MR R. CUNINGHAME GRAHAM M P.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1826, 27 April 1888, Page 2

MR R. CUNINGHAME GRAHAM MP.

The following sketch of Mr R. 0. Graham J M.P., (who ia a cousin of Mr I. R. 0, 0. I Graham of this district), will doubtless be I read with interest, especially by friends of the last named gentleman, it is taken from " The Radical " of February : — Mr Robert Bontine Cuningbame Graham, M.P., who is now undergoing an honorable imprisonment for the offence of vindicating the right of free speech, is one of the most I picturesque and striking figures in political life. He is a descendant of a very old Sootoh I family — the Grahams of Gartmore, Stirling- | shire, and ia the son o£ a very clever mother, the Hon. Mrs (Graham) Bontine, a sister of the fourteenth Lord Elphinstone. Mr Graham was born in 1852, and eduoated at Harrow. At the age of 17 — when the average youth of his class begins to ogle the ohorua-girls at the Gaiety — he left England to establish business as a ranohe-man in The Plate, and he remained in South Amprioa for fourteen years. He knows the Argentine Republic better than he does England ; he has travelled through Bolivia, Brazil, New Granada, Patagonia, Ohili, Uruguay, and most oountries in South America ; he has roughed it out on the prairie and the pampas with the Indians and theGauohos; he has ridden over the great mountain ranges of the Andes ; lasßoed wild mustangs in Texas, hunted wild buffaloes in Mexico, and has braved all the dangers and taken part in all the adventures which befall the western oowboy. Arriving in The Plate when the oountry was disturbed by a sequel to the Paraguayan war, young Cuninghame Graham marohed up oountry with the Argentine army, for ! which he and his partner had brought a supply of horses, After the oivil war was over he settled down on a ranohe in the province of Entre Rios, a rioh pastoral district lying between the the Uruguay and Parana Guazu rivers, whose confluence forms the delta of the Plato. The climate here was congenial— similar to that in Spain— and the life of a ranohe-man has always a certain charm about it for a hardy, adventurous youth. The ranohe-man must above all be an excellent horseman. He spends most of his time in the saddle — riding all over the ranche and protecting the stook from the inroads of the natives. Graham is indeed a first-class horseman, and can grapple an unbroken mustang with as muoh ease as Buck Taylor oould mount one of. those tamed animals in Buffalo Bill's arena. He did not always remain in Entre Rios, for his business led him through Uruguay and the neighboring countries, and on more than one occasion over the Andeß to Chili. After four years of ranohe life Graham accompanied a Government survey expedition through the Pampas to Patagonia, and got a taste of the wild South. He was officially attached to the expedition, and on his return to the Plate had a turn at Argentine politics. General Mitre, who had formerly been President of the Republio, wished to overthrow the Government in 1874 because the eleotions had been gained by oorrupt and scandalous practices, and Mr Graham took some little part in the movement. Mitre was not successful, and at any rate Graham found that it did not pay for a foreigner to meddle in thq politics of the country. He remained in South America for several years longer, and in 1877 married his charming and accomplished wife, who is the daughtor of Don Franoisoo Joee de Labalmondiore of Ohili. From 1878 until 1883 Mr Graham occupied himßelf in mule-raising in Mexico. His adventures during this period mußt have been many and exoiting, but he has as yet never oonfided them to the public Skirmishes with Indians were frequent incidents with him when riding over the oountry or engaged in protecting hi3 stock, Five years ago he relinquished his business, and returned to Scotland to sucoeed to bis father's estates. He is now laird of Ardoch, Dumbartonshire, and Gartmoro in Perthshire. The Grahams are one of the oldest territorial families in Scotland. The earldom of Menteith was granted to Maliae Graham in 1427, and since then there have been generations of " gallant Grahams," who have played distinguished parts in the history of their country. Theii deeds are recorded in two large volumee oalled the "Red Book of Menteith." An anoestor of Graham's succeeded to the lande of the