... The Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain, the man and the statesman

Preface

TWO considerations induced me to attempt the difficult task of writing an account of a career as yet unfinished, and of so important and varied a character as that of the Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain, the present Secretary of State for the Colonies.

In the first place, I could find no book dealing with Mr. Chamberlain's life, with the exception of a. sketch by Mr. S. H. Jeyes in " Public Men of To-day," written entirely from the political standpoint, and a small pamphlet by Mr. B. C. Skottowe, published about 1885, and now out of print.

I hope this book may supply what has been wanting in this direction.

Secondly. A just estimate of Mr. Chamberlain's character and work should result from accurate information concerning his career.

Mr. Chamberlain's position as Colonial Secretary and his intimate connection with the great scheme of Imperial Federation, have made his history and personality of considerable interest to those of his fellow-subjects in the Colonies and throughout the world, who have that great project deeply at heart — while in Birmingham no apology vi PREFACE

will be needed for a fuller account of the work of one of her most distinguished citizens.

It only remains for me to acknowledge the help I have received, and to say that I am entirely responsible for any opinions expressed in this book, which, however, is not intended to be a criticism, but a narrative.

My thanks are due first to Mr. Chamberlain himself, for permission to photograph Highbury and the many interesting mementoes it contains, including a selection from his private collection of cartoons, and also for kindly giving a special sitting for his portrait, which appears as a frontispiece to the book.

I am indebted to Mrs. Chamberlain for information concerning her family and for photographs of the late Honourable W. C. Endicott, Governor Endicott, and the family mansion at Salem, Mass., U. S. A., and especially for permission to include the portrait of herself contained in the photograph of a family group which was taken at Highbury expressly for this book. I wish further most gratefully to acknowledge the help accorded me by Mrs. and Miss Chamberlain, in verifying details connected with family history and personal matters, and for giving me all the information in their power relative thereto.

My thanks are due for photographs, for information, for criticism, and for personal recollections, to Miss Pace, the late Dr. Gibbs Blake, the Cordwainers' Company, the Right Honourable Jesse Collings, T. H. Haynes Esq., Temple Orme, Esq., L. Paton Esq., (Head Master of London University College School), Alfred Preston, Esq., and many others. To all those who prefer to receive no individual thanks I here beg to express my gratitude for kindly help.

Special acknowledgments are due to the Proprietors of

PREFACE vii

Punch, the Westminster Gazette, and Mr. F. Carruthers Gould for permission to reproduce their cartoons in this book.

The Proprietors of the Birmingham Dart, Owl, and Free Lance have also kindly allowed the use of cartoons.

Much information concerning the political history of the period treated of in this book has been found in the columns of the Birmingham Daily Post, and I am greatly indebted to the Editor of that paper, as well as to the Editor of the Times, for permission to make extracts from their reports of Mr. Chamberlain's speeches: also to Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein & Co., for similar permission in respect of their volumes entitled, " The Irish Question " and " Home Rule."

N. MURRELL MARRIS.

October 1 900.

Contents

Boofe I

LIFE IN LONDON

1836— 1854

Chapter I Ancestry And Birth

Introduction — Ancestry — Richard Serjeant, Preacher — Daniel Chamberlain, Maltster — Mr. Chamberlain, Senior — The Cordwainers' Company and the Chamberlains — Birth — Camberwell Grove — Miss Pace's School

PAGE

Chapter II Youth And Early Training

1845— 1854

Historical Retrospect — School at Canonbury — London University College School — Begins Business — Home Life at Highbury, London . . ic, xii CONTENTS

3Boofe III

LIFE AS A LIBERAL M.P.

1876— 1886

CHAPTER XII

THE NEW M.P. FOR BIRMINGHAM

PAGE

Elected M.P., June 1876 — First Speech to Constituents — First Speech in House, August 1876 — Its Reception — First Work — The Gothenburg System and Later Opinions on Temperance Reform — Style of Speaking 137

CHAPTER XIII

ORGANISING THE LIBERAL PARTY

1877— 1880

Dissolution of National Education League, 1877 — Federation of Liberal Associations — Mr. Gladstone's Visit to Birmingham, May 1877 — Fortnightly Articles, " The New Political Organisation " and " The Caucus " — Mr. Chamberlain at Rochdale — John Bright's Tribute — Francis Schnadhorst 155.

