BOOKS.

LORD GEORGE GEORGE HAMILTON'S REMINISCENCES.*

WE owe an apology to those of our readers who have not yet read Lord George Hamilton's book for not having brought it to their notice sooner. The book is just what such a book should be ; it is full of a simple and mellow wisdom ; there is not an idea in it that is not practical and rational ; and the political ideas are reinforced or illus- trated by a flow of anecdotes which are in themselves a delightful entertainment. It ought to be the devout wish of every lover of his country that the nation may be served in future by many men of the type of Lord George Hamilton. He is never viewy or fantastic or prejudiced ; he is, as all his recofd shows him to be, a plain and honest servant of the State with a passion for what is honourable. Ho went into polities almost by accident., but leaving arrived there ha " made a conscience " of all that he did. This is the main impression which will be left on the mind of every fair reader whether he agrees with Lord George Hamilton's general political principles or not. For our part, we do heartily agree with them, for in nearly all instances they seem to us to stand for moderation and a thoroughly circumspect pursuit of reform. Lord George Hamilton began to write his reminis- cences, he tells us, as a means of distracting himself from constant thoughts about the war, and he had no intention originally of teaching any political lesson in his book. But as he wrote he found that his experiences mostly tended to a condemnation of the Manchester School on the ethiCal side, and in our opinion he did right not to go out of jeis way to withhold tho lessons of his career. At the end of the book, indeed, ho expressly points to the laissez-faire school of thought as being responsible for the British national attitude which deceived Germany into thinking that it was worth while to make war. It is responsible also, as he believes, for that portent of our own day—the conscientious objector.

Lord George Hamilton was but a boy in the Guards when it was proposed to him that he should stand for Parliament. He regarded the proposal as a practical joke, and answered it in the. spirit in -which ho conceived it to .have been made. But the proposal was perfectly genuine, and was sanctioned and encouraged by Disraeli. In an inter- view with the great man Lord George Hamilton was asked his age. " Twenty-two." " Really ! you look about eighteen." Disraeli then patted him on the cheek and said : " All tight, little David ; go in and kill Goliath." In those days county elections cost a candidate about £10,000, but fortunately for the young aspirant the Duke of *Parliamenterg Itenaa(seesess and nejleefians; 1808 to 1880. By the Rt. Hon. Lehi George Hamilton, G.C.E.I., LLD., D.C.L. Loudon : John Murray. jltla. Cd. vet.]

Abercorn was so much annoyed by the abuse showered on the Hamilton family by Mr. Labouchere (Lord George Hamilton's prospective opponent) that he at once put his hand in his pocket for the money. An example of Lord George Hamilton's mother-wit follows (he is too modest, by the way, ever to claim wit for himself ; all his successes were due, according to him, to his good luck) :- " The financial arrangements being made, I was then interviewed by my Committee, who were appalled at my boyish appearance. They strongly urged that a second candidate of decent ago and venerable appearance should be associated with me. I agreed, provided that he halved the expenditure. This condition choked off all aspirants, except one of seventy-eight years of age. The contrast between us was so comical that my Committee gave way, and I stood alone."

Another example may be quoted :-

" On one occasion a very fat Radical orator denounced me as 'a bloated aristocrat fattening upon the flesh and blood of the people.' I was very slight and dressed in a tight-fitting frock-coat. In those days the candidate for Parliamentary honours always addressed his con- stituents en grande terms. I got up and put myself alongside my bulky opponent, and the roars of laughter which greeted this personal applica- tion of his diatribe completely upset him."

The whole narrative of this election is deliciously told. A glorious row in which Bradlaugh was concerned is the principal episode, but we have not room to quote it. Lord George Hamilton's youthful appearance was apparently the target of most of his opponent's sallies :- " In 1838 appearance on the hustings was still a part of the ordeal through which candidates had to pass. Brentford was the place where the Middlesex hustings were erected. It was a very rowdy place, and on the day of nomination there was a large number of bargees' wives below the hustings with long poles, to which were attached small bottles filled with white liquid. As soon as I began to speak, they all advanced with ' Milk for the Baby' ; and they further wont through a number of gesticulations showing how, if they got hold of me, they would put nee across their knee and chastise use in the way in which they were accus- tomed to treat their children. On my second appearance at the hustings I was the elected candidate, and a great change was noticeable in their demeanour, for these ladies were again there, and as soon as I came down from the hustings there was a shout : ' We will now kiss the Baby,' and I had to beat a rapid retreat to my Committee-room to avoid this punishment."

Lord George Hamilton's estimate of the qualities which make for success in politics is well worth emphasizing :- " No man owes more to the House of Commons than I do, and it seems ungracious to belittle a benefactor P • but I have often thought what my future career would have been if I had remained in the Army. I am confident that I should never have attained to anything like the prominence that I got in political life and office. Yet no one can pretend that the qualities a soldier should possess or the ordeals through which a soldier has to pass before he can obtain real eminence are not a truer test of character, reliability, and courage than those associated with political distinction. I therefore arrived early in life at the con- clusion, now fortified by many years' experience, that fluency and dexterity of speech rank far too high in the public life of England. They are very useful adjuncts to a man of courage, principle, and high ideals, bat nothing more, and useless and dangerous when dissociated from such attributes."

