In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 85, 13 April 1929, Page 28

In the Public Eye

Mr:! R. Coyc-iSinitlv.'' •; • ■' To..lnivc captaiiicd;England in one of her.principal' sports is the ambition of most virile yoirng men, particularly those who spend a-groat deal of their time in the great' outdoors. The prosent, jjeneration of English X?ugby enI husiasts has \m:^«:m.± !m^miiiy->i>l Bivcll two. really l^^^^^pgill great players to-.. fl^^ill^^^ll /Wakefieid and It. i^iiS'SiWSW^Sri ":Cbve-Smith.- Both both have had :^^p|B|liiiliH: the honour 'of Hi^^^^^ilil I English . fifteen,. cord-breakers ,in I game. \Vakefleld •;•..'.'-holds the record of .having secured 31"" caps,''. but CoveSniith is not far behind him: ;','.tri'-fact bejEore the season ; :eHded in 'England it .was'expected that^they■■■jybtild'be on a level-.in .this respect.' Coye'-Smith :is a great forward and; a great' captain, just as Wakefield was, but;he is a great deal more than.that. He is a great idealist. His lias been a composite career.' First, at Caius College, Cambridge, he was the centre of a remarkable group of contemporaries all attending at the same time at the one college—Harold Abrahams,. H. B. .Stallard, [G, 1 S.- Conway, and. :J. E. GreoiVwoad-^e'aeh .. of whbiri became almost; as.great a Eugby ■player ■■as' 1..C.0ye-Smith:,-himself. ' Th.c next' picture is of,. a-, back-room above a cafe in;]?leet Street,, London. ■ Coy'eSmith is leading-one' : side in a time_-: honoured debate,.''Eugby y. Soccer,/ j his chief protagonist' being' a. working man from-the East End'iof 'the city. Around these two central figures are grouped shop'assistants and students, butchers and barristers. Another picture of him,is.ill the centre of one of | London's biggest hospitals, where his daily task is to go round the wards among .the sicK-.and the dying, to' lecture'students;; and to tackle the^problenis of tho hospital's administration;, while later still, at the end of a long day's work, he will be called upon,.to fulfil tha duties of warden of a large university hostel. .^Aiid, the. v sa'me, afternoon he hadr-probablyfled.-'iEngland^ in a great international fixture. Sport to Cove-Smith is an-excellent .^ thing-—in its place; but he never allows it. to get 'out of its place in his life,;whi.ch may be. the'chief reason why he is so successful in several walks of life. His ideal .-is'to play iv the game of life and to lead a real team of students and people who are trying to assist those in distress, .whether from sickness or unemployment; with a specially warm place in-his'heart for those East End children who are sick or crippled. Such a man was not likely to be flurried by the biggest crowd possible even on the Historic ground at Twickenham, nor was he likely to fall before the fiercest attacks on the line he,loves to defend. Such aleader may be relied upon at all times, whether in the battle of life or the turmoil of Eugby. . Miss Verietia Stephenson.

•Law history was made in London recently when Miss Vcnetia Stephenson led the defence in a niurder trial, being the first woman barrister to do so. A woman acted as junior counsel for the Crown during the trial of the two men . '■convicted of the

: ' niurder ,: of Constable Gutteridge i''-last; ■. year,-,- .--but " "ipss'•■'• Steptienson vk Ic.d': the; defence, .. 'and 'the';;burden : .Of. \crdss-cxainina- ■;■ tidiiA rested.. upon ';<-, heiv She also'mado ■'the 1: two ■' speeches ■.; •£ or;/the ': defence, ;.,. and ■ though she r did „not .'procure ;J;her '^client's . ac-

". ' • quittal she earned the commendation of the Bench. The case ,was concerted ■with a young man, William Holmyard, who Avaß- accused of having murdered his grandfather after a dispute about money 'affairs.' Miss Stephenson proved hpiself a persistent counsel. .At one point she argued for an hour to prevent a statement attributed to, the accused from being included in the evidence. A detective-inspector also fared badly. Finally ho descended to calling, counsel "Miss." "Attend to me, detective," said Miss Stephenson sternly. "Yes, Miss," replied the detective. The dutiful assent was a real triumph for, Miss Stephenson's' sex, as the inspector manifestly resented being questioned and cross-questioned by awoman.- Miss 1 put it to the jury that Holmyard acted in selfdefence,, and;, was first attaeke.d -by 'tlic old man, who;.'lifted af'dhaif to' strike him. Mr. Justice ..Humphreys, however, summed up ; against "thisf: view, and Holmyard -was convicted'and' sentenced to death. Another legal record was established recently" when Sir Leslie Scott.finished Ma speech for the Indian Princes before the Indian States Committee, and earned a record fee of £70,000. • Sir Leslie Scott'had-a- retainer of £53,000, with "refreshers" of £200 a day. It seems a lot of money, but to earn it Sir Leslie Scott has. been ■working; at high pressure for months, and he had to visit Ipdia.'-'-He returned to England in May, and he has been engaged on the princes' case ever since. The speech occupied three days, so that was not a record, but it.involved mastering evidence which filled five printed book's each.of 500 .pages, of foolscap, size.-. '', ' .;■■ '■■'■ I, .' ;\" '. . . "' ■

Mr. Robert Smillie.

