THE STRIKE KING. Biographical Skbtch of Jno. Burns. How he Lives. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT). London, September 27.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 422, 23 November 1889, Page 4

THE STRIKE KING. Biographical Skbtch of Jno. Burns. How he Liv e s. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT). London, September 27.

In view of the projected visit of the Strike King (as eOuaive Democrat.- now style Jno. Bums) to Au?tialia, the following biogiaphioiil sketch written tor the" Noi th London Press" by "Comrade" Henderson (one of (he quieter Socialist leaders), will be read with interest in your part of tho world. At the piesent moment, 1 understand, Burns i& debating whether to n.*si^fc tne tramway men, the journeymen bakers-, or the postmen to stuke and obtain tli^ir lights. The postmen are in rathci an awkward position, ab, being Government servants, they vender themselves liable to iiuprUonmonb it they strike. Their case, however, is quite one of the woist, and this being so, Burns will almost certainly run all risks to help them. I'orsonally Ruins i^ a bumptious, easilyrousei man. ilo hates indiscriminately all woareiv ot decent hats and coats, and i* icady on the faintest possible pretext to sniil itif-uit in questions pub to him by such misguided persons. But lot us &co what Comrade Henderson has to &ay about him : — This splendid icpre^entativo of the best type ot English workman was bom at Sprng-placc, Vauxhall, on 23rd November, 1858. 'He is, therefore, a very young man to lmve accomplished so much. It is given to few men ab thirty years of ago to .=ee such a personal triumph as his has been. His) father was an Ayrshire man, his mother a native of Aberdeen. The elder Burns was, like his son, an engineer, and a man ot strong physique and excitable temperament. His mother was a woman of strong character,

A TvriCAlj AIiEKDOMAN, strong in body and strong in mmd — something of a Spartan in the bringing up of her children. Till ho was ten years old, Jack was a pupil at Christ Church School, Bafctersea, and was notorious amongst his young comrades for his fighting propensities, taking upon himselt the duties of a .rough dispenser of boyish justice, thrashing bullies who tried to fag weaker boys, and asserting his native leadership even then. But Jack's father could not atlord to gWe his sons ihe luxury of agoodeduca tion, and at ten years of age he left school and went to work at Price's candle factory, probably irom an innate and unconscious tendency towards ' spreading the light.' After a year of that, circumstances had (sufficiently altered with his family to allow him to go back to school for a few months ; but his opportunity was again cut short, and

At Twllyl, Hj, Lei r School for ever. Bub the boy had ambition in him, and during the next few years of hard work he was devoting his leisure time to improving 1m mind, reading- everything lie came aoro&fe, and privately studying deep into hifc nights to fit himselL for something better" than a hopeless life ot drudgery. His iirst job aft or leaving school was in a character thatseems somewhat incongruous with hia nature. He became a page boy— a tiger in a bright-buttoned suit, top boote, and" knee breeches. That lasted twelve months, and when his head grew too big fot a flunkey's hat, he left the back seat of hi« matter's buggy and sought other employment. He found it at Wilson's engineering woiks at \auxhallj where he became

A Rivi/r Boy, varying that by following the avocation of pot-boy on Sundays, in order bo help to swell the meant! of his family. Ab Wilson's his disposition began bo show itself, for he had a quarrel with his foreman on account of a piece of attempted tyranny and lelt. Then ho went as apprentice to Thomas Horn, the engineer ab Millbank (outside the walls). While here he used frequently to go into the country on various works in which his employer was engaged, and hi& career as

An Opkx-air Lkctuker began on one of these excursions when ho held forth on the village green at llochford. One of the sons of the firm heard of this exploit of their apprentice, and in a fit of^ virtuous indignation cancelled Burn&'b indenture?. Bub this joung autociat's father chanced to have more sense, and, as the speech in question was not made during -working hours and in no way affected the quality of his woik, he rescinded the order,and the budding orator completed his apprenticeship. This, brought him to the age of 21, and during all this time lie had been devoting himself very keenly to &tndy. ilanhood found him a physically strong man with a mind well stocked with ideas. He was by this time somewhat, practiced in public speaking, but his political ideas, as was only natural, v, ere not yet coherent and fixed. His tendencies wore all

Socialistic, and ho says that ho owes his first leanings towards Socialism to his study of Ru&kin's "Fors Clavigera " and Carole's works. When his apprenticeship was out he asked his employer tor journeyman's wages, but that was refused. Ho went next door to Mowlem, tho contractor, and got work immediately at better wapes than any man in the shop'he had left. For nine months ho waa engaged for this Jinn at general engineering, chietiy in connection with the sewers. ll is next job was an epoch in Burns's life. He went to work at making telegiaph writing instruments with a Frenchman named Victor Delahaye,

A RISLUUEL who solidiiied the loose Socialistic views which Burns had already gathered, and fixed hhn firmly in the advocacy ot the ideas with which ho has been associated ever since. At this sfcago he entered more vigoiously than ever into open-air propaganda. It was at this stage that John had his first brush with the authorities, for he was arrested oneSund ay afternoon for speakingonClaphain Common. Belorethe magistrate next day he conducfcedsoablea defence that he was acquitted. But this little incident had a bigger result for Jack than the mere experience of being before the beak for the first time. Amongst the crowd attracted round the young orator as he was marched off by several policemen, flushed with the struggle and with his clothing torn and disordered, was a certain pretty young woman named Charlotte Gale, the daughter of a Battersea shipwright. It was a case of

