Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour
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A number of individual styles remain to be mentioned. When the Prime Minister speaks we are conscious of listening to a great personality. His voice fills the chamber, and yet it is not a big, robust organ. It has that undefinable something in its timbre which one listens for in a first-class baritone's singing. It has the carrying quality in a great degree, and needs but little exertion because of the perfect articulation to which it gives sound. Mr. Balfour seldom speaks rapidly, and when he pauses abruptly his hearers may expect to receive a smart epigram, an ingeniously-turned phrase, or a surprising application of an interruption. He is one of the keenest fencers in the House, delighting to make even a small point against his opponents, though it be at the expense of a great deal of elaboration. He is a skilful reasoner—a dialectician of the highest order. These qualities naturally infer variety in speech, and Mr. Balfour's elocution, in the modern sense of the word, responds to the various moods efficiently, and yet without much overstraining. The note on which he does most speaking is somewhere between D and E, but he frequently ranges the octave from G to G.
Rt. Hon. G. Wyndham
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Mr. George Wyndham, whose name has been cursed and blessed by Irish Nationalists, has great gifts of eloquence and a powerful, clear voice, which he uses with great effect. His delivery seems to improve each Session. The progress of the Irish Land Bill through the House last Session showed him to be master of the most intricate details of his subject, and his lucid expositions gained the admiration of all who heard him. D is the note on which he most frequently speaks, and the diagram illustrates a passage from his speech on the second reading of the Land Bill.
Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman