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Additional comments:/ Commentaires supplAmentaires: L'Instttut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui B lIuX.jLULU 23 CHAPTER III. CANADA ■kS ClIAPTiiii IV ENULAND CHAPTER V. SOCIALISM IN EX(iLA>fD 79 CHAPTER VI. iMEETINGS • t 96 CHAPTER VII. SUCIALISTS I HAVE MET . 128 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTKU Mil. TiiK rNrn;i» sr.ATiis • • CIIAI'TKR IX. TIIK UXlTMt ST\Ti:s (confinited) l9-> CHAPTIUI X. SOCIALIST I.lTKlCATl'Ui: . . '2:\2 CHAPTER XI. TIIOUOHTS OF THK ..IAN IN TIIK STHKKT. . 2G(> CHAPTER XII. UKLiaiON AND TIIK FAMILY INUKIl SOCIALISM 2H(> PREFACE. In the year 1894 I was appointed by the Government of Victoria to be one of its delegates at the Colonial Conference that was about to be held iu Canada ; and at the same time a commission was given to me to inquire into .*ome public cpiestions that iiiterested and concerned us colonists in common with all the more progressive communities of the world. Socialism was the subject that under this authority mainly occupied my attention during my visit to Canada, England, and the United States ; though, as I am following the incidents of a tour, I also deal with other kindred topics as they came in my way. There have been a great number of able and ingenious books written upon the Socialist movement, and my object was rather to learn from the workers themselves what they thought of it, and how it is presented by the literature of the bookstall to the man in the street. While I express — I hope clearly — my own conclusion.", my mission was, and this record of it is, rather that of an observer and a reporter than an instructor. A French writer remarks that nothinor misleads ..iUXi. vni PRKFACR I ( hi Eomc men nioro tliaii the Jiversion that they feel for those whose manners are unpolishetl. No such feeling dwelt in me. I sought out tlie obscure toilers, and felt for them that synipatliy tliat a man naturally has for his own people. At the same time I availed myself of the information that was to be obtained from higher authorities, and I am indebted for ready assistance to several gentlemen of pot^ition in the Socialist world, or who take an interest in social questions in Etiglaud and the United States. Among many I might mention Mr. Sidney Webb, of London, and Mr. Carrol Wright, of Washington. I have also to acknowledge my obligation to the Earl of Kiniberley, then Secretary of State for Foreign Afl'airs, for giving me letters to the English Consuls in the United States, and to Mr. Walter, of The Thnes, for an introduction to one of the representatives of that paper. Personally I was no stranger to the subject, and my political experience in our Australian provinces, where Socialist views (though not those of the most advanced type) are often advocated, and have been to some extent adopted, gave me at least that useful condition of truth-seeking which consists in knowing what questions to ask. I would add that I felt it to be a duty no less imposed upon me by my commission than agreeable to ray own feelings, to inquire impartially into all aspects of the subject, and to gather knowledge from every quarter where it could be obtained. It certainly is of the last importance, whether we approve of Socialism I, i I'KEFACi:. IX .el for feeling s, and Uy has myself higlier mcc to world, tigliiud iientioii ^Vright, go my 3tary of to the to Mr. one of I was )erience views \)e) are opted, seeking ask. I m posed to my aspects every ly is of )cialism or condemn it, or are in doubt about it, tliat we should know what it is, what it proposes, and what it leads to. It need scarcely bo said that neither the Ministry of Victoria tlmt advised my appointment, nor any subsequent Government, arc responsible for or identified with my opinions. The I'rcmior who submitted my name to the CJovcrnor, the hite Sir James Patterson, acquiesced in the request that I made that I should not bo expected to present an otHcial Report of my experiences, so as to leave me greater freedom ; and I have thought it better to throw them into a more popular form. I found a general readiness to give me information ; but, as many of those with whom I conversed were in dependent positions, either in industry or in the humbler walks of politics, I have thought it better not to give the names of those whose views I record. It must be borne in mind that my main object wa. to inquire into Socialism, and therefore these pages are chiefly occupied with the views of that portion of the working classes who adopt that principle. The number who do this to its full extent is small in both England and the United States, though many have leanings that way, while in public and municipal afiairs many things are done in the name of Socialism that are not Socialist in the true sense ; and, on the other hand, many things that are directed by Socialist motives are justified upon quite different grounds. Great expectations and great dread have equally been PREFACE. hi excited by the march of Socialism. The Paris Corre- spondent of The Times, writing in September, 1894, sa}'^ that the real victor at a recent important election in France was Socialism. " It pervades the artisans, it wi" next pervade the peasants, and will not be long in claimiDg the mastery. It is less deep-rooted here than in Germany, but it covers more ground. Nothing can be done to check it." The only outcome, he considers, is a military despotism that will at least give men peace. Similar reports from other Continental countries appeared. Since that time, however, the Socialist party have received a marked check by their political weakness being exposed at the General Election in England, and by the successful but by no means unanimous, nor apparently very intelligent, revolt of the Old Unionists at Cardiff. The victors there would, according to their declared principles, have been classed a short time ago as thorough Socialists. They have also suffered defeats during the year at the polls throughout the Continent, and the Populist party in America shows little sign of being able to assert itself as a distinct political power. It would be a great mistake, however, to conclude from all this that the principle of Socialism was disposed of. It has still to be reckoned with, and political parties will still court it. The problem that it presents lies deep in the industrial conditions, joined to the political conditions of our time. Its solution, as it is wise or foolish, will lead to the vastly expanded .^*e..- 1 PREFACE. xi prosperity of nations or to their premature decay. Its votaries, in common with many oLhers who are not Socialists, are quite right in demanding a great im- provement in our scaial conditions ; and so far they no more can be checked than they ought to be. Their scheme, carried to its full extent, means an influence before which civilisation would wane. I shall be amply compensated for a good deal of labour — and no work is more laborious than interviewing — if in these pages anything can be found that will help towards the solution of the question of our age — how to better distribute wealth, but without impairing energy ; to mitigate the struggle of life, yet maintain its progress ; and, while making the people more happy, still to keep them free. SOCIALISM BEING NOTES ON A POLITICAL TOUR CHAPTER I. SYDNEY. On the 5th of February, 1894, the Government of Canada passed an Order in Council inviting the Governments of the Australian colonies, of the Cape of Good Hope, of New Zealand and Fiji to send delegates to & Conference which it was proposed to hold at Ottawa in June that year, " for the purpose of considering the trade relations existiog between Canada and their respective countries, and the best means of extending the same, and of securing, the construction of a direct telegraphic cable between the Australian colonies and the Dominion of Canada." The Imperial Government was also asked to send a representative. The invitation was readily accepted, and representatives from Canada, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, New Zealand, and the Cape of Good Hope met to- gether, to hold the opening meeting of the Conference in the Senate Chamber at Ottawa, on the 28th of June in that year. The Earl of Jersey was present to represent the Government of Her Majesty. Ine sittings were continued till the 9th of July, when the proceedings terminated after some important business had been transacted, and much useful interchange of opinion had taken place upon matters that were of common interest to Britain and to her dependencies. It may be safely -rt. B r 2 SOCIALISM. I f said that no other country in the world could have shown such a national family gathering of free com- munities. The delegates from Victoria were the Honour- able Nicholas Fitzgerald and the Honourable Simon Fraser, both members of the Upper House, the Legis- lative Council, and myself, a member of the Legislative Assembly. We arrived in Sydney, whence we were to embark for Vancouver, British Columbia, in the middle of May, 1894. In passing I may pay a tribute to the merits of my brother delegates. We worked together with perfect cordiality and successfully carried out the objects of our mission. Before we arrived, there had been a split in the Labour party in the New South AVales Parliament. This party had gone in somewhat upon the lines of ]\Ir. Parueirs Irish party in the House of Commons. Their platform was to serve Labour as their sole mistress, rather than to fulfil the duties of genenil representatives of the country, and for this purpose to vote together as one man. After a while they found causes, partly political, partly personal, to divide them. In truth, the position of a representative who says that he will only act for one interest is, under our Parlia- mentary system, an unsound one, and is generally found to be impracticable, unless, perhaps, they represent a distinct .province such as Ireland, so intertwined are all the varying elements that make up the social state. One of the leading Labour politicians told me that in his opinion it was a fatal mistake for them to go into Parliament at all. When they do so, jealousies and dis- ti acting influences at once arise. In all countries they should, he thought, wait outside, perfect their organisa- tion, and direct other men whose return they can con- trol. Speaking of Socialism, ho said that he did not know what to say of it till he knew what it included. The answer of the plain-spoken Socialist on this point is not doubtful : he will take as much of the new social system as he can. get now, and the whole when he is able to take it. There is no uncertainty as to their 'Vj SYDNEY. 3 objects, though intelligent thinkers admit that a long time must elapse before their ideal can be reached. Another prominent leader, wlio has since risen in the ])olitical world, was more explicit. He said that at present what his party wanted w\is to nationalize the land in New South Wales. That was the great reforri... wanted first of all and wanted now. I. — How will you get it ? He. — Tax the value away gradually to the vanishing point. I. — Would that be fair to men who, under your laws, md, indeed, at the invitation of the State, have given their money for it and generally given it to the Government directly as the great seller of land for the past fifty years ? One man puts his earnings into land, another into a ship. The one is sacred, the other is confiscated. He. — There can be no property in land ; no Govern- ment can give it away fi-oni the people. The peojDle themselves never gave it. Besides, it would all be done gradually, and there would ensue such general prosperity from the tax that they would not feel it. I had many opportunities of conversing with Labour leaders and Single Taxers, both in England and the United States, as well as here in Australia, upon land nationalisation, and found their views and arguments always identical. The same remark applies to all the many phases of Socialism. Printer's ink makes the whole world kin. At headquarters, whether by a Henry George or a Fabian Essayist, certain views are propounded and supported by appropriate arguments. These at once spread to the remotest parts of the earth, and the humblest believer, v,'herever he be, faces you with them at once. But it is a curious fact that this drastic measure is so urgently demanded in a vast unpeopled territory like New South Wales, which con- tains over 310,000 square miles and only some twelve hundred thousand people — a country thus nearly four times as large as Great Britain, with about a thirtieth B 2 U SOCIALISM. if 'Si 11 is. of its population ; yet this party believe that their salvation depends upon seizing the lands thut a few hundred of their population have taken up. They justify it by saying that all the good lands rear the centres of population are gone into private hands. The object of the " Single Tax League of New South Wales " is declared to be : "To abolish from time to time exist- ing systems of taxation and to gradually substitute for the manifold taxes now in operation a single tax levied upon the bare value of land, exempting from taxation all improvements, until the ann'^al value which attaches to the land from the needs and growth of the population is ultimately absorbed by the Public Treasury to be administered for general public purposes." Their organ is a well- printed paper of eight pages, published monthly, and full of facts and figures, such as Single Taxers love to set forth all the world over. I shall afterwards have something to say as to the awkward position that this party finds itself in, when summoned to join the advance of the whole line Socialistic. Both Houses of Parliament were sitting while we were there. The Assembly, or lower house, is elected by manhood suffrage, while the Council, or upper house, consists of members nominated by the Ministry in power and appointed by the Governor. The Secretary of State for the Colonies has laid down the rule, as a general one, that in accepting these nominations, the Governor simply acts upon the advice of his Ministers, as in the usual course of constitutional government. Being a nominated chamber, it has little direct popular power in the country, but it presents what has been described by a high political authority " as the physiognomy and aspect of a grave legislative body" even more com- pletely than does the ruling chamber. The Legislative Assembly of New South V/ales may be taken as a. fair type of the Australian Legislatures. If they cannot lay claim to the culture that used to mark *)\ie House of Commons, they are free from many of SYDNEY. 8 the conditions that enfeeble the local Legislatures of America. Perhaps I may be allowed here to take the opportunity of giving some account of them. The House of Commons is described as being com- posed of bankers, merchants, shipowners, brewers, railway directors, men known in literature and science, lawyers, doctors, country gentlemen, colonial governors, soldiers, sailors, and working men. Our small com- munities could not supply this variety ; but we have lawyers, doctors, journalists, storekeepers, farmers, business men, mining managers, and working men. Lawyers have generally been numerous in popular assemblies, notwithstanding the prejudice against them. In the States-General of France that struck the keynote of modern democracy in 1789, there were 374 lawyers ! In the United States they pre- dominate in several lines of political life ; but they jire noo so numerous in our Legislatures. Briefly, our Assemblies may be described es middle-class bodies. The poorest are represented there, but do not domi- nate. The other end of the social scale can scarcely be said to be directly represented at all, though indirectly they may have influence. We can lay no claim to the culture or polish of aristocratic Parliaments. You can- not combine the political advantages of a past age with those of the present, nor join in one assembly the merits of both aristocracy and democracy. This is not peculiar to politics ; it applies to other phases of life, public and private. The political is only one aspect of the social state — perhaps the liveliest and most prominent ; also, the closest scanned. In all, equality and the inrush of members gives breadth and vigour rather than eleva- tion. But if our legislators are plain men, they need not fear comparison with aristocratic bodies in the matter of personal honesty, while they naturally feel more concern for the wants of the people with whom they are identified. The many functions undertaken by our Govern- ments, and the large measure of assistance that they 4 1 >r«iHiii i»w»irii *■—- ~- 1 6 SOCIALISM. render to districts out of the general revenue, enfeeble the position of the representative, and impair the public spirit of the constituencies. Each locality naturally seeks to jret as much as it can, and for this purpose wants rather an agent to look after its interests than a statesman to take care of those of tlie country at large. The representative is harassed by a divided duty. TIjis I take to be the greatest impediment ta statesmanship in our ranks, and the more Socialistic (jovernments become the greater is the danger that Burke's prophetic fear may be realized, and " national representation degraded into a confused and scuftiing bustle of local agency." The forbearance of many con- stituencies towards a member whom they respect upon public grounds, and the sense of duty to tlie State of members, have so hv done something to mitigate the worst results of this principle. Many years ago, when in the Victorian Legislature, I had the difficulty that I epeak of brought home to me practically. 1 — perhaps with more zeal than knowledge — actually proj)osed to do away with local representation altogether and to adopt Hare's system of proportional representation applied to wide divisions of the colony. My resolution ran thus : " That the representation of localities is foreign to the principle of manhood suffrage, and moreover, by the special duties and obligations to each locality that it imposes upon members, taken in conjunction with the power of the Government over the expenditure from the general revenue for local purposes, has a tendency to impair the pos^ition of the representative and to endanger the true character of Parliamentary repre- sentation." The House gave a very fair hearing to the proposal, but considered it to be outside the range of practical politics. Yet we all feel the burthen of local work, and how, at times, it conflicts with public duty. This position of our Governments naturally promote* the formation of small parties in the Legislatures to secure what they consider justice for the interests they SYDNEY. T represent. Thus wo luive ftmongst us country parties, raining parties, and all the interests tliat look to State protection of industries ; while our powerful Public Service associations have often made their weight felt both inside and outside the Parliament. The cities are always and naturally combined, and able to conserve their own interests. They return the members of the Lai)our Party. Our Parliaments arc sometimes blamed for their hasty a. I varying legislation, and it is not to be denied that all popular legislation is experimental, changeful, harking back upon itself. Look at the Im- perial legislation on bankruptcy. The State of Maine amended its liquor law forty-six times, and then it did not answer its purpose. But the legislation is experi- mental, only because it actually reflects from time to time the varying feelings of the community, as they are prompted by impulse or warned by experience. With us, as w'ith all democracies, there is impatience under any inconvenience, a disinclination to submit to any evil, or supposed evil, for ever so short a time, joined to a simple belief that you have only to get an Act of Parliament to set it right, whatever it is. Are the hours of labour too long, or the shops open too late ; is there too much gambling, drinking, or general im- morality ; are the banks obstructive in business, or the sharebrokers too sharp, or the lawyers too free with their tongue ; nay, does that most ancient of wants — the want of money — make itself again generally felt, the first cry is to Parliament, Right this wrong ! And some new law is accordingly made, sometimes with good cH'ect. But as it is the most difficult thing in the world to frame the principles of a law wisely, and then to express them accurately, frequent alterations are required ; while at times, the object to be attained being really impracticable, the Act quietly becomes inopera- tive. For laws, with us, to be real laws, must com- mend themselves " all the time," as the Americans say, to the people. If unsuitable they are tacitly ignored. Experience is picked up quickly. Hence looking back %„ ^ l " * H MrfW W I r 8 SOCIALISM. i4» PI I to the legislation of even a few years ago is like walking through an old armoury full of curious weapons and quaint shields quite unsuited to to-day. But in all this the Legislature can only be blamed for too faithfully reflecting the popular will. Looking at this Parliament in Macquarie Street, Sydney, one finds ciiretully reproduced the practice and procedure of Westminster. It is the same in all the Australian provinces. We are as observant of pre- cedent as the English themselves. The Speaker is in gold- embroidered silk and full-bottomed wig upon great occasions ; in silk and wig at all times in the chair. A silver-gilt mace, richly ornamented, an exact copy of that at Home, lies upon the table when the House is sitting, but is hurried underneath when the Speaker leaves the chair and Committee begins. A few years ago ours in Victoria was stolen from the Parliament building, under the belief, it is supposed, that it was gold ; and it now having gone to the thieves* melting- pot, we have to content ourselves v.ith a small wooden one, which, however, proves equally potent as a symbol of authority. The useful rule of referring to members by the place they represent is observed. Any title that can be given to a member is carefully given. Any one connected with the militia is termed the " hon. and gallant member ; " any one with the law in any of its branches, ** hon. and learned member ; " any one con- nected with medicine is '* the learned doctor ; " if there is a Baronet among us, he is always " the hon. Baronet." We have never got to the length of calling one " the hon. and rev. member," as Lord Palmerstcn did John Bright, though we have some gentlemen in our Parlia- ments who occasionally preach to bush congregations that might be otherwise untaught. With all our love of equality, we relish these little distinctions ; like the Americans, who bega; by a resolution to allow no title to their President, but to send papers to " George Washington " simply, and have ended by having " Honourables " and "Colonels" innumerable. \ VSS^' SYDNEY. f In mattera of procedure we follow as clo3oly as wo can Imperial precedent. Ilatscll, May, Torld are our Autliorities. Ever since Lord Cowper, on the 9th of Feb- ruary, 1721, in the House of Lords, asked the Govern- ment whether one. Knight, nhom the House wished to proceed against, had been arrested, which i^ said to be the earliest recorded mstancc of a question asked in Parliament, the privilege of questioning the Govern- ment has been a favourite one with members of Parlia- ment ; though with us, as also in older lands, the actual practice at times differs widely from the theory that you ask ouly for some specific information and get a reply contaiuing that information, both question and answer being without comment or argument. When we enter the House we bow respectfully to the Speaker ; but probably few of us, or few even of the House of Commons itself, remember that in so doing they are only repeating what had its origin in the old English Parliament, not as a reverence to the parson of the Speaker, but a clerical obeisance to the east. The rules of the House of Commons against per- sonalities, disorder, irrelevancy in debate, are our rules too. In extremity I have heard a Speaker threaten to *' name " a member, and the threat had effect, though none knew its import or consequence. Imputing motives, not necessarily of a base kind, but indirect motives for any political conduct, is a favourite form of what strictly is disorder, but which, if skilfully done, it is hard for any Speaker to stop. The leader of the Government and t. e leader of the Opposition confer with one another as to the course of business, as at AVestminster, and the whips upon both sides look up votes, arrange pairs, confer with members, persuade and remonstrate, just as if the affairs of an empire were being transacted. The friendly co-operation of the in and out law officers which distinguishes the House of Commons is fully sustained among us. In nothinw is adherence to ancient English usaoje more shown than in our retaining the old forms relatin* :p.t^.irmi' T 10 SOCIALISAf. \\ m I ii! to voting the public- money. Still in theory the Crown demands supply, which we reluctantly grant. If any motion is made for a "chnrgc upon the people, tho consideration thereof may not be presently entered upon." If any report of a resolution from a Committee of Supply comes up, it must bo received on a future day. The Appropriation IJill is jealously retained by the Assembly till the prorogation, and then handed b^ tho Speaker to the Governor. The old and once so vital principle ui redress of grievances before supply is still recognised by our Standing Orders ; though, in order to prevent intolerable abuse, its exercise has been limited in Victoria to specified days. And all the while some of us are only anxious to grant as much money as pos- sible to the Crown, and have had positively to bo prevented by Act of Parliament from voting it except upon tiic invitation of the Crown. Not only so, but we obviate the effect of this law by, in any case of supposed need, addressing the Governor with a request that he will recommend us to vote the desired money. The position of old times is reversed. The people are really voting money to themselves, not away to tho Sovereign ; but all the old forms of unwillingness are scrupulously preserved. - Another ancient right of the House of Commons that our Parliaments have, in past times, claimed and exercised — as vested in them by the Constitution Act and subsequent legislation — is that of treating offences against them committed outside Parliament as breaches of privilege, and punishable summarily by them at their discretion. On one occasion, during the period of demoralisation caused by the land lottery system in Victoria, tho Assembly there sent two gentlemen to gaol for the alleged bribing of members. The Chief Justice, after consultation with the other judges, and, as he slated, " without hesitation," discharged the prisoners, upon the ground that the Speaker's warrant of commitment should have specified the contempt for which they were committed, whereas it simply stated SYDNFA'. n tliftt tho As.soml)ly li.id adjudged tlicm to ho pjuilty of contempt. But tlio Privy Council, presided over l>y p]arl Ciurufi, promptly overruled this derision, and held that the Afmhly had in this respect all tho rights of the House < >f Commons. Lord Broiirrham, in his speech on the scrijud rcadinif of tho Reform Hill of 1832, said that if ho over felt confident in making a prediction it was that, when th«) ])ooplc were properly re[)rcsented, the Press would hecomc subordinate to Parliament. In fact it is just tlic othci way. The more tho sutlrnge is extended tho stronger tho Press becomes relatively, till, in tho most advanced democracies, it overshadows Parliament altogether. It is the readiest, and also the mo.st constant of all organs of public opinion. Tho Australian Legislatures have had for some years past the good sense to refuse all proposals to enforce tho obsolete right to deal with alleged libels upon them as a breach of privilege. Tho public would not support them if they did desire to exorcise it. More than once, when a member is aggrieved by some unusually bitter criticism, he has moved to bring tho printer to tho Bar ; but after indignant self-defence, followed by appropriate deprecation of offensive written remarks all round, the matter is let drop, the injured man being left to his remedy at law. A trifling instance of our adherence to Imperial precedent, but one which concerns tho general im- pression that we make upon a sight-seer, may be added. Hats are worn in tho House as at Westminster, but of, all descriptions, from tho stately tall silk to the pliable wide-awake, of various shapes and many colours. If a question of order arises while the House is dividing, a member can only call attention to it with his hat on. To put a crushed wide-awake on in order to challenge the notice of the chair seems an undignified proceeding to onlookers. Sometimes this is done with an air of defiance, however awkward the hat. Sometimes a diffident man will borrow a tall hat from a neighbour 12 SOCIALISM. it to serve the turn. Thus do the instincts of the Saxon remain conservative, while all elso has changed. The Australian natives are, in the Legislatures of the younger provinces, a new element rather than a party. They are divided among all parties, but chiefly belong to the advanced and progressive side. They labour under two obvious disadvantages : their country has had no political experience — and the course of no country is determined by the experience of another ; and she has had none of the struggles that give nations grit and to commg genera- leave on an leave inspiring memories tions. But the impression that they observer is distinctly hopeful. They show freshness of thought and spirit, v/ith a contempt for the old hackneyed methods of the political stage. Indeed, some of them do not hesitate to say that the local Parliaments are not worthy of the energies of an able man, and that they would leave politics altogether were it not for the hope of Federation and a national Legislature. They often favour new and sweeping modes of dealing with abuses, and will not be debarred by any old world maxims from effecting thorough reforms ; but they do not fall in readily with the class cries imported from Europe, which are unsuited to our joung countries. The native-born members show a spirit of respect to order in Parliament, and display more deference for senior members than they are at times credited with. But all such feelings are founded upon reason, as beiog proper and becoming, not upon Authority or custom. None have more freely denounced obstruction and senseless waste of time. It is not merely that it is wrong ; it seems to them so absurd. We would be more useful to the country and to our- selves, say they, if we stayed at home, at work, at the office or the farm. Their tone of discussion is always fearless — at times original, not always profound. As mere oratory is going out of fashion in even the Imperial Parliament, it cannot be expected to survive in our small assemblies. One thino: alone would suffice ♦JiHv >. - ... SYDNEY. 13 e e to forbid it — immely, that every member speaks on every prominent subject. This was not always so — with us in Victoria, at least At one time only selected leaders from each side made the second reading speeches, and then each upo*^ subjects with which they were con- versant. Members generally expressed their view?, where necessary, in committee. Until late years such was the example set us by the House of Commons. A man of even the universal knowledge of Macaulay, when he addressed the House upon the second reading of the Sugar Duties Bill, apologized for doing so, and, admitting that it would be out of place for him to speak upon a financial or commercial question, contended that much more than commerce or finance was involved in the sugar duties. Thj more there are who do speak, the more remain who must speak. The constituents like to see their meuaber to the fore : it is better to be heard of some way than no way. Repetition and difi'usiveness, however, kills oratory, of which earnest- ness is the soul ; and who can be earnest under such conditions ? Then there is not time to think out each subject, and loose thinking makes long speeches. To prepare a speech properly is one of the most diflScult of intellectual tasks, as you have to study and think sufiiciently to be quite conversant with your subject, but not so as to deaden the freshness and spontaneity of delivery. Many and many a speech that would have been good has been spoiled by too much trouble being taken about it. Further, no man, however industrious, can be well informed upon all subjects. He who really has mastered any one has done well — whether it be trade, finance, constitutional questions, social science, or practical matters connected with the people's daily work. Yet upon all of these, at times, the member is expected to say something. Generally, too, the current of public opinion or public feeling runs in regard to any of them all one way at a given time, and unless a man has full information and conviction in himself, which can 14 SOCIALISM. only come from previous thought, he is apt, in any assembly, to follow the tide and repeat rather than originate. But our speaking is what might be expected from the conditions — plain, ready, at times forcible. Even in the best assemblies of the old world nothintr tells better for ordinary work than a plain conversational style. In our grandfathers' times, incredible as it may seem, it is yet tine that when Burke rose in the House of Commons members ran out to avoid being bored with his eloquence. Eoniihv mentions that he was once in this way deprived of Burke's assistance with one of his bills. Burke stood up to speak in its support, but there was such a stampede that he became disgusted and sat down. Canning's brilliant rhetoric was enjoyed by the House, but he took care to keep in close sympathy with his hearers by going round when intending to speak and interchanging ideas with as many men as possible, so as to keep his idea upon their level. Gladstone's wonderful powers of speech have had effect mainly in giving enthusiastic voice to Whatever was the prevailing sentiment of the day. On the rare occasions that he was in opposition to this, as for example upon the Divorce Bill, his eloquence was not so effective. Certainly, each generation the speaking in the senate and the forum — though not perhaps in the pulpit, where rhetoric sometimes still lingers — becomes less finished in style. But marked natural powers at times come to the front in our debates. The course is free to all. No artificial disqualification exists, no deadening influence of social position or proscription. If a man has any idea in him to express, he is not overawed by the fear that he may not give it with authority or put it in classical language, or that it may be considered odd. 1 have known in the Victorian Assembly several self- made men who, if they could have had the training and the opportunity, would by sheer force of ability have secured a high place in even the House of Commons, SYDNEY. 15 which, I suppose, may still claim to be the most in- tellectual as well as the most critical assembly in the world. And it need not be said thp.t when a ray of true eloquence penetrates our debates, as sometimes it does, all own its touch. Its iiiHuciice is mesmeric wherever it falls, be it Old Bailey Court fidl of roughs, crowd in the market place. Salvation Army gathering, poor South Sea Islander gesticulating about the wrongs of the labour traffic. Like the shoot of the sunbeam, it strikes bright and vivifying, into the murkiest atmosphere. In all popular assemblies there will at times be rough speaking, and ours are no exception to the rule. Demosthenes used to describe his opponent as " an accursed scribbler," "a traitor," "a monster of wicked- ness and malignity." He also reflects upon his birth and bringing up, and aspsrses the character of his mother ! Personal topics are the natural weapons of men in the wordy war, and are only a step removed from the blow of manual fight. As late as 1G80 personal violence threatened to break out in the House of Lords during the exciting debates on the Exclusion Bill. Yet the members of our Parliaments who exceed the limits of debate are few. Why " scenes "^ some- times loom large to the public eye, is because they are always fully reported, while other matter is generally compressed. Thus the few minutes' work of but one man among seventy or eighty will appear in print as if it were the main business of the evening. Nevertheless, it is not to be denied that parts of the Hansards of all Parliaments, from the House of Commons downwards, will make queer reading for the political bookworm a hundred years hence, when our institutions may per- haps have grown into some new form. I fear that, as with people at a distance now, they will give him. an exaggerated impression, unless he remembers that it is the empty bodies that float upon the surface and obscure the substance of the stream. For our Parliaments may be claimed a sense of r' 16 SOCIALISM. justice and rough spirit of fair play. I have been a member of various bodies, lay and clerical, and though our methods are less refined in the political assemblies, I have found the spirit of justiije to opponents and to views that are really distasteful to the mnjority, stronger in the rougher body than in the more select ones. This I attribute not so much to any superior virtue upon our part, as to the fact that we are so much in the blaze of publicity ; and also that we are taught, and indeed compelled, by the hard experience of political life, to hearken to and make allowances for opponents. Of nil our Australian Legislatures it may at least be said that they reflect the community. If the elected have defects it is because the electors have them too. It is trup — though an old truism — that every people is as well represented as it deserves to be. If you want perfect assemblies you must look out for perfect peoples. I am no believer in the creed that ascribes perfection to the masses, and charges all the ills of the political world to the politicians whom the masses appoint and control. I could not end these few notes on Australian Parliaments without paying my tribute of homage to some whom I have known as members. These men combined the soul of honour with a sense of duty that would have put to shame not a few of the success- ful politicians of the world. They simply and fixedly did what they believed to be right, often in contra- diction, at times to their own loss, and without even that infirmity, which besets many good men, of a craving to get the recognition of the public for their services. This reward has not been wholly denied to them. Yet our Legislatures have not got such good repute from their merits as they have incurred dis- repute from the defects of those who fall below the standard. The account of Parliament in the national ledger is often not evenly balanced. Jt was towards the end of a long session, when Parliaments get demoralised and unfit for work, like t SYDNEY. 17 \\y nal like schools at breaking-up time, that we visited the Sydney- House of Assembly. It, however, gave tVo observer the impression of plenty of vigour. Some leading men told me tbat the personnel of the House was altering, and going into the hands of men who followed the occupation of politics alone. The long hours of the sittings now as compared with those of even a few years ago are held to be accountable for this. While we were there Mr. J. H. Want, a leading barrister, and Mr. Bruce Smith, a prominent shipowner, announced their retirement from politics, and wrote letters to the papers to explain it. Mr. Want in his letter says that by an analysis of the records of the House he finds that in 1883 tlie days of meeting in the year came to 59, while in 1893 they were 116, and the hours of sitting were 419 in the former year, and 1,096 in the latter, while less work, he maintains, was done in the longer hours. He declares that he has awakened to the fact that not only is he " burning the candle of life at both ends, but that he is doing so in vain." One notices how identical the conditions of political life in democratic countries become. A leading American mentioned to me much the same facts as one cause of the absence from their Legislatures of men who held positions in the world of learning, the professions, or in business ; while in at least the provincial Legislatures of Canada the same evil is observed and is explained in the same way. This explanation is, however, only partial ; the problem is many-sided. You cannot com- bine the advantages of two opposing systems — the aristocratic, with its select and skilled representatives, marred as it has been by neglect of the masses ; and the democratic, with its imperfect exponents, but all devoted to the service of the people from whom they spring. This question of the decline of legislative power will be again met with in my notes upon the United States, where it is more forcibly presented by the fuller development of the political conditions of our time, and when it will ask for further consideration. I- 1 18 SOCIALISM. A. general election was in prospect in New South \V>iies, and the community appeared to be much exercised, and also a good deil divided in opinion, upon the question of free-trade. The policy of pro- tection adopted in the United States and most of our colonies is supported by arguments and considerations, some of which appeal to the interests of the wage- earner and some to those of the capitalist. It is not mere argument, however, t^at determines public opinion on questions upon which men's feelings and inclinations are strong. In most countries the wage-earners have a natural leaning to protection. The very idea of protection is pleasant to many. Each man is apt to look to the immediate result promised in his own calling, and is not disturbed by the more distant difficulty of the undue stimulation of the trade and the want of a market. But in Sydney I found that the workers were by no means agreed upon the question. Some of those who were most democratic in feeling were for free-trade. The great mercantile interests of their city, and its position now as the shipping centre of Australia, have much to do with this feeling. As Sydney was the headquarters of the "New Australia Co-operative Association," which started on Socialist principles to settle a large tract in Paraguay, something may be said of it here, though I did not meet the settler whose views I record till a later period in my travels. In 1892-3, when depression began to overshadow Australia, it occurred to a number of persons who had still something to lose that it would be a good idea to combine their means in a brotherly way, leave the country, and settle all by themselves in another clime, where they could get plenty of good land, and arrange their aflairs and industry as they pleased. The climate of the country they proposed to go to was healthy, the land excellent, two acres being sufficient to support a native family. Leaders appeared, offices were opened in Sydney, a prospectus issued, and a newspaper published to disseminate their SYDNEY. 19 the The good acres aders )eetus their views. The object was stated in the prospectus to be : "To put into practice, on a voluntary basis, and under the most favourable conditions available, that form of indusrrial association which will secure justice to all." The preamble of another document runs thus : ** Whereas it is desirable that good actual proof shall be given that, under conditions which render it impossible for one to tyrannize over another . . . men can live in comfort, happiness, and orderliness unknown " in the present state of society, therefore this new venture was founded. The rules provided ownership by the community of all the instruments of production and exchange, and main- tenance of all children by the State. " Division of wealth -production among all adult members without regard to sex, age, office, or physical or mental capacity." The little commonwealth was to be governed by a director and superintendents ; regulations (or laws) to be annually submitted for reconsideration. " Religion not to be officially recognised by the community." Among the conditions of membership was the following: ''Every member to agree to subscribe to the common fund of the association all he possesses, except personal effects, and to migrate to the land selected by the association, there to devote all his energies to the success of the settlement, and to showing the world that, under fair conditions, even workers can live a life worth living." " Each for all, all for each " was the motto on the cards of membership. Hopeful accounts of the new venture appeared in the London press. Some six hundred persons joined, from all the colonies, and two shiploads were despatched to South America. All were necessarily persons of a little means — £60 at least had to be paid down — and were also possessed of energy ; and not a few were, as far as 1 could learn, impelled by enthusiasm for the social ideals now scattered, both by novels and by graver works, throughout the world, and fully believed that those ideals were sound and capable of being readily realized. They hoped to demonstrate their value in practice, and 2 I I I I I : .^ SO SOCIALISM. to enjoy the promised ease and plenty in a new land and under new social conditions. The leaders of ^he movement were practically self-appointed, but each squad of workers elected their foreman. As is known, dissensions soon broke out, and the Sydney Govern- ment was appealed to to bring the people back. I met one of the members as he was returning to Australia. He was an intelligent man, with an evident bent towards enthusiasm, at least that sort of enthusiasm which expends so much fervour upon public matters that it has little left for home use. He stated that he had lost in cash £143, together with all his effects, and he was full of grievances concerning the manage- ment of the venture. He had told them they might take his tent for the general use, but no other things of his stock ; but they seized everything. Also he brought more serious accusations against the probity of the management, which subsequent information led me to think unjust. But, notwithstanding all, he still declared his faith in the principle of such a social settlement to be unshaken. Had he money, he would join another. I. — How would you arrange as to the sort of work and the hours for each ? He. — Quite easily. Every little group would elect its foreman, every man and every woman voting, and he would appoint the job to each. If we did not like him we would change him. And we would not be like a lot of loafers ; we all had something to lose. A\ hile listening to his narrative I had recalled to my mind the remarks upon this subject of one of the ancient masters of the political science — if I may be excused for invoking an old authority upon what many consider as novelties peculiar to our age. He says that the evils we complain of " arise not from jDroperties being private, but from the imperfection of mankind ; for we see those who live in one community and have all things in common disputing with each other oftener than those who have their property separate." SYDNEY. 21 to the be |any bhat (ties md I mention this venture only m one more instance added to many previous ones, of the dithculty of voluntary Socialism, and particularly in communities such as ours, where all enjoy so liigli a standard of personal freedom. In such communities people are taken with fancy sketches of the co-operative common- wealth, but when it comes down to fact, they realize that there are none who love liberty so much that they don't want to impose their will upon others ; they find restraints by their fellows more irksome than if fixed by a power high above them all, and at once their love of independence asserts itself. It must not be supposed that I cite this instance as a proof that the complete " scientific " Socialism advocated now would also break up when tried. That Socialism is avowedly based upon force of low. The true Socialist looks with contempt upon these voluntary eftbrts. He gives them no countenance, because they discredit his ideal, which is a state of things to be established by law, and to which people must submit. In 1893, in England, some Socialists propounded a scheme not unlike that of *' New Australia," to be tried in England itself, as " the easiest way to Socialism," hoping that, if once it were started, it " would attract continuously a larger and ever larger proportion of the nation and more and more skilled workers, until well-nigh all the industry and commerce of the country w^ere absorbed into it." But the leaders of the cause knew well where voluntaryism would land them, and accordingly scouted the proposal ; one of the most thoughtful of them (Mr. Sidney Webb) truly declaring, in a lecture which he gave upon the subject, that '* To suppose that the industrial atfairs of a complicated industrial state can be run without strict subordination and discipline, without obedience to orders and without definite allowances for maintenance, is to dream, not of Socialism, but of Anarchism." Discontent still would doubtless be there ; that is only human nature under any system, but not the freedom to indulge it that the settlers in New Australia claimed. 22 SOCIALISM. I mention this because many whom I subsequently met on my journeys appeared to assume that they could have the Socialist State and also the personal freedom that they now enjoy. So far no outcome has been found for the difficulty of industrial government under it. rif the workers elect their master, there will bo no y discipline ; if he is imposed upon them by authority, / there is no freedom. net ave hat ind it. no ity, CHAPTER II. THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. We left Sydney by the steamer Arewa, Cuptaiu Stewart, on our way to Vancouver. We were to call at Suva, the capital of Fiji, and at Honolulu, that of the Sattdwich loiands, and would thus see some quite new forms of human life and social state, which, savage or half-civilised though they be, yet give the political traveller subject for thought. Nothing can be plcasanter than voyaging in the Pacific at this season. Sea, sky, atmosphere, have all the clearness and bright- ness of the best days in the Mediterranean. We were fortunate in having on board a well- informed gentleman who had long been resident in New Zealand, and whose opinions upon social matters possessed the more interest, as, though a close ob- server of all social questions, he was not himself a politician. I had many interesting discussions v/ith him. As the reader may possibly be aware, New Zealand is the community that has distanced all others over the world in the race towards State So:ialism. This has not been brought to pass by the presence in their midst of that sordid poverty that in older lands makes, and indeed excusably makes, humanity long for any change. On the contrary, their country was equally blessed by the bounty of nature and in having a good sound stock of early settlers. Jay Goulds, Fisks, Vanderbilts, were unknown among them, while the middle class was so large and 24 SOCIALISM. powerful that they might have claimed the benediction of the ancient who exclaimed : " Happy is that State where the middle i3 strong, and the extremes weak." Yet, for some years back, the tide of political feeling has run with an irresistible How towards Stato Socialism. The feeling seems to be that the old social system is so bad that any change must bo for tlie better. Later on, while in England, I had the advantage of discussing this subject with Sir AVcstley Percival, then the Agent-General for the colony, who gave me many official papers dealing with it. The Socialists point with pride to what has been done in New Zealand and to its results ; while opponents declare that personal energy and initiative is being sapped in the community. Whatever view wo may be disposed to take, it must be remembered that a youn^ community, with plenty of fertile land, and a good stock of settlers, cannot go very far wrong ; and also that there has been no time yet to test by experience much that at the outset looks well. Certainly in New Zealand it may be fairly said that the people rule. The Assembly is elected by universal suflrage, men and women voting alike. The Premier lately told a deputation of ladies, who came to demand the right to sit in Parliament, that the justice of their claim was undoubted, the only objection was that I'.ey had not sufficient political experience. Unquestionably, if women are entitled to the franchise, they are also entitled to sit in Parliament, and in the Executive. You can say that politics are no more their sphere than war, or navigation, or enforcing the criminal law would be, without conveying the least disparagement of the sex. But if you admit that they ought to enter the political arena, to refuse them any more direct share in government than voting, is to assign them a position of inferiority such as Roman Catholics were in before Catholic Emancipation. Most of the Ministers of the Crown come from the ^i-^'"^**^--*-'«<'-^»«.,*— 4^^.j»«-Hvy^'****" TIIK PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 25 be class of wage-earners. The Upper House is norainatcd, but several of the nominations have included working men. The principle that their leading men announce is, that their struggle is to put an end to the struggle for existence. Lord Onslow, in the paper that lie read before the Colonial Institute upon his return to England after his retirement from the office of Governor^ ( I notes the words of one of their ablest men, Sir Robert Stout : " We have a noble opportunity. . . . We arc not encumbered by piivileges; we are not encumbered by prejudices, and we are, therefore, free to make experiments. 