11 JULY 1914, Page 3

In moving on Monday that the House of Commons should

adjourn till the following day as a token of respect, Mr. Asquith paid a notable tribute to Mr. Chamberlain. For thirty years he had been in the forefront of our Parliamentary life, and though he never held the title of Leader of the House or head of a Government, that was felt by friend and foe alike to be an accident of his career. Neutrality was impossible to a man of his temperament and convictions. He brought a new type of personality into the arena of political conflict, and he introduced and perfected a new style of speaking, less elevated than that of Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright, but if he kept as a rule closer to the ground, he rarely digressed and never lost his way. " More than any orator of our time he gave the impression of complete and serene command both of his materials and of himself."