F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead Quotes

23 Sourced Quotes

The world continues to offer glittering prizes to those who have stout hearts and sharp swords.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
The greater the political progress made by the Hindus, the greater, in my judgement, will be the Moslem discontent and antagonism. All the conferences in the world cannot bridge over the unbridgeable, and between those two countries lies a chasm which cannot be crossed by the resources of modern political engineering.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
A people so individual in its genius, so tenacious in love or hate, so captivating in its nobler moods.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
I should rather say they [the Liberals] were begotten by Chinese slavery out of passive resistance, by a rogue sire out of a dam that roared.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Judge: I have read your case, Mr Smith, and I am no wiser now than I was when I started.
Smith: Possibly not, My Lord, but far better informed.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
The Conservative Party is the parent of trade unionism, just as it is the author of the Factory Acts. At every stage in the history of the nineteenth century it is to Toryism that trade unionism has looked for help and support against the oppressions of the Manchester School of liberalism, which cared nothing for the interests of the state, and regarded men as brute beasts whose labour could be bought and sold at the cheapest price, irrespective of all other considerations.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
To me it is frankly inconceivable that India will ever be fit for Dominion self-government.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
We have the highest authority for believing that the meek shall inherit the earth; though I have never found any particular corroboration of this aphorism in the records of Somerset House.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
An MP had been elected as a Unionist candidate, but when Parliament re-assembled, he had immediately "crossed the floor" without seeking re-election.
Smith said:"He entered the House not on the crest of a wave, but rather by means of an opportune dive. Everyone in the House must appreciate his presence, for there could be no greater compliment paid to it than that he should be in our midst, when his heart is far away. And it should be obvious to all who know the honourable gentleman's scrupulous sense of honour, that his one desire at present is to be amongst his constituents, who are understood to be at least as anxious to meet him."

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Churchill has spent the best years of his life preparing impromptu remarks.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Nature has no cure for this sort of madness [Marxism], though I have known a legacy from a rich relative work wonders.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
We stand for the State and for the unity which, whether in the form of kingdom or empire or class solidarity, the State alone can bring. Above all stands the State and in that phrase lies the essence of Toryism. Our ancestors left it to us, and not the least potent method of preserving it is to link the conception of State Toryism with the practice of Social Reform.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Judge: You are extremely offensive, young man!
Smith: As a matter of fact we both are; and the only difference between us is that I am trying to be, and you can't help it.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Master Of The Rolls: Really, Mr Smith, do give this court credit for some little intelligence.
Smith: That is the mistake I made in the court below, my lord

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
He has devoted the best years of his life to preparing his impromptu speeches.
On Winston Churchill

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
I have always placed my highest and most permanent hopes upon the eternity of the Communal situation.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
It would be possible to say without exaggeration that the miners' leaders were the stupidest men in England if we had not frequent occasion to meet the owners.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Judge Darling: And who is George Robey?
Smith: Mr George Robey is the Darling of the music halls, m'lud.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Judge Willis: Mr Smith, have you ever heard of a saying by Bacon—the great Bacon—that youth and discretion are ill-wed companions?
Smith: Indeed I have, your Honour; and has your Honour ever heard of a saying by Bacon—the great Bacon—that a much talking Judge is like an ill-tuned cymbal?

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Smith (to The Court): At the time, my client was as drunk as a judge.
Judge (interjecting): Mr. Smith, I think you'll find the phrase is 'as drunk as a lord'.
Smith: As your Lordship pleases.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Judge: What do you suppose I am on the bench for?
Smith: It is not for me, Your Honour, to attempt to fathom the inscrutable workings of Providence.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Judge: I've listened to you for an hour and I'm none wiser.
Smith: None the wiser, perhaps, my lord but certainly better informed.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead
Austen [Chamberlain] always played the game, and he always lost it.

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead