The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-06

land. and plantations in Jamaica and other
West Indian islands.
At first sight nobody would take him for
the thoughtful statesman and clever adj
ministrator he has proved himself TO be.
He is just a jolly. bluff. good-natured coun-
try squire to all appearanccs-the typical
VI. r. IL. whose principal worry is the
health of his horses and hounds. There is,
indeed, no better sportsman in England.
His word is law i'm the Jockey Club. the
Ranelaugh Club and the Royal Yacht
Souadron-three of the most exclusive
sporting clubs in the world.
AN EXCELLENT MAYOR.
Yet this wealthy peer. who has all the
money and titles a man can wish for, and
every inducencnt to live a life of idle lux
ury, works as hard at the difficult trade
of government as any professional poll
tician.
In 1895 he was elected mayor of Dudley.
a grimy colIiery town from which he takes
his title. He proved himself such a good
chief executive that he was rewarded by
a second term.
Week after week he punctually attended
the meetings of the Town Council and its
committees, gravely debating with butchers
and bakers and candlestick makers the dry
details of sewerage extensions and build
ing regulations. No public business was
too petty or tiresome to receive his per
sonal attention. He would give up a house
party or a yachting trip in order to check
the vouchers of an assistant surveyor, or
attend a meeting of the subcommittee on
street cleaning.
Once. in 1895, the House Of Lords had to
decide a Inomentous question. and Lord
Dudley was asked to attend and swell the
vote of the Conservative majority. TO which
he belongs.
I'm sorry I can't" he said. 'Our Town
Council meets the same night and l must
be there"
Hang your parish pump" exclaimed
the Conservative whip. This is a national
question. Parliament is more important
than the Dudley Town Council"
IL don't think So" replied Lord Dudley.
1.-The British empire is big enough to get
along without he. or without the House
of Lords, Cor that matter. But the town
of Dudley needs a lot of LOOKING after.
Municipal administration Is far and away
more important than anything one can do
in Parliament. It's better to mend one
sewer than to make a hundred eloquent
speeches about preserving the unity and
dignity OF the empire
Lord Dudley made a strong stand for
honesty in municipal affairs while he was
mayor. He left no loopholes for graft
Once ne discovered some defalcations by a
subordinate clerk, a young man of good
character, who had just been married. He
ordered his arrest.
The wife begged. even with tears, for
mercy: but the mayor was implacable.
Your husband must be punished for the
sake of the example" he told her.
Lord Dudley. the mayor, was just. Lord
Dudley, the man. was merciful. He spoke
strongly in the clerks favor at the trial.
and got him a light sentence. While the
embezzler was in Jail his wife received a
check for his former salary every week from
Lord Dudley.
AS soon as he was released the man went
10 Whitley Court TO thank his benefactor.
Glad to see you, Jones' said Lord Dud-
ley, cutting his words of gratitude short.
You're just the man I want. Open to an
offer. aren't you? Would you care to- go
abroad? / want a man to take charge of
some of my business affairs in the West
Indies. Do you think your wife would mind
living in the tropics?'
my lord, it is too good of you,' ex-
claimed the man. But how can you trust
me AFTER"
"Pshaw! That's past and paid for" was
the answer. Don't you know the best
cricket bat Is the one that's been broken
and spliced?'
And Lord Dudley sent the man out to the
West Indies on a salary more than double
that which he had got from the Town
Council, and trusted him with the handling
of large sums of money. The man proved
himself to be worthy of the confidence.
This is only one of many conspiracies Of
kindness Matched between Lord and Lady
Dudley. They are continually helping lame
dogs over stiles. Their single aim in life
seems to be to make other people happy,
and the amount of thought and ingenuity
that they spend in doing so is by no means
small.
Lord Dudley is the patron of no fewer
than thirteen church livings, and has to
support the incumbents OF all of them. This
system of patronage in the Church of Eng
land is bitterly denounced even by Angli-
cans themselves, but if all patrons were
like Lord Dudley there would be no COM
plant. He chooses his c~lergymen most
conscientiously. Mere scholarship or So
cial influence has no weight with him; he
wants a mar who loves his fellow-men. The
late Bishop Creighton once said at a public
meeting that Lord Dudley would have
made a model bishop.
LORD DUDLEY'S CHARMING WIFE
Lord Dudley owes much of his success to
his wife. Lady Dudley is a beautiful wom-
an, but not half so beautiful as she is clever
and not half so clever as she is kind.
She is the youngest daughter of Charles
Quincy, the great Quaker baker. After
his death she was adopted by the Duke
and Duchess of Bedford. The philanthropic
duchess taught her to love and help the
sick, the destitute and the miserable. She
made her ward n warm-hearted. benevo-
| lent woman like herself.
The Duke OF Bedford is one of the larg-
est landlords in London, and owns a great
deal of slum property. His marriage was
one of the romances of the peerage. When
he was thirty, Lord Herbrand Russell, as
he then was, served in India as q major
in the army and an aid-de-camp to Lord
Dufferin, the Viceroy. The heir to one
OF the greatest titles and largest fortunes
in England, he was naturally a mark for
dozens of matchmaking mothers. Had he
chosen, he might even have won the hand
OF a royal princess, as the Marquis of
Lorne did. But he fell in love with a