MR ASQUITH

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 96, 11 April 1908, Page 3

MR ASQUITH

A UKMARKAIiLK CAKKKI;. •The liight lion. 11. [(. As,,uitli, who succeeds Sir Henry Canipbell-Baimennan lis Prime Minister, has had a rcniarkuWe career. A writer in " Who's Who at, Westminster, published bv llic J)nlv Chronicle just afti-r tlie l!l(')li elections, remarked that Mr. Asquith " will mow nil able leader ol the iiouse in the a;. J " s eliief,' and this is just wlm' lfie J lines now declares he mis dullrecently while the unfortunate illness oi I Sll ' Jj- ['■ Biiniiermaii has put the re sponsibilities of leadership on Mr. Asquitli's shoulders.

-tSoin ill Yorkshire in ISSH, tin; son ol a null-owner, Mr. As.jiiith had neilhei great wealth nor powerful social inlhieiice to help liini on his way. Yet even at the outset he did well, lie was one ot Dr. Abbott's most successful boys at the City of London School, and winning

a iialiol Scholarship, lie became on c >'t the most brilliant or JJr. Jowett's unile'.gl initiates, took a til'.sL-dass in the classical schools, and was elected to a fellowship of his college. lie went from Oxford to the liar, and 1 llot ><"ig to wait for success tliev... His power!ul defence of llr. Cuuniii"hanie tiraham and Mr. John limns, charged with holding meetings in Trafalgar Square, gave kiln a reputation, which grew steadily until, as junior ;,1 Sir Charles Puisscll in the Pari'icll Commission, lie won universal admiration lulus cross-examination of ilr. Maedonald the manager of The Times.

1 hus rapidly did he establish himself as a leading lawyer, while he had still to make Ins reputation as a statesman. i»ut fortune was no loss kind to him

j in this pursuit, and his own genius and torce of character enabled him to lai;e I a prominent position in the House of C oni nion s in an exceptionally shott space of time. lie was elected for Ivist l'lie in 1880 as a follower of .Mr. Clad-

and the constituency, lias romaiu- . ('(I faitlilul to him ever since. Entering I rjuiiaiiH'iit when the Liberal party was under £t lieavy cloud as an i IK? Hoc live minority, when several of most capable lieutenants had gone to the other side, and the need of courage i and skill in advocacy was keenly felt, j

lh« young j)Olitician soon attracted attention by the cogency of his arguments and lus mastery in debate. Mr. Gladstone instantly marked tlie ability of his brilliartt recruit and singled him out to move the amendment to the Address which proved fatal to Lord Salisbury's Administration in 1892. When Mr. Gladstone returned to a j precarious renewal of power in 1892 } he I proved how highly he estimated his talents by installing him at the Jiome ! Oflice after only six years' experience of i legislative work. H is said that Mr. I Gladstone had some qualms about entrusting so young a politician with so responsible a task. How amply Mr. A.sifiiiih justified the choice, how vigor-tm-iy lie performed tlie dutk-s allotted to him, bow he brought a new spirit into administration, and gave a new meaning and purpose to the enactments passed for the protection and well-being of Labour are matters within tlie memory of all. During the last ten years lie lias remained conspicuous among the leaders, doing vanant service for the cause of progress and sustaining the spirit of Die party during its Jong wanderings in the deserts of Opposition. So much only is necessary to outline the career of this sturdy, strenuous, indomitable man, who is endowed with the best attributes traditionally ascribed to the people of hi= native county, ilr. SU-ad summed him up ten years ago as "sombrely virile"; and the phrase u essentially true of hiui to-day. In th'j political arena he is strong, level-headed, alert, logical and unimpassioned. Ilia vigorous intellect enables him to grapple witli the most complex problems, and to expound the most involved case lucidly and effectively, so that he interprets the highest statesmanship to the man in the street witli acceptable simplicity.

On the platform li 0 is invariably a welcome speaker; in the House his interposition in debate draws an attentive throng to ihe benches. In his duels witli that most doughty of antagonists, Mr. Chamberlain, he has never been worsted, and there is 110 man who possesses in'l higher degree tiie power to hit hard and decisively. JJut he does not wield t'hc broadsword; his weapon is the rapier, nnd when he. is in earnest few escape I'rom its swift effective thrust. 10s voice is musical and resonant, and his phrases are well rounded and often brilliant. He never rises to high imaginative llights of oratory, and sometimes one has fell that he lacks sympathy, 1 hut relentless logic has dwarfed the growth of emotion in him. But his intellectual dominance compels admiration. and if he appeals to the brain ralher fhan to tiie heart, the appeal is never made iu vain. Though cold in debate, in private life he is genial and warm-hearted.

The common adversary lias already whitened his hair, and left some lines on his brow. Rut the clean-shaven face, stern yet mobile, stiff-lipped yet alight with expression, indicates unabated strength and capacity, and those who have followed tlie remarkable career of this brilliant man arc assured that in the years which are left to biin he will sustain the highest traditions of British statesmanship. v Mr. Asquith has been twice married, his present wile being a daughter of Sir Charles Tennant, and a very accomplished lady.