The Irish standard., 1912-09-14

fervid agreement, this difference of
origin reveals itself in their telnpera-
ments. Mr.. McHugh has the SOFT
ness of the Celt. McGhee has the ng-
gressiveness OF the Presbyterian. The
kindest hearted Of men, filled with
the enthusiasm of humanity, he is
the fercest OF controversalists. Like
McHugh, all his passions go out into
politics. he has never taken a drink
throughout his whole life, but unlike
McHugh he is an invetcrate smoker.
He is the most inexhaustible man
ever met. Fatigue, depression, Meth
or Of Its success, are unknown to him.
/ have been his travelling companion
more than once in the devastating
labors of an American tour and bet
ter travelling companion 1 never knew
or could know. Travel by night was
the same to him as travel by day, a
fearsome than a journey of a hun
| dred. He could rise at any hour Of
the morning. he could stop up till any
hour of the morning, smoking, 1t is
true innumerable cigars, but leaving
the drinking to others-the drinking,
| but not the talking. He never ceases
| to talk.
That extraordinary we'll spring of
energy, optimism and fanatical faith
| flows everlasting and inexhaustibly,
like some river that has run it's even
course for a million of years. And
next to the question of Home Rule,
there Is one question which possesses
him and that is the single tax.
Like Mr.. Rattan and some other
single ttlxers. Mr.. McGhee at once
represents the aggressive rather than
the conciliatory element of the move
ment. His words are raped out In
a strong north of Ireland accent and
are more like stones from sling
than the smooth reasoning of the
speaker who looks to persunsivencss
rather than assault. Living in a dis
tinctly Orange town-Lurgan-in the
north Of Ireland. Mr.. Mctihee natur-
ally has to face much Of the hostility
which such opinions as his encounter
In that region, and l dare say, when
the civil war begins, it may interfere
with his glass windows. But McGhee
is not q man to be frightened or even
worried because a few panes of glass
/ are sacrificed to the rowdyism Of those
ers and office seekers. who are lend
ing themselves to the campaign
against the emancipation of Ireland
and especially OF the Irish workers.
At bye elections Mr.. McGheo has done
| splendid work. When this sturdy
ultra protestant FISHERMAN comes to
deal with the ridiculous fears of reli-
gious prosecutions which have done
such hard work for tho Ornngemen in
British elections, everybody is made
to understand how grotesque the
whole cry is. how grotesque and how
insincere. The man addressing them
with his fierce words, his fearless ag-
sresslveness, his strong Scotch ac-
cent, is not the man to lend himself
to an arrogant and prosecuting clcr-
icalism from any church or from any
creed.
One figure finally l must describe
briefly in this review of the leaders
of the land tax movement. The lord
advocate cannot be counted among
tho single takers, but he is certainly
an advanced land tax reformer. Mr..
Ure is one of the marvcls of our
time. Head Of a great and laborious
department, an active member of the
legal profession, whose work cannot
be reached by a taxicab to the law
courts in London, but involves a long
journey to Edinburgh, an assiduous
attendant at the House of Commons
he has yet found time to attend more
meetings during the last few year
| IhtLi tLuy li1u Ol NlS LlIuc. AIlQ Wnen
he speaks, he does not spare himself.
What is important, also is that the
audiences do not spare him. AS with
the combined lucidity and keen anal
ysis of his splendid Scotch intellect,
Mr.. Ure unfolds the philosophy and
the economics Of land reform, his aud
fences listen spell-bound. 1t is to
them the breaking of a new dawn and
a new light. and they insist on his
going on and on till sometimes he has
spoken for two hours at q stretch and
left his audience not tired, but cry
ing for more. 1t is difficult to UNDER
stand how he can stand the strain,
but again. like McGhee, Mr.. Ure has
never been seen by anybody tired or
depressed or discouraged. He came
h.