§ The Lord PRIVY SEAL (Viscount Addison) rose to move, That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the late Earl Baldwin, this House do now adjourn. The noble Viscount said: My Lords, I know that every member of your Lordships' House will wish to be associated with the Motion, that appears on the Paper in my name, that after we have paid these tributes we should signify our respect to the memory of the late Earl Baldwin by adjourning the House. In doing so, I am sure that we shall wish to express our sympathy with all the relatives and friends of the late noble Earl. We did not, as is common knowledge, often see him in this House of recent years, for he was, unfortunately, in poor health and not able to attend.
§ Many of us in this House, however, like myself, knew him for many years as a member of the House of Commons, where he sat for nearly thirty years. In the early days, before he attained very high office, most of us knew him as a private member who attended with great regularity, who was exceedingly friendly to many of us without any distinction of Party, and who took a keen and living interest in the lives and affairs of many members. I myself—as I am sure did many of your Lordships—had long talks with him at various times in quiet corners of the House. I remember particularly that at one stage of my life Mr. Bonar Law and I, whenever we could find time, used to escape to a room at the end of a corridor and play a game of chess—I may say that Mr. Bonar Law generally won. Earl Baldwin (Mr. Baldwin as he then 318 was) was nearly always sitting watching us, and, although I never succeeded in persuading him to join in a game, he clearly knew when either of us made a false move. That was characteristic of his quiet friendliness to many members in the House over many years.
§ Later, I knew him for a short time as President of the Board of Trade in the Cabinet of 1919-1920. As your Lordships know, by most unforeseen circumstances, such as often characterize public life in this and other countries, Earl Baldwin suddenly became Prime Minister. He was in supreme charge of the affairs of State during very critical and difficult periods. It is fair to say—and I think every one of your Lordships will agree—that in all that time he betrayed that quiet patience which was one of his outstanding characteristics. He was fair-minded, patient, kindly, and at all times most discerning. I think he was one of those who had a sense, in a singularly effective way, of the disposition of ordinary folk.
§ Earl Baldwin will, I am sure, be long remembered in history for the way in which he managed affairs during the difficult time of the abdication of King Edward VIII. His patience in the handling of these affairs and his discernment of the deep feelings of the people, were characteristic of his methods. We shall remember, and other nations at the time noted with admiration, how in that difficult period this nation, by its peculiar but typical British methods, came through the crisis without any sort of disturbance. All this was largely due to the guidance and good sense of Lord Baldwin.
§ There were two other qualities, hot perhaps so generally known, which he possessed, one of which, I freely confess was outside my own ken—namely, he was a real lover of the classics. My noble friend Lord Lindsay of Birker, who knew him well, has told me something in that connexion. He really loved the classics, and read them with sympathy, understanding and delight. Such an achievement I, for one, sincerely envy him. But there was one other outstanding quality in him which many of us fully share: that was a love of the British countryside. He was, above all things, a lover of England and of its country scene. These two loves, as many of your Lordships know, brought him into friendly association with quite different types of people. He was just as 319 much at home in the library with the scholar, on the one hand, as he was, with his pipe in his mouth, talking to an agricultural labourer on the other. He was just as friendly and just as much at his ease with either. I think, however, that Earl Baldwin will be most remembered for the high standard of conduct that he set in public life. His conduct, perhaps, did more, in the long run, than anything else to maintain and glorify British public life. I beg to move.
§ Moved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the late Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, this House do now adjourn.—(Viscount Addison.)
§ 4.10 p.m.
§ The Marquess of SALISBURYMy Lords, on behalf of those who sit on these Benches, I rise to support the Motion which has been so eloquently and so sympathetically moved by the Leader of the House. It has been our sad experience during recent months to be called upon to mourn some of those members of your Lordships' House who have enjoyed our highest regard. None of them, I believe, deserved better of his country than Stanley Baldwin, for whom we grieve to-day. There has been a tendency in recent years in some quarters to belittle the work which he did for the country which he loved so well. I believe that history will take a truer view, and will rate him very high, not only as an Englishman but also as a statesman. For, my Lords, he conferred upon us at a time of unexampled anxiety the inestimable boon of national unity.
When he came into power the situation was not unlike the present. The British people were suffering from the after effects of a great world war. They were tired, they were disillusioned, they were bewildered, they were distracted, and consequently resentful. The relations between employers and employed were bad, and were getting worse. Within a short time, as we know, the new Prime Minister was plunged into the turmoil of the industrial troubles of 1926, the worst industrial troubles we have ever had to face. That was a situation of immense danger not only for the present but also for the future, for, had that situation been mishandled, it contained within it the seeds of that bitter and enduring cleavage between Left and Right, of which we 320 have seen such deplorable results in other countries.
