Editing H. H. Asquith (section)

=== ''The Spectator'' and politics ===
[[File:H-H-Asquith-1876.jpg|thumb|upright|Asquith in 1876]]

Between 1876 and 1884, Asquith supplemented his income by writing regularly for ''[[The Spectator]]'', which at that time had a broadly Liberal outlook. Matthew comments that the articles Asquith wrote for the magazine give a good overview of his political views as a young man. He was staunchly radical, but as unconvinced by extreme left-wing views as by [[Toryism]]. Among the topics that caused debate among Liberals were British imperialism, the union of Great Britain and Ireland, and female suffrage. Asquith was a strong, though not jingoistic, proponent of the Empire, and, after initial caution, came to support home rule for Ireland. He opposed votes for women for most of his political career.{{efn|According to the official biography by J. A. Spender and Cyril Asquith, "he had a profound respect for the mind and intelligence of women{{space}}... But he considered politics to be peculiarly the male sphere, and it offended his sense of decorum and chivalry to think of them as engaged in the rough and tumble of this masculine business and exposed to its publicity. He always vehemently denied that the question had any relation to democratic theory or that the exclusion of women from the franchises was any reflection on their sex." See {{harvnb|Spender & Asquith|p=360}}.}} There was also an element of party interest: Asquith believed that votes for women would disproportionately benefit the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]]. In a 2001 study of the extension of the franchise between 1832 and 1931, Bob Whitfield concluded that Asquith's surmise about the electoral impact was correct.{{sfn|Whitfield|p=228}} In addition to his work for ''The Spectator'', he was retained as a [[editorial|leader]] writer by ''[[The Economist]]'', taught at evening classes, and marked examination papers.{{sfn|Jenkins|pp=31–32}}

Asquith's career as a barrister began to flourish in 1883 when [[Robert Samuel Wright|R. S. Wright]] invited him to join his chambers at the [[Inner Temple]]. Wright was the Junior Counsel to the Treasury, a post often known as "the [[Law Officers of the Crown#England and Wales|Attorney General]]'s [[Treasury devil|devil]]",<ref name=wright>"Death of Mr. Justice Wright", ''The Times'', 15 May 1904, p. 2</ref> whose function included giving legal advice to ministers and government departments.<ref name=wright/> One of Asquith's first jobs in working for Wright was to prepare a memorandum for the prime minister, [[W. E. Gladstone]], on the status of the parliamentary oath in the wake of the [[Charles Bradlaugh|Bradlaugh case]]. Both Gladstone and the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]], [[Henry James, 1st Baron James of Hereford|Sir Henry James]], were impressed. This raised Asquith's profile, though not greatly enhancing his finances. Much more remunerative were his new contacts with solicitors who regularly instructed Wright and now also began to instruct Asquith.{{sfn|Jenkins|p=37}}