THE MASTER OF THE SITUATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9187, 12 April 1910, Page 3

THE MASTER OF THE SITUATION.

MR JOHN REDMOND. A silent man, square-faced and keen-eyed, sat in the last Parliament at the* end of one of the benches 011 the Opposition side half-way down the House. He surveyed the Liberal host opposite, conscious that his day would come. ' Chief of the Irish Nationalists, Mr John Redmond had gathered his eighty men around him, as a leader must who would have his force _ in readiness to intervene at the-' right, moment. To-day he must be surveying the political field with a certain satisfaction. He can keep a Government in power; he can turn it out when he pleases. Mr. John Redmond has made himself a power by steady, _ persistent work, an iron will, an unflinching devotion to the cause which he considers right. The son of an Irish member of Parliament, he was educated at Trinity. College, Dublin, and was afterwards called" to the English and the Irish Bar. He became a clerk in the Vote Office of the House of Commons, but he gave this up in 1881 to represent a constituency in his native country. Elected for New Ross, he left the Vote Office to take his 'place on the floor of the House. He began with a record,, for on his first day at Westminster he made his maiden speech, created a scene, and was suspended before the clock struck twelve. He was in the twenties then. Now his feelings are just as passionate, but his methods are more effective.

From the day he entered Parliament Mr Redmond has always been a prominent figure in the Nationalist Party. His chance came at the Parliell split. He stood by Parnell, led the little party which remained faithful to him, and finally was selected to guide the destinies of the Nationalists as a whole. This is no easy task at the best of times, and the way Mr Redmond has held his followers together in spite of sectional strife is a tribute to his power not only as a politician but as a leader of men. Banish from your mind, in thinking of Mr Redmond, the of the carelessly dressed, merry Irishman with a strong brogue and a merry quip and jest for any situation.' Here is a stern man between fifty and sixty years of age, thickset, perfectly dressed, carrying himself always with the dignity of a Gladstone. An Irishman's fun may lurk deep within Mr ' Redmond's breast, but it is not observable. From his appearance he might be a well-to-do City man who will stand 110 nonsense. ' It is quite obvious that he is not a person with whom the frivolous could jest with impunity. He is or heavy ' build—becoming heavier with increasing years—he is broad-shoul-dered and broad-chested, and he holds his head with the air of a conqueror. His very walk as he enters from the lobby and proceeds towards his seat tells one quite plainly that ho is not a person to be trifled with. Hi's square face, with the strongest of jaws, is marked by a small moustache, but- it is a commanding aquiline nose and cold, searching, eyes that give the best indication of his character.

Mr Redmond is an imposing figure when he makes a speech, for he carries the grand air of the statesman of the past generation. He has few gestures. Standing in his place without a movement of the body, he hurls fierce condemnation at his confessed opponents, plain warnings verging on threats at the Liberals, and scornful contempt on back bench members on either side who have made speeches in opposition to him. His face expresses more than the most violent of gestures. It is the picture of hard wrath. His favourite word, "Forsooth!" is thrown at Ministers and ex-Ministers in a way which might well frighten a man unused to the treatment. Mr Redmond is one of the most serious men in the House. Always m his place, he gives one the impression of maintaining a somewhat aloof relationship to the men he leads—a fact which may have something to do_ with his authority over them. He sits in his corner scat, arms folded across his breast, gloomily alert. Rarely is he moved to smile. Whitty gibes by his compatriots will sometimes lighten his face, but pleasantries from the Government or Opposition benches do not shake his indifference. He gives one the impression of being a very stern person, who regards these English jokes as waste of time. Unlike many of his followers, he speaks but seldom. At question time, for instance, he hardly ever catechises Ministers, although his supporters rain questions on them by ■ the score. When, however, he does put a question, he puts it very effectively, and he brushes aside an evasive answer like chaff. With an almost ruthless persistence he repeats his question or puts supplementary ones till he gets an adequate reply. In debate he does not interrupt with exclamations. He passes by the provocative words of the tyrant Saxon in scornful silencethough liis face reveals what he thinks.

It is this impenetrable self-restrait which has helped Mr Redmond to attain his present power. He organises, he directs, he controls. He is a master of parliamentary strategy. He knows how to play the waiting game, but he has not wasted the time he has spent in waiting. Many years he has utilised in moulding his impulsive and high-spirited party into a united whole, looking forward to the opportunity which time was sure to bring. True, he has struck incidental blows, ancl struck them shrewdly. He has demonstrated that perhaps beyond any other leader in the House he knows how to make the best of opportunity, when to remain silent, when to move. All the responsible members of the House know that when Mr Redmond was saying least he was as much to be reckoned with as when he was uttering grave warnings from below the gangway. He has been described as an orator. That perhaps is hardly correct. He has a clear, forceful, but rather hard voice hie words are well chosen, and he always makes his meaning luminously clear. But there is no quality of appeal in his words, and difficult to imagine him stirring tne emotions of an" audience. His personality tells because it is evident he knows what he wants, and means to get it. But he has no power of persuasion over a gathering. He is inferior 111 this to. some of the younger members of his party, notably to Mr Kettle. The House, of Commons likes Mr Redmoncl. He comes of good stock, and even, in his fiercest moods one does not forget that he is an I 1 ! 5 ' 1 gentleman. He hits hard in debate, but ho is always courteous, always tactful and dignified. Organisation and opportunity have been the two things in his mind -for a generation past. Now his hand is on his sword, and he is looking to the decisive conflict before him.