1 ask tiie House to make those experiments. I ask the House to believe that these experiments may be made. 1 ask the House to think that even if these experiments fail, still it is our duty to make them." Workers generally, and especially settlers upon the land, are generously helped by the State, land being leased upon easy terms and money advanced. Large estates are denounced and dis- couraged by taxation. A Labour Depot, presided over by a Minister, endeavours to find work ibr the wage- earners, and generally to promote" their interests. Governiiicnt work on railways and public under- takings is given to the men direct, so as to eliminate what ciie Minister termed *' the absurdity of the middleman being kept to make a profit from both the Government and the workmen." Their objection to contractors appears to be as strong as that of the great Napoleon, who used to term them *'a curse and a leprosy to nations." The manner in which the wages paid is arrived at, is thus explained : Ascertain first what it would cost to do the work at per day'a wage, current in the locality, for a similar class of work. Add to this the percentage of profits which a contractor would require. '* The earnings of the men should, with all first-class men in a party, bo ten per cent, higher than the current rate of wages for similar work." The official report also describes how the supervision is managed. "The Government Engineer, ^>— . ...-, -*,.f.,'- ■■■« m M .i; »«» ^ij <^fc-T— \ - 26 SOCIALISM. in fact, has practically to take the position of the contractor, whilst the overseers have to act not only as overseers for the Government, but also as a foreman of works for the contracting parties." The Minister adds, " The work has cost no more than it would have cost if it had been done under the contract system, and at the same time a better class of work has been done." It was stated in the press that in some cases the men who were intrusted with a job, tliemselvea employed a contractor who, with good plant and machinery, was able to do the work with a profit to all parties. Provision is made by law for the Government to buy up estates near populous centres, and to lease them out in small blocks to the people. In the Budget of 1894 the Government asked for £250,000 to purchase private lands, and another £250,000 to improve them for settlement by the people ; and also for authority to borrow in London a million and a half, w^hich was to be advanced to settlers at cheap rates, the Minister declaring, *' The country must have a plentiful supply of money. It must not be dependent upon the whims of investors." This money was subsequently raised with ease in London. The State carries on a vast Insurance business, and is able, by its superior position, to cripple the advances of any private undertakingvS. The hours of labour ana the manner of work in all shops and factories are strictly supervised, and the employer required under a penalty to give his employes one half- holiday a week. Most employers do this readily ; but there have been some prosecutions in the police court for failures to comply with the law. It need not be said that protection against foreign goods, and as far as possible against the immigration of foreign labour, is an essential feature of this self-contained community. The obedience of the representative to his constituents is so absolute that he is their delegate rather than their representative. New Zealand is twice the size of England and Wales, and its population is — .-^..^ . THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 27 IS about equal to that of Manchester. Yet with all this, as late as June, 1895, the Wellington correspondent of the Melbourne Age, which has always been favourable to the progressive policy in New Zealand, says that it is deplorable to see the number of unemployed clamour- ing to the Government for work in Dunedin ; and that the Knights of Labour there had resolved that all incomes of £200 a year and over should be reduced, and the savings employed for a fund to provide work for the people. A month later the Melbourne Argus correspondent from the same city wrote that the de- mands for employment were more clamorous than ever. Life on shipboard gives ample time for conversa- tions, and sailing over the bright Pacific, of whose islands it may be truly said, as it was of Greece, '* pure the air and light the soil," I often talked with our New Zealand passenger upon the problem of social life, with which his community w^as grappling. He approved of all that had been done, and was an advocate for the State doing a great deal more. He quite agreed with Sir Robert Stout's views, though both he and Sir Robert disclaimed being Socialists. They were regu- lators of unrestrained individualism. He would have the State own nil the instruments of production and employ the people ; but this must be done gradually ; some branches of industry, such as shipping, would not be taken over for a long time. The fact was that they could not renew, in their social state, the condition that had in the past prevailed in Europe — the poor wallowing in squalor, misery, and crime. They must be helped out. This appeared to be the bed-rock of his views, as it is of so many other thinking and humane men ; yet it does not prove the conclusion that their remedy is the true one. But with several Socialists that I sub- sequently met that was the real argument. " Are these horrors to continue ? No. Then adopt our plan to end them." He said that he and his friends held that the struggle of life was yearly increasing in intensity — that ~ ^ t^3S5gtg,%a,aiL ' wiJL ' ji. i _JIUiiii MMea I 28 SOCIALISM". the prospect of a fair chance for an individual was getting less and less — that in the absence of State control they would have corporation despotism. Let the Government employ the people aud. treat them fairly. I asked him if he did not anticipate difficulty as time went on from the political representatives advancing claims upon behalf of their workers, that industrial conditions could not stand, and mentioned that, in one of the Australian provinces, just on the eve of a general election, a motion was made and quickly carried in the Assembly to give an increase in pay to the railway labourers, against the opinion of the commissioners, whose duty it was, under the law, to arrange the wages of employes. The members who voted against it were all men markc J by the powerful Labour interest at the coming election. And truly, was such a motion or such a conse- quence to be wondered at, every little addition to the wages of the worker seems to be so reasonable, and opposition to it so heartless ? Yet could you combine this political control with business manage- ment that would be fair to the outside workers and to the whole community that had to pay for it ? He said that he feared no difficulty of that kind with his people, and that the people must every- where be trusted, particularly now, when every women had, or soon would have, a vote as well as every man. I. — Having done so much, you have still the poor among you ; in what direction will you now move ? He. — Well, I would not allow the accumulation of very large properties. When a man had made a good fair competence, tax away the rest and employ the people with it. We must put an end to the horrors of the old civilisation. Under a proper system, a few hours' work a day would do for all, and the people could live happily. L — Is there not a fear that men would degenerate if in life there were no eflfort, no struggle — like those South Sea Islanders, some of whom we shall sooq n THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 29 Q see at Fiji. You leave no incentive to enterprise and the large operations of the able man. From what you say, 1 confess that if I were a' young man, and were conscious of ability to make a career, I would not start in New Zealand, when your full programme is carried out. He. — Well, perhaps neither would I. But in- stitutions must provide for the average man, who has so far been neglected. With this oblique compliment to ourselves that conversation closed. No country in the world has a greater future before it than New Zealand, with its water supply, fertile soil, and grand climate. It is, as has been said, the Britain of the South. It is making ex- periments, and it can afford to do so. It can also afford to make mistakes. FIJI. After a week's sail we arrived at the Fiji Islands, which are some 1,900 miles distant from Sydney, and consist of over 200 islands, islets, and rocks, the superficial area of which is about equal to that of \Vales. The two considerable islands are Viti Levu, which is about 30 miles in length by 55 in breadth, and Vanua Levu, literally " Great Land," which is 96 miles long by about 25 broad. "Levu" means " great," so Viti Levu means " Great Figi," " Viti " being properly Figi. This little community is one of the smallest of the Crown colonies of England, but it is worthy of the attention of the political observer as an instance of the colonizing power of our country and its aptitude for governing depen- dencies in circumstances however new or difficult. These island savages, for such they were, with the " blazing air of freedom and defiance " which old novels ascribe to the " Fegee chief," are now ruled in peace and content, and their ferocious habits suppressed, by an Englishman who has given his life to understanding them, assisted by a few intelligent officials. He has ii ! I ( I 80 SOCIALISM. no armed force at his command. The districts have small native police corps of their own. His influence is maiuly a moral one, assisted by diplomatic control of the antagonistic feelings of rival tribes. The ad- ministration of the public revenue and public works, of justice, trade, and charity is carried on in as exact a manner as it would be at AVestrainster ; while the supervision over the labour engagements of the natives is vigilant, and, as far as a stranger could judge, while just to both master and servant, was particularly careful of the interests of the latter. I will refer to this again later on. " The Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1894, Published by Authority, and Printed by Edward John March, Government Printer, Suva," adopts in its statements of public accounts and the returns of its supplies, all the fulness and precision that we expect from such State compilations in England. It is drawn up from the records of the Colonial Secretary's Office, and I am indebted to it for many useful statistics. As long ago as 1858, Thakombau, then king, offered to cede the sovereignty of the whole group of islands to England ; but Colonel Smythe, RA., who was sent out the next year to report, declared that it was not xvorth having. Possibly in itself it was not, but looking at the valuable possessions that England had on both sides of the Pacific, with the Dominion of Canada at one end and Australia at the other, and between them only a few islets for the Empire, whereon to rest the foot, an Imperial policy would certainly dictate the securing of more than one point of influence on the route across the ocean. This policy at last prevailed, and Fiji was, under the advice of the then Mr. Thurston, now Sir John, the Governor, ceded to the Queen. The islands were not conquered or forcibly annexed by England, but were ceded by the native King Tha-^ kombau, for a consideration, which was, that the Imperial Government would secure to the islanders their rights, public and private, and protect them against the undue: THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 31 la aggressiveness of the white man, of which they already- had some experience. Thakombau sent to Her Majesty his favourite war-club, in token that thenceforth he renounced club-law. This is now, I believe, in the British Museum. The result has been beneficial to the natives so far as the action of the Queen's Government has been concerned ; though they have not escaped all those ill results that appear ever to follow the advent of the white man among half-savage tribes. Sir John Thurston has been thirty years among them, and joins a profound knowledge of their character and customs to a deep sympathy with them, while at the same time his rule is marked by firmness. He had difficult material at first to work upon. It is a slow and delicate process engrafting upon the savage nature so much of the higher civilisation as is fit for it. AVhen he beijan, cannibalism was rife amonor them, and the premature destruction of life in the case of sickness, old age, or for the sake of the most absurd caprices or customs, was a common practice. When a chief demanded " long pig," his wish was at once gratified by slaying one of his people and presenting the body. " May you club some one," was a common form of friendly salutation, founded upon general usage. Thakombau, their king, however, who long had been a confirmed cannibal, became converted ; Christianity was spread among them, partly by the missionaries, but mainly by the sword of the invading Tongan Tribes, who had been Christianized, and who, as did Mohammed with the Koran, presented themselves with the Bible in one hand and the spear in the other. The AVesleyan Mission stands first among those of all the religious bodies, having 941 churches, and 379 other preaching places, 31,000 church members, 36,000 day school scholars, all of whom are enrolled upon the Sunday school lists, and 98,000 adherents. Though the Chris- tianity of the natives is not the noblest type of our faith, it yet lifts them above their old barbarous and debasing habits. Mr. Allardyce, in a lecture that 32 SOCIALISM. throws much light upon Fijian life, gives an amusing example of the simple form that their theological ideas take. At a service of native Christians that he attended the preacher was praying for a spirit of thankfulness to the Creator, and suddenly exclaimed, *' Oh, that we were dogs, and could show our thankful- ness by wagging our tails ! " One is apt to be shocked at the recital of the savage practices that used to prevail among the islanders. Yet it chastens our indignation and contempt for these dark men and brethren, to bear in mind that in the last century cannibalism was not unknown in some Russian corps when they were hard pressed for food, and that certainly in the middle of this, the nineteenth century, the mob of Messina roasted and ate sixty Neapolitans. Nay, some men who figured in the French Revolution justified cannibalism; and akin to it was the savage industry carried on at the Tannery at Meudon, where the skins of the victims of the guillotine were tanned into good material for breeches ; and it was recorded that the skin of the male was tougher and more serviceable in the manufacture than that of the femr^^ ! With all the savagery buried within them, the Fijians are not an unpleasant looking people. They have an air of independence about them. They have a regular gradation in their own social state — chiefs, warriors, common people, slaves. The native proper names appear to consist of sounds that to the European •are hard to spell and impossible to pronounce. In the list of Government ofiicers we find names such as these : Salevi Kinikinilau, Jovesa Korovulavula (who holds the office of the Governor's assistant Matanivanua), Opetaia Kuruvakadua, Timoce Roqereqeretabua, Wawabalavu Naivario-a, Nemani Vakacakaudrove ; with many others equally inexplicable to the stranger, but which have a meaning no doubt for those who know the language. One notices a number of Christian names that appear to be taken or adapted from the Bible, such as Osea Hi THE PACIFIC. FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 88 Tuinairai, Samuela Naulu, Elaija Radovu, Mosese Volavola, Jeremaia Kalokalo, Solomoni Mariwawa. The natives are affectionate in their fiimily relations, and love their children ; but the regard of children for parents is weak, and what we term " filial reverence " is unknown. They love to celebrate the important events of life with feastings and shows. They work better when away from their own district or their native island. We saw in Suva some Solomon Islanders, who were working steadily, and we were told that they would not work that way in their own islands. The chiefs are a real power among them, and are in fact true captains, leaders, able men, and have been so from time immemorial, because they are bred from selected parents. The chief always marries from a special tribe. This is the simple secret of their success. The Governor told me that he knew a chief the moment he saw him, though he was without any special garb, or at least knew him when he spoke. His policy is to govern the people as far as possible through their chiefs and native councils, carefully respecting all their old customs as far as it is possible to do so. Thus the Native Tax is assessed in a lump sum for each district, and the local native authority arranges the details as to how it is to be raised. It is paid in produce, which the Government take at a good market price. There is a native Parlia- ment, or gathering of the chiefs, which is formally opened by the Governor. They regard Sir John Thurston as something more than a mere human ruler, for Thakombau "Tammared" to him, and thus devolved his authority upon him. This consists in bowing the head to the person to be honoured, and making a sort of grunt or exclamation. It is what the common man always does to his chief. The Queen's peace is well maintained throughout the whole island. You can travel everywhere in perfect safety. White children are sometimes sent up to the hills to escape the heat. The Governor is assisted by an Executive Council, consisting of the Attorney - General, the Receiver- 34 SOCIALISM. ■t i 1' ; M General, the Colonial Secretary, and the Native Commissioner. Laws, termed " Ordinances," are made by the Legislative Council, which is composed of the Governor and the Executive Council, with seven un- official members who are nominated by the Grcv/n. Executive and legislative functions are thus mingled together, and practically the Government may be said to rest upon the personality and the mastery o/er the natives of Sir John Thurston. The salaries of the officials are, as might have been expected, small, but they retain the principle of rewarding long service by a pension. A Native Stipendiary Magistrate will get £1 a month for his services, or in some cases only ten shillings a month; a Provincial Scribe, £6, £10, or £15 a year. In the Pension list we read that Ananaiasa Solevu, an armed Native Constable, who was wounded in action, enjoys a pension of £3 a year. This may seem small, but it is really handsome, being twelve shillings a year more than his pay when in active service. Another native, who was wounded fighting for the Queen, gets as much as £10 a year. The population consists mainly of Fijians, with a few Europeans, Indians, and Polynesians. Latterly, the introduction of Japanese as labourers was tried, but it has not been so far a success. In 1894 the population was estimated to consist of 2,666 Europeans, 103,750 Fijians, 9,130 Indians, 2,333 Polynesians, making up, with a few other islanders and half-castes, a total of nearly 122,000 people. The population of the Islands has decreased. In 1875 the measles swept away a quarter of the whole people, and left the rest much weakened in stamina. It will take a generation, at least, for the race to recover. Foreign diseases, too, among the natives, mark the advent of the stranger, and undermine the simple and, to them, healthful conditions of savage life. The area of the colony is put down at 4,953,920 acres, of which some 39,000 are cultivated. Bananas, pine-apples, copra, cocoa-nuts, maize, sugar-cane, yams, are the THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 35 yf <;hief product". The public revenue amounts to £80,000 yearly, and the expenditure to £72,000 ; thus showing a surplus equal to one-tenth of the revenue. But they have a public debt of £224,000, £100,000 of which is lent by the Impftrial Government without interest. Their immigration charges come to nearly £6,000 a year, and they pay a small subsidy to the Canadian Australian Steam Service. The value of all the imports for 1894 was £285,000, and that of the exports, £581,000, showing that the yearly trade of this small community is, as the returns grow yearly, now worth not far from one million sterling a year. Sugar to the value of £328,000 was exported in that year. There are nine sugar mills and two tea factories. Planters hope to be able to grow tobacco successfully. Some 350,000 letters, 282,000 news- papers, and 31,000 books and parcels passed through the post office in the year, which, unlike similar in- stitutions in older lands, not only clears all its expenses, but pays a surplus into the general i avenue. There is a Chief Justice who presides over Her Majesty's Courts, with a numerous Bar, including one Queen's Counsel. The law provides the necessary machinery for all the usual jurisdictions, from Common Law to Admiralty and Divorce, and the Rules of Court specify all details much as they do in England. Thus they stipulate that Counsel in the Admiralty jurisdiction may be allowed one guinea for a retaining fee, ten guineas on his brief, from one to two guineas for a consultation, and from two to five guineas for a refresher after the first day. The fees for writing attorney's letters are set out, but it is provided thao they must be ** necessary letters to the adverse party." All the old writs, so familiar to the English lawyer, are specified with their appropriate fee, Injunction, Prohibition, Scire Facias, Quo Warranto, Mandamus, and the noblest of them ail. Habeas Corpus. Under English law the black man can thus claim his writ of personal liberty against the Governor, successor. J) 2 36 SOCIALISM. to Thakomlau though he be. They also have the ancient institution of the Grand Jury, and " Bills " accusing Her Majesty's dusky subjects of crimes are duly " thrown out," if the evidence does not satisfy the Grand Jury that there is a primd facie case. The Labour Laws that have been enacted by the Local Government show a real desire to ensure fair play and prevent abuses. The Labour Ordinance of 1895, which deals with the case of the Fijian natives, may be referred to as an example of the care that is taken. An employer wishing to engage Fijiaus must get a permit from the Native Commissioner, who is the head of the Department of Native Affairs. At present this oflBce is filled by Mr. William Allardyce, the value of whose public service, both to Europeans and Natives, is well known to the settlers. The native who desires to enter into a labour contract has first to get the consent of the Turaga ni Koro, and also that of the Bull of his district, which must be given in writing. A form of this consent is given in a Schedule to the Ordinance, and as the reader might like to see a Fijian official document, I give a copy of it here : — .189 Kivei koya Na Turaga ni Lewa ni Yavalagi I saka Au sa volavola yani oqo me'u tukuna vei kemuni ni'u sa vakadonuya na nodra la'ki cakacaka ki ko iia ka volai tu oqo era. A yacadra. Sa vakawati se segai. A gauna ni nona la'ki cakacaka. Ai Yakadinadina Au sa lolonia yani Koi au Ko Bull THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 37 The contract of service must be ratified by a magis- trate, and if the terms are " manifestly unfair," he is to refuse to sanction it, however much the native may desire it. The labourer is to get a Fijian copy of the contract, and miy be paid £1 in cash as a yagona or customary payment preliminary to a contract, but no more ; apparently lest the natives might be bribed by gifcs to enter into unwise agreements. Fraud or coercion exercised to induce a Fijian to enter into a labour contract is punishable with fine or six months* imprisonment. Time work is to consist of nine hours a day for five days in the week and five hours on Saturday. If an employer ill-uses his servant, he can b3 fined and imprisoned, and the Native Commissioner can cancel his contract. If there are over fifty labourers on any plantation, a certified hospital must be provided. There are special directions as to the food that is to be supplied to the men. In addition to the native fruits, meat or fish is to be given, and so much tobacco, soap, and salt weekly, No married man can be engaged for a longer period tban three months, and no woman, or child under fourteen. The employer must return all labourers to their homes at the termination of the contract. On the other hand, punishment is provided for the labourer who is idle or who misbehaves. If he absents himself from or neglects his work, he may be imprisoned for a month. He is not allowed to sell any of his rations. He is forbidden to organise a "strike." If the labourers want to lay a complaint against their master, not more than five are allowed to leave the plantation together, and they must not carry sticks or weapons with them. Using threatening or insulting language to the employer is punishable by imprisonment. The protection that the natives have always got from Sir John Thurston's Government, leads them to look to it as their guardian, and quite apart from the rights that the Labour Ordinance gives them, they depend upon it, in case of any dispute with an employer, to see that justice is done to them. MM 38 SOCIALISM. ij 'I As we steamed along the coast we could see how well adapted much of the country was for growing tropical produce. Considerable mountains furnisii a good water supply, and rich flats and valleys are available for growing sugar, cotton, tobacco, maize. The harbour of Suva is beautiful, and the view from the high land surrounding it most picturesque. The town itself is interesting, with its busy little jhipping port, prosperous-looking shops, and dark natives from many islands clustering about, interspersed with white men who also come from difl'crent lands. Going into a shop to make a purchase, the shopkeeper told me that he came from Victoria, and that he retained a lively interest in the doings of that province. It is like Colombo on a small scale, and without its heathen temples ; for all the natives profess Christianity, and there are three churches here, and three also at Levuka, the old capital of the colony. There is more than one good h '^yl, the usual Mechanics' Institute, a Hospital and L ic Asylum supported by the Government, but whici* accommodate also paying patients, and a gaol which contained 457 convicted prisoners. The retarns for the hospital and gaol give very full information as to all arrangements ior the health, cleanliness, food, and employment of the inmates, who almost all belong to the native race, or are Indians or Polynesians. We are told that in the lunatic asylum the patients are amused by cards, draughts, dominoes, music, and illustrated papers. Suva has its English newspaper, the Fiji Times, and its Fijian organ, styled Na Mat ;, and also the Fiji Royal Gazette. Levuka has a paper of its own. The gaol at Suva costs some £2,500 a year to support, but the prisoners earn, or do outside work, to the computed value of £2,191, so that it is nearly self-supporting. The Government House is a handsome wooden building, situated upon the side of one of the hills that rise around the Bay, and having before it a lovely prospect of tropical beauty. The reception-ruoms are large and airy, and the wide verandah all round enables one ta THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 39 enjoy tho evening breeze, as it may come from the Bay on the one side or the Ocean on the other. The Governor did the delegates the honour of entertaining them at lunch. We were waited upon by natives. Tliey did their work well, and with an independent air that was not unpleasing. His Excellency told us that they would accept no orders from any white servant, but only from Lady Thurston or himself. The Meteorological observations taken at Suva show a high uniform temperature for the year, the maximum ranging from 86° to 93° Fahr. in the shade, and there is moisture with the heat ; but in some mouths it falls as low as 50°. Still, it is not probnble that the white race could be perpetuated there. Production must be carried on by black labour under the superintendence of the white man, who will stay, as in India, for a time only. We saw .several Fijians lying about the streets and wharves in a listless manner ; they seemed to us to be the very picture of indolence. Our bad opinion of them was increased when our party went into a shop in front of which two or three of them were resting. One of us was anxious to get a specimen of the bread-fruit from a tree that was some hundred yards away, and the shop woman asked them in the native tongje to go and climb the tree for it, promising good payment for their trouble. They looked up, shook their heads negatively, and sank to rest again. This confirmed in us all the conviction of their exceeding laziness ; but a highly competent authority afterwards assured me that, though the natives certainly were not industrious in the same degree that men of colder climes and less fertile lands are, yet we had got quite a wrong impression from what we had seen. The Fijians, he said, who were idling about, were some of them wharf hands whose work was necessarily intermittent, and who were simply waiting for the next ship. Others had come down to the capital to have a holiday after having finished a labour contract on a plantation. The reason why they would not go for the bread-fruit was simply that all the trees there were «.»i < m ! "i"*'> - 40 SOCIALISM. V private property, and they felt as an honest white man would feel if some dark-skinned rogue offered him money to go and rob an orchard. This shows how slow a passing stranger should be to draw conclusions from his first impressions. But, as my informant stated, there can be no doubt that the natives are idle compared with races of men to wliom nature is more niggardly ; the sunny clime and rich soil, ensuring an easy life, are fatal gifts. The Scotchman, with his raw climate and often sterile fields, is the better man. The Fijian will work when pressed to it; but his object gained, he enjoys rest upon a little nsb and native fruits. No race of men have ever worked except under compulsion of some kind. There is the same laziness among other races in tropical climes, such j^s the Jamaican blacks, and even in Europe in the sunny land of the Neapolitans. An easy life disinclines them to work or effcrt of any kind ; as, indeed, why should they struggle, if they can live at rest ? Even this little, half-savage community furnishes matter for observation to any one who is interested in the various aspects of so-jial questions that different races of men present. For example, the Fijian knows nothing of the equality of men, which the more advanced races are trying to realize. The idea that one man is as good as another has never occurred to him. He has his born chiefs to whom he is ever ready to " 'J amar," with appropriate exclamation. But then he takes care that they shall be real chiefs, by puying particular attention to their breeding. Carlyle was eloquent in his descrip- tion of the true chief, and also in his lament upon the difficulty of finding him. The real King, Duke, leader, was something widely different from the merely titular person. " The chief of men is he who stands in the van of men, fronting the peril which frightens back all others." The original meaning of "aristocracy" was, we kaow, simply the best men of the country. But how to fi'v"! them ? This no philosopher has told us. The dusky "'ijian humbly offers his solution of the i ? THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 41 f difficulty, somswhat — since there is nothiag new in the world, whether among black man or white — somewhat afcer the manner of Piato in old Grreece. The visitor to thess Islands, with their miM climite and easy methods of sustiiining lire, is romlndsd of the old question about which some thinkers have specu- lated, as to the superiority of civilised over savage life. Professor Huxley a few years ago, on behilf of the European poor, declared in favour of the savage. He has a quiet life, enough to eat ; clothes are no difficulty. Certainly it i^ painful to contrast the forlorn life of many of the poor in old lands and the hopsless con- dition of some, with the comparative ease of the savage's lot, and his apparent freedom from care. Yet experience shows that struggle is the condition of pro- gress. The easy-going races stagnate and fall to decay. It will be the glory of our time if the result of our social confficts shall be to give men a high plane of living and comfort, without destroying that energy and individual effort that is essential, not merely to secure advancement, but to prevent decline. Since writing upon Fiji, an article has been published in the Contemporary Review by Mr. Hogan, M.P., in which the system by wuich the natives are required to pay their assessed tax in produce is severely con- demned. The information gained by a short visit and that one gets from reading, does not enable me to speak positively upon a question that, to understand properly, demands an intimate knowledge of the habits and feelings of the natives. Long experience is necessary to acquire this knowledge, and no man has had exparience which can be compared with that of Sir John Thurston. His judgment upon the matter must therefore have weight. A reason that lies upon the surface certainly suggests itself in favour of his policy, namely, that it saves the native from the trader or middleman. The Government take his produce direct, and credit him with the full value of it. The trader would naturally give as little as possible for it, and the necessities of I •i i 42 SOCIALISM. carele 5 natives would induce all the well-known en- tanglements of the money-lender. Also it may be doubted whether the Fijian would have industry and foresight enough to regularly cultivate his land, unless he was compelled by authority to do so. It is under- stood that the Colonial OflBce is giving careful attention to the subject. HONOLULU. In due time we arrived at Honolulu, the capital of the Sandwich Island group, which is in the island of Oahu. It is a flourishing and interesting town, with churches, good streets, over which run tramways, high- class hotels, a club-house, pretty suburban residences, electric light, the telephone, and a busy harbour full of shipping. The Americans dominate the place commercially and politically. The islands are only 1,800 miles from California, and their main trading relations are with the United States, with whom they have made, by treaty, reciprocal commercial arrange- ments. The republic takes their produce ir exchange for its manufactures. The population is made up of Kanakas — a fine race, but rapidly dwindling — Euro- peans, Chinese, and Japanese. Their government was a limited monarchy, with a sovereign at the head, an Upper House of landowners, and a representative chamber that was constituted by popular election. Until lately a native Queen filled the throne, but she was accused of planning to upset the constitution and rule by native power alone, and when we arrived we found the little community in the middle of a revo- lution. The Queen hud been deposed and was living in a private hou&e, while an American gentleman was President of the new republic, and some fellow- countr5'men composed the executive. United States troops had been lauded, and the Queen protested that she yielded to them only. Lieutenant Harmau, U.S.A., says that the United States practically established a protectorate over the islands. The Times-Herald, i THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 4a t { Chicago, has sent round the question for the answer of a number of their leading men, " Should the U.S. annex Canada, Newfoundland, Cuba, and Hawaii ? "^ Some of our party called upon the deposed sovereign, and were graciously received by her. She was a middle-aged, dark-complexioned woman, who appeared to be kind-hearted, and who spoke excellent English. After the manner of Europeans, she inquired how we liked sea-travelliog, whether we suffered from sea- sickness, how loug we would remain in her city, and at parting gave photographs. Her house was well- furnished, but without any display of either European luxury or barbaric wealth. The cursory observation possible during our short stay would not enable one to form any opinion upon the merits of the respective causes of the legitimate sovereign and the successful rebels. But it was in- teresting to see how exactly all the conditions of victorious coups d'etat, as we know them in Europe, were reproduced here. All was done in the name of the people ; popular election, plebiscite duly held, to ascertain if the nation was favourable to the new Govern- ment. But there was the usual question as to whether the election was a genuine one, or only a make-believe. The condition of being allowed to vote, we were told, was that the voter accepted the republic. Certainly the successful party had behind them an armed force, small, but quite sufficient against an inert population, which supplied that base upon which in the last resort all Governments must rest. Whether, if the Hawaiians could have individually expressed their free opinions, they would have deposed their Queen, may be doubtful ; but in how many European revolutions have the mere unbiassed wishes of the majority prevailed ? How often do they in government at all 'i In politics, as in war, the victory is to the compact, aggressive corps, skilfully led, not to the sluggish mass, unorganized as they always are. The successful party, too, followed pre- cedent by offering to the Queen a handsome provision ^ \ a SOCIALISM. i I p hi if she would renounce all rights to the throne for her- self and her daughter, a young lady who was then being educated in Europe ; just as the great Napoleon oflFered the Bourbon heir to France an Italian province if he would renounce his regal rights. He replied in one of the few noble letters that can be ascribed to the Bourbons, refusiug the offer, and saying that he would still remain true to the cause of France, though for it he had lost all but honour. The Queen, we were told, replied in a similar strain. Since then we have read of what was said to be an attempted counter-revolution by her partisans. The rising was promptly suppressed, and the usual arrests, trials for treason, sentences, con- fiscations, have followed. The gentlemen composing the new Government appeared to be clever men, and prompt to act when occasion required. We experienced this ourselves. One difficulty in laying the cab'5 that was projected between Vancouver and Australia, and which it was one object of our mission to secure, was supposed to be the want of British, or neutral, landing- places for the different stages across the ocean. Practical authorities have since declared that the lengths to be spanned are a matter of little consequence, as by aid of modern inventions the cable can be laid in safety for thousands of miles on the ocean bed at a stretch. Before we came some inquiries had been made as to the conditions under which it could be landed, if necessary, for one stage, at Honolulu, and also as to what facilities there were for making a small island, some 300 miles distant, the resting-place, which some preferred as an alternative, since it had never been formally annexed by any power, and so could be taken by England for that purpose. The young republic, however, hearing of or surmising this idea, promptly sent round one of its little ships of war and hoisted its flag over the barren rock. The fact was that the United States Government, with whose wishes they were no doubt acquainted, had resolved to show no favour to the British Pacific cable, preferring to have one from THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 45 Honolulu to San Francisco, and so secure the com- mercial relations between the two places. However, we can lay our cable from Vancouver to Fanning Island, which is our own, without difficulty, though it is 3,232 knots, and it is to be hoped that we shall do so without delay. The natives are a handsome, lazy race. The soil is so fertile, and the climate so genial, that there is no need for hard work in order to live. Yet at times they will work, when pushed to it. The patient, much toiling Chinese, of whom there are a considerable number here, plods along contentedly from one year's end to another. The Japanese immigrants also are industrious, and the labour of these two races upon the rich land makes the wealth of the country great. There was noticeable here what one particularly observes in small communities — the pride in titles, names, distinctions of rank and office. Indeed, thi» feeling is natural to us all, however democratic our ideas may be in the abstract. When trade and artisan societies go out upon a f^te day, you will see badges and decorations worn with evident satisfaction by men who would yet recite, with enthusiasm, Burns' scornful reference to the "riband, star, and a' that." Here we found the public men designated by high-sounding titles, each Minister's card bearing upon it the title of the office he held ; as for example, so and so, *' Minister for Foreign Affairs." To illustrate how strong this sentiment is, even with learned men, I may be excused if I close this long chapter with an incident that hap- pened many years ago in my own province of Victoria. A Supreme Court had been established there from the first, the judges of which used to be addressed by the title of '* Your Honour," it being considered, I suppose, that it would be too much to import the old " Your Lordship" from the mother land. In 1853, County Courts were established, and there the practitioners, who were chiefly from England and Ireland, retained, in addressing the Bench, the style of " Your Honour," 46 SOCIALISM. to which they harl been accustomed iti those courts at; home. But the judges of the Supreme Court resented this sharing of their tituLir digaity by an inferior jurisdiction, and the authority of the Governor-in- Council was invoked to check the encroachment. 'J'he following notice was accordingly published in the Victoria Goveryiment Gazette : — Colonial Secretary's Office, Melbourne, itJi October, 1853. NOTICE. In order to remove an erroneous impression which has prevailed aa to the proper title of judgr^s of the inferior courts, the Lieutenant- Oovernor directs it to be notified that, until Her Majesty's pleasure be known, the title of a judge of a County Court or the Chairman of General Sessions shall be that of '• Your Worship "or '• His Worship.'' Where the name of office is required, the addition to the ordinary address should be " Judge of the — — — County Court," or " Chairman of General Sessions," as the case may be. The titles of " Your Honour " and •* His Honour," having been as yet conceded by Her Majesty to the judges of the Supreme Court alone, cannot properly be assumed by or accorded to any other officer. By His Excellency's command, JOHN FORSTER. But how to proceed — how to give effect to these «ound views ? The County Court judges did not style themselves " Your Honour," and after all was it in their power to prevent the public doing so ? In this dilemma the Acting Chief Justice wrote the following official letter to my father, who was one of the first appointed judges:— Supreme Court, 8th July, 1853. Sir, — I have the honour to request that you will have the goodness to inform me if it be with your sanction that you allow yourself to be addressed, in the court in which you preside, by the title of "Your Honour." I remain, Sir, Your obedient Servant, R B , To the Chairman of General Sessions for the County of Bourke. Acting Chief Jtistice, THE PACIFIC, FIJI, AND HONOLULU. 47 My father, who had only arrived from Ireland a fihort time before, replied that when presidinc. in his honour of suggesting at the conference. Lord Ei^.on, ^a his two despatches upon the proceedings of the con- ference, discusses this question, and presents weighty arguments in favour of the view that so far has been taken by the Imperial Government. I refer the reader who may be interested in this question, which is at once Imperial and Colonial, to the Appendix, where he will find these important State papers. Certainly Canada has every reason to be satisfied with her union with the old land. It has perfect freedom, joined to the advan- tages of being part of a great Empire. It is even allowed, with the formal sinction of England, to make commercial treaties upon its own account with fctreign nations, and it has more thf,nonce exercised that power. On the other hand, England is proud of her depen- dencies, and anxious for tlie tie between them to last and get stronger. Times are changed since a powerful Minister (Mr. Disraeli), writing to a colleague privately, declared that " these wretched colonies are a mill-stone round our necks," and another said that the only objection to getting rid of them was that England, once freed from them, would get too powerful for the rest of the world. Parliament was sitting while we were at Ottawa, and we had several opportunities of attending it. The old arraignment of the Assembly of the French Revo- lution in the last century : " Nee color imperii, nee frons erat ulla senatus " — certainly does not apply to the Dominion Legislature. The Senate and the House of Commons presented, the one the appearance of a grave. -;«3S<3CB*t»«- . I 56 SOCIALISM. ■ r the other of a reputable, popular assembly. If they have defects they are beneath the surface, and not such as strike the looker-on. The Senate, like all nominated chambers, has little direct power. Some leading poli- ticians told me that such good men did not now come forward as did formerly, and that there was a decline in the character of their Houses. One night an incident happened that seemed to us strange and out of place. A division was being taken in the House of Commons ; the members sitting in the chamber, while the Clerk of the House takes the votes by calling upon each member by name. While this was going on we were startled to hear one member loudly call upon another, whose vocal talent was well known, to give them a song. The request was readily complied with, and the tuneful legislator led off some popular air, his brethren joining in the chorus with a unanimity that had not marked the previous debate. Thus were the labours of legisla- tion lightened. But do we not read in ancient verse how the immortal gods themselves closed angry dis- cussions with the alternate strains of responsive song ? It would be out of place for me to discuss the merits of the Ministers of the Dominion, with whom we were conferring. But one thing may be said, that we were struck by the advantage, to themselves personally at least, of their long tenure of office. Perfect official experience, such as the permanent heads in England possess, giving them almost historical knowledge of each subject, enabled them to avoid crudeness in its treat- ment, and imparted that grasp which familiarity with the inside of questions confers. The long exercise of power, too, alone makes a man stronger. We Australians longed for federation more than ever while at the council board, for, though we worked admirably together, yet while we spoke with six voices Canada spoke with one. Ministers keep up some state here, and during the parliamentary session entertain the supporters and their wives systematically, much in the same manner and with the same object as it is done in ■4 *'i :i CANADA. 57 '1 London. This practice, the influence of which is more felt than avowed, has not extended to the colonies. Turning now to the social aspects of the country, we observe that the bed-rock conditions of all demo- cracies are in our time the same. Surface differences caused by climate, race, and especially by the more or less prosperous condition of the people, may make one country less advanced than another. But wherever power passes into the hands of any people they naturally use it so as to ameliorate their lot. Hence general education, labour legislation broadening into Socialistic lines, taxation imposed at the expense of the classes in the interest of the masses, and a common straining upward from the conditions of mere labour, mark all democratic communities, wherever situated. Tliese also prevail in Canada, but not all in the same degree as they do in poorer countries, or countries with a more impetuous class of people. They still depend more on private enterprise than on the State, and with re ison, for private enterprise has done wonders for them. Yet at Winnipeg, 1,500 miles out upon the plains, amid a virgin soil and vigorous settlers, we heard that just before we came, there had been a deputation of the unemployed to the city authorities. This, however, was said to be quite unusual, and owing to local causes of ail exceptional nature. In Ottawa 1 observed posted about the streets the election address of a candidate who declared himself for an eight-hours day of labour in all Government and municipal works, to be fixed by law. In some of the large cities there are branches of the Knights of Labour organisation, and also of the Socialist bodies, who use the same watchwords as in other lands as to the wrong of capital and the injustice of wealth. One leaflet which I got in Toronto stated the case ^ against the present constitution of society much ill the same way as we may read it in the older land of Europe or the newer one of Australia, and with the colouring to be expected in a political manifesto. It is addressed to the " Workers of Canada," and headed /* .,.