DEATH OIF MR. KEIR HARDIE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2578, 28 September 1915, Page 5

DEATH OIF MR. KEIR HARDIE

1 A PICTURESQUE CAREER.. By Teleffraph—Press Association—Copyright . London) September 26. The death is announced of Mr. James Keir Hardie (M.P. for Meithyr Tydvil since 1900), of pneumonia, Mr. James Keir Hardie was a Scotch pitman. He was born in 1856. ."A man of.'strong: fibre, mental as . well /■' as physical, and though in hope-, lessly- impracticable, he is' as resolute and tenacious as they .mako them, even in Scotland," said a writer in the "Pidl Mall Gazette" of Sir. Keir Hardie, in a' pen sketch. ,"He became President of the-: Ayrshire Miners' Union ;in course of time, contested, Mid Lanark ■unsuccessfully in 1885, but was returned by South West Ham in 1892. 110 went <lo\vh to tlie House on tho opening day .in full procession, waggonettes, brass band, etc.; he consistently wore a deerstalker cap; and his'political line while in the House was in harmony with these things. He is the' life and soul of the Socialist Parliamentary -party, and a member of the Council of tho Independent . Labour Party. ' His defeat at TVest . Ham in 1895 delighted the Radicals as. mucll as anybody: it took him just .-one Parliament to tire- that constituency, but he found a seat in 1900, and 'they seem, to' be. more -tolerant of his peculiarities at Mcrthyr Tydvil. Mr. Hardie is .an ardent advocate, both in theory and practice; a widely-read man, and a clear and excellent; speaker. The remarkably good English -lie" uses,. coupled with his idiosyncrasies of pronunciation, proclaims the self-taught, but-uncommonly well self-taught, working man; . His literary style, if not polished, is trenchant and expressive. In. 1007, .after, recovering from an attack of appendicitis, he undertook a world-pilgrimage, visiting India, among other countries. He made somo injudicious speeches before he was warned of tho mischief he" was 'doing. Then he crossed to Australia, .and afterwards to New Zealand, where lie met with a motor-car accident, with material damage to several ribs."

'A -WELLINGTON TRIBUTE. ; 'A tribute to the services rendered to the, British Socialist and Labour movement by the late Mr. Keir Hardie was recorded in a resolution whidi was passed /at a _ meeting ■of the Wellington branch of the Social Democratic' Party last evening. • WITH THE RED CROSS (WORK-IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND GALLIPOLI. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright : London, September 26. ' Sir Courtauld Thomson,_ Red Cross ' Commissioner in the Mediterranean, in an interview, said! that the Red Cross Society had six fully organised depots in . Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, and others on Gallipoli. The British organisation was in complete harmony with the Australasian, each doing its best to help the other. ' The Red Cross ladies were indefatigable, despite a temperature of 116 degrees in the shade. 'Hie Red Cross Society was spending nearly £5000 daily. , : WELSH MINERS AGAIN , ANOTHER STRIKE THREAT. By Telegraph-Press Ajsociatlpn-Oopyright (Rec. September 27, 10.25 p.m.) London, September 27. . Upwards of twenty thousand Welsh anthracite miners have determined to strike unless the owners uniformly. interpret Lord St. Aldwjn's ktast award..