The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1888. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2853, 21 March 1888, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 1888. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN.

A late cable records in simple words the plain fact that" Joseph Chamberlain has refused a title." Does this mean that there is virtue in a Radical ? We have had abundant proof here in New Zealand that a Eadical will not refuse the temptation of a title. How is it that the great Birmingham Radical spurns such a distinction? Is it because he is true to the democratic principles which he professes, and, unlike our own Sir Robert, is not to be influenced to forsake them ? It is probably this to a very great extent; but it is a mistake to assume that Joseph Chamberlain is a philanthropist. He has his [price, no doubt, but he will not sell himself like our own poor Stout for a knighthood or a Baronetcy, His ultimate object is, without doubt, the Premiership of Great Britain, and it is essential to its attainment that he should be consistent in his political career, and true to the principles he has laid down for himself, He has a keen vision, and so far has frequently elected to sacrifice place and power temporarily to maintain his prestige as a Radical leader; but we question whether he has not even in this been approaching by circuitous but sure steps, the goal for which he is working. Twentyfive years ago, Joseph Chamberlain was unknown as a public man. At that period he was a slim youth, with an eye-glass, who was spoken of as a dib'gent and promising member of a Birmingham Debating Society. He was also known as a wood screw manufacturer, and the history of his career in this capacity aptly illustrates the man who has since attained to greater things, Mr Chamberlain, when quite a youth, was placed as a junior partner in an old established manufactury, which turned out that very prosaic article, the common carpenter's screw. Shortly after his advent as a manufacturer, there was a scare in the screw trade, the price of screws being reduced by the firm of Nettlefold and Chamberlain below cost, till every screw ■ maker in the Midland Counties One after another, singly and by dozens, the big man and the little man, went to the wall, losing the little capital they possessed, and which was mainly invested in machinery. At last the firm of Nettlefold and Chamberlain had a monopoly pf the, screw trade and did on enormous business, Of course when all opposition was broken down, prices for screws shot up again, and the" only screw firm " for a time began to reap a tremendous haryesi and to realise enormous profits. Of course this Jtfnd of thing could not last; the inevitable reaction was sure to follow, and screw makers who had collapsed under the old prices began to prepare to take advantage of the new ones. At this juncture Mr Joseph Chamberlain sold out his interest in the screw making concern, retiring, it was said, with a singularly large fortune. After his ■withdrawal, it was also said, the big profits collapsed. Joseph Chamberlain had, in fact, scooped the pool. He had, with' marvellpjis discernment, laid down a plan'of ..action, and yejtf after year carried it out to a marvel, ; and then at .the right moment grasped the prize for which he had worked. If Mr Chambprlaiii, as a youth, could "work out a "project .of'this khipVin which an intense regard for his own •private interest .was hi strong contrast with his, disregard' for other 1 people's Msfpriuiies, jyhat m ike not do in

his middle age, when his powers are matured by experience, In all the incidents of his subsequent, career—as Mayor of Birmingham, as a member of Parliament, as a Minister of the Crown, and as a seceder from the great Liberal camp—the same Napoleonic characteristics have been displayed which enabled him to make afortune out of wooden screws. He looks a long way ahead, he relies upon his own hard clear head, and he is on all occasions true to himself. He is not such a fool as to be deterred from following the course which he has laid down for himself by accepting such a bait as a title. He also understands that his consistency as a Radical is the best guarantee of his retaining the confidence of the people of England. Selfish though Mr Joseph Chamberlain may be, he is a trustworthy politician, who has performed great public services for the British nation, and who will probably yet advance the national interests by his clear grasp of great questions and his persistency in carrying out any project to which he puts his hand. Joseph Chamberlain will not be a lord, but he will be the leader of the House of Commons and a future ruler of England.