Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-01-23
HALL CAME IN POLITICS
Novelist Makes His Debut In
the Isle of Man.
WAS A RELUCTANT CANDIDATE.

Manxmen Elected Him q Member of
Parliament - Says He Was Won
Over by a Bold Device-Humors of
the Contest.
Hall Caine, the novelist. writing from
Greeba castle. Isle Of Man, at the re-
quest of the London Mail, to relate his
experiences and impressions Of the con-
test which resulted in his election to
the house Of keys (AIanx parliament),
says:
"My propaganda was intended first
to re-establish the credit Of the island
SO as to make the English public real
ize that, though the Isle Of Man had
been badly financed and was suffering
the penalty of bad financing, its earn
ing power was as good as ever-nay,
better than overland that it might be
trusted absolutely. Next my propagan-
da was intended to prevent recur-
renee of the great disaster which had
desolated our little land by the nation
alization of the industry which had
been the chief cause Of our calamity
and by the establishment Of princi-
pie of cooperation among Some other
insular industries in order to build up
and secure the general prosperity. FL
nally my propaganda was intended to
float our island on that great wave Of
social and economic reform which Is
passing over the free and enlightened
peoples of the world.
"Thus proposed to unite the steam
ship, the railway and the electric tram
way services, to promote state aid for
the farmers on system similar to that
which has lately been proposed in It.
ally and recently established in Ireland
and to help the fishing industry to
better market than 1t can now COM
mand. Thus, too, proposed a certain
reform in our legislative machinery so
as to make 1t respond more readily to
the will of the people.
1--WE have an upper house In our
legislature, consisting Of the islands
officials. its deemsters. law officers,
etc. all appointed by the English gov
eminent. but supported by the Manx
people. yet capable of controlling our
representative chamber proposed
that this upper house should be re-
constructed on an elective basis or
perhaps even abolished altogether.
We have a governor who represents
the crown and yet exercises the pre-
rogative Of initiating our schemes Of
finance. l proposed that the control
of the income and expenditure Of the
island should be vested entirely in the
Manx people, or, If this might not be,
that the governor who exercised such
extraordinary powers should be one Of
ourselves.
Such, then. broadly and generally.
was the programme ! set before the
Isle Of Man. But the effect Of my little
propaganda was sufficiently surprising.
Our island is conservative. and one
half Of it was seriously alarmed. fear
this half was only able to discover in
my schemes the sulphurous vapors Of
socialism. | was aiming at a Utopia
and the setting up Of socialist state.
Naturally the church stood aloof from
me- Only one courageous clergyman,
primitive Methodist minister of indie
pendent spirit. took his place by my
side. But. to my great establishment
and delight. the other half Of the island
with burning enthusiasm.
was amazed at the strength Of liberal
feeling which had aroused. While l
had been occupied with my books and
living much In foreign countries a
young generation Of Manxmen had
been growing up under the influence Of
the great modern ideas. Readers Of
Karl Marx. of Mazzini, of Tolstoi and
Of Ruskin gathered round me on every
side. What | had said they had long
been thinking. and the only merit in
my progra NINE was that 1t gathered up
their thoughts and feelings into one
practical system.
'Then came the contest. The honors
of 1t were, suppose. second cousins Of
all such things in greater communities.
My opponent was worthy man. bet
Ter equipped than myself for the paro-
of much insular political bust
ness and in other ways more likely to
be in his right place as member Of
,ur house Of keys. And. then, my own
party was fighting with the worst can
lidate that ever took the field, a can
1idate who didn't want to fight and.
public interests apart. didn't want to
win.
They conquered my reluctance at
asst by bold device. Seven of them
yet out from Ramsey for Gree5a at II
}. m. Oh the night before the nominal
ion, like so many electione6ring high
vaymen. and passed over the dark
Hills in the dead of night and in the
midst of binding thunderstorm to
'apture their candidate. 1t was not in
luman natrre to resist enthusiasm like
hat. yielded to their generous i'm
)ortunities, accepted the leadership |
hey offered me, and the big tnssle be-
.an | SuDpOSe ii had all the cbara cter-