THE IDOL OF POPLAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 203, 26 August 1913, Page 6

THE IDOL OF POPLAR.

MR WILL CROOKS, M.P. AN AGGRESSIVE OPTIMIST. Mr. Will Crooks, the Labour M.P. for Woolwich, probably one of- the most popular men in English public life today, pays liifl second visit to New Zealand, on the occasion of :i few days' Htay in the Dominion by the members of the British Parliamentary party on their way to be the guests of the Commonwealth of Australia. It was in the latter part of IUO9 that Mr. Crooks, with Mrs. Crooks, was mnking a more leisurely tour of New Zealand, when an unexpected dissolution of Parliament— and resultant general election —made it necessary for him to cut short his visit and to make his way Home with nil possible dispatch. He got Home on the 10th January. 1910, and hi 3 poll was on the following day. It will be rempmbcred that he was defeated by a narrow majority, but that in the next general election, ten months later, he was returned to the scat he hae occupied, with the one interval referred to, evet since 1303.

When l'i<> circumstances of his hurried return Home from wt jCco.\h,tiA isLSt, time wore recalled to liirn by a '"Star" reporter this morning, the reminder awoke a train of pleasant memories for Mr. Crooks. "Do yon know," he said.

"when 1 got Home thnt time they mc as big a tkanonst ration as ever a rnnn could have. There, must have been aioat 100.000 people took part in it. Yes," ac continued reflectively, in that deep, ricli voice of hte, "I ;zot the cheera and tbe other fellow got the votes."

One begins to fee! in the presence of Will Crooks something of tbe influence which makes this deep-chested, humourous "son of the people" such a universal favourite with botrt "musses" and

"clneees." His decp-eet. twinkling, agpossiTcly goodnaturcd oyes are oddly in contrast with his jrcnerai air of deep imperturbable calm. He knows nothing of convention and docs lot pretend to attempt to follow it* I'jjtntes, but he just remains what nai-.rc apparently made him, a big-hcartjfi mau who is glad to bo alive. Tt H, interesting to noto that thie is the man who in ISUS wae made chairman of the Poplar Board of Guardians, tbe same Institution which in JS6I had put him in its workhouse. Among his most treasured possessions Iβ a gold watch which all the officials and others of the workhoueo presented to him on his election to Parliament in 1003,

RISE OF •HHOUG-HTFOL DEMOCRACY

Wben qiieetionvd as to the position of the Labour rmrty in Britain, Air. Crooks eaid unhesitatingly that it vraa doing better now than had been the case for many yca-ns; the party was fairly well organised, iuid trade was fairly good. "Somehow," ho observed, "there seems to be a notion abroad that Old England is decadent. Don't you believe it. i-he is not decadent by many centuries yet, and the physique" of Britons is as good as ever it was in spite of all that may be eaid to the contrary.

"Of course," he continued, "you will still find the awful contrasts "between extreme wealth and extreme poverty, but you don't find that only in England. There is a general tendency to make a first-class question (demanding immediate attention) of everything that relates to the regulation of child-labour, or to the betterment of the health of children and women. You can rightly put that down to the influence of the Labour organisations-, their constant work coming to fruition; and to. the intellectual improvement of the people as a whole. .

Mr. Crooks went on to speak of the advance in the general average of education among the people. Though the improvement had neceswarily been alow, it was no exaggeration to say that there had >been a real revolution in English industrial life. There was still cause for complaint, but there could bo no comparison between England of to-day and England of 15 years ago. Tho •rising generation was showing more initiative, more inventive genius, more roadv 'wit.' ■Hβ put this down to better feeding, better sanitation, better eur.roundiugs generally.

"Do you know," ho said, "that there arc from 25,000 to 30,000 cliildren in London, foil at school on five days in the week? You might urge that that is a sign of poverty, but I ask what was it « sign of when they went to school unfed. You can't impress knowledge on a hungry ibc.lly; you might impress a low cunning that would be concerned only how to get it filled. No; we will never go back to the bad old times. There ie a thoughtful democracy at work, and labour is more trustful of it*p]f."

—'~caking of the position of Labour in 'Parliament, ATr. Crooks said that, according to some, it was doing badly, but, according to the notion of the sober thinking men of the country, it doing remarkatdy good work. The old age pensions, the national insurance, the improvements to workers' compensation (though all doubtless leaving much to be desired) were inspired by th« Labour members. "There are 41 of us," Mr. Crooks remarked, "in a House of 670, and I have puWksly eaid that we have influenced Parliament not because of onr opinions, or because of our beauty, but I>ecaTisc of our winning ways."

Hie idea in visiting Australia and New Zealand is to .acquire "knowledge by contact." He wante to get "below the surface of things," and to find out how people themselves feel about things. "In this party." he eaid, waving his hand towards the general movement on the deck of the Makuri. to >be officially received by the Hon. H. D. Bell, "ram content to lie a silent mem&er; to look on and learn all I can."