FICTION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1508, 24 January 1901, Page 7

FICTION.

THE SILENT PARLIAMENT

BY ROBERT BARE. (Author of ‘Hke Mutable Many,” etc.) [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] SYNOPSIS. OF INSTALMENTS I. TO V. The reader is introduced to a travelling lecturer; Richard Stanford, v/ho is sitting on the steps of his van, smoking. He is a. man about twenty-five years of age, with firm mouth and stubborn jaw. To him comes a horseman—the son of the owner of the surrounding land—who peremptorily orders him to move on, which, after a friendly conversation, he does. He stops again in a quiet hamlet, and lectures to the villagers. A beautiful lady, reclining in a boat on thq edge of a lake, is assailed by a rough tramp, who, in pursuit of money, is about to carry out his threats of violence, when Stanford is drawn to the spot by the lady’s Cjies for help, and sends the tramp off. An interesting conversation ensues, which is, however, terminated by the tramp, who, with great strategy, had silently returned, and dealt Stanford a blow which sent him into the water. He is rescued by Borne of Mrs Greenhow’s men, and carried to the Hall, where the doctor attends him. On regaining consciousness he finds the lady of the adventure by his side, and before he goes holds a discussion. with his hostess on thei subject of his life work. Although he hardly convinces her of the feasibility of his scheme of reformation, sbe. is so impressed by his own genuineness that she offefrs £IOO,OOO to finance the movement. CHAPTER VII.—CONTINUED. Alice £h*eenhow seemed pleased when Stanford mentioned that he was thinking of her, bat she arched her eye-brows while he was speaking. “It is not pleasant to lose money/ 3 she said. “But there are worse things in the world than that/ 3 “What,, for instance? 33 “Well, to lose faith. I have met so few people who have faith in anything, that it is refreshing to converse with one who l has thorough belief in a cause. Now, the money question being settled, tell me what you are going to do/ 3 “I shall go l immediately back to London ans rent an office, which will be. my headquarter's/ 3 “Do you not, then, intend to work with the Land Nationalisation Society? 33 “No. They are doing their work, and doing it very well, but as you said before, I should have too many persons to please, and I don’t believe in committees and directors. I want to go my own way in this matter. Whatever is to be done can be done by one strong man/ 3 “And you think you are the/ strong man?” she asked. “I am sure of- it,” answered Stanford, confidently. Alice Greenhow laughed. “You do not lack self-esteem. 33 The young man looked at heir with surprise in hisi eyes. “Oh, it is not self esteem at all, it is belief and faith in my cause/ 3 “Well, I don’t believe in the suceeiss of anything where there Is no faith; but now that I am to be ydn,r company, I hope .you will tell me someithing more of your plans. I have, as you see, a great appetite for detail. I don’t seem to have bram. enough to comprehend things in the mass; I like, people to come clown to particulars. You are going to have a number of men under your direction, and it will be impossible for you to see, personally, whether each one is attending to his duty. You will, therefore, have to trust these men, so how do you propose to go about thei choosing of them ?’’ “There is one condition, 33 said Stanford, “that I- shall make in all cases. Every man of them must posses a bicycle, and know how to ride it.” “A bicycle! Good gracious! What has that to do with Land Nationalisation ?” Stanford rubbed his chin m edit ati vely. and wrinkled his brow as if in deep thought. At last he said :

“A great deal. In the first place, we must save .money, and so l get over the grohpid quickly and inexpensively. A cyclist sees more of the land than anyone* else. It is a healthy exercise which brings a man into the open air, and that is good for him: besides, I am going 1 o make a bid for the cyclist vote, which is becoming an important element in this country.” “Very well, having secured, your cyclists, how are you gong to a sure yourself that they won’t bicycle about the country for pleasure! ?” “I will select a number of young men with bicycles, and then apportion to each a certain section of the country, that I know pretty well myself. I shall give each candidate some! of our pamphlets and ask him to study the question of Land Nationalisation • then I will ask him to bicycle down to his district and find out all he can from the people regarding the great question. I shall ask him to write out his report, to take his time.

he has taken. Now this will give him an excel!lent opportunity, as you say, for bicycling about the country and enjoying himself, but if ho do els that, i shall know it, when I read his report, if his report is unsatisfactory, then i will pay mm what I agreed to, and dismiss him, but if satisfactory, then he is the man I want. You see, we must begin work at once. The present Government has kept its place by a very precarious majority, and there is sure to be a dissolution soon. I want to have a candidate in every constituency where we have a chance! cf winning, so I hope the present Government may be able to hold its place for some time longer, until I get my men into training. “A very good plan, 3 ’ .said Mrs Greenhow. “And how many members do you expect to get elected to the new Parliament? 33

“Fifty or sixty.” “I think you are over-sanguine, but we shall see when the votes are in. Supposing, however, you have your fifty or sixty men in Parliament, what do yofij propose to do with them ? Are you going to try to get what you wish from one party or the other?” “Oh, no, we can get nothing of what we want from either of the old parties. 3 ' “And 1 one your members to sit there and do nothing during the next Parliament P 33

