Delivered in the Canadian House of Commons，May 26，1898England has lost the most illustrious of her sons；but the loss is not England‘s alone，nor is it confined to the great empire which acknowledges England’s suzerainty，nor even to the proud race which can claim kinship with the people of England.The loss is the loss of mankind.Mr.Gladstone gave his whole life to his country；but the work which he did for his country，was conceived and carried out，on principles of such high elevation，for purposes so noble，and aims so lofty，that not his country alone，but the whole of mankind，benefited by his work.It is no exaggeration to say that he has raised the standard of civilization，and the world today is undoubtedly better for both the precept and the example of his life.His death is mourned not only by England，the land of his birth，not only by Scotland，the land of his ancestors，not only by Ireland for whom he did so much，and attempted so much more；but also by the people of the two Sicilies，for whose outraged rights he once aroused the conscience of Europe，by the people of the Ionian Islands，whose independence he secured，and by the people of Bulgaria and the Danubian Provinces，in whose cause he enlisted the sympathy of his own native country.Indeed，since the days of Napoleon，no man has lived whose name has travelled so far and so wide over the surface of the earth；no man has lived whose name alone so deeply moved the hearts of so many millions of men.Whereas Napoleon impressed his tremendous personality upon peoples far and near，by the strange fascination which the genius of war has always exercised over the imagination of men in all lands and in all ages，the name of Gladstone had come to be in the minds of all civilized nations，the living incarnation of right against mightthe champion，the dauntless，tireless champion，of the oppressed against the oppressor.It is，I believe，equally true to say that he was the most marvellous mental organization which the world has seen since Napoleoncertainly the most compact，the most active，and the most universal.
This last half century in which we live，has produced many able and strong men who，in different walks of life，have attracted the attention of the world at large；and of the men who have illustrated this age，it seems to me that in the eyes of posterity.four will outlive and outshine all othersCavour，Lincoln，Bismarck，and Gladstone.If we look simply at the ma gnitude of the results obtained，compared with the exiguity of the resources at command，if we remember that out of the small Kingdom of Sardinia grew united Italy，we must come to the conclusion that Count Cavour was undoubtedly a statesman of marvellous skill and prescience.Abraham Lincoln，unknown to fame when he was elected to the presidency，exhibited a power for the government of men which has scarcely been surpassed in any age.He saved the American Union，he enfranchised the black race，and for the task he had to perform he was endowed in some respects almost miraculously.No man ever displayed agreater insight into the motives，the complex motives，which shape the public opinion of a free country，and he possessed almost to the degree of an instinct，the supreme quality in a statesman of taking the right decision，taking it at the right moment and expressing it in language of incomparable felicity.Prince Bismarck was the embodiment of resolute common sense，unflinching determination，relentless strength，moving onward to his end，and crushing everything in his way as unconcerned as fate itself.Mr.Gladstone undoubtedly excelled every one of these men.He had in his person a combination of varied powers of the human intellect，rarely to be found in one single individual.He had the imaginative fancy，the poetic conception of things，in which Count Cavour was deficient.He had the aptitude for business，the financial ability which Lincoln never exhibited.He had the lofty impulses，the generous inspirations which Prince Bismarck always discarded，even if he did not treat them with scorn.He was at once an orator，a statesman，a poet，and a man of business.As an orator he stands certainly in the very front rank of orators of his country or any country of his age or any age.I remember when Louis Blanc was in England，in the days of the Second Empire，he used to write to the press of Paris，and in one of his letters to Le Temps he stated that Mr.Gladstone would undoubtedly have been the foremost orator of England，if it were not for the existence of Mr.Bright.It may be admitted，and I think it is admitted generally，that on some occasions Mr.Bright reached heights of grandeur and pathos which even Mr.Gladstone did not attain.But Mr.Gladstone had an ability，a vigour，a fluency which no manin his age or any age ever rivalled or even approached.That is not all.To his marvellous mental powers he added no less marvellous physical gifts.He had the eye of a god，the voice of a silver bell；and the very fire of his eye，the very music of his voice swept the hearts of men even before they had been dazzled by the torrents of his eloquence.