Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Young Man, Vol. 10: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine; January to December, 1896
Mr. Gladstone's policy has always been unintelligible to those who were so hide-bound by precedent and tradition that any departure from them savoured, in their view, of revolution. To others who really know him, nothing could well be more ridiculous than the association of his name with the idea of revolution. There is not a man in the Cabinet to-day who has less sympathy with ideas and measures which have this brand upon them. He is singularly hospitable to new ideas, ready to open his mind for their consider ation, even to afford them kindly entertainment, and to give full weight to all that can be urged on their behalf. But there it ends. There is no disposition towards a too facile acceptance of them; still less is there a forgetfulness of the case on the opposite side. It is true that when fully con vinced he shows a resolution and courage in obeying his conviction that is rare among statesmen. Here, as everywhere, he is a dis tinct and vigorous individuality. He has been compared with different eminent statesmen, but there is but faint likeness in him to any of them. Between him and his great rival the contrast is perfect and between him and Earl Russell, his predecessor as Liberal leader, there is little resemblance save in the high moral purpose and sincere attachment to liberty of both. He has always spoken of Sir Robert Peel with the respect ful affection which a loyal disciple cherishes to his chief, but the difference in temperament and character between them was very marked. It would be folly to name a dilettantist like Melbourne, or a believer in compromises like Lord Palmerston, in connection with him. The position he occupies among the Queen's prime ministers is absolutely unique, and unique chiefly because of the marked originality of the man himself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