Lord George Hamilton's maiden speech in the House of Commons on the Irish Church question—he was returned for the Session of 1808—was a great success. Disraeli was delighted that his choice had been justified, and ho never ceased afterwards to encourage Lord George Hamilton and to help him to office. It may be said here that the judgments of the younger man on his chief are almost invariably favourable. In fact we know of no political memoirs in which Disraeli stands out as a more dignified, kindly, and honourable figure. This is not the place to discuss Disraeli's character ; we might say something on the other side to adjust the perspective without traversing any single statement that Lord George Hamilton makes ; but the only thing to point out that is really pertinent to this book is that Gladstone, as he is presented here, suffers rather to much by contrast with Disraeli. We know all that can be said about Gladstone's disingenuousness. His passion for the goal was so keen that he often seemed to .be forgetful of the ways by which he approached it. But when all has been admitted, and though we do not forget the handsome things which Lord George Hamilton incidentally says about Gladstone, we still feel that the selec- tion of episodes illustrating the careers of the two great protagonists almost conveys the impression that while Disraeli was generous and single-minded, Gladstone was on a much lower plane of virtue. That does not correspond with our belief ; but in any case Lord George Hamilton's loyalty to his chief and his intense admiration for him are thoroughly creditable, and will make the reader feel that though Disraeli made a point of helping Lord George Hamilton for the sake of his party, he never did anything more to his own interest than to attach to himself one so capable of constant and faithful service as the author of these memoirs. Loyalty indeed has been a key to Lord George Hamilton's career. In writing of the relations of Delane with the statesmen of his day Lord George says : " I defy any Cabinet Minister to correspond daily with the editor of a great paper and at the same time remain loyal to his col-' leagues. Consciously or unconsciously the oath of secrecy and the sense of obligation to his brother Ministers become little by little sapped, until they disappear." If Lord George Hamilton's deep regard for the ;character of W. H. Smith be analysed, it will be found that it consists really of unbounded respect for loyalty. Loyalty is perhaps the fairest of all political virtues, and it is on that unhappily does not always

flourish in democratic soil. This book would be of real value if only for the reason that tacitly or expressly it continually exalts loyalty.

.0n the subject of Gladstone we must quote a priceless anecdote :—

" In a subsequent debate, Gladstone gave a very -amusing instance of his extraordinary quickness and unfairness in debate. Whilst he was speaking, someone interrupted him on the ministerial side. He thought that it 'was Lord Barrington who so interrupted. Lord Barrington was sitting in an immaculate costume on the Treasury Bench, so he tamed on him and said : What does the noble lord know of this question ? Has he given it the full bent of his intelligent mind so as toejustify -him in thus interrupting -me ? '—and a good deal more of the same kind of language. At last poor Barrington got up and said : ' I beg the right hon. gentleman's pardon—I never opened my mouth.' Instead of apologising, Gladstone replied : Then why does the noble lotd appropriate to himself my observations ? ' " In this context the following story of Mrs. Gladstone must also be quoted :-

" All Members of the Opposition were at that time greatly incensed against Gladstone, for we regarded him as primarily responsible for' Gordon's death and the heavy and futile loss of life caused by our -military failures in Egypt. I therefore made a long and very strongly worded speeoh, going deliberately as near as I could to the limits allowed to Parliamentary invective. My wife was in the Speaker's Gallery, and so was Mrs. Gladstone. After I had spoken for some time, Mrs. Gladstone got up andattid : I can't stand any more of thie man.' She wont out, had tea, and came back and unconsciously sat down next to my wife, whom the had known for many years. I had net finished, and the exclaimed : That horrid man still speaking ! ' and then, seeing who was next to her, she with her inimitable aplomb said to my wife, patting the back oiler hand : Never mind, my dear, he will soon have done.'

The sketches of Magee, Cairns, Goschen, and the late Duke of Devon- shire.are excellent. The examination of the advantages of such slowness of mind as the Duke of Devonshire exhibited is both entertaining and illuminating. Gosehen was in all political essentials the ideal of Lord George Hamilton, because, although he was a Free Trader, he never yielded to the moral narcotics which for weak minds may seem to be implicit in the doctrine of freedom of exchange. Because you cannot suspend the law of supply and demand it does not follow that human beings are governed by arithmetical laws which cannot be altered, and which therefore relieve mankind of all obligation to control their destinies.

Though Lord George Hamilton has always been a Free Trader, he does not tolerate the baseness of a moral laissez faire. Again and again in

this book his indignation is directed against the moral refusals of the Manchester School, which failed to recognize high Imperial duties such as readiness to defend and to fight for the right.