Many people have the impression that the Lord Mayor of London is the greatest man in this kingdom. There is a line or two in an old song relating to a lover who did not like to pop the question to his girl. He said:—
"If I were a Lord Mayor,
A Marquis or an Earl,
Blowed if I wouldn't marry
Old Brown's girl."
That represents a great deal of the feeling in this country about the magnificence of the position of the Lord Mayor of London.
Newport Conservative Meeting,
July 25th, 1901.
[A DAY OF GREAT JOY.]
It is a high honour, because it is the greatest that the Lord Mayor and Corporation have the power of conferring upon anybody. My only drawback is the fear that I cannot be worthy of the others whose names are on the roll of Cardiff's freemen. You know that comparisons are odious, and when you read the names on that list and compare mine with them, I hope you will look with leniency upon me. The Lord Mayor promised me just now that he would not be very long in his address and in his references to me on this occasion. At one moment I felt very much inclined to remind him of his promise, as the great King Henry IV did with a Lord Mayor who went on his knees to deliver the keys of the city. Without delivering them he rose from his knees and said, "I have twelve reasons for not yielding up the keys of the city. The first is that there are no keys." The King said, "That is quite enough; we don't want any more reasons." I felt inclined to stop the Lord Mayor and say, "You have said quite enough about me; I will take the remainder for granted."
