Lord Granville also spoke with his usual grace and tact
of Mr. Bright. He told the House of Lords that as long ago as 1853, he had asked Lord Aberdeen why he had not offered a place to Mr. Bright in " the Ministry of all the talents,"—a place which, if it had been offered to him and accepted by him, the outbreak of the Crimean War would have compelled him very shortly to resign. Lord Granville bore the strongest possible testimony to the great and useful part which Mr. Bright took in Cabinet deliberations. Nothing was more remarkable in such deliberations than the moderation of Mr. Bright's counsels. Indeed, said Lord Granville, " I never knew a member of a Cabinet who acted more as a peacemaker among his colleagues." "It takes many years," concluded Lord Granville, "to build up a reputation such as Mr. Bright's. It is a proud thing for a man to have done so. But I must say that it is equally creditable to the nation to which he belonged that they should so unanimously appre- ciate the reputation which he has thus made." Let us hope that they will show their appreciation not only of his character, but of the strenuous political counsel which was his last and most valuable legacy to the English people.
