He, too, might have been an Under-Secretary in the days of that short-lived Ministry, but decided, with characteristic vigour, that if he was fit to be an Under-Secretary he was fit for the Cabinet.

At the close of 1905 the opportunity came, and the offer of Sir H.
Campbell-Bannerman to preside over the Local Government Board was promptly accepted.

The workman first took his place in the Cabinet when Mr.John Burns, at the age of forty-seven, went to the Local Government Board--to the complete satisfaction of Mr.Burns.For the robust egoism of Mr.Burns is largely a class pride.

His invincible belief in himself is part of an equally invincible belief in the working class.

His ambitions thrive on the conviction that whatever Mr.John Burns does, that the working class does in the person of their representative.