In the delicate task of appraising a contemporary--and that
contemporary a prominent figure in a kindred state--a writer will
naturally feel hesitation. This hesitation will be increased when it
is considered that the subject of the notice lives and moves in the
contested fields of party politics, and that to his own Englishmen the
character of Mr. Chamberlain may admit of two interpretations. But
none can deny him the meed of an early and continued success as a man
and a publicist. And the real _crux_ of the question centres about his
transferral of party allegiance.
The Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain, M.P. for West Birmingham,
and Secretary of State for the Colonies, was born in London in 1836.
As a young man he removed to Birmingham to become a partner in a
manufacturing business. This enterprise he carried to such great
success that in 1874 he retired definitely from its active management
to devote himself to municipal affairs. Unusually honored by the
city by three successive elections to the mayoralty, he was largely
instrumental in bringing about such reforms as the construction of new
streets and the municipal assumption of the gas and water monopolies.
In 1876 he first entered Parliament as Liberal member for Birmingham;
in 1886 he was returned as a Liberal opposed to Home Rule. Meanwhile
he had become so prominent a member of the party that in spite of his
known aversion to Home Rule, Mr. Gladstone was constrained to bid
him to Government office as President of the Board of Trade, with
the greatest possible latitude of independence for Mr. Chamberlain
seemingly implied. Nevertheless, in March, 1886, he thought it
necessary to resign his allegiance to the orthodox, Home-Rule Liberals,
and with other Liberal Unionists, as they are called, he has since
faithfully supported the Conservative leader, Lord Salisbury. It is
this action obviously that has drawn on his head certain criticisms. At
the formation of the present Ministry, in 1895, he accepted from Lord
Salisbury the office of Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which
he continues.
In a life that has thus covered more than sixty years, Mr. Chamberlain
has exhibited in a marked degree the peculiarly British qualities of
great private enterprise and pronounced public spirit. He has stood
always upon the broad, utilitarian platform of the British manufacturer
and man of affairs,--that common-sense and the philosophy of Franklin
rule the world; that it is good for the British Empire that her sons
should prosper and accumulate riches; and that what is good for the
British Empire is good for the outlying portions of the planet.
Despite the lack of the ideal and the smack of frank Philistinism
in this doctrine, as a working theory it has the merit of continual
demonstration up and down life; it is a philosophy that can teach
by example; and of most men it will always be the cult. Naturally,
then, Mr. Chamberlain from the start has championed the ideas of
Imperial Federation and Free Trade between the Mother Country and the
Colonies. In a word he is the apostle of the “Open Door.” His lifelong
opposition to Home Rule for Ireland proceeds not so much from inherent
Conservatism as from an abhorrence of any centrifugal tendency in
the Empire. Doubtless he would be willing to grant any reasonable
concessions to Ireland short of the only thing the Irish insist on
having. His withdrawal from the Gladstonian Liberals was consistent and
inevitable.
Mr. Chamberlain has travelled widely. Always has he come home with his
convictions as to Imperial policy strengthened. It would be unfair
to cite him as one of those of English travellers, satirized by Mr.
Chapman,[C] who set forth on the Grand Tour with their ideas and their
portmanteaus and return with their portmanteaus and their ideas. But
to one of Mr. Chamberlain’s way of thinking either the British Empire
or the empires not British are bound to be an instructive sight. In
Egypt, the theory is proved: in Madagascar, say, or German East Africa,
the theory is also proved. The successful colony--where is it not
Anglo-Saxon? And the theory really seems to be true.
[C] “Emerson and Other Essays.”
When Mr. Chamberlain was called to the Salisbury Ministry, surprise
was expressed in England that it was to the Colonial Secretaryship,
a billet which had been considered to be of secondary importance. It
does not appear that Mr. Chamberlain has considered it such. He has
certainly made the position one of increasing importance; as Secretary
for the Colonies he has been able decidedly to further the policies to
which he is devoted. Events, too, have served him, as they often do
the strenuous, single-minded man. In the outburst of loyalty and the
tightening of the Imperial bonds that followed the Venezuelan incident
and the Jameson Raid, the cards certainly came his way. As a man, Mr.
Chamberlain has been fortunate in that he has seen his own doctrines
already justified in himself, at least; as a statesman, the trend of
British politics would seem to be toward the adoption of his views.
Mr. Chamberlain has never been an orator. Few are the phrases he has
coined; fewer still the memorable speeches,--the moments of forensic
distinction. He has perhaps been heard at his best at the meetings of
societies and clubs, whether as chairman or in response to toasts.
His style is informal, unpretentious, but emphatic. The limitations
of his temperament keep him from any elevation of style; it is always
the practical, business-like Briton that speaks. The graces of oratory
do not attend him,--unless the exercise of unfailing tact be counted
one. Nevertheless his speeches have the weight that accompanies the
utterances of a man devoted to facts and fully in command of them. He
is probably to-day (1899) one of the most quoted of British public men.
Personally Mr. Chamberlain is apparently not widely popular. The
singularly youthful face, the orchid, and the monocle, have lent
themselves readily to political caricature, in which often there
has seemed more than a good-natured intention. And yet, if he is
not a popular hero, the English public do him the honor to take him
seriously. His pronouncements on current affairs may not be received
as _ex cathedra_, but they are the pronouncements of the day that
are talked about. A fair estimate of the Secretary for the Colonies
will doubtless be that there are few men alive who are more sincerely
devoted to what they believe the honor and glory of the British Empire.