CHAPTER XIV

THE MINISTER'S APPRENTICESHIP

1876—1880

Relations to Leaders — Foreign and Colonial Opinions — Speech on

Flogging — Position in the House — General Election of 1880 . 167

CHAPTER XV

THE MINISTER AT HOME

Free Libraries Fire — 1879 — Chamberlain Memorial — Mr. Richard Chamberlain as Mayor, 1880 and 1881 — Life at Highbury — The Arts' Club . . . 176

CONTENTS xiii

CHAPTER XVI

THE MINISTER AT WORK 1880— 1885

PAGE

Leader of the Radicals — Constructive Legislation — Bankruptcy Act

— Patents Act — Merchant Shipping Bill — Fight for the Franchise 186

CHAPTER XVII

IRELAND. COERCION OR CONCILIATION?

Relations with Mr. Parnell — Coercion or Conciliation — Kilmainham Treaty — Phoenix Park Murder — Mr. Parnell's Repudiation of the Liberals ic

CHAPTER XVIII

THE FALL OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF 1880 — 1885

The Boers 1 881- 1884 — Our Position in Egypt — Gordon — Defeat of

the Government, June 1885 — Attitude of the Irish . . . 208

CHAPTER XIX

THE STOP-GAP GOVERNMENT AND THE UNAUTHORISED PROGRAMME

Lord Salisbury in Power — The Conservatives and Lord Randolph Churchill — The Election Campaign, June-November — " Ransom " and Warrington Speeches . .215

CHAPTER XX

rumours of home rule

Autumn, 1885 — February, 1886

Return of the Seven Members, Birmingham Elections, November 1885 — Rumours of Home Rule — Defeat of Lord Salisbury, January 1886 — Events of the Session 226 xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXI

home rule in the cabinet

February 1886 — April 1886

PAGE

February 1886-April 1886— Mr. Gladstone's Ministry — Mr. Chamberlain becomes President of Local Government Board — His Resignation — The Home Rule Bill — First Reading — Mr. Chamberlain's Explanation in the House 234

CHAPTER XXII

home rule in the country

April 1886 — August 1886

Mr. Chamberlain's Meeting with his Constituents, April 21st — May Meetings— The Seceders Determine to Vote against the Second Reading — The Radical Unionists 251

BOOfe IV

LIFE AS A LIBERAL UNIONIST SECTION I— Out of Office

CHAPTER XXIII

the radical unionist August 1886 — November 1887 After the Defeat of the Home Rule Bill — Elections, July 1886 — Conservatives in Power — Campaign against Home Rule — Ireland under Lord Salisbury — Plan of Campaign — Mr. Chamberlain's Political Tour in Scotland and Ireland 267

CHAPTER XXIV

IN AMERICA 1887— 1888

Settlement of Fisheries Dispute with America — Return to England — Speeches — Second Visit to America — Marriage with Miss Endicott — Welcome in Birmingham 278

CONTENTS xv

CHAPTER XXV

UNIONIST LEGISLATION (DOMESTIC AND IRISH) 1888— 1892

PAGE

Completing the Social Programme — Free Education — Allotments Act — Housing of the Working-Classes Act, 1890 — Ireland : Parnell Commission — Fortnightly Article, " Local Government and Ireland" — Land Act, 1891 — Irish Local Government Bill (1892) withdrawn — Unionist Measures for Ireland, 1887- 1892 . . 286

CHAPTER XXVI

THE UNIONIST IN OPPOSITION

1892 — 1895

The Elections of 1892 — Mr. Austen Chamberlain — His Maiden Speech — Position of Liberal-Unionists in Birmingham and Midlands — The Second Home Rule Bill— Mr. Chamberlain's Speech — The Home Rule Duel — The Lords Throw out the Bill — Mr. Chamberlain's Articles — The Rosebery Administration — Domestic Legislation Between 1892 and 1895 — Lord Rosebery and the Peers 29S

