“A Man of Character”

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6536, 18 February 1928, Page 9

“A Man of Character”

TRIBUTES IN PARLIAMENTARY HOUSES TO LATE EARL OXFORD Quiet Burial in Home Village The leaders of Parties in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday paid their tributes to the; late Earl of Oxford and Viscount Asquith of Morley. It is announced that the great Statesman will be buried on Monday “with the utmost simplicity” in the churchyard of AH Saints’ at Sutton Courtney, on the Thames, his country home for years.

“Stood out Above all as Most Strongly Hating War”

Silence and Solitariness. Tlie tribute of Parliamentary leaders to the Earl of Oxford and Viscount Asquith’s character and career was given in the House of Commons in silence and almost complete solitariness such as is seldom attained wjiere a crowd of such a size is gathered. A pathetically quiet corner was the dark recess of the Ladies’ Gallery where the Countess, her blanched face startlingly clear against the blackness of mourning, listened with an alertness which triumphed over fatigue. Others of the family were beside her when the speeches concluded. The Commoners rose slowly and left the Chamber to its symbolical desertion. The Countess immediately rose and went to the Lords' Gallery where she sat, a drooping figure over the heads of those paying further tribute. It is announced that the Earl of Oxford will bo buried at noon on Monday in the churchyard of All- Saints’ at the village of Sutton Courtney, on the Thames, which was his country home for years. Only relatives and close friends will bo present. With the full concurrence of the Government a public funeral in the Abbey had been proposed by the Dean of Westminster. The executors however were unable to accept, as Lord Oxford had left written instructions that there should bo nothing in the nature of a public funeral, and that he should be buried "with the utmost simplicity.” Applications for tickets to attend the Abbey service are several times over in excess of the accommodation.

(A.P.A. and Sun.) (Received Friday, 8.5 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 16. In the House of Lords the Marquess of Salisbury, moving an adjournment, said that Viscount Asquith stood out above all as a man most strongly • hating war with its sorrows and bitterness yet having the moral courage to choose its arbitrament in the cause of national honor. Viscount Haldane said that Viscount Asquith was essentially a man of character, having taken the decision without asking whether it would be . popular or whether glory was obtainable from it. “I well remember the decision he took to enter the war. Viscount Grey and myself were with him on the night' of August the 2nd, when immediately without hesitation his mind was made up. He did not wish to consult anybody. He simply decided that a situation had arisen in which, much as he hated war, it must bo accepted if wo were to bo saved from war in a further form which might entail disaster to the nation.” Reluctance—Not Incapacity. Viscount Grey said that a criticism was often made that Viscount Asqpith was slow to take decisions—but reluctance to take decisions in nowise implied incapacity therefore. “On the contrary we members of .Cabinet felt when a decision was reached that nobody would announce it so clearly or defend and maintain it so powerfully. “Wo had the most valuable example of his quality in the week preceding the war. It is well known that in the last week of July the Government, was so deeply divided that the Parties were apparently irreconcilable in the House of Commons. The country also was divided. An Undivided Front, “In my opinion if wo had been precipitate in our attempt to force a decision it would not have helped those differences but would have emphasized them and made them irreparable, and the consequence would have been that in the final crisis we should have confronted the world with a divided Government, a divided Parliament, and a divided country. “The fact that this country entered the war practically united was due to that quality of Viscount Asquith’s that while not precipitating decision by those differing therefrom he was content, to wait knowing that in the end the decision come to would be a weighty one.” The Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Gainsford added tributes and the House adjourned.

“As Fragrant a Memory May it be Ours to Leave”

(British Official Wireless.]) RUGBY, Feb, 16. The leaders of Parties in both Houses of Parliament to-day paid their tributes to the deceased Statesman. In the House of Commons, Mr. Baldwin, the Prime Minister, said that the late Lord Oxford was essentially, a House of Commons’ man, and was, perhaps, one of the greatest Parliamentarians of tho last century. Ho was a scholar steeped in the classics. His speeches were literature. There was no meretricious adornment, not one excessive word. His argument was closely reasoned and logical and his whole speech compact, together as if it had been fitted in by the brain of a master. His judgment, helped by his temperament, which was essentially judicial, was' rarely at fault. Mr. Baldwin said that ho thought that few leaders in the House of Commons had made fewer mistakes in judging the temper either of his party or of the House. Ho maintained poise in all matters connected with the House. Nothing upset him, nothing ruffled him.