Beyond a few sentences intended to describe his main object,
which is the reunion of the races divided by the war, and the expression of a certain hope that he would be aided by a majority of the Boers, Mr. Chamberlain, as the honoured guest of all parties, avoided politics. He spoke warmly of his forty-eight years connection with Birmingham, and observed with some pride that if, as alleged, he was the " best-bated " man in Britain, he shared that distinction with great men of the past such as the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Palmerston. Those who, " like a very great man, President Roosevelt," believe in " the strenuous life," life, that is, spent in fighting for the faith that is in you, are, the speaker said, often hated, but at least, as that scene showed, he was not hated in Birmingham. For himself, he hated no one, and he was inclined to believe that in this country political enmities were but the crackling of thorns under a pot; the fire is fierce for a moment, but very soon dies down. That has certainly been true for many years past, and we have always wondered whether the amenity of our public life is due to the softening of the national character, which has undoubtedly occurred, or only to the absence of any vital occasion for disagreement. It is difficult to feel hatred over an Education Bill.
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