The Liberal party has sustained a great loss in the
death of Mr. Thomas E. Ellis, M.P. for Merioneth, at the early age of forty. He died, at Cannes, of brain fever supervening on great weakness caused by a severe attack of influenza. The son of a small tenant-farmer in Merioneth, and learning English as a foreign language, he was 'educated for the ministry, and at Oxford took a fair degree. He abandoned the idea of the ministry for journalism, And, being an ardent advocate of tenant rights, before he was twenty-eight was returned for his native county as a devotee of land reform. He early attracted Mr. Gladstone's attention, and in 1894 was appointed Chief Whip to the Liberal Administration. He proved unexpectedly successful. He had great industry, rare tact, and a geniality which made him popular with both parties, though he remained an almost fanatic Radical, land "reformer," and opponent of Establishment. We think, as we have said elsewhere, that his extreme views made him a dangerous guide for his party, which must become English if it is to prosper, but there can be no doubt of his ability, or of his extreme popularity among all who speak Welsh. It seems certain that his eagerness of temperament, combined with excessive overwork, ultimately broke him down, as we fear they will in the years to come break down many a promising man. For statesmen, above all, one new lesson is now impera- tively needed,—" Do not fill life too full." The mind must sleep as well as the body.
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