A WELSH LABOUR LEADER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2453, 13 July 1922, Page 2

A WELSH LABOUR LEADER.

THE first Labour member to become a Privy Councillor, Mr William Abra'ham, died recently. The son of a working collier, Mr Abraham himself went to work in a coal pit at the age of 10 years, and laboured in mines for over 20 years. He then became prominent in the South Wales Miners’ Federation, gaining a popularity that enabled him to enter Parliament and to retain his seat for 35 years with huge majorities. Mr Abraham was much respected in the House of Commons, in which his squat, square figure had so long been a landmark. He had the and chest of a Hercules on the legs of a dwarf, an unusually large head, and a broad good-humoured, black-bearded face. A man so curiously built could not fail to catch the eyes of the curious, but when he spoke the curiosity was usually changed to admiration. He was one. of the natural orators of the House. Though he once confessed that he found it difficult to speak in English while thinking in Welsh, his Anglo-Saxon translations of Cymric thoughts were generally well worth 'hearing. Occasionally lie cheered in Weshl, his musical “clwych, elwyeh” being clearly distinguishable among the “bear, hears” of his British and Irish friends. He was one of the “oldfashioned” trade unionists, and never adopted the extreme Socialist views of many of those among whom his lot was east in later ilfe. He set his face against the syndicalist movement at a time when it was being embraced by many of bis constituents in South Wales, thereby losing some support among the hotheads, but adding to the esteem in which he was held I)}- thoughtful men.