^; 8». SOCIALISM. " The Wealth Producers, Wealth Wasters, and Wealth Robbers of Canada." Repeating the view of Karl Marx as to the surplus value of labour, which I found the Socialists everywhere to accept as undoubted truth, it declares that the " workers are ground down and made the slaves of the capitalist class," and that " the capitalist is the robber of labour, and the land and water grabber is the robber of the community or state, and the politicians who aid and abet are accomplices of the thieves." Its remedy is that " wealth should belong to those who create it, and the natural objects without which man cannot live should be the property of the community or state." The clergy are denounced, and " the politicians must be put aside." The State of Ontario, however, may claim to be the most pro- gressive in the DominioD, and therefore the most susceptible to the new political ideas. Shortly before we came there had been an election, at which thirteen " patrons of labour," or semi-Socialists, had been elected to the local Legislature out of some forty candidates who had stood in that interest. But 1 could not find that these views had in any part of Canada the same support from the working clasps that they have in every part of Europe. The daily press in Canada, if we except this province of Ontario, did not appear to hold that commanding position that it does in England and the colonies, where it often makes and unmakes Governments. We noticed no paper that overshadowed and controlled Ministries as did the London Times in old days, during the Reform struggles of 1832 ; thus leading the truthful Duke of Wellington, when asked by the recently arrived Russian Ambassador to let him know who was the most powerful man in England, to reply, " Why, Mr. Barnes, of the Times." There are many able gentlemen connected with the press in the Dominion ; but none occupied this position, not even in Ontario. But the most curious subject of observation to an inquirer into the social aspect of the state was the \ « « SEi CANADA. 59* < province of Quebec, where there is still to be seen a L.^i of society mediaeval in tone and free from "the divine gift of discontent." It forms an exception to the general course of communities that enjoy self- government. The origioal settlement was designed by Louis the Fourteenth, to be governed upon Christian and paternal principles, self-contained as it was, and far apart from the distracting influences of European society. The wild freedom of the forests around it, tempting the more adventurous spirits, interfered at first somewhat with the success of this design ; but in the end it must be pronounced to have succeeded, and, despite conquest by Protestant England, the province now remains to this day, perhaps the most abiding monument of the power of the grand monarch. In 1791, when England gave to Canada a new constitution, Burke, in that famous discussion in Parliament in which he declared his friendship for Fox to be at an end, implore J the House " not to ship oft' for Canada a cargo of the rights of man." Certainlv, as far as Quebec is concerned such a consignment was never accepted. The Roman Catholic Church may be said to be established there, but it has the advantage of not possessing that absolute power over others which all men and Churches are so apt to abuse. Protestantism is tolerated. But everywhere you find the place over- shadowed by vast Catholic churches, spacious convents, seminaries for the education of the priesthood. In a small village where I stayed one night there was a large church. About six o'clock in the morning of a week- day, upon going into it, I found prayers being said to quite a considerable number of people, though they seemed lost in the big building. Among them were some priests who appeared to be strangers, probably tourists. Outside were beggars, asking alms, which I saw in no other province of Canada. The Laval University, in Quebec, represents rather the inde- pendent party in the Church. It has two colleges — J^t f^- wmsmmmmmmtm 60 SOCIALISM. one for the education of priests, the other for that of laymen. I went over the latter institution, and found the reception rooms adorned by numerous portraits of popes, cardinals, and bishops. Tlie bull of Pope Pius, authorizing the establishment of the college, is enshrined for inspection in a place of honour. There was also a painting of the Queen in a prominent position ; but that of Lord Elgin, who was Governor-General when tlie college was established, was an insignificant thing, put away in a corner behind the more conspicuous ecclesiastics. What struck the eye most readily in the library were the rows of theological books, mostly the lives and works of the saints, that one would hav« expected rather in the adjoining college for priests. The attendant who showed me over the building could only speak the French language. One of the most beautiful spots upon the famed Saguenay River is an imposing hill that rises abruptly from the water several hundred feet high. It belongs to the public,, being Crown property. From its crest a large statue of the Virgin and Child looks down beneficently upon the tourists that sail beneath it. Certainly I never met in any community so much willing deference paid to the authority of religion as here. It commands the attention of an observer, and an attention that must surely be not unmixed with respect, in this materialistic age. They have their Lourdes, too, at the shrine of St. Anne Baupre, some fitteen miles from Quebec, whither resort the sick for €ure. I met several educated people, who assured me that they knew personally, cripples and diseased people who had been cured. One young man, who was employed in the public offices, told me that a friend of his who was lame from childhood was completely restored while praying before the saint, that he threw away his crutches in the church, and my informant added that he afterwards saw him run in a foot-race at Quebec. During the season for pilgrims the church iind the surrounding village are thronged, upon the i I CANADA. 61 « appointed days, with sufferers of all ranks and ages seeking relief. Mothers with children stricken too early by cruel fate ; young men in robust youth shattered by some accident, and from strength prostrated to helpless- ness ; the blind seeking again the light of the sun ; the aged praying earnestly to be relieved from their troubles, near though they be to the refuge of the grave. In the large church at the shrine stands a statue of St. Anne, and beneath it is placed a sacred relic in the shape of one of her bones, which all devoutly kissed. Over the entrance door is a largo pile of crutches, sticks, and supports of e-^ery description for the lame, which had belonged to those who were made virhole. It was explained to us that healing was not promised to all, only to those who had sufficient faith, and by no means to a first or a second pilgrimage. An intelligent priest whom I met, courteously discussed the subject of the cures with me, and said that there could be no doubt that faith, trust, and the effect of the unwonted fervour of the occasion, had much to do with the cure of affections that had a nervous origin. Do any of us, indeed, realize the power, in a physical sense, of a deep, sincere faith ? While the people thronged and prayed around, a reverend gentleman exhorted them ta piety and newness of life. He spoke in French and then in English — the first fluently, the second imperfectly. Neai where I sat I was aware of the stalwart figure of a peasant kneeling long and apparently praying earnestly. Some young friend or relative stood near him. The figure remained fixed for so long that at last I glanced round. He was stone blind, seeking with his sightless eyeballs earthly, or at least heavenly, light. I thought of blind Milton's noble and heroic lines — Hail, holy light ! offspring of heav'n first-bom ! Bright effluence of bright essence increate ! .... Thou Revisit'st not these eyes that roll in vain To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn ; So thick a drop serene hath quench'd their orbs, Or dim sufifusioa veil'd. ... |. hmBP^-VJ €2 SOCIALISM. Thus with the year Seasons return ; but not to me returns Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine. So nrich the rather thou, celestial light, Shine inwind, and the mind, through all her powers, Iriadiate. Mi lid he scorned the superstition — US he would have held it — of the poor peasant ; but perhaps each of them saw alike the light divine. Near the church were other buildings connected with the saint, in one of which was the flight of stairs that the religious climb up upon their knees, repeating certain prayers at each step. They were crowded when we saw them with pilgrims struggling up. Religious relics, curios, and pictures were sold all about ; and the hotels and inns were crowded. Many of the pilgrims appeared to come from the country parts, and to belong to the middle or poorer classes, and they included several men, as well as women and children. Reverence and the impress of the religious feeling were marked among them all. The Quebec Chronicle published long reports of the religious celebrations at the shrine, and o( the several cures that were reported to have been effected, as part of the current news of the day. During our stay a large party of people — belonging, I suppose, to the wealthier classes — sailed for Europe, accompanied by their priests, to visit Lourdes itself. The Archbishop preached an eloquent sermon upon their departure, descriptive of their hopes and duties. I have delayed to describe this Canadian Lourdes because it illustrates the character of the people of Quebec. They are a generation behind their age, having kept to themselves, and resisted the encroach- ments of modern progress ; while, far away from their own mother country, France, they are untouched by its infidel spirit. One is impressed by the virtues that they have preserved in .their non-progressive state. CANADA. 68 Faith that consoles and suslaios in life is, surely, still n great gift for men. They are industrious, moral in habits, and love family life. The new womiui is unknown among them. They regard marriage as the privilege and protection of the sex that nature has made the weaker of the two, and maternity as an honour, not a burthen. There is no need here, as in old France, to offer rewards for large families. Lartje families — sometimes very large — are the rule, and the feeling with regard to them was that expressed to me by an old woman, who said that a number of children all brightened up in youth, like coins rubbing together in a bag, and afterwards assiste^l one another in life. The gaol in Quebec was almost empty. Vice did not flourish about the streets. Tlie police reports in the daily press were scanty ; but one morning they briefly stated that some i^irl had been charn;ed " with loiterinsf o o o near the post office," and sent to gaol for three months — a Draconian contrast to the immunity enjoyed about the Haymarket. Whether we view it as a defect or as a virtue, it is a fact that the peasantry in this province do not envy others for being better ofl' than they are, and they do struggle on with the difficulties of this life with a patience that springs from a belief in another. A high official in Quebec told me that there was no such thing as Socialism in their province, and as far as I could learn or see there was not. The Roman Catholic Church undoubtedly condemns it ; though the concern it always expresses for the poor, and its denunciations of the selfishness of the rich, has led some people to question that fact. In a later chapter I will explain more fully what I observed of the relations of the Christian Churches generally to the new movement. Certainly in Quebec, where the Roman Catholic Church has more real power than in any other place I have visited, not even excepting Ireland, it represses any such tendencies, and preaches contentment under the troubles of this life and to live in the hope of a better. . \ ,Jk,^ 64 SOCIALISM. On the other hand, as Macauhiy expresses it : ** The Roman Catholics of Lower Canada remain inert, while the whole continent around them is in a ferment with Protestant activity and enterprise." This, then, is the old order which is giving place to the new. It could not continue as it has done, were it not linked with the good government and secular liberty secured by the Dominion constitution and the ultimate supremacy of the British Empire. Each of the rival principles of government and of social life appear to the best advantage when held in check and put upon its good behaviour by its contrary. In Quebec you see that of the Church and old conservatism in a favourable aspect, just as the Kingdom of Naples showed it at its worst at the end of the last century and as late as the middle of this. The new order, too, may learn some- thing even from ' he old. It may learn that there are principles which are active in human nature and which powerfully influence human conduct, which do not centre all in the enjoyments of this life ; that to ignore these in any scheme of human government is to ignore a large part of man ; and that there may be a content- ment, even under privations, which no amount of the goods of this life will alone secure, as the discontent and unhappiness of many of the rich among us- abundantly proves. ii| CHAPTER IV. ENGLAND. My return to England was after an absence, with one short interval, of thirty years. Coming back after such «, time, changes attract the attention more than if you had grown up among them; just as a stranger notices the alterations in a family more readily than do they of the household. What first and most impressed me was the alteration in the attitude of many, if not the ma- jority, of working men towards the State and towards politics, merely as politics. I by no means include the whole of the working classes. An ardent labour leader told me that their direct followers numbered only about ■one-fourth of the workers of England. But without y the intermeddling of Mr. Southey's idol, the omniscient and omnipotent State, but by the ittS'lll#''¥i"r'i-^Yi''^-'''ni'i r' ''''•■ ^ L4.7 ? ^ 72 SOCIALISM. prudence and energy of the people, that England has hitherto been carried forward in civilisation ; and il; JB to the same prudence and the same energy that we now look with comfort and gcod hope. Our rulers will best promote the improvement of the nation by strictly confining themselves to their own legitimate duties, by leaving cipital to find its most lucrativn course^ commodities their fair price, industry and iiitolligenco their natural reward, iillencss and folly their natural punishment, by maintaining peace, by .nal education for twenty -five years, and we find life harder than ever," writes a Socialist. '' A vote is a thing of a transcendent nature," was the word of a great Whig. " What orood is a vote to a man ? It does not feed liim," was the remark made to me by one Labour leader; while another assured me that he and hia friends took little interest in any politics except in so \ ENGLAND. 7T far as tliey should be used for industrial purposes. At election times the questions put to candidates by this party do not relate to the wants of the nation at large or the interests of the Enii)ire, but to the needs of the worker, and the answers to these deteiniine his vote. At the Birkenhead election, wliich took phiee while I was in England, the following series was drawn up and submitted to each candidate : — (1) Are you in favour of having clauses inserted iu Oovernment and municipal contracts, making a standard rate of wages compulsory on the contractor ? (2) Are you in favour of niiiking a contractor-in-chief responsible for the sanitary conndcr that they prefer the material to the ideal ? Is it not the natural course of events for m<^n to use power to secure their own objects ? Have n^/t the select and the educated classes always done so ? kwS hovt'' was it that the wise men of fifty years ago expacMA the poor to be content with the gift of pi^litical privileges without making practical use of them ? 78 SOCIALISM. I !! tf A hi<^h authority has laid it down that the spirit of democracy is opposed to Socialism ; for that though both make fur equality, the one is for oi^uality in freedom, while the other is for equality in compulsion and servi- tude ; and the United States is referred to as a democratic country that has shown no tendency towards Socialism. The tendency there, indeed, is not so marked. Fuller political experience does not favour the idea of complete Socmlism, thougli the "populists" there are quite ready even now to go a great part of the way, and of the working classes in both countries, many who disclaim Socialism turn longingly to paternalism, which is government by themselves, for their own benefit. Personal independnieo they regard with suspicion, as a protest against their authority. They reject local option for districts as regards the eight hours day. Political theories, ques 3ns of principle, rights of men, slip into the background. Hence the change that strikes a stranger on coming back to England. The centre of gravity in the State has been shifted. The people are king. Mere politics bear no fruit. Control and repression that they resented when it came from a power above them, many welcome when it is by a power that comes from themselves, and when the object is to secure what is dearer to them even than freedom — namely, equality and social relief. Powers which they would have limited before, they would make expansive now that they are coming into their own hands. Certainly, if the Socialist party could carry their designs to the full extent, the battle of freedom would have to be fought over again. But ' it is satisfactory to bear in mind that their immediate \ object is one we all sympathise with, to improve the 1 lot of the poor; while the means they propose, as they J advance, will be judged by the common sense of an \ Anglo-Saxon people, whether in the old world or the new, and, what is not less important, will be tested \ step by step by that best of teachers, experience. « V. u iv CHAPTER V. SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. Political equality then ])eiii;^^ established, and the people having power, all attention l^^ now turned to the evils and wrongs of the social state. These are as old as man himself, and partly arise from his nature ; we may doubt whether it is the design of Providence that liuman life should ever be delivered wholly from them. But this doubt should not prevent the most strenuous exertions to mitigate them, and having got thus far in our present stuge of human progress, the new re- formers step forward with plans for reconstructing society in such a manner as to secure competence to all, while allowing superfluity to none ; all to have a good time, and none too good a time. Such plans have often been proposed in the world's history, from the age of Plato downwards. The evil is old, the remedy is old ; what is new is the power resting in all the people, told by the head, to carry it out ; or at least to try the experiment. Even they cannot make it^ succeed if it is contrary to the natural conditions of human life. The Socialist party is stronger in England than in the United States, partly owing to the greater proportion of poor in the former country, and the wider chasm between the different classes of the people. There is also in Eugland a small class of intellectual people with leisure, who have had no practical experience of politics, and whom a humane longing to mitigate the ills they see around them leads IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // t .^ A & %' >^ i^ ^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 lti|28 |Z5 Ui Slii |22 £^ g:£ 12.0 ^1^ V ZZ^ Ai '/ . rnc Sdaices Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STMET WEBSTIR.N.Y. 14SM (716) •72-4503 '-^M** ^.<^" '<^ ■MB .V «0 SOCIALISM. to take the Socialist road. In the United States, politicians and reformers are distrusted, the leisured class is apart from public life, and the great middle class is busy and unimpressionable. As might be expected, the movement is more powerful in London than in other parts of England. In other centres, Birmingham especially, the old Trade Unionists appear to still hold their ground, and they favour Mr. Chamberlain's plans for helping the poor and the worker, which are opposed to Socialism in preserving individuality and seekiug to increase and distribute wealth, not to abolish it. When I told a political friend in England that I was going to see as much of the Socialists as I could, and in particular that I desired to ascertain what their precise objects were, he replied that I should be dia- appointed, as they would not tell me what they really intended to do. My experience, however, was just the opposite to this. I found, both in their published statements and also in conversation, the most explicit declarations of what their present objects were, and iilso what their ultimate aim was. I speak now of the direct Socialist party. Though much has been written upon the subject, yet, as I meet numbers of educated people who have only a confused idea as to what is held in theory and proposed in practice by that party, I will briefly state the result of my inquiry. Even Socialists own that the complete realination of their creed is distant, but its influence largely affects the legislation of the day. It thus becomes a matter of present im- portance to know what they propose to lead us to in the end. They define their creed to be " The science of reconstructing society on an entirely new basis by substituting the principle of association for that of competition in every branch of human industry." They hold that the present constitution of society is hope- lessly faulty — in leaving industry to be a matter of individual effort, and competition between man and man, and allowing as a necessary result from this com- SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. 81 petition the institution of private property, and the subjection of labour to wealth ; wealth thus bei g enabled to grasp an undue share of pioduction. Their remedy is for the State to own the land and all the instruments of production and distribution, such as railroads, ships, mills ; to employ every one, and distribute the results of the common industry equally among all. Thus there would be no more poverty and no more wealth ; no slums and no mansions. Their ideal, when sketched out by fancy, is fairly represented in the popular Socialistic novels that have circulated throughout the world. In the " Manifesto of Dglish Socialists," which was published by the Joint Committee of the Social Democratic Federation, the Fabian Society and the Hammersmith Socialist Society, they state their jjosition thus : — It is, therefore, opportune to remind the public once more of what Socialism means to those who are working for the transformation of our present unsocialist state into a coUectivist republ'.:, and ./ho are entirely free from the illusion that the amelioration or " morali- satiou " of the conditions of capitalist private property can do away with the necessity for abolishing it. Even those readjustments of industry and administration, which are Socialist in form, will not be permanently useful unless the whole State is merged into an organized commonwealth. Municipalisation, for instance, can only be accepted as Socialism on the condition of its forming a part of national, and au last of international. Socialism, in which the workers of all nations, whilfa adopting within the borders of their own countries those methods which are render dd necessary by their historic development, can federate upon a common basis of the collective ownership of the great means and instruments of the creation and distribution of wealth, and thus break down national animosities by the solidarity of human interest throughout the civilised world. On this point all Socialists agree. Our aim, one and all, is to obtain for the whole community complete ownership and control of the means of trans- port, the means of manufacture, the mines, and the land. Thus, we look to put an end for ever to the wage-system, to sweep away all distinctions of class, and eventually to establish national and inter- national commumsm on a sound basis. I > . As to how they propose to get the land and the other factors of wealth : briefly, they propose to take them. TazatioQ is a ready means, and the authority of o 82 SOCIALISM. even orthodox writers is invoked *o prove that it may be properly used to accomplish other useful ends than merely supplying the financial needs of the State. Many of the European Socialists have hitherto not adopted the idea of the equal reward of all under the new system, but have maintained that v^hile the owner- ship of the means of production should be communal, the result should be apportioned among the workers in proportion to the value of their services. They would allow a man to keep what he earned, but not to be- queath it. The impossibility of practically carryinj^ out this idea when you abolish the competitive system hua become apparent, and in the introduction to the Ame- rican edition of the " Fabian Essays " what appears now to be regarded as the true principle, is stated to be an equal provision for all. Thb alternative plan, it is laid down, would leave the individual, as now, to be well-to- do or to want, according to his strength or weakness, and keep alive, although in much less glaring contrast, the economic distinctions of this day. " Nationalists, on the other hand, would absolutely abolish these dis- tinctions, and the possibility of their again arising, by making an equal provision for the maintenance of all, an incident and an indefeasible condition of citizenship, without any regard whatever to the relative specific services of different citizens. The rendering of such services, on the other hand, instead of being left to the option of the citizen, with the alternative of starvation, would be required under an uniform If.w as a civic duty, precisely like other forms of taxation or military service, levied on the citizens for the furtherance of a common- weal in which each is to share equally. The law of service must be uniform, but the services rendered will vary greatly — with many entire exemptions — according to the abilities of the people. The inequality of contri- butions will in no way prejudice the invariable law of equal distribution of the resultant sum. It is confi- dently believed that all Socialists will ultimately be led by the logic of events to recognise, as many now do. IPP SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. 83 I that the attitude of the Nationalists on this point is tho only truly Socialistic one." So able a writer as Mr. Sidney Webb says : — " The Socialists wouM nationalize both rent and interest by the State becoming the sole landowner and capitalist. . . . Such an arrangement would, however, leave untouched the third monopoly, the largest of them all, the monopoly of business ability. . . . The more recent Socialists strike, therefore, at this monopoly also, by allotting to every worker an «qual wage, whatever tho nature of his work. This ■equality has an abstract justification, as the special ability or energy with which some persons are born, is an unearned increment due to the struggle for existence upon their ancestors, and consequently having been produced by Society, is as much due to Society as the • unearned increment ' of rent." To this certainly it would come, whatever be the reasoning, were the system established. While this is ^heir ultimate object, they admit that it cannot be realized for generations, and meanwhile they urge forward all the social reforms that lead to it, and particularly the assumption by the Government, or by municipal boilies, of as much industrial work as possible. The more that is done by the State, and the more priv.te enterprise "s curtailed, the further they get upon their road. \ jc more industry is brought under political control, the more property is taxed in any way or for any purpose, till it becomes useless to the holder ; the more of public works the State can be got to undertake, the further advance is made towards the terminus they would arrive at. Anything that tends to break down the present social conditions is acceptable as paving the way for the new ones. An American Socialist told me that he supported the cause, though he believed that the ultimate prospect it held out was quite impracticable, simply because it was the best means for subverting the existing system. It is a feature in the situation that many who disclaim Socialism are at one with the Socialists in several prac- o 2 S4 SOCIALISM. tical proposals of the day, as the doings of the London County Council show. Politicians do not know what to make of the apparition, and claim to be Socialists, half in jest. A vast amount of legislation has already proceeded upon lines, whici), if sufficiently prolonged, become Socialistic ; and projects for municipalizing gas and water-works and tramways, and for the purchase of the railways by the Government, are favoured by many who would indignantly disclaim being classed as fol- lowers of Karl Marx. The more that is done iti this direction the more the Socialist rejoices, as it brings him nearer the time when the State will be the general employer, and the individualism alike of the strong man and tlie weak will be merged in one equal common employment. All will agree that there are some public purposes that are best effected by the joint action of the community. All good men endeavour to act towards their fellows with that sympathy of feeling whicli honourably marks much Socialism, but is not peculiar to it. Thus many descriptions of reformers are toiling away together with the Socialists in altering the indus- trial conditions of the commonwealth. There stands the social structure, the product of twenty centuries of growth and toil, with the workers, / many-tongued, surrounding it. The direct Socialist is/ for pulling it down altogether, gradually perhaps, and digging out the foundations. The semi-Socialist ana political Socialist is quite agreeable to take off the top storey, but not to demolish the whole buildiog or destroy the substratum. There is also the Conservative architect, who wants to alter, enlarge the walls and make repairs, so as to increase accommodation, but air ^ with the object of preserving. So long as the top storey only is coming off, the first two classes can merrily work together ; the second, protesting that the idea of destroying the whole building is absurd ; and, as far as alterations go, all three can combine ; though \ the true Socialist will object to anything that would \ make the old framework stronger, as his object is to \ SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. 8r» \ J \ undermine it. Tlius ho entirely objects to tlie "three acres and a cow " policy. Wliat the half Socialist and the political Socialist will do when tlie first storey is otf, depends upon what the public then think of it. They are not enthusiasts like the pure Socialists. I found several associations at work in spreadin*^ the principles of the new Sv^hool, for new as a live power it is in England, dating from some ten or fifteen years back, though the principles are old. First tbere is the Fabian Society, which carries the brains of the party in the literary sense, and which forgt^s arguments, forcible or presentable, which are used by plainer men upon every platform in the world. As one goes from country to country and moets a succession of adherents, you find these presented to you again and again, like coin from an imperial mint that runs everywhere among the sub- jects. At the Sydney Federation Conference in 1890, one of the public men there, an ex-Premier, and a man whose singleness of purpose none could doubt, toid me that he had been converted to Socialism by the Fabian Essays, and urged me to study them. There can be no doubt that their influence, and that of the other publi- cations of this Society, has been great, partly on account of the cleverness with which they are written, but also because the evils they attack are obvious to all ; the inconveniences of the present system come home to millions practically, while the reasons in favour of tole- rating that system rest upon intellectual conclusions Irom the teachings of man's history. Also their views are found 3d upon a generous belief in the perfectibility of man, and they avert their eyes from his defects, while adverse criticisms call to mind those defects, which have hitherto constituted the difficulty in all human institutions. The Fabian Society is a teaching body, a sort of university for the Socialist cause. The members number about seven hundred. In their report for 1894, they declare that their Society consists of Socialists, that their object is the emancipation of land and industrial \ 1 mmmm 86 SOCIALISM. capita) from individual and class ownership, and vcsting^ them in the community for the general benefit, also the transfer to the community of the administration of such industrial capital " as can be conveniently managed socially." These measures are to be carried out with- out compensation, " though not without such relief to expropriated individuals as may seeni fit to the com- munity," and rent and interest thus added to the reward of labour. It seeks to permeate by its lessons other political organisations, rather than to swell its own ranks of membership. It nominates no candidates at elections, but often gets its meniljers accepted by others. It does not try to get other bodies into its fold, but sends its members out am'^ng them as mis- sionaries of the cause. Its direct work consists of the publication of tracts, leaflets, ^jestions for candidates, and Acts of Parliament, to the working of which it desires to attract popular attention, such as " The Parish Councils Act ; " and also in promoting public discussions, and the delivery of lectures. The General Secretary states that in four years they published 35,000 copies of the "Fabian Essays," 214,000 tracts, 700,000 leaflets, besides their monthly issue of the " Fabian News," which is sent free to all members. They have correspondence classes for students throughout the country, and boxes of selected books and papers are sent on loan to all the associations that are in sympathy with them. The Social Democratic Federation is the oldest of English Socialist bodies, as it dates from 1879, and it is directly political in its action. It advocates the advanced Socialistic programme, including the aboli- tion of private property and the standing army ; ** the people to decide on peace and war ; " the production and distribution of wealth to be regulated by the community ; meanwhile cumulative taxation upon all incomes exceeding £300 a year, and "every person attaining the age of fifty to be kept by the community^ work being optional after that age." SOCIALISM IX ENGLAND. 11 e 1 e 1 That branch of Socialism that primarily attacks the private ownership of laud is represented by the English Land Restoration League, the Land Nationalisation Society, the Scottish Land Restoration Union, and some smaller associations. Henry George's "Progress and Poverty" is their text-book; and some years ago that gentleman advocated his principles at an open-air meeting arranged by the Land Restoration League, and held in the heart of tlie City of London, on the open space in front of the Royal Exchange. He took as his text the verse inscribed over the entrance to that build- ing — "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof." This League describes its work as consisting of ** lec- tures without number in the London clubs, meetinofs in town halls, open-air meetings in the parks and open spaces, conferences on the land question, newspaper correspondence, a voluminous output of leaflets and pamphlets, and an occasional * Henry George ' cam- paign." In 1891 they organized the "Red Vans" for travelling through the English villages and carrying their propaganda there. They are covered waggons, coloured red, in which the lecturer travels, drawing up at convenient places and times, and haranguing the peasantry. The Land Nationalisation Society was started in 188L Its object is to secure the compulsory taking of land by the State, not merely the taxing of the rent as the Original Single Taxers proposed. It employs the usual machinery for spreading its views, including a "Land and Labour Cart " for the villages. One of its members gave a special donation of £500 to assist in organizing series of meetings. It initiated the first Land a Nationalisation Congress, which was held in London in 1894, and at which forty organisations were represented. The Scottifh Union was constituted by hve other land societies uniting with it. Its object is the imposition of tbr Single Tax upon land. Ii Ireland these views are not as prevalent as in other parts of the United Kingdom, for there the 1 1 11 - . • i .-« »-*-^ 88 SOCIALISM. Gladstonian legislation has improved the position of the tenant effectually at the expense of the landlords, most of whom are impoverished. The teniints are not favourable to their interest in the land being taxed away for the common good. There are some cases of municipal socialisation of laud, but the general scheme of Socialism doeu not find much favour in Ireland, partly because, as hns been said, the people have the land, partly because Home Rule occupies the aspirations of many, and partly because the Church of Rome discountenances it. Mr. Michael Davitt, when he visited Australia in 1895, told j a large audience that he addressed in Melbourne, that j " He did not believe in Socialism. It had failed in j Paradise with oiJy two beings to observe its laws, and how was it likely to succeed in the present day, with hundreds of millions of beings of divers opinions and capacities ? " The condition of the labourers in several English counties, as shown by the reports of the lecturers and agents of these societies, is so abject that revolution would be welcome if it would improve it. Both owners and workers of land are now more than ever im- poverished by the free import of agricultural produce from the fresh fields and favourable climes of the world. They cannot compete with this. The English Land Restoration League has upon its General Committee three members of Parliament, thirteen members of the London County Council, six graduates of Universities, and five cl rgymen. Its principles are explained by a few words that are printed on its card of membership : " Don't buy the landlords out ; don't kick them out, but tax them out." •' The Independent Labour Party " is one of the most active of the Socialist bodies, though its influence in practical politics appears to be small. But the important question with regard to such movements is, not so much their immediate political strength, as whether they are likely in time to impress the people. Their Secretary, Mr. Tom Mann, 3ays : " What we aim at is such a re- ' ^ SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. 89 1 I : construction of society from its base .is shall make the existence of poverty in our State an absolute impos- sibility. * Not the relief of poverty, but the abolition and prevention of poverty, is the end to bo held in view.' The special means whereby it is proposed to get rid of poverty is by the effective organisation of industry, i.e., the actual public organisation of the trade of the country. The community, by means of its com- mittees and duly elected officers, knowing as they would what the year's requirements were, and knowing the effective working capacity of the country, would so apportion the total to be done that none should be over- worked and none b ft without work." Its members are chiefly young men, whom the Secretary considers are more amenable to reason than old men. It distrusts both Liberals and Conservatives, and supports those who give direct support to the Collectivist or Socialist programme. A leading member of this body expressed to me their utter disbelief in the ordinary party poli- tician. They felt no interest in politics, except as a means of advancing Socialism. One party was as bad as the other. Among the objects specified in their official programme are : the eight hours law, remu- nerative work fur the unemployed, provision for all sick and aged, taxation to extinction of unearned incomes, and " the substitution of arbitration for war and the consequent disarmament of the nations." It has brandies throughout England and Wales. At the election for Leicester in 1894, its candidate, though defeated, polled 4,402 votes. " The New Labour Army " mainly directs its atten- tion to the work of the Parish Councils called into existence by the Act of 1894. The real meaning and the far-reaching scope of this measure did not appear to attract much attention in England. Wiien it has timt to work out its natural effect, the result will be that the local government of the country will be trans- ferred from the squire, the parson and the farmer to the peasant and whoever he may then follow. This seems 1.1 I 90 80CIALIS>r. 't to an ohaerver from outsitle to be a more important change than many others which attract fierce opposition when proposed. This Laliour Party seek to introduce advanced views into this new sphere. They distrust Parliamentary action, and declare that the people ** follow Parliamentary leaders merely to be deceived by them." Their object is to permeate the Pariah Councils with the principles of the progressive party that have ruled the London County Council, and to take practical steps to improve the lot of the poor (in which it must be said that they get support from all parties), directing them, however, all the time towards the Collectivist end that they have in view. The London County Council and the Parish Councils strike a stranger as the most promising field for the exertions of the Socialist party in England, considering all that is involved in their wide and practical scope of action, and that party seems to fully realize the fact. There was truth and meaning in the statement of Mr. John Burns, when he said that he would rather be a doorkeeper in the temple of the London County Council than a dweller in the tents of Parliament. The London County Council was constituted only a few years ago, to govern, in municipal affairs, the whole of the metropolis outside the City, and according to the gentleman just quoted, "it was called into existence mainly by political exigency." It has already made a marked impress upon social matters. It con- tains several titled and wealthy members, but up to the time when I was in England (1894), its practical working was guided by the Labour and Socialist element. The one had distinction, the other power. Mr, Ben Tillett is one of those elected by the Council to the important position of Alderman. The electorate is practically based on universal suffrage. If roused and united the wage-earners can govern. There is as yet no payment of members. The work done by the various committees is enormous, as the minutes show, and varies from the direction of great public works down to the wy iifi'-'^- " T*--^--*»-^-'-'-'*^«-*-*^ - "^* ?? ipwww i i 11 ' I > i i i j»iui ' j ^ SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. 91 piirclinse of a cnl> for one of their officers, or a lalliiird tuble for the use of firenieii at tht'ir Htatioii. Jt is in theHO coniniittees that the real buHiiieHS of tlie Council is done. One gratifying feature is ti»e number of reports tliat are adopted for j)roviding gardens and open spacoH for the poorer dihtriets. Another which gives one, fresh from the United States, more pause, is the manner in wi)ich largo money values are dispensed in works ordered to be done without tender or other test, in full (and at present justifiable) reliance upon the perfect disinterestedness of all concerned. But this seems to lead to waste, and prominent members of the Council maintain that tlui Finance Committee should exercise a closer supervision than it docs. The election of 1892 was openly fought on the issue of Municipal Socialism, as the newspaper and magazine articles of the time testify, and resulted in a sweeping victory for the Socialists. It must be re- membered, however, that so far they are only dealing with the top storey of the building, and that numbers of general reformers agree in most of the work as yet in sight. All agree that much excellent business has been so far accomplished. All rejoice at impro"ed dwellings for the poor, better wages, more public reserves and recreation grounds, sweeter sanitary sur- roundings ; these are things in which men of all parties cordially co-operated, and which it delights even the passing stranger to see taken in hand. The advanced party, in addition to these objects, steadily push the CoUectivist policy. The employees, as might be ex- pected, appear to sympathise with it. A complaint was made by the National Free Labour Association that some of the Council's foremen on their works inquired of all applicants for employment whether they were members of trade unions, and refused employment to those who were not. The Works Committee inquired into this, and reported that the charge was, except with regard to one foreman, who had since lek their service,, unfounded. They state that they have instructed all ii ( I' 02 SOCIALISM. their foremen not to ask, before engaging a man, whether he belongs to a union. But the very instruc- tion is significant. It was reported that some of the Council's workmen availed themselves of the easier hourF >f work to take private jobs in the intervals. In November, 1894, a resolution was passed forbidding this, and directing a standing order to be drawn up prohibiting it, but no further steps were taken, and the matter was droppeu. In a paper read before the British Association at Oxford, in August, 1894, Mr. Sidney Webb explains 4ind defends the " economic heresies " of the Council. He states them to be threefold, namely, establishing 41 trade union rate for skilled and a minimum wage for their unskilled employees ; giving their contracts, where they did give any, only to employers who also respected this accepted wage and " moral minimum " ; and further endeavouring to dispense with contractors wherevei it was possible, and doing the work by their own ofHcers and workmen. The minutes of the Council show many instances of the application of their policy. When several tenders are sent in for some work, the Council will reject the lower ones, if not satisfied that the contractors pay trade union rates of wages. Repeated reports are made by committees, and agreed to, that works, often of a large kind, be done by the Works Committee without the intervention of a contractor. Some question seemed to exist as to the practice of not accepting the lowest tender, for one member gave notice of a motion, while I was there, that the lowest tender should be taken "as a general rule, and in default of strong reasons to the contrary." The progressives assert that this policy has produced excellent results — that by paying good wages they get good men, and that, by dispensing with the contractor they get better work and also cheaper work. Their couise would be easy, supported as it is enthusiastically by many for political, as well as for social reasons, were it net that the rates continue to go up ; and though the collectivist does not m#Mm4^*k«m«^ ■ SOCIALISM IM ENGLAND. 95 care for this, the ratepayer does. This money difficulty comes in the way, at some time or other, of most re- forms, and makes the men who have to pay critical, who were before indifferent or even fivourable. Sir John Lubbock, who is not a mere caviller, says that in the last year of the Metropolitan Board of Works, which the Council superseded, the expenditure was at the rate of 10* Id. in the pound, while the Council's estimate for 1895 was 18*ld., which, however, was brought down by the increased Exchequer contribution to 14d. ; while at the same time the rateable value had risen from thirty-one millions and a half to thirty- four millions. He states that the undertakings of the Works Committee, dispensing with the contractor, were marked by " excessive cost," and refers to a report of the Parks Committee, which, after giving details, said : " It will be seen that the seven works which the Works Committee undertook, and with the estimates for which they reported to the Council that they were satisfieil as to their sufficiency, have actually cost no less than 36"14 per cent, above the estimate." A return was prepared by the Parks Committee of all works carried out by the contractors. These were eighty-two in number. The officers of the Council estimated the cost at £52,000 ; they were completed for £49,000 by the contractors, or six per cent, less than the estimate, while that done by the Works Committee cost thirty-six per cent. more. Sir John Lubbock also mentions that another committee complained of the cost of a wall erected by the Works Committee as being excessive. "They referred the matter to the architect, who reported that he could not account for the excess, but that the bricklayers appeared to have only laid on the avernge twenty- three bricks an hour. The Chairman of the Committee denied the state- ment, and assured the Council that the iiumber of bricks laid per hour was at least forty-six." An outside observer has no means of judging of the correctness of details such as these. But the Socialist party certainly met with a marked check at the elections 1 n -94 SOCIALISM. I tbr.t took place not long after Sir John liubbock spoke in 1895. They had only a slight advantage in the number of members returned, instead of having as before a sweeping majority, while the actual majority of votes was cast for the moderate party. Later in the year the press gave the report of the Works Committee, which showed a loss of £3,000 on £180,000 worth of work without the contractor. The causes which, it was stated, were assigned for this result were — the architect, who was too exacting, the manager too sanguine and easy-going, and some of the men, who were alleged to be indolent and careless. One hears different views expressed as to the ulti- mate working of the system of city government thus ■established in London. One Labour leader declares that the citizens will become more attached to it than they are to their Parliament ; that it will be the centre cf the boldest progressive views, and will even become to the Commons at Westminster what the Jacobin clubs w^ere to the States-General at Paris. Some say tiiat if things do take this turn, it will mean what they term the " Tammanification of London." Others anticipate that ii will continue to be simply a powerful but legiti- mate engine of useful municipal work, guided by the common sense and moderation of Englishmen. If its members continue to be men of the same stamp as at present, this will doubtless be so. The difficulty will present itself if it becomes an arena for city politics. With paid members, large financial operations to be dealt with at discretion rather than by fixed rule, and an army of employees powerful in the electorate — and one man with a personal interest is more potent at an election than twenty of the apathetic public — then the problem of the government of great cities by uni- versal suffrage will present itself in earnest to London. A popular authority cannot itself manage a business concern on business principles the employees of which Are its electors. The examples of the good work done by Birmingham, Glasgow, and other English cities are SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. 05 not in point, as they have so far avoided the political clement. That problem has certainly not been solved in the United State?.. There it is admitted, as it also is in the colonies, that while all should have equal votes for the general political government, some test of direct contribution should be required from the voter in municipal aflFairs. All will hope and trust that it may be successfully dealt with in the mother land. If it is, she will have given the world a grand object lesson, and a new one. There are a number of church associations in England, some of which nibble at Socialism, and some profess to swallow it, while the Labour churches swallow it in earnest, ejecting any theological elements that may be in the way. I will explain what I observed of these afterwards. 