to which |
no was elected In 1850. he Identified himself
with what were then regarded as almost revo-
lutionary movements. For instance, he worked
for the opening Of the art gallery and reference
library on Sundays, and for the admission Of
poor children TO the grammar school. We
should also note that he held then. and has
ever since maintained, that, although at the
first glance it seems absurd to mix up municipal
with imperial Issues, yet as a matter Of fact.
ordinary voters are puzzled by cross divisions.
and the only way to bring them TO the ballot
box is to maintain strict party lines at municipal |
as we'll as general elections.
The vigor and vehemence with which Mr.
Chamberlain led the Birmingham agitation
against clerlcalism in the Board School. eventu-
ally made him an influential man. and almost
= dictator In his own town. He was elected
Mayor in 1873, and reelected IN 1874 and 1875.
Two things are clear about the Chamberlain
regime In thelocal Government of Birmingham.
One Is that tho party which had got into power !
made no p~rotonce OF foregoing their advan-
tages by offering any compromise to their OPP
ponents. The second Is that, while they used
their majority for all IL was worth, they ad-
ninistered tho AFFAIRS OF tho municipality for |
objects they believed TO DO for the common
good. Under his regime the Birmingham cor
poration bought up the gas works belonging to
private companies which had previously lighted
the town, and this enterprise was followed
by a similar purchase OF water works.
Next n sewage farm OF 1900 acres wns bought
and laid out at the cost OF So. 000. 900; but
against the S275,0O0 a year spent In working It
must be set some $4,000 derived from the
sale OF produce. A yet holder venture in tho
held OF municipal socialism was made when the
corporation undertook to clear the stun dis
trict lying In tho centre OF the town, and TO con-
struct a handsome street, to which II gave Its
own name. For this undertaking, begun in
1876. IL eventually became necessary to raise