The very strange career of Mr Lincoln
Anthony discusses the life of John Stonehouse, referring to him as 'the (most) conspicuous case of an MP going doolally in recent times', which is probably accurate but prompted me to dig out my copy of Matthew Parris' excellent (and soon to be republished in an expanded version, it seems) Great Parliamentary Scandals to remember the career of Trebitsch Lincoln MP. Those bloggers who like to blame the Liberal Democrats for everything may want to take notes, as Lincoln was a Liberal MP.
Parris introduction is worth quoting in full, as it gives an idea of the man's career:
Lincoln was born (as Ignatz Trebitsch) in Hungary. After being expelled from the Royal Hungarian Academy of Dramatic Art for petty theft, he then trained as a Christian missionary in England, then went to proselytize amongst the Jews of Canada then returned to England (in unspecified 'disgrace') where he hoped to become a vicar, but failed his exams. Instead, he became private secretary to Benjamin Rowntree (of the famous Liberal Rowntree family) and travelled across Europe, supposedly researching Belgian land-management for Rowntree (though he claimed to have also been working as a German double agent at the time) during which time he provoked an international crisis in Paris by insisting that the French Government should pay for his book purchases.
He was only an MP for a short time - Rowntree's influence got him selected as the Liberal candidate for Darlington in the first election of 1910 (he won by just 29 votes on a platform that included stating that Unionist tariff plans would force the people of Darlington to eat their pets) but his profligacy made him virtually bankrupt and he was forced to resign the nomination a week before the second election of 1910. Bankrupted, he then attempted to set up a series of oil companies - all of which failed - and when war broke out in 1914 he briefly found a job censoring mail to Hungary, but was fired because he wrote comments on the letters. He then turned to fraud, stealing letters from the National Liberal Club and using them to get money transferred to his account.
The War Office then failed to emply him as a spy which led to him travelling to the Netherlands and presenting himself at the German consulate to volunteer as a spy for them instead. They did take up the offer of his services and sent him back to London, though he went further and ended up in New York where he wrote newspaper articles outing himself as a German spy which managed to get his brother - who had volunteered for the US Army - sent to Alcatraz for sodomy when he, under surveillance because of Trebitsch's actions, was caught in bed with another man. Finally, the British managed to get him arrested and - after a brief escape, including a press conference while on the run - extradited back to Britain where he was imprisoned until 1919 after being found guilty of fraud.
After being released from prison he travelled to Germany, promoting the restoration of the German monarchy and becoming involved in the Freikorps coup which led to him being a member of the German government for five days and meeting a young Adolf Hitler. A couple of years of involvement in Eastern European nationalist movements followed until, fearing for his life, he fled to China in 1922. More strangeness followed, and by the early 1930s he had become a Buddhist Abbot - the Venerable Chao King - and then became involved with the Japanese and German secret services in Shanghai. Finally, it seems he exasperated one person too many, and died in a Shanghai hospital in 1943, shortly after he'd written a public letter to Hitler denouncing the extermination of the Jews.
And that's really just skimming the surface of his career - Parris has one of the longest entries in his book about Lincoln's life. So, the next time you're watching Parliament, cast an eye over the green benches and wonder just who out there has the potential to be a failed missonary, bankrupt oil speculator, German spy and Buddhist monk. Or just think that Peter Cuthbertson has a long way to go before he can become the most notorious politician from Darlington.
For a bit more on Lincoln, this page on espionage films suggests a couple of characters he may have inspired including Peter Lorre's character in Hitchcock's The Secret Agent. The same site also has a biography of him, concentrating on his espionage work.
Parris introduction is worth quoting in full, as it gives an idea of the man's career:
Fraudster, spy, Anglican curate, German revolutionary, journalist, secret agent, international outlaw, Chinese cult leader and - in 1910 - Liberal MP for Darlington, Trebitsch Lincoln was born into a prosperous Jewish family in Hungary in 1879 and died, perhaps poisoned by Nazi agents, in a Shanghai hospital in 1943.The story of his life is so incredible that one suspects it's a fictional creatio accidentally given factual status, though a quick search seems to suggest that he was real enough. Yet again, we find that truth is stranger than any fiction.
Lincoln was born (as Ignatz Trebitsch) in Hungary. After being expelled from the Royal Hungarian Academy of Dramatic Art for petty theft, he then trained as a Christian missionary in England, then went to proselytize amongst the Jews of Canada then returned to England (in unspecified 'disgrace') where he hoped to become a vicar, but failed his exams. Instead, he became private secretary to Benjamin Rowntree (of the famous Liberal Rowntree family) and travelled across Europe, supposedly researching Belgian land-management for Rowntree (though he claimed to have also been working as a German double agent at the time) during which time he provoked an international crisis in Paris by insisting that the French Government should pay for his book purchases.
He was only an MP for a short time - Rowntree's influence got him selected as the Liberal candidate for Darlington in the first election of 1910 (he won by just 29 votes on a platform that included stating that Unionist tariff plans would force the people of Darlington to eat their pets) but his profligacy made him virtually bankrupt and he was forced to resign the nomination a week before the second election of 1910. Bankrupted, he then attempted to set up a series of oil companies - all of which failed - and when war broke out in 1914 he briefly found a job censoring mail to Hungary, but was fired because he wrote comments on the letters. He then turned to fraud, stealing letters from the National Liberal Club and using them to get money transferred to his account.
The War Office then failed to emply him as a spy which led to him travelling to the Netherlands and presenting himself at the German consulate to volunteer as a spy for them instead. They did take up the offer of his services and sent him back to London, though he went further and ended up in New York where he wrote newspaper articles outing himself as a German spy which managed to get his brother - who had volunteered for the US Army - sent to Alcatraz for sodomy when he, under surveillance because of Trebitsch's actions, was caught in bed with another man. Finally, the British managed to get him arrested and - after a brief escape, including a press conference while on the run - extradited back to Britain where he was imprisoned until 1919 after being found guilty of fraud.
After being released from prison he travelled to Germany, promoting the restoration of the German monarchy and becoming involved in the Freikorps coup which led to him being a member of the German government for five days and meeting a young Adolf Hitler. A couple of years of involvement in Eastern European nationalist movements followed until, fearing for his life, he fled to China in 1922. More strangeness followed, and by the early 1930s he had become a Buddhist Abbot - the Venerable Chao King - and then became involved with the Japanese and German secret services in Shanghai. Finally, it seems he exasperated one person too many, and died in a Shanghai hospital in 1943, shortly after he'd written a public letter to Hitler denouncing the extermination of the Jews.
And that's really just skimming the surface of his career - Parris has one of the longest entries in his book about Lincoln's life. So, the next time you're watching Parliament, cast an eye over the green benches and wonder just who out there has the potential to be a failed missonary, bankrupt oil speculator, German spy and Buddhist monk. Or just think that Peter Cuthbertson has a long way to go before he can become the most notorious politician from Darlington.
For a bit more on Lincoln, this page on espionage films suggests a couple of characters he may have inspired including Peter Lorre's character in Hitchcock's The Secret Agent. The same site also has a biography of him, concentrating on his espionage work.
Nick got away with this at 12:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home