THE LATE JOHN BRIGHT, M.P.

Manawatu Herald, 29 March 1889, Page 2

THE LATE JOHN BRIGHT, M.P.

London, March 27. Mr John Bright is dead.

At last, after months of acute' suffering, one of the moat brilliaufc of orators, one of the most conscientious of statesmen, has passed away to his long rest. Joint i, right was bo.-.n November 10, 1811, near Rochdale. His fathei, Jacob Bright, was a catton spinner aud manufacturer at Greenback, neat Rochdale, and at "a, comparatively eavly age .tin Jate John Bright became a partner in th* firm. The only education he received was derived from the usual source available iu small provincial towns. He nevei* entered a public school nor studied at a university, and has all his life regarded with disfavour what is known as a classical education. His first introduction to public or semi-public life was at local meetings, whore he advocated tenperauce and o'tber social reforms. It was at such gatherings tb >t he began to acquire that rare f >cvlty of expression and that clearness ofd'etiou which led Mm many years after to be regarded as one of the most formidable debaters and one of the most impressive oiators who ever spoke in Parliament. He took part in the reform agitation which preceeded the great Act of 1832 but it was not till he joined the anti Com Law League in 1839 that he became prominent as a public man and as a powerful platform speaker. His first candidature for Parliament was in 1845, when he contested Durham against Lord Dungannon. Toe latter was successful, but was subsequently unseated on petition, and Mr Bright was elected in the following year, and represented Durham till 1857, when he was returned for Manchester. During this period he constantly took part in the great discussion on Freetrade, which then raged from one end of the country to the other. Financial and political reform, the repeal of the taxes on know, edge and every movement which had for an object the elevation and education of the people, engaged the earnest advocacy of the member for Manchester. In the struggle between Great Britain and Russia he denounced the, war as a cruel and useless squandering of the blood and money of the nation. Hit •poeohei on thi« subject art

perhaps the most powerful and eloquent he ever delivered. $efore the war ended Mr Bright was laid up with a serious illness, which compelled him for a time to withdraw from" public life. In 1857 he wW elected for Birmingham, and remained a member of .that district till his death. He was ft constant advocate of the extension of the suffrage. He visited Ireland in 1 866; and was entertained at a banquet ia DiVblia. Two years later he was-

presented with the freedom of thecity of London, and in the same year (1868) he accepted office as President of the Board of Trade. For the next three years illness once more removed him from pub ic life, at the end of which period he became chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and held that post till 1874. The next six years he sat in < the Opposition, in 1880 he waa again appointed to the Duchy of Lancaster, but resigned on the eve> of the bombardment of Alexandria, an act which he considered a violation of the moral law, but which Mr Gladstone on the same occasion justified as in hannony with the iaw. Mr Bright was not, as many suppose a peace at-any-price-man, but as a rule he was ever found in op- . position to wars wa^ed by England. Of late years Mr Bright had taken very little pal* in the active life of the House of Commons, and seldom

spoke from the patform, except at ong intervals, to Jus constituents, when as a rule, Jibme 17,000 to 20,000 listened to* his words. Lord Randolph Ghnxofiill on«e stood against him *at a general election, but was defeated aftei\a hard contest. One of the last positions token up by.Mr Bright was a sti'ong opposition to G-adstone's Hotiie EuJeM scheme. On the question cf Pro^P tection Mr Bright was ever true to Eadical traditions ; and with re&r* ence to the resolutions passed at thff Oxfo'dtonferenceof the Conservfttire Association in favour of Protection, he wrote a letter commencing with the now famous declaration,. " The dog hasretamed to its vomit." Mr Bright was an honorary D. C5. L. of <»AXord, and once served the office of Lord Bector of the University of Glaasow.— N. Z. Times.