1)7 CHAPTER VL MEETINGS. lit' ( ^.! I DESIRE to give some account of different meetings that I attended, Trade Union, popular Socialist, scientific Socialist, general political. There is nothing new in such meetings or in a report of them ; the leading newspapers do not give much of their space to that purpose, and I gathered that it was not the policy of those papers, either in England or in the United States, to afibrd prominence to such discussions as one hears at them. The number of these gatherings would alone justify this : yet, in no better way tlian from them, can an inquirer learn what ideas are taking hold of the popular mind. The very extravagances that one sometimes hears, and seeing how far they are successful in impressing the audience, and how far they fail, are instructive to the observer. And possibly some things may present themselves to a stranger in a new light. As much that I am going to say will necessarily be critical, I desire to premise that I take for granted the value and blessing of fearless, open discussion. It is a noble privilege for a man to be able to speak out boldly the word that is in his mouth, whether it be wise or whether it be foolish. And this freedom necessarily means that much that is unwise is spoken. Further, it must be borne in mind that a public meetiag is not ' the place for thought. It would be unreasonable to expect it. Indeed, the very qualifications that go to make the successful platform speaker, are just those that t MEETINGS. 97 impair the power of tl.j thinker — warmth, colouring, the knack of seeing only one side and seeing that forcibly, the art of putting forward the most telling points, which yet may be by no means the true ones. The orator — and especially the platform orator — must see only one side of the shield. Yet, in ftiet, tmth is generally not wholly with either extreme ; but the man who would attempt in a public discussion to dis- criminate, is usually marked as a trimmer. I do not speak of popular meetings only. The last quarter in which one need look for dry truth is any public discussion. J For when you get to the public discussion, the time for thinking is past and that for action has come, and the victory is to those who strike out direct and push forward with darinsf against the foe. You might as well expect the soldier in battle to keep making his ammunition, as ask the public speaker to keep weighing the truth of his propositions. What both are wanted to do is to fire off. With the meeting, too, when the impulse to the desired side is once given by the vigorous push, men are swayed over to it by the general feeling that prevails, which acts with a sort of mesmeric force, and mere mental operations have little to do with the result. Most political meetings, too, have their weak side, concealed from public view, their factions, and personal rivalries, that render each leader apt to play the winning card, whatever it is, lest the game should slip from his hands. They thus, though often imposing when seen from afar, appear, whei} we come close to them, to resemble one of John Bunyan's characters who ** was a tall man and somewhat more comely at a distance thaja at hand." But their value as a meau^ of learning the trend of popular movement is great. The most important meeting that I attended in England was the Trade Unions' Congress at Norwich, held in September, 1894. It was the twenty-seventh annual meeting, the first Congress having been convened Id 1868. The original project was essentially English in its design. It was for a representation, corporate in 98 SOCIALISM. its character, of all Trade Unions at an annual meeting, where questions that practically aflfectecl the common interests of the workers would be discussed. The letter proposing the first Congress is given in Webb's " History of Trades Unionism " ; it states its purpose thus : "The Congress will assume the character of the annual meetings of the Social Science Association, in the transactions of which Society, the artisan class is almost excluded ; and papers previously carefully pre- pared by such Societies as elec*-. to do so, will be laid before the Congress on the various subjects which at the present time affect the Trade Societies, each paper to be followed by discussion on the points advanced, with a view of the merits and demerits of each question being thoroughly ventilated through the medium of tiie public press. It is further decided that the subjects treated upon shall include the following : 1. Trade Unions an absolute necessity. 2. Trade Unions and political economy. 3. The effect of Trade Unions on foreign com- petition. 4. Regulation of the hours of labour. 5. Limitation oi apprentices. 6. Technical education. 7. Courts of arbitration and conciliation. 8. Co-operation. 9. The present inequality of the law in regard to conspiracy, intimidation, picketing, coercion, etc. 10. Factory Acts Extension Bill, 1867 ; the necessity of c< mpulsory inspection, and its application to all places wiiere women and children are employed. 11. The present Royal Commission on Tiade Unions — I ow far worthy of the confidence of the Trade Union interests. 12. Legalisation of Trade Societies. 13. The necessity of an Annual Congress of Trade Representatives from the various centres of industry." Such was the creed of the working man's wants in 1868. MEETINGS. 99 Since then they have met each year in some city of the United Kingdom, wliich is chosen by vote at the Congress of the preceding year. Delegates from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales attend. For this year, the ancient city of Norwich, notable for having Nelson's birthplace in the neighbourhood, was selected. They follow orderly methods in their discussions, and have a sort of Cabinet, or Front Bench, in the shape of a Parliamentary Committee, and a General Secretary, elected by the Congress. The Committee is supposed to look after the interests of labour generally, and, being composed of the most experienced and trusted members, " to lead the House." For some time past, however, a divergence had sprung up between the Front Bench and the Congress ; the former having been com- posed mainly of men of the old Trade Union School who depended on self-reliance, and were opposed to the new Socialist ideas ; while those ideas were suddenly tukins: hold of the rank and file of members. At Norwich this difference appeared to have been obliterated, for the leaders vied with one another in advocating the full CoUectivist programme. Though the total number of workmen represented this year was only 1,100,000, yet there can be no question that they reflect ideas that permeate thousands of others, and which may be properly termed progressive, in the sense that they are coming to the front to be considered by the community, and dealt with in one fashion or another, as public opinion may determine. There were 378 delegates, with about a dozen women among them, who were accredited by 179 societies, and I was informed that one hundred members were eitber Members of Parliament, of School Boards, of Trade Union Councils, or were Justices of the Peace. Some Members of Parliament took an active part in the dis- cussions ; and some, who were not delegates, attended as spectators. The galleries were filled with people ■belonging to all classes. Many of tUe d'^legaies were H 2 w \, ^ 100 SOCIALISM. plain operatives, and appenred in garb and aspect as such ; many others assumed the dress and bearinjor of the better-off classes, and appeared to have emerffed from the position of workmen into that of local leaders, or secretaries of clubs. Some of the most extreme views were advanced by the best dressed. The meetings,, which lasted about a week, were held in St. Andrew's Hull, and were opened according to custom by the President's address. 'Hie Pnrliamentary Committee presented a business-like report, stating the results of the past year's progress in industrial reforms. The printed Orders of the Day fill a pamphlet of twenty-six pages, and deal with every description of subject, from the most national to tlie most minute, that could interest the wage-earner. The discussions were fairly carried on, the tone adopted toward employers and capitalists being, however, marked by that colouring that we have become accustomed to upon such occasions. Some resolutions were passed that one would have expected at any meeting of labour representatives, but there were others that did not appear to be the result of any deliberate opinion of the meeting ; they were of so grave a character, yet adopted so suddenly, and after little discussion. "No. 36, Surplus Labour," was as follows : — *' That this Congress is of opinion that it should be made a penal offence for any employer to bring, or cause to- be brought, to any locality extra labour where the already existing supply is sutficient for the needs of the district." This was seconded by a dt legate who was a Member of Parliament. A leading Labour member, who was sitting next me, said, when the motion was read, "This is; absurd." Nevertheless, it was carried, nemine con- tradicentCf but with one vote against it. A motion was made, "That in the opinion of this Congress at least six working days in each year should be set apart as National Holidays, and that the Parliamentary Com- mittee be instructed to introduce a Bill at the earliest pos.sible date." The mover maintained that they worked far too many days ; but he met with no support, and MEETINGS. 101 bis motion was quietly dropped. A resolution lo "prohibit the lauding ot all pauper aliens who have no viiiible means of subsistence" was carried, as was also one condemning tlie use by tlie Government of things made l)y pris')n labour. The principle of payment of Members of Parliament was adopted with enthusiasm, iis was 'so that of fixing by law the daily hours of work at eight. A motion, that all persons employed in the Oovernnicnt workshops should be paid Trade Union rates of wages, "with a minimum of sixpence per hour for all labourers," was carried, with the omission of the latter words. Another proposal that was advocated was that female workers should be paid the same as men. This appeared to be popular; but one of the women delegates put a somewhat new complexion upon the subject when she rose to speak. " What does this mean ? " she said. '* Simply that only men will be em- ployed. It will work the women out. Some of the men are honest enough to admit that this is their object." It was not persisted in. A large number of practical questions appear among the one hundred and twenty-six subjects upon the notice paper, several of them referring to the proper inspection of factories and machinery, and the sanitation of workshops. The amendment of the Poor Laws, the further dealing with the law relating to the Liability of Employers, the Truck Act, Bake-houses, Co-operation and Trade Unionism, the Liability of Trustees, the Keport of the Labour Commission, the law relating to Colliery Engine-keepers, Technical Education, the ne- cessity for providing Life-saving Appliances round the coast, amendment of the law relating to Merchandise Marks — these, and subjects like these, formed the more feasible part of the work of the Congress. But the most interesting motion, which one expected to hear discussed with some keenness, as it involved the question between the new Trade Unionism and the old, was that atiirming the CoUectivist or Socialist principle of carrying on national life and industry. I had been \i ■iiiiiiiiii loii SOCIALISM. told by a Socialist authority in London not to miss the- keen discussion that migbt be expected at Norwich upon this subject. But the iiinnnor of its treatment "Was disappointing. What discussion there was, was short and heated — all on one side — and the dissentients^ sufh as they were, seemed cowed. The motion was, " That in the o}iinion of this Congress it is essential ta the maintenance of British industries to nationalize the land, mines, minerals, and royalty rents, and that the Parliamentary Committee be instructed to promote legislation with the above objects." On this the simple amendnient was moved by Mr. Keir Hardie, M.P., to omit after " land " the words, " mines, minerals, and royalty rents," and insert, " and all tlie means of pro- duction and exchange," thus affirming the complete Socialist programme. One delegate objected that this, meant a complete revolution in the national life, and that before it was accepted proof should be given as to how it would work, and whether it would work at all. Were they to throw over altogether the spirit of enter- prise, self-reliance, thrift, personal foresight ? He agreed to the State taking the land and mines, because they stood upon a special footing, and were diflerent in their nature from the other instruments of production. This solitary champion of the old school — though, indeed, it was the dominant one only ten years ago — fared badly in the fight. His position was forthwith at- tacked, and witb some acrimony, by several of the leading members of the Congress, who appeared not only to feel strongly in favour of the Socialist pro- gramme, but also to feel that confidence, that is im- parted by being on the winning side. They had a good opening lor their onset in the fact that their opponent was v Jiing for the State to take the land,, though not to take anything else. If the one was right, why not the other ? Jf the one needful, why not the other ? If there were oppressions con- nected with the private ownership of land, were there not just as great wrongs owing to the domination of MKETINOS. 103 5 I capital ? Why be half-hearted, and halt on the broad road to justice and reform ? Had the dissentient objected to all State ownership, his position would have been stronger. Each leader appeared to be eager to show that he was in no way behind the most advanced men of the new Socialist school. The motion, as amended, was supported by two delegates who were Members of Parliament, and carried by an overwhelming majority of 219 to 61. At the Liverpool Congress, four years before, it was rejected by an equally decisive majority. I remarked to a Labour leader who was sitting near me, that there had not been that interchange of views and conflict of debate upon the question, that I had expected. He said that further talking was not re- quired, as the whole subject had been fully considered when State Socialism was affirmed by the Congress at Belfast the preceding year.* It was only to be expected that during the discus- sions of nearly a week some erratic efl'usions would break out Ir was during the brief debate upon Socialism that a prominent Labour leader, in opposition to its solitary champion, denounced "thrift" in terms that excited some comment afterwards. His words were : "Thrift is the invention of the capitalist rogues to deprive thrifty fools of their right standard of living and comfort." He added, " Commercial enterprise was the last resort of scoundrels." Tiiis seems strange language, es iccially as addressed to wage-earners, who, in the present order of society at least, will certainly sink into pauperism in old age if they despise thrift. * We learn by the papers that at the Cardifif meeting of 1895 the Congress declared against the Collectivists by large majorities, and were only prevented from repealing the resolution above referred to by a technicality. Yet we are also told that they adopted a proposal for nationalizing all land, minerals, and railways. The Socialists may feel consoled under their defeat. As they would say, their opponents are building better than they know. The action of both Congresses show what confusion of ideas there is on the subject, and how hastily con- clusions are voted and rescinded, without the scope of either decision being fully realized. '' 104 SOCIALISM. The statements are obviously contrary to fact, and further, they put out of sight the reasons why, from the earliest dawn of civilisation, moralists of all nations have lauded the qualities that make for thrift. It is not alone that men may secure for themselves an indcpen- dout living — though surely it is something not to have to live on others — l>ut on account of the moral powers that thrift develops — industry, self-denial, preferring future good to present indulgence. If these qualities are wanting in any people, more healthy and vigorous nations will soon outstr'p them in the race, no matter what form of social state be adopted. If these qualities , - were to be discarded by the Western World generally, the decay of our civilisation would not be far otf, J despite all the new schemes of public economy that"^ could be devised. The speaker was himself a man of 1 temperate habits, and a great worker, which makes his \ teaching the more harmful. Another leading speaker denounced the desire of getting cheap things vigorously. " The great curse of this place is that every one wants to get things cheap — cheap clothes, cheap furniture, cheap tools" • — this he said in a scornful, sneering tone. They must, on the contrary, get such a command of the instruments of production as would enable every man and every woman to keep up a high standard of comfort, and not to depend upon a few shillings, more or less, of wages. It was also very emphatically, al- most angrily said, that women must be treated in all spheres of work with absolute equality to men. It was declared that " competition with all its fearful evils must disappear, and collectivism with brotherly feeling take its place. The democracy must own all tue indus- trial forces of the nation." A delegate noticed one result of invention and progress in mechanical appli- ances that appears to be unavoidable, but is not the less unsatisfactory. He said, "The division of labour is ruining us. It prevents a man from being a good workman in anything." ■t I MEETINGS. 105 A feature in the proceedings was the content for the position of Secretary to tlie Parliamentiiry Committee, to which a salary of £200 a year is attached. JNIr. F« II wick, M.P., had hcUl the position for ycirs, and was aiTiiin a candiresent. t MEETINGS. Ill Two or three ready speakers explained and lauded the principles of their cause. No m n was entitled to own land, though he was entitled to hold any other kind of property, and the State should therefore resume possession of its value, as it is when unimproved, by quietly taxing it away. In support of their argument, they laid down, with that calm confidence that Americans often display in dealing with fundamental questions, two propositions as being incontrovortible : one, that no man could have a right to anything that he had not created ; and, two, that he had an absolute right to what he had created. This seemed to me a very im- perfect analysis of the question. When a man catches a fish, he does not create it, but he has expended labour on it, and is the first in possession. When Abraham argued his right to the well with Abimelech, he did not pretend that he had made the stream of water that he wished to enjoy ; it was only a natural gift, improved and made available first by his labour. "I have digged this well." These theoretical reflections were soon, however, interrupted by a practical episode. A rather sour, ill-favoured looking man rose up from the audience, and requested to be allowed to address the meeting. This was agreed to and he came upon the platform. They told me that he was a well-known workman of the city, who lost no possible opportunity of addressing meetings. He hud a vigorous style of declamation, and evidently thought that the stronger expressions he used the better. He said that he addressed them as an absolute Socialist, who would confiscate all property, and then went on to denounce the Single Taxers as contemptible halters between two opinions. They said it was right to take a man's land ; if so, why not his tramways ? (the tramways were then unpopular with the working classes of Philadelphia, and I always found that general principles were coloured by the local grievance in each place). The law secured the one just as much as the other. Free land r --^ht be a sop. That was just why he opposed it, as it might y^ \ M \ m ! ■j ] » ] i 1 , 1 1 1 M 112 SOCIALISM. I! allay discontent and delay the time of general reckonings when they would crush all the propertied classes. Single Taxers allowed a njan to keep his interest upon capital because the law allowed it ; — the law equally allowed the robbery of rent. And what was the use of giving him a block of land unless they gave him capital too ? He could not cultivate it with his ten fingers. The Single Taxers were merely playing into the hands of the Democrats. The i^ational banner, the stars and stripes, was e\ery thread of it a fraud, all for the capitalist. The people must fight. He wound up by denouncing religion and marriage. A Single Taxer replied, contending that Socialism would make all the people slaves, just like the olacks before the war, well fed, fairly cared for, but free men no longer. Though the meeting did not go with the Socialist, and some of the ladies appeared to shudder at his language, yet he carried ofi" a more successful impres- sion of the argument than did the advocates of tlie Henry George scheme. Partly this was owing to the success that attends the more pronounced opinion in any popular gathering. The man who goes half-way only, should keep in the closet and not tempt the platform. But it was also owing to the fact that he really had the best of the argument, as also had the Socialists at Norwich against the delegate who would take the land but nothing else. The man who says that the State is not justitijd in doing a wrong, even for the supposed benefit of the people, and that having sanctioned private property for centuries, and induced people to put the fruits of their labour into it, cannot now honestly seize it — occupies a logical and just position. The man who says that the safety of the people is the supreme law, and that it now calls for the appropriation by the State of all the means of production and exchange, comes also to a logical, though unjust conclusion. But the man who says =dl property is sacred except land, and tbe"* State must confiscate all the land, but nothing else>^ ■ f a MEETINGS. 113 / occupies a position that is both illogical and unjust. Land is a fit subject, owing to its limited nature, foi* special regulation and for taxation, suited to the circum- stances of each State ; if need be, limiting the amount that may be held by any one person, giving free play to all the agencies of distribution, and taking, to be sure, all that tlie public may want for public purposes upon payment of reasonable compensation. But a man's right to knd rests upon the same immediate foundation as his riglit to a ship, namely, the authority of the law and custom of his country for centuries, which has led him, relying upon the public faith, to give what his labour produced, for it. A meeting was held in a ftishionable part of London, under the presidency of Mr. Keir Hardif, M.P., and the patronage of the Independent Labour Party. The notices announced the expected appearance of several prominent leaders of that party upon the platform. Boswell mentions the blank astonishment with which he contemplated the mere idea of any one presuming to designate his patron as ''Sam Johnson." A similar feeling of reverence does not now obtain in public circles, for I found that the fashion prevailed of giving contractions of the Christian names of the prominent men who were to speak. Thus it was "Tom" this, or " Ben " that, " Fred " or '•' Frank," that figured in the bills. People like to call their favourites by some short name or nickname. It comes naturally, as indicating the popularity of the object, in some cases ; in others also the familiarity that is claimed by his admin rs. In the United States, where this popular fancy has full play, few successful public men have been known to the people by their own proper nam?s. Tht?re it has gene- rally been some short designation descriptive of the calling of the man, or of some personal peculiarity. It is " the Rail-splitter," " the Flat-boatman," " the War Horse," " the Stonewall," " Tippicanoe," " Little Mac." The familiar prefix " old " has been in frequent use — " Old Hickory," " Old Hutch," " Old Bullion," " Old I ii! I *l / 114 SOCIALISM. , t Pig-iron," " Old Rough and Ready." Even the rogues of New York had their " Boss Tweed." Mr. Keir Hardie, whose name appears to defy con- traction, took the chair. His appearance and manner convey more the impression of complete sincerity than the power of sober judgment. The large hall was crowded by a poor but respectable-looking throng — many of them women — whole families sitting together, and the daughters at intervals going among the people selling the tracts of the Socialist and Labour party. The leaders, including some Members of Parliament and several candidates for that position, occupied the front of the platform, supported by several Socialist reformers, among whom was a well-known Russian patriot who had to flee his own country. At the side was a brass band and a choir of girls, who performed between the speeches some of the Independent Labour Party chants, which, with the music to match, were sold in the room. Among these were the "Marseillaise" and Burns's "A Man's a Man for a' That," and some songs by other authors that expressed the bitterest feelings against the classes who possess property, and the clergy. It would be hard to expect speakers upon such an occasion to break new ground, and none of them did so. An impressive speech was made by a young working woman, but its effect was wholly owing to the intense and almost hysterical feeling that she displayed. She fully adopted the warning addressed of old to the oral or: "If you want me to weep, weep yourself." She was denouncing the wrong done to the worker when he was turned out of work and bread by the invention of new machinery. It was impossible not to sympathise with her. The speech that most engaged my observation was one that was made by a gentleman who was stylishly dressed, and whose manner presented something of the theatrical aspect. As a platform speech it was the most successful of the evening, the chairman's being tame in comparison. His argument was simple. " Why are you poor ? It is because MEETINGS. 115 others arc rich. Why do you live in garrets ? It is because of the palaces that you see in this neighbour- hood around you. We," he exclaimed, *' make war on these palaces ; and we equally make war on your garrets. We would abolish both, .and have all well housed and well provided for." The efifect of such declarations to a meeting of people many of whom are badly ofi is irresistible. They carry all before them. The speaker also made several jokes and points, at which all laughed, and he had a certain oddness in his manner that inspired merriment ; he led the whole meeting triumphantly. People like to be entertained, and something of the funny prompts a fellow feeling that the austere tone of the highly self-respecting man fails to inspire. A strain of the common, or even the queer, strikes the public fancy and attaches the speaker to the audience. They will tell you that they like to hear a " live man." Some of his strongest expressions were vociferously applauded, especially by the women, who appef ..i to accept the most extreme utterances more readily tinn the men. A number of girls carried plates round t^s hall, making a collection for the expenses of the evening. As at Norwich, marked consideration was shown to women. At one part of the proceedings a young gid appeared on the platform and commenced giving L recitation. It was poorly done, and annoyed the people by delaying the speeches that they were anxious to hear. Some near me commenced muttering disapproval, but they were promptly silenced, and general attention was given till the girl had completed her task. When the meeting was over you saw mothers calling their children and families collecting together to go home. The novelty in gatherings such as the^e lies in the new conditions under which the ills of social life are now ventilated — when people are no longer resigned to them as a necessary fate, but, under respectable auspices, question all things, and work out, when they have the power, any change that they may think right. I 2 i ! i I i i; '1 116 SOCIALISM. And it is easy to conclemn any institution, if you look only to the evils that result from it. I was not able to be present at, but I heard of, a smaller meeting of thosf^ who hold advanced views upon the relation of the sexes. There the institution of Cliristiun marriage was assailed with equal facility. Is it not a fact that thousands who marry are unhappy — why should this unhappiiioss be made lifelong ? How many marriages are made for love only — and is it a marriage at all without love ? Why should the wife be tied to the drunken husband ? Why crush the unfaithful wife, but give immunity to the unfaithful husband ? Here, again, the objections are obviouf', but the reasons that justify the old belief want searching after. In this connection another assemblage that I was at may be referred to, where the institution of private property was attacked also with vigour, though not with the same apparent success. It was in an English county, where a " red-van " lecturer was addressing from his cart a number of the villagers and country people, who appeared to have sauntered up to listen, rather than to have come up to attend the meeting. His questions and arguments, like those of the popular man in London, were certainly not easy to answer off-hand. '* Why should one man own half a county when you bave not grazing room for a cow ? Why should you live in hovels by the thousand in order that a handful of the gentry may live in mansions ? " Why, indeed ? Yet he did not make the same impression that the speaker did in the city. The people seemed to listen in a stolid manner. The eflfect of generations of suppressed life and energy cannot be thrown off by a few years of freedom. Or possibly it may be the external manner only that is sluggish, and there may be feeling within. A note which is stated to have been sent to one of the ** red- van " lecturers by an old Wiltshire labourer would seem to show that there is this feeling. It runs thus : "Oar parson preach yesterday of "We Labourers Being Dis- Batis£ed and Discontented With our Wages murmering of it he said ^IKETINGS. 117 Wo Labouring mon ouj^ht to lli satisfiecl with what wo got. Be eatisflecJ. Wc Wish You to I'uUiah it Pleao," I lieard tliesc same fiiiulamcntal questions put at a meeting in the United States, but with a local colouring that was imparted by the circumstances of the audience. It was a gatherinor of a Social Labour Club at their Labour Lyceum, which was chiefly attended by shoe- makers, whose industry was at the time much depressed, work being uncertain and wages low. They all sat about smoking while a young o[)erative spoke. He first addressed himself to tlie general view of the question between the poor and the rich, and advanced the usual arguments, or rather asked the old questions. The wealth of the United States was enormous, more than f*ii4ident for all. Why, then, were they poor? Because the rich robbed them. He also said, what was asserted at Norwich, that cheap things were a mistake. What they wanted was dear things and good wages. He denounced, in violent terms, both the great political parties, and all politicians from the President down- wards. All this was listened to, and applauded more or less, but the freest applause came when he went on to show how it was that they in their industry had bad times and often low wages. It was wholly owing to the exactions of a ring of property owners. Their raw material, the hides, was grown on the distant prairies, and the first robber was the ranch owner. Then came the railway companies, the fellmonger, the factory owner, the shopkeeper, all theie had to be appeased, and so, little was left for them. Had the people all these instruments of production and exchange in their own posaession — the lands, the railways, the factories, the shops — all would be rich, and two hours' work a day would be sufficient to produce what the community wanted. They should confiscate all property, just as they did the slaves. -Rut perhaps the saddest audience that the rights and wrongs of property were ever discussed before, was that which thronged the galleries of the hall in Chicago i I k' I . I «wai lafiSi&j 118 SOCIALISM. 1^ where the Lnljour Conference mot in 1893. One of the delegates gave mo the particulars. It was a hard winter; there was great distress; numbers whom the hoom time had attracted to the city were now left without work, without food, and without lodging. During the night miiny slept on the steps and about the porches of the building, and crowded into the galleries when the meetings were heUl, fur warmth and shelter, to hear the delegates, and to ponder upon tlie rights of the wealthy. A tragical sight it must have l)een to see these social wrecks eagerly listening to denunciations of property as being the cause of their misery, and hearing the promise, under the new system, of ease and j)lenty for all. Hard after such comforting words to have to go out and face the cold reality of the world as it is to-day ! He told me that it was no easy matter to oppose any Socialistic proposals with such surroundings. When he and some others did so they were vehemently hissed by the hungry galleries. No wonder! But this spectacle at Chicago is not a bad illustration of how the whole social system stands now upon its trial, even before the poor. It must justify itself, and justify itself even to them. In London I attended a widely difterent kind of meeting. It assembled to hear a lecture from a member of the Fabian Society. The room was capable of holding about one hundred people, and was well filled with a miscellaneous audience — some well dressed, some ap- parently poor, some that seemed to be students or to belong to the literary calling ; women as well as men. The chair was taken by a clergyman. Nothing could exceed the attention paid to the speaker. He was as far removed as possible from the type of the platform declaimer. His manner was cold, hesitating, critical ; his matter logical (granting his premises), skilfully marshalled, and erudite. He attacked the old school of political economy, and among other things laid down that the poor not only could not save, but that they should not, till they had reached a good standard of MEETINGS. 119 living. Wliat this was, was left unfixed. lie appeared to admit the ancient maxim that the waste of the rich is one of nature's ways for equalizing things again, as he said that luxury was useful in scattering wealth. In explaining the principles of tlic Socialist community, he declared that in it thoy would not produce more than was wanted from time to time for the day that was passing over tliem ; nor would they save. lie di*^ not discuss tlic effect that such a policy would haw on invention, new discoveries of machinery, energy, and the progressive spirit. " Rent" and the evils connected with it were explained in a learned manner. He wound up by warning his hearers that they must not tie them- selves too much to facts ; they must often act without them ; they must have faith. The flaw that marred the effect of his argument was the manner in which he imputed bad faith to the adherents of the orthodox school. In disputing their propositions he repeatedly remarked, "The trick here is in assuming" so-and-so. The unfairness of this was the more marked as he stated it without the least degree of heat — merely as an obvious conclusion from the facts. When he had finished, a number of intelligent questions were put, which clearly showed that the questioners had thought over the subject carefully. Some who spoke were obviously those upon whom prosperity did not shine. That old problem of political economy, the true meaning of " value," was acutely mooted. The meeting may certainly be termed an intellectual one, but the impression it left was how small a part of the road towards great changes mere intellect goes. It may start the ball, but once it begins to roll, rough practical hands come to the fore to push the mere thinkers aside and trundle it along in their own way. Movements grow more owing to the strength of the feeling in their favour, than to the exactness of the reasoning that supports them, and it is experience that shapes them. At the shoemakers' gathering in America, and at the Labour Party meeting in London, one saw : : •ii ■■1 v,i : i!l I I "* m^-ii ...^ *rwi*««w •-*•* 'I 120 SOCIALISM. the practical side to the metaphysical cogitations of the Iccturc-room. Another meetiug that I attended in London was at a Labour church. I call it a meeting, though strictly speaking it was the Sunday service of the Socialist brotherhood. The absolute Socialist breaks with the religion of the day. He does not go to church, nor let his children go. He regards the churches merely as part of the capitalistic system. Where he can, he establishes a church of his own, and there are a few such in England. There are only a few, however ; for numbers care to go to no church, new or old, and many who are ready to break with most things do not wish for an ostensible change to a fresh form of faith. The service or meeting was iield in a large church that had originally been built by some Christian body, but was now taken over by the Sucialists. It had an organ and the usual fittings of pews, pulpit, and reading-desk. There was a small attendance of people, apparently belonging to the middle class, a few of them being women. A gentleman of some position in the Socialist world acted as minister or leader to the ffatherino^. He read a oor- tion of the Bible, and then gave a prayer which made reference, but not in any undue manner, to the evils that they were seeking to remedy. One or two of the ordinary church hymns were sung, and this concluded the religious portion of the day's business. Some one J rem the congregation then came to the reading-desk, and spoke at length of the ills of social life and how thej^ ought to be remedied. Society was not a healthy body, but a diseased one — the stomach swollen, yet refusing to feed the emaciated, worn-out hands. The extravagance of luxury was shameful. One lady had given £7,000 for a pair of ear-rings, and a gentleman gave £1,000 for a breastpin, and yet there were starving poor. Some other members then spoke, and one denounced property owners in more bitter terms than I had heard at any other meeting i.i London. He declared that he looked forward to taking personal f MEETINGS. 121 f vengeance upon tliem. The hearers loudly applauded from time to time. But the minister, in closing the discussion, dissented wholly from the vengeance view of tlic subject. Tlic system, he said, was to blame, not the people who lived and worked under it. The law allowed and encouraged people to hold property. It was unjust to cherish hatred against them. How many of themselves, he fearlessly asked his hearers, would not enjoy property jast like others, if they could? His remarks were not ill taken, but they did not excite the same warmth of feeling that those of the vengeful man did. This Qratherinff was a failure however looked at — whether regarded as a religious exercise or as a political display. The two functions that it endeavoured to fulfil were not merely different, but inconsistent. Fighting against the evil conditions of this life is one thing, and cultivating the spirit that teaches us to rise superior to them in the hope of a better, is another thing. The essence of Socialism is not to waste time in vain yearnings after another life, but to make this present one as comfortable as possible. The leader appeared to be a thoughtful and humane man, but the short ministrations by which he commenced the pro- ceedings had an air, unintentional though it was, of mockery about them. It was so unreal. All felt that they came there for a different purpose than to pray and to sing soul-consoling hymns. The attitude of Socialism to religion bears so directly upon the question of how far the new creed is likely to ultimately prevail, that it will demand further consideration later on. I went to a service of a similar kind at Washington, at what was called the People's Church, where a reverend gentleman preached who I was told not to miss hearing. There was a moderate attendance of what we call the middle class of the people. Pamphlets and leaflets that coiidemned all monopolies and all aggrandisement of capital were sold in the hall. They were moderate in their tone, and admitted that no one's i;. 122 SOCIALISM. property could be honestly taken witlioui; compensation. A sort of litany, descriptive of noble sentiments and of kind human sympathies between men, was read, and hymns were sung, some of which were religious, though not of the orthodox type, and some philanthropic. The minister, who was the only speaker, delivered a purely secular discourse, which was at times warmly applauded by the audience. One of the main topics was the bad condition of the ordinary politics of the day. A true man could feel nothing but contempt for both parties. The only interest that they felt in either was what they could get out of them for mutualism. Votes of the electors were often bought for a few dollars. He cited some newspaper which gave particulars of this in one State. The elector said, " These mcii are only going in to make what they can of it — why should not I also make what I can ? " He also attacked the press. The strong vote that the people had just given at the elections, which had come off a few days before, in favour of the Republicans, was not based on any thought, but it was a blind rushing about from side to side of the ship staggering in the storm. The chief reference that he made to the distinctive views of his own school was when he declared that the great Trusts and Corporations had learnt the evils of competition, and were teaching the people the same lesson, and preparing their property to be held by the people's repres(3ntatives. He concluded by saying that the era of coi!.]) 'tition and selfishness was doomed, and that of mutuuiir/^ coming in. All his thrusts against the politicians appeared to be highly acceptable to his hearers, yet he and they were anxious to hand over their affairs, private as well as public, to those very men. What struck one as marking a difference between this People's Church and the one in London, was that here there was less religion and also less bitterness. The service was more secular, and there was a broader and more tolerant tone adopted towards the well-to-do. They were dealt with as creatures of a system, not as criminals. A MEETINGS. 123 • v( These may be taken as representative of the difterent kinds of meetings that take place for the discussion of Labour and Socialistic questions. I will only add one other, and that is one of a political character, such as used to excite enthusiasm when I was in England before. It was announced to be held in Hyde Park on a Sunday, and was styled in the handbills "a grand national demonstration " to urge upon the Government to take immediate steps to abolish " that mischievous and useless hereditary chamber," the House of Lords. Twenty-six different points in the suburbs around London were notified for the different crowds to assemble. Strict injunctions as to the times of de- parture from different points and the lines of route were given, and complete obedience to the marshals and to the police was commanded. Eleven platforms were erected, with parties of speakers announced for each. Of Women's Liberal Associations seven were to be represented, and one platform was given over wholly to women. The resolution of the day was to be pro- posed at all the platforms at the one time to t!:e sound of the bugle. All this recalled to mind the days of the old Hyde Park gatherings, when fifty or sixty thousand people assembled, broke down the railings when they found the gates closed, smashed windows, and threatened the mansions around, so that Mr. Disraeli gravely informed the House of Commons that he was not quite sure whether he had a house to go home to or not. Nothing, however, could be tamer than this display. The old fire was extinct, or was burning in other directions. The day was beautiful, and the crowd considerable. Various trade and other societies came up, headed by their bands, and bearing their banners. These latter bore some mottoes that are getting rather old-fashioned with the more advanced party — " Labour conquers all," "Industry the source of wealth," the praise of " the workers," " The dignity of labour." These do not fit in with the doctrines that I had heard •^of two or three hours' work a day being sufficient. rf ii 1 H 1 124 SOCIALISM. and of prodiiciiig from time to time only enough to keep the community going. Speeches were made from tlie eleven platforms upon the iniquities of the House of Lords and the oppressions that it perpetrated upon the people ; but tliey excited little enthusiasm. The crowd stood about or lay on the grass in an in- ditferent w\ay. AVhat enthusiasm there was came from the Irish element, which was well represented, and was indignant because the Lords had recently rejected the Home Rule Bill. People crowded about the women's platform. A few appeared disposed to be jocular, but they were quickly silenced by that chivalrous feeling of consideration for the other sex that marks both Englishmen and Americans. Yet it was a sorry sight, these women straining their voices to cry aloud de- nunciations of the guilty peers. What imparted a hollowneas to the whole display was the fact — which the people generall}' are quite aware of — that the Lords dare not resist anything that the public really want. They have formally surrendered ever since 1832. They could reject Home Rule only because England was against it. Unlike the Senate in the United States — which dues stop any legislation that it disapproves of, quite irrespective of the wishes of any majority in the lower house — the Lords claim only to delay till a decided majority of the Commons declare themselves. Long-headed Radicals desire nothing better than to leave the House of Peers just as it is. But the in- dilierence of the crowd was also owing, as it seemed to me, to that decay in the popular interest about merely political questions to which 1 have previously alluded. Meetings such as these that I hav^e described remind one of the change in the political condition of England that little more than half a century has produced. Then the feelings and grievances of the poor found their outlet in mob demonstrations, sometimes with violence, and at all times with the rough and crude announcement of demands that were then regarded as quite outside the region of practical discussion. Sir MEETINGS. 125 Robert Peel assured the House of Commons that EngUind need have no fear of mobs, as " in Enijhxnd the mob can do nothing," there being a power and moral feeling in the country that "could at all times put down any mob." When the petition for tlie People's Charter was presented to the House of Common?, that body refused, by a majority of nearly six to one, to hear the promoters at the bar in support of it. Now the points of the Charter are for the most part embodied in the constitution, or accepted by the leading political party in the State, and instead of tumultuous gatherings of the mob you have formal meetings of the electors, presided over by Members of Parliament, at which in polished harangues the upsetting of all things is pro- posed. Doctrines that would subvert the social state in a more fundamental manner than the Chartists ever thought of, are announced amid the most respectable surroundings. Electoral changes have gone faster than educational influences. Tliese meetings are not tribunals well adapted for passing judgment upon what have been termed the unseen foundations of society. These being out of the general sight, the causes and manner of laying them, be they on right lines or wrong, can only be adequately investigated when you know all the many-sided facts and reasons and think carefully over them. This cannot be expected amid the excitement of a popular assembly, so when the cause is called on, judgment goes for the time by default against existing institutions, for want of appearance. Only one side is or can be heard. Any man can then readily ask a question that no man can readily answer. All easily see the force of the adverse arguments ; for the evils of the present system ais felt by all, as some evils must be under any system. But the judgment given is only an interlocutory one. The appeal is to the whole people, many of wham do not go to these meetings, but all of whom are set thinking even by the very fallacies and extravagances that are at times proclaimed at them. discussion il just open 126 SOCIALISM. r ! \ I comes in. It gives vent to ideas and discontents that as a fact are prevailing among the people. It does not create them — they exist already — but it brings them to the light. In so far as these are just, it ensures that they will be attended to — that right will be done, and this is a great public gain. Where the impossible is demanded, public opinion will in time stand in the way. Though, amid the excitement of the platform, the extremist seems to carry all before him, yet when people awake next morning to the facts of the workaday world, and meet the other people, they find their ideas "N modified. More, too, is said at these meetings than is | meant ; and much that is meant by honest enthusiasts they themselves admit to be impracticable now, and to be realizable only in a distant future. Numbers, to be sure, are now sovereign in the social state, but yet have not an absolute sovereignty. There are some other powers to be reckoned with. Truth is one, and like llilton's angel it may be wounded, but not killed. The common sense of the whole people is another; and the more discussion there is, the more these two ultimately \^ come to the front. We must think this, even if we only take the modest estimate of the popular wisdom formulated by Abraham Lincoln, when he said, "You] may fool some of the people all the time, and all the -^ people some of the time, but not all the people all the \ time." I mixed with many poor people and many rough people at diflferent gatherings, but always saw kindness of feeling and consideration for others displayed. I have mentioned some instances regarding women. Cer- tainly tender-heartedness often finds its home among the lowly. I may mention an instance from my own experience. When a member of the Victorian Parlia- ment, I once, when driving through a lonely part of the country district that I represented, was stopped upon the track by a gaunt, hard-featured looking bushman, who had hurried across from a neighbouring paddock, where he had been burning the scrub. Begrimed with i ^ MEETIJ^GS. 127 smoke and dirt, his rugged features would not have led you to suspect that a heart as fond as a woman's beat within his breast. I had just known him — no more, for he was not of the loquacious type of man or elector, and he so seldom troubled me that I wondered what he wanted me for now, supposing that he had some of the usual personal troubles of the elector. And he had a personal trouble ; but I will let the conversation tell what it was : He : I wanted just to see ye for a minute. I : Oh, very well. What is it about ? He : It's about this yer burying-place beyond here, near the township. I : Well, is anything wrong there ? He : They say the Guv'ment are going to close it. I : Yes, I heard something about that. They will give another ground wherever you all like. He : That's not it, quite. It's closing it up alto- gether. I : Well I suppose it is getting too full — it's so small, though there are only a few of you about here. He looked round without speaking, so I repeated that the Government would make all arrangements for a new place. Then he began fidgeting with the harness of our buggy. He looked away from me down the bush track and slowly continued : " Ye see, it's this way. My little boy is buried there. He's dead these two years. An' the mother an' I would feel lonesome lying anywhere else." He broke off shortly, leaving, however, his objection to the absolute closing of the cemetery perfectly clear. i 1 If 1 i ,.- , 1 ;■ :! i. '! :' ' I ; '?