But for him we might well have gone into the Second World War not as one nation but two, divided not only against the enemy but against ourselves. It was mainly his statesmanship, his patience and his understanding that averted that great peril. From the start, as noble Lords will remember, he set himself to bring both sides together, to heal the wounds, to restore our shattered unity—and he succeeded. And with the same sure hand, as the Leader of the House said this afternoon, he guided us through that other most critical period of his political life, the time of the abdication. It is sometimes said that he could have averted another world war. That may be so, but personally I doubt it. It seems to me, looking back, that the forces of evil were too great and ambitions were too unbridled to be checked. But, at any rate, if we went into the struggle in 1939 united and resolute in the cause of liberty, for which he cared so much, surely to him must go a very large share of the credit.
My Lords, he was, in his private life, as the Leader of the House has said, cultured, wise and tolerant. There was, indeed, something about him, I feel, of the antique simplicity of the patriarch. In a moving tribute that was paid to him in another place two days ago, the honourable Member for Kidderminster described Lord Baldwin's relationship with his workpeople in his early days—how he knew every one of them himself, how he spoke to all of them by their Christian names. To him, he and they, though they had different functions, were all members of one great family. And I think that was equally true of his attitude, when he was Prime Minister, both to the House of Commons and to his fellow-countrymen as a whole. He did not always agree with them, he did not always approve of them, but they were his own kinsfolk and he had for them all, whatever their Party, and whatever their political beliefs, a deep and abiding family affection. That may have derived from the clan feeling which came down to him from his Highland forbears; for there was a great deal of the Highlander in Lord Baldwin. But it certainly coloured his outlook upon life and profoundly influenced his general policy. Though he led the Conservative Party he was never in a strict sense a Party man. It was his 321 country and not his Party that he loved the most, and it was of his country that he thought up to the very last days of his life. Old, tired, crippled as he was, and bereaved, that essential love never failed nor faltered.
My Lords, if greatness lies in the spirit of man he was undoubtedly a great man. None of us who knew him and worked with him will ever forget him. I feel, at this juncture in our history, not only we in this House but the country as a whole have lost a friend and a counsellor whom we can ill spare. His wife, Lady Baldwin, with whom he enjoyed so many years of ideal companionship, died before him; but I should like to join the Leader of the House in sending a message of deepest sympathy to his children, whose loss we all share.
§ 4.16 p.m.
§ Viscount SAMUELMy Lords, those of your Lordships who were members of the House ten years ago will recollect Lord Baldwin's introduction. The Chamber in which we then sat was crowded to the doors to receive him, and the cordiality of the welcome of the House bore witness to the respect and affection in which he was universally held. To-day we are met silently and sorrowfully to bid him farewell. Speaking on behalf of members of your Lordships' House who were among his opponents in most of the great political controversies of our times, I would offer our tribute of deep respect to his character and abilities. His character had depth. No one who knew him could fail to realize that there was nothing superficial about his political beliefs and actions. One might describe his background as one of religious humanism. His outlook upon the world was kindly, and he had the qualities, often found and highly valued among British people, of loyalty, tenacity, and equanimity.
In the House of Commons his speeches were sagacious, always weighty but never ponderous. In the Cabinet—and I had the privilege of serving with him in the National Government of 1931—he spoke seldom and briefly, but always effectively. It was a difficult Cabinet, not homogeneous in opinion, but it succeeded in remaining harmonious in the conduct of public affairs, and that was very largely due to Mr. Baldwin. As the leader of the most powerful force in the Government, whenever there was tension he set 322 himself to relax it, and if we came to an impasse it was he who strove to find a way round it.
He offered a rare combination, that of an industrialist and a man of business who was educated in the classics and was saturated by their spirit. It has been said of a classical education that it enables you to despise the wealth which it prevents you from acquiring. That was not so in this instance, for a classical education did not prevent Mr. Baldwin from conducting with success, for many years, the great undertaking of which he had inherited the control. On the other side, the classics gave him a fine sense of style. As President of the Classical Association he gave an admirable address on "The Classics and the Plain Man," and he delivered from time to time allocutions of high quality on great occasions. It may be said that he held by tacit consent an office not to be found in any list of our functionaries—that of our "Public Orator." He was chairman of the Pilgrim Trust, in which he took a close and constant interest, and in that capacity he did much to preserve and develop many of the graces and amenities of our national life. He filled with distinction the high position of the Chancellorship of he University of Cambridge. He added to the dignity of our politics by bringing to its service qualities which are not a matter of birth or of class but which stamp the individual possessing them as a scholar and a gentleman.
§ 4.22 p.m.