“Not precisely that. I shall have them look out for the interests of cyclists all ever the country. 3 ’ “And will your barrel© brigade vote with the Conservative party or the Liberals ? 33

‘T think I shall divide them equally between the two. I will keep the new Parliament in power long enough to find out what mistakes they, have made, and to give us time, to organise ourselves still more thoroughly in the different constituencies. Then, when we are ready, our bicycle brigade null vote solidly with the Opposition and force on another election. 33

“Dear me! How interesting. I’m afraid that neither Liberals nor Conservatives will like that, and that they will band against you as against a common danger.” “Ah, but that is just what they never will do. Wq shall be silent members. I shall not allow any one of my brigade to speak on any subject whatever, unless it be on some question relating to the bicycle. Even when we come into- power in the House we will have no speeches. We , shall sit there silently and record our votes. 33

“I'm afraid you will find a difficulty in that/ 3 said Mrs Greenhow. “Why ? 33 “You won’t be allowed to sit and record your vote, ydu, know. You will have to move to the voting lobby,” and she laughed at the seriousness of the. young man, who never seemed to be able to understand a. joke. Lie looked 1 at her with reproachfulu astonishment, whenever she said anything flippant. ' “Well, 33 he said at last, rising and holding out his hand. “I must return to London at once. I will leave my pony at the village inn, and send a man down to take up the van.” • “Very good, 33 responded Mrs Greenhow, also rising. “You are going to inaugurate a most interesting era. in British politics ; I don’t believe you will succeed, but it will all be very exciting while it is going on. I will pay into any bank you name, to your credit, twenty thousand pounds to begin with. As soon as that shows signs of exhaustion let me know, and I will depotsit another twenty thousand 1 . When the l hundred thousand is gone we will take stock —I think that is the correct commercial term —and see where our Land Nationalisation scheme stands. Good-bye.” Richard. Stanford lost no time in getting to work. He. did not choose an office near the Houses of Parliament, as is generally done by political associations. He secured two. rooms in an old building on Essex Street, where quietness reigned, there, being no thoroughfare except for foot, passengers from the Strand to the Embankment. He engaged a confidential clerk who could write: shorthand and manipulate the typewriter. Stanford felt that there was no time to. be lost. The Government was tottering, and it was only a question of a little time until it fell.

One morning there appeared in most of the papers the following advertisement : —“Wanted, a young man, betweeln the ages of twenty-five and thirty. Must have a sound Board school education, and own, and be able to ride a bicycle,. To work outside of London. Wages thirty shillings a week. Apply, in the first instance, enclosing copies of testimonials, to B. Head, 405, .Essex Street, Strand.”

The, mimbelr of answers to this advertisement showed how many young men. were ou,t of employment. Stanford made appointments with about twenty h day, and sent as many as ten each day cut into' the districts of the country where they were to gather the information he desired. In two weeks’ time he had a. hundred young mela selected. He had some thought, at first, of binding them together in a sort of secret association, with an oatli to- be sworn, and a solemn agreement to be signed, but he finally contented himself with the agreement. This was a cast iron contract and bound the signer hand and foot, making him virtually the slave of Stanford. Stanford knew that if any newspaper obtained possession of this document there would likely be some sarcastic commontsi upon it, but lie took the chance of

young men to keep absolute secrecy regarding all their operations, telling them thou- saiary of thirty shillings a week defended largely upon their silence. .it is one of the peculiarities c* 3 commercial England that the clerks understand the necessity of keeping n .shut moutn and a silent tongue, so Stanford ielc he had reasonable security that Ins candiaates woula gossip as little as pos- . Selecting constituencies for each of ul * Undulates, Stanford dispatched his young men, each on Lis bicycle, to hj s com particular division. He felt oorfident tnat if the dissolution did not take ?L ? n ' tO T> h n d the balance of power in hit l Parliament. Fortune favoured him in tins, ana he pad his own time for prepanng his candidates and for reviewing their reports. Each member of his bicycling brigade sent him in glowing a--°f th * work > *nd although stanu ,f ok f°; me discount from them lie Alt justifiably encouraged, and wrote to Mrs Greenhow that the outlook vis distinctly favourable. One morning, as lie opened his paper he saw the startling headline, of the Government. 33 Scarcely waiting to read the. account of the adverse vote" he burned into. Essex Street, and put himse.n hko instant communication with his candidates Everything had turned out exactly he wished, and he regretted now that ne had nor two or three hundred contestants in the field. The defeated Government did net resign, but resolved at once to appeal to the country, and soon the air was full of the noise of combat. Stanford received daily reports from bis bicycle brigade and everything was going as well as could be expected. In each constituency wliere his men were placed there was a -Liberal and a. Conservative candidate; and in some instances, a labourer, or a socialist stood, adding to the uncertainty and still further dividing the vote. o tan ford himself, did not attempt to enter Parliament on this occasion. He contested himself with directing operauons from the outside. He knew that ac. aiiy moment when it became necessary for him to enter the House he could easily vet one of his candidates to aoplv for the • Chiltem Hundreds, and so allow his leader to take his place. The General Election was now held on one day, and that day Saturday, instead ox being spread over many weeks as was formerly the. case. On the Monday the result, of the vote was known! It had been a very close election, and the Cons gey ati ve Government came into power with a majority variously stated to be rrom ten ta fifteen. In the Election returns Stanford looked in vain for the names of his henchmen ; not a sinwle onei of them had been elected to Parliament.

