MR SAMUEL PLIMSOLL.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1518, 16 June 1873, Page 4

MR SAMUEL PLIMSOLL.

Mr Plimsoll, member for Derby, is a reformer of the right sort— earnest, persistent, fearless. He throws himself into his subject with a thoroughness which should "' command success, and which will certainly secure at least 'some measure of it. His great aim is to improve the condition of- the British seaman, but he is also generously solicitous to promote the welfare of all working men. His interest in the 'class whose cause he advocates is entirely genuine, and his mode of speaking about it presents a pleasing contrast to the tone adopted by the ordinary reforming philanthropist. He assumes no air of patronage or superiority. He does not condescend to the working man, aud aims at lifting him to a position a little higher than that which he now occupies, but still immeasurably beneath that deservedly occupied by the author and member of Parliament. On the contrary, he trtate him with respect as well as sympathy, as one with whom he has lived on equal terms, and whose good qualities he has learned to admire. It appears that at one period of his life, Mr Plimsoll lived in one of the model lodging-houses established because he could not afford a better .lodging. Here he paid 3s a week in the form of {rent, and kept the whole of his other expenses down.to the modest amount of 4s 9£d. He says, '^It is astonishing how little you can live on when you divest yourself of all fanciful needs. • I had plenty of good wheat bread to eat all the week, and the half of a herring for a relish (less will do if you can't afford half, for it is a splendid fish), and good coffee to drink ; and I know how much, or rather how little, roast shoulder of mutton you get for 2d for your Sunday dinner." Leading this kind of life for many months (and he continued it for some time after it had ceased to be absolutely necessary, in order to complete his study of the working-man), Mr Plimsoll found his fellow-lodgers to be honest, patient, self-reliant, considerate for each other, and thoughtful in regard to their wives and families. Those of them who were out of employ ment were diligent and unwearying in their efforts to get a job ; those who had a little freely shared with others who had nothing. It was probably this experience which directed Mr Plimsolls energies into the channel in which they are now so usefully exercised, but the natural bent of his mind gave the teaching its true value. Th*t his sympathies are strongly on the side of genuine goodness, and that he likes to discover this among working men, is shown in the eloquence with which he describes scenes in which pitmen, sailors, or soldiers have exhibited heroism, or self-denial, or generosity.