The Lord Bishop of CHICHESTERMy Lords, I should like to voice on behalf of the Archbishops and Bishops, the very high regard which has always been entertained on these Benches for Earl Baldwin. I was myself, as a junior, much concerned with Mr. Baldwin, as he then was, when he was Prime Minister, and I know both what a very high place the interests of the Church and of religion generally had in Mr. Baldwin's mind, and the great trouble which he took in the mutter of his Church appointments. In that, as in every other respect, he had a very high sense of responsibility. I suppose that everyone is inclined to admire qualities in another which he would like to find particularly marked in himself. It was, certainly, the case with Lord Baldwin that he was a very kind man. I remember, not so long 323 ago, calling his attention to a tribute paid to him in that and other respects in the reminiscences of Canon Anthony Deane, who was a friend of Lord Baldwin. When I showed him the passage, Lord Baldwin said: "Ah, he was a very kind man."
I do not know how far the late noble Earl was alive to the terrifying nature of wickedness. But I remember an occasion in September, 1942, in the very middle of the war, when I had the privilege of being by his side and the side of Lady Baldwin at Rottingdean. He was then much concerned with the wickedness of the time and the wickedness of the enemy. He spoke to me of the many conversations which he had had before the war—and, I suppose, when he was still in power—with Ribbentrop. He told me how raving mad Ribbentrop was, and what extraordinary things Ribbentrop had said about what the Nazis would do. Lord Baldwin added: "It is incredible to me that human beings should do such things. Terrible forces have launched themselves into the world, and it is those forces which we are up against."
I remember, also, how when Archbishop Davidson resigned the Primacy at the end of 1928, Mr. Baldwin as Prime Minister went to Lambeth Palace to express on behalf of the State, so to speak, the affection and regard so widely entertained for the resigning Primate. He said—and this was consistent with what I have just said of his kindness—that of all the lessons which he had learnt from Archbishop Davidson over many years, the greatest was that of the power of love unfeigned.
Something has already been said by the noble Marquess, the Leader of the Opposition, with regard to the fine quality of Earl Baldwin's married life. I should like to end with a further word about that. On September 9, 1942, there was a very quiet ceremony in Rottingdean Church, where Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin had been married just fifty years before. The dedication took place of a chair of Worcestershire oak which Lord Baldwin gave to Rottingdean Church as a token of his gratitude for a long and happy married life. Lady Baldwin made this remark to me: "So many marriages break down nowadays, and we wish to make public acknowledgment of our own happy married life. We have not had a 324 cross word for fifty years." On that note, my Lords, I would close my few remarks which are intended to voice the sympathy of the Archbishops, Bishops, and other members of the Church of England. History will assess Mr. Baldwin's ultimate place in the roll of British statesmen. Churchmen at all times will pay tribute to a loyal son of the Church, and all can join in a tribute to a great son of Britain.
§ 4.28 p.m.
§ Lord VANSITTARTMy Lords, the Leaders of the political world have spoken. May I be permitted to add a brief and humble postscript, as a public servant who was for some time Lord Baldwin's principal private secretary in Downing Street? I took up the post at a time of personal tribulation, and it was just not possible for one man to have been kinder to another than Lord Baldwin was to me. Under that impassive exterior he had a very warm heart which he never paraded. That was because he was extremely sensitive, sometimes almost shrinkingly sensitive, and sensitive, therefore, to the troubles of others. That, in turn, was because deep down in him there was a strong vein of poetry, though only half avowed. Often in those of my conversations with him which had nothing to do with politics, it struck me, that he had most of the stuff of poetry in him except, perhaps the will or the capacity to write it.
His foreign policy has often been criticized. I think that your Lordships may consider it only just and fitting if, to-day, I, who sometimes dissented from that policy, say that much of the criticism was uttered with an insufficient knowledge of the inner man and the inner facts, and was therefore unjust. Now that he has gone where life and the work of life are tried by a juster Judge than here, I welcome this opportunity of paying tribute to one to whom I and many others were deeply attached, for his own sake, for himself, and for nothing else—perhaps, the only form of human affection which is ultimately worth having.
§ 4.30 p.m.
§ Lord HACKINGMy Lords, I feel that I cannot remain silent when testimony is being paid in your Lordships' House to the memory of a great man. I think that I knew Stanley Baldwin as well as most members of your Lordships' 325 House. He appointed me to many junior positions which I occupied in various Departments of State. But I got to know him perhaps more intimately when he, as the Leader of the Conservative Party, appointed me as its Chairman. There was hardly a day when I was not with him discussing something which meant that he had to show his confidence in me. I got to know him very intimately on those occasions, I read in one of the obituary notices a few days ago that Mr. Baldwin, as he was then, was inclined to be lazy. I would never subscribe to that description of him. When some Ministers make appointments, they are constantly interfering with those appointed in their day-to-day work. When Stanley Baldwin made an appointment he trusted a man, and allowed him great latitude and much freedom to carry on with the job. If that constitutes an inclination to be lazy, I submit that laziness is a virtue and not a vice. Much has been written about the great honesty of this man and it is not for me to develop that side of his character. I can say this, however: that if we follow his great example we shall all be more honest in our own lives; and we shall be more tolerant, more trusting and have greater faith and confidence in other people.
