London, June 5.
The death has occurred of the Right Honourable Will Crooks at the age of 68 years.
Mr. Crooks was for many years Labour Member of Parliament for Woolwich, but retired some months ago owing to ill-health.—Reuter.
One of the staunchest leaders of Labour as it used to be known is lost in the death of Will Crooks. Born of poor parents in 1852 he was brought up in a Poor Law institution and there gained that insight into the lot of the poorer classes which served him in prohibited wi stead when it came to championing their cause in later years. At the age of 14 years he was apprenticed to a cooper, but by hard work and dogged determination he raised himself to be a leader among working men. At 40 years of age he embarked into higher municipal Politics when he was returned a8 a Progressive member of the London County Council. Concurrently he served Labour interests on the Poplar Town Council, being elected Mayor in 1901, while from 1898 10 1906 he was also a member of the Board of Guardians. Political honours came to him in 1903 when he was returned as Labour member for Poplar. He retained his seat until the beginning of 1910, when he went on a tour round the world, but on his return was re-elected for the same constituency and remained its representative in the House of Commons until his retirement. In 1916, in the New Year': Honours List, he was created a Privy Councillor.
The Rt. Hon. Will Crooks was 10 ordinary man. He brought to the difficult task of leading Labour a well trained mind and an excellent gift of oratory. A speaker of the homely type he marshalled facts and figures in a remarkably facile and comprehensible manner, _as many of his speeches on Tower Hill clearly demonstrated. THis ability at no time overshadowed his own personal popularity and there will be many in England to-day mourning the loss of "Our Will."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.