FROM LONDON

NZ Truth, Issue 869, 22 July 1922, Page 3

FROM LONDON

COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS BY" TRUTH'S " SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT « : * London, June Ist

HORATIO BOTTOM LEY. Were it any other man one could write that an extraordinary career was ended when on Monday, Judge Salter, at Old Bailey, said almost conversationally "Seven years" to the rugged figure m the dock that was Horatio Bottomley. That man, however, almost a genius, has such marvellous recuperative powers, to borrow a medical phrase, that there is no knowing what may happen even should he serve his full term and begin his life afresh at the age of seventy. Nobody would be surprised at anything Bottomley accomplished. For forty years (and more) he has been a "battler." Politician, lay lawyer, journalist, newspaper , proprietor, sportsman, racehorse ■owner, financier, patriotic j lecturer— ;a. man so various that he seemed to be not one, but all, mankind's epitome — Horatio Bottomley. M.P., has played many parts m the public life of his country. Born m 1860, he came early into contact with that famous figure of a previous geni eration, Bradiaugh, through his uncle, G. J. Holyoake, who founded the cooperative movement. Bottomley's first job was m a solicitor's office, the principal of which suffered from alcoholic excess and was accustomed to collect quite unauthorisedly a rate from unsuspecting dwellers m the city, a foundation m legal methods which may have had much to do with the young Londoner's career. From that office he moved to more respectable surroundings, and foV five years bent all his energies to the law, mostly as a semi-official shorthand writer. It was during that period that he gained such a wonderful knowledge of legal practice that he became the best lay- lawyer m England and inspired Judge Hawkins to send for him after the first of his many cases and advise him to become a barrister, and afterwards, at his death, to bequeath him his wig and the judge's notes on the particular case. But Bottomley did better than the law. He became a financier artd went to the city and became a company promoter. It was during that part of his career that he was identified with Australia. In 1894 he floated the West Australian Loan and General Finance Corporation, Ltd., and tho Associated Gold Mines" of West Australia, following those flotations with numerous others, mostly concerned with West Australia,, but covering also Victoria, Northern Territory, South Australia and New Zealand. Most of the companies he floated died an early death and against them the word "liquidated 1 ' or "reconstructed" appears with distressing frequency. His "flotation" period lasted so far as mining and development propositions were 'concerned till the early years of the present century when he began to turn his attention seriously to journalism. His big project was "John Bull", which lie founded and by sheer driving force worked into a big factor on the newspaper world of London and Indeed of Great Britain. Here again he was connected with Australia for ono of the most valued members of his staff during some of the time was the well-known "Smiler" Hales. The war saw him take the platform as one of the most successful recruiting agents the Government had and it was only his personal animus that finally brought about his downfall. The beginning of the end came when he began proceedings against Reuben Bigland for criminal libel. He was actuated by personal hatred m the action he took and the admissions that a clever barrister, Comyns Carr, forced from him m the witness-box were the cause of his undoing as they gave the authorities the clues they were wanting. He was a gambler from first to last, a man who took every chance and revelled m the risksAt one time he claimed to be making £40,000 a year and the judge told him when summing up that he had robbed the people who had trusted him of £150,000 m ten months. Everything was on a magnificent scale with Bottomley and he goes to his incarceration with a more or less grudging admiration that he kept his head and went his way so long untroubled. BRITISH 'POLITICS. Among the newspapers which support Lloyd George there is a distinct desire to drop Genoa ahd the problems that arose from that ill-fated conference into decent obscurity and pretend that.it never happened. Now, if we are to believe them the Prime Minister is to turn his attention to internal politics, the restoration of trade, the ministering of unemployment and the thousand and one questions that are "up" for solution m domestic politics. That tendency squares with what I wrote m a recent letter— that Genoa would never be made an election cry and that before Lloyd George gave the word for an appeal to the country there would certainly be an attempt to focus the electorate on something of more intimate moment to the British voter than foreign policy. But so far there does not seem any indication of the nearness of an election. Lloyd George will pick his battleground and there are even hints that not even the autumn 'will be the date. After all, say the supporters of the Government, Parliament has still eighteen months of legitimate life left to it yet, and is not half as decrepit as its detractors would make out. That indeed seems a fair enough comment. The debate on Genoa demonstrated two things. First that, the Government had still a solid backing m the House, the vote showing an overwhelming majority. Secondly 1 it showed up the opposition m a very unfavorable light. Not one of them ever made out a case. Asquith was singularly ineffective, Clynes dull and uninspiring and Lord Robert Cecil hectoring and supercilious without being at all convincing. Lloyd George simply made mincemeat of them all three. Cecil likened him afterwards to a rogue elephant and he certainly liftedhis trunk and trampled the opposition out of all semblance to reasoning beings. It was a great personal triumph for the Prime Minister and demonstrated once again his paramount ascendency m the House of Commons. There is no one to touch him there. ENGINEERING DISPUTE. This week big decisions are to be taken m the long drawn out Engineering dispute. The A.E.TJ. having broken off all negotiations with the employers, have called a delegate meeting at York and the other 47 unions are balloting on the question whether they shall accept the employers' final terms. There is no assurance that they will and indeed m the case of the boilermakers there are signs that there will be an adverse vote- But some 'of those who profess to know aver that the unions are sick of the struggle, angry with the A.E.U. for dragging them into it and generally only too anxious to get back to work. The result of the vote is to be known on Friday, which is the day of the A.E.U. delegate meeting and there is of course significance m that fact. The A.E.U. however are m a parlous state. They have entirely exhausted their funds and it is known that m a recent ballot there was .i heavy vote by the men still m work, against a proposed levy of 5s per week- Many men are returning to work, especially m the Midlands and every day now sees the union weakening m its personnel and morale alike. It is pathetic to those who remember what the A.E.U. stood for m the past to see the result whereto bad leadership and lack of foresight have led it.