■ i ■ ■[■ ■ i m Al M n ' iyl ^ M ! fi fi CHAPTER YII. SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. In carrying out the purpose of my mission, I lost no opportunity of meeting and conversing with represen- tatives, men of eveiy description of Socialist views, from the intellectual and discriminating speculator down to the toiler, whose wishes were mainly moulded by the wants that pressed him and the hopcj that the new system held out to him. Public speaking has been said to be a knack which can be acquired by practice, and which docs not show you what is in a man, or whether there is anything in him ; whereas in conver- sation you can get at what he really thinks, if he does think. Certainly in the platform you have one means of knowledge, in publications another, and in personal converse a third, and the last is instructive as showing what people's thoughts are running upon, irrespective of the value to be attached to the opinions themselves. You can thus often get, by a short cut, to what is wanted. I told all whom I met that I was commis- sioned by the Government of Victoria to make inquiries, and that I hoped to publish the result. But I have avoided recording anything that I gathered was in- tended for private converse only ; of this there was little. Most of those whom 1 met were confident in their views, or at least in the feeling of their wants, and anxious to have all widely known. One of the ablest thinkers and advocates of the Socialist cause in Eng- land favoured me by giving me more than one inter- SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 129 view, at which he explained his opinions very clearly. Socialism, he said, was a principle of the new organisa- tion of society : not a system or Utopia. They aimed at substituting State control of industry for that of the individual, and their purpose was therefore correctly described as being the nationalization of all the means of production. But there were many points which were still quite unsettled, as, for example, the respective spheres of the central government and of local or municipal government in the work. Also, though they assumed democracy, the form of it which would prevail, and the extent of popular voting to be allowed, was uncertain. For immediate practical proposals the report of the Socialist minority of the Koyal Commission on Labour was the best guide. Everything would be done gradu- ally ; no forced change. The Duke of Norfolk, and even his son, miglit have their land, but after that it goes to the State. His object was to secure equality of opportunity, as far as possible, to all. At present the workmen were reduced to the position of mere machines under masters; and this st;i*^e of affairs was only pre- paring for the time when the collective State would step into the shoes of the private master. Changes were going on all about that were almost unnoticed, but were preparing for this final change. It would take, however, generations to complete that change. Taxation would - be one great lever to bring it about. Tax away all property quietly, perhaps slowly, but surely. Both Mill and Bentham advocated using death duties, and altering the law of inheritance so as to pare down large fortunes. But he would not favour any immediate dividing up of large properties ; though he would tax away for other purposes than revenue getting. High authority among economists approved of this. There would be a gradual levelling-up of wages to a certain level, and a disinclination to allow anything very high, and thus things would be getting more on an equality. In the social state there must be strict discipline : the ranks of workmen would not be allowed to elect their i 180 SOCIALISM. i ( own heads ; they would only have their vote for the general election of representatives. The idle would be subjected to some form of penal discipline. The mere struggle for wealth was despicable, and would not be countenanced ; but he did not see how they could pre- vent a man or a woman getting exceptional payment for exceptional service. If a Paget or a Patti were refused a high foe, they might decline to operate or to sing. I asked what, under such a system, would be the use of a large income, even if permitted. He said that they must, he considered, allow a man to keep for his life what he earned, though not to bequeath it. As he left the form of political government uncertain, I inquired whether he contemplated the possibility of having the industrial state and men's personal rights, with the private concerns of home and family, in the hands of such men as the free government of the United States produced, to rule New York, Chicago, San Fran- cisco, and other great cities ? He spoke disparagingly of America, said it was no example, and that there would be no fear of such things with Englishmen. They would have all appointments during good be- haviour, a strict Civil Service examination, and all salaries would be so equalized that there would not be great temptation to favouritism. But now there was the worst possible favouritism under the system of individual training. In no public government system could there be worse. Authorship would be provided for by having professors who would be maintained by the public, and devote their leisure time to literature. He would allow honours and distinctions for all good service done to the State, and stimulate ambition in every way. And men would strive to serve the public for these. Look at the way many of the colonials worked for their petty colonial titles. I put the old question as to how the menial work of the State would be apportioned, but do not think that further light was thrown upon this difficulty during our conversation. It is dealt with, as far as it can be, in the *' Fabian SOCIALISTS I HAVE ^ii? I 'y I'h ; i: k # ■• ■ •'^m 136 SOCIALISM. consent appeared to prevail so far, but a difficulty arose when I asked them if they had sufficient confidence in their politicians, to hand over all to them. Several said emphatically that they had no confidence whatever in them. They did not trust them one bit. I asked how then was it that they elected them time after time every two years. It was not as in England, where they had a seven years terra, and could not be ousted during that time, no matter what they did. One of them answered me briefly — " It's the boodle, sir, that does it ; they may be honest when they go in, but they can't stand the boodle." Stead's book on Chicago, he said, was perfectly true — no exaggeration. Were such men, then, to manage the public industries, or, if not, who was ? I asked. They had no solution to this diffiodty. One said that he would never agree to the Goverament having things in their hands. Others said that the Government would be improved under the Socialist state ; everything would be better. Another remarked to me that what they really wanted was what Bellamy had sketched out — an easier life than they had now. Why not, then, try what co-operation would do ? Let working people own the factories and divide the profits. This would never do. They had tried it ; there was a co-operative factory here doing well, and then came one managed by a boss and undersold them directly. Under the new plan all must get the same wage. If one man made three pairs of boots in a day, and another one pair, would each get the same return ? To be sure they would ; the man who only made one pair might have worked harder than the other. One said women must get just the same as men. Another replied, " Not at all ; they can't stand the work. Why, I've seen them come into the factory with their medicine bottle just as regular as their food. It's all nonsense." But under the new system three or four hours a day would be enough work for all. They need only produce enough stuff to supply what was actually wanted by the people about. Towards the end of the ; ,^ vy i^ i I f ■ii SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 137 interview a gentleman came in who held some official position in their Union. They mentioned to him some of the ditHculties that I had suggested ; but he disposed of them quickly. Afraid of jobbery in the public service and railways ? Get a proper Civil Service system, or better still, disfranchise State employes altogether. Co- operation ? Perfectly useless so long as you allow outside competition. The great thing is to kill competition. That is the root of the whole matter. No one should be allowed to own any land whatever. As for fear of abuses if the Government own the railways and industries, there was more corruption of the Government now by the railroad corporations, than ever could be under any other system. The whole Government was corrupt; both the political side and also the judicial, from the Supreme Court down, all was in the hands of the capitalist. One often finds the official in labour associations to hold more absolute views and languacje than does the plain working man. During the conversation a number of artisans stood about the room listeninfr with more or less attention. One young fellow, in a corner rear, kept partly watching the speakers and partly practising in dumb show what seemed to be some new step in a dance or hornpipe. When we were about parting, he broke in, and, addressing the leading spokesman, said : " I tell yez, it's all very well, I hope ye will settle it as ye say, but I don't believe it. We must fight, there's no other way out of it. It's not to be done by this talking, like. For meself, I'm ready to shoulder my musket any time, right off." And he made a suitable movement with bis arm. A few seemed to nod assent, but the others only smiled, and the man addressed asked him in a deprecating manner not to make a noise. Most of them seemed conscious that no fighting was needed by men who can control the ballot box. The thinkers upon this subject are, however, by no means confined to those who sit in offices and write I :: i I j L;.,-;i-,ri-«-;3 M, 'fi Si ;f bh 138 SOCIALISM. ' . I. I ■ •■ I' books. Two of the most instructive conveuations that I had were with two working men — one in England, the other in the United States. The Englishman was a firm Socialist, while the American had been a Socialist, but now doubted its being practicable, and so must be regarded as a convert or a pervert according to the views of the reader. The first was by occupation a carpenter. He spoke with calmness and a tone of mode- ration, and expressed indignation at the violent language that some Socialists had used, saying that all the harm was done that way. He emphasized what truly is an argument for collective action of some kind, either by co-operation or the State — namely, the great advance in the use of machinery, and the dwarfing of all indi- vidual action or industry. Not only were there now no artisans working by themselves or by twos or threes, but all small employers were being s vallowed up, and vast machinery, impelled by steam, and attended by troops of employes, produced things in great profusion, his share of which the worker did not get. It had been calculated, he saw, in the United States that machinery had increased th productiveness of labour 3,000 per cent. ; but the gain to the working classes was estimated at only twenty per cent. How much, with all our machinery, had we reduced the hours of work in the last forty years ? But in the Socialist state the whole people would get the full benefit of the improvement in machinery, which was quite illimitable : steam, electricity, compressed air — soon it would do every- thing. When he was a youth it was considered good work for a man and a boy to make twelve flooring boards, tongued and grooved, in a day. The boy held the machine on the end of the board, while the man slowly pulled it down. Now one machine will make twelve thousand of these in the same time. True, all had the benefit of cheap boards ; they had floors now of wood, instead of bare earth ; but what became of the workmen and the boys ? But while he believed in the State owning the laud and all the great instruments of \,r* f ^ SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 139 K,, n production, the change could only go on very gradually, from time to time, as the people became fitted for it. He saw well enough that they were not fitted for it at present, and he objected rather, therefore, to the col- lectivist resolution carried at Norwich ; but only be- cause it was premature. He bad always told them of the need of going slowly. He admitted that he had little faith in politicians, and it w£is a difficulty, who was to govern the great industrial society in the future. Yet some Government departments were fairly enough worked now — for example, the post-office, with its nume- rous employes. I had this illustration of the feasibility of Government management given to me several times both in England and in America. His idea of the Socialist state would be that men should be paid or rewarded according to their work ; but then all would help the weak ones, just as is done by the trade unions now. The Communist says, to each one accord- ing to his needs, but the Socialist, to each accord- ing to his deeds. To the question whether this would not lead back to all the evils of competition — private property for the earner's life, at least — and the weak not being as well oflf as the strong, he could give a no more satisfactory answer than other more pretentious men. Incidentally he said that the idea which a few enter- tained of helping industry by some form of protection was nonsense. It could only cause more poverty. Look even at the wealthy United States. It was not necessary for him to say how the idle would be dealt with in the new State, how menial work would be apportioned, who would devote themselves to inven- tions, literature, science, and art ; for all that was in the distant future, and must be grappled with when we come up to it. He wished to go on quietly now help- ing the poor and the toilers. He liked Burns' poetry much, and often thought of his words about man's inhumanity to man, and he wanted to remedy it. The side of the problem that seemed to press him to his conclusion was the growing power of machinery. il I J •-hjr-rr-v.t.-'i 140 SOCIALISM. I And thinkers of various schools have n?oro than once called attention to the revolucion machinery was making in industry. It was calculated that in 1886 the machine power used in the United State«» was equal to 3,500,000 horse-power; this represents the work of twenty-one million of men, and only four million were employed. And the power and scope of machinery increases daily by strides that our forefathers never thought of, and men are pushed out. This points to united action, large operations, and a better division of the produce as a necessity. The Socialist says that this can only be brought about by taking both men and machines into the service of the State. But great economists hold that an equally good result could be brought about by some system of co-operative produc- tion, if men were sufficiently advanced to work it intelligently. For this, foresight and self-denial would be necessary. My other friend, the artisan in the United States, held an important position in the labour world, and was a firm supporter of the rights of the workers. He had been for some years active in the Socialist ranks, but had come to disbelieve in the solution of the problem of the day which that party offers. He said that he saw clearly that it meant slavery for all, and even if they were fed and clothed, what better would they be than the negroes before the war of emancipation ? Only a few of those were actually ill-used ; most of them were well fed and cared for ; yet the people had spent millions, and spilt their blood all over the continent, merely to make them free men, able to work for them- selves as they liked, not as they were ordered by their master. White people would never settle down to a similar helpless state to that of the old blacks. But that was really what it came to. They all knew what sort of governments many cities and States now had in America, and how did they know that they would get better ones under the new system ? It would be a nice thingto have a set of men like some of those, deciding what SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 141 your son or daughter was to go to, and perhaps some rogue of a fellow keeping them out of their rights for some of his relatives. Why, now the men in t'ie State service were only slaves — they dare not say a word, or they might be turned off, and whether or no, lots were turned off when a new set of politicians came in. The Socialists said that all government would be pure and just under them ; but he did not see why that should be ; and suppose they were mistaken, and it were not so, what a mess they would all be in. And money was not the only difference between men. If it was all equalized, still the clever, active man would in other ways be able to lord it over the rest. Men were as selfish now as they were 500 years ago ; and were they all to become different under the new system ? The Socialist ideas all came from Germany, which was the home of Socialism. Still, though he did not go with the Socialists to the end, he felt the force of their position when they attacked the present state. They said, " You have been going on the old lines for eighteen centuries, and they have not brought happiness to the people ; now let us try new lines." He was all for fighting the capitalist and forcing him to do his duty. The Labour party must fight them ; and they had fought them and taught them a lot. Why, every few years showed a change for the better in the ways of the capitalists. In a week or two some of their leading men and some professors were to meet Labour delegates, in Chicago, to discuss industrial questions with them. They would not have thought of that ten years ago. He would not abolish private property, but try and diffuse it by a graduated income tax, death duties, and by promoting profit-sharing in industry. The rich must be taught their duty, and the labour organisations could teach them. There was a political side to society and an. industrial side. The people ruled the one, or thought they did, the capitalist at present the other, and he must be taught, and industry improved by securing to the worker a proper share of production. \ ' i \ ■:$4 142 SOCIALTS^r. Profit-sharing was one step in advance ; but Bellamy and his military Socialism had no real weight with the people of America. I asked him how he first came to distrusl the views of the party he had been so long acting with. He said that he used to attend all their meetings, private and otherwise, in New York, and that what first set him thinking about the real meaning of the system was the view of marriage and the family that some of them maintained. He mentioned the name of a well-known lady, and said that he had heard her and her friends denounce marriage and the family as '* the root of all evil." When he came to look into it, they were right, if the Socialist ideal was right. It, when worked out, meant the loss of all independent life, even between husband and wife, or father and child. They were going to propose their tenth plank at Denver — that is, the Collectivist resolution adopted at Norwich, and we would see what would come of it. He did not think that they would carry it. Such were the views of this working man, and he certainly expressed them with force and intelligence. At present a good many in America agree generally with his conclusion, though they have not thought it out as he has. But he bases that conclusion upon the hope that a more just distribution of wealth can, and will, be wrought out by other means. If that hope were to prove a delusion, his following would be small. Here I may mention that in England I met some Birmingham artisans who also expressed their dissent from the Norwich Conference resolution ; but they did not appear to have thought about the matter like the Americans. They said in an uncertain sort of manner that they thought it was going too far; it was too much. The old Trade Union plans were better. They seemed to be under the influence of Mr. Chamberlain's opinions, and said more decidedly that his scheme for enabling them to purchase freeholds was just what they wanted. One of them was a workman on the railways. R l(! SOCIALISTS I HAVK MET. 143 • i 1 asked liira if he and his friends favoured the State owninf]f the railways. He said emphatically that they all did; and honestly and ingenuously added, "It would be so much more comfortable for us." Another said that of course the Government service was best ; all of them tried to get into it. He had tried to get into the dockyards, but it could only be done by influence. When they got in they were provided for. The Populist party in America is like the Inde- pendent LalDour party in England in condemning both the great political di . Isions in their respective countries, and it adopts several of the Socialist's views, but, unlike its English counterpart, utterly repudiates his ultimate conclusions, or thinks it does. It goes, however, a good way on the road with him ; but declares it will part company with him at the dividing of the ways, I had some talk with one of their leading representative men. He said that their party was rapidly growing in voting power, they were growing evenly all over the States, though as yet they could command few electorates. Last election they had polled two million voters ; next, they would poll four millions. The future was with them. Now their legislators were generally distrusted and the best record was no record. They would alter all that. As for the Socialists, they had no real weight ; they had never worked out their schemes, Bellamy had made no progress among the working men. The tenth plank might be endorsed at Denver ; but few of the delegates would really believe in it. They all regarded it as imaginary. His party was quite distinct from the Socialists, as much as it was from the Republicans or the Democrats. But they were strongly in favour of the State owning all tne railways, taking them after paying compensation ; of a graduated income tax to take away large fortunes ; and of limiting the holding of land to those who make use of it. The Single Taxers had no weight here ; the farmers would go as a unit against it ; but the large grants of land to Railway Corporations and to English capitalists ought to be ' -I i 144 SOCIALTS^r. recalled on payment of compensation. There was corruption everywliere ; lie ditl not know how the people stood it so long. Would there not be a fear of more of this if tlie State owned all the railways, with the million of employe's new civil servants? He would deprive them all of votes. When the Populists got power the first thing they would settle would be the silver question ; then the banking. They would pay all their debts in silver. Lind and railways would come afterwards. It was a ([uestion wliether universal suflraee was a success — whetlier it could stand against money. This would be proved on the silver ques- tion. The danger of America was the slums and the millionaires. Another prominent Labour leader, whom I met in New York, though he was not identified with the Populist party, spoke in the same strain regarding Socialism, while yet he likewise adopted many of its immediate proposals. He was one of the foremost men in the American Federation of Labour, which proclaims as its object, " The organisation of the working people, by the working people, for the working people," and had given many forcible addresses inculcating their views, which were printed and widely circulated. He said that Socialism was merely a passing phase, that it had no real hold on the people, and that the vote which would be given at the Conference that was about to be held at Denver would, even if in favour of the " tenth plank," not show any real opinion upon the subject. As for Bellamy's book, people regarded it as a dream. I asked how it was, then, that Henry George polled so many votes in New York. He said that thousands voted for him who had no belief in his views ; they voted merely against the party of corruption. So far, he seemed to be going upon the old lines ; but, he added, that they were universally agreed upon the necessity for the State owning all the railways, and other monopolies, and being the common employer ; in shortening the hours of labour to eight to-day and E i SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. UH less to-morrow ; and ia securing by State power, if no other, adequate wages, so long — he expresses it in oae of his published papers — " so long as the wage system may last." He holds strong views upon the right of the workman to get a better share of the general wealth, and to be a partner in the produce of the land and of machinery in a manner not yet recognised. The great weapon, he considers, is the Trade Uniqn system, when kept in full vigour and development, and the powerful strikes that it can direct. President Cleveland was quite wrong in interfering in the Chicago strike ; he should have left tliem to fight it out. At a Sunday afternoon gathering of artisans, which I went to in the same city, the opinion generally expressed, was in favour of the whole Socialistic plan, if it could be got ; but many said it was at present impracticable. All, how- ever, were for the Government owning the railways, and becoming the people's employer wherever possible. The Socialist regards views such as these with satis- faction, and he has reason to do so. They may say that they don't agree with him, but they do in fact agree with him for the present. They travel along the same road and the parting of the ways is distant. He says that by the time they get to the parting, they will have gone so far upon his track, that they will find that it is the only possible one upon which to continue their journey. The most pronounced Socialists with whom I met, were two gentlemen in the United States, both of whom were educated men occupying positions, the one in the literary, the other in the official world. I will briefly record their views. Tlie former said that the Socialist party was growing slowly in America, but the Populist quickly, and that they certainly would be in power by the year 1900, perhaps by the elections in 1896. The Socialists were quite content to go along with them and let them do the work, for they were agreed upon much that was now in sight. As for the present Government and Legislature, they were quite corrupt ; but that was owing to the big corporations and the power of money. I ! •4 ' 1 ■J 146 SOCIALISM. There would bo no fear of this in the Socialist state. Tlie Courts, too, were all corrupt, from the Snprome Court down, in the sense of being under the domination of capital. The only difficulty would be in the tran- sition to Socialism ; once there, the system would be easy to work — when you had a generation educated in it. There would be no fear of production falling off under the new plan of life ; the country could always supply itself, and Foreign Trade was only wanted for luxuries. Machinery, now the ruin of the working man would then be his slave. All would be paid alike, and no private property allowed. If Patti wanted a couple of thousand dollars to sing, she would not get it. All positions would be equalized by giving equal honour to all. The bailiff would be as much respected as the judge ; the positions in the Government of the day would have no attractions; they would be no better than any that we call humbler. If any were idle and would not work, he would let them starve ; but there would be no idlers, for all would take a pride in doing their public duty. Was the sentiment of honour and regard to general approbation to become extinct ? As to disagreeable work — call for volunteers. Did not men vol'i. teer their lives away when the colonel of the regi- ment called upon them ? There would be no crime under Socialism. The motives for crime were money and women, and neither would operate then. There would be no pri- vate money, and there would be a freedom in the relation of the sexes that does not now exist. Marriage would not then be the fixed thing it is now. Now it was greatly abused. Parents, too, were the most unfit persons to educate their own children. The family makes selfish- ness. Bring the children up together in common. Nor would there be any need of religion then. Religion was wanted to preach contentment to the miserable ; then there would be no miserable and no need of preaching. Years ago we read of such views being ascribed, not without a shudder, to the outcast Nihilists. Now they appear amid respectable surroundings, and SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 147 proclaim themselvos witli immunity in tlio midst of that society tlicy would destroy. In mucli the same strain spoke the other exponent of the full Sociiilist programme. I hope that I do tliom no injustice in only giving tlie conclinions that they arrived at. In the long interviews with wliich they favoured mo, they gave reasons and urged arguments which, wliile they were far from convincing me of the truth of their views, satisfied me of the sincerity of the speakers. But it also seemed to me that in both cases the think- ing process was coloured and perverted by prejudices and visionary ideas. This other gentleman held quite as pronounced a view as the first, upon the low condition of public life in America. The politicians were thorouglily distrusted by the people, and so were the judges. The Supreme Court, while not corrupt, was yet biassed in favour of the great corporations, for whom the individual members of the Bench had been acting all their lives as attorneys. They should all be elected direct by the people, and only for a very short time. I asked if they would get good men then, and referred to the fact that Judge Cooley, a man of unspotted character, and whose pro- found writings were studied by lawyers all over the world, had been unseated at an election by a nobody, after twenty years' service. He quite justified this, and said it was right to reject him. The Senate, too, must be altered, and elected in a different way. He always likod to have his hand on the shoulder of the public othcer. At present they bought their way into the Senate. He was a pronounced Socialist, though he doubted if Socialism would work out in the manner that many expected ; but he went with it, so as at any rate to break up the present system. The Government should own all the instruments of production. Political liberty without economical liberty was useless. Voting did not make a man free ; nor did it feed him. He would tax away the value of the land and allow no compensation. It would be done L 2 s I A /' 9 fl l^ 148 SOCIALISM. gradually. All would be paid equally, the policeman as much as the general. This would not interfere with production. The man who could make twice the number of pairs of boots that another could, woul*^ still exert himself to make them. That was done every day by the Trade Unionists. In the Socialist state there would not be the same motive to increase production, and why should there be ? All they wanted was to have enough to go on with. But men would invent and make im- provements for the honour of it. Human nature would then manifest itself in a new direction ; no more mere selfishness. Even if Socialism did not last itself, it would lead to something better. There would be no fear of a continuance of political corruption in the new state, because then there would be no motive for men to strive for the Government places, as they would have no high pay hanging to them ; and they would be so carefully watched, owing to the personal interest of all in their doings, that there would be no chance of their going wrong. To these two I will add the views of another literary man who was editor of an important organ of the Labour party. His opinion was that the working men were getting distinctly more Socialistic in tone, but that they had no clear ideas on the subject. They adopted no scheme or plan, and did not care to do so, as they were practical men, and all they wanted were some practical things now. Some of them professed to be Socialists, but. many of them professed to be the very opposite, to be Anarchists ; while some were Individualists. They would take the best points from each creed as far as they could get them. In the dis- tant future, no doubt, they would have pure Socialism, when selfishness was eliminated from human nature, and there would be no more poverty to induce it, as now. What, then, did they desire at present ? Oh, only for the Government to take the land, railways, telegraphs, and let the land be worked by the people on co-operative principles. Ml SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 149 There is a small sect of Anarcliists in the United States, and they, too, adopt cue important proposal of the Socialists, though diametrically opposed to them U])on the main issue. I met the two principal office- bearers of one of their clubs and heard their views with interest. It was stated subsequently in the colonial papers that I had been interviewing Anarcliists, and a JNlclbourne illustrated journal produce > I h lively sketch of my precipitate retreat from the Ai'a cliists' den, leaving my hat behind, to avoid a btmbraell which a diabolical-looking ruffian had placed ready to greet me. The best dictionaries describe an Anarchist as one who excites revolt or promotes disorder in a State ; so the popular ideal of him is not to be wondered at. But the reality, at least as I met it, was widely ditfereut. They were educated gentlemen, rather of the refined type, who were engaged in business, and devoted their spare time to promoting the principles of their society. These they declared to be that they condemned all govern- ment except what was absolutely necessary to prevent crime. Men should be a law to themselves. Sixty millions of men had no right to coerce one million. For example, they would have no debts collected by law ; let people who choose to give credit look to that themselves. Bentham was cited in support of this. Often the advocates of peculiar views fasten upon some passage in the works of a great WTiter, which they adduce as a high authority, though they treat with contempt nearly everything else he has said. Mill has thus often been quoted as favouring protection in young countries ; Washington as condemning foreign commerce. They would do everything according to lie law, until they could alter it. The true Anarchist was the perfect gentleman. They totally dissented from the Socialist idea of the Government taking the industry of the country under its charge. It was preposterous to think of it. Just look at their Government. The less Government interfered with individuals the better. It would only bungle and oppress. In what, then, did i; » f m i II N ^ 150 SOCIALISM. they agree with the Socitallsts ? In taking the land. They were all agreed to suppoit Henry George's single- tax, and do away with all other taxes. It would be more than sufficient if Government was confined to its own proper sphere. They, of course, objected to the State taking the railways into its own management. Poverty was growing in the United States ; but as yet there was no hatred between the poor and the rich as such ; though it would come. They thought that Socialism was growing among the working men, because great social evils were growing. The worst possible forms of sweating prevailed in some of their cities. Laws were made against it, but made in vain. This is the intellectual form of the Anarchist's creed. It is not likely ever to have much weight ; for while it would subvert what the experience of ages has shown to be essential for the safety of men in human society, it utterly disclaims the longing to use political power to secure social benefits — practical "fruit" — that is the marked characteristic of our time. Leaving now America, for the present, I will revert to some interviews that I had with representative Socialists in England. One gentleman whom I met held a high position in the Labour party, and no one hearing him could doubt his sincerity, though his opinions were evidently coloured by his feelings. As a boy, he said that he had heard much of Cobden and Bright, but he had never believed in them. He and his party were at eternal war with the property classes, but they regarded the workers of all nations — French, Germans, Russians — as their brothers. They took no interest in ordinary politics; the Liberals were just as bad as the Conservatives. If they looked to politics at all it was only that through them they might get hold of the social machine. He would confiscate all property, land first and the rest afterwards, and employ the people ; but he would do it by law, not by social revolt. It was a better way to do it, as well as an easier. Would that be honest after your laws sanctioned it, and thus SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 151 pledged the public faith ? The people's laws did not sanction it ; only the plutocrats' laws. At present about one-fourth of the working men agreed with them; but they were growing fast. The first thing they would do would be to take the land and use it for employing the people, without scanning very closely the profit that it would then returii. Would there not be the danger of political interference in the manage- ment of that and other industries under the proposed system ? He would give the Board of Trade, or some other body, quite distinct from politics, the whole management. Such abuses as were feared, existed in New York and Chicago, because their Governments rested upon an individualist basis ; and money was there. A few hours' work a day, three or four, would be quite enough. He had no fear of men idling the rest of the day ; they would cultivate literature, music, and such things. There must be absolute equality between men and women, and all would work from a principle of honour. Selfishness would decline. He and his party broke absolutely with the religion of the day — Christianity as it was taught — and took their children away from Church and Sunday school. Where they could, they established Labour Churches and schools. Their paper was the "Labour Prophet." He showed me a letter that he had just received from a cleroyman which said that the writer could remain in the Church no longer, owing to its attitude upon social questions, and that he was open to take an engagement as a Socialist lecturer. He had some papers connected with one of the Labour Churches. Their object was stated to be "The realisation of Heaven in this life by the establishment of a state of society founded upon justice and love to the neighbour." Edward Carpenter, tl^e author of " Matriage in Free Societ}'-," was a represen- tative Socialist and good man in every way. But as for himself, he did not wish to express any opinion upon the question of greater freedom lor married life. In these conversations I was an inquirer, and did I . II I! I ti i ' 152 SOCIALISM. I'r not urge my own opinions further than might be useful to discover truth by the conflict of thought. But I questioned what he seemed so sanguine of, namely, the possibility of keeping the new State free from political evils any more than the old, inasmuch as their origin was in human nature itself, and you could never calculate upon getting perfection out of any system of voting by imperfect men. The ballot-box could not do everything. It could not ensure public rectitude. Upon this he rather turned upon me, and said that it was no use going further if I did not believe in the people's voice. But while I hold that the system of government resting upon the people's voice is the best and the only form now possible, I am far from believing that their vote is the wisest means for always ascertaining truth. There is a fanaticism about the worship of the ballot- box, as there is about most other faiths. I remember hearing of an instance of this under a popular Govern- ment. Two rival places in a district were competing for public money to be spent in the search for coal. Each claimed to have the true geological indications. How to decide ? Perplexed politicians proposed a public meeting, where the matter should be discussed and voted upon. This was in fact done, and the rival claims of the two localities — carboniferous indications against those of limestones of the oolitic series, and so forth — were settled by the ballot-box. But will Nature thus give up her secrets ? And was not the Labour leader also expecting too much from it ? The next person I met was to me an object of much interest, for I expected him to throw light upon a subject that we colonial politicians have long been exercised about. He was a working man who had practical knowledge, from the worker's side, of the system pursued by the London County Council in carrying out its operations without the intervention of the contractor, under the direction of its Works Committee. When a political body has to do industrial work, the employment of a contractor, if he is selected i SOCIALISTS I HAVE MEI. 153 15 4 * by some known and fixed rule, at least has the merit of disposing of the question of patronage. Where it acts directly, patronage must rest somewhere, and when the system works out to its natural results, it becomes political patronage. In some of the colonies where the Government is the direct employer, men are taken on upon the recommendation of the Member for the district, and are not taken on without it. If the foreman wants to dismiss, the man claims justice from his Member. I know that we Members regard this patronage as a burden, trying to ourselves, and not useful for the public. We all endeavour to do our duty and show more independence than we sometimes get credit for ; but the system is bad. The mixture of politics with industrial work is a mistake. The best workman may never be heard of at election times, and may not have the knack of conciliating influence ; while the man who has, may not be a good workman. I was anxious, therefore, to hear whether the London County Council had as yet encountered any of these difficulties in the working of their new policy. Ac- cording to my informant, who declared himself an en- thusiastic Socialist, they had steered clear of them. They were going, he said, on distinctly Socialist lines, and with great success. Abolishing the contractor and doing the job under their own foreman was working excellently. They paid the highest Trade Union rate of wages, and there was a general striving to get into their service. If a foreman dismissed a workman, he had an appeal to the Sub-Committee of Works, which was composed of eighteen members, four of whom were working men. There were several such appeals. If a man had a grievance, he went to the member for his district, if he was a friend to labour, and he would bring it before the Sub-Committee ; or if the man was wrong, the member would tell him so, and then he would be satisfied. I saw, I may remark, in The Daily Neivs a statement that a foreman had dismissed a number of men for idleness, and that the Committee had . ,( I V 'I !! 164 SOCIALISM. supported him. My informant said that the men all worked with a will now, to show that it was cheaper not to employ a contractor ; but when the new system was well established, he thought that they should be allowed to go easier, for then a man would take more interest in his work, when he could give time to it and finish it properly. This was much better than hurrying through it. Not only did the Council give good wages for their own work, but when they did employ a con- tractor they made him give good wages too. The Blackwall Tunnel was an instance. There they made the contractor pay in all £26,500 more to the men than he wanted to, and it was a good thing for him also, as otherwise there would have been strikes. He had been through several political agitations himself. At one time a complaint was made that a foreman was employ- ing all his own relatives, and then this was forbidden. Sir John Lubbock's statement, which I have cited in a previous chapter, gives the other aspect of this subject. Mr. Sidney Webb, in his " Socialism, True and False," adverts to the doubt whether the workers under the social state would be able to ensure the best terms for themselves. He says, "As citizens and electors, the workers, we may presume, will see that the hours of labour are as short, the conditions of work as favour- able, and the allowance for maintenance as liberal, as the total productivity of the nation's industry will alibrd." The experience of democratic countries, where the Government acts as an employer of labour, gives no countenance to this doubt, and the impression left by the remarks and the tore of the London workman was, that tlie County Council in due time, and when the ranks of its employes are increased by its different new undertakings, will learn that a body which is elected by popular suffrage, if it is also a large employer of labour, is governed by its employes. I had heard much about Christian Socialism, and so was glad to be allowed a conversation w^ith a reverend gentleman who held an official position in one of the social •\ ■"r 4 A mUiM' SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 155 Kir. J^ yf unions. He was a Church of England and an Oxford man, and gave the impression of a noble feeling of sympathy with the poor. He said that all the young clergy were Socialists, that the movement was as strong at Oxford now as the High Church outbreak was seventy years ago. Most of the clergy about London were the same. I remarked that it was stated that nearly all the work- ing classes, and many other classes, renounced religion wholly. He replied that many were infidels, but that they had a Christian love of their brethren, and he looked hopefully to tne future. The working-girls of London were wretchedly paid and hardly used, but not one of them would go into domestic service ; he was try- ing to get up a Union among them. 1 was anxious to get his opinions upon the different proposals of the Socialist party, and asked him if he approved of taking people's land from them without compensation. But he only said that he knew nothing about these political ideas ; he was a practical man and confined himself to helping the distress he saw around him. He was an instance of how many different kinds of people are included under the general name of " Socialists." For him Socialism simply meant active benevolence towards the poor. I met a lady who holds a high position in the Socialist world of letters, and, like others, felt the charm of her conversation. But her views are already made known to the world by her clever pen. Also, I had the opportunity of conversing with some other ladies who held advanced views. I ventured to suggest as a worthy object for woman's ambition a reform of the system of domestic service, rendering it less distasteful to the fancy of young people, and restoring something of its old character when domestics were part of the household, and cared for as such. Pepys, I think, records his satisfaction at engaging a young lad to serve him, who could also play on the flute and accompany him in his music. I mentioned this upon one occasion in America, when I had the honour of meeting, at a {■ r ■! 156 SOCIALISM. deputation, an elderly lady, whose whole life had been spent in helping the poor of her own sex. Among those present was a lady who held the position of State Inspector of Factories in the city where we were. The elderly lady agreed that the value of a good system of household voik that would attract girls was immense, and she added that to have some one to take a motherly interest in them, and advise them, was a great thing. But the inspector disputed this, and said that they should be advised by no one but their own mothers. "Let them exercise their own judgment." Her view appeared rather to be that of Mrs. Besant, who says, '* The great servant problem will be solved by the disappearance of servants, the wide introduction of machinery, and the division among the members of each domestic commonwealth of the various necessary duties. The prospect is really not so very terrible when quietly surveyed." A cleavage of thought was at once disclosed between these two ladies. Among those whom I met on my travels I might mention one, who was certainly not a Socialist. Mr. Cleveland, the President of the United States, did me the honour of allowing me an interview while I was in Washington. He has often denounced that incipient form of Socialism termed Paternalism, and at the time when I saw him he was the object of the direst invectives by the silver party of Socialists. He expressed interest in the proposed Federation of Australia, and seemed to have some knowledge even of our afi'airs. He gave one the idea of a man who possessed natural force of character, improved by the exercise and responsibility of power. Of the world's leading potentates who have personal authority, Mr. Cleveland is one and the Emperor of Kussia the other. But Mr. Cleveland, the autocrat who rests upon the people's will, occupies the first position, as he represents what it seems not improbable may be the future type of democratic Government, when the influence of Parliaments may have waned. If one were to judge by the opinions and wishes ji ir^^^liBii SOCIALISTS I HAVE MET. 167 expressed by representative people of all classes, you would not conclude that there was among many, any defined belief as to the value or the feasibility of the Socialist creed. Joined to a feeling of discontent with the present conditions of life, which in part is justifiable, and which increasing intelligence renders more acute, is the sense that they possess the power, as they are assured on all sides, to alter these conditions as they please. The immediate proposals made — to tax down property, and to substitute Government for private employment — naturally commend themselves to all. They embrace these gladly, and do not trouble themselves with any scrutiny of the more distant prospects that are held out to them. But they would object, I believe, to the practical working of these ideals, if they were really brought up to them. Even with the thinking Socialists their clearest ideas are all destructive, and the im- mediate impulse that actuates them is compounded of a sympathy with poverty and a hatred of competition and its complement, private property, which they accuse of being the cause of poverty. They sketch plans of the new social state in which these evils are to cease, and where all are to be equally well oflf; but they do not seem to be oppressed with anxiety as to how it will really work out. It is enough for one generation to clear the ground for future building. They are right [ in not prophesying. The path of the political prophet \ is strewn with failures. The pioneers who fought for ' freedom in the past, would be astonished at the turn things have now taken, and we may at least be certain i that the observer in the future will be surprised by I equally unexpected developments. -^ CHAPTER VIII. THE UNITED STATES. ,' '!. The IJDited States of America must filwaya have a great interest for the inquirer into social questions ; the scene experiment is so vast, the spirit so fearless, and the conditions so novel and so favourable. If the results are not as faultless as saniruine prophets in the past expected them to be, it must be remembered that America has had i.ot only to deal with its own population, but has, in carrying out a noble policy of freedom, to assimilate a much larger foreign popular tion, consistiug of the poorest, and some of the worst, of the Old World. Had it barred out strangers since the days of Washington and been limited to its own people — native Americans, — though its progress would have been much slower, there can be no doubt it would have been sounder. It is interesting, indeed, to specu- late upon what, had this be-^n so, America would have been like to-day. On the other hand, we must not fall into the fallacy of short computation in considering its great political and social experiments. It is too soon to pronounce upon much that one sees in this vast con- tinent. Even a century is a small time in the life of a nation, and until this laud is filled up with a population such as older lands have to grapple with, the real time of test and trial will not have come. But then, while the difficulties of the problems will have increased, the wisdom taught by experience will have increased also. THE UNITED STATES. 