The Washington times., 1901-12-01
MAIDEN SPEECHES OF
PARLIAMENTARIANS.
Englishmen Who Made UnprOmis-
ing Starts.
RIDICULED BY THE HOUSE
DisroeIi's First Effort Greeted with
Ironical Lnughter-GIadston Con-
fesscd to Extreme Nervousness and
I2+

ne ndd Idlleu IN MS contest as a radical
for the borough of High Wycombe) Ben
jamin Disraeli, sitting in the strangers
gallery of the House Of Commons listened
TO the debate on the address in which
Lord John Russell, Macaulay, Stanley,
Bulwer, and other leading members of the
House took part. Next day he wrote to
his sister: Was at the House of Com
mons yesterday during the whole of the
debate-one of the finest we have mad for
years. Macaulay was admirable, but, be-
tween ourselves, / could floor them. ALL
This entire nous. l was never more con-
fident of anything than that l could carry
everything before me in that House. The
time will come"
The time did come four years later,
when, on December Z, 1887, Disraeli, hav-
ing been returned as Tory, stood up in
the House of Commons 10 make his
maiden speech. The story of that his
toric 1ascO has never been fully told.
What is generally known is that Disraeli
was interrupted by bursts Of irOnical
laughter almost from the beginning of his
speech, and that at length, utterly unable
cluded by shouting at the utmost pitch
of his voice the famous phrase: Though
sit down now the time will come when
you will hear me-" But the whole epi-
sode, what led up to it, and what follew-
ed is most interesting
The subject OF the debate was a motion
by Mr.. Smith OBrien for a select COM
mittee IN enouira into tba alIaoad nroc
tice of vexatious petitioning against Irish
members. o'Connell supported the mo-
tion, and 1t had been arranged that Sir
Robert Peel should reply, but the strong
ly expressed wish of Disraeli that the
duty might be given to him, backed as it
was By many members of the party. in
duced the Tory leader TO give way to his
ardent young recruit
O'Conneu and DisracH.
There had been an absurd, though very
bitter quarrel between O'Connel and Dis
raeli. oConnelI was one, OF Disraelis
sponsors when he carried the Radical flag
on the hustings at High Wycombe in 1882.
Three years later Disraeli, having turned
Tory, attacked the Melbourne administra-
tion, which was retained in power by the
Irish party, for having clasped, as he put
it, the bloody hand OF O'Connell." O'Con-
nell retorted in a speech of savage yitu-
peration, in which hef declared that Dis
raelis life was living lie" and that he
was descendant of the impenitent thief
on the cross" Disraeli challenged O'COn-
nell, but the Irishman, after killing D'Es-
terre in 1915, had made VOW against
duelling and always wore a black kid
glove on the right hand as "a token of his
lifelong repentance for having shed an
other mans blood. Then wrote Dis
raeIi, in scathing letter TO o'Connell,
I'VE shall meet at Philippi." Now the two
antagonists were face to face at Philippi
in the House of Commons, with, hap
PLY, the floor between them.
Disraelis failure on this occasion was
not due TO nervous timidity, but to the
less amiable fault of overconiident fuency,
TO the young members irritating self
assurance of manner, inspired, obviously,
by the conviction that he was about to
leap into parliamentary fame at a single
bound This, with his foppish attire, his
affected gestures, and the knowledge OF
his rapid change of political opinions,
caused the British Radicals and the Irish
Repeaters, both led by the lusty lungs of
O'Connell, to indulge in r9ars of ironical
laughter and other disconeerting cries
Macaulay, writing 10 a friend in Paris
few days later, said: Speaking of the
House, Disraeli nearly killed it on Thurs
day night You have, of course. seen his
speech in 'Galignani.' Can you conceive
the impudence 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.. Disraeli.
WIN you be kind enough to tell me what
Lord John held beside the keys Of ST.
Peter?' The red cap Of liberty. sir Dur
ing the performance Peel quite screamed
with laughter"
Gladstone's first appearance as a speak
er in the arena In which he was for so
long a period the most eloquent and pre-
domlnent personality, was obscure and
disappointing. He took his seat as a
member for Newark on January 20, 1888,
the opening day of the first session OF the
first parliament elected under the re-
form act-being then twentythree years
old.
Three weeks later on February 81 he
made his maiden speech. A petition
signed by 1900 Wings Of Liverpool was
presented alleging bribery and corrup-
tion against the Tory representatives of
the town. and in the discussion which
followed Gladstone interposed on behalf
of the electoral honor OF his native place.
Every great orator, from Demosthenes
TO Burke" Gladstone once said, " has suf-
important speech, and, although J cannot
claim to share their gift of golden speech,
l can claim more than fair share of
their defect of nerves" Certainly he was
extremely nervous on this occasion, as his
indistintcness of utterance and hesitanCy
of manner only too obviously showed.
That voice which subsequently held so
many thousands spellbound by its music
was inaudible from the gallery in which
the reporters were taking notes. So little
notice did this debut attract that a speech
delivered In the House a few months
later by his brother Thomas, in defence of
their father, who was an owner of slaves
on his estate at Demerara, has often been
described in biographical sketches as
Gladstones maiden effort. .
saIisbury's Unpromising Effort.
Lord Salisbury was twenty-four when,
as Lord Robert Cecil, he took his seat in
the House of Commons as a member for
Stamford, In February 1854. Two months
later. on April T. he delivered his first
speech on Lord John Russell's university
bill. "Hansard" gives 1t only eighteen
lines Of its narrow columns and the MEM
bers who Immediately followed in the
debate made no reference to it; but Glad
stone 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 become his
chief political rival This first effort.
rich with promise" said he. indicated
that there still issue forth from the ma
ternal bosom university men who in the
first days of their career give earnest
of what they may afterward accomplish
for their country. "