HC Deb 27 July 1868 vol 193 cc1829-37
MR. ROEBUCK

, who had given Notice to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether, in consideration of the great public services of Lord Brougham, it is the intention of the Government to propose the erection of a monument to his memory, in Westminster Abbey? said: I feel, Sir, so great an interest in the Question that I am about to put to the Government, that I do not wish it to be put with the usual dry formality, and I will therefore conclude with a Motion, though I promise the House not to avail myself of the privilege which I shall thus obtain by indulging in any very large number of words. I wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, in his opinion, there ought not to be erected a monument to the memory of the late Lord Brougham, expressive of the admiration in which that great man was regarded by the country? I make this Motion for two purposes—one because, from my very intimate relations with that noble Lord, I have felt the greatest regard and veneration for his memory, and I therefore trust that the House will permit me to express my own feelings on the matter, and the other because it will give the right hon. Gentleman in his reply—supporting as I hope he will the proposal that I make—an opportunity of expressing in a few apt and eloquent sentences, such as he always has at his command, his own feelings with regard to that noble Lord. I have waited long—I cannot say that I have waited patiently—in the hops that some one more competent to perform this task—for I am fully sensible of my own inadequacy—would undertake the duty. But, Sir, no one has come forward for that purpose. The Session approaches its end, and I feel myself obliged to ask the Question of which I have given Notice, and in a few feeble words to express my own convictions with regard to this subject. The character of Lord Brougham's mind was one of vast extent and great perspicuity. He was not merely a philosopher, but a philosopher whose power of teaching was unexampled by any man of his time. He was not merely a philosopher, for as au orator he was able to guide, instruct, and I fear very often to frighten one of the first legislative bodies that now exists upon the face of the earth. And it should be recollected that those great powers of Lord Brougham's mind were always exercised for the good of mankind. It was not merely a personal object that he had in view. I have no doubt that, as is the case with every man, he had personal objects, but whatever powers he enjoyed were devoted to the benefit of mankind. It should also be remembered that when he began his career it was not so easy a task to be the friend of the people as it is now, when that character is frequently assumed as a road to wealth and popularity. At that time he who would be a friend of the people had before him a thorny path. It was Lord Brougham's lot to have frequently to contend with foes of vast power and great influence in this country, and he ran great risk, I do not mean bodily risk, but personal risk, in undertaking the cause for which he so gallantly contended. No matter in what clime oppression appeared Lord Brougham was always to be found on the side of the oppressed. Who will forget what he did on behalf of the African slave r He lent his great powers—not alone, but in companionship with other great men—to strike off the chains from the African slave; and ignorance in every part of the world, and more particularly in his own country, found in him an ever ready and unceasing opponent. There was no man who understood so completely as he did the instruction of the people. He stood alone—he towered above all the statesmen of his time—in his appreciation of the danger arising from popular ignorance, and he did all in his power to do away with that ignorance, and to support in every shape the principles of civil and religious liberty. Every person who could justly feel himself aggrieved knew that he would find in Lord Brougham, in Mr. Brougham, in Henry Brougham, a friend full of counsel and sympathy. I will conclude my observations by remarking that he was a wise, a great, and a good man, that he was one of England's greatest sons, and I think it is the duty of our country to pay that tribute to his memory for which I now ask, to show how greatly he was honoured and admired by his country.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House do now adjourn."—(Mr. Roebuck.)

SIR GEORGE BOWYER

I cannot help, Sir, expressing my opinion that in all countries the circumstances attending the funeral of the late Lord Brougham were regarded with regret, and something like humiliation. He who was the greatest man of his time as an orator, and in the extent of his knowledge and Parliamentary services, now lies buried in a foreign land, among strangers, while to men far inferior to Lord Brougham the honour of a monument in Westminster Abbey has been accorded. There is a great delicacy, I know, in interfering with the expressed wishes of one who is dead, and I am told, with what truth I do not know, that Lord Brougham expressed a wish to be buried at Cannes. That wish, if it were expressed, arose probably from feelings of humility on the part of that distinguished man, and though we are accustomed always to respect the wishes of the dead, this is, I think, one of those occasions on which the performance of those wishes might be dispensed with. I think the feelings of the nation would be gratified by the remains of Henry Brougham being transferred to this country. His wishes have been complied with, for he has been buried at Cannes; but I trust, for the honour of this country, his remains may now be translated to Westminster Abbey.

