New-York tribune., 1909-04-24
ENGLISH LIFE.
The Book of an I'm partial american
Observer.
ENGLAND AND THE ENGLISH. From an
American Point of View. BY Price Collier
12no pp 4S4 Charles Scribner's Sons.

ENGLAND AND THE ENGLISH: From an
American Point of View. BY Price Collier
12mo, PIP. 4S4 Charles scrbner's Sons.
England is the most democratic country in
the world, where the rights of the individual
are more respected where the individual has
more Of personal freedom. and where the indi-
vidual is less trammeled By artificial barriers Of
birth or class jealousy. in his efforts to rise,
than anywhere else in Christendom." This is
a statement which great many Americans will
receive with wonder and some of them with
dissent but none viii he Indifferent 10 the de-
tails With which Mr.. Collier undertakes to sup
port his assertion. For his study of English
character and English life is entertaining
throughout. and full Of matter for discussion.
He has a high opinion Of the English people.
yet frankly credits them with many faults He
is as frank in comparing them with Americans.
usually 10 the disadvantage of the latter, but
these criticisms are on lines so well worn that
they cannot stir anew The sensitiveness of his
countrymen. 1t is not at this late day. for
ample. that can object to be told that do
not enforce the laws make.
Mr.. Collier sets down another interesting
statement apropos of English freedom The
English House Of Lords, he admits. is entirely
independent of the people and rejects their
measures when il so pleases. and Yet ne believes
that that house sis. rule. a surer inter
prefer Of the sober wishes Of the English peo-
pie. as a whole. than the House Of Commons"
1t exists, he says elsewhere, because it IS the
most democratic institution in England. and
because, in the long run it has been recognized
as an assembly whose opinion is as nearly as
possible the opinion of consensus Of the COM
retenL" He devotes several pages to an effort
To show how, in the House of Lords there
few old peerages left. and how it has been re-
cruited by the ennobing OF men successful in
the professions and in trade. Hence this view
of that democratic" institution which may be
novel to some American readers:
The adult males in town meeting in bingham,
Mass for example. could trace back 10 male
cestors who attended that same town meeting ona
hundred years before. in greater numbers in pro-
portion TO their total number. than could the mem
hers or the House OF Lords to ancestors who had
sat in that chamber. Nor is il easy 10 see
they come from every and ali ciassss: nor vi}v
they should govern badly. since they are chosen
e,etenn e-oIv4d from; sound saxon sense has dnme
more than anything else to produce that Wilderness
In the English social body which is a salient
feature Of English life. There are. or at any rate
social and political segregatons due 70 class dis
The world
one of the contradictions OF the English sys-
TEN is the position Of the sovereign who. ruler
by right Of birth is in the hands Of a cabinet
chosen by the people. He cannot even select
mis- own Prime Minister. so little is the King,
King" says Mr.. Collier; and then he adds:
on the other hand, in the Of this present
the knowledge the nPartsI situation snd 5
prejudced mind. which the people ought have
before making decision or Dassing judgment.
That is the ideal constitutional ruler and the pres
rate. King Edward VII is. through his popularity
with all classes, more powerful than any man.
houses Of Parliament His wisdom is not the
wisdom Of the people with the knowledge they
edge and experience ha has. II is the knowledge
this comes close to beirtg the acme of common
sense He is the most sstute diplomatst and the
most useful and charming gentleman in Europe
So much is the King King
There is much vfvacity in the authors sketch
of English home life and in his recapituIation
of his first impressions of English character
and English ways. HIS comparisons are anus
ing and ii may be "odious." He notices how
well the Englishman's house is adapted TO him.
how il is carried on with q prime view TO his
comfort-whereas he holds, the American
adapts himself 20 his house and il is carried
on with a prime view to the comfort and the
exigencies OF the woman" The English house
may be less attractive TO the eye in its furnish
ings. and it is certainly less luxurious in the
matter of plumbing and warming than is the
American house: but in all that concerns the
comfort of its master it is complete and Just
what he wants. He stays in his home more
than does the American: The Englishman is
forever planning and schemnG to get home and
stay at home and to enjoy the privileges Of his
home: while the American is more apt to de-
his energies 70 make his business a place
and in which to spend himself" The
weilbeing and the wh;ms OF the Englshman are
what count in his house. and his wife Is gem
orally content "a play second fiddle Mr. Collier
does rot think that this IS the case in Ameri-
households. When a necessity for eco, s,v
arises it is the wife and not the husband who