In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 57, 4 September 1926, Page 27

In the Public Eye

Sir James Allen. New Zealand's late High Commissioner, Sir James Allen, who is on hia way home to this Dominion, is best remembered here by his work as Minister of Defence during the Great War. He was born in South Australia in 1855, and educated in Eng-

laud, crossing to New Zealand as a young man. He was .first elected a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives in 1887, having previously been a member of the Dusedin City Council, and he was also closely

associated with the Otago University, of which he was formerly vice-chancellor. Though Sir James Allen is and has been a party politician, and a strong party politician of no uncertain views, his greatest work—the work with which his name will always be identified — was carried out during a time when party government did not exist. There is little doubt that all shades of political opinion will accord him full credit for his successful handling of a most difficult task as War Minister during the war period. It is also extremely improbable that critics of any worth in the course of time will be able to do aught else than support contemporary approval —of which there has been so much heard from world-wide sources— of Sir James's policy and its results. Certainly it gave to the Dominion throughout the war its full complement of men, and at the close of hostilities the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was still at its full fighting strength, when the majority of other British divisions were unable to fill up the increasing gaps. The ex-Minister's tasks also covered, the repatriation period, and if there was one feature outstanding in his work in this respect it was a personal humane regard for those who suffered permanent disablement, and those who lost the ones upon whom they were dependent. Iv his work, Sir James Allen has not spared himself, and the strain of the war years—together with a sad bereavement sustained in the early days of the struggle—have made considerable demands upon a physique naturally vigorous. During his term as High Commissioner, Sir James Allen has given to that already honoured office a new meaning, and has made it truly representative of the Dominion. Jeddu Krishnamurti. A young Indian has been hailed during the past few weeks as the New Messiah by a largo section of the Theosophiats, led by Mrs. Annie Besant. Jeddu Krishnamurti is steeped in the sacred essence of

religion and exhales an odour of sanctity, with which he overpowers those who are at all susceptible to spiritual influence. In actual life the so-called _ New Messiah is so plain and aimplethat an unobservant eye might

even pass him by as not deserving of attention. But it is this plainness and simplicity of life that he holds out. to the public as the ideal of life. His plea is that the simple life, according to Nature, provides more time and opportunity for contemplation and the achievement of Nirvana (self-forgetfulness), the great object of life, according to the Theosophist. This young man, whose body is being used, in the words of his disciples, "as a vehicle for the expression of the final and Greatest Teacher of the world" (the final Messiah), is deeplycontemplative, but by no means pessimistic. Krishnamurti predicts no cataclysm or catastrophe to the world. Indeed, he refrains from prophesying and working miracles altogether. His ideal is that the greatest miracle is the world itself, and that there is nothing to fear except one's self. He does not appear to be anxious to upset the arranged order of the world or to strip the minds of the people of their established religious beliefs. Accompanied by Mrs. Annie Besant, Krishnamurti paid a visit to England in July and gave many addresses to members of the Theosophieal Society, but he does not appear to have made the stir that one might expect from one claiming the attributes of a Messiah. He is now in the United States, where it was stated, according to cable news last week, that an objection had been made to the immigration authorities against his landing on the ground of "moral turpitude," but apparently the objection was overcome, for he has sinco landed at New York, ■where Mrs. Besant publicly declared that "the teacher has come." Mr. Ben Tillett. One of the'first Socialists to reach high place in British local government was Mr. Ben Tillett, who at the present time is in the United States seeking financial assistance for the English miners in their fight against a lengthening of

hours and a shortening of pay. Over fifty years ago he was a circus boy,' having the care of a Shetland pony and a Scotch terrier, and often he had to sleep in the "Hotel de Haystack" — as he aptly calls it —with the pony

for company and the terrier to keep the rats away. He jwas born at Bristol in 1860, and began work in a'brickyard at the age of eight. Other scenes of his youthful toils were a coal pit, a bootmaker's work- j »hop, a, fishing smack, find several ves-^ seis of tho Eoyal Navy and mercantilo marine. A slim and sickly youth, he was invalided out of the Navy, and he later found employment in a tea warehouse. He had a severe illness at this time, however, and was so bad that arrangements were made for his funeral, but ho recovered to become organising secretary of the Tea Warehousemen's Union. The little band of 300 which le formed in 1887 grew into the great Dockers' Union, and the great dock strike of 1889 made the names of Ben Tillett, Tom Mann, and John Burns the most celebrated of the day, even if tho most execrated by a number of people. Their energy and eloquence roused not only the workers, but the whole public, and they won status and power of organisation for the poorest and worstused of unskilled labourers of those 'days. From the close of tho striko till about four years ago, Mr. Tillett was secretary of the Dock, Wharf, Jliverside, and General Workers' Union of Gbeat Brita-in aud Ireland, and it was that union which brought a membership of 100,000 into the newer and greater Transport and General Workers' Union, of which Mr. Tillett is now t" o international and political secretary. In 1912 lie was imprisoned at, and ejected from. Antwerp and Hamburg, whither he hm'l gone to help tho dockers on striko. He was one of the pioneers of tho General Federation of Trades Unious, the Na-

