The Times

NO. 10 DOWNING STREET.

Where Great Britain's Destiny Is Alternatively Advanced and Retarded.

(From the London Daily Mail.)

The official residence of the First Commoner in the first empire on earth does not strike one with admiration. On the contrary, No. 10 Downing Street, as it is called in the directory, is a distinctly out-of-date, dingy, old building, of that soul-depressing, flat-windowed type which prevailed when George II was King. Nevertheless, here it is that the First Lord of the British nation's Treasury is entitled to live at the nation's expense. Here, too, have frequently been held those Cabinet councils by which the nation's destiny is alternatively advanced and retarded, according as their decisions are wise or otherwise.

The first occupant of "No. 10" was the celebrated Sir Robert Walpole, upon whom and his successors in the office of First Lord George II conferred the building as an official residence "forever." Here, too, came the much-maligned North, whose most abiding feat of government was the loss of the American colonies. He was followed by Pitt, who seems to have been one of the few inhabitants who really liked the place, and Perceval, who weathered the stormy years of his official existence from its sheltering portals.

Lord Liverpool and Canning both made "No. 10" their homes, so, too, did Lord Grey; but after his time it was comparatively deserted until the time of Disraeli, who, together with his great rival, Mr. Gladstone, did much to resuscitate its ancient glories. On the other hand, and latterly, Mr. W. H. Smith and Mr. Balfour have only used it for the transaction of Treasury business.