SECTION II — In Office — Colonial Secretary CHAPTER XXVII THE RETURN TO POWER. — DOMESTIC AND IRISH POLICY

Defeat of Lord Rosebery 's Government — Elections July 1895 — Liberal Unionists in the Salisbury Administration — The Colonial Secretary — His Interest in Domestic Legislation — Workmen's Compensation Act — Acquisition of Small Houses Bill — Old-age Pensions — Ireland — Local Government Bill 1898 — Mr. Chamberlain at Glasgow 1897 — Address on " Patriotism " as Lord Rector of the University 307 xvi CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXVIII

SOUTH AFRICA : THE RAID AND THE INQUIRY

PAGE

I. After the London Convention — Review of Outlanders' Position —

Origin of Raid Movement — Mr. Chamberlain and the Raiders — Kruger's " Magnanimity "

II. After the Raid — Address to Constituents — Meeting of Parlia-

ment 1896 — Asks for Inquiry — Trial of Raiders — The Inquiry — The Company and the Colonial Office — Report of Commission of Inquiry — Debate in the House, July 1897 — Attempt to Reopen the Inquiry February, 1900 — Consequences of the Raid . 321

CHAPTER XXIX

THE COLONIAL SECRETARY AND THE TRANSVAAL CRISIS 1896 — 1899

I. From the Raid to the Conference : — Dispute on the Alien Immi-

gration Act — July — January — Appointment of Sir A. Milner, March 1897 — Investigation of the Outlanders' Grievances- Boer and Briton — Their Respective Positions — Murder of Edgar — Outlanders' Petition — Sir A. Milner's Famous Despatch — The Colonial Dutch — Further Repudiation of Suzerainty — Bloemfontein Conference, May 3ist-June 6th, 1899 — Kruger Demands Arbitration — Failure of Conference.

II. From the Conference to the Ultimatum : — Debate in the House July 1899 — Close of the Negotiations — Highbury Speech August 26th — "Despatch A." August 28th — Boer Reply — "Despatch B." September 8th — Boer Reply — "Despatch C." September 22nd— Boer Reply — The Ultimatum — Mr. Chamberlain's Policy throughout — Importance of Suzerainty — Kruger's Responsibility for the War — The Colonies and the Empire —

A United Cabinet 337

CHAPTER XXX

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COUNTRY

Autumn Session, October 1899 — Attack on Ministry — Mr. Chamberlain's Defence — Recapitulation of Dispute and Negotiations — Parliament Prorogued — Leicester Speech — Speech in Birmingham — Visit to Dublin — Session of 1900 — Speeches of Lord Salisbury, Lord Rosebery, Mr. Balfour, and Mr. Chamberlain — The Government and the War Office — Majuba Day — Ladysmith and Mafeking Day — Fall of Pretoria ; 359

CONTENTS xvii

CHAPTER XXXI

GENERAL COLONIAL POLICY

PAGE

Mr. Chamberlain's Colonial Views ; Sympathy instead of Apathy in Colonial Affairs — I. Development of Trade — 2. Fulfilment of Obligations of Empire — 3. Imperial Federation — The Australian Commonwealth Bill, May 14th, 1900 — Second Reading May 21st 378

CHAPTER XXXII

THE CHANCELLOR OF BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY

Mason Science College — Its Growth — First Idea of a University — Mr. Chamberlain's Work in Connection with It — Reception of the Charter — Mr. Chamberlain and His Constituents — At a Birmingham Town's Meeting — Liberal-Unionist Association Meeting, Birmingham, May 1900 393

CHAPTER XXXIII

MR. CHAMBERLAIN AT WORK

The Unionist Alliance — Its Permanence — Relations with Mr. Balfour — Lord Salisbury and Mr. Gladstone — A Day at the Colonial Office 405

CHAPTER XXXIV

MR. CHAMBERLAIN AT HOME. LONDON AND HIGHBURY

Life in London — The Town House — A Day's Work — Mrs. Chamberlain's Work — Life at Highbury — The House — Visitors — The Farm, Gardens, Recreations, Holidays — A Day at Highbury . 415

CHAPTER XXXV

THE REAL MR. CHAMBERLAIN

Mr. Chamberlain's Family — Some Reasons for Misapprehension of

His Character and Personality 423

b

CONTENTS

APPENDIX Chronological Table — Mr. Chamberlain's Career „ „ England and the Transvaal

List of Authorities Consulted ....

