Lord Cheylesmore.-Henry William Eaton, first Baron Cheylesmore, was the son of a London merchant, and was born in 1816. He was educated at Enfield and at the College Rollin, Paris. After serving an apprenticeship in a commercial house in the City, he embarked in the silk business, and raised the firm of H. W. Eaton & Son to a foremost position in the silk trade. In 1839 he married Charlotte Graham Harman, daughter and heiress of Mr. Thomas Leader Harman, of New Orleans, by whom he had three sons and two daughters. Mr. Eaton's business brought him into close connection with Coventry, which he represented in Parliament for about a quarter of a century. The commercial treaty between this country and France caused a serious disturbance in the silk riband weaving trade of Coventry and other centres, and this, combined with other causes, threw thousands of operatives at Coventry out of employment. A fund was started to alleviate the general distress, with Lord Leigh at the head of the committee. A deputation was sent by this committee to London to seek subscriptions from merchants and others connected with the silk trade, and found an invaluable helper in Mr. Eaton. The Queen and Prince of Wales became subscribers to the fund, which ultimately amounted to over 40,000l. Of this no less than 3,000l. was contributed by Mr. Eaton. On the death of Mr. Edward Ellice in 1863 a joint requisition of Conservatives and Liberals of Coventry was presented to Mr. Eaton, asking him to become candidate for the vacancy. He issued an address to the constituency, but did not on this occasion persevere with his candidature, as it was considered that Mr. Treherne, who had been before the constituency thirty years, had prior claims. Mr. Treherne was elected, the defeated Liberal candidate being Mr. A. W. Peel, the present Speaker of the House of Commons. The death of Sir Joseph Paxton in June 1965 again brought Mr. Eaton before the electors of Coventry, who returned him by a majority of 309 over Mr. Mason Jones, a Liberal labour candidate. Mr. Eaton retained his seat as member for Coventry from 1965 to 1880, being returned at each subsequent election at the head of the poll. In the great Liberal reaction of 1880 Mr. Eaton lost his seat by the

narrow majority of 97, on a poll of 8,000. In March 1881, on the elevation of Sir Henry Jackson to the Judicial Bench, Mr. Eaton regained his place as member for Coventry, defeating Sir U. Kay-Shuttleworth by 443 votes on a much smaller poll. Mr. Eaton retained his seat until June, 1887, the occasion of the Queen's jubilee, when he was raised to the peerage under the title of Baron Cheylesmore, Cheylesmore being the name of the ancient manor of Coventry Park. The manor of Cheylesmore has most interesting historic associations, having been held by, among others, Edward the Black Prince, the Earl of Warwick, and the Duke of Northumberland. It was purchased by Mr. Eaton from the late Marquess of Hertford. Lord Cheylesmore was for many years one of the best-known figures of the Four-in-Hand Club, at whose meetings his four bays and brown coach were a prominent feature. He was Junior Grand Master of Freemasons of England, Deputy - Lieutenant for the Tower Hamlets and for one of the divisions of Suffolk, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical, Horticultural, and Botanical Societies. He was a liberal and discriminating patron of the fine arts, and was the possessor of several of the most famous Landseer paintings. Shortly after the close of the Session he left England for a tour in Russia. After visiting St. Petersburg and Moscow he was returning homewards, but was detained by what appeared at first a slight attack of cold. He, however, rapidly became worse, and succumbed quite unexpectedly on Oct. 2 at Warsaw.

