The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-07-20

Disraeli, having turned Tory, attacked
the Melbourne administration, which
was retained in power by the Irish
party, for having clasped as he put it
tthe bloody hand of O'Connell." O'Con.
nell retorted in a speech of savage
vitul,eration in which he declared that
Disraefi's life was a ''living lie," and
that he was descendant of the i'm
penitent thief on the Cross" Dis
raeli challenged O'Connell, but the
Irishman. after killing D'Esterre in
1915 had made vow against duelling,
and always wore black kid glove OH
his right hand as token of his life
long repentance for having shed an
other mans blood ''Then," wrote
Disraeli, in scathing letter to O'Con-
nell. 1--WE shall meet ut Philippi."
Now the two antagonists were face
to face ut Philippi-in the House of
Commons. with, happily, the floor be-
tween.
Disraeli's failure ON this occasion
was not due to nervous timidity, but
to the less amiable fault of over-con-
fident tluency, to the young members
Irritating self-assurance of manner, in
spired, obviously, by the conviction
that he was about to leap into Parlia-
mentary fame at a single bound. This,
with his foppish attire, his affected
gestures, and the knowledge of his
rapid change of political opinion,
caused the British Radicals and the
Irish Reporters, both led by the lusty
lungs of O'Connell, to indulge in roaqs
Of ironical laughter and other discon-
certing cries.
Macaulay, writing to a friend in
Paris, few lays later, said, Speak
ing of the House, D'Israeli nearly
killed it on Thursday night. You
have, of course, seen his speech in
Galignani. Can you conceive the i'm
pudence of the Attorney General not
knowing him personally and going up
to him in the lobby and saying, "A very
pleasant speech of yours, Mr.. Disraeld.
Will you be kind enough to tell me
what Lord John held beside the keys
of st. Peter?' The red cap of liberty,
SIR During the performance, Peel
quite screamed with laughter"
Gladstone's first appearance as a
speaker in the arena in which he was
for so long period the most eloquent
and predominant personality, was
obscure and disappointing. He took
his seat as a member for Newark on
Jan. 20, 1888, the opening day of the
first session Of the first Parliament
elected under the Reform act-being
then % years old.
Three weeks later, on Feb p, he
made his maiden speech. A petition
signed by 5000 Wings of Liverpool
was presented alleging bribery and
corruption against the Tory representa-
tives of the town, and in the discus
sion which followed, Gladstone inter-
posed on behalf of the electoral honor
of his native place.
Every great orator from Demos
themes ito Burke" Gladstone once said,
''llas suffered from nervousness on the
eve of an important speech, and al
Though | cannot claim to share their
gift of golden speech, can claim more
than Il fair share of their defect of
nerves" Certainly, he was extreme
ly nervous on this occasion, as his i'll
dhstinctness' of utterance and hesitancy
of manner only too obviously showed.
That voice which subsequently held so
many thousands spellbound by it's
music was inaudible from the gallery
in which the reporters were taking
notes. So little did this debut attract.
that a speech delivered in the House
Il few months later by his brother
Thomas, in defence of their father
who was an owner Of slaves on his
estates at Demerara, has often been
described in biographical sketches as
Gladstone's maiden effort.
Lord Salisbury was "a when. as
Lord Robert Cecil, he took his seat in
the House of Commons as a member
for Stamford, lin February, 1854.
Two months later, on April Z, he de-
livered his first speech on Lord John
Russell's University bill Hansard
gives it only eighteen lines of its mar
row columns, and the members who
Immediately followed in the debate
made no reference to it; but Gladstone,
speaking later in the evening, recog-
nized in generous terms the abilities
of the young man who was destined
after the lapse of thirty years to be-
come his chief political rival. ''rhls
first effort, rich with promise" said
he, Indicates that there still issue
forth from the maternal bosom of the
university men whom in the first days
of their career give earnest Of what
they may afterward accomplish for
their country"
1Nhe most successful maiden speech
of recent years was that of Sir William
Harcourt. He was Al years old when
he took his seat as member for Oxford