List of Mr. Chamberlain's Articles .

439 440

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PORTRAIT OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN TAKEN ESPECIALLY FOR THIS BOOK

PAGE

Frontispiece

MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN, MASTER OF THE CORDWAINERS' COMPANY, FATHER OF THE RIGHT HON. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN ......

CAMBERWELL GROVE, BIRTHPLACE OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN . . . 1 6

LONDON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE SCHOOL IN 1850, GOWER STREET, W.C. . 4S

EARLIEST KNOWN PORTRAIT OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN ..... So

PORTRAIT OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN WHEN A BIRMINGHAM TOWN COUNCILLOR 80

PORTRAIT OF MR. CHAMBERLAIN TAKEN DURING HIS MAYORALTY . So

MR. CHAMBERLAIN IN l888, AT THE TIME OF HIS MARRIAGE TO MISS ENDICOTT SO

SOUTHBOURNE, EDGBASTON, MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S HOME BEFORE AND DURING

HIGHBURY, NEAR BIRMINGHAM, MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S COUNTRY HOUSE. . 112

THE ORCHID HOUSE, HIGHBURY .... 1 28

THE LIBRARY, HIGHBURY .......... I44

THE HALL, HIGHBURY ........... 160

"TILTING." COLONEL BURNABY'S FIRST APPEARANCE CANVASSING BIR- MINGHAM (CARTOON FROM BIRMINGHAM " DART ") .... 172

BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY AND THE CHAMBERLAIN MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN . l8o

"THE CHERUB!" (CARTOON FROM " PUNCH ") ...... 200

"EASTER EGGS" (CARTOON FROM BIRMINGHAM " OWL ") .... 224

"POOR TWINS" (CARTOON FROM BIRMINGHAM "FREE LANCE ") 256

" SHUT IN ! " (CARTOON FROM " PUNCH ") 272

GOVERNOR JOHN ENDICOTT OF MASSACHUSETTS 280

THE LATE HON. WILLIAM C. ENDICOTT, MRS. CHAMBERLAIN'S FATHER . . 288

THE ENDICOTT FAMILY MANSION, SALEM, MASS., U.S.A. ... 296

xix

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS the right hon. joseph chamberlain and his son, mr. austen chamberlain, (m.p. for east worcestershire), after mr. chamberlain's

return from his american mission ....... 3oo

the marquess of hartington at highbury ...... 312

mr. chamberlain as lord rector of glasgow university, installed

"the parliamentary tournament" (cartoon from "punch ") . . 324

" the stormy petrel ! " (cartoon from " punch ") . . . . 336

"taking the reins" (cartoon from "punch") ..... 348

"'say suzerain'" (cartoon by mr. f. c gould) . . . . . 360

"squealing and squeezing" (cartoon by mr. f. c. gould) . . . 368

" in the colonial ward " (cartoon by mr. f. c. gould) . . . 376

mr. chamberlain and the colonial premiers ..... 384

mr. chamberlain addressing his constituents in the town hall, mr. chamberlain's private room at the colonial office . . . 408

a family group at highbury . . . . . . . . 416

the right hon. joseph chamberlain in the orchid house . . 424

Book I LIFE IN LONDON 1836-1854

CHAPTER I ANCESTRY AND BIRTH

INTRODUCTION — ANCESTRY — RICHARD SERJEANT, PREACHER — DANIEL CHAMBERLAIN, MALTSTER — MR. CHAMBERLAIN, SENIOR — THE CORDWAINERS' COMPANY AND THE CHAMBERLAINS — BIRTH — CAMBERWELL GROVE — MISS PACE'S SCHOOL.

LIVES, like dramas, interest sometimes by incident, sometimes by personality. The interest of the life of the Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain centres chiefly round his personality. Both as a practical administrator and as a statesman engaged in constructive legislation he has attracted continuous attention.