Ounninghames, Earls of Glenoairn, another distinguished family. The title tc the Earldom of Airth and Menteith is now dormant ; and is likely, so far as the present owner of the property is oonoomod, to be allowed to romain in that condition. The property, which extends to 10,000 acres, is situated partly in Perthshire, Stirlingshire, and Dumbartonshire, ia the most beautiful region of Scotland, whioh has been immortalised by Scott in the " Lady of the Lake.' Its scenery seems to be the only attractive thing about it, for the land is heavily enoumbered with mortgages, and yields little income to the owner. Mr Graham is a very procounced Radioal 1 but he haß not a& yet been regarded as £ serious politician. He has made some few speeches in the House, but these have at' traded attention Bolely by their spirit anc rollioking humor. In 1886 he described Mi Chamberlain, during his visit to Scotland, at •' a bully boy with a glass eye, who went about crying in the wilderness that he wai going to give to every man an aore or two ir the Highlands, and to every woman an Ayr shire cow." In the House of Commons he takes especial delight in satirising the noble lords of the " Upper Chamber " and the stolid baronets and country gentlemen who support tbe Government. Mr Graham has always been a bold Radioal. When he first contested NorthWest Lanarkshire at the General Eleotion of 1885 ho put forth a programme containing, amongst others, the following items:—Universal suffrage, payment of eleotion expenses, payment of members, triennial Parliaments, abolition of the House of Lords, free secular education with a free meal to scholars daily, a graduated income-tax, nationalisation of land, Sunday opening of museums, abolition of mining royalties, disestablishment, and direot veto of the liquor traffic He is strenuously opposed to our present election system, which he considers degrading to the candidate and demoralising to the eleotors. He would abolish all canvassing, and make it absolutely prohibitory for the candidate to eubsoribo to anything in the oonslituenoy. Mr Graham's oonneotion with the Trafalgar Square' business, with which in future his name will be identified, arose in this way. When the Council ot the Metropolitan Radical Federation decided to hold a demonstration in the Square, on November 13th, the arrangements for the meeting were left in the bands of a sub-committee. The bills announcing the demonstration did not oontain the name of a Bingle speaker. When, on November 9, Sir Charles Warren unexpectedly issued his prohibition, and the sub-oommitteo, taken by surprise, decided the demonstration should be hold dospite the police ukase, Mr Graham telegraphed to the sooretary that ho was ready to speak at tho meeting. This offer was communioated to the delegate msetjng on November 12th ; but, beyond appointing chairmen for the four platforms, no arrangements were made as to speakers. Everybody knows that no meeting was hold in Trafalgar Square on that Sunday, and the ohargo against Mr Graham was that of attending an ,f unlawful assembly " and of " assaulting tho polioe." The lattor ohargo was not sustained, The torra of imprisonment to which Mr Graham was sentenced will shortly expire, and preparations are now boing made to givo a hearty weloorno to him and to his fellowprisoner, John Burns, on their release from gaol. Demonstrations will be organised, and there is to bo a popular tea in somo large and central hall, to bo followed by a public meeting, at whioh soveral prominent speakers are to bo present. In conclusion, we recommend the English people to pondor those words of Lord Bolingbroko : — " A wise and brave people will neither bo cozen'd nor bullied out of their liberty ; but a wise and bravo poople will coaso to be such : they may degenerate : thoy may sink into cjloth ahd luxury : they may resign themsolves 'to a'treaohorquß conduct, or abet the enemies of tho Constitution under a notion of supporting tho friends of tho Government' : they may want the sonse to discern their danger in time, or the courage to resist when it stares them in the faoo. Our constitution makes it impossible to destroy liberty by tho treaohory of a few : but if tho many will oonour with the few, if they will advisedly and deliberately gufy'or tbgir liberty to be taken away, by those to whom they delegate power to preserve it, j this no Oonstitutionoan prevent.,'?