tional Transport Workers' Federation, the International Transport Federation, and the National Labour Party. Mr. Tillett occupied the office of alderman on the London County Council for six years. During the war he was a very effective speaker on many recruiting platforms, work which called forth a great deal of odium from the moro advanced members of his unions. His attempts to enter Parliament have been numerous, but he was unsuccessful until, at a by-election in 1917, he won the seat for North Salford, which ho held until he was defeated in 1924 by a Conservative in a three-cornered contest. His speeches have often impressed the House, but his true kingdom as an orator is among the masses of the people. Mustapha Kemal Pasha. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred what Mustapha Kemal Pasha says in Turkey goes, as was made evident this

weeK when news came thro ugh of the execution of a number of political prisoners who were said-to have been at the head of a plot to assiiiate the President. On critical occasions he sits in his box in the Turkish Parliament and issues orders to the de-

puties below. But he is shrewd enough to realise the value of a democratic advice from the deputies on the question of administrative details on which he could hardly be expected to have any expert knowledge. For all this it may generally be conceded that Government and Parliament are first and last Kemal Pasha, and no one knows what would happen to the Eopublic if he passed from the scene. He built it, and so far it is his genius that has kept the ship of State afloat, often un-. der very difficult circumstances. Kemal ■Pasha is a loyal supporter of women's rights, and two months after his marriage in 1923 he broke, at one stroke, two traditions binding Turkish women. He invited the wives of male guests-to attend a State banquet, an act without precedent, and at the same time gave the women an excuse for leaving their homes after sundown, something contrary to Mohammedan custom. He has also advocated dress reform for Turkish women, favouring less conservative costumes. A bronze statue of Mustapha Kemal Pasha, of heroic size, "was recently shipped to Constantinople by the Viennese sculptor, Heinrich Krippel. The statue, which will bo the first in Islam, has been erected at the Seraglio, where the Bosphorus joins the Golden Horn, thus occupying a commanding position in Constantinople Harbour. This statue is in itself a crushing blow to Islamic precedent, for the Prophet forbade any images of living beings to be erected, the aim being to crush idolatry. By such moves has Kemal Pasha freed his country from bintUng customs that have hampered Turkey for many years, and which even now find many supporters among the more conservative members of the population. Mr. J. Q. Lamb. As a practical agriculturist Mr. J. Q. Lamb, one of the British delegation to the- Empire Parliamentary Conference at Sydney this month. is well

known in all parts of Britain. He comes of an agricultural family, his mother being of the Shortwood Farm, at Standon, Staffordshire. He has been chairman of the National Farmers' union, Staffordshire Branch.

Naturally, ho is interestDd in seeing the methods of farming in Now Zealand and Australia. "We have had a visit from the farmers of South Africa," said Mr. Lamb recently, "and 1 hope that some day we may have visits from delegations of farmers from the other Dominions. It has been said that the interests of farmers hero and the interests of those in the Dominions are opposed. ' I do not think that can be definitely said.. Wo do realise that, as time goes on much of the heavier produce must come from overseas producers. On the other hand, farming will go on here, but its' character will have to undergo a considerable change. In the past we have recognised the garden as having a relation'-towards the house distinct from that occupied by the field. In the future the relationship which the field has had to the household will perhaps be assailed, and we shall havo to supply produce which by its freshness and early maturity will still tempt the market in this country. This will perhaps necessitate some of th 3 poorer arable areas being changed-to other cultivation than that of wheat. This as a matter of fact is now taking place. Sugar beet is a crop to which we may look with great" hopefulness in the future." Mr. Lamb is a keen education ist. He is a governor of Stafford Grammar School, the Harper Adams Agricultural College, and three other schools, besides being an active member of the management committee of four elementary schools. Ho takes great interest in agricultural research. "One of my strong contentions," he said recently, "is that the British farmer, as such, has shown himself quite as up to date in his methods as the men in any other branch of industry, and he will always avail himself of the advantages of science when once he has satisfied himself that they have a practical value and not merely a theoretical one. This is amply borne out by the great interest which agriculturists take in the visits which aro. periodically made in all districts to the colleges and experimental farms." At tho outbreak of war Mr. Lamb acted voluntarily as representative of the Tood Production Department of the Ministry of Agriculture in the counties of Staffordshire and Shropshire. He has founded two Shire horse societies (Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Stono), and has been one of the original promoters of the Staffordshire Society. At present he is secretary of the House of Commons Committee of Agriculture, and represents Stone (Staffordshire) in the Conservative interest.