In the first capacity his name will always be associated with Birmingham. It has fallen to the lot of few statesmen to be as intimately connected with one city as Mr. Chamberlain has been, and no narrative of his work would be satisfactory which did not show how large a part this city has played in his life, and how much strength he has drawn from the steady support of its citizens. He himself would be the first to acknowledge that he owes much to Birmingham. There is no better political nursery than this Midland city, famous for its independence of thought. There is something in its atmosphere — in the character of its citizens ; in their application of business methods to the testing of theories, political or scientific ; their independence ; their determination to succeed, called by some "push" and "bumptiousness," and by others who understand it "energy" and "self-reliance " — that conduces to political success.

As a municipal administrator and reformer, Mr. Chamberlain found the experience gained during his commercial life in Birmingham of great value. When he joined the councils of the city he already knew both masters and men thoroughly, having had fourteen years' work among them before entering the Town Council as representative of a ward chiefly peopled by working men.

Though Mr. Chamberlain has often alluded to his London birth and ancestry, he has never forgotten that Birmingham is the city of his adoption, and that he considers himself to be " a citizen of no mean city." Probably one reason of his preference for it is very simple. He feels that the men among whom he has worked and is working know him as he is, know his faults and his virtues ; to them he is neither infallible nor unscrupulous, but a faithful friend, a good comrade, and a trusted leader ; while men with whom he has never worked, and who look upon him merely from a political standpoint, are apt to judge less favourably : for politicians are seldom weighed as justly as the private citizen.

In his second capacity Mr. Chamberlain's name will always be associated with Imperial Federation. That great dream, that great ideal, is in men's minds. The belief that it must come, that it is even now coming, and that it will conduce to the peace of the world, is spreading day by day. The future of the man who has done something to convert the dream into a reality, and who hopes to do yet more, will be watched with even greater interest than his past has been.

" Nobody," said an American paper on one occasion, " ever suspected that Mr. Chamberlain had a grandfather, to say nothing of a great-grandfather."

Mr. Chamberlain can trace his forefathers back to the beginning of the seventeenth century. His ancestors belonged to the unromantic middle class, and possessed the virtues of that class — uprightness, shrewdness, sober common sense, determination, and industry,

CHAMBERLAIN, MASTER OF THE CORDWAINERS COMPANY, FATHER OF THE RIGHT HON. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN. Reproduced by permission ot the Cordwainers' Company.

ANCESTRY 5

Through his father's mother, Mr. Chamberlain is directly Maternal connected with Richard Serjeant, of Kidderminster, Ancestry. w ^ was Dorn { n 162 1. He was a clergyman of the Church of England, and he married Hannah, daughter of William Spicer, Vicar of Stone, near Kidderminster, whose ancestors had suffered in the cause of religion. Serjeant also suffered for conscience' sake. As Mr. Chamberlain said, in speaking of his family history, " I can claim descent from one of the two thousand ejected ministers who, in the time of the Stuarts (August 24th, 1662), left home and work and profit rather than accept the State-made creed which it was sought to force upon them." Serjeant was a great friend of Richard Baxter, the celebrated Kidderminster preacher. He seems to have been a man of substance ; in 1650 he had bought a small estate near Hagley, Worcestershire, and to this place he retired when he left his Kidderminster curacy. He died in 1696, and was buried in Hagley churchyard. The estate passed to his second daughter. Sarah, his eldest daughter, married Francis Witton, of the Lye, near Stourbridge ; her greatgranddaughter married Joseph Chamberlain, grandfather of the Colonial Secretary, who is thus sixth in descent from the ejected minister of Kidderminster.

It will be seen from this account that Mr. Chamberlain is in some measure a Midlander by descent, and that his ancestors lived in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, both Hagley and Stourbridge being but a few miles away, though in a different county.

The Chamberlain family come from Wiltshire. Daniel Paternal Chamberlain, who died at Laycock in 1760, was Ancestry. a maltster • but his son William went to seek his fortune in London, and found it. He became a cordwainer, or worker in new leather — as distinguished from a cobeler, or worker in old — and in due time a Master of the Cordwainers' Company of the City of London, as did his sons William and Joseph, and his grandsons William, Joseph (Mr. Chamberlain's father), and Richard.

