LECTURE ON MACAULAY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2075, 24 October 1885, Page 3

LECTURE ON MACAULAY.

A most eloquent 1< ctiuo was gn en on the subject of '"Thomas Dvbington, fir-^t and last Loid MacanUy, ' on Wednesday evening by the Ke\. H H. Dewsbury, at tho CaniDiidge Public Hall. Tho audience was fairly laige, but not adequate in piojiorti'in to th" mciit-t of tlio L'cturo. Tljc lecturer deprecated tho assertions of many people in the present age who look upon tin- liteiatuie of this century as inferior in power and geniM. On the contrary, lie stated emphatically that thero wuro as splendid intellectH among the writeis of tins tontnry, and they had produced woiks a-, admirable as any the world's history c\u Bhow. Tho wonderful dramatists and philosophers of Llizabt'th'n time, men who had written for all n»et to come, tthnk-.-jwai-t', Spenser, Hooker, and others, stood umivalled. vet our age had given us tl»j woiks of that emperor of novelist*, Scott, of t'u.it powerful though cynical poet, liynm, of Tennyson, with Ins rich language and splendid imagination, and of the I3rnv\nmgd with their accurate insight into human character and inotnes, works which can take their stand among tho worthiest of human efforts. Our age, too, produced that wonderful man, historian, statesman, poet, essayist, and peer, Lord Macaulay, whoso life and woiks were the subject of the lcctme. Thomas Babmgton, first and last Lord Macaulay, was bom in 1800 at Kothlcy Temple, Leicestershire, at the house of his uncle, Mr Babincton, after whom lie was turned. His f«ith<T was Zachary Macaulay, a m«n of solid merits and «trongly defined character. His mother was a sensible and (or seeing woman, and to her waa largely duo the marked sucress of her talented son. He was called the child of foitune, but ho attained his aims by force of his splendid genius and intrepid character. Ho was, indeed, fortunate m possessing that best of all advantages, wiso, honourable, and gifted parent*, and for them lie entertained a due regard and affection. His father was a Presbyterian, his mother a Quaker. Macaulay was an indefatigable reader of book*. Before he was l!i we find him reading Boccaccio, nnd contrasting him with our English poet Chaucer, greatly to the disadvantage of the latter. Although his father possessed the strict religi*us spirit of tho old Scotch Covenanter*, ho does not seem to have exeicised much supervision nvirhis .sou's choice of authors. We fool bound, howover, to attribute the generally unspiritu.il character of Macaulay's writings to the severe and rigid discipline m leligioim matters which his father adopted. Macaulay went to an excellent private school in eaily life, and received the foundation of a pood education. In 1818 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, but in competing foi tho Chancellor's medata was plucked on account of his inattention to mathematics which was a compulsory subject there. It is unfortunate that he had so great a dislike to the exact sciences, an evidenced by his letters to his mother, for the study of them would have saved him from much inaccuracy and error in his aftcrwork. In 1824 he obtained a Fellowship. Previously to this he had launched into literature. He contributed to Knisrht's (.Jimrteily M.iga/ine. Theßittle of Ivry, which is well-known, and tho Battle of Xaseby, which must stir all to admiration, whether inclined to side with the Royalists i or tho Roundheads, so forcible and dashing is its rush of language, appeared about this time. The lecturer recited a few stanzes, as he put it, ft passage of some substantial length full of fire and vigour, and was gieeted with hearty applause. Continuing hH subject, he referred to a very noble trait m Macanlay's character in that he, having no trreat aptitude for business, finding that his father was too much engrossed with the excitement of the Abolition of Sla\eiy question, took upon his own shonlder3 the responsibilities of his father's business in which he whs junior partner, and earned it on until he had (successfully settled all liabilities and put its affairs on a firm basis. The essays, so celebrated, claim a. laige share of our attention. Hw essay on Milton, when it appeared, attracted much notice, and cieuted quite a fui<>ro in the literary world. The beauty of its 1 inguage was at once percened, and the maoterly way in which the subject was treated gained mental approbation. He himself was rather se*ere in after life in criticism of this his more youthful wnik, but in this he was unjust to himself. These grand essays are unequalled by any in the English language. The wealth of stored information which Macaulay poured forth inexhaustibly filled them w ith viud inteiost. He seems never to have forgotten anything he read. The lectnier here ie..d with maiked effect a pas»age from the essay on Lord Clive, showing how much more astonishing was the conquest of India by the English than that of Mexico by the Spaniards. " Tho people of India, when we subdued them, were ten tunes