Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 4. p 705

ANOTHER HONOUR FOR LORD READING
HIS GREAT SERVICES FOR THE STATE.

In November th e King conferred th e dignity of an
Earldom o f th e United Kingdom upon the Right Hon .
Viscount Reading, G .C .B ., G .C .V .O .
Lord Reading'€™ s services to th e State since the o u t ­
break o f war have been o f th e u tmost value, and th a t,
to o , in a sphere o f activity far removed from his professional duties.
B o th by early training and natural
aptitude he was particularly qualified to assist th e
Government on financial questions, and when, in the
early days o f th e stru ggle, inevitable difficulties had to
be faced and solved he con d u cted th e Treasury negotiatians
w ith City financiers which did so m uch t o ensure
th e stability o f th e monetary position . In th e autumn
o f 1916 he w en t t o th e United States as president of
th e Anglo-French Commission in connection w ith th e
American Loan , and in the autumn o f 1917 h e retu rn ed
from a nother mission in relation t o th e adjustment o f
th e m any points th a t have arisen now th a t th e United
States is so lavishly assisting th e Allies.
C alled to th e Bar in 1887, he took silk in 1898,
becam e Solicitor-General in 1910, and in th e sam e year
A ttorney-General. H e was given a seat in th e Cabinet
in June, 1912, th e first Attorney-General to be so
honoured.
In 1913 h e was appointed Lord Chief
Justice and created Baron Reading ; the G .C .B . was
con ferred on him in 1915 fo r special services d u rin g th e
w a r ; and he was created a viscount in 1916.
On th e occasion of Lord Reading'€™ s first visit t o
th e front , M r. T. P . O '€™ Connor w r o te : "€œ Lord Reading,
w ho h as seen much of th e w orld, began life, b y ru nn ing
aw ay t o sea, lik e so m any anoth er adventurous and
high -spirited English b o y ; b ut he avowed th a t never
had he gathered so m any strange, memorable, striking
impressions a s he had during this visit.
O ne little incident I m ay now repeat w ith ou t indiscretion. W h en
Lord Reading g o t in to th e motor car th at w as t o take
him to som e p oin t in th e front, th e chauffeur -€” grimy,
I have n o dou b t, and in overalls, o f whom d ou b tless he
w ould have tak en little notice-€” dropped th e observation
th a t th ey had m e t b efore in very differen t surrou ndings.
"€˜ I am Bernstein ,"€™ said th e grimy chauffeur
- Bernstein , on e o f th e greatest modern French
dramatists - now ta k in g th e duty o f a chauffeur."
I t was in 1914 th a t Lord Reading (then plain Mr.
Isaacs) w as return ed to Parliament for Reading. V e ry
enthusiastic was th e reception accord ed him when th e
General Council o f the Reading Liberal Association
met t o confirm th eir ch oice, and in a ck n ow led gin g th e
honour he s a id : "€œ I w as brought up a m on gst business
people ; I com e of a business stock ; I u nderstand, I
think, business people, and I know w hat it is to w ork
fo r m y living, w hich has som etim es been b e tte r than it
has at others. I know w hat it is t o fight th e battle o f
life in th e various departments in to which I entered
b e fo re I cam e t o th e Bar, and I realised this - that m y
dearest wish was t o represent a constituency w hich was
th e centre of commerce, w hich was a thriving business
place, governed by business men on business principles.
W hen th a t was mooted I did n ot know th a t I was
m ak in g a ch oice i n which business principles would
co u n t fo r so much. M y judgement w as b e tte r than I
th ou gh t, because now w e h ave th e question of Free
Trade introduced true business principles become of the
utmost importance ."
The Berkshire Assizes o f 1914 will form a memorable
page in Readin's history. They w ere opened by
th e Lord Chief Justice o f England (Lord Reading ),
whose ties w ith the borough are so m any and: so close.
N o t unmindful o f th e grea t service w hich Lord
Reading rendered t o th e tow n he represented in Parliament
and desirous o f congratulating him upon his
appointment to so high an office, th e members o f the
Town Council presented him w ith an address, th e
ceremony takin g place in th e Council Chamber.

EARL READING (photo)


[Reproduced by permission from the "€œ Sunday Herald ."
Earl a n d Countess Reading w i t h members of the British Mission in Washington.
General Maclachlan on l eft . Colonel Swinton
( " Eye - Witness "€ ) is second f r o m r i g h t .