The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-23
The Greatness of the Late William
Ewart Gladstone.
DOMINANT NOTE IN HIS LIFE
VIEWED MEN AND MEASURES
FROM MORAL STANDPOINT.
Was Ear and Away, the Most Con-
spicuous Christian Among U.s.
His Triumphs As a Scholar and
Statesman-His Immortal Reply
to Disraeli's Taunt.

A discourse of unusual interest was
preached by Rev. c. T. Brown at the First
Congregational church yesterday morn
ing. Mr.. Gladstone being his theme
His text was He endured as seeing
him who is invisible" Heb. M q. Mr..
Brown said in part:
These words written of Moses set forth
much of the greatness of Mr.. Gladstone:
we walk by faith and not by sight, ne
once said, and by nc one SO much as
those VINO are in politics Is TINS heces-
Sary.
Clearly the dominant note in his career
is the moral one. He looked az men anu
at measures from the moral stanoooinl
Mr.. Stead has called him the DoAtlct4
evergreen and the epithet is a happy
one. conveying a sense of his marvellous
green old age. and suggesting the con
unuous growth and progress oL ms rs me-
from the time when at % years OF age,
Macaulay spoke of him as the rising
hope of the stern and uhoendlng tories,
to the time when at 80 ne waved ms pat
tie flag menacingly at the very existence
of the house of lords
1t has often happened that the stern
school of the conservative mas trained us
Young men TO lead in the ranks OF the
radical out of the court and college OF
Pharaoh came Moses to lead ms people
into the new Canaan.
Paul, Hebrew of the Hebrews. pee am
the apostle to the gentiles Wendei Phil
lips stepped out from the Brahmins OF
New England to plead the cause of his
black client.
years was disowned by her at last be-
cause he had become in her eye danger
Gus reformer.
career. ne once said: Il was educated
TO regard liberty as an evil. | nave
learned to regard it as a good.
For many years he has been looked upon
as far ana away the most conspicuous
Christian among us.
Great as was his political influence, his
spiritual influence was even greater. MS MS
in his personal life and in his pubic
public career. There are still men In
public life concerning whom their friends
say when some political CRIME is COM
r.litted their personal character IS above
reproach. Just as it was said OF Charles l.
that he was good husband.
No such wretched sophistry was ever
needed by Mr.. GladStoneS friends.
If not beyond criticism his public life
was certainly beyond reproach.
His greatest triumphs were won IN the
house of commons, but he was always
more than mere member of that house.
He was prominently the scholar IN
He brought to it a culture profound and
comprehensive He brought TO its dis
cussfons q mind which had considered
well the story of the past, and genius
which looked far into the future de was
able TO apply to every subject the touch
stone of terrible memory and the test
of eternal principles.
To the equipment of the scholar, the
orator and the idealist he added the skill
and vigilance of the party leader. He
could both prophesy and bring things to
pass. Vigilant and eminent as party
manager he yet held principle above
party, and was many times bitterly de-
nounced for running his party. He used
to say of himself that no man had COM
mitted suicide so many times as he had.
When his countrysSHas in the wrong he
could not rid himself of the haunting con-
viction that he ought to say So His heel
was always against the lingo and the
/ jingpS heel against him.
His torch refused to burn with any
! thing but real fire. At no altar would he
| bow, be it inscribed ever so cunningly
with English signs and symbols. unless
/ there was some principle glowing on its
/ crest.
| Any brave man can face his foes, but
only a very brave man can face his fol
! lowers. To bear the reproach of ere's
/ own, truly one must be able to enoure
as seeing him who is Invisible.
However rnsra 9al men may be to such
| in the present time, they never fail 10
| be grateful in the-future.
Gladstone's democracy grew in depth
and richness every year to the very end
| He advocated the extension OF the
working classes are our own flesh and
| blood" and in 1866. sacrificed thereby his
| place prime minister.
| To Disraeli's taunt that he was trying
to "Americanize'' English institutions, he
made this immortal reply:
You cannot fight against the future
Time is on our side. The great social
! forces which move EDWARDS in their
might and majesty and which the tumult
of our debates does not for a moment i'm
pede or disturb-thpse great social forces
are against you They are marshaled on
our side and the banner which we now
carry in this fight though perhaps at this
moment it may droop over our sinking
heads. yet soon again will float in the
axra of hoo Won aud will no hut he
| firm hands of the united people of the
| three kingdoms, perhaps not to an easy
| but to a certain, and a not far distant
victory
We are all glad that he declined any
| title. and that to the last he was quite
content to be Mr.. Gladstone.