159 and tho amelioration of social lifo by the operation of natural causes will have been ffoinu on. Every ])(*litical student knows that America has a stronger centr;d Executive power than England. Much that was happening while 1 was there impressed this fact upon me. The Federal Constitution makes a gre:it profession as to the power of the people, just as that of England does of the power of the Sovereign ; but there is a good deal of make-believe about both. In Amerit-a all power is ascribed to the people, everything is done in the name of the people — in Courts of Law evil-doers are prosecuted by " The People " ; there is no suggestion anywhere of any privilege or any authority outside the mandate of the majority. But all the while tlie reality is there. The President certainly springs from the people, but once chosen he is a real King, and not only has great powers, but, unlike some European Sove- reigns, is perfectly free and safe in exercising them. The Senate is a veritable second legislative voice for the nation, and quite independent of what, in older lands, is called the popular Chamber. The Supreme Court ia outside both the President and the Legislature, and will stop them both if they attempt to do what is contrary to the Constitution. This Constitution, it is true, ia only a piece of paper, and I met Socialists and Populists who said that they would soon tear it in pieces. But. there it is, a fundamental law unto the whole people, until altered by a process that it is almost im[)ossible to achieve, except at a time of great excitement and unanimity, or by a revolution. Thus President, Senate, and House altogether, and backed by the whole people, could not make a law impairing the obligation of contract or providing for taking any man's pro* perty without compensation (these being forbidden in that piece of paper), which the Supreme Court would not annul, if appealed to. The Constitution tlius powerfully protects minorities; also it embodies the principle of their representation. One-fourth of the people have as many Senators as the remaining three- , i i . I 160 SOCIALISM. 'i ' ! i? fourths, and all the Senators are elected, not by the people directly, hut by elected bodio8 — a method, how- ever, from which more was expc(;tcd than has been realized. Horatio Seymour says : "It is a remarkable fact that ours is the only system of Government which declares that the majority shall not govern in many vital respects ; that it has devised a plan by which it can be held in check ; and that each individual has defences against the will of the body of tlie people and the power of the Government which represents them. The distinctive features of American Constitutions are, not that they aim to give power to majorities, but that they aim to protect the rights of minorities." I had the opportunity of observing some practical illustrations of this. In the middle of 1894 a contest upon the amendment of the Tariff was being fought between the two Houses of the Legislature. The *' House " sent its Bill up in the form that it desired, and the Senate promptly amended it, in many respects fundamentally. Outside, the battle was raging between the adherents of the high tariff and those of the low, and the cries of the contending parties reached to the heavens. The " House " denounced the proposals of the Senate ; but the answer of the Senate was direct : Take your Bill as we want it or not at all ; we don't approve of your proposals, and we do not intend that they shall become law. And this position was quietly accepted by the '* House " and the public, as being in the ordinary course of the Constitution, and the Senate practically had its way. During the Chicago riots — of which more hereafter — a proof of the growing power of the Central Executive was given. That city was believed to be in danger of being pillaged, but the Governor — who was elected by the foreign element of voters — was not alive to the danger. Thereupon the President sent down the United States troops, over the head and against the expressed wish of the Governor, and soon quelled the riots. This episode illustrated not only the strength of the Central Executive, but the M***'. TIIK UNITED STATES. IGl weakness and malaclministrntion that marks some of the States Governments. President Cleveland also, under the authority of an old Act, floated loan after loan, binding the United States, in order to keep up the gold supply of the Treasury, in defiance of the opposition of Congress and ngainst a strong " Populist " sentiment in favour of silver. The Income Tax Law, which was passed by President and Legislature, and which was immensely popular as being a burthen upon wealth only, has since been declared void by the Supreme Court on the ground that class taxation is forbidden by the Constitution. On the other hand, a stranger who read books about the Constitution in England, and heard formulas, would believe that the peopla were quite in the background; while in fact, unlike their brethren in the United States, they can, when roused and united, do whatever they please. A majority in the House of Commons can do anything, unrestrained by fundamental compact. Peers, or Sovereign. Whoever gets this majority is the real King ; for the executive power, as well as the legislative, rests with the Lower House. All is centred there ; not divided among different trustees, as in America. Neither the aristocrat nor the democrat is really anxious to fundamentally alter this peculiar condition of the Constitution which gives the phantom of power to two branches of the Constitution and the reality to the third. The aristocrat — surrounded by all the make- believes of power, enjoying undisputed social position, and often respected by his tenantry, to whom many high aristocrats are excellent landlords — does not realize that when a crisis comes the determining power rests with the Commons, while he and his peers have only the dignified make-believe of authority. He feels the prestige and, as he considers, the usefulness of his position in the first Legislative Chamber of his country, where he honestly does his duty, and he looks forward with pride and hope to his son fulfilling the same high functions. A Peer of high character told me that 1 was ,M V ; i T 162 SOCIALISM. I \ :) I' ''.,''. : quite mistaken in supposing the House of Commons to be more looked to by the people than the House of Lords. It might appear to be so in some meetings about the city, but in the country the toast of the Peers was always received with more enthusiasm than that of the Commons. While in England, I read letters in the papers from supporters of the old Tory party, depre- cating any " tinkering with our ancient Constitution." In social life the supremacy of the aristocracy is unquestioned ; and this is a very important sphere, especially to those who rule it. Secure in the sense of superiority that this imparts, they are apt to feel that nothing in politics can alter the natural conditions of birth and hereditary station, and so, they can let the Kadicals have their own way in many things ; indeed, they can almost aflford to be Radicals themselves. They have no desire, then, to see any reform of the House of Lords that would impair its herediiary character. On the other hand, the intelligent democrat wishes nothing better than to see it remain just as it is, not powerful enough to stay anything that the Commons really want, but powerful to impair that middle-class Conservatism which is the dread of the revolutionary party, by identifying it with the hopeless cause of hereditary privilege. The indirect inHuence of both the Crown and the Peers is at present great, and finds its expression in the House of Commons. But when the time comes round for the popular current to rise, and that body is captured by some people's party led by a powerful leader — the Gladstone of the future — there is nothing political left to stand in the way. Certainly the English people are surrounded by ancient institutions and con- servative tendencies transmitted from past ages. The Americans are more restless and more disposed to follow after new things because they are new. But they have a strong rider, \Yith a powerful curb ; the English, if they did want to bolt. Lave neither rider nor curb. Much in the L^nittd States is instructive, not alone from the direct lessons that can be learnt, but also from i THE UNITED STATES. 163 fS le ^v if the incidental teaching which its liistory affords. Many of the social reformeis whom I have met in different countries, wliile they propose tremendous chanties in human affairs, justify them by confidently predicting certain results as sure to follow from the practical work- ing of their projects. In this land of experiments one is surrounded by, or reminded of, humiliating proofs of the inability of oven the ablest and clearest sighted men to foretell liovr human institutions will work, or whai} operation the most skilfully contrived political machinery will, in fact, have. There have seldom been an abler set of statesmen engaged upon any under- taking than were the men who framed the Constitution of the United States. Yet much that they designed has turned out differently from what they expected. Could they reappear upon earth they would not re- cognise the work of their hands in the Government that they would see to-day. Devices that they elabo- rated with deep anxiety and care, have worked in a direction exactly contrary to that which they intended; dangers that they dreadec; have proved illusory ; evils that they never dreamt of have overshadowed their plans ; advantages that they calculated upon have proved vain ; political action has manifested itself in new directions that they never thought of. The Federalist, in which they ex[>lained and justified their plans, is a monument to their mental power, but also a standing testimony to the inability of men to mark out beforehand the lines on which human institutions will go. In reading its pages you feel like one viewing a gallery of ancient sculptures. You are admiring the genius of a past age. Men's affairs advance in their own way, as public needs and public impulse push them on. At whatever part of the Constitution we look, we can see some examples of this. The plan of electing the President by the independent voice of an electoral college of chosen men was excellent as a plan, and was proudly regarded by the Fathers of the Republic as a guarantee for an intelligent, independent choice of \ 164 SOCIALISM. I i r'i I- Ai V- the first magiatrate. It soon degenerated into a form that nullified the principle of the method. INIadison, again, is at pains to prove that the President must always be a man of national repute and character ; for the whole nation must choose him, and, while one State might make a petty choice, all, he takes for granted, could not. He also notices the possibility of the President abusing his power by turning out of office a fit man in order to give his place to another. But he quickly disposes of the possible risk tlius : " The danger consists merely in this : the President can displace from ofiice a man whose merits require he sliould be continued in it. What will be the motives which the President can feel for such an abuse of power, and the restraints that can operate to prevent it ? In the first place, he will be impeached by this House before the Senate for such an act of administra- tion ; for I contend that the wanton removal of meri- torious officers would subject him to impeachment and removal from his own high trust." It never occurred to him that, within about half a century. President, Senate, and House would all agree in regarding public offices as political plunder. In justice to him, we must remember who w'ore the men and the statesmen then governing America, This is how Washington writes of one proposed for an office : " My friend .... I receive with cordial welcome to my House and welcome to my heart, but, with all his good qualities, he is not a man of business. His opponent, with all his politics so hostile to me, is a man of business. My private feelings iiave nothing to do with the case. I am not Geor}T;e Washinofton, but President of the United States. As George Wash- ington I would do this man any kindness in my power; as President of the United States I can do nothinfj." What a chanr^e when w^e come to General Jackson — the " Old Hickory " of the wire-pullers — with his " To the victors belong the spoils." And yet it is not one lifetime from the ^atnot down to the political boss. THE UNITED STATES. 1G5 The Constitution 'are fully limits the interference of the general Govern. ..^ut, for the suppression of domestic violence in any State, to whore it is asked for by the local Legislature ; or, where the Legislature cannot be convened, by the Executive. Novv, the imperious neces- sity of the public safety liys compelled the President to put down riots in a State, against tlie publicly de- clared wish of the Governor of that Stato ; and the Supreme Court has declared his action lawful. Such are samples of the unexpected developments of a people's life under new conditions, and the changes that only a century's experience has wrought in the lines laid down in the ablest written Constitution ever devised, and which was planned, too, by practical politicians. The course of American history also illustrates how blind the best informed men are in their attempts to prognosticate the trend of human events, particularly under new conditions of progress ; and it need not be said that no conditions are so novel as those of the revolution proposed by the Socialists. There were few keener observers of political insti- tutions than De Tocqueville, and he studied those of the United States for years. He declared that America's greatest danger was the weakness of the Federal Go- vernment, and arrived at two conclusions : one, that there was no fear of a great war there ; but, secondly, that if war did come, the Union would be destroyed by it. Some thirty years later, one of the greatest wars that history tells of devastated half the continent, and, at its close, left the Union stronger than it ever had been, or than its founders ever intended it to be. Lord Sydenham, when Xjovernor-General of Canada, writing for the private information of the English Government, assured them that, in case of war with the United States, the slaves '* in the South would soon settle all that part of the Union." Afterwards, when war came, the slaves devotedly served their masters, raised the crops and protected the families while the ■ '••^j^i. it' ■ ♦ '♦ h\ ml i.» t ,1 1G6 SOCIALISM. wliitc men were away with the armies ; and tliin llmugh the war was to free them, and the victory of tlie Bouth meant tlicirf'ontinunn<^c in slavery. JMacanlay, speaking in 1845, said trnly, that shivery in America was worse than slavery in Brazil ; and that, wliilo i\, vviih n(»ti improbable that in eighty or a hundred years tlie Mill' It population in Brazil would be free, there WtlS tlO such prospect for the hIuvcs in the United Htates. Within twenty years the American blacks were all free men. Examples such as then*- iiinl llicy niighl. eimily be multiplied — make us sceptical uf the socjid fovePftSl^s t|in|i we hear to-day. The attention of the political traveller is naturally first drawn to the politicians of the country he is in. They get their tone from the public and from the conditions that surround them, and impart it to the institutions that they work and directly control. I am far from believing all the evil that 1 heard attributed to the representatives of the people in the United States, and do not doubt that as good a proportion of noble i^^en is to be found in their ranks as in those of similar )dies in older lands. But the undoubted and markti change that is seen in the type of representative is of more pressing interest to us than ever, now, when it is proposed to enlarge the dominion of the State indefinitely. If the State is to manage everything, who are the State ? I say " representative," but the character of representative is disappearing. A representative occupies a great position, the distinctive characteristics of which were marked out by Burke in the last century. He is, indeed, elected by one constituency, but, when elected, he is to exercise his judgment for promoting ihe> interests of all, if need be, against the particular claims v of the peof)]e of the place that he primarily represents. He is chosen for his ability to think wisely for the country at large, and hip duty liiMi him to do this irrespective of local demands or prcjudiee,?. It requires ^ > ■ I e THE UNITED STATES. 16» t^ •"f '> i* \ of choice for tlie electors ; they must clioose a resident of the district. There is no length of tenure for the member, as the principle of the rotation of new men for Ccicli election prevails. He only sits, as a rule, for a short time, too short to gain experience or acquire authority as a legislator. Rensonahle rewards, such as in the ordinary course of human affairs incite to exertion, there are none. An honest man devoting himself to politics can expect neither honour nor profit. lie has nothing to look forward to ; when he is old, or before he is old, he is cast aside for those who are younger and fresher. As one old politician expresses it, witli more vigour than grace, "The great goeis are the new men, the old troopers being all spavined and ring- boned from previous hard travel. I've got the bots, the fetlock, hip-joint, gravel, halt and founders." The tendency of these conditions again, obviously^ is to produce a class of representatives whom the public disparage as "the politicians," and who, indeed, are not much better than any one else, and who often would not justify the claim to the high position and the ftecdoni from dictation of the old representative. There is much to explain this decadence from the representative to the delegate. The people are in- telligent ; the press brings information to every cottage and cleverly discusses it. The public forms a judgment often as good as the ordinary representative could give thera. What they want is generally settled before Congress is called upon to act. Further, it is not to be denied that this system has some advantages for the people, if not for the politicians. It ensures that they are really cared for with such wisdom as may be at hand, and with a solicitude for them that few of the statesmen of the old world have displayed in past times, liut the representatives arc dwarfed. Often they do not appear to be strong enough for their duties. The Legislatures here do not seem able, for instance, to grapple with the Corporations. The tendency of our civilisation appears to be that, while grander designs i \ i 170 SOCIALISM. F H! I [ arc opened up, there arc poorer workmen to advance tliem ; nobler objects, but meaner instruments. In time all tills may load to the public outgrowing repre- sentative institutions altogether and legislating for themselves by some direct method. The justification of representative bodies is, that they do represent and care for the whole people. If they become the arena for the hostile struggle of agents, each elbowing the other in the struggle for their own particular clients, they fail in the purpose for which they were intended, and some new form of political life will in the natural order of things be developed upon the decay of the old. The representative character in the United States appears in its worst aspect in municipal atfairs. The government of great cities is a difficult problem in all countries and has long been a trial to patriotic Americans. Here we come on the delegate who is engaged with matters of municipal concern, local works, contracts, employments, street franchises, and industrial atfairs that have money in them, to use the common phrase. A generation ago Tweed and his gang degraded /] the municipal government o+' New York to a Tower level ^i than that of any city in the world, except, perhaps, Constantinople, llogues in the place of honour, honest men plundered, public justice bought and sold, embez- zlement of the public money reduced to ft syHtem — the people looking on for years indignant and iielplcss. A foreigner would hesitate to give such a dcHt^ipt/ion, were it not that all honest Americans use even stronger terms. At last the outbreak came, and by a convulsive effort the city rogues were cast out and honest government instituted. It remained so for a while, and then again became corrupt. When 1 was in America, Now York was in the throes of another death struggle with its depraved City Government. The Lexow Committee was investigating abuses. Certainly they were startling. The Americans make no secret of their evils. They rival the Irish, who were said to be fair people, because they never speak well of one another. The Press all 1 t THE UNITED STATES. 171 >.* over tlie continent announced and denounced, trumpct- tongued, the profanation of provernment in New York. To take one extract at random, out of liundred:^, tliis from tlie Washin(/fon Evening Stitr may be cited : "Tho Lexow Inquiry into tlie iniquity of New Yoik City lias adjourned for a while. The revehitious which that prince of examiners, John W. GotF, has compelled with his keen probes of persistency and patience, have shocked and appalled decent American society. The police force of the community, which Tammany has proudly styled the ' best governed city in the worhl,' has been shown to be plunged in the lowest depths of degradation. Its j)Grsonnely from the highest to the lowest official, stands forth in the light of public scorn, smirched with the foulest filth of corruption. The investigation has proven beyond doubt or question that the good and the bad, the virtuous, upright business classes, and the vicious, that prey upon the morals and stability of the city, have been compelled alike to pay tribute to the gang that holds New York in its clutches. The question naturally arises, how the people on Man- hattan Island, knowing so well the pernicious system under which they lived, should have submitted so long and so tamely to its continuance. It is inexplicable to the honest and courageous that business men of standing should have paid, regularly and irregularly, for so-called police protection, instead of rising up and demanding redress. It is a sickening thing to look upon the picture presented by the witnesses before the Lexow Committee." The evidence that I read justified even such com- ments as these. Again the peopile rose, and this time proposed not only to drive out the robbers, but to prevent their reappearing, by taking the government of the city out of the hands of the citizens themselves and entrusting it to the State of New York. The excitement during the election resembled that in a town assailed by a foreign enemy, whom all brave men were invoked 172 SOCIALIS^r. I (i m to come forth auJ light. Not only were the usual means of political war exhaustL-d, but the clergy of all Cliurches joined their voice of warning and exhortatiou. The papers contained reports of the sermons. One reverend gentleman a'ljured his peo[)le by the love tlu-y felt for the lutnoiired mother, or the pure-minded sister, to go and vote boldly again.st a government that rested upon the support of the brothel and the tap-room. Another said tliat the question before the country was — "The Ten Commandments: for or against?" When casting the ballot, they were to consider that their dear boy too, the light of their life, might live to have his honest mind perverted, if rogues and only rogues were always to be to the fore. The struggle was severe ; the voting extensive. There were nineteen and a half million of ballo papers printed, being sixty-five for every voter. Ii took five weeks' incessant labour to prepare them. Twelve large vans were required to transport them, there being two hundred tons of paper to carry. Policemen, we read, watched them day and night, though we were not told qids custodiet ipsos custodes. In the end the honest party won a completo victory, and reforms have been again commenced in New York in earnest. Over three thousand of the old employers have been turned out to make room for better men. Yet I met some honest people who said that it would be a mistake to take away the govern- ment from the city and give it to the State. It was contrary to American principles. Let the people stew in the sauce of their own making till they learned them- selves to improve it. Mr. Bryce, in his valuable work upon America, gives a graphic account of the evils of city government as he observed them — the vicious politicians with all their ways of falsehood, malversation, ballot stuffing, " repeating," as also the embezzlements of the more audacious rings. He quotes Mr. Roosevelt, whose name is a household word here, for a description of some of the men who then ruled the people : *^V*'4 .> > ^"" THK UNITED STATES. 173 " In the lower wards (of New York City) where there is a large vicious population, the coni ilioii of politics is often fairly appalling, and the (locnl 1»oss is generally a nr,n of grossly immornl public and private character. In these wards many of the PO(;ial organisa- tions with which the leade; arc oMiged to keep on good terms ar.^ composed of criminals, or of the re- latives and associates of criminals. . . . The jircsideiit of a powerful semi-political association was hy pro- fession a burglar ; the man who received the goods he stole, was an alderman. Another alderman was elected while his hair was still short from a term in the State prison. A school trustee had been convicted of embezzlement and was the associate of criminals." Ho says, in another part of his work, when illus- trating the national characteristics of the Americans, that "when William M. Tweed was ruling and robbing New York, and had set on the bench, men who were openly prostituting justice, the citizens found the situa- tion so amusing that they almost forgot to be angry." They seemed to take it more seriously this t me. Honest men, vastly in the majority though they were, literally groaned under the rule of the blackguard. A business man told me, with a hopeless, indifferent air, that he regularly paid tribute to the police. It was the only way out of it. Another, who spoke highly of Mr. Bryce's book, said that its only fault was that it made too little of the evils under which they suffered. Some said, even after the victory, that it would be just like the overthrow of Tweed — only for a time. Certainly, why the people support such men is a perplexing question ; and they must support them, or at least tolerate them, for when they like they can throw them off. Not that corruption in Governments is anything new, from Russia to China. The awkward thing about such corruption as this, is that the people are involved in it, and that the people govern. Mr. Roosevelt is also quoted by Mr. Brj'ce as saying : " Voters of the labouring class in the cities are very .- ; 'i I'l f J t '•Mm , if ■? ^!*^jk^ ^> \r 1^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) r. ^ A f/ I/.. ^ #.^' % llll 1.0 I.I _liS 25 2.2 u L° 12.0 IL25 HI 1.4 I ^Wii^ 6" Hiotograiiiic Sdaices CorpoMon 33 WIST MAIN Si?EIT WEMSTIR.N.Y. MSM (716) •72-4S03 A '^ V s». iV v> ^ «Cv^\ '^ V ^ ^ ^ 174 SOCIALISM. ;■ emotional ; they value in a public man wluit we are accustomed to consider virtues only to be taken into account when estimating private character. Thu!?, if a man is opeu-handed anrl warm-hearted, tliey consider it as being a fair offset to his beinn; a little bit shaky when it comes to applying the eighth commandment to affairs of State, i have more than once heard the statement, * He is very liberal to the poor,' advanced as a perfectly satisfactory answer to the charge that a certain public man was corrupt." Some say that the people tolerate these corrupt Governments because they save them from even a greater evil — the rule of sincere fanatics, who would plunder them on principle to carry out some of the theories that I have heard propounded during my journeys. They prefer a greasy Boss Tweed to an incorruptible Itobespieire. They call in, or at least submit tc, the men who rob them to supply their need^i, rather than have the men who would rob them to carry out their principles : for the one set are satisfied when they are full ; the other, not till you are empty. In this connection it is curious to notice the way in which they have solved the city problem at the capital of the Union. Washington used to be one of the badly ruled cities of the continent ; indeed, one of the worst ; and it offended the sense of fitness of the leading men of the Republic to have always thrust before their observation, under the very walls of the Capitol, all the visible signs of vulgar misgovernment and corruption. So they determined to reform it, and this they did by abolishing self-government in Washington and in a con- siderable tract of the surrounding country. The people of that city for twenty years past have been deprived of all power of voting in the prescribed area, whether for President, Congress, or city, No election meetiugs for these are held ; no votes canvassed for ; no ballot- boxes shaken ; no tons of voting papers printed. A generation that grew up there would have to go to some other city to know what political electioneering THE UNITED STATES. 175 )t- A I to meani". The President appoints tliiee Commissioners, one of whom is always an officer of the U.S. Army, who Lave vested in them all the powers necessary for the complete municij)al government of the city. They levy rates, enact bye-laws, grant and co!itrol franchises, aud govern with perfect success, all being done with busi- ness pbilityand without a breath of suspicion of jobbery or favouritism. In the peculiar circumstances under which they work, they are able to combine the benefits of both the autocratic and the democratic principle, being surrounded and controlled by an enlightened public opinion, which heartily supports them while they act in the line of public duty that is so easy aud obvious to honest men. The municipal arrangements of the city appear to be excellent. Some of the lesidents who remembered the conditions of the old regime spoke to me of the relief they felt in being delivered from it ; but a few of the Populist party resented the change as involving a fclur upon democratic institutions, though they did not dispute that there were good practical results. It certainly does seem odd, when you come to the lancl of the ballot-box, to find it proscribed in the capital city itself. But the Government thus established is essentially democratic in spirit, while freed from the defects that mar the rule of the market-place. It may be that the future of democracy has in store a solution of the problem of general government upon some similar lines. Other facts that one reads of or learns here, convey the impredsion that the regard of the people for their Legislatures, and their pride in them, is waning. The most popular proposals that can be advanced in con- ventions for revisinij State constitutions are those which limit the powers of the legislative body, especially in regard to money matters. The Referendum, by which final legislation is taken out of the hands of the Legislature, is the popular plank in all platforms of the people's parties. Mr. Bryce says : " It was formerly usual for the Legislature to meet annually, but tho ^: V 176 SOCIALISM. experience of bad legislation and over legislation haa led to fewer as well as shorter sittings ; and sessio'af; are now biennial in all States but five." A business man who had given some attention to politics from outside, told me that it was the belief of all commercial men, that tiie only way to get iutelligent uniforra dealing with the Tariff question was to tako it away from Congress altogether, and let it be dealt with by a permanent non-political body. One inquiring into Socialism hfiS his attention arrested by what he sets hero of the city politicians, not in New York alone, where the foreign element is wc..Lh of American millionaires, it seems that 25,000 persons own one-half of the entire wealth of the United States ; and if the present rates of taxation and accu- mulation continue, it is computed that that great country will be practically owned by about 50,000 persons — say one-thousandth part of the present population." Such vast masses of wealth, won by extensive bu.^iness opera- tions and monopolies that were unknown in the time of our fathers, introduce new ideas into the old conception of private property, which entitles a man to keep what he earns. True, the millionaires only heap up for the public. They do not consume their hoards, but scatter them again in industries. And that computation over- i : • 1- 188 SOCIALISM. looks the power of dispersion that rests in social causes as well as the power of accumulation. The possession of wealth by the action of inevitable influences, enfeebles the possessors who have not earned it, and reduces them or their children again to the ranks. " Three generations between shirt-sleeves " is how the Americans express it. But the dangerous side to the question is that this money-making, unless controlled by a firm Government, is one form of acquiring power in the State — wealth one phase of rule. In the United States, too, unquestionably, the methods by which these vast accumulations are often made, by which some great companies and combinations acquire the monopoly of the means of production, and the manner in which they use their power, is a national evil that ought to have been long ago eflfectually grappled with by the Government. Rings, trusts, pools, combinations, enable enormous fortunes to be made, but only by the exploitation of the community at large. A railway company will refuse to let its trains stop at a considerable town on the prairies, and fix its station further on, where it has a grant of land, so as to compel people to begin a new town there and pay what price it thinks proper for the building sites. The old town is thus deserted and ruined. When I was at a rather large town the people told me that, some time before, they had been startled by a report that the company were going to have their station some three miles out, so as to compel them to buy allotments there. The discrimi- nation in freight rates is another means of oppression and wealth-making by indirect means. Some rates are lower from San Francisco to New York than from Kansas City to New York. It was proved before the Bailroad Committee of the Colorado Senate that coal was carried to ' iCadville and sold for seven dollars a ton, while the sano coal, after 150 miles' further haulage, w^as sold at Denver for five dollars and a half. Professor Parsons mentions that between Minneapolis and Chicago the rate on flour and wheat is the same for a station X THE UNITED STATES. 189 eighty miles from Chicago as for one 420 miles distant. The practice was (I was told by those who had practical knowledge) for the railway companies to compute, as tie harvest-time came on, the utmost that the farmers or other settlers could possibly afford to give to have their produce carried, to fix their rates accordingly and leave them the alternative of submitting to it or letting their crops rot upon the ground. A committee of the United States Senate thus reported upon these and other abuses : " Unjustifiable discriminations are constantly made between individuals and between localities similarly situated The effect of the prevailing policy of railroad management is, by an elaborate system of secret special rates, rebates, drawbacks, and concessions, to foster monopoly and enrich favoured shippers." While I was in America the papers were busy dis- cussing an incident that had been revealed during an inquiry into the accounts of a railway line that had become bankrupt. There was a sum of seven million dollars that had disappeared ; where it had gone was difficult to trace. The services of expert book-keepers were called in, and ultimately it was ascertained that it bad been secretly paid back to favoured shippers as rebates. The process was simple. The company wishes to favour some shippers so as, betweeji them, to establish a monopoly. The shipper, to apparently comply with the law, pays the freight according to the published rates of the company, and after a while, in pursuance of the secret arrangement, gets the rebate agreed upon returned to him. Thus, while seeming to carry on business upon the same terms as his rivals, he is able to undersell them directly. A leading and reliable New York paper dealt with the matter under the head of ** A Widespread Conspiracy." It said : " It was by such conspiracy between railroads and favoured capitalists that enormous monopolies were built up to prey on the consumer and to corrupt politics with their ill-gotten money." r 190 SOCIALISM. \U It was stated that this practice was a common one on the railroads, even on those that were worked by receivers appointed by the Courts. Another device resorted to was for the railway company to profess its inability to find the necessary trucks for the obnoxious trader, while amply supplying his vival. It was proved in one case that the parties to the monopoly divided the rebate between them. Some of the papers made urgent appeals to the Government to put the law in force against the offenders. The report of the joint com- mittee appointed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania some years ago to inquire into the disastrous strikes and riots that had taken place in that State says : " The citizens had a bitter feeling against the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company on account of, as they believed, an unjust discrimination by the Railroad Company against them in freight rates, which made it very difficult for their manufacturers to compete successfully with manufacturers further west ; and this feeling had existed and been intensified for years, and pervaded all classes." These are great abuses and ought to be put down by the strong arm of the law, if the law has a strong arm. The extent of these social evils is an explanation of, if not a full plea of justification for, the occasional extravagance of proposed social reforms. These com- panies assume powers that would not be conceded to the Sovereign of a State. All such practices are criminal according to the principles of the old English (and American) common law. The Federal and the State Legislatures have also made laws forbidding them. Readers of English history will call to mind the horror that Englishmen ever had of all sorts of monopoly ; and lawyers know how sternly our law condemned the tricks of trade. It is refreshing to turn from an organised system of scheming and sharp practice to the old ideas of commercial fair dealing as they used to be enforced by English judges. Some of their notions may be obso- lete, but the ruling principles are sound. w THE UNITED STATES. 191 0- It was, for example, held that it was contrary to the old English law for a merchant to buy up all the goods in one line in a particular place, and to induce others to hold, so as to cause a rise in prices, for the purpose of speculation. In the beginning of the present century an English merchant was convicted before the Court of Queen's Bench of this offence, and sent to gaol for several months. The judge, in passing sentence, said : " The sum, then, of the offence is, that the de- fendant, a raerchan*^ of credit and affluence in Kent, having a stock of hops in hand, went to the market at Worcester, not to buy hops, for that he disclaimed, nor to sell theai, for upon the evidence it does not appear that he offered any for sale, but merely to speculate how he could enhance the price of that commodity. And for that purpose he declared to the sellers that hops were too cheap, and to the hop-planters that they had not a fair price for their hops : and lest he should be defeated in his speculation to raise the price of a falling market, he contracted for one-fifth of the pro- duce of two counties, when he had a stock in hand, and admitted that he did not want to purchase. . . . The freedom of trade, like the liberty of the press, is one thing ; the abuse of that freedom, like the licentiousness of the press, is another. God forbid that this Court should do anything that should interfere with the legal freedom of trade. . . . But the same law that protects the proprietors of merchandise takes an interest also in, the concerns of the public, by protecting the poor man against the avarice of the rich ; and from all time it has been an offence against the public to commit prac- tices to enhance the price of merchandise coming to market, particularly the necessaries of life, for the pur- pose of enriching an individual. The freedom of trade has its legal limits. No man under that liberty is per- mitted to dispose of his riches, in purchasing what and of whom he pleases, or when or where he pleases." It was questioned by Adam Smith and the political 1: t I' ! i I 192 SOCULISM. economists, as well as by those who were engaged in trade, with its rapidly growing spirit of speculation, whether the economic principle of cases such as these was sound. But at least they show that practices such as one finds rife here are crimes according to the law of England. There is no question that its principles have ever condemned all combinations against the freedom of trade and industry, inasmuch as they " discourage labour and industry and restrain persons from getting an honest livelihood, and put it in the power of other persons to set what price they please upon commodities, all which are manifest inconveniences to the public." It was only to be expected that so intelligent and fair-minded a people as the Americans would be shocked at such abuses of power and try to put them down, and they have grappled with them in so far as they can, by passing new and stringent statutes to enforce the prin- ciples of the old common law. The Inter-State Commerce Act and the Anti-Trust Act forbid such practices. The Supreme Court of Illinois, by a most just decision, has declared that, while a Corporation can hold all the pro- perty that it wants for its own business, yet, if it buys competing properties merely for the purpose of shutting them up and destroying competition, it transcends its authority and forfeits its charter. The law against all conspiracies is clear. Yet the practices are said to con- tinue. Professor Parsons says that the laws are a dead letter. He quotes Mr. Cator as saying, "It is well known that the law is systematically defied," and says that a President of one of the railway companies declared that, " if all who have offended against these laws were convicted there would not be gaols enough in the United States to hold them." An instance of how the law is evaded is given. One trader secured a rebate that gave him control of the market, having first become a stock- holder of the railway that favoured him. When sum- moned before the Inter-State Commerce Commission be declined to appear, upon the ground that, being a share- holder in the off'ending company, he could not be re- THE UNITED STATES. 193 e- <3[uired to criminato himself. This view was supported by the Courts, so that all au inteuiing monopolist has to do to secure safety is to buy a few shares in the rail- way that he is going to work with. Some of the States have tried Government ownership and management, but it has failed, and a return has been made to private management. In Canada the Dominion owns one system of railways, but it does not pay, though the Minister who had control was said to rule independently of all political influence and to bravely insist upon pure busi- ness management. Some public men there, however, told me that his rule was exceptional, and that in the •end political agencies would prove too strong for him. Government ownership, with leasing under proper con- <3itions to private enterprise, ha3 still to be tried. Certainly what one observes here shows a want of power in the State Iiegislature to govern. The Federal Executive is strong when roused for a national emer- gency, but industrial and social life in the States drifts along and the people do a^ they please. No control is the order of the day. Money then becomes a great power, moving, perhaps quietly, but not the less effec- tuaMy, many agencies of public influence. Each political party is struggling for votes, anxious to conciliate all interests, fearful to ofl'end any. If the country could be thoroughl) roused, war might be resolutely waged by some Dictator against these abuses ; but in the quiet daily course of democratic government an active private interest often prevails over the public welfare. It is the old difficulty about governing in a popular Government. It is seen in an exaggerated form in the great cities, with their secretly growing abuses and their recurring periods of purging and vomiting. The same weakness was shown in the manner in which even the Federal Government dealt with slavery. The slave-holders were quite in a minority, but they were a compact party, united by self-interest, and for years they governed the Union. Jefferson, Madison, Marshall, Webster, Clay, >Calhoun were all slave-owners. As far back as the o I 194 SOCIALISM. I K' year 1779 it was proposed in the American Legislature to irrapple with the slavery problem by declaring all children of slaves, born after a certain day, to be free, and then to transplant them in time to a new settle- ment. This would have also solved the Black difficulty which the sudden emancipation of the slaves during the war, has entailed on America. But nothing was done ; the question was let drift. Whatever laws the slave- owners wanted they were able to secure, despite all the opposition of those who fought for principle. To the last the North offered them full security for their cherished institution if they would only remain in the Union. When Horace Greeley appealed to Lincoln ta proclaim the slaves free during the war, he wrote in reply : " My paramount object is to save the Union, and not to either save or destroy slavery. W^hat I do about slavery, I do because it helps to save the Union ; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union." Thus were some eight millions of Southerners able to dictate to some twenty millions of Northerners, until, fortunately for the „cau8e of freedom, they went too far and were crushed. It is the imperfection of government, showing itself sometimes in one way and sometimes in another, that is the perennial difficulty in human society, and, until this can be mended, the plan of handing all industrial enterprises over to State management, would not get rid of the evils we suffer under, but would only alter their direction. CHAPTER IX. THE UNITED STATES (continued). Facing the great corporations and unions of employers are the workmen combined in associations, some of which I have referred to. When open hostilities break out it is a serious matter. It is civil war limited in area. In the Pennsylvanian coal strike of 1894 there were, at a conflict that occurred at Connellsville, twelve rioters killed, and in a fight between the strikers and the deputy marshals in Alabama six were killed and twenty wounded. In Colorado 1,G00 men fortified a camp, and only gave way when the troops approached with cannon. The great Chicago strike was going on while I was in Canada, and we daily read startling details in the papers of the events that were taking place in that city, at San Francisco, and along the railway lines. When in America, I inquired into the facts ; they are worthy of a brief record, not alone because of the vast proportions of the labour- war, but also for the evidence they afford of the power of capital, under a popular Government, in the struggle. The Commission appointed by the President to investigate the ** causes of the strike and the best means of adjustment" of the difficulties that existed, presented a carefully prepared report, the tone of which was decidedly sympathetic to the side of the employes. The Commissioner of Labour of the United States, Mr. Carroll D. Wright, whose interest in all that concerns the workers was acknowledged to me by several Labour advocates, was, 2 i 'i: „-™. ..*.,-«—.** 196 SOCIALISM. in accordauco with the terms of the Act under which the inquiry was held, one member of the V)oard, and the two others were nominated by Mr. Cleveland. They were thirteen days at the scene of the conflict, taking evidence from all parties and interests concerned, and examined 109 witnesses. AVe get, therefore, from their report reliable details. The direct loss to the railroads in property destroyed d urine; the strike, and expenses incurred, was estimated at $685,308 ; the indirect loss of ear.iings at $4,672,916. Some 3,100 employes at PuUmni: lost in wages at least $350,000. About 100,000 railway servants lost in wages $1,389,143. Besides this direct loss there was the indirect injury to trade and industry owing to the stoppage of the trains and of business, that could not be accurately estimated. There were employed in suppressing the riots and in protecting property 1,936 men of the United States troops ; the State militia on duty numbered 4,000, while there were 3,000 of the Chicago police, 5,000 extra deputy marshals, and 250 extra deputy sheriffs — making in all 14,186 fighting men. The large number of men thus engaged is, however looked at, one of the most striking facts in the story. All had to be paid for, none were brought merely for the sake of show. We are reminded of the Duke of Wellington's estimate of the number of soldiers necessary to preserve civil order in any emergency. He informed the English Government, when riots were threatening, that 300 soldiers ought to be sufficient to cope with any mob. Twelve persons were shot and fatally wounded; 575 were arrested by the police. The intervention of the President in sending the United States troops was applauded by the public generally, but strongly censured by the Populist party. The framers of the Constitution, who neve" dreamt of such a state of things as in fact then exited at Chicago, declare as follows in the fourth article of the Constitu- tion : " The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form of government; THE UNITED STATES. 197 shall protect each of them against invasion, and on the application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be conveneil), against domestic violence." In this case the Governor of Illinois not only did not apply for the troops, but warmly protested against their being sent. He declared that he wanted no assistance to suppress the riots. But his protests tind the apparent meaning of the Constitution were disregarded, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting Federal property and pre- venting obstruction in the carrying of the United States mails, but really to make Chicago safe against pillage. That there was real danger of this, and that the local militia could not be relied on, I was assured by official people whose business it was to know. The Superin- tendent of Police at Chicago naturally speaks guardedly considering the action of his Government, but he says : " When the troops arrived the indications looked bad, and the arrival of the troops 1 think "was opportune." The report of the Commission says : " That the policemen sympathised with the strikers rather than with the corporations cannot be doubted ; nor would it be surprising to find the same sentiment rife among the military. These forces are largely recruited from the labouring classes." The press reported that at the riots at San Francisco, which arose from this strike, the militia, when drawn up before the railway st ition and ordered to advance and clear out the mob who had taken possession of it, broke their ranks and walked away. The Presi- dent sent United States troops there also. I asked a resident who was describing the scene to me, whether the accounts in the papers were correct. He said that they were, and that not only did the militia walk away, but that they left their arms in the orderly-room for the mob to seize. Public opinion justified the President in maintaining the people's peace and preserving life, whether with or ». 