The King of Wurtemberg. Charles I., King of Wurtemberg (his full name being Charles Frederick Alexander), son of William I., was born at Stuttgart, March 6, 1823, and succeeded his father to the throne in 1864. In the struggles for the leadership of Germany which followed his accession, the King of Wurtemberg, who thoroughly disliked everything connected with military life, sided with Austria against Prussia. After the defeat of his troops, and the consequent "ransom" of eight million floring he was called upon to pay, he made his peace with the King of Prussia, and during the Franco-Prussian war his troops cordially and effectively co

operated with the German army. In 1846 he married the Grand Duchess Olga, daughter of the Czar Nicholas I., and to her influence was ascribed much of the policy of his reign. He was for many years a valetudinarian, taking but small interest in politics, but unfortunately he fell under the influence of some American “spiritualists," who obtained considerable influence over his mind, and large sums of money and other grants from his purse. One of them was created a baron, with a fine residence and estate, and the other substantially rewarded. By the influence of the Queen these adventurers were exposed and forced to quit the country, but the King's influence and popularity alike suffered, and there was some talk of his abdicating. Latterly he showed considerable interest in art, and did much towards improving the resources and attractions of his capital, Stuttgart, where he died on Oct. 6, after a short illness.

Right Hon. W. H. Smith.-William Henry Smith, M.P., D.C.L., who, on his death on October 6, was First Lord of the Treasury and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, was born in Duke Street, Grosvenor Square, and on June 24, 1825, after a short stay at the Tavistock Grammar School, started in life as a newspaper-folder in the business of his father, the founder of the great newsagency business which was subsequently identified with his name. Having made himself master of each branch of the business by taking an active share in it, he became his father's partner, and, by his energy and sagacity, contributed largely to the enormous success of the firm, and obtained a practical monopoly of the railway bookstall business throughout England; adding thereto, in 1860, a circulating library, which placed provincial readers on an equal footing with those who hitherto had the special advantages of the London libraries. In 1865 Mr. W. H. Smith was first invited to take part in political life, and at the general election, which happened shortly before the death of Lord Palmerston, he was induced to come forward as the Conservative candidate for Westminster, in opposition to the Whig and Radical candidates-Hon. R. W. Grosvenor and Mr. John Stuart Mill-who represented the unbroken traditions of the constituency since the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832. The result of the poll was: Grosvenor, 4,584; J. S. Mill, 4,525; and W. H. Smith, 3,824. Three years later another general election reversed the

order completely, giving Mr. W. H. Smith 7,648, Hon. R. W. Grosvenor 6,584, J. S. Mill 6,284 votes, and with that Mr. John Stuart Mill's career as a politician closed and Mr. W. H. Smith's commenced, and from that time, at each succeeding election for Westminster, Mr. Smith's name stood at the head of the poll, and he was returned unopposed. In 1870, on the establishment of the School Board for London, he was returned as one of the members for the Westminster division, and again at the second election in 1873; but he was forced to resign his seat on the Board shortly afterwards in consequence of his having been appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury in February 1874 by Mr. Disraeli, on the formation of his administration; and, on the death of Mr. Ward Hunt in 1877, he was, to the surprise of many, selected to succeed him as First Lord of the Admiralty. At the head of one of the great spending departments Mr. Smith's business experience and his financial knowledge were of the utmost use, but it cannot be claimed for him that he was able to reorganise his department on a satisfactory basis of personal responsibility, or that he achieved much in placing the navy upon a more stable footing, although he may have left it stronger than he found it. At the general election of 1880 he and his colleague, Sir C. Russell, successfully held their seat against Mr. John Morley and Sir A. Hobhouse, and during the five years of opposition which followed he spoke only occasionally upon matters with which he was fully conversant, such as Admiralty administration and the necessity of increasing the force of the navy. On Mr. Gladstone's resig nation in 1885, Mr. W. H. Smith, who had been elected for the newly consti tuted Strand Division, was selected by Lord Salisbury for the post of Secretary for War; but in the few months he held the office he was unable to leave any mark of his power of reorganising a department of which the state was little short of chaotic. At the close of the year Lord Carnarvon resigned the Viceroyalty of Ireland, necessitating the withdrawal of Sir W. Hart Dyke from the Chief Secretaryship; Mr. Smith undertook the task; he held the office for less than a week, long enough to go to Dublin, when the Conservative Government was defeated on the Allot ments Question, and Mr. Gladstone came into 'office pledged to Home Rule for Ireland. On the dissolution which followed the rejection of Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule Bill, Mr. W. H.

