New-York tribune., 1903-07-18

PRIME MINISTER 17iO-'i4 Study OF Poll
Thirteen Illustrations Svo PIP xvi 256 G. P.
Putnam's Sons.
AS Mr.. Mccarthy is quick to explain, the
reign of Queen Anne is important not by reason
of Anne herself who was untitled to be more
than 1gurehead, but because it marked one of
the great historical eras in Englands progress.
Above all things it initiated the supremacy Of
Parliamentary government over the despotism of
the divine right system There had been So
called Parliamentary government long before
Anne born, but it not until her reign
that the ruling bodies, and especially the
lower house, came to be recognized forces of
administration establishing the principle that
''the sovereign could no longer act without re-
gard for the authority of the representative
chamber" II this, than aught else,
that gave men like Bolingbroke, Harley, Godol-
phin and Walpole the opportunity to prove their
worth not only as administrators but parlia-
mentary leaders and-notably in the cases of
Bolingbroke and Walpole-parliamentary de-
baters. Statesmen Of Queen Anne's day an-
preached nearer to the ideals of craftsmanship
than did their predecessors solely because it was
then that craftsmanship began to be indie
pendent of the whims or dictates Of the ruling
monarch.
Further, the period witnessed a stage of ad-
vancement in religious tolerance, despite the
periodical efforts of the government to punish
ana restrain lne nOncOnIOfullSlS 10 the OldlS
religion And with the growth of religious toll
erance there came like intellectual growth ac-
counting in small measure for the literary
excellence of the period and the part played by
Swift. Addison. Pope, Steele. Defoe Congreve
Arbuthnot, Garth, Gay and their fellows in rem
dering the reign immortal Not that Mr.. Nc
Carthy has been to any great pains to show
that the the logical outcome of the
other although it is true that he draws atten-
IN he GGnecfatOr" as beginnings of
modern journaiism-in itself a strong witness to
the advance of intellectual freedom The reign
also remarkable for the part played by
England in the great War of the Spanish Sue
cession, and more especially for the individual
role enacted by Marlborough. If it were for
nothing more than the triumphs of the latter,
the reign could justly be termed epoch making.
Greater even than the achievements of the vic
tor of Blenheim however. the legislative
union effected between England and Scotland,
a union which contributed vastly to the ma
terial welfare of both countries, putting
quietus as it did to the commercial rivalry
which had long existed and at the same
time solidfying the national interests. The pity
of it is that Anne's advisers could not have seen
ut TO accord Ireland the treatment given
Scotland.
1t will thus he patent that a period marked
by so much at home and abroad must prove a
congenial subject a of the historical and
political proclivities of Mr.. Mccarthy, afording
him a broad field of research. The pleasant
parliamentaran is seen to best advantage in this
study of Queen Anne's day, and if at times
one is apt to question his judgment on indi-
viduals there can be little doubt regarding the
impartiaIity of his treatment of events and the
effectiveness of his method Broadly speaking,
Mr Mccarthy has adopted the course familiar
TO us from his study of the reign of Queen
Victoria He has made history read like novel
,-gr+s tool
curacy. Never ponderous, he yet contrives to
maintain a proper perspective. which thus
ables him to appeal not only to the average man
but to the student of history. Here is typical
passage:
The world is accustomed to think of Pope in
association with the shore of that beautiful
stream beside whose translucent wave" he lived
long in that home which still preserves his
and is made famous by his memory. Per-
haps the character OF Pope's poetry may be
compared unfairly with that of the river
which he loved well. The poetic stream of
his verse was not Rhine flowing between
ranges OF hills and beneath antique and legend
haunted castles. 1t was not that Italian river
with the wild wave and headlong speed which
) Byron celebrated. 1t was not a Mississippi MAX
ing its way through a vast continent, from the
winter of the North to the semi-tropicaI
regions of the South. It like the Thames
it flowed past Popes home beautiful, tran
gull, musical. not driven by tempest, not calling
up images of passion and destruction, but hold
ing always the love of those who from the first
are able to appreciate its charm.
One would naturally expect to find Mr.. Nc
Carthy at his best in dealing with the evolution
of Parliamentary processes and representatives
and the expectation is fully realized for he is
thoroughgoing in his review of these signs Of
the times-in showing the slow but steady up
lift of Parliamentary ideals despite the ever
present tendency to political jobbery and double
dealing on the part of leaders like Bolingbroke
and Harley. Both of these chiefs have great
attraction for Mr.. McCarthy's facile pen. and his
analysis of their personalities and their action is
exhaustive While acclaimng Bolingbroke as
genius in statecraft we find him belittling Har-
ley in a way that is rather at variance with
Mr. Roscoe's opinion of the Earl of Oxford, who
was, by the way virtually England's first Pre-
rnier, although it is not insisted that the earl
was a genius of the first water. What Mr..
Roscoe does insist upon, however, is that not
one of Harley's contemporaries had anything
like his capacity as a parliamentary leades or
possessed his sensitive perception of public opin
ion Harley's great power in Mr. McCarthys
eyes lay in his ability TO pass himself off as
wise and farseeing man, 'and for contrivng to
make other men believe that il would be to
their advantage if they were to listen to his
persuasions and to accept his leadership at his
own estimate of its value We also told
that he was narrow minded egotistical
extreme, and utterly incapable of following out
any great purpose. This appears to be rather
savage treatment of a who, by the ad-
mission of his contemporaries, exceed
ingIy capable leader in the House of Commons.
Mr. Roscoe informs us that Harley possessed
patience and perseverance and good temper,
tact and knowledge of business, and an intuitiye
insight into the weaknesses of men" Mr.. Nc
Carthy comedies that the earl was an astute