MEN OF THE HOUR.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1905, Page 3

MEN OF THE HOUR.

" Like father like son." Well has it been written when applied to Chamber' lain pere and Chamberlain fils. It is, in fact, a case of the two Obadiahs, and the similarity before the senior one grew grey was pronounced enough to be ludicrous. And the likeness extends a good deal beyond the clean* shaven chin and upper lip, the monocle and the orchid, for Chamberlain fils, although he may certainly owe his first prefement to his father, owes his present position simply to bis own genius. Indt>«d it is not improbable that the younger man of the two is the greater intellect, as to compare the Chamberlains fairly we should hark back to what the Bight Hon. Joseph was at the present age of his son, in which cade it may fairly be said the balance will go to the latter. In many respects the two Chamberlains treated as a duality are remarkable. They are much alike in person; they dress, walk, and sit alike; each has tastes which the other reflects ; and the very mannerisms of speech are reflected for those who care to look for a resemblance. And a pleasing similarity apart from this is that one believes in j the other above all men, Chamberlain pere esteeming Chamberlain fils as the most able of the younger generation of statesmen, and Chamberlain fils esteeming Chamberlain pere as a long way the greatest Englishman who ever lived. Well it is that the younger man does not possess a dictating elective voice in regard to his father, as if he did it would probably be given to see him first Prime Minister, then the whole Government, and' finally the King and Government in one. Had we nob a Cromwell, and wasn't Cromwell great in both foreign affairs and home policy ? Better, was there not another Joseph, who was the o ief corner stone in the Government oi Egypt? Tbe nation is wise to keep its present franchise system, and not allow Chamberlain fils to elevate Chamberlain pere to too dizzy a height in the affairs of the Empire.

There are two Chamberlains apart from Chamberlain pere, but it is tafe to say that it is only Mr Austen Chamberlain whom the public will remember in the days to come. Born forty years ago he was an apt boy, an aggressive student, an irrepressible young man, in the twenties. Finding his political feet early because of his father, he rapidly rose to something like a position through the same influence. Mr Herbert Gladstone had the same chance, but did not dazzle the world; Lord Hugh Cecil should have had it, in which case he would probably have done something remarkable. Mr Austen Chamberlain having been given the same chance, seized upon it as a ravening soldier bent on scaling a wall seizes upon a ladder, and he was not content with a single rung either; he must needs swing himself up two and three at a time. Of course, his first portfolio was a rather colorless one, that of Postmaster General, but never yet has any Postmaster in England given so much concern to his subordinates, He had not long been in office when he inaugurated a number of reforms, which, although at the time they made the "office" gasp, have since, as we have seen, been accepted gratefully, with the promise of imitation elsewhere. Describing him in this, " Men and Women" of May 30, 1903, said:—" When he reaches the great postal headquarters in the shadow of St. Paul's he runs briskly up the steps to his own rooms in the north wing, and there instantly he has his new private secretary in attendance upon him. The first thing to be particular about is that a satisfactory answer has been prepared to a question of which a busybody M.P. has given notice, and which Mr Chamberlain must to day present to the House. A heap of semi private letters has to be examined, and now there must be one of those earnest and frequent con* saltations with the Permanent Secret tary to the Post Office, Sir George Murray, Postmasters-General may come, and they may go, but Sir George remains to ruminate upon the peculiarities of hits successive chiefs. In general a Permanent Secretary does not like the master which the Government of the day sends to him, being prone to look upon him rather as an unsophisticated intruder; but Sir George cannot help admiring the earnestness, thoroughness, and busi-ness-like adaptability of this young new comer—though, by the way, he is forty, and therefore perhaps not quite so young as you might think."

Mr Austen Chamberlain proved a number of things while he was Postmaster.General ; but one thiDg he proved above all others: his fitness for a greater position. Consequently, when the re-shuffle of portfolios oc curred, consequent on his father's retirement from the Ministry, he was offered the next most responsible position to that of the Prime Minister, — one that had been filled by many a grey bearded genius as the crowning reward of his services—the Chancellorship of the Exchequer. How would he comport himself ia this department, so much more important in the eyes of the people, and how would the experiment work of giving the nation's ledgers into the hands of a man of forty years of age, with no proven record, to adjust and manipulate in whatever way his mind might direct ? When the time came for Mr Austen Chamberlain to deliver his first Budget Speech there was hardly a vacant place in the Commons, admiration being a subordinate quality to our« ioaity, in such testing affairs. No one

believed he would make a conspicuously good job of it, —even his father might have been pardoned a doubt, — but the moment Chamberlain fils was on his feet and monocle to monocle Chamberlain p°re and Chamberlain fils looked at each other, there was little question that if possible the new Chancellor would stagger the House. Expectancy sbone from the one, a kind of challenge from the other, and then the most interesting of England's latter-day Treasurers began his famous address. With a perfect command of himself and language he summarised the financial position, presenting the details with convincing exactness and enunciated the money policy of the Government item by item, with just that degree of argument that was necessary to convince. And it did convince; and when a fairly long speech was over Chamberlain fils sat down to the plaudits of the House, and if Chamberlain pere was slow in joining it was perhaps because he was still struggling with his surprise.