PROMINENT PERSONALITIES.

North Otago Times, Volume CVII, Issue 17748, 17 March 1927, Page 6

PROMINENT PERSONALITIES.

A Lora uee of Fareham,

T n spike of hia American. marriage — he weddecl Miss Ruth Moore, of New Vork, in 1899 — and his varied travels, laord Lee of Fareham is jiot whai js understood as an international fig-ure, or even a national oue. Ik was nox» until he took that very historic and interesting estate of Chequers, with its Elizabet'han mansion and 1500 acres and bestowed it on the nation to be foi* all cim© the country residenee of ihe Prime Minister, tliat he becanie in any way a publie ligure in England. That put Lord Lee in the newspapers, and made him knowu to the world. He has done a peenhar lot of odd jobs, bokh politicai and military, hicluding the Presidency of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, while some • twenty years ago he was chairxnan oi an inter-departmental committee on the humane slaughtering of animals. He has been a Lord of the Admiralty, a member of Cabinet. ehairman of the Royal Comnnssion on the- Publie Serv i ce of India, and has studied the problems of aerial defenee. But from none of tliese many tasks has there rome anything of outstanding reeord by which he mav be rememhered. There are just two things so fav by which Lord Lee will be recalled. , Oue is the gift of Chequers, and the other is the fact that he signed the firstt disarmament proposal the Powers of the world formulated at Washington. When he was Minister of Agriculture, memhers ivotild petter him with questions and be, tofcally innocent of the subject, Would repulse them witliout a. quiver. According to an American writer at the time he was visiting Washington, ''Lord Lee has mastered the extremel.v difficult art of knowing his place. and making.tlie most of'that knowledge. In tuni he is the least bit, just a shade, patronismg towards colonial repi'eseutatives, who, however, are not likelv to be troubled by ; it.-"3 With .newspaper meu he is the urbane man of the world, easually conversational, shooting a quick_ glance aud steady eye at the questioner, without moving anything except his liead.. JBe lilces to bo comfortable and informal, though he can be reticeiLt and still remain affable. # * ^

Sir E. T. D'Eyncourt.

A designer of great naval nghting machmes. and the "architect" of several of Rritain's most modern warships, Sir E.. Tennyson D'Eyncourt. Director of Naval Construction and Chief Technieal Arviser to the Admiralty over many anxious years, has retired_ and has returned to the service of Sir W. G. Armstrong. Whitworth and Co's Elswick works He leaves the publie service with the esteem of his colleagues^ affectionate respect of his subordinateS, and the record of cleven yea^s' valuable ,worh in naval •construction. When Sir Philip Watts retirecl in the summer of 1912 it was agreed that he could only he- succeed«d by a man with thorough training in the service of naval arehitecture and with a large and varied experience in the designs 6f all sorts of warships, | Xuch a man was found in Sir (then j \rr.l Tennyson D'Eyncourt. Naval ; Architect to Armstrong, Whitworth, j snd Co.,- and m appointing him to the [ Bob'd of Admivalty followed the ex- | '■•mple of their predeoessors, who rel quistioned from Armstrongs the ! '--ervices of. Sir Williarn White in 1885 ; and Sir Philip Watts in 1902. Sir ! Tennyson was trained at Elswick, and i in 1898 he became naval architect and i designer at Fairfield.?, where for some lour years he was engaged on linei work. In H902 lie went back to Elswick as assistant to Mr J. R. Perrett, when the latter became chief naval constructor there Sir Tennyson gained wide experience not only in design worli generally, but in estimating the cost of siiips. and during the negotiations of hs firm with forlegn. cotuntrieS, notably the South American republics, At the Admiralty he was responsible for tlie Royat Soverign type of battleship, the battle-cruiser Hoocl, and the plans fot the new cruisers which are .being built for the protection of British Trade routes, while his mercantile experience at Fairfields and Elswick stood him ■jn good s'tead. when he liad to obtain from private yards the smaller crtft necessary to deal with submarine perilSir Tennyson '"who was ehairman of the committee of experts ^bkh evolved the tanlts, was giveir the C.B. in 1915, aud created K.C.B. two 1 years later. I J? ^ *

; Generai Cnana Tso-Lin.

Amid the changing fortunes ot conkending forces in China, one of tlse most prominent ligures is that oi Generai Cliang Tso-Lin, who, a" year or two back, was Inspector-General or Manchuria For some time the Pekin Governmeht was practically m hw control, but more recentlj he has tost a, grcat deal of Iiis sway, and Man* churia enters but little into the present fcroubles.. Chang was iorrnerly a brigand, in which China has abounded for liundreds of years, but he was a very scientific brigand, for hia army of freebooters was ahvays equipped with the latest thing in xnachme-guns, and he was not above iising aeroplanes in some of his schemes. Generai Chang Tso-Lin is small and gentlespoken, quite the antithesis> of what one conjures up in the rnind when brigaiids are spoken of. He dresses simply and lives simply. He knows his. China by heart, and not so long ago stated that the present chaos was not in any way a new* state of affairs. "In fact," he said, "Chinesa affairs always get worse before tliey get better, but the future will see better things for China." Generai Chang does not appear very prominently before the World' s reading publie at the present time by way of the cabled messages in relation co the existxng trouble, ;but his huge following and the innuence he has wielded for so many years makes his presence> at the back of the scenes a very decisive fac- ■ i toi iii the final settlement oi the trouble. He is full of am'bitiou, and •sees a ' new Manchu-Mongoi Brnpire Teaching from the sea , to che core of Asia. On Manhcuria »nd Mongolia Generai Cliang would rebuild the throne of China, using Japaii co further his aims. Already he has given to Japanese traders many concessions, and It was stated a year or two ago thaf lie liad agreed that on 1ns coronation day Japan shall occnpy peaceflbly a wedge 2400. miles long, givmg them lhterior communication allowag them to clominate both China Bnd Siberia. The Japanese backed tiio Anfuites some years ago, and lost. By backihg Generai Chang Tso-L'.n they hope to win. This clever schemer was reported reeently^ to uave control of an army totallmg o\ cr 800,000 trained and w^ll-eqnipped solcliers, and his is the overshadowing force which is likely to play a prominent part in the very near futnc, especially in opposition to Russia ai.d Bolslievik aetivity « * *