§ 4.33 p.m.
§ Viscount SWINTONMy Lords, may one of Lord Baldwin's oldest colleagues add a word or two to the tributes which have been so well paid? I was his Parliamentary Secretary in the first Cabinet office that he held, at the Board of Trade. I succeeded him in that office when he was promoted Chancellor of the Exchequer. And later, until he resigned, I had the good fortune to serve with him or under him in every Government of which he was a member. Whatever may be thought of Mr. Baldwin's political judgment—and I think, as the noble Lord, Lord Vansittart, has indicated in a very touching speech, that differing opinions may change in the light of history—all will agree that Stanley Baldwin had great outstanding qualities. He was a kind and generous chief. He was a loyal and sympathetic colleague. In public or private life he would always stand by a colleague or help a friend, and I think it was those human qualities which gave him the extraordinary hold which he had on the confidence and on 326 the affection of men and women of every shade of political opinion.
The historian, who will be better able in the future to take an objective view of Mr. Baldwin's aims and achievements, may well ask the question: How was it that this man, succeeding, largely untried, almost unknown, as Prime Minister and Leader of his Party, attained so soon and held throughout such a predominant position? Here, I think, perhaps we who lived and worked with him can give the true answer. I believe that the secret of his success was threefold. There was, first, his natural sympathy; secondly, there was his transparent sincerity; and thirdly, there was a kind of inherent instinct that was peculiarly English and in tune with the deep, if half-conscious, feelings of the ordinary Englishman. It was those qualities which enabled him, perhaps half-unconsciously, to unite Englishmen, however much they might differ on the surface, on the fundamental things that matter most. Those were the qualities which made him a great Englishman. Those are the qualities which to-day we all remember with gratitude, and which indeed we may all well seek to emulate.
§ 4.36 p.m.
§ Lord ROCHESTERMy Lords, I trust that; you will permit a tribute on behalf of Free Churchmen. I cannot attempt to emulate the moving eloquence of previous speakers, but I share their sincerity in paying tribute to the memory of a great Christian gentleman. Earl Baldwin came of Nonconformist ancestry., His mother was the daughter of a Methodist Minister, and a sister of the Reverend Frederick Macdonald, who was President of the Wesleyan Conference in 1899. I was already a member of another place when Stanley Baldwin first entered it in 1908, for I sat there with his father whom he succeeded in the representation of Bewdley. I make bold to say that, with the possible exception of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, there has been no Prime Minister during the lifetime of any one of your Lordships who has shown greater understanding of, and more consideration for, the position of Free Churchmen than did Earl Baldwin.
I was a member of the National Government with him and I still treasure the letter he sent me when I resigned in 1935 327 during his last Premiership. Stanley Baldwin was essentially a tolerant man. He abhorred rancour and uncharitableness in any form, and ever strove for peace and good will among men. There was no trace of class consciousness or of condescension in him. He knew no pride of intellect, no perverting love of power, and he had the inestimable quality of a generous and sympathetic understanding of the difficulties of those who differed from him. John Bright once said of a colleague that he believed in no man's infallibility, but it was restful to be sure of a man's integrity. That was a restfulness enjoyed by all those who knew Stanley Baldwin. His life was founded upon the rock of his religious faith. I thank your Lordships for permitting me on behalf of Free Churchmen to proffer this wreath of remembrance to the memory of one whom we held in high regard and whose example will remain an inspiration to those who knew him, and especially to those who worked with him in public life.
§ 4.39 p.m.
§ The Duke of DEVONSHIREMy Lords, I trust you will allow me to say one word on behalf of the University of Cambridge, of which the late Earl Baldwin was Chancellor. I think it would be appropriate for me, as High Steward of that University, to say how deeply mourned he will be in the University, to which he gave so much. Although in the later years of his life he suffered a great deal of physical pain and discomfort, no trouble was ever too much for Cambridge. So far as I can remember, he never missed coming to an important function there. He faced long cross-country journeys, and hours of painful standing, and took part in long processions, which caused him much pain and discomfort, in order to give his wise counsel, which indeed was always available. At the University of Cambridge he will be greatly missed and deeply mourned.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to, nemine dissentiente.