312 LIFE AND EXPERIENCES CHAP. 



of Manchester, the Members of the Liberal Association 

 of that Constituency desire, in this Address, to place in your 

 hands the written expression of their appreciation of your 

 regard for the public weal in having devoted so large 

 a portion of your valuable life to the service of the State 

 as their Representative. 



Their thanks are tendered not only for the length of the 

 term, but for the quality of that service, and they take pride 

 in having had as their Representative one so renowned 

 in the world of Science and Learning as well as responsive 

 to the highest demands of Liberal principles and policy. 



True to the traditions of your family you have enriched 

 the libraries of the Nation, whilst the records of Parliament 

 bear testimony that your political actions, happening in one 

 of the most arduous and anxious periods in the history of the 

 House of Commons, has ever been in the direction of the 

 enlargement of popular liberty. 



In matters affecting trade, manufactures, health, and educa- 

 tional interests of the country, your high scientific attain- 

 ments have found a fruitful field of practical utility in Acts 

 of Parliament bearing upon those departments of national 

 life. 



In both of these aspects your representation of the Con- 

 stituency has been peculiarly appropriate. It is a University 

 Division. It is the home of many whose lives are engaged 

 in those trades and manufactures wherein Chemistry, and 

 the kindred services in which you hold a foremost place, have 

 direct application. It lies in the midst of that energetic 

 area in which the greatest political reforms have been 

 initiated. 



It is also a matter of gratification that not only the 

 Colleges, Universities, and learned Societies of Great Britain, 

 Ireland, and the British Colonies have conferred upon you 

 the highest degrees and honours at their disposal, but that 

 you have been the recipient of distinguished honours be- 

 stowed upon you by similar learned Societies in other 

 countries. 



It has been, however, in the sphere of Politics that the 

 Members of this Association have been most closely allied 

 with you, and they hereby convey to you their heartfelt 

 acknowledgment of your steadfast adherence to those Liberal 

 principles of which you have been the faithful representative. 



It may truly be said that so long as the best men of 

 any nation are willing to devote their lives to the direction 

 of its political life, and the people exercise their franchise 

 in the selection of their best men for such service, that nation 



