The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-06

It is a pleasure to know that few former notes on various books nave proved servicable to readers who might otherwise have missed the treasures that lie so near at hand. IT that has been so. the present volumes will prove even more delightful and this little reminder all the more Justified. Someone has said that literary men do not make successful parliamentary ians. John Morley is among the fore most of literary men of the two cen turnes. Whether he was also good practical politician and statesman Ter these volumes testify. They are built on generous lines, with heavy paper and dignified binding, and the contents are generously conceived, But there is no padding. nothing mawkish, only a fine and simple candor, a generously
 open doorway into the story of great 1 fife and the strong discipline of its character.
 1 In politics Morleys two great achievements belong to Ireland and h. dia. In the one case he took the man I agement of affairs when they had reached a bloody stage. The result ot ] his loyal adherence to Gladstone S leadership and to his own radical con- science was the beginning of new and 1 hopeful phase of Irish history. No Englishman, with the possible excep- tion of John Bright, ever won the low ling confidence of Irish leaders as did John Morley, whose regime followed lthe Phoenix park horror. He most of all men helped to make it impossible lthat Ireland should ever be again TO- garded as the utterly hopeless problem of British democracy.
 In India affairs this genial literary liberal insisted on opening the doors o1
 government to native Indians. First ir
 his own council in London, and then in the viceroy's council in Calcutta one or 1.-two Hindus or Mahommedans were
 made members. and this against all the vehement opposition of Anglo-Indians lalike in England and all her great de- pendency. Morley's greatest triumph however was in the last phase of Eng llish democratic evolution, the curbins
 of the power of the house of lords A. a member of that house (coincidental' fly with his acceptance of the Indiar Responsibility it fell to his lot to issu,
 the final appeal of the government no
 to smash their venerable institution
 amid the jeers of the world. by forcing creation of hundreds of radical peer!
 whose votes would carry the proposed Legislation. Backed by the seldom uses tauthoritiy of the throne itself. the ap Ipeal had it's effect, and by the marrow
 margin of IT votes the house of lord solemnly filed away it's fangs an' clipped the claws that had oftel torn in pieces progressive Legislation The story is told with modest simplicit.
 but is all the more graphic on that ac
 lcount.
 To the present writer the mos } impr essive things in these tw' s beautiful volumes are the evi :, dences of magnificent industr. and of patient but, strong con i, fidence in the power of the people. Nor Hey, as the peoples representative writes to Lord Minto, viceroy of Indis
 as brother to brother, but as eide
 brother to younger. as the represents
 tive of ultimate authority to whic r kings and their representatives mus [. Iconstitutionally bow.
 -i have no space left to pay the prope 6 tribute to Lord Morley's lucent style, c r to his beautiful and classic scholar