MR. OSBORNE

No man, Sir, could, in my opinion, have given expression to remarks which would have been more acceptable to the late Lord Brougham had he now been alive than those of my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Sheffield (Mr. Roebuck); while none, perhaps, would have been more unacceptable to him than those which have fallen from the hon. Baronet the Member for Dundalk (Sir George Bowyer). I rise merely for the purpose of pointing out, though I should fully concur in voting any sum that might be necessary for the erection of such a monument as would form a fitting tribute of respect on the part of this House, that the country did not fail to recognize his great merits while he was living. One of the greatest marks of respect ever paid by the House of Commons to any public man in his lifetime was paid to Lord Brougham, the only other instance being, I believe, in the case of Lord Nelson. The patent of Lord Brougham's peerage was made out "for public services," and by the insertion of those words in the patent of his peerage he received a compliment which has, I believe, only been paid to himself and to Lord Nelson. No fees were demanded for that patent, the fees being paid by the country on account of his public services. The House ought to bear that in mind. The peerage was also granted on very unusual terms. I believe two elder brothers were passed over in favour of the present possessor of the title. I quite coincide in the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, and I equally dissent from what has fallen from the hon. Baronet the Member for Dundalk. But I do trust that it will go forth to the country that the House showed in Lord Brougham's lifetime that they were not unmindful of his eminent and distinguished services.

MR. BUXTON

I desire to say a word or two, Sir, in support of the Motion made by the hon. and learned Member for Sheffield (Mr. Roebuck), not only on account of the strong personal regard which I entertained for Lord Brougham, but because I certainly believe that he was one of the most remarkable men that this country has produced. While enjoying intellectual powers of a most extraordinary character, few men were more tenderly alive to the feelings of humanity or more uncompromising in their attempts to put down oppression and its causes. He was, if I remember rightly, I almost the only one who, having fought side by side with Wilberforce with the greatest energy for the abolition of our slave trade with Africa, was able to take a prominent part in the efforts made for the abolition of slavery throughout the whole of the British dominions; and to the latest day of his life he employed his great powers for the abolition of slavery throughout the world. No doubt he had great faults, but he was cast in a gigantic mould, and all his characteristics, whether good or bad, were striking in the extreme. It will not, therefore, be to the credit of the House or the country if we do not make some very decided manifestation of the great esteem in which he has been held.

MR. DISRAELI

I quite agree with the hon. and learned Member for Sheffield; (Mr. Roebuck) that it is desirable there should be some public recognition of the career and character of Lord Brougham, such as is indicated by the Question he has placed before the House, one which, through the influence of art, shall produce a lasting impression upon the public mind, and keep within its continual recollection the memory of the great deeds of a man who was, no doubt, one of the most considerable persons this country has ever produced. The hon. and learned Gentleman has, with the terseness of which he is a master, but with complete propriety, placed before the House a sketch of the career of Lord Brougham, and made it unnecessary for me to dilate upon it. It may be truly said of Lord Brougham that none more completely represented his age, and no one more contributed to the progress of the times in which he lived. He had two qualities, almost in excess, which are rarely combined in the same person; one was energy, and the other versatility. The influence which creative power gave him, combined with strength of character, alone sustained him in a career which for its duration, as well as for its dazzling feats, has rarely been equalled in this Empire. But, Sir, when I have to consider on the part of the Government how and by what means we can do honour to Lord Brougham's memory in such a manner as to satisfy the wishes of the country—whether by raising some monument or some statue to him—I am painfully impressed with the failure of most efforts of a similar nature that have been made to perpetuate the memory of great men. Her Majesty's Government are extremely anxious if possible to avoid adding to those unsatisfactory demonstrations of which we have already had too many instances. But this subject has not really been neglected by the Government, for at the time the hon. and learned Gentleman placed his Motion on the Paper—now some months ago—I mentioned the subject to my Colleagues and there was a unanimous feeling in favour of setting up some memorial of the kind referred to if it could be done in a satisfactory manner. I would at this moment also remind the House that another great man has this year left us, whose merits should be recognized in a manner such as the hon. and learned Gentleman has intimated. I refer to one of a very different character from Lord Brougham, but one of whom it may be said, without disparaging the high qualities of that remarkable statesman, that he was not inferior probably to any Englishman who ever lived, but that he towers among the statesmen and poets and orators who have graced our land. I mean Faraday, the greatest discoverer since Newton. There has been a very anxious wish expressed by men eminent in science that a statue should be raised to Faraday. I have had the honour of receiving a deputation on the subject, and her Majesty's Government entirely respond to the wish. But the same difficulty has been in our path in both instances, and the consequence has been that we have not made any proposition to the House on the subject. I do not, however, despair of being able to suggest a plan by which our common object can be satisfactorily accomplished. The subject, the House may rest assured, is not thrown aside by Her Majesty's Government, especially in the case which has been brought under our notice in so striking a manner by the hon. and learned Gentleman. We shall give particular attention to the matter, in the belief that we shall be performing only a public duty, and one of no mean character, if we can in a manner satisfactory to the taste and feelings of the country propose some arrangement which shall commemorate the form as well as the character and services of men so eminent as those to whom I have referred.