1i mmmmm h I i I 198 SOCIALISM. without the sanction of the Constitution. It is an example of Ijow tlie practical neetla of n nation will modify a paper constitution, when events occur that were never thought of by its framers. In the Penn- sylvania riots some years l)efore, the aid of the central Government was not asked for nor f^iven, and matters were left in the handf of the local militia. At the memorable rising at Pittsburgh they naturally sym- pathised with their fellow-labourers, stacked their arras, and fraternised with the crowd. When militia troops were brouglit from a distance, who would figljt, things had become so serious that, sad to relate, in one conflict between the soldiers and the mob twenty-two people were killed. The troops were fired upon from the houses and even the policj-stations of the city. Persons who were arrested for pillaging were at once discharged by the local authority. A part of the town was burnt down. The report of the Legislative Committee of the State says: "About l.GOO cars (mostly freight), in- cluding passenger and baggage cars, with such of their contents as were not carried away by the thieves, 126 locomotives, and all the shops, materials, and buildings, except one or two small ones, of the railroad company, from above 28th-street to the Union dep6t, were burned on Saturday night and Sunday." Although Pittsburgh was the centre, rioting was also carried on at Reading, Scranton, Alleghany City, Altoona, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. At^ Reading 200 soldiers were wounded by the brickbats and paving-stones of the mob. The damage done at Pittsburgh was estimated at |5, 000,000. The report of the committee further says: "The large class of labourers in the different mills, manufactories, mines, and other industries in Pittsburgh were also strongly in sympathy with the railroad strikers, con- sidering the cause of the railroad men their cause. This feeling of aversion to the railroad company and sympathy with the strikers was indulged in by the Pittsburgh troops to the same extent that it was by the other classes, and, as many of them had friends and. L... THE UNITED STATES. 190 relatives in the mob, it is not much to be wonJcred at that they did not show much anxiety to assi.st in dis- persing the crowd and enforcing the hiw." Tlie Com- mission upon the Chicnao strike says: "The danger is growing that in strilve-\vars between corporations and employes, military duty will ultimately have to be done by others tlian volunteers from labour ranks." These •* strike-wars," as the Commission truly designates them, certainly show a want of executive power in the States' Governments. A strong Govern- ment would put down, by penal means if necessary, the illegal practices of the great corporations by which the people are oppressed and exasperated. But it would also promptly protect the public peace and sup- press and justly punish ortrage. At present safety is only ensured, at least in some IStates, when there is a President strong enough to act over the head and against the will of the local Government. What possibly made Mr. Cleveland the more prompt to act in the case of the Chicago riots, was that the Oovernor of Illinois was believed to have owed his -election to the Anarchist and Socialist vote. He had in the previous year granted an absolute pardon to three of the men who were convicted of complicity in the Chicago murders in 1886, when a bomb was thrown among a party of the police, and several of them were killed or wounded. This outrage, which illustrates the methods of one class of the foreign Socialists, made a vivid impression upon the public mind of America and the whole English-speaking world, for up to this time fiuch methods of vengeance had found no countenance from the Anglo-Saxon race. Both the plan of the <;rime, and its perpetrators, were of foreign origin. A number of persons were arrested, and after the delays and reheariugs which the American law provides in its anxiety to do full justice, eight of the prisoners were con- victed, of whom four were hanged, one committed suicide, .and three were sentenced to imprisonment for life or for a lesser term. It should be stated that the men were h Ml 5f I' 200 SOCIALISM. convicted, not upon the ground that it was proved they had actually participated in the throwing of the bomb, but that they had by speech and writing advised the outrage, and that it was perpetrated in consequence of their advice. Petitions were presented, which appear to have been numerously signed by all classes, praying for their release upon the ground t,hat, though guilty, their punishment had now been sufli'Vient, But some based their demand upon the ground ti at the judge who tried the case was prejudiced, "or else so deter- mined to win the applause of n, certain class of the community that he could not and did not grant a fair trial," and that the "jury was a packed jury, selected to convict." There is no more delicate duty than that cast in. English communities upon the executive, when it is- asked to remit a judicial sentence ; it is so liable to abuse, in which case it is so entirely destructive of the pure administration of justice, and the confidence of the people in it, giving, as it does, immunity to those who can command influence. Nothing can be of less real value than petitions in such cases. They may be signed from mere good nature, from indilference, through sheer ignorance ; sometimes from fear, and specially so when the friends of the criminals are daring and the Govern- ment weak. In England and her colonies the Govern- ment is very slow to alter any judicial sentence, and never does so except after consultation with the judge. In this case the Governor not only pardoned the accused, but did so upon the express ground that the trial was unfair, disclaiming the grounds suggested in the other petitions. His reasons were published in a pamphlet of sixty-three pages, signed by him, which contained an elaborate statement directed to prove that the trial was a miscarriage of justice, from which it followed, as they were all tried together, not only that the men imprisoned should be discharged, but that their comrades who had been executed were murdered. V ^ '/ ? THE UNITED STATES. 201 Concluding his long argument, he says, under the heading "Prejudice or Subserviency of the Judge": " It is further charged with much bitterness by those who speak for the prisoners, tliat the record of the case shows that the judge conduci.v.d the trial with malicious ferocity, and forced eight men to be tried together ; that, in cross-examining the State's witnesses, he con- fined counsel for the defence to the specific points touched on by the State^ while in the cross-examination of the defendants' witnesses he permitted the State's attorney to go into all manner of subjects ent'rely foreign to the matters on which the witnesses we e examined in chief; also, that every ruling throughout the long trial, on any contested point, was in favour of the State, and, further, that page after page of the record contains insinuating remarks of the judge made in the hearing of the jury, and with the evident intent of bringing the jury to his way of thinking ; that these speeches^ comiiig from the court, were much more damaging than any speeches from the State's attorney could possibly have been ; that the State's attorney often took his cue from the judge's remarks ; tiiat the judge's magazine article recently published, although written nearly six weeks after the trial, is yet full of venom ; that, pre- tending to simply review the case, he had to drag into- his article a letter written by an excited woman to a newspaper after the trial wac over, and which, therefore,, had nothing whatever to do with the case, and was put into the article simply to create a prejudice against the woman, as well as against the dead and the living ; and that, not content with this, he in the same article makes, an insinuating attack on one of the lawyers for the defence, not for anything done at the trial, but because more than a year after the trial, when some of the defendants had been hung, he ventured to express a few kind, if erroneous, sentiments over the graves of his. dead clients, whom he at least believed to be innocent. It is urged that such ferocity or subserviency is without a parallel in all history ; that even Jeffreys in England ■■; - 1 t ' i 4 202 SOCIALISM. contented himself with hanging his victims, and did not stop to berate them after they were dead. " These charges are of a personal character, and while they seem to be sustained by the record of the trial and the papers before me, and tend to show that the trial was not fair, I do not care to discuss this feature of the case any farther, because it is not necessary. I am convinced that it is clearly my duty to act in this ■case for the reasons already given, and I therefore grant an absolute pardon to Samuel Fielden, Oscar Neebe, and Michael Schwab this 26th day of June, 189d. This shows how the wilder political developments chafe under the independent action of the judiciary, and it all seems strange and sad to those who are accustomed to the traditions of Enghsh justice. The Governor never seems to realize the d;irk crime that he imputes to the judge and jury of his State in slaying innocent men in response to a popular cry for their blood. Publishing his official reasons in a pamphlet that was sold for a few cents at the bookstalls, shows that public justice had degenerated into the sphere of party politics, if, indeed, sympathisers with crime can be looked upon as a party. It is stated in the press that in two years, 128 convicts have been pardoned in Illinois, twenty-two of them being murderers, and that respectable lynching par- ties justified their summary justice upon the ground that it was the only way that any justice could be secured. The President's interference against the Governor's protest, while generally approved, was of course the subject of adverse comment in many papers. At a large public meeting in New York, his action was denounced as being destructive of constitutional rights, and a petition was sent to Congress demanding the impeach- ment of the Attorney-General of the United States for advising the action that had been taken. In connection with these strike-wars, what most impresses one is the defiant tone that the employer cor- porations maintain throughout them. Society must take care of itself, and save the public peace as well as ^ i> ' THE UNITED STATES. 203 K it can, but they will fight on till they conquer. In 1886, a voluntary unincorporated body was constituted at Chicago, in which the twenty-four railroads, centring in or terminating at that city, were combined. It is termed the " General Managers' Association," and acts unitedly when a dispute with the employes of any of the lines arises, and generally in matters of management. This body directed the conflict upon the part of the companies during the Chicago strike, and advised with the military authorities as to the disposition of the troops. One hundred and twenty thousand w'orkmen, represented by 415 delegates, declared for the strike. When it was coming to an end, the American Kailway Union, representing the men, sent through the Mayor of Chicago to the General Managers' Association, offering to declare the strike off if the men would be restored to their old positions, except those who had been convicted of crime. The General Managers' Association gave notice that they would receive no communication what- ever from the American Railway Union, and returned the letter unanswered. I quote from the Commission's report of the evidence of Mr. John M. Egan, the strike manager of the association : "A few days later I was out of the ofKce for a while, and on my return I found the Mayor and Alderman M'Gillen talking to Mr. St. John. I went into the room, and Mr. 8t. John told me the JMayor had come there with a letter .signed by the officers of the American Railway Union. I told the Mayor I thought he should not have permitted himself to be a messenger boy for thofcje parties, and that I further considered that the General Managers' Association should not receive any such document. " Questions by Commissioner Worthington : " 18. Was there anything in the document itself that was offensive or insulting to you ? — A. The docu- ment was printed in the papers that afternoon and the next morning, and I think it speaks for itself. "19. Did you consider it offensive or insulting? — ; ^1 ii- ill m I ■1 I'i 204 SOCIALISM. A. I considered that any pcarty who attacked railway companies as the American Railway Union has done, and were whipped, as I considered they were, it was- displaying considerable cheek to dictate the terms of their surrender. " 20. You do not answer my question. I asked you if there was anything in the document itself that wa» offensive or insulting to you ? — A. I don't know as I would be the judge of that. "21. What is your opinion about it? — A. I have not the authority to say whether it was insulting to the general managers, or anything of that kind. " 22. Did you return it on that account — because the terms of the document were offensive or insulting to you or the managers ? — A. Well, the managers requested it to be returned. " 23. Was that the reason you returned it ? — A^ That was the reason I returned it ; yes, sir. " 24. Is it not a fact that, instead of being offensive in its character so far as the composition was concerned, it was a document courteously composed, and looking toward the settlement of a great pnd destructive strike that was then in progreiss ? — A. Well, as I said, the document speaks for itself. I considered that the matter was settled then practically." Some corporations even claim the power of forbidding their servants from exercising their political rights. The Union Pacific Cfmipany issued a notice to their employes to abstain from all participation in politics. While I was in Philadelphia an incident happened which also illustrated the independent stand that is taken up by the corporations. A suit was pending before the United States Circuit Court between the Brotherhood of Raiivvay Trainmen and the Philadelphia^ and Reading Railroad, in which the men sought to have the governing body of the railro id restrained from dis- charging any of their members where the sole reason for the discharge was their being members of the brotherhood. The Attorney-General of the United >* I I, I, trnrn THE UNITED STATES. 205 ^ I I, I. ., States, conceiving that the public were concerned in the determination of the important question that was thus raised, forwarded to the judge a statement of his views upon the public aspect of the dispute, and sent copies of it to the counsel upon both sides. He stated that he intervened ** merely as amicus airice, and by express leave of the Court." In his paper, which fills two 208 SOCIALISM. York Police Depaitment, that was undergoing such an exposure just about this time. He says : " The men who compose these so-called armies are, so far as I can learn, what are ordinarily called tramps — that is, they pre men who do not earn and have not earned a living and supported themselves. They have banded together — a menace to the communities in which they were — and they propose to demand that Congress pass certain laws. • Their avowed object is to assemble in front of the Capitol in Washington, and there, by their presence and numbers, to so intimidate the Congress of the United States as to force that body to pass certain laws dictated by them. Think of it for a moment. These idle, useless dregs of humanity — too lazy to work, too miserably inefficient to earn a living — intend to * de- mand * that Congress shall pass laws at their dictation. * Demand,' that is the word they use in their so-called proclamations. ... It is easily understood that a tramp, to whom all places are alike, would find a pleasurable excitement in the march. He is supported as he walks, which is all he cares for. To him, the army movement is a vast picnic. ... I think this movement is the most dangerous this country has seen since the civil war. . . . The movement is illegal, un-American, and a disgrace, and should have been stopped long ago." This officer's indignation against the army of tramps gives colour to the view that I have before adverted to, that the Americans tolerate some evils to be protected against others — excuse what they term " boodling " for the sake of protection against violence. Ex-Senator Ingalls, who is well known in America, declared that the Coxeyites were merely the Jack Cade men of our time, trying to delude people ** with the same vagaries, chimeras, nostrums, and panaceas that have cheated mankind since the flood, and will perhaps continue to cheat them till the final conflagration." But the army of tramps was not without its defenders. The Socialist and Labour journals stood by them, as indeed their objects were similar, though the ma THE UNITED STATES. 209 method of the tramps was new. The Coxey petition to Congress demanded that the State should provide farms and factories for the unemployed ; should affirm the right of every one to have work ; should find immediate emidoyment for the unemployed ; should abolish all interest-l)earing bonds and nationalize the railroads, mines, and telegraphs. " The evils of murderous com- petition and the supplanting of manual labour by machinery " were denounced. An extract from a lect'ire given at the " Church of Humanity," Philadelphia, may be taken as an example of some of the panegyrics which the Populist party bestowed upon the followers of Coxey : " What is there in it ? There is this in it : It will accomplish more than the war of the Revolution ; that war achieved the political freedom of the country, this movement is the beginning of the industrial freedom of the people. What is there in it ? There is this in it : An army armed only with protests against wrong, equipped only with the weapons of justice, equity, and mercy, goes forth to win victories that sword and bayonet, and artillery of war, have never yet won. There is this in it : It marks an epochal period — the dawn of a brighter day, the foreshadowing, if not the commencement, of the reign of peace and righteous- ness. . . . With all reverence for Christ and all due respect to Coxey, I claim that they both belong to the class which the big firm that owns the universe — the firm of Mammon, Capitalism, Religio-Philosophia, Christiano-Politico, Robbery, and his harlot mistress Charity, modern Pontius Pilate and Company — de- nounces." However, on they marched. As for food, they billeted themselves upon the farmers and townships as they passed along. No violence was used for this purpose as indeed none was needed, for the scared people were only too glad to pay the cost of passing them on to another district. Unlawful billeting was one of the grievances that helped to bring about the Revolution in England. 210 SOCIALISM. The Constitution of America is careful to provide that no soldier shall in time of peace be quartered upon any one without his consent, nor in time of war except accord- ing to law. 15ut the States' Governments were unablo to vindicate tlieir hiw ; indeed they wore unable, or not ready, to do anything to meet the emergency. When occasion oftercd the Coxeyites captured trains, and so sped along their way ; once 500 of them were brought 400 miles in this manner. In Montana thoy seized a train and fought the United States' narahals, wounding some and ultimately capturing them all and holding them as prisoners. In Indiana they captured another train, and, with revolver at the e!)gine-driver's head, made him carry them along. But when all this came to be known and the weakness of the States' Governments was apparent, the strong man at the head of the Federal Executive soon took steps to protect the public. The United States troops recaptured the trains, and, as Coxey was hurrying on with his division to Washington, arrangements were quickly made to confront him, and to show the other contingents that nothing was to be gained even if they did reach the capital. The army approached the city and camped a few miles out, while Mr. Coxey in his carriage, with his daughter mounted upon a cream- coloured pony, and representing the " Goddess of Peace," advanced to interview the President. Unfortunately, in going up to the White House, he walked across a grass plot, in contravention of the city bye-laws, and he was thereupon immediately seized, and, upon conviction, sent to prison for twenty days. The military broke up the camps in the neighbourhood of the capital. The only blood shed was that of a poor cat that, with the instincts of its kind, clung to the vehicle it had travelled in. Some of the army were sent to the Maryland House of Correction, but most were hurried back to the different States that they had come from. This movement showed the great restlessness that was pervading the people. More fully developed or less THE UNITED STATES. 211 firmly met, it meant ft general rising of the unfortunate and the discontented. Most certainly the movement ought to have been stopped in each State at the start, 8 3 the project to overawe the Government at Washing- ton was illegal and destructive of tlie public peace. But the social conditions of America are too stable to be shaken l)y such a demonstration. Reference has been made in connection with it to the marcli of the Mar- seillais upon Paris at the beginning of the Revolution. But the condition of the two countries was different. That march ended in terror, this one in laughter. Still, like the strike riots, it showed the weakness of the local Governments and the need of a strong central power, or, at least, some power, to protect the public ; for the State fails in its primary function if it does not protect its people from invasions, v^hether internal or external. The Constitution declares one of its chief objects to be "to ensure domestic tranquillity." The same value of the Central Government was shown in dealing with the, at one time portentous, but now nearly forgotten, plague of Mormoni.sm. A firm administration of the law, aided by any special legis- lation that the novel nature of the evil required, would soon have suppressed the Mormons, at least as a separate body with a distinctive creed. But no such wholesome remedy was available. In Missouri and at Nauvoo they were merely handed over to a mob violence that cemented them into a band of martyrs. At last after they had taken refuge at the Salt Lake, where the United States had po,ver, wise legislation backed by bayonets soon limited the evil and weakened its spell. Thus, in dealing with the strike-wars and with social difficulties, such as Mormonism and Coxeyism, the weakness of the States' Governments and the power of the Federal executive was shown. It gives matter for reflection to us in Australia, who hope soon to be framing our Federal Constitution. In Canada the militia is in the hands of the Dominion Government, F 2 / 1 ' i 212 SOCIALISM. and is ordered from place to place at its direction. When we drafted a bill for the Federal Governnmnt of Australia at Sydney, in 1891, the Constitution of the United States wns simply copied. The clause ran : "Tiie conimonwealtli (of Australia) shall protect every State nr^ainst invasion, and on the application of the Executive Government of a State, against domestic violence." Tiie Populist party in America, like the Inde- pcndcut Lal)our party in England, represents that dis- content of the peo[>le, which is often the parent of pro- gress. It disclaims allegiance to both the great political parties, and adopts a large portion of the Socialist creed, while disavowing its ultimate design. Its direct power in general politics is small (though it claims to bo yearly growing in numbers), and is lessened by the fact, which has been before referred to, that its immediate ol)jects arc iiiHuenced by the varying local feelings of the vast continent that it operates over. In one State the crying need of the hour is held to be the nationaliza- tion of the land ; in another, that of railways ; in a third, the reform of the currency on a silver basis. In a few States they have been able to exercise a determining influence, as in the election of the Governor of Illinois, whose pardon of the dynamitarders I have referred to. In Kansas they have carried the government, and not with the best results, if one may credit the vigorous denunciation of their rale by a prominent ex-Senator, that I read in the Neiv York Herald. He says : '* If the sworn, specified, detailed, and documentary ac- cusations of their own leaders are to be believed, the Populist administration in Kansas has been the most profligate, debased, degraded, and disgraceful Govern- ment ever known in any State in the Union. Before it Tammany pales its ineffectual fires." Its influence is chiefly manifested in its effect upon the action of the two governing political parties, each of whom are ready to enlarge their platform so as to give standing place to as many Populists as they can secure. The passing of TIIK UNITED STATES. 213 (le- the income tax iu 1 894 w;h cliiiimd iia their victory, aud opponents of tlic measure lulniit th.it neither tno Repulilican nor Democratic party really desired it. In one respect, certainly, it bears the impres4 of the Socialist creed. In all the Socialist and Populist platform, both in En t 1 i I ^i ■I U vmmmmmmm 2U SOCIALISM. I ■\m presentation is discarded. Those who pay have no representation, and those who have all the representation do not pay. I have before referred to the fact that the Con- stitution of the United States rests upon the written document which all the States agreed to in convention, and which can be altered only by the same authority acting in the manner the Constitution prescribes. The Supreme Court possesses the transcendent power of declaring, when appealed to in due course of law, whether any Act, either of Congress or of a State Legislature, is or is not contrary to the provisions of the fundamental compact. If it is, it is void, as it is for- bidden by the voice of the whole people, who are supreme over all laws and constitutions. This, indeed, is a transcendent power for nine or ten lawyers sitting in their chamber to exercise. There is nothing like it in England. No Court there could venture to declare any Act of Parliament bad. They must accept it, whatever it is. Some of the politicians regard the Supreme Court with jealousy, and I saw it stated in publications of weight that this feeling was increasing. But if dissatis- faction is to be, it ought to be directed, against the Constitution. There it is — " a piece of paper," as the malcontents express it. The Court only acts under it in maintaining, until altered by th^ whole people, rules that the whole people have laid down. The Court, when appealed to, cannot help itself It is the dis- tinguishing feature of the judiciary that it never acts till it is invoked ; once invoked, it must act. With the Legislature it is just the other way. It moves when and how it pleases, and, if it do not like, will not move at all, however much it may be importuned to do so. But there has been all along in America a feeling of irritation with some against this paramount control of the Court. As long ago as the time of General Jackson, we read that that hero used to chafe under the rulings of Chief Justice Marshall, the eminent jurist, and when he thought that he had checkmated him by \V' THE UNITED STATES. 215 We some of his strong executive acts, would exclaim, "will see now what John Marshall can say to that." The Supreme Court has since been appealed to, and after hearing powerful arguments upon both sides from leading members of the bar, who seem to have pre- sented the question in every aspect, has decided — by, however, only five judges to four — that the income tax law is void because it imposes a class tax upon a few, while the Constitution requires that all direct taxes shall be uniformly borne by the whole people. It would require an iatimate knowledge of political conditions in America to estimate truly all the results of this mo- mentous decision, by which the will of President, Senate, Houf>e, and people is set aside. It is a striking illus- tration of the power of that judicial authority in the Constitution which has so often engaged the attention of Englishmen. It will give a plausible topic to those who object to ihe control of the Court and asperse its judges as being under the domination of capital. There is a good deal of this feeling with regard to the States courts. It surprises a stranger, and that not agreeably, to see the tone adopted towards them by men who cannot be classed as mere demaiiOgues. When I was in Massachusetts the address of the candidate for Hampden county to the electors induced me to look at some papers that he had shortly before published. In one he thus describes the judiciary of his country : "The courts of law — no longer courts of justice — have become the instruments of tyranny and oppression, con- trolled by the rich and manipulated by t^hem for the subjection of working men. The courts of law are now subjects of contempt to the people, so much so, that if all who are guilty of this offence were to be punished, there would be none loft to inflict the punishment ; because no one, not even the law makers or the law administrators themselves, with their owners — the wealthy — can have any other feeling than eoraempt for such Contemptuous objects as these courts of law have become." \ J t. ' ti 'I i4 c \' 216 SOCIALISM. One would think that this must be the utterance of a mere ranter. The writer, however, was a well-known bub.iness man, and had been assistant editor of a re- putable paper. We would stand amazed to hear such language applied to the judges in England. They, no doubt, have an advantage in the separation of the two branches of the legal profession. The counsel, from whom the judges are selected, have no direct personal relations with any great client corporations. No one can be identified as having been all his professional life the trusted attorney of any of them. They all stand upon a high personal level in doing their professional work. But the judges of the higher courts in America, though just as honourable as their English brethren, can be more plausibly attacked, as the custom of their country does not allow that strict professional demarca- tion that provides a class of select men for the position of judge. The Supreme Court of the United States, sitting at Washington, justifies the expectations that one forms of it as the most powerful judicial tribunal in the world. The English judicial committee of the Privy Council has a jurisdiction over an even greater area, but only between subjects. That at Washington adjudicates between States. The judges display a broad grasp of principle, as well as great learning. Their integrity is such as we are accustomed to in English judges, their manner judicial. They sit only from twelve o'clock to three o'clock, and devote the rest of the day to con- sidering their judgments, which they always write out at length, giving generally a full history of the facts of each case. All the previous proceedings in the causes are printed in pamphlet form before the argument comes on. The statement for each side contains full details of the grounds of appeal and the authorities relied upon, and an elaborate and often forcible epitome of the reasoning that counsel is going to submit orally. This appears to lessen the importance of the argument itself in ordinary cases. At least, in two or three cases which I HI I h \ < 1 THE UNITED STATES. 217 I heard there was not that interchange of thought between the bench and the bar that sometimes takes place in England during arguments. But the Court was a pattern for calm judicial attention to all that was brought before it. It has become the practice for the local advocates in the tribunals, whose decisions are appealed against, to attend the Supreme Court and argue their own cases, not confiding them to the management of the bar at Washington, as was the habit in earlier days when travelling was more difficult. This some- times detracts from the importance of the legal debate. It has become the practice not to give the arguments at all in the authorised reports, unless in special cases. In the older English reports the arguments at the hearing used to be fully given, but the Transcript of Record in each case here, and the written judgment, give all that can be wanted, both of the facts and of the arguments. During my stay I had not the opportunity of hearing any of the leaders of the American bar, but they are known by their reputation to English lawyers every- where. The arguments upon both sides of the income tax case are said to be worth studying as part of the literature upon the subject of taxation. The professional emoluments of the prominent men appear to be larger even than those of leaders in England. In both countries the fiction that the advocate's reward is honorary, or at least to be only according to a fixed professional scale, belongs now only to the forgotten past. He now claims whatever price his position can command. It is said that Lord Mansfield, when he had been sent a retaining fee of 1,000 guineas, returned 995, stating that the professional fee was five guineas. No barrister would be expected to do this now upon either side of the Atlantic. The honorarium sometimes paid to American counsel appears to be very high. The papers state that one eminent lawyer received a fee of close upon £1,000 for advising a railway company as to the proper wording of a notice to warn the public at a crossing. The old notice was " Beware of engines and cars," and in some 1 ffl " 1 1 ( M t m m 1 ■ fl 1 m i H t I m liH 218 SOCIALISM. actions against the company this was alleged to be in- sufficient. Counsel advised them to paint up in future, "Railway crossing. Stop, look, and listen," and was paid that handsome fee for a suggestion that, simple though it seems, may save many an adverse judgment. I have given some particulars about the Supreme Court as, owing to its unique power over the Government, it may be said to be the highest political authority in the Union. The position of women forms an important branch of any inquiry into Socialism and labour subjects, but so much has been written upon it by those who had better means of observation than I had, that I will only refer to some points that I find suggested in my notes. America is, as has been said, the laud of fearless experi- ment. For a century past the presumption there has been in favour of any new idea, at least to the extent of giving it a trial, and society has been so young and strong that it could afibrd to try experiments. Like a young man, it could afford to take liberties that would be dangerous for an older constitution. But experience reveals weak points in many notions that look plausible at first. And America is in the position of having tried to some extent and got experience upon proposals that older communities are only talking about or just beginning to take up. In time they will get their own experience. This applies to the woman question. Years ago in America the liberation of woman was announced ; politically it was promised, socially it was commenced. Experience seems to be defining the practical scope of this movement. In so far as it opens to women new and suitable means of earning a living, it works well and all approve of it. Bolder experiments have not been followed by satisfactory results. State school teaching is almost entirely in their hands, and a large proportion of clerical work. In the Supreme Court at Washington a female clerk came upon the bench and arranged the books and papers for the judges before they took their seats. They do a good deal of reporter's THE UNITED STATES. 219 work, both for the press generally and officially for the Court. This leads to inconvenience when a case of an offeDsive nature has to be dealt with. The papers men- tioned one instance where the official reporter informed the Court that she declined to take the next case owing to its disagreeable character. The judge emphatically lauded her resolution, and ordered a man to be sent for. The respect that Americans show to women and their readiness to assist them, is one of the most pleasing features in the national character. There are nearly 1,000 women who live by writing for the papers in the States. Three hundred and thirty are reported to be dentists. Over 200 women are lawyers, some of whom practise in court. In one case the counsel for the plaintiff were a lady, who was leader in the cause, with her husband as her junior. Barristers, who understand the subordinate position that a junior counsel occupies and how liable he is to be snubbed by his leader, may think that this is a mere story, but I can assure them that it is a fact. It was, however, quite exceptional, and caused only laughter. Women will never do much as advocates in court. Some women preach in America, as elsewhere. There are said to be 200 female ministers who disregard the injunction of St. Paul. I heard one, but she was not, I think, one of the leading preachers. She was lady- like in her manner, and faultlessly dressed, and desired to prove that there was no such thing as the trans- mission of qualities or vices from parent to child. She cited several texts from the Bible in support of her view ; especially the statement that " God is your Father." The congregation listened attentively, and appeared to be satisfied. There are as many as 4,555 female doctors in the States, but they do not appear to have succeeded in doing as much practical work as it was expected they would. Even with women they do not seem to be largely successful. A leading doctor told me that he had often advised his lady patients to go to one of their own sex, but that he could not over- come their disinclination to do so. When a married I :\ I 11 220 SOCIALISM. lady follows the profession, if she has children, she has to engage another lady to take charge of them. I met an instance of this. Generally, it may be concluded, that what work women can do as well as men — or better, as they do some things — they will hold their own in ; but both they and the public will get tired of their trying to do what they can only do at a disadvantage. The women's suffrage movement is an instance of how experience tells upon tlie public mind. A generation ago its prospects looked brighter in the United States than they do now. It was the watchword then, never to rest till the suffrage had been secured, and also a woman elected President of the United States. America has the advantage of being able to try experiments in one or more of its numerous States, while the rest look on and take note of them. Female suffrage has been tried in Wyoming, AVashington, Colorado, and Utah, where, strangely enough, the women supported polygamy by their votes. In Colorado, their victory was owing to the Populist party carrying that State. The friends of the movement do not claim that it has achieved any great results in those States. Women who have homes and children do not vote at all. The Governor of Colorado, who supports it, says : ** It must be admitted that the effect which equal suffrage will produce upon the States and nation is a matter of conjecture. In Utah, the right of women to vote under the Territorial laws did not injuriously affect polygamy. ... In Wyoming and Washington, to my knowledge, no extraordinary progress has been made that can be traced to female suffrage ; and in Colorado, sufficient time has not elapsed to speak understaudingly of the result. Certainly there is little hope of the future, unless women, admitted to the suffrage, acquaint themselves more thoroughly than men with political affairs." The Socialist and I^abour parties in England were all for " women's suffrage and the absolute equality of woman with man in all things." But some of the most advanced plat- forms in America, such as those of St. Louis and of i II THE UNITED STATES. 221 Omaha, reject it. In Nebraska, several years ago, the Legislature passed an Act submitting the question to a convention of the people, and the National Women's Suffrage of the Union had a special gathering in Omaha, the capital of the State, and worked vigorously to secure a favourable vote. But out of nearly 90,000 who polled, only 25,756 declared for it. The Dominion Parliament in Canada rejected the proposal for woman's suffrage last year by 105 votes to 47. In New York the Constitutional Convention rejected it, and Bishop Doane, of Albany, who is a representative man with his party, declared that he was " sick and tired of the way in which the talk of woman's vocation fills the air." Certainly one of the city election fights would not be a wholesome ex'^rcise for any woman to join in. I may mention that, in New Zealand, the Bill to admit women as members of Parliament was carried in the House of Kepresentatives in 1894 by the casting vote of the Speaker; but in 1895 it was rejected by 35 votes to 26, though the example of Colorado with its three lady legislators was invoked. In intellectual Boston, where there are a great number of talented women, who make their usefulness felt in directions many and various, I was told by some advanced men that women desired the right of suflfrage, not that they cared to vote, but as a tribute to and recognition of the worth and standing of woman. The idea seemed to be that women were too good and valuable to be confined to merely the domestic sphere. Some in America, and more in England, supported female suffrage from a point of view that was quite different to that commonly taken. More or less directly expressed, their creed was this : Now that you have got manhood suffrage, you may just as well get the other, too. If one man is as good and better than another, a woman is at least as good as a man. Either they will do nothing in politics or do some good, so it will be either no change or a change slightly for the better. Their reasoning is like that which Dr. Johnson says makes many of the utterly poor 222 SOCIALISM. I n « marry. " I cannot be worse oflf than I am, so I'll e'en take Peggy." One does not hear or see so much of the New- Woman in America as in some other lands. At Phil- adelphia I was present at a meeting of a women's association there, which was attended by over 200 ladies. The president gave an address, and speeches were made, but the topics and their manner of treat- ment were such as, according to old ideas, came quite within woman's province. At Boston there appeared to be much intellectual activity among the ladies of the city, which, however, expended itself upon the old lines of woman's usefulness. When I was at Washington, upon a festive occasion, one of the President's Ministers responded to the toast of the President's wife, and, while justly lauding that lady's virtues, emphatically- declared that her sphere was the drawing-room of the White House, where her rule was supreme. This seemed to be the tone of much of American society. It is curious to note that at Chicago a city law was proposed prohibiting women from wearing leggings and short dresses. But the age is one of new ideas, and for giving new ideas a trial. Woman's rights may be fated to come, and fated also to bring some unexpected consequences in their train. If it were to be a reality women would govern the country, as there are always, in any given locality, more women available for voting than men. In small, young communities, surrounded by fertile land, experiments may be tried with impunity. They can live with any Government or no Government. But in old, densely populated countries woman suffrage would in time force a reconsideration of the suffrage question as a whole, while in the graver periods of national life, as when the arbitrament of arms is appealed to, it would necessarily be brushed aside. No female votes would have stopped the Germans from springing on France in 1870. Not all the women's votes in America would have stayed the men from crushing the South in the civil war. The Americans THE UNITED STATES. 223 have a phrase which declares that beliind every ballot is a bullet. The Commissioner of Labour has given special atten- tion to the task of ascertaining the condition of the working women in the large cities of the United States. One volume of his interesting reports, which contains over 630 pages, is wholly devoted to this subject. The inquiry was conducted almost entirely by women, and no less than 17,427 workwomen were separately met and questioned as to their condition. Particular.^ are given from twenty-one great cities. In the more crowded of these, things appear to be no better than they are in England ; in some cases not as good. The work- girls of Boston are declared to be intellectual in their tastes. They attend lectures and oratorios, and con- tribute to the magazines. They are wise indeed if they understand truly " the dignity of labour," as the phrase was in bygone days, and are not raised above it by a little book-learning. Burns, after he had written verses that will live as long as the language, used to boast that he could still earn his bread at the plougi , and drive as straight a furrow as any man in Scotland. In a cigarette factory in Richmond an excellent library is provided for the emrtloyes. But the American girls, like most other girls in our time, object to household service, and prefer in San Francisco to work at the benches of a cigar factory side by side with Chinese. A strict moral tone pervades these reports. When, in dealing with the moral character of the workwomen, a reference is made to men who lead loose lives, they are designated with a tone of reprobation that is not often found in official reports. The great facility for obtaining divorce that exists in many States of the Union is in accordance with the Socialistic sentiment, though it did not originate with the desire to sanction the view of any new creed, but simply from a natural longing of men and women for freedom from restraint. In the end this looseness must impair the position of women. A man can better afford , 1 934 SOCIALISM. to go on changing his wives than a woman can to go on changing her hu.shands. The evils growing out of the prevailing hixity, and the differences between the mar- riage laws of the States, were so great that in 1887 an Act was passed 1)y Congress appropriating money to enable the Commissioner of Labour to make full in- quiries into the subject of marriage and divorce, and to report to Congress. The result was a most searching investigation uuder the direction of that officer, and a report that gives complete information as regards America, and an accurate summary of the marriage laws and statistics of other countries. It is published in the form of a bulky volume of 1,074 pages. It shows that in twenty years 328,716 divorces were granted in the United States. The records of the courts were searched, and the causes upon which divorces were granted are taken from the plaints in ninety-nine cases. They are often so trivial that it only amounts to the wife being tired of her husband, or the husband of his wife. These are some of them. " Plaintiff alleges that the defendant does not wash himself, thereby inflicting upon plaintiff great mental anguish." ** When defendant suff'ers financial loss he lays it to plaintiff and censures her in bitter terms. He treats her as a child, claiming the right to do so because of his age and sex." ** Plaintiff says that she is subject to sick headaches that grow worse when she smells tobacco. Defendant uses tobacco and thus aggravates her headache." Divorce granted because husband enlisted in the navy. From plaintiff's testimony: "During our whole married life my husband has never offered to take me out riding. This has been a source of great mental suffering and injury." " Defendant was cruel in this. He caused a letter to be written saying he was dead. Plaintiff ordered a mourning garb and grieved a long time, but at last THE UNITED STATES. 225 learned that the letter was a fraud and that defendant was not dead." " Plaintiff says defendant will not work during the week, but on Sundays he puts on his old clothes and works hard all day, which conduct sorely grieves the plaintiff." Upon grounds such as these divorce was given. The report mentions that in the State of Utah, the divorces granted were as follows: In 1874, 149; in 1876, 709; in 1877, 914; in 1878, 298 ; in 1879, 122. The fact being that in 187G and 1877 the divorce lawyers in the eastern cities used the State as a handy place for working the " divorce mill," which caused legislation to be passed, checking the practice. Such a travesty of marriage and the divorce jurisdiction excites the indignation of all thoughtful Americans, and the experience of loose marriage laws is teaching the nation a lesson, the effect of which is seen in a gradually increasing stringency of the legislation upon the subject. Some influential associations have been formed to assist in promoting a reformation. The United States have been forced to depart from the attitude of welcome to all strangers that they maintained for the greater part of the century. Im- migration has had to be restricted by the State, and the Labour bodies expressly demand the exclusion of foreigners — Canadians are often named — from employ- ment upon public works. A commission had been appointed in Massachusetts to inquire into the question of the unemployed. I met the members of it in Boston, and they appeared to be highly intelligent men, well qualified for the work, and conscientiously anxious to arrive at a jusi; conclusion. I see that they have since presented their report, and in it they say : •' It appears to us that the evil of non-employment is in a con- siderable measure due to ill-responsible, ill-advised, and ill-adapted immigration." Attention is also being called to this difficulty in England. In the colonies we used to assist immigration by State grants of money ; but this is stopped now. At one time we were in real 326 SOCIALISM. ^l I'm danger from a promiscuous immigration of Ciiincso. As there are 400,000,000 of them quite near to a part of our coast, and we are only 4,000,000, tliey would soon have swamped us. Two distinct civilisations — and they have a civilisation of their own — cannot exist together. What we learnt of the condition of San Francisco with its Chinese settlement made us the more resolute. AVhile Attorney-General of Victoria I advised my Government that they could lawfully prevent some Chinese, who were nlicns, and who claimed the right to land in Melbourne, from disembarking, by virtue of the Queen's prerogative power to prohibit aliens from coming into her dominions. A Chinese who was kept out brought an action and recovered damages in tlie colony, but we appealed, and after a full argument before the Privy Council, in which I had the honour of taking part, the Court allowed the appeal, and sanctioned, though not in its entireness, the po?' »n that we had asserted. The constitution of California provides that " every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his senti- ments on all subjects." The people of America generally, apart from any specific leave, have long exercised this right. The varieties of religious teaching have ranged from the most orthodox forms of the old churches down to the abuses of Mormonism and the extravagancies of Spiritualism. At a Spiritualist Church, at which there was a considerable congregation, I heard a long sermon, which questioned all material things and raised doubts as to whether we were sitting there at all or not. The press is a wonder. The reviews take place among the first in the world for tone and ability. The daily papers of the great cities surprise one by the union of great merits with faults of tone that jar upon the stranger. Nothing can exceed the enterprise with which news is gathered from every quarter of the globe, and the ability displayed in the editorial columns is often marked. As an instance of enterprise, the report of an interview with an English statesman, which appeared in a Phila- THE UNITED STATES. 