CLARE SEWELL READ 391 



truth. What, then, was he to do ? . . . He* insisted, there- 

 fore, that the Order in Council should be either rescinded or 

 extended to Ireland. This was not conceded to him." 



From " The Times,'" 16th March, 1876. 



" The debate on Tuesday evening on the Contagious Diseases 

 of Animals afforded Mr. Read a very legitimate triumph ; and it 

 is wonderful the Government should have been so perverse as 

 to sacrifice the services of so useful a colleague from mere reluct- 

 ance to adopt a course which, on his resignation, was immediately 

 forced upon them by public opinion. Lord Sandon completely 

 accepted the principle of Mr. Read's motion, and the Duke of 

 Richmond had previously announced the intention of the Govern- 

 ment to accede to the request which Mr. Read had chiefly urged, 

 to the effect that the existing orders with respect to pleuro- 

 pneumonia should be extended to Ireland." 



MR. READ ON TARIFF REFORM. 



Though he did rise on one subsequent occasion to formally 

 second a motion, the last time Mr. Read spoke at a Council meet- 

 ing was when the Tariff Reform proposals put forward by the 

 late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain were under discussion. The debate 

 lasted over two meetings, and it was near the close on 9th 

 December, 1903, that Mr. Read rose. He made a short but telling 

 speech, concluding with the following words : 



" I believe that our King God bless him has done 

 more to establish friendly and kindly feelings with all the 

 nations of Europe than Free Trade has ever done. As to 

 the Colonies, it is said : ' What does it signify to you as 

 farmers, if you are ruined, whether you are hurt by the 

 Colonies or by the foreigner ? ' Well, ' blood is thicker than 

 water,' and I must say that if a farmer has to be sacrificed 

 at all, I would rather be sacrificed on the altar of my own 

 kith and kin across the flood than be offered to the idols 

 of the foreigner." 



It is difficult for an enthusiast not to become a fanatic, but 

 the man who keeps a level head and plods steadily towards the 

 goal he has in view accomplishes more than the zealot. That 

 was Mr. Clare Sewell Read's method. It requires a cool judgment 

 to steer an even course between the two maxims on the title page 

 of this book. 