MR. GLADSTONE

Sir, we must all feel indebted to the hon. and learned Member for Sheffield (Mr. Roebuck) for having given Members of the House an opportunity of expressing the deep sympathy and admiration with which the House regards the career of Lord Brougham. Nothing could have been more becoming and appropriate than the observations of my hon. and learned Friend (Mr. Roebuck). I had the high honour of enjoying the friendship of Lord Brougham during many of the later years of his life, and I very cordially echo what has been said, better than I could say it, both of his public and his personal qualities. It may, perhaps, not readily have been inferred by those who knew Lord Brougham chiefly from the part he took in the most stormy debates of his times, that there was in him, as my hon. and learned Friend had said an overflowing affectionateness of character, I can testify that that is strictly true. That characteristic entered into beautiful combination with the strong, vigorous, masculine, and even ruder parts of his mental and political composition. Lord Brougham was eminently happy in the length and consistency of his career; in most of the great undertakings of his life he addressed himself to purposes in which his countrymen could not but recognize an ardent love of liberty, a determined hatred of corruption and abuse, and remarkable disinterestedness. It seemed as if a certain instinct led Lord Brougham continually to deviate from the path of mere party politics for the purpose of anticipating the wants of coming generations, and preparing the paths which after-coming men were to tread. The fame of Lord Brougham is a great and secure fame. It would be presumptuous in me to refer in detail to one point that has scarcely been mentioned; but I believe all those who take an interest in the improvement of the laws of this country will ever be glad to own the name of Lord Brougham as one among the earliest, most energetic, and most effective of all those who have laboured in that great and open field. With regard to the mode in which public feeling may be exhibited, I own to sharing the feeling expressed by the hon. and learned Baronet the Member for Dundalk (Sir George Bowyer); and probably the hon. Member for Nottingham (Mr. Osborne) shares it also to this extent, that it is a matter for deep regret that this great and distinguished son of our country should not have his remains deposited among us. That I entirely concur in, and without inquiring into the causes of the misfortune, I would add it must also be a subject for regret that it is a matter which has passed beyond our cognizance. With respect to the declaration of the right hon. Gentleman the First Minister of the Crown, I would not press upon him any proposition because, as with the prerogative of mercy so with the prerogative of honour, we, as independent Members, should put strong restraints upon our own feelings, and should not endeavour to anticipate or to direct the Advisers of the Crown regarding the bestowal of tributes of public honour. The right hon. Gentleman has adverted to a difficulty which stands in his way. Now, although I do not admit that all, at least, of the recent efforts of monumental art among us have been unsuccessful, because I could point to one or two erected within the last few years which have been eminently otherwise, yet no doubt the right hon. Gentleman has spoken with justice to the difficulty with which he labours when he desires to make sure the result for which he proposes to ask a grant of public money will be satisfactory. The right hon. Gentleman will, I am afraid, have to take another point into consideration, and that is, the character in which a grant of public money is to be proposed for the monument of Lord Brougham. In the case of persons whose fame has been simply political every Member of this House must be aware that it has been our policy for a long time past to act with singular reserve; the cases are surprisingly few in which statesmen who have been only statesmen have had the honour of a public recognition in the form suggested for the honour of Lord Bougham. It is, however, for the Government, and the Government alone, to decide whether the fame and distinguished acts of Lord Brougham, though confined to statesmanship, may warrant them in making a proposal of that nature. The right hon. Gentleman has adverted to a very illustrious name in science—the late Professor Faraday—and, although we may not think of placing the name of Lord Brougham, in competition with that of Faraday, yet it will be right for him to consider whether the great efforts made by Lord Brougham and continued with almost superhuman energy down to almost the latest moments of his life for the public weal by means which, in many cases, were beyond the sphere of politics, do not enable the right hon. Gentleman to escape from the trammels of those precedents which impose very strict and narrow limitations with regard to the monuments of statesmen who are statesmen alone. I am sure the question will be carefully considered, and I have no doubt I shall be able cordially to concur in the proposal of the Government, whatever it may be; but in the meantime I express many thanks to my hon. and learned Friend for having offered me an occasion on which I can express my feelings regarding this most remarkable man—a man of whom I wish to take this opportunity of placing it upon record that, although he had lived a life not only of activity, but of contention, I, who knew him well, and knew him only during the years of his retirement, can scarcely ever recollect to have heard him mention any person, either friend or foe, except in terms either of admiration or kindness.

Motion, by leave, withdrawn.