Mr. Koberfc Srnillie, M.P., and his wife recently celebrated their golden wedding in the village of Larkhall, Lanarkshire, where they were married. "BoY Smillie, a.pioneer in the mod"em Labour movement,.was born in Bel- -■■■ fast in 1857, and when 11 years of age started work in a factory there. When he was 15 ho crossed to Glasgow, and worked in a Clyde shipyard. Two years later he became a miner, a n d thenceforward his life' was associated with the

■*•.■■ , pits. As a very young man he allowed himself a determined' rebel against a social system which, he., believed to be responsible for poverty sa,nd wretchedness, and his pas-' sionate sincerity was supported by unusual organising ability and a compelling personality. He was in a great measure responsible for building up the Miners' Federation of Great Britain into a, powerful' organisation. He became its president, and after some critical years of leadership retired in favour of Mr. Herbert Smith. It was at Larlvhall that Mr. Smillie met' Anner Hamilton, who was to become his, wife. She shares with him his ardent belief in Socialism. Four years ago Mr. Smillie published hia book, "My Lifv. for Labour," in which he thus refers to his wife: "Anne Hamilton has been an 'ideal wife to me, and without her my work as a miners' leader rsould never Lave been done. . . Nev'er/aiv..unnecessary hour did I spend-outside! the home circle, where peace- and lovo have been intensified with the. passing years." "Mr. and Mrs.. Smillie have had seven sons and two daughters/ and

tli ore are-seven grandchildren',; V; One oil..the sons is a professor atkiKilmarnock Agricultural .College. .Until lie' was returned for the>Morpeth-division. 1 in. 1923; Mr. Sinillie made seven .unsuccessful attempts to enter Parliament. As lie has himself remarked, his "am folk" would not 'have him, and he had to go over the border into Northumberland to secure a scat. At the last General Election he held'Morpcth by an 1 increased majority: .-'When tlio Labour.Party eame' ; ;hito office he was invited-to accept a position in the Government, "but •declined.. , ■ .: Dr. AlfredSze. '■>;;■;". .._. ■ It!'is understood fliat Dr.; Alfred'Szc, who was Chinese Minister in London from 1914 to 1920, .and who for some time has represented his Government at Washington, is again to be Chinese Minister.; in 'London.' The last; Chinese '•",-■'..' : >;':''. ; Minister;' to -the Court:-?■' 'of St. James- was Dr. Wellington Koo. Since''his departure in; 1922 the post ,has : stood vacant;-,. -Dr. Sze was very'popular during -his term, of office in London, and'when he was, appointed to Washington" he .left '■■:";hi3-:;;;tiirce .-/:• < children, in England to, be educated. ■ Dr;:Sze.' (with the accent on the middlo Jettcr)',,ivas 0210 of the young;men who got'themselves inoculated with the education 1 bug whilo <it St. John's College, Shanghai. Dr. Wellington Koo was another, and so was Dr. W. W. -Yen, at oiie time Minister Plenipotentiary to Germany. Dr. Sze is a man of .superlative nientai capacity, unimpeachable character and the highest idealism, who has received most'of his education in the '< United States of America. 'First of all he went to.the Central High' School at Washington, and;then to, Cornell , University where he graduated; in arts-in 1901': He is now in his fifty-second year, and'was; born at Chengtse, in'the Kiangsu Province. His career has been one of important and distinguished service. Peldn claimed : him in-1906 to' serve "as acting junior 'secretary to thq Ministry of Communications,.', aii appointment which decided the future course of'his: life's work. .Within a year Dr. Sze was; director, of the PekinrHankow railway and after a .further twelve months he was controller of all the northern rail-' ways, a>position of extreme importance. He resigned thfs post to become Customs "taotai" at Harbin,'thus beginning his connection'with .another' important phase of Chinese life. In 1910 he Joined the staff of the Ministry ■■ of loreign; Affairs, in which: departments his promotion was rapid until ho became vice-Minister. When the-Revolution came along he became China's first' Minister of Communieatiohs, bringing to this office I;much' valuable experience Of recent years his work has beein centred m the Western world. : He w,as ChineseMinister m London • during-the Great War, one :.of China's, five delegates to the Paris .Peace Conference; ah'd'later Minister to^ the United'■ States.'''''-- I. '■'■-? "■

Miss Maude Koydeii. ',\>st>":-.^ ''-'■.;'; "It was"felt.'iii■:cbrtiiin' quarters in America that,: there .^really-'' was: clanger of an Aiiglo-A:mericauv'cjitente;!ana so they.made a terrible'row about a few cigarettes smoked by-a. visitor from England." This was how Miss Maude Koyden explained the attacks made upon her in America when she arrived in London after her world tour. The tour lasted a year, and took her through the ■United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, and India. ' ' "This was my fourth visit to America,!/ she added, "and 1 had never before encountered any opposition. I am not a great smoker at any time and I never stopped smoking durin^ my stay there. The trouble all arose irom a certain section of the American Press which was very hostile to England. Some of my friends took the trouble to frnd-out" where this 'bilgo' camo from, and came to tho conclusion that Mr. Hearst on this occasion really feared the possibility of au Anglo-American entente. Ho did anything he thought would alienate the 1 religious public. Actually it had an admirable effect, for a great many Americans, who felt I was being unfairly attacked, camo to hear me "who would otherwise never have come to listen to an 'evangelist'—a term of abuse out there, meaning a 'tub-thumper.'Myim-pression was that I had' a wider, more intelligent and significant ' audience than ever before." Only one organisation cancelled Miss Eoydenr's ongagements—tho Methodist Home Women's Missionary Society—which does not even allow its men ministers to sinokc. "Then worse things were said about me," she said. "They asked if I was a total 'abstainer, and I replied that I was not. Then they headlined mo 'Tho' smoking, drinking evangelist.' After that came the companionate marriagestunt, and then they called me 'The smoking, drinking, flirting evangelist.' When Mr. Hearst felt that one attack, had failed ho started another. You get some of the best people in the world in America, and—some of the worst," she added.