LORD BRENTFORD

Hokitika Guardian, 13 June 1932, Page 8

LORD BRENTFORD

DIRECTOR OF ARCOS RAID. William Joynson-Hicks, later Viscount Brentford, whose death was cabled hers last Thursday, was the second son of Henry Hicks, of Bexhill, where he was born in June, 1865. On his marriage in 1895 to the daughter of R. H. Joynson, oT Bowden, who brought him a llarge fortune, he added her name to his. In 1888 he had started practice as a solicitor in 'London. One of the early motorists, he became very well known among road-users as president for fifteen years of: the Automobile Association and Motor Union, and he later retained his interest in traffic, questions, serving on many bodies whicli ddalt with them.; He was also a strong evangelical, an 'ardent tee-totafler, an anti-gAiribler And a non-smoker.

When Mr Baldwin succeeded Mr ■Bonar Law as Premier in 1923, Sir William Joynson-Hicks became Minister of Health, and in Mr Bal’dwin’s second Cabinet (1924) he was made Home 'Secretary. He was bent on dealing wifih drinking, gambling, and night clubs, but his aspirations were not encouraged, and he turned to other activities, such as keeping out aliens and suppressing Communism. One of the most sensational incident t in his career was the raid which he ordered on the offices of the Russian Trade Delegation and the Arcos Company, in May, 1927. It had been reported that 'Soviet secret agents were fwing to secure highly confidential documents regarding the navy and tihe air forces, one of, which was said to be Snv : et House. Directions from the Red International to - the Communis organisations in Britain and the United States .Wer 6 found, and also a scheme to train men as Bolshevik propagan-

dist's to serve in British ships.’ Mr Baldwin said the search had shown that military espionage and subversive activities were being carried out from Soviet 'House, and announced that 'diplomatic relations with Russia would be broken off. This decision was endorsed by the Commons. After a tour of the prisons in 1927, Sir WVliam Joynson-Hicks said he would like to see more use made of the methods of probation and supe'r--vision for young offenders instead of imprisonment. He appealed in 1929 for funds to build a- new Borstal Institution, but no wealthy’-subscribers came forward. In 'July, 1928, he was whid-od bv Mr Baldwin for hi.s criticism of the Kellogg Pact scheme. He took a prominent part in th e con. troversy over the revised Prayer Boole Deploring the movement in the church towards Rome which was fostered by the new book, he declared that tihe time had come for a definite split between the Ang'.o-Catholies, and the. 'Evangelicals, and that he was striving for a '’-ion with the Nonconformists cHiurches. The Anglo-Catholics, he said, holding the views they did, should go over to Rome. In October, 1928, he protested against the bishops’ decision to use the revised Prayer Book, as if it had been sanctioned and not rejected by Parliament. When the system of buying livings was. attacked, he admitted that he belonged to one of the trusts which had done so. Their aim was to prevent bishops from placing in them clergy all of their own—sometimes—illegal opinions.

In the dissolution. honours of June 1929. be was raised to the> peerage as Viscount Brentford, and joined the board of the Northern Assurance Company. 'Since then he has not held office. A critic has declared that be overstated every case and overacted every situation. The more combustible the elements, the more reckless and in. cend'ary his speech. Thus, speaking during the Ulster crisis in 1913, he said ; “Behind the people of Ulster is the God of Battles. In His name and theirs I say to the Prime. Minister : ‘Let your ‘•rrnifts fire. Fire, if you dare. Fire and b© dammed.’ But he was not taken very seriously, and his role was allotted to him in the genial tabloid nickname of “Jix.”