A Great Labour Leader; Being a Life of the Right Hon. Thomas Burt. M.P. (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 edition. Excerpt: ...were on their way to spend a brief holiday in Ireland. Among them was Thomas Burt, then newly elected member of Parliament for Morpeth. They were seated in a train at Carlisle ready to start for Dumfries en route to Stranraer. Suddenly there was a commotion on the platform. A working man had been deprived of his seat, and was swearing and gesticulating at large. The Newcastle travellers invited him to take a vacant seat among them. The man was still in a rage. "Joe Cowen shall hear of this," he muttered. The travellers pricked up their ears. "Joe Cowen?" said one of them; "who is he?" "Wat nivvor hard of Joe Cowen? He's wor member, and winnot see a warking man wranged." "Oh, then, you come from Newcastle?" "No, aa diwent; aa belang Dor'm, and wark at Medomsley." "You will know Mr. Crawford, then?" (William Crawford was then the agent of the Durham miners.) "Aa shud think se--hard him at aall wor demonstrations." "Do you know Mr. Burt too?" "Wat Tommy Bort? Aa ken him as weel as aa ken ma ain brither." Further leading questions and much silent chuckling followed. "Hard him at wor last demonstration. Tommy's varry good--varry good for a skuyl-room. But Charlie Bradlaugh's the man for the oppen air." Then followed great praise of Bradlaugh's oratory, and the train stopped at a wayside station, when the man from Medomsley, bidding his acquaintances goodbye, staggered across the platform to the exit. "Good for a schoolroom," while it added to the mirth of the party, says Mr. Adams, was accepted as a testimony that the intellectual predominated over the physical powers of the member for Morpeth. In 1880 Mr. Bradlaugh was...