Mr. Bright, in proposing a vote of thanks to the
Mayor of Bir- mingham, Mr. Alderman Avery, for presiding, intimated that the present Mayor does not go as far as the representatives of Bir- mingham in politics, and might even have occasionally voted for a Conservative, though he believed that he himself had often had to thank Mr. Avery for support; but none the less, he said the present Mayor had discerned the great administrative qualities of Mr. Chamberlain, and had even-suggested—before any office was tendered to Mr. Chamberlain—how useful he would be to the Government in his present post. Perhaps it is not a matter for much surprise that a man with a mind very nearly balanced, as Mr. Bright intimated that Mr. Alderman Avery's was, between the two great parties in the State, should be one of the first to discern Mr. Chamberlain's remarkable administrative ability, for such minds value administrative ability much more than they value ability of political advocacy. And Mr. Chamberlain will find that, able speaker as he is, his administrative reputation will do more now to raise him in the ranks of statesmen than even his great oratorical adroitness. The former will recom- mend him to both parties in the State, as it recommended him to. Mr. Alderman Avery ; and it is no light thing for a statesman to be valued as an administrator by both parties in the State.
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