Rarely have I heard so remarkable a cumulative tribute as
was paid in the debate in the House of Commons on university repre- sentation this week to the late Eleanor. Rathbone. There was nothing premeditated about it. Miss Rathbone was of no party ; she had no special associates ; yet speaker after speaker seemed to find if impossible to complete an argument without invoking her to serve his purpose. If he was advocating the retention of university repre- sentation, it was because it had brought to the House such a per- sonality as Eleanor Rathbone ; if he was demanding its abolition, he would concede that if the return of a dozen university Members like Eleanor Rathbone could be depended on he might be of a different mind. Memory has, I think, to some extent clarified values. Eleanor Rathbone was not appreciated quite to this extent while she was still here, highly though everyone respected her and her selfless devotion to the many good causes she so profoundly believed in. It is indeed her complete selflessness that does most to gild her memory. She was the ideal Independent Member.
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