* * * Lord Birkenhead The death' Of Lord Birkenhead
at a too early age has removed one of the most powerful brains and one of the most commanding personalities of our time. His surprising career, with its strange combination of inestimable public service and experiments in spectacular effect, will be a permanent memory. Names are , preserved' more easily among lawyers, who pass on a legend, than in any other profession, but in any case Lord Birkenhead's legend is assured. The real beginning of his political career was an insolently brilliant speech in the House of Commons. This both helped and hindered him, for he was expected to continue in the same strain, which was not the strain associated with the responsibilities of high place. Never- theless, 'Lord Birkenhead, who was clever enough for anything, relieved himself of the handicap and as Lord Chancellor earned, against all odds, a great and deserved reputation for weight, truth, and clearness. Some of his judgments, for their reasoning as well as for their perfectly appropriate form, will always be quoted. Moreover, he was the prime author of the great revolution in the laws relating to land purchase and tenure.
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