Evening star., 1912-11-15
bob NOBODY WANTS
Percy IIIingWorth Designated
Chief Ministerial Whip.
TARGET FOR PARLIAMENT
Chief Duty Is to See That the Gov
ernment Maintains Majority
on Floor.
TARGET FOR PARLIAMENT
pecial Correspondence of The Star.

Il
| the job that nobody wants. A chief
ministerial whip is usually considered to
have established substantial claim on
the gratitude Of his government by ac-
cepting the post. 1t is the only consola-
ton of an otherwise thankless task
In the most favorable circumstances a
chief whips life is not happy one. He
gets all the kicks and none of the
ha'pence. The limelight does not come
his way He never makes a great
speech He merely makes himself
great nuisance-not because he likes it,
but because it is his business so to do
His only satisfaction is the negative one
of not letting his party get defeated. And
whatever the majority there are sure to
be some GROWERS who say it ought to
have been larger, and others who say,
"See how many we've got; no need for
you to have worried us much to turn
up." Certainly a thankless task. Every
body is wondering how Mr.. 1llingworth
will fill it.
Basis of Curiosity.
There are two reasons for a special
curiosity in this case. In the first. place,
he is the absolute antithess of his pred
essor, the Master of Elibank who, fore
seeing the rocks and shoals and shadows
of the present session, had the wisdom
| to retire and become Lord Murray. The
| one is shortish and roundish, the other
| longish thinnish-and baldish. From his
| appearance one immeditely puts the Mas
| ter of Elibank among that favored
| class of men whom nothing troubles. ONe
| could imagine him in the middle of an
earthquake still roseate. cheerful and
placid. Having no corners on his own
| person, he seemed designed by nature to
receive with equanimity the shocks and
| lars occaSioned by the cornerlneSS OF
| everybody else.
But Mr.. Illingworth-one thinks of
man with a rather worried face, dashing
up and down, with large, long coat tails
| f1uttering behind him. Mr.. lllingWOrth
coat tails are almost as much a feature
| Of the house as Mr. Mckenna' which is
| saying great deal.
| In the second place, the new chief whip
| is faced with task of extraordinary d1f-
! ficuIty. He is a man who will have to
keep together a party which is united
solely by the instinct Of self-preservation
When a parliament is wearing toward the
| end of its time, and members have lost
| their first enthusiasm, the whips work is
always hard. In the case OF an autumn
session, after a particularly strenuous
| six months in the earlier part of the year,
| this difficulty is naturally Increased.
Debates Are Wearying.
Also the greater part VI tHc SCooioii "Aii
be occupied by committee debates
notoriously the most wearying and nerv-
| Gus, since divisions may occur at any
moment, while the special tactics OF COM
mittees give an opposition unusually op-
| portunities for defeating a government
/ The rapidly increasing gravity OF the IN
/ ternal dissension of the party on the
| land-taxing policy is sheer gliding or the
| lily as regards Mr.. lllfngWorth olHicui-
/ ties.
/ He is, of course, a popular man, and
| his rise would have been called rapid
| in earlier parliaments, but as things go
/ nowadays has not been remarkable.
| member Of the innumerapie battalion of
| barristers in the house, he entered ON the
| wave OF 1906 after having established his
| claim to the Shipley division of Yorkshire
/ by fighting it in 1860. Two years ago he
| became Junior lord of the treasury. He
| is now forty-three. He was born in
Bradford, but does not look like York
| shireman. He does not speak, but can
/ in an unexciting way.
| 1t has been anticipated that the diff
| culties of the government with the labor
party will be increased as result OF his
| appointment But, while he is certainly
/ not to be suspected of any ultra-sOcialis-
| tic leanings, he is sufficiently skillful a
diplomat to keep things running smooth
| ~ enough if he gets anything like a
| chance.
Not New at the Game.
/ For one thing, he is by no means new
| at the game. He had plenty of expert
ence while acting as second to the Master
Of Elibank. and was practically in charge
Of the whips Office during the coal strike.
| That extremely difficult and delicate
| period he managed to weather without
| displaying any conspicuous inadequacy.
| The chief whip could scarcely have stood a
sitter probation. He is hard worker
and something of worrier. The govern
ment has still, in theory, substantial
majority, and, whether or not he man.
ages to keep that majority always at
hand and always docile during the next
few months, all who know Mr.. Hing
worth believe that he will make an excel
lent fight.