British Orators of Today

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 123, 27 May 1933, Page 18

British Orators of Today

'-■' "Lloyd George at his best could almost talk a bird out of a tree!" Thus speaks Mr. Winston Churchill in hia ~m e w book, "Thoughts and AdvenJ' Lord Snowden thinks a little less of ■ "lA.G.'* as an oratorical-charmer. He is always better on the attack and defence than in exposition, Lord Snowden considers, though aa a phrase-maker he has no -rival. "He has the finest ■voice of any. speaker today. He uses it more effectively than did Lord Kosobery, because ho never gives the impression of unnaturalness. Nothing in oratory can bo finer or moro impressive ■•• than the sinking of his voico in pathos -and appeal." Lord Snowden has been writing in the "Evening Standard" on "Orators I Have Known," and ho has known a good many in his long career in Parlia- " ment. But he hardly reckons Mr. Churchill among them. "Winston," who is a superb writer, "cannot claim to bo an orator, if 'oratory is the '■ power to carry conviction by the "obvious sincerity of the speaker.' He strains too - much after effect. No speaker more evidently enjoys himself ? when he has a responsive audience. "One always knows when a scintillating sentence is coming. His face beams ~«with anticipatory joy. He prepares Mg speeches and rehearses them with ■great care. That is all right; but he overdoes it. His purple patches give one the impression of artificiality. There is an absence of simplicity, which h one of the chief attributes of real oratory." Mr. Churchill may not' always or ■ often carry conviction, but the House ..of Commons invariably fills when he ,'i* "up." His wit and force delight tho most critical audience in the world. If this is not oratory, it is an "(excellent substitute ior.itj __„•

Lord Snowden does not think so very highly of Mr. MaeDonald either. The Prime Minister "has great natural gifts as a speaker. He has a fine presence and a voice of wonderful range I and power, but he has never learnt co use it to tho best advantage. When he speaks quietly he has great charm and effectiveness. But he will shout and thump. This is always a sign that he is not at ease with himself. This accounts for tho fact that he is seldom at his best in the House of Commons. At a Labour Conference where he was conscious of domination, he was a different man, and always spoke with great directness, force, and eloquence. Unfortunately Mr. MaeDonald's habit of shouting and thumping is growing on him with the strained health which obliged- him to forgo attendance at the Lord Mayor's banquet recently. He is nervy and inclined to rant, and the Houso of Commons hates to bo addressed as if it were a public meeting. ' * Tho Radicals havo always had a sneaking affection for Mr. Baldwin. Perhaps they feel that, despite his leadership of the Conservative Party, he is more of a Socialist at heart than Mr. MaeDonald, who is developing strong Conservative leanings. Lord Snowden clearly admires Mr. Baldwin, even more as a man than as a speaker. "Indeed," hays Lord Snowden, "he is not an orator, but just a plain talker, speaking as man to man. He gets his influence from his obvious honesty and his evident desire to be fair. He seldom arouses great enthusiasm, and never provokes violent opposition. Mr. Baldwin carries great weight in the House of Commons, and this is due to personal character, which, after all, is something greater than Parliamentary eloquence,'-?' .. - •