is f nuireious as tho Amu Lans whom tho f Spaniards vanquished, and were at the s tint; time quite as higl 1/ civih-cd .is the victorious Sptni.ird-j. Thry had reared cities larger and fairer than SaiAgosaj, or Toledo, and buildings inoro hjautiful and costly than the cathedral of Seville. They could show bankers richer than the richest firm* of Barcelona or Cadiz, viceroys vvho^o splendour far surpassed that of Ferdinand the Catholic, myriad* of cavalry and long trains of artillery, which would have astonished the Croat Captain." Space prevents our quoting the lecturer's extiact at greater length, though we feel tempted to do so. He then gave a passage from the essiy on Ranke's History of the Popes, telling in magnificent language tho grandeur of ancient Rome, Hard work was the grind secret of Macaulay's success as a w uter and speaker. Hit own journal gnes rs an in«ight into his course of reading, which is quite astounding. In one year ho devoured with a most \oiaciotis appetile a whole course of chusieal authors ( Jreek and Latin, at tho same time bjnitf busily engaged in literary taik-<. A refreshing tiait in his conduct was tho in unanimity with which ho excluded his f^.iys against Mill and his utilitaiiin theories from the collected edition of the essays, expressing in thn preface his regict at having attacked him so bitteily. On the other hand he gave i>oor Robert Montgomery, the poet, a xavagely severe handling for having dared to publish bid poi try, and visited the sin.s of the public, who wuio taken as if by storm by Montgomery's poems, on the head of tho unfortunate poet; nor would he show tho latter any meicy. And the "immortal tomer" »*til l shakes the " mortal mou.se." In politics Macaiilay wax a Whig, and <\ most biiH'.iint ornament to his party. Ho went into Parliament as member for Calne, a si- it in the gift of Lird Landsdowne. His praißo is that in an age of corruption he was perfectly incorruptible, and this was » known and acknowledged. The state of at that time ix iticoncefvabl ; to urn. Two-thirds of the members in the House of Commons were nominated by the, Lords. Thirty-five constituencies had haidlyany residents, yet returned representatives, while important places like Liverpool and Manchester were unrepief rented. A story in told of a Scotch constituency wheie the sole elector proposed, seconded, turned a vote an chairman in favour of, and unanimously elected himself as a member of the House of Commons, and this truly "free and independent '' took his seat in Parliament. Mncaulay's first speech in Parliament was a splendid success. The ablect debaters of the Opposition could not break down the effect of his oratory. It was at once keen that he was a most valuable accession to his party. His lint speech was on the Reform Bill, and in his fourth speech on the same subject he declared that rapid legislation was absolutely necessary to avoid revolution and civil war, and this in most vigorous and convincing language. The lecturer here incited with effect an extract from Mawday's speech. Macaulay strongly supported the abolition of slavery, which ho many noble philanthopists were then urging. He resigned his scat in tho Cabinet rathei than violate the views of his friends and himself m thie respect, but the Government would not accept his resignation. As regards his religion he was not a sceptic, and his writings clearly show his favourable leaning to Chnstanity. The lecturer recited a portion of the well known poem on " The Spanish Armada " nnd was gieeted with vociferous applanso. He explained thit the idea of the watch fires tignalbng from hill to hill was most felicitously employed in this poem, but wai borrowed from Homer's description of tho (Ir^r-ks ■Ljugnalling the destruction of Troy Ho tlicn the legend of Horatius in a most telling manner, and tho audience muni fe«ted their delight by a round of hand clapping hiicli as is seldom accorded to a lecturer. The jingling swing of tho rhyme wan avoided in so pci feet a way that the pictuie of the incident and all its innouudwas vividly depicted to tho hearers. The lecturer went on to describe the Histoiy of England, wntten by Macaulay, asa high wnrk of art, full of aceJJJc ability and pictniLsijue description of men, manners and events, and so fascinating as a stirring romance, flutwithitandinf iowcur*cies which were

pardonable in so minute a n.uiathe. Tn liS.")7 Mac inlay w .is elevated t<> the peerage. He died m IK.VKit Holly Lod^t 1 , KenMiifjtun, and was btuud in \\\^tnnnf>tei Abbey. His \pi-vitilu talents and nobility of elwr.iclei, ln-> Üboun m the c.ui^e i>f frcedoin, and his cuntenipt for all cnn-ltv and injustice, and wronf; ni.iko linn woitliv <'f mil dncj^st n ««prct Mi (too. Cl.uk occupied the cli.vi <lan.i n ' tin. oumi ing. Soin • nmsici! scloctioni wen- i«.iidi 11 f 1 d by Mc-mn Kus-ell and Sinn. At tin* close nf t!n» lcctviie Mr (!.\ne m >\cd a vote of thanks to the am it m-. who h.id so kindly as~i>-tcd, and Mr Like a \ote of thank', to to h utuiei, which were he.irMly accoidi'd.