On Tuesday the disappointed vounoman received a, letter from Mrs Gvcenhow, say me- she was coining up to town tor a .e? days, and that she would call upon him on Wednesday afternoon at tnre/e o clock. After the terrible defeat o.t his, schemes, Stanford: was rather afraid -o hlcs the *ady who had furnished the money, out he nerved himself for the interview, and at three ..o'clock shot entered. her face radiant -with smiles. "ell,- she. cried, "wo have won, have we and she, laughed as she gazed into his do,refill countenance, and added, “it was by a very narrow majority, though.” “Won,,” he groaned. “We have not Ithci a. si cuncliclntc* roturnod.^ “Oh, I see, you are thinking of the .Land Nationalisation party, while I am speaking of the Conservatives.” u i thought,” said Stanford dejeetedlv, that you had lent money to- heir* the Land Restoration/’ ' " “Oh. yes,” she said, smiling, “but I told you that I did not at all believe in it, and 1 never thought for a moment you would succeed, you see', during the last two or three weeks I have become s a staunch Conservative. X have been electioneering for my father. You saw, I suppose, that he' had be/en elected by a majority of one. hundred and fifty, while last .election he was- returned with a majority of only fifteen. We consider it all due to your Land candidate', who drew votes from the Liberal side.” “Did you supply me' the monye, then, in order to assist the Tory party r asked the young man severely. “Oh, dehr. no, but that is invariably the res Stilt cf these advanced schemes; they always help the Conservative partv. You look most dreadfully knocked, but you must make allowances for human nature, you know. As I told you, lam always Conservative traring election time, fiercely so, much more than my father is. I shall be my normal self again in a few days.” “Well, there is one consolation,” said Stanford, “which is, the Government, with its small majority, . will not last long, and we can have another try.” “Oh, yes, and that reminds me,” said ' Mrs Greenhow. “Is the money all spent P I suppose it is. Shall I send another tw en ty thousa ndP ’ ’ “No' it is not all gone. You see, we have only had a hundred men at thirty shillings a week for ten weeks, and that has merely amounted to about fifteen hundred pounds. There has been spent, in office expenses and printing, about another five hundred.” “Well, I must say,” said thei lady, “though your campaign has not beeta successful you have conducted it with great economy. How do you account for your lack of success ?” “Lack of votes, I suppose,” said Stan- ■

y : how do you. account for lack of votesr 3 , 1 cannot account for. T Hall nave urst to lock cvek the reports mv /to d Th ?y will' all be in i.uou I must examine with Rome minuteness all the polls wliere I tl C?r w, dates ,f t2 r! ,:;ii A' for a constitu'nail tnis is done I hope to oe able to tell with some degree of cerlaumj/ the cause cf chr lailure. I sunPose, however, that your own case fm*lnsnes a reason for cur defeat.” ;;x don’t understand you.” “Weil, you said you became a firm Conservative the; moment- the election began, fnd doubt, that is the case OL ‘ iC r'” People who at orj- 1 f;; ne /’ 111 k?ht join our cause, so f °' d I'-legiauce the moment V le rj y. ut 1S f’ n - j- have apparently un-der-estimaxea the motive force c? tbw beatmg of tom-toms, and the general un°l'n edl} t l iGr& muck Li that,” 1 ii ±m ' s Breenncv.- rising, -but I will J ou Y J f re 1 think you made yc-ur gi tat/ mistake, .it was m sending strangers to each OX the constituencies." Instead ct sending young men down from should have, gcnel to each yourself, and discovered . * as V 1? mG T- popular man cf ad- \ aimed opinions in each district. You entirely ignored local feeling. Then 2 nocal man, if he is shrewd, knows how* to WdR to each of his constituents. 33 - think that a. most excellent idea ’’ sauL oyaniord, musing over the problem* out still, a man has enemies as well as menus where, he is known, and it might arouse. local jealousy/ 3 . “P b > that applies to any candidate, * c it .just comes to choosing the man who nas the most friends and the fewest enemies. You must bear in mind that when a. stranger is sent from .Loudon to contest an election, all the local jealousies are united against him. 33 > "1 am convinced you are right,” said Stanford, brightening kip, “and in that way success lies. I will act at once on your suggestion., and secure the right man for the right place before the! next election. He must have time to prepare to work for himself and for us. Pm afraid, Mbs Greenhow, 33 he* 1 continued, “you must think veb.*y poorly of me indeed, for vou are not only, furnishim*’ the money, but- the. real ideas as well. 33 Mrs Greenhow laughed and disclaimed any praise. (To be Continued.)