The leaders now admit defeat. Their speeches over the week end have plainly indicated that they expect nothing else but a return to work on terms that they have already rejected and there is a good deal of bitterness displayed m their comments on the situation. Certainly m this instance they have some right to complain. They agreed to a course of action with the employers and were repudiated by tlie rank and file. Now that course of action is denied to them and they have to face not only defeat on the particular matter they went out on, but they have been told pretty plainly that there are going to be wage 1 ' reductions as well. And they have neither the heart nor the money for a fight on that much more important question. ADAM AND EVE. Although it is as yet a little 1 early for the "silly season," two enterprising individuals have already provided material for th© usual immaterial discussions that London embarks on at a time when all serious subjects are relegated to the background. A Major McEwan and his wife, spurred by a cable from America that a couple were^ doing the same thing there, have undertaken -to go out into the wilderness or as near approach to the wilderness as this well-ordered land can provide and fend for themselves without any of the aids of civilisation, even down to the necessary 1 apparel. So they have been set down on the shores of a loch somewhere m North Britain where they have found a desirable detached cave and a boulder that they say will make a cooking place. All that they have taken with them are a few fish hooks, hanks of horsehair and a skin rug, the last I a concession to cold that is not cricket, especially seeing that there are abundant rabbits about them and therefore it is up to Adam to catch and skin them for covering; According to the last man that saw them they have already discarded the clothing they . wore as a last concession to civilisation, when they left that behind them and have arrayed themselves m rushes, rather prickly and dank as lingerie, and it is even betting that Eve will hound Adam on to rabbit hunting until she has enough skins toi make herself a frock that will be more comfortable. Of course, the weather just now is perfect for outdoor life but how long their, resolution will bear up against a real North Atlantic westerly gale, this deponent cannot say but the speculatively inclined might bet a trifle that they will be back before a good fire with severe colds m their heads before the weather has been long m that quarter. POPLAR. An example of how the milk of human kindness may obscure sane judgment is afforded by the report of the Poor- Clerk, Mr. H. L. Cooper, appointed by the Ministry of Health to investigate the administration of unemployment relief m the now famous municipality of Poplar. That division of . London has been subjected to the teachings of the Lansbury cult for the past few years and is now reaping the results. Nobody accuses George i Lansbury of anything but an excess of j feeling for the underdog, coupled with j a certain irresponsibility and lack of i business acumen that makes'/him and I his followers a somewhat unacceptr- ! able body to control public funds. Mr. | Lansbury and his colleagues set the I law at defiance and distributed relief with both hands m money ,and food, i etc., to all who asked for it. Natur- , j ally, Poplar became a haven of res£' I not-: for the unemployed but for the unemployable who flocked there from [the other parts of London and nearily doubled the numbers of those m I receipt of out-relief within twelve J months. Poplar now has 123 paupers for every 1000 of her people. The | Cooper report gives many, specific in- | stances where the head of the family j is In receipt of more than the standj ard wages and m some cases went as : high as £7 5s per week. Since October last many frauds have been discovered no prosecutions have been instituted. Many of the recipients of out-relief are getting more than they would earn if they were m regular employment. Mr. Cooper says that the Poplar Board might by careful administration save at least £100,000 a yearl No reasoned attempt has been made by the Lansbury faction to explain away their actionsI Though naturally they have said much ! ir. extenuation, mainly couched m rhei torical fioui'ishes of their sympathy for the poor. It is a thousand pities I that there should be extravagance like this directly attributable to men prominent m the Labor movement. It lays the whole system open to the favorite accusation that Labor cannot govern. And it certainly is not true of the majority of Labor bodies, which are as well administered as any m i England. SURPLUS WOMEN. Rudyard Kipling's "million surplus Maggies" have grown alarmingly since he poetically chose a smoke instead of a wife. It is estimated _that at the present time there are m the United Kingdom 1,918,966 more women than men giving a ratio of preponderance of 1095 females to every 1000 males. The corresponding ..figures at the previous census m 1911 were a total of 1,331,085 woman and a ratio of IQ6B women to 1000 men. The surplus^ figure has thus m ten years increased by 587,881 or 30 per cent., and m 1921 women represented 62.23 per cent of the population, whereas m 1911 they represented 51.62 per cent, oi the totalTHE DAILY HERALD. The Trade Unions having, so to speak, promised to baqk the "Dally Herald" through its present difficult times, are putting their backs into it and have not only granted' lump sums from their funds but \ in one instance to be followed by others have proposed to levy all members at the rate of one shilling for its support. Questions are being raised as to whether such a levy is legal. The matter is not likely, however, to be tested m the Courts. PEERESSES IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. The House of Lords has finally slammed the door m the face of -Lady Rhondda and the other peeresses who claimed the right to sit In that august chamber. All the old crusty Tories came up to Westminster and there was not much hope for the ladies. They put up a very gallant fight for their privileges or their rights, but England, at any rate its aristocracy, is not yet ready to see the Upper Chamber invaded by petticoats and its woolsack serving as a background for the latest In Bond Street frocks.