The connection of the family with the Company has lasted more than one hundred and twenty years. It is a very ancient company, which, as early as 1272, obtained an ordinance " for the relief and advancement of the whole business and to the end that all frauds and deceits may hereafter be avoided." For six centuries it exercised an active control over the leather industry, fixing prices and ordaining when and where boots and shoes might be sold. Its most distinguished member was one John Came, who, at his death in 1796, left the sum of money now realising ,£36,400 in Consols, the dividends of which are applied to the relief of clergymen's widows, and of the deaf, dumb, and blind. During his lifetime he watched the distribution of the annual gift of £100 which, anonymously as " The Friend of Mankind," he had placed at the disposal of the Court of the Company.

A hundred years after John Came's death (May 13th, 1896), 1896. a beautiful window in the Cordwainers' Hall, to

commemorate his benefactions, was unveiled by AddxBss * Cordwainers' Mr. Chamberlain, and the address presented to him Hail. May. on t j iat occas i on re fers to the long connection

of his family with the Company : —

" Right Honourable Sir, —

" We are met together to do honour to the memory of Mr. John Came, a Liveryman and Benefactor of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, who died on May 13th, 1796; and the Company are highly gratified that you, the most distinguished Liveryman of the Company, are pleased to attend to unveil the Stained Glass Window which they have erected as a memorial of him, on this the centenary of his death. . . .

" The Company feel that there is a singular appropriateness in your performing the ceremony of unveiling the Memorial Window, on account of the long connection, extending over nearly two centuries, of your family with the Company.

" In all no less than six of your ancestors have filled

THE CORDWAINERS' COMPANY 7

the office of Master of this Company, and it is gratifying to know that many other members of your family

with the have been and still are connected with it. Cordwainers' "The mutual good-will which existed between

company. y OUr ances t rs and the other members of this ancient Guild is evidenced by the legacies of plate given by them on two occasions, which remain among our most valued possessions. . . .

" In conclusion, the Company desire to express a hope, which they feel sure is shared by their guests, that you may be spared in health and strength long to carry on happily and successfully the great work in which you are engaged for the benefit and welfare of our people."

Mr. Chamberlain, in his reply, said that circumstances had so long removed him from active life in the city of London, and left him so little opportunity of doing anything in connection with the work of the Company, that it would be almost a presumption on his part to represent the Company on such an occasion.

" But when I was told that you in your kindness would overlook this laxity of service, in consideration of the long connection of my family with this Company, then it seemed to me that I was bound to accept the compliment so gracefully offered, and the recognition of a friendship which has endured for so long. The two William Chamberlains referred to in the programme of the proceedings were one of them my great-grandfather and the other my greatuncle ; and, in addition to them, my grandfather, my father, and my uncle were all in turn Masters of the Company, and took the greatest interest in its proceedings, and were ever foremost in upholding its rights and privileges. Under these circumstances I do not hesitate to say that it is a great pleasure to renew the memory of this relationship, and to recall, Master Hopwood, in your name and in the name of other members of the Court and Livery, the close friendships which formerly subsisted between our fathers and grandfathers, which were cemented by their common interest in the affairs of the Cordwainers' Company. . . .

" The Lord Mayor has reminded you that I am by birth a Londoner. In fact I did not leave London until I was eighteen years of age. At that time I could say what I think could be said by very few members of this Livery — that I was the fourth generation of cordwainers who had practised their occupation in the same house and under the same name for one hundred and twenty years ; and I admit that, though now Birmingham has become the city of my adoption and affection, yet one love does not necessarily cast out the other, and I have room enough in my heart for London as well as for Birmingham. Alderman Alliston has anticipated a wish that I was going to express. I also should like that the tradition which has lasted so long should not die out ; and it is curious that a few weeks ago I was speaking to my eldest son, who is, of course, a native of Birmingham, but who, in answer to my inquiry, expressed a very strong wish to be allowed to take up his Livery, which I hope, therefore, he will do, with your kind permission, and at no distant date. It is very proper that I should be here, because one of my earliest recollections as a boy is dining with my father in your hall, on which occasion, I believe, I made my first public speech. . . ."

