# Allan Octavian Hume, C.B./Electoral Campaign in Dulwich

Electoral Campaigns in Dulwich.
On his final retirement from India, Mr. Hume made for himself a quiet little home, a few miles from London, at "The Chalet" in Kingswood Road, Upper Norwood, whence he carried on a constant correspondence with friends in India, while supervising the work of the British Committee at Palace Chambers. To his house he added a spacious studio or working room, beautifully adorned with Indian trophies, where his leisure moments were spent in the scientific pursuits that were so dear to him. But besides these occupations, a ready sympathy with his surroundings led him into vigorous co-operation with the social and political work of the Parliamentary Division of Dulwich, in which he resided. This Division has always been regarded as an impregnable stronghold of Tory "villadom," but this tradition only stimulated in him the perfervidiim ingenium Scotorum, and again and again he led the Liberal forces to the attack. Naturally the leadership of the people's party had come into his hands, for in him was the root of the matter—"Trust in the People"—"the faith," as he said, "in which I was reared, a faith which has never faltered, a faith, despite the shortcomings of individuals, in the goodness and wisdom of the people as a whole, and in the certain and ultimate triumph of the people's cause, as of all other true and righteous things." His faithful co-worker, Mr. Seth Coward, the Secretary of the Liberal Association, has kindly supplied the following account of his inspiring activities:
"Dulwich, with Peckham and North Camberwell, constitutes the Parliamentary Borough of Camberwell, one of the boroughs carved in 1885 out of the old Parliamentary Borough of Lambeth. Five years later, ​some time after his retirement from official work in India, Mr. Hume settled in Dulwich and at once threw himself into the work of educating and organizing the constituency with all the force and vigour of his powerful intellect. Mr. Hume was a Radical intensely in earnest, who believed that his time, his wealth, and all his powers were given him in trust for his fellow-creatures.
"The year 1891 saw Mr. Hume hard at work in the constituency. He was elected president of the Dulwich Reform Club, vice-president of the Dulwich and Penge Liberal and Radical Association, and a member of the Executive Council of the Association. During the election of 1892 he acted as the Chairman of the Election Committee for Mr. Arthur Clayden. Sir John Blundell Maple, who had succeeded Mr. Morgan Howard in 1887, was again successful. As- might be expected, this defeat only stimulated Mr. Hume's efforts. At the beginning of 1894 he was elected President of the Liberal Association, and held the office till he passed away.
"For many years Mr. Hume was a constant attendant at the meetings of the Association and presided over the meetings of the Executive Council. With the wonderful charm of his magnetic personality he inspired the oft-defeated Liberals with some of his own intense faith in Liberal principles and their ultimate triumph. A profound believer in the reign of law instead of force, of arbitration instead of war, intensely in earnest in giving to the poorest the advantages of education, equality of opportunity for all was with him a passion. All the movements of the day for the improvement of the lot of the poor of our great city found in him a strong supporter. The progressive policy in London and the country was to him the inseparable outcome of the radical changes which he so ardently desired to ​see in the laws of the country. The abolition of the Veto of the House of Lords was the absolutely indis- pensable preliminary to Radical measures which he urged again and again. Except the Lords were ended or mended he held that the reform of the land laws, equitable taxation, equality before the legal tribunals, electoral equality, one man one vote. Home Rule for Ireland or India, the abolition of the caste spirit in the Army and Navy and in the Civil Service would never be accomplished : that the Lords' Veto condemned the Liberal Party to a perpetual ploughing of the sands ; that till the Liberal Party could pass its measures when in office the work of earnest men to improve the con- dition of the masses would be in vain. In this spirit Mr. Hume continued the work of organizing the forces of progress in Dulwich.
"On the death of Sir John Blundell Maple in 1903, Mr. C. F. G. Masterman, now the Under-Secretary for the Home Office, contested the division. This was a short, sharp fight, into which Mr. Hume threw himself with characteristic energy. The Conservatives, however, retained the seat. Shortly after, Mr. David Williamson was selected as the Liberal candidate. Mr. Hume took part with him in the most active and vigorous campaign which the constituency had seen. Meetings, indoors and out of doors, were held at frequent intervals. A systematic canvass of the division was made, in which Mr. Hume took a large share of the work of speaking and interviewing. At the General Election in January 1906, Mr. Williamson was defeated by 357 votes only, a result largely due to Mr. Hume's long-continued and inspiring work.
"Perhaps one of Mr. Hume's greatest gifts was his great power of securing the enthusiastic and harmonious co- operation of all classes of Liberal workers. Discord was ​unknown in the presence of his unselfish devotion to the cause of progress.
"Mr. Williamson again carried the Liberal banner in May of the same year, and Mr. Hume, as the chairman of the Election Committee, was at work early and late. The result, however, was another defeat of the Liberals. From this time Mr. Hume's health did not allow him to take the continuous share of the work he had done. On several occasions he asked the Association to find him a successor for the office of President, but the universal feeling was that, while Mr. Hume lived, no other President was possible. For the last four or five years he has only occasionally taken the chair at the meetings of the Executive Council.
"On reaching his eightieth birthday, the Vice-Presi- dents of the Association invited all the members to a special garden-party in honour of Mr. Hume. At perhaps the largest gathering of Liberal workers ever held in the constituency the following resolution was passed unanimously and with much enthusiasm : —
"The members of the Dulwich Liberal and Radical Association (supported by the members of the Dulwich Women's Liberal Association and the Dulwich League of Young Liberals) most heartily congratulate our revered President, A. O. Hume, Esq., C.B., on his attaining his eightieth birthday. They thank him sin- cerely for his able and generous leadership for the past twenty years, for his uniform kindness and courtesy, and for his example as a high-minded politician. They trust that he may be spared to witness further triumphs of the great Liberal and Radical principles for which he has so fearlessly and consistently fought both in England and India.'
"The selection of Mr. H. E. A. Cotton, the son of his old friend Sir Henry Cotton, as candidate for Dulwich at ​the General Election in January 1910, was a source of much gratification to him, and, in spite of ill-health, he did much in that vigorous campaign. In December of that year he presided at the meeting of the Association when Mr. Evan Spicer was chosen to fight the Liberal battle, and in various ways assisted Mr. Spicer in his self-sacrificing attempt to win Dulwich for Liberalism.
"Even during his illness, when unable to bear the strain of many personal interviews, he wrote encouraging and inspiring letters showing his still active interest in the work in which he had been so long engaged. This loving interest was shown particularly in the selection and introduction to the constituency of the present Liberal candidate, Mr. C. R. Cooke Taylor. Mr. Hume's illness was brightened by the knowledge that many of the measures whose principles he had advocated for so many years had become law."