My Lord HailshamLord Chancellor, George ThomasMr Speaker Lord and Lady Home, my Lords and fellow Members of Parliament.
Of all the tasks which have fallen to me since I became Prime Minister, none has given me greater happiness than today's ceremony.
We meet to do honour to Lord Home, who has been a Member of either House of Parliament for forty-seven years. [end p1]
That in itself is a remarkable record. But today we salute, not only a pre-eminent Parliamentarian, but a Statesman who, in whichever House he served, won the affection and trust of us all.
But even that is only part of the story. There is no Member of either House who has earned wider national and international respect. Respect for a life rich in achievement and brimming over with purpose and value. [end p2]
In Parliamentary terms, his career has been unique; he was Foreign Secretary first in your House and then in ours. For four days he was Prime Minister while in your House; for three weeks when he was a Member of neither House; and then Prime Minister in our house
There are statues already to fourteen Prime Ministers who sat in the House of Lords. Today we add a fifteenth. The way the Wind Blows, it is rather unlikely that there will be another. That, too, adds to the historic and constitutional significance of our ceremony today. [end p3]
Surrounded by his family and friends, and only a short distance from the two Chambers in which, for nearly half a century he has served with such distinction, may I select just two of his qualities, rare enough in themselves, but in combination rarer still?
Alec Home is the wisest man I have ever met.
His wisdom comes not only from long experience at the centre of events, but from a deep study of the human story. [end p4]
In his Autobiography,
Alec recalls the two years of absolute immobility which followed the diagnosis of his spinal trouble in 1940.
He wrote: “I concentrated on reading … I read the lives of all the famous politicians of the 19th Century … I returned always to Macaulay and Trevelyan.” His experience during those two years added a new dimension to his wisdom.
And After wisdom, kindness. [end p5]
It was my privilege to serve as a Junior Minister in Alec 's Government. Some here today served in his Cabinet. We can all testify to his kindness, his understanding and generosity of spirit.
He could always distinguish between what mattered and what did not. He was never concerned for himself, but only for his country and her people. By his own example he elevated the standards of public life. [end p6]
At Chequers, each Prime Minister has a window for his own crest. Alec 's bears his family motto: “True to the end” .
We know that that will always be true of the man whom we honour today. We rejoice that Elizabeth is here as well. Of her he wrote: “I am conscious of the supreme good fortune that I found the perfect partner in life” . [end p7]
It is impossible to do justice to Alec. But let this sculpture be an enduring token of the regard and affection which we all feel for the Prime Minister and for the man.