Mr. Chamberlain was early impressed with the importance of the ancient Guild to which his forefathers had belonged ; and it is not too much to say that his deep sense of the dignity of municipal service and his capacity for public affairs are largely owing to his inheritance of the uprightness, experience, and zeal of his immediate ancestors.

Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, senior, is well remembered at the Cordwainers' Hall. According to the recollections of the Beadle of the Company: —

" He was an immovable man — nothing could turn him if he had made up his mind ; pleasant and quiet in manner, but not to be moved from what he had said by anybody ; you could see it in his face. His brother Richard was jolly-like, more easy-going ; he was also a Master in the Company. I well remember the house in Milk Street where he and his brother (I'm speaking now of the Colonial Secretary) first learned their business as lads."

A certain likeness to Mr. Chamberlain is to be traced

PARENTS 9

in the portrait of his father. It is that of a reserved man, with a thin face and somewhat severe air. His uncle Richard's portrait depicts a different type — ruddy, roundfaced, wearing bushy whiskers and abundant curly hair, such a man as many of Dickens's illustrations have made us familiar with.

In 1834 Mr. Chamberlain, senior, married Caroline, daughter of Henry Harben, a provision merchant of London (the present Sir Henry Harben is a cousin of Mr. Chamberlain). By this marriage there were nine children. Of the six boys, one died in infancy, and Richard, the second son, died in April, 1899. Joseph, Arthur, Herbert, Walter, and the three daughters are all living and all married. The family were then, as now, Unitarians. They attended Carter Lane Chapel in the City, and, later, Unity Church, Upper Street, Islington. On the wall of this chapel is the following inscription : —

" IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF

JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN,

WHO FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS

WAS A CONSISTENT WORSHIPPER IN CARTER LANE CHAPEL, CITY,

AND IN THIS CHURCH,

AND A GENEROUS SUPPORTER OF THEIR CONNECTED INSTITUTIONS.

DIED AT MOOR GREEN HALL, BIRMINGHAM, 1 874."

Unitarians very frequently intermarry, and the numerous descendants of Richard Serjeant (he had twenty-two grandchildren) are still connected by marriage. The following are the names of those of his descendants who subscribed to the tablet erected in 1885 to the memory of their common ancestor in the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, London : —

" THIS TABLET IS RAISED BY DESCENDANTS BELONGING

TO THE FAMILIES OF

PRESTON, WARE, AND WATSON."

The families of Chamberlain, Nettlefold, and Osier, it may be noted, have intermarried with those of Smith, Ryland, and Kenrick, among others ; and it would be difficult to name a well-known Unitarian family in Birmingham that is not connected by marriage with one of the above-named descendants of Richard Serjeant

Thus, though Mr. Chamberlain is a Londoner by birth, as were his father and grandfather before him, yet, by virtue of his grandmother's Midland descent, of his many Birmingham relatives and connections, he has a very good claim to be considered almost a Birmingham man. His strongest claim to be so considered, lies in the devotion of the best forty-five years of his life, both in and out of Parliament, to the service of his adopted city.

Joseph Chamberlain was born on July 8th, 1836, at No. 3, Birth. July Camberwell Grove, in the district of Camberwell.

8th, 1836. Yo reach his birthplace it is necessary to cross one of the noisiest and most densely populated districts of South London. From the Houses of Parliament to Camberwell Grove the direct way crosses Westminster Bridge and leads to the spot known familiarly as " The Elephant and Castle," where six roads diverge. Down Walworth Road, along which stalls in the roadway make the heavy traffic still more difficult, the trams jingle continuously until they stop at Camberwell Green, a quiet spot in the midst of all the turmoil.

The neighbourhood of Camberwell when the prosperous City man and Master of a great City Company lived there was very different from what it now is. Much of the road to London was still open and pleasant ; but the Grove itself is singularly little altered, as compared with other suburbs not farther removed from Westminster. It is even now a quiet, old-fashioned street, thickly planted with trees. A few yards from its junction with the main road stands the Mary Ann Datchelor School, housed in a red brick building, with a gilt effigy of the foundress in her old-world dress over the gate. Above this school the Grove begins to climb Champion Hill ; and among the newer houses may be- seen a low white cottage with trellised porch, and even