PEOPLE I HAVE MET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22259, 11 May 1934, Page 10

PEOPLE I HAVE MET

XI. Written for the Otago Daily Times. By Sib Thomas Wilford. The subject of this article is Dame Adelaide Mary Anderson, whose genius in social work and whose efforts for the amelioration of the condition of the underdog place her high in the hearts of the people of this country and of America and China. Dame Adelaide Anderson, who was born in Melbourne, is the daughter of Mr Alexander Gavin Anderson, and was educated at Queen's College, Harley Street, and -Girton College, Cambridge. After finishing her studies in these two places, she went to Germany and France, and .came back and won the Moral Sciences Tripos at Cambridge, and afterwards the Gamble Gold Mddal at Girton College. All her life she has devoted herself to the furtherance of happiness, hygiene, and health among people who have little chance to help themselves. She made her mark quickly, and her judgment and advice were sought for eagerly. In 1897 Dame Adelaide became Principal Lady Inspector of Factories to the Home Office. She had been an inspector of factories prior to this. When a commission was appointed, mostly of men, to go into the very vexed and intricate question of child labour, the Municipal Council of the International Settlement of Shanghai sent for her, and subsequently she was appointed by_ that council to represent them on this important committee, which had every angle of child labour to discuss and consider.

MEETING WITH SUN TAT SEN. Quite recently, when I was sitting with Dame Adelaide Anderson in < her study at Kew, I aeked her what she thought was the most striking incident that had occurred in her life. She said it waa very difficult to answer such a question off-hand, for her life had been a busy one, and she waa still hard at work, but she said she thought that her meeting with Sun Yat Sen, arranged after great difficulty, on,e of the most interesting that she had ever experienced. When she tried to get to Canton to meet Sun Yat Sen, the authorities in Hongkong refused her assistance, and stated there was no way in which she could get there. She persisted, however, and, explaining the business in which she was engaged, asked if her transport could he arranged. She was told by the authorities in Hongkong that the way was blocked for her, and that there were no methods by which her locomotion could be arranged on land.

On hearing this, Dame Adelaide stated that she would go by water. As there was no ship to carry her, except one flying the American flag, she again returned to, the authorities at'Hongkong, explaining her mission to Sun Yat Sen, and prevailed on them to procure her a passage by a ship carrying the British flag, which meant so much to her mission. She described how difficult it was to get an interview with Sun Yat Sen, even after had arrived, and it was eventually" arranged through the wife of Sun Yat Sen asking her to tea. While they were having tea Sun Yat Yen appeared, and then she had an opportunity of accomplishing her mission successfully. ENGLISH WITHOUT AN ACCENT. I asked Dame Adelaide whether Sun Yat Sen spoke English as well as Dr Yen and Dr Wellington Koo, and she replied: "He spoke English without an accent at all." She further said that she had travelled over thousands of miles of China and had seen many wonderful things and met many wonderful people. She is, without doubt, a great admirer of the Chinese people, and is always welcome at the Chinese Embassy in London. Dame Adelaide was one of the members of the delegation in China which decided the destiny of the Boxer Indemnity, and she was also a member of another delegation to China as late as 1926. She was in Shanghai the night I was there, when Karakhan was banqueted *by the Chinese millionaire bankers. When the Chinese people decided to look into the question of creating a Factory Inspectorate for China, she was selected to go, and served on a mission from the International Labour Office to Nanking, where her advice, gained from experience as Principal Lady Inspector of Factories to the Home Office, was followed. This was a great achievement. In 1932 she was appointed a member of the Universities' China Committee in London, and her work on that committee is recognised as being most valuable. In 1922 Dame Adelaide Anderson published a book which all could with advantage read. It is called " Women in the Factory: An Administrative Adventure, 1893-1921." She also wrote "Humanity and Labour in China: An Industrial Visit and its Sequel, 1923-1926-1928."

I have known Dame Adelaide Anderson for four years. She has been known to my wife's people nearly all her life. Her brother, Walter Gavin Anderson, spent the last years of his life in Auckland. Another brother, Maxwell Gavin Anderson, is in the shipping line in Adelaide. A third brother, Sir Alexander James Gavin Anderson, has gained great kudos for his work in India and Burma. Apart from being a member of the Legislative Council there and chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, he has also acted as commissioner for the port of Rangoon and served in the European War at Mesopotamia* and Kut, where he was taken prisoner. Dame Adelaide Anderson also has as cousin Sir Alan Garrett Anderson, shipping magnate, and he is the son of the famous Dr Garrett Anderson. MUSIC AND GARDENING. This remarkable woman is to-day keenly interested in world affairs and in the attitude of the League of Nations with, relation to the Chinese-Japanese position. We had a long talk over what had happened at Geneva, and she was surprised to learn that there never had been a vote taken at Geneva on the question whether China or Japan had caused the trouble in the East. Dame Adelaide's recreations to-day ure music—on which she is an authority — and gardening. She has a beautiful home at Kew, and when I was there a very short while ago she had masses of Christmas roses still to be seen in her garden. On the Wednesday following my visit to her she made a big speech in London dealing with social conditions of the people. In that speech she quoted the words of the King when he thanked the nation for their good wishes to him during his very serious illness some years ago. Dame Adelaide Anderson lias been an asset to the Empire, has been a source of hope and inspiration to every factory employee in England and Scotland, and her knowledge and advice, freely available at all times, have made an indelible mark on the social progress of the United Kingdom. She was personally decorated by the King in the presence of the Queen. CAPABLE YOUNG QUARTETTE.

Although there are many men old in age and experience in the House of Commons to-day, there are four young men who have already made their mark, and who will be, one feels sure, heard of in the future history of their country. Two of thern I have already written about—Mr Walter Elliot "and Mr Anthony Eden, Lord Privy Seal. The

other two who will make up the quartette are, in my opinion, Mr Duff Cooper and Sir Phillip Sassoon. Mr Duff Cooper and Sir Phillip Sassoon are not Ministers, but act as number two in the Military and Air Services of the Cabinet. They have been steadily advancing in public opinion, and have over and over again justified the positions they hold. Both are men of simple diction and simple words. They are direct in their utterances, never repeat themselves, and, unlike many other speakers in debate, never seem to be carried away by any occasion, no matter how important. I am full of unqualified admiration of the way in which these comparatively young men, in a House at times seething with excitement and almost out of hand, calmly, and without the slightest emotion, proceed with their speeches, undeterred, undisturbed, and, one would almost think, oblivious to interjections. They never 'raise their voices when stormed at —they may repeat what they have said during the storm, but the repetition is in the same quiet, unostentatious way which, . somehow or other, makes a New Zealander proud of them every time he meets them or hears them speak. They do not indulge in repartee to any great extent, and if they do it is rather an admonition than a lash of the whip.

When Mr Lloyd George on one occasion attacked the Government with all the forensic ability possessed by him I remember one of these young men rising, hut giving way to Sir Robert Home, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sir Robert got up in his quiet and very convincing style to answer Mr Lloyd George; he did not take two minutes to do it. He merely stated that the diatribe of the right honourable gentleman was typical of him, and that he would leave him to himself with the statement that he (Sir Robert) looked upon Mr Lloyd George as the shepherd ami crook of the Liberal Pa-ty. A shattering reply, and quite parliamentary! It answered Mr Lloyd George's attack and left him writhing, and the House convulsed with laughter.