MR. JOHN BURNS.
THE rise of Parliamentary and political personalities is always interesting, and there is no better time in which to note their development than the end of the Session. If men of sober judgment—that is, men who judge not by the sensational events and dramatic scenes in Parliament, or by the picturesque paragraphs of Lobby correspondents—could be canvassed as to whoni they considered the statesman who had most improved his position since the formation of the present Government, and who had done best in the new .Parliament, we have little doubt what the answer would be. The majority of the suffrages would fall upon Mr. John Burns. We do not mean that it would be suggested that he had in any sense eclipsed his older colleagues, or passed men like Sir Edward Grey, Mr. John Morley, Mr. Asquith, and Mr. Haldane, but simply that lie had very much increased his reputation, and had given the House of Commons and the country good cause to feel confidence in him and in his ability to work the machine of government. To put it in another way, the country has come to feel that the ranks of the governing men have been recruited, and efficiently recruited, owing to the proofs of political capacity and soundness given by Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns was at one time represented as a Radical so violent and so flighty that no dependence could be placed upon him. Two years' experience has shown the injustice of such a judgment.
The qualities which have gained Mr. Burns the con- fidence of his countrymen, and obtained for him what we may say, without exaggeration, is a leading place in the present Cabinet, are courage and straightforward- ness. Mr. Burns has shown throughout his career that he is not afraid of his enemies. But, after all, that is
a comparatively easy thing to show. What is far rarer and far more difficult to achieve is not to be afraid of one's friends and supporters. Real political courage con- sists in being able, when it is right and necessary to do so, to disappoint one's own friends, and to be willing not to do what they expect you to do, or, indeed, what a man might be expected to do from his previous record or previous utterances. Mr. Burns when he went to the Local Government Board was no doubt expected by his supporters amongst the Radical Party to further the cause of Socialism. As the member of the Cabinet responsible for administering the Poor Law, he was entrusted with the control of a Department which without legislation can be used to further State Socialism. Instead, however, of introducing Socialism on the instalment plan through the Poor Law, or, at any rate, allowing Socialistic Boards of Guardians to do so, Mr. Burns had not been six months in office before he showed that he was determined to adopt a policy the very reverse of that expected of him. A born administrator, and also a born upholder of efficiency, it took him but a short time to see that if our Poor Law system was allowed to be any further weakened, we should not only burden the Imperial and the local exchequers beyond endurance, but we should also destroy the fibre of the nation. Accord- ingly Mr. Burns set himself the task of reforming our Poor Law administration by a return to wiser and saner methods, and by preventing the progressive pauperisation of the people. It seems in many ways most unfair that the task of performing this absolutely necessary work should have fallen upon him, because its carrying out was bound to expose him to criticism of a peculiarly virulent kind, and to the accusation that, having obtained place and power, he was deserting the cause of the people. A man in Mr. Burns's position might not unreasonably have taken up the attitude : " The administration of the Poor Law wants to be reformed and the Boards of Guardians made to do their duty, but I am not the man who can fairly be asked to do it. Therefore, if my colleagues want the work done, they should have sent another man to the post and given me a different office." But though a weaker and less courageous man would have taken such a line, and could have taken it without any great blame, Mr. Burns refused to shelter himself behind any such excuses. Regardless of the accusations which he knew would be urged against him, and of the interests, corrupt on the one hand and fanatical on the other, that would be mobilised against his policy, he struck at once at the evil with which he was con- fronted. We do not hesitate to say that Mr. Burns, even in the short time he has been at work, has done more to stop the pauperisation of the people than any Minister during the present generation, while his inquiry into the cases of maladministration by Poor Law Guardians, such as those at Poplar, West Ham, and Hammersmith, has done incalculable good in showing that corruption, and the carelessness which leads to corruption, will no longer be tolerated in men who undertake public trusteeships. As we have said, Mr. Burns's courage is matched by his straightforwardness. He has not attempted by any of the arts of the politician or by Parliamentary fine§se to hide his meaning or to cloak his actions. He has gone straight for his point, relying upon the good sense of his country- men to support him.
That Mr. Burns will obtain the support of the nation as a whole, and of the working classes quite as much as of other sections, we do not doubt for a moment. There is nothing that the British people like more or respect more than courage in their politicians. Nobody cares very much to stand by, or to make much sacrifice to support, a man who is timorous in his welldoing. When, however, a man hits out boldly for the right, or, at any rate, what he believes to be the right, and does not trouble about the consequences, men willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with him spring up from the ground. Mr. Burns, in spite of the threats of the Socialists, will, we do not hesitate to say, retain the confidence of his own party and of the country in general. We see that the Socialists are reported to be organising a great campaign against him in his own constituency, and have founded, it is said, a weekly paper for the special purpose of denouncing him. For those who, like ourselves, believe in Mr. Burns, and desire to see him triumph, this is excellent news. He has nothing to fear in a good straightforward fight with his opponents, and we do not doubt that as the campaign grows in fierceness so will grow Mr. Burns's hold upon his constituents. People always forget that the harder sound metal is hammered the stronger it becomes, and Mr. Burns is essentially true metal.
We do not say this because we think that Mr. Burns adopts on political questions the Spectator policy. With' the exception of applying common-sense, honesty, and the spirit of self-respect and independence to the administra- tion of the Poor Law, we are well aware that we differ from Mr. Burns at almost every point. On such matters as Home-rule, the House of Lords, the establishment of a• national Church, and indeed on the whole Radical pro-' gramme, we are, of course, in the strongest possible antagonism. That, however, does not prevent us recog- nising and honouring a strong and honest man when we see him. It is exceedingly pleasant to think that the qualities which specially characterise Mr. Burns bring a man to the front at the present day quite as much as they ever have done in our political history.
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