The diplomat’s task is to see the best in other peoples, not to scold them for their failings.

American journalist and poet WC Bryant numbered Richard Cobden MP among the world’s statesmen, not our politicians.

Richard Cobden questioned both the wisdom and the motives of politicians who intervene on foreign soil.

Richard Cobden was not a little envious of the USA’s open and can-do society, but he did not covet her republicanism.

Jack Curran’s career as a defender of victims of political prejudice got off to a stuttering start.

Statesmen promise to make the country a better place, but they never mention the one thing that would do some good.