Smith was again elected for the Strand Division, and by an increased majority; and on the formation of Lord Salisbury's second administration he returned to the War Office; but a few months later, on Lord Randolph Churchill's resignation, he became First Lord of the Treasury, and Leader of the House of Commons.

Mr. Smith's promotion was at first viewed with doubt, and even with hostility, by a section of the Conservative party; but in the five Parliamentary Sessions during which he held the leadership, he completely conquered the confidence of the House of Commons. Making no pretence to eloquence, but speaking on all occasions with a simple plainness that had a dignity of its own, Mr. Smith showed always so much honesty of purpose, so entire an absence of bitter partisanship, such temperance of language and such suavity of manner, that, perhaps,no leader of the House since the days of Lord Althorp enjoyed a larger measure of universal respect. He led the House during an anxious period, through the heated debates on the Crimes Act and the Special Commission, and the prolonged discussions on such complicated measures as the Local Government Bill (England) and the Land Purchase Bill (Ireland), and on the reformed rules of the House. Nor was Mr. Smith found wanting when he had to deal with subjects of a different kind, like the Royal grants, and to give expression officially to the sympathies of the House of Commons on occasions of public sorrow or rejoicing. He was not a consummate orator like Mr. Gladstone or Mr. Bright, but he could speak, on behalf of Englishmen, the language of a plain Englishman both forcibly and to the purpose. It was, however, the moral side of Mr. Smith's character that impressed and won over his colleagues, his unaffected kindliness and his strong sense of duty; and when it was known that his health had been seriously affected by an attack of the influenza epidemic, there was a feeling of more than regret amongst his colleagues that he should be unable to continue to lead the House. During the last few weeks of the Session he was, however, unable to attend its sittings, but it was hoped that a few months' rest at Walmer Castle, where, as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, he had taken up his residence after the death of Earl Granville, would restore his health. He was, however, unable to withstand the repeated attacks of gout which followed upon his convalescence from the influenza; and, after many fluctuations, the gout reached the heart,

and he succumbed very suddenly on Oct. 6, the result of a chill taken on board his yacht Pandora, on which he had taken a short cruise a few days before. In addition to his political appointments Mr. Smith was a member of the Council of King's College, London, and had received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford in 1879. In 1889 the Ministerialists of the House of Commons presented him with an address expressing their gratitude for his services; and, on the completion of the twenty-first year of his Parliamentary career, he was entertained at a banquet by his old constituents. In private life and as an employer Mr. Smith was at once generous and discriminating, and there were few charities in London or in the counties where he possessed estatesOxfordshire, Devon, and Essex-where he did not contribute liberally. He married, in 1858, Emily, eldest daughter of Frederick Dawes Danvers, of the Duchy of Lancaster Office, who was subsequently raised to the peerage under the title of Viscountess Hambleden, her husband's residence near Henleyon-Thames.

Mr. Parnell.-Charles Stewart Parnell, who had won and for many years deserved the title of the "Uncrowned King of Ireland," was the second son of John Henry Parnell, who married Delia Tudor, daughter of Commodore Charles Stewart, U.S.A. On his father's side Mr. Parnell could claim a descent from Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker; but less remote was his connection with Sir John Parnell, second baronet, who was the Chancellor of Ireland in 1787, and a Lord of the Treasury in 1793, and resigned in 1795 rather than consent to the Union. Charles Stewart Parnell, his great grandchild, was born in Avondale, co. Wicklow, June 1846, but his early childhood was passed in England, first at a school at Yeovil, Somerset, to which he was sent at the age of six; next he was placed under the charge of Rev. Mr. Barton, of Kirk-Langley, Derbyshire; and afterwards of Rev. Mr. Wishaw, in Oxfordshire; and then matriculated as a Commoner at Magdalene College. Here his stay was not long, and although he took an interest in mechanics and applied mathematics, his reading was too desultory to be of academic use. On leaving Cambridge he spent some time in travelling in America, but in 1871 returned to Avondale, and took up the duties of an Irish

