New-York tribune., 1910-08-21
AnglO-Amerlcan Memories
IXXXI.
toso RosEeERv-A PERSONAL AN sne,,s -
Copyright, 1910, by George W. srns,,.v

iii4N dlieo- They were nor then mar
&c ps' quite what they became later. bu+
were OF q kind rare il, al countries
7iio II England UNIQUE. His talk had
ne himself had. both charm and
ouehorlty' which is not 2 ,,~ua1 co,,-
olnaaon- His range was very u-ide bic
tact unfailing, his Torch eIe.+-,c ,,-,.L
result naturally, that you some
'.ies got slight shock, just percen
'-oie anna the sparkle, which also is
eiectrlc' am suggesting, no doubt. the
, III IMPRESSIONS OF many later conversations
as well as Of this first.
OF nave seen Lord Rosebery on 2.
sooo many critical occasions. public
ana private. The way in which = man
takes victory or defeat is in this co,1n-
try thought a good test OF character
ana perhaps the ordeal is as severe on
the Iurf as anywhere in this country.
Wen, L have seen him win and lose
races. and no man could tell from, hi.
face whether he was winning or losing
nave seen him on the platform with
somewhere from five to fifteen thou
sand people cheering themselves into
edinburgh, his carriage surrounded by
q howllng mob Of admirers These are
the occasions on which he looks bored.
He can, when he chooses, DISCHARGE his
face OF all expression. and has sufficient
control over his muscles, and even
over the eyes, to leave the whole visase
q blank. But h does not always choose.
IR.z1
ship he was perhaps tried higher
Than ever before He was g Liberal
and his most dangerous enemy was the
Liberal leader of the House Of Com
mons His best friends were in posi-
tons where they could give him little
help in the business of managine the
party He had to endure secret hostil-
ity in matters Of policy and to promote
policies which he did not think the best.
He used 10 say that as Prime Minister
he had nothing to do. That is always
true in a departmental sense when the
Prime Minister is only First Lord Of
the Treasury, or, as Lord Rosebery
was, Lord President of the Council. In
his case il was true because he was
"
in his own Cabinet It was, in fact,
not his own, but an inherited Cabinet.
Disappointed ambitions confronted him
and undermined his position. The pub
lie misunderstood him
I should think no great Englishman
had been more often or more generally
misunderstood. He is a Scotchman-
that he ~ ie4
reason is that his mind has something
OF the subtle fexibility Of the Italian
which TO the English is q puzzle. Most
OF the great italians have been diplo-
matists and Lord Rosebery's mind is es-
sentiaIly the mind Of the diplomatist.
Those TO whose wishes he Will not bend
say he is infir1n Of purpose. That he is
not. Witness DuIcignO. where he used the
British fleet as PaImerston would have
used it Sometimes, it is true, he went on
refining like Burke. or like Goldsnith's
Burke, not while the House thought Of
dining but while the country thought
only OF giving a plain answer to plain
question. If he would but put it plainly.
He liked TO weigh evidence instead OF
Welding to an overmastering impulse,
which IS in politics so often the easiest
thing to do. He has respect for logic
which the English people do not share
with him. Great movements Of public
opinion or emotion sometimes pass
him bz.
A recent illustration is as good 6s any
other In the suspended conflict between
Lords and Commons he came out one
in The Times" with an ap-
peal to Conservatives to drop Tariff Re |
form and fight the coming election on (
the Constitutional question only He |
made no allowance for the fact that after |
years of struggle the Tariff Reformers |
had captured the Conservative organize !
ton. imposed their Will on the Conserva- |
tive partv, and left the Conservativ /
Free Traders q beaten and helpless mi |
nority What he asked, therefore, was
that the triumphant majority should |
to this helpless minority. Was
It in human nature to do that? His ap-
peal PASSED, of course, unregarded.
Lord Rosebery's enenlieS-I mean po- /
itical enemies-cal him an Opportunist |
as Gambetta's enemies called Gambetta, |
who forthwith accepted and adopted the |
name defined it for himself, and vel |
coined IL as 4 eulogy. But the true criti- |
,isrn on Lord Rosebery is that he is not |.
an Opportuuist The ideal policy of the |
ogicaI conclusion presents itself to him |
Is inevitable. It is an intellectual idol, |
Or perhaps image, and he worships the |
mage. which is, like that Of most idol |
4ters, of his own creation. Then he can
not compromise. He goes to the stake |
for it. He renounces power sooner than |
5etray his own belief. and he and MS |
yarty fall together It is very noble |
trait. but il is not exactly politics
G W. S |