In the delicate task of appraising a contemporary—and that contemporary a prominent figure in a kindred state—a writer will naturally feel hesitation. This hesitation will be increased when it is considered that the subject of the notice lives and moves in the contested fields of party politics, and that to his own Englishmen the character of Mr. Chamberlain may admit of two interpretations. But none can deny him the meed of an early and continued success as a man and a publicist. And the real crux of the question centres about his transferral of party allegiance.

The Right Honorable Joseph Chamberlain, M.P. for West Birmingham, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, was born in London in 1836. As a young man he removed to Birmingham to become a partner in a manufacturing business. This enterprise he carried to such great success that in 1874 he retired definitely from its active management to devote himself to municipal affairs. Unusually honored by the city by three successive elections to the mayoralty, he was largely instrumental in bringing about such reforms as the construction of new streets and the municipal assumption of the gas and water monopolies. In 1876 he first entered Parliament as Liberal member for Birmingham; in 1886 he was returned as a Liberal opposed to Home Rule. Meanwhile he had become so prominent a member of the party that in spite of his known aversion to Home Rule, Mr. Gladstone was constrained to bid him to Government office as President of the Board of Trade, with the greatest possible latitude of independence for Mr. Chamberlain seemingly implied. Nevertheless, in March, 1886, he thought it necessary to resign his allegiance to the orthodox, Home-Rule Liberals, and with other Liberal Unionists, as they are called, he has since faithfully supported the Conservative leader, Lord Salisbury. It is this action obviously that has drawn on his head certain criticisms. At the formation of the present Ministry, in 1895, he accepted from Lord Salisbury the office of Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which he continues.

In a life that has thus covered more than sixty years, Mr. Chamberlain has exhibited in a marked degree the peculiarly British qualities of great private enterprise and pronounced public spirit. He has stood always upon the broad, utilitarian platform of the British manufacturer and man of affairs,—that common-sense and the philosophy of Franklin rule the world; that it is good for the British Empire that her sons should prosper and accumulate riches; and that what is good for the British Empire is good for the outlying portions of the planet. Despite the lack of the ideal and the smack of frank Philistinism in this doctrine, as a working theory it has the merit of continual demonstration up and down life; it is a philosophy that can teach by example; and of most men it will always be the cult. Naturally, then, Mr. Chamberlain from the start has championed the ideas of Imperial Federation and Free Trade between the Mother Country and the Colonies. In a word he is the apostle of the “Open Door.” His lifelong opposition to Home Rule for Ireland proceeds not so much from inherent Conservatism as from an abhorrence of any centrifugal tendency in the Empire. Doubtless he would be willing to grant any reasonable concessions to Ireland short of the only thing the Irish insist on having. His withdrawal from the Gladstonian Liberals was consistent and inevitable.

Mr. Chamberlain has travelled widely. Always has he come home with his convictions as to Imperial policy strengthened. It would be unfair to cite him as one of those of English travellers, satirized by Mr. Chapman,C who set forth on the Grand Tour with their ideas and their portmanteaus and return with their portmanteaus and their ideas. But to one of Mr. Chamberlain’s way of thinking either the British Empire or the empires not British are bound to be an instructive sight. In Egypt, the theory is proved: in Madagascar, say, or German East Africa, the theory is also proved. The successful colony—where is it not Anglo-Saxon? And the theory really seems to be true.

When Mr. Chamberlain was called to the Salisbury Ministry, surprise was expressed in England that it was to the Colonial Secretaryship, a billet which had been considered to be of secondary importance. It does not appear that Mr. Chamberlain has considered it such. He has certainly made the position one of increasing importance; as Secretary for the Colonies he has been able decidedly to further the policies to which he is devoted. Events, too, have served him, as they often do the strenuous, single-minded man. In the outburst of loyalty and the tightening of the Imperial bonds that followed the Venezuelan incident and the Jameson Raid, the cards certainly came his way. As a man, Mr. Chamberlain has been fortunate in that he has seen his own doctrines already justified in himself, at least; as a statesman, the trend of British politics would seem to be toward the adoption of his views.

Mr. Chamberlain has never been an orator. Few are the phrases he has coined; fewer still the memorable speeches,—the moments of forensic distinction. He has perhaps been heard at his best at the meetings of societies and clubs, whether as chairman or in response to toasts. His style is informal, unpretentious, but emphatic. The limitations of his temperament keep him from any elevation of style; it is always the practical, business-like Briton that speaks. The graces of oratory do not attend him,—unless the exercise of unfailing tact be counted one. Nevertheless his speeches have the weight that accompanies the utterances of a man devoted to facts and fully in command of them. He is probably to-day (1899) one of the most quoted of British public men.

Personally Mr. Chamberlain is apparently not widely popular. The singularly youthful face, the orchid, and the monocle, have lent themselves readily to political caricature, in which often there has seemed more than a good-natured intention. And yet, if he is not a popular hero, the English public do him the honor to take him seriously. His pronouncements on current affairs may not be received as ex cathedra, but they are the pronouncements of the day that are talked about. A fair estimate of the Secretary for the Colonies will doubtless be that there are few men alive who are more sincerely devoted to what they believe the honor and glory of the British Empire.