Generai Obregon,

Generai Alvaro Obregon. the Mexican soldier and politician, is a native of tli« State of Sonora, and lirst came into prominence in 1915, when he oefeated Villa, who liad driven President. Cariauza out of the capital. In tbo Presidential campaign in 1919, Obregon opposed P. Gonaales. and Boniilaa4 hanza's nominee. Carra/iza invadeo Sonora. Wliich declareci its secession 1.ill it could b«, assured of its sovereigntv. The revolt extended, and Carranza was isolated in Mexico City. Generai Huerta, who was Governor of Sonora, was then made President by the insurgents. In May, 1920. Carranza fled from the capital. By ovder of Generai Herrer«

" J — P»— WSBg— Mi PW wlio.se ptv/U'. ..v,u lic liad sought, lie was niurdeied in liis. sleep, although Obregon had given deliuite orders that Carranzji was to be spared. At the electioiia on Septcmber 5. 1920, Obregon received 90 per cent oi the vote-: He took office on December 1. 'lTie ljn.ted States uelaycd recogintion of Mexico on accourn of the outstanding oi! question. Qbregon's Presidency was marked by his efltorts to secute recognition from the Powers His Government at first refused Americaiia a treaty tc urotect clieii interests 011 July 13, 1920. Obregon invited Europear. States having claims to send delegates to a Mexicaii Clainis Commission and negotiations were cari'ied on with a group of international bankers for the funding of the national debt. a settlement bemg amved at in 1922 Eventnally, in "1923. after an agreemerit had been rc-ached regarding the validifcy oi concessions secured by foreigners before May. 1917, the United States recognised Mexico and othei- Powers followed suii. The trouble with the Rornan Catliolio Church began in Obregon's i,im& when the Papal delegatc- wa:; expelled for coucravening' the law as to open-aii services. Jn December, 1923. during , the Presidential carnpaign between Huerta and Calles, the former siartcd. & revolt whteli spread to elevea States and Obregon took the field Thanks io th© Birpport oi' the United States which forbade the suiiply of munitions to the rebels, Obregon carried the day. Calles was- clecied President ar.d took office on December 1, 1924. A report in September, 1926, that Obregon had been kidnapped and murdered by Tndian insurgents wras denied. Jn October Congress had repealed the clause hi ihe Constitution whic-h prohibi ts the reelection of a president, but ihe- law still forbids the sailie President to hold office for two oonseeutive terms. It is tlierefor6 believed that- Generai Obrog_°u will be a caudidate at the next presidential election. ^ V #

Dr. Albert Salter.

Dr Albert Salter was born at Greenwich in 1873. At the Roan Sohool there lie won a scholarship of £50 a. year for tliree years ancV at the ag.e of sixteen went to Guy's Hoepital. wlmi'u he obtained a scholarship ancT the £25 wrize for the first year students. Jn 1895 he won the coveted gold rneda] in the M.B. examinat'on with triple first class lionours — an unequalled feat. Next year he gained th© higbest houour of it« kind in England the gold medal in M.D. examination. Frorn. th© post hoiise physic-an at Guy's he passed to th© Jjiister Institute as baeteriologist ftnd publisher of a number of original p-apers in English and fdreign scientific periodicals. Then, with the prdspeot of a brilliant careev before him. he gave it up in 1894 to work at the Bermondsey University Settlement.- In 1900 he eettled in Berniondsev as a poor man's doctor and now -lias five partners, three of whom are Soelalists. II© was elected to the London countv Gouncil in 1905. Jn 190S he founded th© Bemiondsey Indepentent Jjabour Partye l"n recognftion of.his services rluring the railwav strike in 1911 lie wa 3 mad© an honorary member of the National Union of • Railwaymen, Holding stronT views on unemr-.'.r ment, lie denounced blind alley jobs for boys and gir'G aild the" disasteraus/ effect on them of inability to get a job an all. He advocated extension of the scliool ag© to sixteeri , • with maintenance grants between fourteen and sixteen, and the establishment of training centres of all kindis • for young people between sixteeri and eigliteen, these io receive grants in lieti of tlie unemployment, dole, conditional on attendance and good behaviour During ihe wai* he championed the causc of the "conscientious objectors" and establishec'l co-operatiwe "bakery m Bermondsey \vhere a number oi' chem tworked. In November, 1922, he was returned to th© House of Cornrnons for West Ber- . rnoridsey, and lias since sat for that division with a brief interruption. In hi« maideri speech he moved the minimum wag© resolution. In October, 1926, li© caused a, sensation by stating at a Temperanc© rneeting that he had seen many members drunk in tbe House of Commons and that no party was exempt from this failing. Strong protests wer© made, but, Dr Salter expressed his readiness to produce evldencfo before a committee if such we-re appointed. The'- House, Kowever, by 147 to 95. pronounced against an indemmng Dr Salter's statement as a gross libel.