June y, i<jiO 
LAND & WATER 
15 
The Prime Minister 
A Character Sketch 
THE judgments of history di)(in llie nu-n who con- 
trol events in the great crises of the world arc 
often widely different from contemporary criticism . 
There is no reputation more tmassailable to- 
diiy than that of Pitt. Yet few men suffered svuli a 
running fire of attack as he did from tlie critics of his 
jiolicy. And Lincoln, whose name has become a fixed 
star in the lirinament of history, was harried, insulted 
;'nd traduced by Horace Crreelev in the " New ^'ork 
Tribune " with a \-irulence that has become historic. 
ft is well to remind oinselvcs of these things to-day. 
When a week or two ago a well known newspaper invited 
from the publip '" Ten shillings Groans for Asquith " 
as a form of contribution to the Red Cross Fund I asked 
myself what history would be likely to say about those 
"groans." Would it endorsL^ them.or would it marvel at 
the vulgarity, the hysteria, the le\ity that prcxluced the 
appeal ? \\'ill its judgment be for Mr. Asfjuith, or for 
the critic; ? 
History's Verdict 
In attempting to answer these questions we must 
remember that history will not see this vast conflict as 
we sec it, in momentary fragments, in flying day to day 
glimpses, by half lights and vague hints, through the 
haze of rumour and the emotions of our ho})es and our 
fears. It will see it in the large, by the light of full 
knowledge and by the understanding of those great 
currents and tendencies which we see so dimly, but which 
are fashioning the decision and upon which the momentary 
incident, which seems so big to us, floats like driftwood 
upon the surface of the torrent. The historian will see 
the forest. We can only sec the tr:es. He will see 
motives and complex causes ; we can only sec results. 
It would be imjiertinent to aijticipate his judgment ; 
but it is not impertinent, it is even neccssarj', to suggest 
some considerations as to what his judgment will be. And 
this, not in the interest of Mr. Asciuith. I suppose tliere 
is no man who has played a great part in the affairs of this 
country who has been more indifferent to popular ap- 
plause, less moved by criticism, more obstinately reliant 
upon the sanctions of his own mind. He is" York- 
shire " to the last iibre — a sort of sublimated Y"orkshire 
manufacturer, saturated with Oxford culture, but carry- 
ing the original grain of the timber into every detail of 
his life ; a little brusque in his manner, as the Yorkshire 
manufacturer is ; very scornful of all forms of flummery ; 
brief and lucid of speech ; suspicious of cant in others 
and avoiding it with a sort of intellectual horror himself; 
more attached to principles and to historic tradition than 
to adventurous empiricism, but with a healthy distrust of 
his imaginative limitations tliat keeps his judgment open 
to the empiricism of others ; a man who bears opprobrium 
with a scornful shrug of the shoulders and a silent tongue, 
and upon whom flattery is as much wasted as water 
on a duck's back. 
But from the point of view of the country it is extremely 
imiiortant that we should try to understand what history 
will have to say about Mr. Asquith. For it is only by 
that detachment of vision that we can range ourselves 
on his side or the side of his critics. And we have to 
do one or the other. We have to trust someone in this 
tremendous crisis of our history. Is he the man to trust, 
or can we do better ? And let us start with the elemen- 
tary reminder that whomsoever we trust it will be a human 
being, and, for that reason, a fallible instrument. The 
choice is not between a miracle and a man, between per- 
fection and imperfection ; it is between relative perfection 
and imperfection. ^Ir. y\squith would be the first to 
disown irvfallihility. He cultivates no fanciful fictions 
about himself, does not pose before the mirror, and has 
no dreams of personal triumph. He is, indeed, singularly 
impersonal in his habit of thought. An acute critic has 
said of him that he has no jealousy, no vanity and no 
egotism. I think that is the strict truth. The sugges- 
tion that he clings to office for the sake of power and profit 
is made either in total ignorance of the man, or in malice. 
F"ew men are more free from the \ice of ambition or the 
•])assion of j)ersonal power, and in regard to the baser 
suggestion, it is enough to remember that he gave up 
an income at the bar of £15,000 a year when he took 
office -at £5,000. He has no small ends to serve and it is 
tliis fact which gives his actions that rare magnanimity 
that always marks them. He wants no man"s place in 
the suli, and is content to let anyone have the limelight 
rather than himself, ^\'hat lie is conc<>rned about is 
getting the thing done, and the man who <"an do it is 
welcome to the rewards. In all his career there has nc\T'r 
been a breath of suspicion in regard to his jjrobity or his 
honour. He })reserves both with a' certain haughty 
liisdain of temptation. I should not like to be the 
l)crson who suggested a " job " to him. I think I see 
the glare of his eyes and the swelling of the nostrils at the 
hint that he is that sort of man. He has a family of ^ons 
as brilliant as any in the land, but thej' have had to 
make their own fortimes and they have had less chance of 
public pickings than if they were outside the circle of 
))atronage. They have taken their place in the army 
without ad\'ertisement, one of them has been woundi^d, 
and none of them has had any sort of favour either of 
advancement or service. They are not of the stuff that 
asks for soft jobs and preferential treatment. 
Personal Motive Power 
What, then, is the motive that hits kept this man at 
his post in the face of every form of slander and abuse ? 
^^'hat has enabled him to survive a succession of crises 
each of which has threatened to engulf him ? I think the 
secret is his austere devotion to the cause and his clear 
\'ision of the jjart he is called upon to play. It is neither 
vanity nor ambition that governs that vision, but the 
plain understanding of the essentials of victory and of 
the bearing of his own personality upon them. There are 
many swifter a id more supple minds, but there is no mind 
which sees the struggle with more detachment, with a 
more constant grip of fundamentals, with a clearer dis- 
crimination between the momentary incident and the 
permanent tendency. He is not the sla\-e of moods, 
but sticks with grim obstinacy to the vital things. It is 
easy on a superficial survc}' of his actions to convict him 
of weakness here, of infirmity of purpose there, of slow- 
ness of vision, and of many other deficiencies. To this 
critic he seems faithless to i)rinciples ; to that he seems 
blinded by his traditions to the shattering impact of reali- 
ties. On this side he surrenders a friend who is virulently 
slandered ; on that he allows a curious latitude to those 
who are obviously pursuing independent and even un- 
friendly courses. 
All this is puzzling until one grasps the underlying 
thought that resolves all the seeming contradictions into 
one motive. That motive is the steady consolidation of 
all the forces of the country and of the Allies for the 
struggle. In the midst of the Najiolconic wars Pitt was 
once asked what was the most important quality in a 
statesman ? Various answers had bqen given by those 
about him. When the question was put to Pitt, he 
replied " Patience." Some years ago Mr. Asquith, in 
a speech, recalled that famous reply and declared his 
agreement with the verdict. of Pilt. It is that declara- 
tion which re^•eals to us the secret of his polic\' in tiic 
midst of the stupendous stornr that has overtaken the 
world. What was the chief peril with which that storm 
threatened us ? It was that under the shock the nation 
would give way to passion and panic, that internal 
|jolitiral disagreements would break it in pieces, that the 
Allies would be beaten before they could consolidate 
tiieir power^ that the Alliance would collapse before it 
could discover a solid basis of co-operation and under- 
standing — in a word, that Germany would win before the 
Allies had had time to collect their forces,' marshal their 
strength and learn how to win. 
That calculation has been defeated. It has been 
defeated by the patient and sagacious statesmanship of 
Mr. Asquith. Through two years of unprecedented peril. 
