Replying to the toast of his health at the Mansion
House on Wednesday, Mr. Balfour prefaced his remarks with a remarkable tribute to Lord Salisbury. Turning to the work before them in Parliament, Mr. Balfour spoke with confidence of the ability of the Govern- ment to deal with unnecessary obstruction and carry through the Education Bill, which had been the centre of "so much controversy, so much misrepresentation, Of so much deliberate mendacity." He had led the House of Commons for a longer continuous period than anY Minister since 1832, and he was sure that in all that time no Leader of the House had ever received more hearty, loyal, and affectionate support from his party. No more convincing
proof of this statement could have been furnished than the
admirable eulogy of Mr. Balfour delivered at the same banquet by Mr. Chamberlain. After describing the House of Commons as the greatest of human institutions, and Mr. Balfour as a representative of its best traditions, Mr. Chamber- lain claimed that no Member of that House would not be willing to apply to the Premier Pope's lines on Craggs "Statesman, yet friend to truth ! Of soul sincere, Iu action faithful, and in honour clear; Who broke no promise, serv'd no private end, Who gain'd no title, and who lost no friend."
Previous page
