On leaving office, Mr. Gladstone advised the conferring of a
batch of honours. Four commoners were made Peers,—Sir Thomas Brassey, K.C.B.; Sir Michael Arthur Base; Mr. J. G. C. Hamilton, of Dalzell ; and Sir Henry Thring, K.C.B., the Parliamentary Counsel of the Government. Of these, there is no doubt that all are well fitted for the honour, while the first and last have, in different ways, earned it well. Sir Thomas Brassey, who is an experienced sailor,—Mr. Gladstone has more than once trusted himself in dangerous seas to his care,— has been an active supporter of the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, and has been Secretary to the Admiralty and an Elder Brother of the Trinity House. He is not only an accom- plished man, a politician of weight and standing, and a man of considerable experience in naval affairs, but he is just the kind of man to wield both personal and moral influence in the House of Lords. Sir Henry Thring has not only more know- ledge of the actual business of legislation during the last eighteen years than any other man in the -United Kingdom (for it has all been under his special supervision), but his knowledge of the various Governments which he has had to advise, his shrewd insight into men, and his large general experience, render him a very great addition to the intellectual capacity of the Upper House.
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