Text 2 Beaconsfield

There is hardly any part of last century in which, among her politicians, Great Britain did not number men who during their lifetime occupied important places among the leaders of the world. A few may be consi­dered even great, for their succes­sors are still in­fluenced by their spirit.

Among this select few the high­est place may possibly be allot­ted to Benjamin Disraeli. He was not a politician in the narrow sense of the word, but a 'states­man of the highest order. His rivals, of whom there were many, are of very little interest to the present generation, but Disraeli has left an enduring mark on many parts of the world.

In a brief period of time he gave India the form of government by which, with some modifications, she is still being ruled; he super­vised a constitution for British Columbia, and gave Canada her charter of liberty and progress.

Although in Britain equal rights are now enjoyed by all, no matter to what nationality they belong, Disraeli encountered considerable opposition from the aristocracy, on account of his Eastern origin. Yet in the course of time he gained many followers and even friends among the Lords of England. One of these, Lord Stanley, who was offered the throne of Greece in 1862, did much to spread Disraeli’s influence and strengthen his party.

At first the Queen disliked Disraeli, but in spite of this, he eventually became her most trusted adviser. He was a man with a very broad mind, not bounded by the narrow limits of our island, and throughout his career he energetically opposed the so-called ‘Little Eng­landers,’ whose ambition was to free their country from the burden which they considered the colonies were.

Disraeli maintained that real liberties were always accompanied by no less real duties, and that although we received no direct material benefit, from our over-sea dominions, our duty (and to him as to most Englishmen it was a proud duty) undoubtedly was to help them protect their freedom. In return for this pro­tection, their duty would clearly be to join with the mother country in defending and spreading civilisation. They should, however, not be asked to follow blindly wherever they might be led: they should be directly represented on the Imperial Council and have a voice in the po­licy of the Empire.

One may say that Disraeli began the work of cementing the different parts of our Empire, and his work has been continued with great success, the different parts being firmly held together by the common ideal of justice and liberty.

Disraeli was raised to the Peerage in 1876 as Lord Beaconsfield, being one of the first Jews to receive that distinction. He has also left us some literary works of considerable merit.

Text 3 The Beheaded Picture

Two people were standing in the library, Lord Leverhulme and his housekeeper, Mrs. Phippen, who had also in years gone by been His Lordship’s nurse.

A portrait of Lord Leverhulme had just been painted by Mr. Augustus John, a well- known English artist; but now that it had arrived, it was found tobe too big for its place on the wall.

“What a pity!” said His Lordship, as he looked, first at the picture, next at the wall, then at the picture again. “We can’t hang it here: it’s too big by half.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, Master Walter,” answered the housekeeper. “And, as I always said when you were a bit of a boy no higher than my knee, if there is a way at all, our Walter will find it.”

“I always said,” continued the old woman, “he was as strong as Samson, as wise as Solomon, as good as . . .”

“That’ll do, Nelly,” interrupted Lord Leverhulme. “You’ve given me a good idea at any rate. Solomon decided a difficult question with a knife. I’ll do the same: I’ll cut the picture in two!”

To think, with Lord Leverhulme, was to act, so the portrait was soon beheaded, with one part hanging proudly on the wall,while the other part was left on the floor. Without further thought about the matter, His Lordship then went off to enjoy himself in the country.

What Mrs. Phippen thought, we are not told. Perhaps in her opinion the unnecessary part of the picture might be-useful to the artist, if she were to send it back, so it was soon packed and sent back to Mr. John!

What a storm arose out of this little in­cident! Mr. Augustus John was very angry. He wrote Lord Leverhulme a letter, in which he clearly expressed his opinion of what had been done.

The newspapers took the matter up, giving it very great importance, and they have not finished with it yet. Some say Lord Leverhulme had a perfect right to do what he liked with the picture, for he had paid for it, it was his own property; others say he acted wrongly, having no right to destroy a work of art.

Those who agree with Lord Leverhulme say: The picture was his own property, so he could keep it, or sell it, or, in short, do what he liked with it. Had he not paid for it, were he not the real owner, it would be another matter.

Those who are on Mr. John’s side say: A work of art always, belongs, to some extent, to the artist, the author of its being; for it is the expression of his own personality, his genius, it is part of his life. This, if the artist is great, lives after his death, it still belongs to him, it can neither be bought nor sold.

In this way the discussion is still continu­ing, each side feeling sure that it is right. The majority, however, seems to be with the ar­tists, who say that a real work of art cannot belong absolutely to any one individual: it is universal property, it belongs to all mankind.

Were the artist himself to destroy such a work, he would therefore be wrong, just the same as a parent would be wrong, if he were to kill his own child.