Fifty Years Of Parliament Vol. 1 By Herbert Henry Asquith, Earl of Oxford & Asquith

Volume 1 of a 2-volume set. This book deals with events and matters which are within the range of the author’s own memory. For the best part of the first twenty years which it covers, the author was an outside spectator; during the remainder he sat in the House of Commons, and ultimately became its Leader. The book does not profess to be, and from the nature of the case it could not be, a detached and impartial survey. It is intended to be a contribution to history written to a large extent from first-hand knowledge. The time with which it is concerned was one of almost ceaseless and often embittered controversies, both between policies and persons, in many of which the author took an active part. The imputation, and perhaps the reality, of colour and bias is almost inevitable in a narrative so composed; and without pretending that he has attempted the thankless task of “holding the scales even” which denudes history of its interest, he has not consciously tampered with the balance.