differ from him as to the particular remedy to be employed, are at one with him as to the result to be obtained. concession which he made on pearance before the House as The partial his last ap a leader of licensing reform is, it is to be hoped, but a step towards the complete fusion, on a broad and reasonable basis, of all those who seek to bring about a change in a system which is the source of so much suffering and crime to the people of these islands. Sir Wilfrid's wit, as I have said, is not of the first order; but, combined with his earnestness and his honesty, it has sufficed to gain for him the ear of the House, even when advocating a measure so repugnant to the feelings of Parliament as was the Permissive Bill. And even those of us who have least reason to admire the tactics pursued during many years by the United Kingdom Alliance, must bear testi VOL. II. N mony to the courage, the good-nature, and the unflagging gaiety with which the Member for Carlisle has led his crusade against the beer barrel. [THE Right Honourable WILLIAM EDWARD FORSTER, only son of the late Mr. William Forster, a well-known philanthropist and minister of the Society of Friends, was born in 1818. Educated privately; and married; in 1850, Jane Martha, eldest daughter of Dr. Arnold, of Rugby. Has sat for Bradford since February 1861. Was Under Secretary of State for the Colonies from November 1865 to July 1866, and Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education from December 1868 till February 1874. Admitted a member of the Cabinet in Mr. Gladstone's Government in 1870.] MR. FORSTER. THROUGH many struggles and some storms that have been of more than common severity, Mr. Forster has held his own, and has gradually risen, not merely to the front rank among English statesmen, but to a leading place in that rank. Today he unquestionably stands far higher in the counsels of his party and the estimation of the country than he did in the spring of 1870, when he made his great effort as a legislator, and brought forward his famous Education Bill. Yet none can have forgotten the storm of calumny and abuse |