MR. ASQUITH
CHAPTER I
EARLY DAYS
HERBERT HENRY ASQUITH was born at Morley on 12th September, 1852. He is the second son of the late Dixon Asquith. His mother's maiden name was Emily Willans, the daughter of William Willans, J.P., of Huddersfield.
The Asquiths are an old Yorkshire family and their descent can be traced back many generations. There is a record to the effect that one named Joseph Asquith took a prominent part in the Farnley Wood Plot of 1664. This was an attempt to re-establish the reign, of Puritanism and to revive the conditions of the Commonwealth, The plot failed, and Joseph Asquith and a number of his fellow- townsmen were imprisoned in York Castle. Mr. Asquith is proud of the part his ancestor took in this fight for religious freedom. The Asquiths have since remained staunch Nonconformists.
Mr. Dixon Asquith's father was the founder of the Gillroyd Mill Company, an old Yorkshire firm. The Croft House, where the subject of this biography was born, is an old-fashioned structure and an object of much historic interest. The future Home Secretary was not destined to reside for long in the busy Yorkshire town, but its inhabitants are proud of the fact that the great Liberal statesman was born in their midst. When their new Town Hall was built in 1895, there was a unanimous desire that Mr. Asquith should perform the opening ceremony, and the reception which was accorded him
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