THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Nelson, Monday, Apr. 1908. THE BRITISH PREMIER.

Colonist, Volume L, Issue 12216, 13 April 1908, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Every Morning. Nelson, Monday, Apr. 1908. THE BRITISH PREMIER.

Thf Right Honourable Herbert Honry Asquitd, upon whom the mantle of Sir 1-leflry Campbell Bahnftrmnn bits falen, his been . a cotablo personality in tho House of Commons for many yoars. Since Sir Henfv- ftas laid astde by ill- . health, Mr Asquith has acted as Premier, and, a3 the London Press J is aln\oat unftn'muus ia admitting, ] with marked ability. His career has boon a remarkable one, both in polities and at the Bar. A recent writer in an exchange said of him that the soorct of his success is his i tivunendoua eapifnty for work. Six »] hours a day ia the law courts, and I six hours at Bight in the House of Commons is enough to sap the vitality from even giants of iatellect. Mr Asquith has tbriren on it. His career may lie said to have begun at the City of London School, when he commenced to win such laurels as are held out to those who aspire to high scholarship and Statecraft. Afc Cambridge subsequently he further distinguished himself, and at the age of twenty-four he was called to the ( Bar. From that time onward his : record has shown an unbroken line : of successes, both parliamentary and j forensic. His political foundations j were laid in the Eighty Club, of ' which he was an original member: < and it was the energy and ability j which he displayed in this sphere j that first attracted tbe notice of Mr t Gladstone. At the liar, and in the * llousa of Commons, hi 3 inexLaust . £ lble vocabulary and scholarly mind t soon brought him to the front as a f graceful and forcible speaker ; his. a power of phrase - making and of, trenchant invective won for hirii £ early a foremost pace among the j favourites of the platform : his quiet t self-trust has preserved him from shirking any case however difficult, & and— how valuable and precious is t< | this faculty !— bus enabled hisn always to appear at "the top of his , r form" whenever called upon. Per- sj haps nis greatest law case was tho - : Parnell Commission, in which he aj.-paarod aa junior- to Sir Charles n Russell. Since then his many vie- P lories iinvo been gained in Courts of Appeal, and upon subjects with ® which the lay mind dare not grapple. For long we cave known him frotn afar as a lawyer of great eminence and learning: he is more familiar to jj, us as a Liberal leader since tbe day ir when Mr Gladstone singled him out tl from among his henchmen in 1892 to m move tho Amendment to tbe Address c i which ru'ovfd fatal to Lord Salisbury's administration. In 3592 be became Home Secretary, and being a F firm administrator, did not always '# meet with the approval of Labour leaders. Determined and inflexible, f u be was to be neither frightened nor pi cajoled. 119 sr rang to the front as w^ a debater of toe nrsfc ranK jis the c ° Home Kule Hill- -forced its - way j u through the flous« of Commons; he pc foughfc for Welsh disestablishment | r and local veto with all the ardour of j^ s teetotal pirate; he made more F a

than any other member of the Government, praising the loyalty of "ourllrish. allies" and^uttering terrible things against the House of Lords. At a later period he joined Lord Kosebery, who led a little band, with the apparent intention of drawing the party away From Home Rule and pro-Boorism. "He is a master ot debate. Ho Can Juggle t with complicated iigures in n way wMch itiakes the mind.of the ordinary man stagger. He can put lus own case so dearly that he may for the moment make even his opponents doubt their position. l:iwa!.ive, scorn, tho biting phrase-, th'^Sudden thrilling shout ot anger, are but a few ot his many weapons. He uses them with 'great effect."