landlord. He hunted and shot like those around him, but he also did much to develop his estate. He set up a sawmill and brush factory, and soon afterwards began sinking shafts in search of minerals, a search in which he persisted throughout his life, notwithstanding the failure of all his efforts. It was said that the execution of the "Manchester Martyrs," Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, was the determining cause of Mr. Parnell's entry into political life. At the dissolution of 1874, he wished to stand for his native county, Wicklow, but as he was that year its High Sheriff, he was thereby disqualified; but a few months later, on Colonel Taylor's acceptance of a subordinate office in Lord Derby's administration, he contested the seat for Dublin co., and was defeated by 2,183 to 1,235 votes. But he was more successful a little more than a year later, when a vacancy was created in the representation of Meath by the death of John Martin, one of the "Young Ireland" party, and a convict of 1848, iike his brother-in-law, John Mitchel. When Mr. Parnell entered the House of Commons in April 1875, the Liberal Opposition was disorganised, the Conservative Government was both positively and negatively strong, and the Home Rule party, under Mr. Butt's leadership, was of little account. Mr. Parnell immediately allied himself with Mr. Biggar, who had struck out his own line of "obstruction," in which he was partially supported by Mr. F. O'Donnell and Mr. O'Connor Power. They persisted in a method of bringing an intolerable pressure to bear upon Parliament by creating disturbances, and by delaying public business, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Mr. Butt and the rank and file of the Irish Nationalists. In 1877 the whole scheme of Parliamentary obstruction was disclosed, and put in practice during the debates on the Prison Bill, the Army Bill, and the South Africa Bill; and on one occasion Mr. Parnell and a small body of followers kept the House sitting for twenty-six hours. At the close of the Session Mr. Butt, after a vain effort to stem the current of Irish politics, was deposed by the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain, and although in the Parliamentary party no ostensible change was made, in the following Session Mr. Butt practically resigned his lead, and to mark his severance from the extreme Irish party both spoke and voted in favour of the Government. On his death in the following year, Mr. Shaw

was chosen to fill his place as Sessional chairman of the party. Meanwhile, Mr. Parnell had been establishing friendly relations with some of the English and Scotch Radical members; and as first president of the newly established Land League, started at Irishtown, co. Mayo, he found himself at the head of the Reception Committee which presented an address of welcome to Mr. Davitt and his fellow-prisoners on their return from the United States.

He quickly entered into the policy that Mr. Davitt had devised in America in co-operation with Devoy and others, after taking counsel with the leaders of the Clan-na-Gael and of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. That policy had been originally sketched by Fintan Lalor, one of the '48 men, and was intended to work upon the land-hunger of the Irish peasantry in order to get rid of the British connection. This "new departure" involved Mr. Parnell's adoption of a more decided line on the Land Question. In June 1879, a few weeks after the establishment of the Land League, and in the teeth of the denunciations of Archbishop MacHale, Mr. Parnell, accompanied by Mr. Davitt, addressed a League meeting at Westport, told the tenantry that they could not pay their rents in presence of the agricultural crisis, but that they should let the landlords know they intended in any case to "hold a firm grip on their homesteads and lands."

In Oct. 1879, Mr. Parnell started with Mr. Dillon for the United States, where he was cordially welcomed by most of the extreme faction, and told them that the land question must be acted upon in "some extraordinary and unusual way" to secure any good result, and that "the great cause could not be won without shedding a drop of blood." He went even beyond this point in the famous speech at Cincinnati, when he said that the "ultimate goal" at which Irishmen aimed, was "to destroy the last link which kept Ireland bound to England."

Mr. Parnell's speeches during the electoral campaign of 1880, showed how far he was prepared to go in company with the Fenians; and his remark that he was little inclined "to fix the boundary of the march of a nation," was enthusiastically adopted on Land League platforms. The leading organisers of the League were either Fenians or men who had used language scarcely distinguishable from that of Fenianism, and the chief outcome of their policy was the adoption of the system of boycotting. Mr. Parnell's personal