The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-05
.LLOYD-GEORGE HAS
 b|G TASK ON HAND Insurance Bill Sure to Win, . However AUTHOR IS MOURNED Miss Herba Stretton's Books Known to Many Readers, Especially
 "Jessica's First Prayer"
 Crime Wave in England
AUTHOR IS MOURNED
By PAUL LAMBETH

By PAUL LAMBETH | London. November 4--(Special) )-Lloyd- George has his hands full in passing his
 insurance bill, but there is little doubt that he will succeed The opposition to
 the measure comes mainly from interest | ed sources and whenever 1t Is possible | to make concessions which will not null Iifv the purposes of the bill 1t will be done, but the chancellor of the ex- chequer is determined that his great scheme shall not be. emasculated and the full power of the government Is behind | him.
 l There has been some talk of labor op- position, but this is apparently confined | to the rabid socialistic section of the
 labor party, and 1t is doubtful if even | they will vote against it when the test comes.
 There may be some liberal defections | on the division, but unless the situation changes radically the measure will have about the usual government majority. | Then probably will come the home rule
 bill which John Redmond recently stated
 
 interest in the terms of the measure, and | as to how far the government Is pre-
 pared to go in giving self government to Ireland | The best impression is that the Irish parliament will have as great powers as can be granted consistent with the unity
 of the empire, and that religious safe- guards will be included to allay the fears
 of the Ulster Protestants.
 Another measure which will receive
 early attention Is that of plural voting.
 A powerful liberal organ in discussing
 this subject says:
 "The crippling of the obstructive DOW
 CTS of the house of lords is a great gain, but the government must not rest con-
 tent with the veto victory. While fran
 chise anomalies exist we cannot have government for the people by the peo- ple A step on the democratic road will
 be made when the government sets it. self to make one man vote a reality in- stead of merely an election cry. Recent general elections have shown the power which the tories have because of the present absurd system of plural voting. In many constituencies tory members here returned by small majorities which would never have existed but for plural voting Instances are known where, in rural constituencies especially, one tory has half dozen votes. All over the country are large residential districts in which the scale is turned in favor of toryism, not by votes of the inhab- itants, but by wealthy tories who hap pen to have houses in these districts state of affairs which the government must remedy without delay"
 Another question which will be settled soon will be that of Welsh disestablsh- mcnt This is being bitterly fought by the established church and 1t is not at all impossible that the fight may lead to a strong feeling in four of the disestab- lishment of the English and Scotch churches This latter, however, is no part of the government programme at present.
 By and large it's going to be strenu- ors time for the British parliament for
 the next few months.
 The death of Herba Stretton will be tho cause of mouring the world over. There is hardly a man or woman who was a
 Sunday school scholar generation ago who does not recall "Jessicas First T. Prayer and other books by Miss Stret- ton Twice within two years has her death been enormously announced, but now she has passed away enfeebled by
 age hy the shock of the death of her sister and life long companion. Elizabeth last February
 Her real name was Hannah Smith, her
 m-de-plume being taken from her birthplace, Church Stretton, Shropshire.
 "Hesba" was formed by the combination of the initials of her name with those of her sisters, of whom she had four, she
 being the third daughter in the family.
 Her father was a bookseller and pub fisher. and in his later career, a partner in the firm of Houston & Wright of Paternostersuuare, E. c. Hesba devoted herself to the writing of stories of evan ge1ical life and charter, most of them chjldren's stories.
 The first recognition of her talent came from Charles Dickens, swho, in 1859, pub lshed '"The Lady Leg, a ghost story, in "All The Year Round" He sent her 15 with a request for more stories from her pen. She contributed regularly to this periodical and to Household Words until the death of Dickens in 1870.
 She wrote the British Museum cata- llogue, but none equalled the popularity of l'"Jessicas First Prayer" which appeared in Sunday at Home'' in 1866. Tsar | Alexander II decreed that the tQuching story of the little waif should be placed in every Russian school.
 It is stated that 100000 copies of this book have been published. It has been translated into even 20 languages It, was nsed as class book in Russian, schools l until knowledge of her sympathies with the revolutionary movement in Russia lied to the work, though quite innocent in itself. being forbidden, and to orders be- | ing issued that the copies then in use should be destroyed. In the northern ! countries this story was turned into g service of song for Sunday school and | chapel.
 Amongst her other stories were "Alopa in London" and Little Meg's Children" the combined sales of which have reached l 750OOO. These simple stories taught a wholesome piety of inestimable value to the generation of boys and girls to whom
 she principally appealed. Others of her novels were ''The Gives of Burcot,"
 "Paul's Courtship.' David Lloyd's Last Will" "The Doctors Dilemma" Hes ter Morley's Promise,'' and Through a Needles Eye" Miss Strecton formed the society from which has sprung the Society for tho l Precention of Cruelty to Children In 1892 she collected $45o0 for the starving Rus fsian peasants. Indeed, much of her earn 1 ings were spent in charity She had lived for many years at Ham Common, near l Richmond, where she used to busy herself l with lending library that she had start
 ed for the villagers benefit
 Ninety. ninety. call me an old man at l nlnety-why time is coming when 90 will I be regarded as middle age!' This was l Lord Strathenoa's first remark on arriv- ing at Huston station, London, on his re- turn from 10000 mile journey to Win 1 nineg Canada and back-17 days at a