The Colonial Office have appointed Lord Tennyson Governor of South
Australia, and the newspapers have all made the absurd comment that it is an excellent appointment because Lord Tennyson's father was a great poet, who wrote vigorous verses in praise of Imperialism. Mr. Chamberlain has much better reasons for his choice. He has had the perspicacity to see in Lord Tennyson himself what a few of his friends have already detected,—a strong man, whose strength is not always recognised, because of his devotion to his father and his memory. Lord Tennyson is the very man for a constitutional throne, with a temper which cannot be ruffled, a serene judgment which makes no mistakes, and a will which, when he sees the right path, will not easily be shaken. It is possible that he has too little self-confidence, but if so, he has only to call on Lord Beauchamp, another recently appointed Australian Governor, and borrow as much as he needs. The Governor of New South Wales, who is an able man too, will not miss the loan.
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