BRITISH POLITICIANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16376, 2 November 1916, Page 6

BRITISH POLITICIANS.

SOME NOTED LEADERS.

MR. PARR'S DESCRIPTION.

Some impressions of the House of Commons, and of certain of the leading British politicians, whom ha heard during a debate there, were given by Mr. C. J. Parr, M.P., last night in the course of his address at the Mount Eden Methodist Church Hail.

The debate Mr. Parr heard was, he said on the Irish question. Mr. Dillon. a tal., thin man, was attacking the Government for its actions since the rebellion. He never saw a man who u*ed such voluminous notes when snaking Air. Dillon had a sheaf of some 4t sheets of paper, which, when finished with he discarded, till the floor all around 'him was littered with them. | Mr. Asquith was the next speaker, said Mr. Parr. He used few notes, and made absolutely no pretensions - declamation or emotional oratory. His style of speaking was quiet, passionless, and reserved, and he used no gestures. His voice was extremely low, but could be heard distinctly, being strong, deep, and vibrant, ills speech on the occasion was a quiet but irresistible argument. He overwhelmed his opponents, not by appealing to their passions, but by the use of cold arid forceful logic. Mr. Asqnith dominated the House by his impassive intellectuality. He could never be a demagogue, t°u fv great popular favourite, but one le.t that behind that emotionless face a great brain was at work- His gift of plain yet eloquent speech w a , unsurpassed in the who-.e House. An iceberg of a man, with the most capacious and most capable brain in Britain, he gave one the idea of an immense reserve of strength behind his 6peech. Mr. John Redmond, the Irish leader, who was the* next speaker, looked ill and worried, said Mr. Parr, and spoke with much more restraint than Mr. Dillon, and with a force and effectiveness Mr. Parr had never heard excelled. He use." copious notes, and his gestures were many and dramatic. John Redmond was, without question, one of tho greatest orators in Britain, and withal possessed one of the keenest, quickest, and most subtle intellects in Parliament.

Sir Ed war-: Carson, who followed in the debate, Mr. Parr described as the most striking figure in the whole House. He had an extraordinary face. He did not look more than 40, though. Mr. Parr supposed, he must be nearly 60. But it was not the apparent youth'fulness in the man that appealed. It was the great powerful jaw, the resolute chin, and the keen black eyes which arrested attention. Sir Edward spoke only for a few minutes but a pin could have been heard to drop Everyone sat np, leaned forward, and listened. He had no notes ; his language was a model of brevity and lucidity. There was sincerity and deep conviction in his speech. He wap a man who knew his own mind, and was not afraid to tell the world what he thought. Mr. Parr said he looked upon it as a. great privilege to have been able to listen to four such great men in one afternoon