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. [C] “Emerson and Other Essays.” 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.