Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-27


| Premier Of England, in a characteristics speaking
attitude
| but he simply couldn't take the trouble to
work. 1t seemed to be almost too much
| bother to him to live. He seldom got out
of bed before the afternoon, and often he
| would not go to his Office for three or four
| days at time. Dispatches bored him. par
| lament was a nuisance. and the officials
| of his department tore their hair over his
neglect to keep appointments and sign i'm
portant documents. They never expected
| him to read them: if they could get him to
sign them week late they thought them
selves lucky.
well this was the man whom Lord
| Salisbury appointed chief secretary for Ire
| land in 1SS4-one of the stormiest periods
in the modern history of that country. OF
course, everybody ragged and sad that
Salisbury had appointed the most unfit man
he could have found in days march. SIM
ply because that man happened to be his
own nephew. The Irish members. were
delighted. They thought they had got
man of straw for their chief opponent Par
nell alone saw the truth.
Don't deceive yourselves he told his
colleagues. Salisbury knows what he is
doing. There's a great deal more in Bal
four than ne has shown us yet. He will
turn out to be the strongest chief secre-
tary for generations past.
Rose to the Occasion.
"And so it proved. Faced at last with an
immensely difficult and important task,
Balfour altered his habits completely. There
was no more lying abed until noon, no
more neglect of business no more scorn
for petty details. He rose with the lark
even after a hard nights session In the
house of commons and worked hard all
day and every day at his office. When he
became chief secretary he knew no more
about Irish affairs than the average man
in the street. but in less than month he
surprised the permanent officials by his
thorough knowledge of every branch OF
Irish government.
And as he worked and learned his char
acter and will grew stronger The lazy.
yacillating philosopher who couldn't make
I'D his mind about anything became In
few short weeks the stern administrator
who telegraphed: Don't hesitate to shootN
to the soldiers at MitchelstOwn when they
asked how they were to deal with riotous
mob.
..You all know how he has risen since
then 1t is a good lesson to be careful In
your Judgments concluded the old states
man.
Signs for Obscurity.
Strange to say. this man who has risen
to the top Of the tree in British politics Is
no lover of politics. He is a politician by
family influence and chance. not by choice.
The nephew of Lord Salisbury, Arthur J.
Balfour was born to the purple" and
destined for parliament from his Elton days.
But his tastes are literary and academic,
not political and practical. He cares more
for the hOnorS which have been ShoWered
upon him by all the British universities in
recognition of his achievements in philos-
ophy than he does for his political fame.
Give me my books. my golf clubs and
leisure" he once said to a friend. land 1
would ask for nothing more. My ideal in
life is to read a lot. write little, play
plenty of golf and have nothing to worry
about. If / could give up politics and re-
tire tomorrow without disOrganiZing things
and neglecting my duty would gladly do
So
Mr.. Balfour has often said this, and there
is no doubt that he is sincere. He is too
much of philosopher to be ambitious.
Entering politics more as social necessity
than anything else. he drifted from one
office to another until at last he reached
a position in which he had to work hard
or. in his view, leopard Englands interests
by neglect. He worked hard ard made
good" AS a reward he was given still
more important posts, which have kept him
working busily ever since.
A Fearless Man.
In the strenuous coercion days, when
Mr. Balfour stood in grave danger of as
sassination he worried his friends by abso-
lutely refusing to take any precautions. He
would not even allow himself to be guard
ed by secret service men, though previous
chief secretary. Lord Frederick Cavendish.
had been murdered in Dublin. But he was
constantly Swallowed" by detectives
against his orders. and he used to get
great amusement by trying to shake them
off He did not hesitate to travel alone
even in the most disturbed parts of Ireland,
where scores of men would have been glad
to kill him had they recognized him as
their arch-enemy, Bloody Balfour, the
man whose stern suppression of riots made
his name for while as detested in Ireland
as that of Cromwell.
Balfour's cool courage finally won the
respect of the Irish, and when he relin-
guished control of Irish affairs he was as |
popular as any chief secretary could be un- |
der policy of coercion. Even the Irish |
members In the house of commons liked
him. as they do today.
He tells US with exquisite politeness that |
we are fools when we meet him here. and
he sends us to jail when we are in Ireland"
the late DIR. Tanner. NJ p. for Cork used |
to say. But he has such a. charming way |