New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-07-04

"oncc the leader Of the Liberal party
At his best. and he remained at his
best up 10 the last day he was seen IN
the House of Commons, Mr.. Chamber
lain was the most powerful of parlla-
mentary debaters. not excepting Mr..
Gladstone. Knowing the limits of his
own capacity, he did not aim at ora
tory. He was pre-en inently man of
business, but was endowed with the
gifts Of lightning-likc acuteness Of
perception and consummately lucid eX-
preston. In charge of An intricate bill.
he steered il through the shoals or
committee with masterful hand. He
was perhaps seen at his best when he
stood with his back to the wall. faced
by host Of assailants. Most men are
likely 10 be pcrturbed by interruption
of their ordered speech. In the full
swing Of mis- oratory Mr.. Gladstone was
occasionally disconnected by hostile an
tcrruption. and was too easily led
astray into devious paths. Lord Ran
dolph Churchill and his colleagues of
the fourth party early discovered this
weakness. and nightly made practice
OF drawing Gladstone" The more
noisy the interruption the cooler Mr..
Y
with dcft parrying of his rapier.
swiftly followed up by telling thrusts
at his aggressor.
When in 1886, Mr.. Gladstone having
nailed the Home Rule flag to the Lib
eral masthead. Mr. Chamberlain drift
ed into the haven Of Conservatism. he
paid the penalty OF his supreme capsc-
itv as a phrasemaker. "Hc that maketh
90 -. 40 -
Bacon. "let him beware of other mems
memory" During the last twenty years
of his active life Mr.. Chamberlain. ris-
ing 10 address the House of Commons,
was ever faced by the ghost OF his
dead self. Whatever question might be
TO the education. Ireland. free
trade. the place in the political TRINA
ment held by the House Of Lords it
turned out that Mr.. Chamberlain the
Radical had said the thing most dam
aging 20 the position at the moment
taken up by Mr.. Chamberlain the col
league of Lord Salisbury, the buttress
OF the Conservative party. When he
had anything 10 say on any subject.
whether the averment were that a par
ticular thing was white or black, he
said il in clean-cut phrase that went
straight home TO the understanding
and fingered long in the memory. II
seemed a trining thing at the time that
in the autumn Of 1885. while Mr.. Cham
berlain pas still carrying through the
country the flaming torch of Radical
ism known TO history as the Unauthor-
lied Programme, | should have edited
n volume Of his speeches. 1t proved TO
be momentous. The work was accom-
plished with his concurrence and as
sistance. He revised the proofs, and
the volume appeared as an author
lied edition" What remained OF the
issue disappeared from the market Il
year later. But one copy remained in
the Library OF tho House of Commons.
it's tattered condition testifying to the
frequency with which it was consulted.
Nothing could exceed the GOODNESS
and courage with which Mr.. Chamber
lain faced this dilemma. While on his
legs dominating an audience onc-half
bitterly hostile he showed no sign of
apprehensior Of the inevitable quota
ton. 4 practiscd debatcr. he might.
had he chosen, have shirked nasty
turnings leading to the well thumbed
volume preserving the speeches OF his
former self. But he took every fence,
lodged no ditch, and on rcsuming his
scat bore with unfinching calmness
the apt quotation.
There is abundant precedent for the