Evening star., 1915-11-14

man of the moment here. Report de-
clares. by the way. that he is a con-
scrtptionist, and one OF his most IN
innate friends. who, in default. of his
lordship himself. was interviewed, con-
frmed that report.
Lord Derby and the late King Ed
ward were the closest of friends" said
this acquaintance, and what was, ]
ever had came about through this very
question of conscription. Both had been
the frmest of supporters Of the volun-
tary principle, as it is called, but as
time went on the king began to waver.
He grew more and more convinced that
Germany was meditating war on Brit
ain, and eventually decided in his own
mind that nothing but national serv-
When he endeavored to bring Lord
Derby round to his way of thinking,
however, the latter reproached him al
most bitterly for his change of front,
and the result was definite coolness
between the two for while. Now the
earl is equally convinced that moth
Ing but compulsion Will produce enough
recruits, but, he is one of the most
honest men in England. you may be
sure that he will give the old idea
thorough trying out before he goes and
tells Lord Kitchener that sterner
measures must be taken"
However much of a democrat one may
be. and how little interested in the
British aristocracy and its concerns,
there cannot fail to be magic in the
name of Stanley, which is Lord Derby's
family one. he himself being Edward
George Villiers of that ilk.
Charge. Chester. charge,
On. Stanley. oui were the last words of Maru,ion
Thus sang Scott, and the Stanley ad-
dressed was the present earls great
ancestor Sir Edward Stanley, who won
for the English at the battle of Fiod-
den Field. far earlier Stanley was
one of the best loved companions of
William the Conqueror himself, while
another Stanley crowned Henry VII
on Bosworth Field.
X x
Yet another of the breed was in his
day reckoned the richest man in Eng
land. though his fortune of 10000
marks in ready money" would not cut
much of a figure today. 1t was a Stan
ley, too, who gave warning OF the gun
powder plot, and 1t was the twelfth
earl, the present ones great-grand-
father, who founded both the classic
race that bears his name and the al
most equally famous Oaks, though they
do say that the first real Derby was
run in the Isle of Man In the dim days
when the heads of the family had ac-
tual sovereignty over the island
Just at this time, however perhaps
the most interesting thing of all about
Lord Derby is the fact that II another
OF his predecessors-and that not so
distant a one, either-had fallen in with
AN offer made to him the present head
OF the house of Stanley would today
nave been King of oreece. In which
case, it is certain. he would be leading
the Greek army into battle, with
happy Fenizelos at his elbow. instead
of facing. in Whitehall. the problem of
to conscript or not to conscript. So it
was quite a curious coincidence that
the news Of the earl's appointment as
chief recruiter and that about the
real Greek kings sudden attack OF
cold feet should have been published
on the same day.
1t was the present earl's great-uncle
This w.s In ~ ,,,,.S - D;...o,, /focoS
who wrote about the offer at length in
letter to his friend. Mr.. Willyams.
The Creeks" wrote Dizzy" really
want to make my friend, Lord Stanley,