]Oi4 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



Decemher 1, 1913. 



Later he started a journalistic venture 

 himself, when, with Edmund Yates, he 

 established The World. Mr. Yates had 

 sent him a prospectus of the proposed 

 undertaking- with the hope that he would 

 help as a free-lance. Mr. Labouchere 

 proposed to write a series of City 

 articles, and actually commenced in the 

 second number as follows: — 



Some years agfo Mr. John F. Walker, hav- 

 ing derived a considerable fortune from 

 cheating: at cards in Mississippi steamboats, 

 determined to enjoy his well-earned gains in 

 his native city of New York, and purchased 

 an excellent house in that metropolis. In 

 order to add to his income he advertised that 

 he was a " reformed gambler," and for a 

 consideration would instruct novices in all 

 the tricks of his trade. Mr. Walker was uni- 

 versally esteemed by his fellow-citizens, and 

 died last year, greatly regretted by a numer- 

 ous body of friends and admirers. In cast- 

 ing about for the City Editor for our journal, 

 we have fallen upon a gentleman who, by 

 promoting rotten companies, puffing worth- 

 less stock, and other disreputable, but 

 strictly legal, devices, has earned a modest 

 competence. He resides in a villa at Clap- 

 ham, he attends church every Sunday with 

 exemplary regularity, and is the centre of a 

 most respectable circle of friends ; many of 

 his old associates still keep up their acquain- 

 tance with him, and therefore he is in a 

 position to know all that passes in the City. 

 This reformed speculator we have engaged to 

 write our City article. 



Before this, Mr. Labouchere had en- 

 tered Parliament, after one or two un- 

 successful attempts. An amusing epi- 

 sode of the Middlesex election is related 

 by Mr. Labouchere. He invited Irving 

 to accompany him to hear the result of 

 the poll : — 



Down we drove. I made an inaudible 

 speech to the mob, and we re-entered our 

 carriage to return to London. In a large 

 constituency like Middlesex few know the 

 candidates by sight. Irving felt it his duty 

 to assume a mine de circonstance. He folded 

 his arms, pressed his hat over his brows, and 

 was every inch the baflfled politician — de- 

 feated, sad, but sternly resigned to his fate. 

 In this character he was so impressive that 

 the crowd came to the conclusion that he 

 was the defeated candidate, so woebegone 

 and so solemnly dignified did he look. 



" Labby " was known as " the Chris- 

 tian member for Northampton," to dis- 

 tinguish him from Mr. Bradlaugh. Here 

 is his veracious ( ?) account of a leave- 

 taking with Mr. Gladstone : " And, men 

 of Northampton, that grand" old man 

 said to me, as he patted mc on the shoul- 

 der, ' Henry, my boy, bring him back, 

 bring him back.' It is difficult to im- 



agine Mr. Gladstone patting the member 

 for Northampton on the back and call- 

 ing him, ' Henry, my boy.' The success 

 of this allusion to the Prime Minister, 

 however, was enormous, and the name 

 stuck. Mr. Gladstone was the ' Grand 

 Old Man ' for the rest of his life." 



The part played my Henry Labou- 

 chere as unofficial ambassador between 

 the conflicting parties in the House 

 when the Home Rule Bill was in ques- 

 tion takes up nearly a fifth of the 

 volume. A devoted admirer of Mr. 

 Chamberlain, who, Mr. Labouchere 

 thought, was destined to be the Radical 

 deliverer, he saw with dismay the danger 

 of disunion between him and the other 

 members of the Government, and did 

 his best to avert it. The friendship be- 

 tween the two men was genuine and sin- 

 cere, and a long series of letters passed 

 between them. Both outlined a scheme. 

 Mr. Labouchere suggested a member of 

 the Royal Family as Viceroy, a Privy 

 Council, House of Representatives, 

 Ministers, and a Veto. Mr. Chamberlain 

 wrote : — - 



There is only one way of giving bona- 

 fide Home Rule, which is the adoption 

 of the American Constitution : — 



1. Separate legislation for England, Scot- 

 land. Wales, and possibly Ulster. The three 

 other Irish provinces might combine. 



2. Imperial legislation at Westminster for 

 Foreign and Colonial .Affairs, .'\rmy, Navy, 

 Post Oflice, and Customs. 



3. A supreme court to arbitrate on respec- 

 tive limits of authority. 



Of course, the House of Lords would go. 



But all the labour was in vain, and 

 when Chamberlain turned against his 

 party, Mr. Labouchere's anger was as 

 hot as his hopes had been eager. In the 

 House of Commons a member was de- 

 claiming against Mr. Chamberlain, call- 

 ing him " Judas." Mr. Labouchere rose 

 up, saying, " The Honourable Member 

 opposite speaks of the Honourable mem- 

 ber for Birmingham as being Judas. 

 That is rough on Judas, for at all events 

 he had the good taste to go out and 

 hang himself." 



The curtain ne.xt rises upon the 

 Mitchelstown tragedy and the infamous 

 Pigott Letters. Mr. Thorold gives us 

 the story, which, shameful as it was, 

 reads now almost as an entertaining 

 drama, for Mr. Labouchere was at his 



