NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20897, 12 June 1931, Page 10

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

FAMOUS LAWYER'S MEMOIR. ' The announcement of the death on April 26 of Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., in his 91st year, was accompanied in tho Times by a memoir written by Sir Edward himself, the manuscript of which he sent to tho Times on March 31, 1913. In the accompanying letter he wrote: "It seems to me that an obituary notice of a man should bo written by himself, if he should have reached old age (as is tho case with me) and should by his gradual detachment from the occupations and interests which have filled his life become capable of viewing fairly in perspective the events of his career." Sir Edward had had an eventful as well as distinguished career at tho Bar and in politics. He was by far the senior K.C. and the oldest Bencher of Lincoln's Inn. His memoir, with a brief supplementary notice, occupied three columns in the Times. Its opening sentences were: "Tho death of Sir Edward Clarko was tho close, so far as earthly activities aro concerned, of a very busy and very happy life. Sir Edward always spoke of himself as one of the most fortunate of men, and was wont to say that tho disappointments of his career had generally turned out to be good fortune in disguise."

A SELF-PORTRAIT. Sir Edward Clarke concluded his ; memoir with the following passage:— "Sir Edward Clarke owed none of his success to any advantages of personal appearance. He was below the middle height and of sturdy figure. His strong features gave the face a stern and almost harsh expression, and tho brown eyes which might have softened it were halfclosed under heavy brows. In his youth and early manhood he was not a favourite ; with men or women; his painful earncst- | ness gave him an unattractive severity of ! appearance and manner; but in later lifo ! prosperity mellowed him, and tho saving grace of humour displayed itself in some of his later speeches. His first wife died in 1882, and in the following year he married a lady nearly 20 years his junior, and of great personal charms. In her faithful and affectionate companionship he enjoyed many more years of the greatest domestic happiness. Sir Edward left directions that after cremation his ashes should be placed beneath the chancel pavement of St. Peter's Church, in a cinerary urn which was prepared for him by the Martin Brothers in 1901, and has sinco stood on a bookcaso in his dining room." THE DECLINE OF SOCIALISM. "The general temperament of our people, which revolted from tho nauseous dose of Marxism, is not congenial even lo tho milder niedicino of Fabianism," writes Mr. W. A. Hirst in the Quarterly Rovicw. "Externally, there is a great change. The misery which existed at the time of Marx's diagnosis, the widespread poverty of the 'eighties, do not now exist. When suffering from hardships, the worker was disposed to try remedies, but when tolerably comfortable ho is averse. He docs not like meddling and probably is beginning to realise that heavy taxation prejudices his prospects of employment. He respects private property, especially when it is his own. Further, in this generation a great change has conio about, which works in the samo direction. The place that amusements tako in tho general life has expanded so greatly as to be almost overwhelming. People thus pre-occupied will" not give much attention to revolutionary politics. Thus Socialism, after a rapid rise, hastens to decay. It has engaged a very large share of the national intelligence upon its formulation and development and has been very successful up to a point. But it was planted in uncongenial soil, with not much depth of earth, and now is withering 'away. To-day our need is not for changes of form, but for good and economical administration, firm government at home and abroad, and the cutting down of taxation. This cannot bo provided by Socialism, and hence it is declining toward extinction."