Year: 1874

An Interesting Account Of the Rep


resentattve Of the English WORK


fugmen ssecently Elected TO Par.


Lament.


The Liverpool Courier thus describes
Mr.. Alexander Macdonald, who was re-
Gently elected as q workingman's candi-
date for Parliament for Staffordshire.
In the strict sense OF the word he is not
workingman, and if that were to be the
test, can only justify his position from
the fact that he was working boy. But
he has far higher claims upon the conf
dence of the working classes than could
ever be gained by mere manual labor,
and although differing from him widely
upon political questions, we must pay
him the comment that there is no man
in all ranks of the labor leaders more
capable of advocating their cause with
plain straightforwardness and effective
moderation. Mr.. Macdonald's style is
one which will gain the ear of the
House to which he has been returned,
and that position he has already indi-
rectly secured before many Parliament
ary committees His valuable evidence
in reference to the mining interests
has invariably been received with
marked respect, and has formed the ba-
sis of beneficial legislation which has
been concurred in by both of the great
political parties, as well as by the many
hybrid sections into which the Liberals
are divided. Mr.. Macdonald possesses
great natural ability, and is a fluent
speaker, while he combines that amount
OF fact with his reasoning and illustra-
ton which is necessary to prove inhu-
entail in the British Legislature. We
venture to predict that on social and in
dustrial questions Mr. Macdonald will
rise to be an authority whose voice will
not only be listened to, but expected, on
all those questions which he has studied
so long and so carefully, both in practice
and in theory. But to "hark back a
bit, as we say on the hunting field, Mr..
Macdonald possesses qualities which do
not result from the fact that he is the
son of miner, nor from his long and in
.timate connection with the associations
Of those who labor underground In
addition to having received university
education, and to occupying the
position of schoolmaster in Air
dire, he was for years the trust
ed correspondent of the leading
Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers,
and only relinquished the position to
devote himself exclusively to the inter-
ests of the miners, amongst whom he
had been bred and born, and with whose
hardsbips and privations he was inti-
mately acquainted. The member for
Stafford was never a demagogue nor a
paid agitator; indeed, he never was an
agitator at all, for his voice was always
for progress without resorting to violent
means. Even lately, when the colliers
we're everywhere demanding higher
wages in consequence of the increasing
price of coal, the men in the west Of
Scotland stayed their demands upon
Mr.. MacDonald's advice, not merely
because the poor were suffering for lack
Of ftiel, but because abnormal rates Of
payment were not likely to result in
sustained benefit to the working men.
As we have hinted, Mr.. Macdonald was
never the salaried official Of his mining
constituents. By his business of
contractor and master carter at
Holytown in Lanarkshire, he has
always earned liberal income,
ard all that he has hitherto re-
ceived from the men has taken the
shape of presents, part of which he has,
in return, devoted to trade objects. In
addition to all this, Mr.. Macdonald has
travelled largely and. gained a mature
experience of labor prospects and
organizations in other countries, and
notably in the United States, which
cannot fail to prove valuable when he
comes to deal with labor questions in
the House of Commons. We bespeak a
kindly and favorable reception for him
from the Conservative side of the House,
though we regret that such man should
be as far astray in his political as he is
generally right in his industrial opinions.
But then he has taken his politics at Sec
ond hand from the party with whom he
has been brought most closely into con-
tact, while he has studied labor problems
with industry and ability before his
opinions were fully formed. We may
add that Mr.. Macdonald has always been
a voluminous and valued contributor to
the newspaper press, even since the vol
untary termination of his penny-a.lining
days.