Love at First Sight, Jack sa>s, and an interesting "first sight" this flagrant young law-breaker must have been to his future wife. They wasted very little time in making it all up, and no woman could have been better suited or more helpful to Burns than his good-look-ing, brave wife has been. Sho has entered into her husband's work heart and soul, and has borne all the weariness and trouble without a murmer. After Burns left Delahaye. work was very scarce for a while, .and for three months he was one of the uuemployocl. Then, hearing of an engage-

menfc in Africa, he accepted ib for isvelve months, and wont out to Aknssa, at

The Mouth of the Isigek, where he acted as foreman engineer ; and, although a very young man, was superintendent over a fleet of steamers and much native labour. He says that he learned, much from his African experience, which was varied and exciting. His observant nature led him to notice and draw lessons fiom the habits and customs of the natives living in a kind of primitive communism, and in spite of the climate and a spell of bad health, he found that year a very enjoyable one. It was here that, while he was himself on the s-iek list and invalided, he jumped overboard, from the poop of a steamer, and

Savkd a Cook From Drowning. From Africa he came back again to EnHancl. and with the money he had e.u ned, ho took a tour all over Europe fcr six month;?, going to J'tiris, Ueilin. Vienna, and Lhe other capitals, and keeping hia eyes wide open all the time. Wlien his money was gone, he came bnck to work, and gob a job at Peter Brotherhood's, whence he was discharged for his speeches made during the Industrial Remuneration Conference. The Uulcher Electric Light Company was his next employer, and for it he worked two yeor I',1 ', and in charge of light installation-" went through all the exhibitions, and conducted some very important work. During this time he went into *

Tin: Unemployed Movement, heart, and soul, and was, morning after morning, 'ib the dock gates, with John Williams, doing his best to organise the men ; often leaving Battersea at four in the morning, speaking from five to half-past six, and then going oft at seven to his own hard day's woik, so that he is now only reaping the fruit of seed bown years ago by himself and one or two others. After this he worked at various engineering shop&, chiefly electrical, still devoting his leisure to public work and private study. In 1886 came the unemployed riots and his prosecution by the Government, which his able speech from the dock helped to defeat. In 1887 came

The Trafalgar Square Agitation, culminating in Bloody Sunday and his arresb in company with (Junninghame Graham. tTe hai hours no resentment against anyone for his short enforced, retirement immediately following upon this, and Avill assure you thai; his> six weeks' rest gave him a chance for quiet rellection that every public man ought to have now and again as an indispensable portion ot a complete education. Shortly alter that came hip selection as candidate and triumphant return at Battersea for the County Council, upon which body he has earned the respect ot all hia colleagusc iriespective of party, for they see in thio outspoken workman a genuine, honest, incorruptible man. He is one of the most haid working of all the membeis, nevoi lni&sing any of his committees, and working with a zealous industry that might wed be followed by others whoso advantages have been gieater and whose po&ition allows them to

SXEEII AT THE £2 A WeLK paid to Jack by his constituents. Besides all this public work, he has done a good deal of hard plodding for his own trade union, the engineers. He is a member of its executive committee, and was one of those who compi ed its new rules— the youngest man who has ever acted in that capacity. This year alone he has assisted in the formation of seven trades unions, all of which have been successful, notably thab amongst the gas stokers. He is not a onesided man. His travels at a most impressionable aae ha\e given that colour and tone to his life that nothing but travel can give, and you would be surprised at the extent of his knowledge on general, literary and artistic matters. If there is one passion he has more than another it is lor beautiful pictures. He is a regular habitue of the National Gallery, and can discourse as lonjr as you please on the merits of the various schools. Should he ever fail as an engineer, which is unlikely, he will always have the vocation of

Art Ckitic open to him, and, as far as knowledge and personal enthusiasm go, heisbetterequipped than many critics known to the present) writer. (By the bye, that all depends upon the delicate question as to whether or not the best equipment of the orthodox critic ib not to know.) Whenever he has been abroad he has exhausted the arb galleries, and, if you v>ant to draw the genial John, starb a discussion on this subject with him. One of tho elements in his success has been

His Splknjjid Atiilktic System. He is five feet seven in height and measures 42 inches round the chesb and 30 round tho waist. He once went to Sb. Thomas' Hospital with a collar-bone accident which he met with at football, a.id was told that he was the best chested man they had ever had there. He is a good all round cricketer, and an excellent football player, can swim well, and is open, were ifc not for pressure ot other business, to issue a general challenge to the world at skating. Cycling seems the only form oi sport that he does nob excel in. He is

A FOKMIDAELJ: BOXKB. Ho has not impaired his health by indulgence in drink or tobacco — he has never known the taste of either — and you have a man whose physical qualities fit him for any strain the trying exigencies of public life can ever place upon him. And this remarkable man, with so much accomplished already, has his life still practically before him. What he may yet accomplish time alone will show ; but when a strong man sets himself to the accomplishment of such visions of an ideal world as he is the apostle of, who, in the light of his already achieved record, shall venture to set limits to the possibility of his future ?

A French mother attempted to punish her eight-year-old child in a cruel and unusual manner recently, and was mobbed for her ingenuity. The child had been disobedient and the mother affixed a placard to her hat with the words " Mademoiselle is a thief and a liar." She then promenaded the street, leading the sobbing child by the hand. At once a crowd gathered, which became infuriated at the spectacle of the little one so branded, and it required all the efforts of a large force of police to rescue the mother from the angry people. Tourist (pointing to dilapidated structure) : "Rather a hungry-looking barn, that." Native: "Yes, badly boarded, 1 suppose." Poverty is a certain cure for dyspepsia. It is a desperate remedy for a distressing complaint. Some of us take the medicine in advance. Her Experience. — Husband severely : " What, more money ? Suppose I was dead — you would have to beg for your cash !" Wife, calmly : " It wouldn't be as though I never had any practice, i?ir." Tfie bashful young man who asked a lady on the beach if he " could see her home," was much surprised to hear her reply "that he could go up and see it if he wanted to, bub she didn't think her father wanted to sell."