227 delphia paper whilo I wa3 there, may bo referred to. It was published only a few days after the statesman had been seen in England, and consisted of nearly tliree columns of matter, sent by cable, giving his views as expressed in the course of the conversation upon many matters of great interest. Socialism included. It was accompanied by four different portraits of the gentle- man, fairly done on wood blocks. These were re- spectively entitled : " A. B., the mountaineer, age 23 ; A. B., the historian, age 42 ; A. B., the statesman, age 52; A. B., from his latest photograph." One of the ablest arguments that I have seen against the merely materia- listic view of life was in a leading article of a New york paper. Yet side by side with valuable matter you have details about people's private affairs or comical references to serious things. Cleverly pointed headings in large striking print at ract attention. *' Her Bones are Breaking " introduces the details of the case of some young lady, whose name and place of abode is fully given, who is suffering from some peculiar malady. When a murderer who is executed dies penitently, the large heading announces that "He is Jerked to Jesus." Some of those who were plundered by the New York police complained aloud, while others paid quietly. The first were designated in big letters as "Victims who Squeal." We are informed that the Archbishop preached an impressive sermon to such a crowded congregation that a little dog who got in was so squeezed that he could not bark. "Blank has the Needle ! " in large print is followed by a full account of how the person specified, who lives in such a street, had a needle in his leg for some months after the doctors had thought they had extracted it. Ample details are given concerning the turkey which the President is to have for dinner on Thanksgiving Day ; and so on. This peculiarity of tone rather impairs the effect of the really valuable matter in these papers. The Americans join the frankest condemnation of the evils of their country to the most perfect confidence Q 2 ii 228 SOCIALISM. in it and its future. The papers were teeming with denunciations of the corruption in New York, and also in other great cities. No outside observer would caro to use language so strong as comes under his eye every day. It was the same a few years ago when the general politics of the country had certainly got into a bad case. The whole press, from the best reviews downwards, were filled with bitter imprecations against the politicians, and, indeed, against the whole system of the Govern- ment of the country. An extract from the Neiv York I'rihune may be taken as a sample. It describes the then public life of America as an " era of such official corruption and dishonesty, such selfishness and shame- lessness, such low aims and base purposes, such grasping avarice and eager over-reaching, such speculating in official information, such bribery, and such barter and sale of offices, and such degradation of all things which the nation has held to be high and holy, and worthy an honest pride, that, to-day, the country hangs its head and holds its nose." In conversation, too, people will condemn public men and give a bad account of institutions with great frankness. I have given some examples of this in a previous chapter. One is always meeting with it in America. When going over a large State school, where black and white children were taught together, I asked the head mistress if mixing them worked well. " Not at all," she said, "it works badly every way. It is bad for both the blacks and the whites. The parents don't like it, and I have reported that it makes the discipline bad and does harm." " What continues it, then ? Why is it not changed ? " " Politics," she replied, with a contemptuous smile. Even when there is no suggestion that anything is wrong one is often surprised at the low tone taken. In an important argument before a Supreme Court judge, the leading counsel is reported as saying : " It was truly said of ; ;3 of your predecessors, in a tablet upon the wall betr ^ us, that * no influence or interest THE UNITED STATES. 229 could touch his integrity or bias his judgment,' and that can happily be said with equal propriety of every one of his sucjessors." An English judge would be rather surpriseJ au such a reference to his integrity. It is something like, though not so marked as, the words of a judge some years ago to the jury in a Californiun case, which I take from the shorthand writer's reports. He said : *' I have been 'iensured somewhat for keeping you together as I have done, but I hope you do me the credit of believing that I acted conscientiously. By doing so I have guaranteed that no one can insinuate that a bribe was employed to influence your verdict." In the Transcripts of Record in cases before the Supreme Court one meets remarks such ap this : " We earnestly insist, while conceding absolute sincerity to the learned justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, that his opinion 18 wrong." Yet, while disparaging and severely critical of them- selves to themselves, tliey combat criticism from outside, and when they admit evils it is with the air of men whose position is so strong that they can afford it. Their country is so great that a little depreciation does not matter. And this tone is not without justification. The magnitude of their evils is partly owing to the vastness of their community ; coping with them as they do, shows its strength. A New York merchant, while he gave an ill account of the politicians, yet resented any general bad conclusion, saying that things were improving, that, whatever they might be, they were all patriotic, and whenever there was any real danger for the country the politicians stood as one man for it. A Chicago resident, who had no sympathy with strike-wars, when he heard some hostile comments upon what had happened in his city, disputed the gravity of the whole situation, and declared that the accounts that we read were worthed up and exaggerated by the papers. An official who admitted the corruption of their city Governments said that at any rate they were no worse than many of the cities of Canada or England. Some , !U1 230 SOCIALISM. ' whom I met laughed at the Coxey movement as a joke, and said that no country could have afforded to treat it as lightly as they did. I saw a scathing article in a review, which made specific statements as to corruption in a certain State Government which were rather more striking than usual. I inquired whether I could accept the facts stated as accurate. The editor, however, made little of the matter, and replied that there had been undoubted irregularities, but that, as to the particular article, they always gave their writers free scope to choose their own language. This patriotic pride in their country, and unwilling- ness to concede anything against it, at least to the stranger, was illustrated by a story that is related of the experience of the late Chief Justice Coleridge, during his visit to Washington. Walking along the banks of the Potomac with a distinguished American friend, he alluded to the tradition that Washington in his youth was possessed of such athletic vigour that he could throw a dollar from bank to bank over the broad waters of the river, and asked his co.n- panion if this was true. The distinguished American replied : " Well, my lord, it is not for me to belittle the father of my country. Whether the hero shot a dollar across the Potomac I could not say, but I do know that he tossed a sovereign across the Atlantic." Early Liberals had nothing but admiration for Ame- rica, and they never seem to have thought that it would alter from what it was in their time. One of the most eminent of them declared that there was less to deplore and more to admire in that land than in any country under heaven, not excepting England. The philosophical Mackintosh proclaimed that the authors of her Constitu- tion had constructed a permanent answer to the sophisms and declamations of the detractors of liberty. Jt is in truth a country where great CAperiments are freely made, and intelligence gained from them. Serious evils are developed, and are checked, more or less efiFectually, as soon as the people come to realize them. Mormouism, tV \ ' THE UNITED STATES. 231 strike-wars, the domination of wealth, the oppression of corporations, Coxeyism, public corruption, currency- crazes — all have tested the strength of the community, which ultimately rests in the discernment and common sense of the people taken as a whole. It is not to be denied that this test will present itself under more serious conditions as the country fills up. America's trial vrill be more formidable when it is as densely populated as Europe — indeed, its real trial will be then. But as its difficulties increase, its experience accumulates. All flippant or despondent criticism is silenced by the con- sideration that her cause is the cause of our civilisation. If she fails, it fails. She is leading the way that we all are following. Her dangers are ours, and the safety that she will achieve remains also for us. Una salus ambobus erit, commune periculum. I should mention that I got much information from the comprehensive reports of Mr. Carrol D. Wright, the Commissioner of Labour of the United States, whose reputation as an expert in the subjects he deals with is known to us in Australia ; from The Journal of the Knights of Labour, the " Report on the Chicago Strike" by the United States Strike Commission, " The Reasons for pardoning Fielden, Neebe, and Schwab," by the Governor of Illinois, The North American Review, and the press generally. I .; i ill *M:. % ■ CHAPTER X. SOCIALIST LITERATURE. The literature of Socialism is immense. Like a religion, the new creed has its standard writers on the faith, its popular tracts, plenty of controversial pam- phlets, and its Labour Church publications, down to Socialist lessons for children at its Sunday Schools. The official reports of England, the United States, Canada, and the colonies on Labour questions are voluminous and continuous. The Report of the Royal Commission on Labour, that was published in London in 1893-4, represents in several volumes the work of some years, and the thoughtful conclusions of able men, several of whom were experts in the subject with which they were dealing. As is well known, these experts in the end were not able to agree. The majority considered that the State had nearly exhausted its power of legis- lative cure for industrial ills, and that what was wanted now was better administration of the law. The minority, in a report that ably represented the Socialist view, contended that we had only come to the threshold of State action, that eventually the State must take all into its own hands, and that meantime it must accept the immediate proposals of Socialism as an instalment. There are, in addition, some thirty Blue Books, con- taining evidence or reports upon industrial questions. In the United States, the Commissioner of Labour publishes elaborate statements on the condition of the people and their industry, which appear to be as ac- i f f ■^^i I X ■■I m SOCIALIST LITERATURE. 233 curate as they are comprehensive. He did me the favour of sending me one set, which consisted of four large volumes, containing together 2,764 closely printed pages. To strikes were given 1,172 pages, to railroad labour 888 pages, to the subject of marriage and divorce 1,074. The general condition of working women filled, as I have before mentioned, one volume. Canada had its Commission upon the Relations of Labour and Capital, which sat for several years, and presented a report dealing with the whole subject, and giving the results of their inquiries into forty-one distinct branches of it. It fills seven volumes, and the total number of pages is 4,971. I am indebted to Mr. Griffin, the Parliamentary Librarian at Ottawa, for this useful series. The Massachusetts Bureau of the Statistics of Labour presented in 1894 a comprehensive volume upon " Unemployment " ; the report itself occupied 267 pages. It also publishes a " Labour Chronology" for each year, giving the notable labour events for each day of the year. All our colonies have published reports giving information upon every aspect of this vital subject. It is a hopeful sign of our times that such pains are taken at least to throw light upon the state of the wage-earner and his grievances. The whole evidence taken before the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1825 on the Combination Laws is comprised in one volume of 421 pages, and much of it was directed merely to showing the evils of trade combinations. In earlier times there are no direct accounts, whether otiicial or popular, as to how the poor and the worker lived and died. Historians have to grope to conclusions by in- ferences from general information. The general literature of the present phase of Socialism derives its inspiration from the German writers, several of whom were Jews. They showed an insight into the evils of society, and whatever we may think of the diflerent remedies they proposed — for they were not identical — the power they displayed is undoubted. Nor can any one question the ability n u ifi (I V 1 1 '■' V \' i I 234 SOCIALISM. shown by several of the hiter writers, many of them belonging to England. My object, however, is not to attempt any digest of these, but to give my im- pression of the Socialist literature that is based upon their speculations, and is supplied in cheap form to the common reader. What he reads is the matter of im- mediate importance. He translates the theories of the closet into the maxims of the pavement. What he thinks leads to action. The supply of this literature is, as has been said, vast. If this knowledge is not freely partaken of, it is not for want of ready access to the tree. The Fabian Society publish a pamphlet containing a list of books to read. It fills thirty-two pages, which enumerate some five hundred chosen books, pamphlets, or reports. There is a Bellamy Library, and a Social Science Series which contains some eighty volumes. The Fabian Essays are read everywhere, and the Fabian Tracts circulate largely in England. They are full of facts and figures, and like other Socialist publications, are not wanting in diagrams and drawings to illustrate in a striking manner the inequalities in the distribution of wealth. Nothing can exceed the cheapness of this light, skirmishing literature of pamphlets, leaflets, songs, stories. A hundred of them can be got for a few pence. " Merrie England," a clever and attractive discourse in favour of Socialism, which fills 206 pages, is sold for one penny. The most popular of all the Socialist series, and indeed the most effective, are the imaginative sketches, such as Bellamy's " Looking Backward." These sell by the thousand all over the world. They are just what suits the struggling man, for they give in a clever way the sketch of exactly what he wants. Difficulties can be easily veiled by a ready pen in this sort of com- position. It is like a skilfully constructed play ; the impossible may be plausibly put so as to seem more probable than the possible is if awkwardly related. More than one worker whom I met told me to read ^ ^ *.Jt.*.»5iT ,MfS»0V ^ »i I fi SOCIALIST LITERATUKE. 235 Bellamy, as his book showed just what he looked to. If you want to think the matter out, nothing can be more unsatisfactory than writing of this kind. You never know where you are, when j'-ou are standing or when you are swimming. It is like going to the historical novel to verify the facts of history. It certainly has been the method often adopted by great authors in past times, when they wished to be free to speculate as to what they might fancy human life to be in some future unknown age ; and it is no more to be subjected to logical criticism than are the pious hopes of the Christian millennium. Yet they have great effect. Their ideal being accepted as a coming reality, its votaries regard the present conditions of life as bad, beyond remedy by any ordinary means, and are thus led to support anything that will destroy existing conditions, and so clear the way for the new era. These sketches have less weight in their own land, America, than at a distance, partly owing to the common sense of the people, sharpened as it has been by experience of quite a variety of similar romances, dealing with all possible subjects, from the currency downwards, and partly perhaps owing to the fact that the prophet gets least honour in his own country. When Henry George published his book it attracted little notice in America. It was only after its popularity abroad that it was taken up at home ; and now it has less weight and is more sharply criticised there than in any other land. In so far as this literature forces attention to the condition of the poor, and to the need of having improved conditions of industry wrought out, it is doing good work, but work that is common to many reformers, though the writers often appear to assume that they are alone in it. The ills of poverty, and the evils that the institution of property develops, have been powerful t<)pics to conjure with from the earliest ages. These they forcibly urge, but not more forcibly than they have often been urged before. They do 1i \ I ia 236 SOCIALISM. not want thinking over; they force themselves upon common observation. In none of the Socialist tracts is the apparent injustice of property put in a more striking way than it is by Paley in his Moral and Political Philosophy, where he pictures men as a flock of pigeons surrounding a heap of grain that they have all collected, jealously guarding it for one to gorge or waste, and picking to pieces any hardy or hungry bird that dares to touch it. But he spoils his vivid picture for Socialist use by going on to remark that there must be some very strong reasons in the background that have driven men in all ages to support such an institution. A full discussion of these publications would add another volume to the long list ; but some points that suggest themselves to the man at the bookstall may be noted. They commonly describe those who have property as robbers and evil-doers, owing to that fact ; and the more vehement of them declare that they will take vengeance on the delinquents. Intelligent Socialists disclaim this conclusion, though at the same time it is the natural outcome of their teaching. Some gloomy philosophers have declared that the violent consumma- tion threatened is the necessary result of that teaching. But to condemn individuals for the alleged fault of a system is obviously wrong, and is felt to be so by the man in the street, particularly if he happens to have some small property himself This tone impairs the practical effect of some of this writing. Then they ascribe all the ills of life to the one cause — Henry George to the private ownership of the land, the rest to the ownership of any property. The one remedy is to remove the cause. But the problem is too com- plex a one to be really solved in this way ; these single exact methods for setting up fallen men are delusive. Human nature, with all its twists and defects, the causes that make a certain proportion of men poor and shiftless under any conditions, the (\ rssr*t SOCIALIST LITERATURE. 237 difficulty of unlioiited population in the new state, and the loss of freedom that is involved, how to maintain ■" production, energy, inventiveness — on these tilings little thought is bestowecl. This loss of personal independence is what appals any thinking man who has seen political life as it develops in the management of industrial affairs — for example, in some of the American cities. Ho cannot reconcile himself to the prospect of having the industry of himself and his family under the direction of a Ward Boss. But such feelings are ignored or only ^' touched lightly. Indeed, some writei.-, appear to quite relish the idea of all being marshalled in the ranks under Collectivist discipline. If they cannot exalt those of low degree, at least they will put down the mighty from their seats. Co-operation, small holding of land, any effort at self-help, nay, thrift itself, is decried. One of the best writers, indeed, puts it thus : " Instead of converting every man into an independent producer, working when he likes and as he likes, we aim at enrolling every able-bodied person directly in the service of the community, for such duties and under such kind of organisation, local or national, as may be suitable to his capacity and social function." While this is proclaimed, the attempts to grapple with the enormous practical difficulties of working it out are fanciful. When reference is made to that aspect of the subject, a want of knowledge of the wayward ways of men is shown. Thus in a tract dealing with the restoration of the land to the people, the work of a competent author, and published by the English Land Restoration League, tb'*- question of how to parcel it out anew, and with the improvements of generations upon it, among the many applicants, is dealt with as quite a simple matter. We read that " each community, each town or parish, should elect its own land board or council to settle the terms upon which each block of land, or each house and its 238 SOCIALISM. appurtenances, may be assigned in permanent occupation to those who need and have the best claim to them." Those who have had experience of the comparatively easy task of distributing the waste lands of Australia will smile at this. The enunciation of half-truths marks much of theseJ publications. Thus it is true that the worker often ^ now does not get his fair share of the wealth that he produces, and by some means — co-operation and profit- sharing, systems of progressive wages, or plans known as the " good fellowship " plan, or the " reference rate " plan, first suggest themselves ; but let experience, if it can, teach better — a fairer division must be secured for him. But it is not a true representation of the case to display a small square as showing the receipts of labour, and a large one to indicate the profits of capital, and to argue that all that labour does not get goes as a mere oblation to capital. The ability anda skill to direct labour is as necessary as labour itself ; it I ^ is a rare quality, and its services must be rewarded by X a share of the produce, or else the mere toiler would V labour in vain. When we hear of some new venture ino industry failing, it is not for want of labour, but for ^ want of head — because the projector has not been able successfully to judge the conditions of success. The] thinker in the office has miscalculated, and muscle and A sinew are strained to no purpose. Again, one finds frequent reference to the people as j being oppressed, "exploited," ground down by the/\ "ruling classes." This, again, is not a whole truth. • They have had middle-class government in England for \ over sixty years ; household suff'rage and the ballot for J some thirty ; general education, and popular statesmen, A continuous attention to social wants by inquiry and 1 legislation. Yet the people are addressed as if they^^ had no voice in the Government, and were ignored in '' the political world. It is just the same in the Socialist \ literature of the United States, where the people have had \ power over their local Governments and over industrial \ > il SOCIALIST LITERATURE. 239 \ legislation for a century. Tliere, too, the workers are addressed in language such as was used in past times to peoples who were groaning under despotism and looking for a ray of liberty to light their lives. It is 80 all the world over. The party that aims at absolute power declares there is no freedom until it gets it. In my own province of Victoria the people rule. The Lower House is elected by universal suffrage and the ballot. The members are paid ; the Ministries are what the people wish them to be. E'lucation has been free and compulsory for a generation. The Upper House, too, is elective ; the ratepayers of the colony being, substantially, the electors. Yet when I was in America I was given a copy of the organ of the American Federation of Labour for July, 1894, which contained a letter from one of our Labour leaders to Mr. Gompers, the President of the American Society, In this letter the Americans are informed that ** we in Victoria are cursed with as bad a Government as in any part of the world. It is a Government of men who restrict the franchise of the labourer and increase the franchise of the employer and the wealth-owner." If this con- demnation of the institutions of England, the United States, and the colonies be just, it goes to show that popular government, so far, is not a success. At whosoever's door the blame be laid, the fact would remain, and render us doubtful whether its further development might not also produce unexpected evils. But the truth is that this style of writing is not meant to be takoii seriously. While on this point, it is but fair to add that it Y/as not only depreciation of Australia that I saw in the American Labour papers. In the Journal of the Knights of Labour for July 26th, 1894, I read "that the railroad men receive twenty-five to thirty per cent, more wages for eight hours of labour than they are paid in this country for ten ; and that in Victoria, where these rates prevail, the net income from the roads last year was sufficient to pay all the Federal L fmnnm ^PP wmm 240 SOCIALISM. 'V taxes." Another writer tells us that " Australia, which has the most extensive railroad system in proportion to inhabitants of any country on the face of the globe, has paid for her railways from the earnings of the roads in ten years, and for the hist three years has appropriated their net earnings to the support of the Government, reducing national taxation nearly one-half. This has been done with a reduction of freight rates to one-half of the former rates, and the reduction of passenger rates to one-half cent, per mile, or one guinea for a thousand mile ticket. Fellow-citizens, how would you like to bo able to ride a thousand miles for five pounds ? And to know that the big<^cst part of that is profit, going to reduce the taxes. It can and wilK be done, if you will put the people's party in power." This is good news to us in Australia, but it is news ! Another thing that we learn from this current literature is how rapidly social questions develop in these days. Proposals that a few years ago were dis- claimed, are now accepted absolutely as if no one ever could have questioned them. It is not so much a mental process as a src'al growth. Thus from the Report of the International Trade Unions' Congress in 1888, it appears that the English delegates by a large majority disapproved of the State regulating the hours of labour, and decided "to rely upon their own strength to obtain their freedom." In 1890 the proposal for an absolute eight hours law was generally disclaimed. The Fabian Society drafted a Bill which provided for a limitation of hours in employments already regulated by the State, and in monopolies and as regards other employments enabling the workers to arrange as they pleased for themselves. Sir Charles Dilke at that time wrote that it must be conceded that the eight hours system was not applicable to all trades. In 1892 Mr. Chamberlain^ in his sketch of a Labour programme, said that it would be waste of time to consider it, as there was no evidence I SOCIALIST LITERATURE. Ml that the workers would accept it. But in 1894 scarce a voice was raised in the Trade Unions' Couffress for any limitation of a general absolute law, and the Secretary was ousted from liis office for voting in Parliament in favour of allowing districts to decide whether the law should be extended to them. The latest Socialist literature declares for an absolute eight hours law. The effect of new and vast macliinery upon the dispossessed workers has often perplexed reflecting men. True, what benefits society is the thing produced, not the work of producing it. Yet if by the continual \ expansion of machinery the workers are edged out, ) where will they get wages to buy even the cheap new things ? The old way was at least a means of dis- persing wages, which now are lost to them, whoever else may gain. The ultimate remedy for this state of things that the Socialist press proposes is simple. When the Government owns everything, and employs every- body, the more machinery the better. Enough will be produced for all ; two or three hours' work a day will suffice. But until then, in several leaflets and pamphlets one finds it stoutly contended that we should cease from using machinery extensively and enlarge rather than curtail hand work, the true end to be sought being not production but employment. On the same principle many advocate short hours of labour, not so much to ease the workers as to provide work for the unemployed. It is an admirable feature of the English (Socialist \ tracts, that they display confidence in the law of their / country. There are no such attacks upon the hoaouFv and impartiality of their judges as one finds in a similar \ class of publications in the United States. Upon every needful occasion the Courts are appealed to to vindicate any rights of labour that may be questioned ; and their decisions are accepted as honestly declaring what the law is. The Red Van Report records with, triumph how, when summoned in the country for obstruction, the Red Vans won in court. " A barrister from London appeared for the defence, instructed by the Hon. Solicitor ii im 242 SOCIALISM. to the League. The charge of obstruction broke down hopelessly under cross-examination, and the summons was promptly dismissed. After the report of the case appeared in the country papers, nothing more was heard of the other threatened prosecutions." The Report of the Poplar Labour Electoral League mentions that some question was raised as to the decision 01 a Police Magistrate regarding street meetings, and that the Home Secretary had been questioned upon the subject in Parliament, and it goes on to say r " ' Mr. Asquith said it would of course be pre- sumptuous of them to criticise the exposition of the law. All he had to do was to take the administrative question, and in his opinion the police ought not to interfere with a meeting unless it created a serious obstruction.* The foregoing reply practically establishes the legal right of free speech, provided no obstruction is caused thereby." Ifc is a great quality this Saxon \ respect for the law. Were it not for it an army would be required to enforce the numerous decrees that daily issue from the English Courts. The only exception to this wholesome tone that I observed was in a paper that claims to be the ** Organ of the Social Democracy." It^ derides the notion that " this capitalist society can be transformed into a co-operative commonweal by the simple process of slipping votes into a ballot-box," and advises the resort to force. But this respect for law does not extend to the politicians. They are condemned throughout these papers, and general distrust of them expressed, though not in as absolute a manner as is the case m the United States. Even Mr. Gladstone is referred to contemp- tuously. When they wish to describe an evasive speech, it is declared to be " Gladstonesque." It should be added that some publications that are called Socialist are only charitable. A ** Grammar of Socialism," that was said to have a large sale, states merely the religious principle of charity, and ends by referring the reauer for ail details to Cruden's Concordance of the Bible. v f 1 I SOCIALIST LITERATURE. 243 The number of Socialist and Labour newspapers and periodicals is considerable. The Worhman's Times, The Clarion, The Labour Leader, the Labour Prophet, Brotherhood, The Church Reformer, are amonw these, while the Torch represents the Anarchists, and Shafts, a monthly magazine, claims to speak for women. ''Its editor believes," we read, " that the grand procession through which each individual soul passes in its earthly development culminates in woman, sex being one stage, and feminine the highest and last. It demands an equal standard of morality and an equal measure of justice for both sexes, and throws its influence stead- fastly to the upholding of the 'New Woman.'" There are several books of songs " Of the Social Revolution," with or without music, and serial stories in which Nihilists, Secret Society men, and capitalist villains figure. Certain words and phrases, such as Collectivism, Spurious Collectivism, Exploiting, Unsocialism, Incidents of Capitalism, Free competition. Economic struggle, Acosmic warfare, Atomism, are current in all this writing. Sets of questions for candid ites and directions how to work Local Government Acts are plentifully supplied. Some of the papers are translated into other tongues for the use of those who are not fa?niliar with English. The general reader need not be told that the leading Reviews of England and America frequently devote their pages to Socialist discussions. In the year that I was in England over two hundred articles upon such subjects appeared. In the few places where Labour Churches are established, they have Sunday schools for instilling right principles into the children. Outline addresses for the use of teachers are published after the manner of the Orthodox Churches ; as for example : " Bees — One bee gathers a little honey. Many gather much and store it, As winter approaches, the workers kill the drones. Will not support those who do not work. All workers share honey." " Children walking in the fields. Trespassing! Ground not free to all." B 2 #1 % fi 244 SOCIALISM. " Pigs feeding. Enough, for all. But greedy pigs take more than their share. Others must therefore go short." Among the lighter means for scattering the winged words are packets of stamps sold for a trifle " for stick- ing on letters, papers, books, doors, everywhere." These bear appropriate mottoes, such as " Let civilisation perish if it can bring only ruin to the v/orkers, pomp and luxury, and breed pauperism, degradation, and crime." The Socialist and Labour literature that the man in the street meets with in the United States is marked by the same essential features as that of older lands ; but it has some characteristics of its own. Much of it has a tone of moderation and common sense. The diverse local wants of so vast a territory give some variation to its expression. There is at times a display of erudition and scientific precision in propounding startling theories ; also, frequently, the grave humour, and, occasionally, the tendency to " tall talk," which, of old, has been observed in the Americans. Notwith- standing the disturbing element of the foreigner, the political education of the workers is more advanced than in Europe, or even in England. They have gone further in making political experiments, and in some respects have fared worse. This makes the more thoughtful of them sceptical of new proposals for righting directly all social wrongs. The deep-seated distrust of politicians is also, as has been said, an im- portant factor with many. Before dealing v/ith the popular prints of America a word may be said about the power of the platform there. The press and the platform are institutions that possess many points in common. They both treat subjects with a warmth and colouring that produces an immediate effect and fades with the using. Marked power is in our day displayed by both, but it is of a different kind from that of the solitary thinker who comes first and manufactures what the others after- wards retail to the public. They appeal to the crowd in the street that is always passing along and always 'P SOCIALIST LITERATUIIE. 245 changing, and do the daily work of educating this crowd. They come in at the sttige when theories have to be reduced to practice and thoughts put into action. More is made of the platform in the United States than in England, certainly more than in the Colonies, and greater use has developed its powers, though some Americans maintain that it has not improved its tone. Lecturing in the States is a paying business and a serious one. In the list of forty-five lectures announced for the season by what is described as **the oldest lecture and amusement bureau in America," the Lyceum of Boston, there is only one announced as humorous. I went to a political meeting of the Republicans in Philadelphia, and was impressed by the ability of the speaking, the vastness and good order of the crowd, and the good style in which everything was carried through. It was held in the Opera House of that city. The gathering was large. Policemen regulated the incoming crowd. The building was filled from the pit to the top galleries. The ample stage was occupied by some two hundred chairs for those who had platform tickets. A semicircle of arm-chairs for the more prominent men occupied the front line. The orchestra discoursed music, national and other, at fit intervals, ** God Save the Queen " coming in as part of a general melody. TL > only ladies that I saw were a few, apparently connected with some of the speakers, who ocf 'ipied a side box. The greater part of the large auti ence held little flags of the right party colour, whic! they waved enthusiastically while they were cheering the orators, and thus produced quite an exhilarating efiect. I was much struck by the orderly character — almost the business-like character — of the meeting, and their good - humoured patience. The party of speakers were late in coming in, and the crowded benches were kept in expectancy for some twenty minutes. But there were none of the cat-calls, stamping of feet, or exclamations, humorous or other- wise, that wo are accustomed to in England under similar i I i 246 SOCIALISM. circumstances. All was taken seriously and attentively, relief being afforded at intervals by the music. There was no trace of the " larrikin " or " hoodlum " element. At last the men of the evening appeared, including some of the leaders of the party from adjoining States. They met with a great reception, the whole of the vast audience cheering and waving their flags with an enthusiasm that somewhat surprises a stranger who has heard " the politicians " so ill spoken of. This was a party demonstration, however, and chiefly a middle- class one, and they were supporting the leaders of their cause. The speaking was excellent, but mainly possessed a local interest, as it was directed to de- monstrate the wickedness of the Democrats. I gathered that there had been a slight "bolt" from the Re- publican party previously, for one of the younger spokesmen urgently appealed to the bolters to return to the legitimate state of life, and illustrated the position by some humorous stories drawn from the conditions of married life " out west." The audience cheered, waved, and laughed in a grave manner. This^ meeting enabled one to realize how effectually the platform can be made a twin worker with the press in influencing the public mind, and when the press reproduces its appeals, it combines the powers of both agencies. It also manifested the strength of the great parties here in all the machinery for working politics. The meetings of the Socialist, Labour, and Anarchist parties were insignificant in comparison. Capital is the power here, too, for both the Kepublicans and the Democrats spend large sums in such demonstrations. I will give a few examples from among many that one meets with of the moderate tone that the American Labour organs often take. The constitution of the American Federation of Labour declares its object to be to " secure National Legislation in the interest of the working people, and influence public opinion by peaceful and legal methods in favour of Organised Labour." The President, Mr. Gompers, a well-known SOCIALIST LITERATURE. 247 advocat'' of the rights of Labour, says ia a paper that he read before the International Labour Congress, " The Trade Unions have deprecated the malevolent and unjust spirit with which they have had to contend in their protests and struggles against the abuse of the Capitalist system ; yet while seeking justice they have not permitted their movement to become acrid by a desire for revenge. Their methods were always conservative, their steps evolutionary." The First Nationalist Club of Philadelphia in its declaration of Principles says : " We advocate no sudden or ill-con- sidered changes ; we make no war on individuals ; we do not censure those who have accumulated immense fortunes simply by carrying to a logical end the false principle on which business is now based." The Journal of the Knights of Labour gives prominence to a sermon that Cardinal Gibbons had just preached, under the heading, "The Cardinal on Labour. Dignity and Eights of Labour. He favours Arbitration." In it the preacher, while laying down that Labour has its rights, declares that " Labour societies have many dangers," and that they are in need of leaders " who will aid the employes without infringing upon their employers." The elaborate preamble to the constitution of the society of the Knights of Labour contains little to which any thinking man will take objection. The American Federationist publishes a paper upon Pro- fessor Ely's •* Socialism and Social Reform," which disclaims Socialism, and shows that the Professor is not, as is sometimes supposed, a friend of the new system. It says, ** The fact is, he holds aloof from the Socialist party, he discredits the scientific basis of Socialism, and he upholds principles in social reform totally at variance with Socialist principles. All this after a patient, sympathetic, and thorough study of the history, methods, and expositions of Socialism as given by Socialists." The Journal of the Knights of Labour also prints, with apparent approval, an Mi I 248 SOCIALISM. '/! argument against Socialism, from which I make an extract : *' The fundamental contradictions in modern society are the result of a failure to recognise and apply the natural law of social justice. The Socialism so eloquently praised will fail to solve the problem, because it proposes to perpetuate in the economic world the errors that have been made in the political world. It proposes to use the political power in the hands of those not prepared by personal fitness to use it honestly or intelligeutly, to establish equality of economic con- ditions by legal enactments, regardless of equality of merit. It does not teach that all political and economic betterment, individual or social, is dependent upon the honesty and intelligence with which each member of society uses his own resources. It does not teach that there is no social salvation apart from individual reformation. How is this much-praised Socialism to remedy the evils caused by those who will not work when they can ; by those who are viciously or ignorantly dishonest ; by those who are intelligent and dishonest ; by those who are shirks and slighters of work ; by those who are governed by prejudice and evil passions ; by those who spend their earnings to satisfy the demands of vice ; by those who waste their time in useless repining or indolence ? These are the evils to be overcome. All efforts to relieve a person responsible for them from the results of his own acts, to the extent of permitting him to continue in his evil course without suffering the consequences, are a subveision of the requirements of moral and economic law." The Commonwealth is a Socialist paper, the motto of which is '* From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," and it strongly con- demns the present industrial system, but in its issue for September, 1894, it writes: "We must not be too hard on the Capitalist. He simply conforms to the system under which we are living. I do not blame the landlord. He also is a product of his age." Lyman I '* "P SOCIALIST LITEEATURli. 34» 4 Al bot, while supporting much of the Socialist indict- ment says : "The just reformer will not condemn these makers of great fortunes. He may even commend their sagacity and their generosity in so using their advantages as to make the public real sharers of their wealth. But he will condemn the system." It would be hard to collect many such extracts from the Labour papers of England or Europe. Compare with these even the Fabian Essay on *' Transition to Social Democracy." It gravely announces that private property has been " convicted of wholesale spoliation, murder, and compulsory prostitution ; of plague, pes- tilence, and famine ; battle, murder, and sudden death. This was hardly what had been expected from an institution so highly spoken of." While the American press depicts forcibly the ills of the worker, and supports in part the Socialist proposals, it points rather for the full remedy to some plan of profit-sharing, joined to a general amelioration of the conditions of life. The Single Taxers have a little literature of their own, of which Henry George's book and pamphlets by various writers in explanation and support of it are the mainstay. It can claim a more select class of readers than the direct Socialist publications attract. There is an exactness and completeness about the Single Tax theory, and also a simplicity, that has a charm for some social scientists, but which bewilders the common man, while it renders the business man and the political man sceptical. And as rent forms only a small part of the income of the propertied classes, any plan that touches it only necessarily seems imperfect to those who desire an all-round change. The ingenuity of Mr. George is undoubted, as also, I may add, is his sincerity and fearlessness. AVhile seeking popular support, he condemns in an outspoken manner many ideas that are dear to the toiler. In addressing a great Populist meeting in Chicago, after denouncing pro- tection as " blackmail," and " under pretence of pro- li U d 250 SOCIALISM. M' t^ tecting labour, robbing labour," he continues : " There is no such thing as a real conflict between labour and capital. There is nothing really wrong with the wage system. Competition in itself, so far from being an evil, is that which briuga abo'-.t the largest, widest, and most delicate of co-operation. All that is necessary to i give labourers their true earnings, is to make labour''! free to the element without which labour cannot be exerted — to give to labour access to land." Single Taxers have their lighter moments too. At i the bookstall I got a sheet that showed in nine rough illustrations, with appropriate footnotes, the conversion i of a portly clergyman, who must have belonged to the Established Church, if there were an Established Church / in America, by a rather starved-looking Single Taxer. He "just drops in" to ask the clergyman if he believes ^ that God made the earth for all His children alike, and upon a ready assent being given to this proposition, he draws on the unsuspecting Churchman, through the remaining eight illustrated stages, to admit that if any one took for himself any portion of the land, he should at least pay the rest its rental value. Says the \ cleric, " Young man, there is Christianity and sound , reason in th3se ideas. Now, if these crank Single Taxject some years ago is referred to with approval by the Labour journals — thougii for the purpose of condemning his action now. He declares that the relations between Labour and Capital are far from satisfactory, and that while the men are sometimes to blame for ** causeless and unjustifiable disturbance," the discontent of the era- ployed is largely due to the "grasping and heedless exactions of employers." He recommended the estab- lishment of a State Board of Arbitration, and it was under the legislation that followed upon his suggestion that the Commission which inquired into the Cliicago strike was appointed. Its report, which I have before referred to, was claimed by the Labour press as a victory for their side. The respect paid by the Americans to the platform, and the patient attention that they give to it, may account for the length of the speeches that are made here. When I was in New York the press reported the speech of a Labour leader. It was headed " General Master Workman Sovereign speaks to D A 49," and filled five columns of close print. The speaker does not absolutely endorse the principles of Socialism, but he condemns the evils of the present system unsparingly, and as to the politicians, he says that "there is nowhere in all the murky nooks of the past a lurking monster of depravity whose life parallels the iniquity of our two old parties." (Applause.) He is even more emphatic in his denunciation of Wall Street, the bankers' quarter of New York. " Wall Street, with its commercial pirates, sordid harlots, and mercenary knaves, who prolonged the rebellion, gambled in the life of the nation, defiled their sacred temples, sold their conscience and their God for gold ; and, like the fabled Atlantis, wrote in the blood of careworn widows and innocent babes the song of death on the face of a fair land, as redundant in pro- F r.% SOCIALIST LITERATURE. tluctioii as the fabled gardens of Elysium. (Applause.) Wall Street, where a perfidious moneyed oligarchy canonises robbery as business success and legalised fraud as righteous law. Where they clip coupons, gamble in bread, open banks with prayer, and lie to tax assessors. (Applause.) Where they marshal lobbies against Legis- latures, convert wealth into interest-bearing bonds, overawe the people with threats of bankruptcy, rob labour through stock gambling and usury, and drive the common people into poverty and crime. Where the great money power puts its iron heel on the neck of labour, and with its icy hand darkens the window in the watch-tower of national hope, and moulds for the future a dungeon of despair, and obscures the last star in the canopy of heaven, which God designed to light the weary pilgrim on his pathway to the tomb. (Ap- plause.)" Carlyle mentions that he got his earliest encourage- ment from America. Socialist writers there make frequent use of those passages in which he graphically touches off the evils in the state that most impress them, and some of them even seem to approve of his scornful condemnation of popular government as at present constituted. In the Commonwealth we read : " Thomas Carlyle was a great man. A little acrid, perhaps, but profound in his judgment of men and things. Thomas said some years since : * England con- tains twenty-seven millions of people — mostly fools.* If Thomas were alive to-day, and living in America, and reading the election returns, he would murmur gently : ' The United States contain about seventy million people — nearly all of them the most unreason- able idiots in Christendom.' Carlyle said the American people were rushing over Niagara. Wise Carlyle. They are going over the falls, boots and breeches, while the Populists are trying to hold them back by the shoddy fabric of their rotten coat-tails. Let us build a monu- ment to Carlyle." And a Populist writer in The National Labour \ ji I if % } I . 256 SOCIALISM. 4 Tribune, Pittsburgh, cites with approval this gloomy prophecy "of the eminent Philosopher, Thomas Car- lyle": "The Republic west of us will have its trial period, its darkest of all hours. It is travelling the high-road to that direful day. And this scourge will not come amid famine's horrid stride, nor will it come by ordinary punitive judgments. But it will come as a hiatus in statecraft, a murder bungle in policy. It will be wdien hialth is intact, crops abundant, and the munificent Land open. Then so-called statesmen will cry * over- production,' the people will go to the ballot-box amid hunger and destitution (but surrounded by the glitter of self-rule), and will ratify (by their ballots) the monstrous falsehood (over-production) uttered by mis- statesmen and vindicated by the same ballot ; the infamous lie (over-production) will be thrown upon the breeze by servile editors through a corrupt press. And this brings ruin upon his country, serfdom upon himself, and oppression upon his children." In this literature one comes upon certain sayings \ of remarkable men that are often referred to. Mill, Carlyle, Ruskin, Cairnes, Herbert Spencer, and evenU BiBmarck are cited when they express some opinion that fits in with the writer's view, though their authority upon every other point is defied. There are twenty-one leading Socialist or Populist newspapers in America, several organs of the German Socialists, some of the destructive wing of the Anar- chists, in addition to the pamphlet literature that I have been referring to. The American sense of humour is not wanting in these. Even when they are most indignant, the writers never appear to be so much in earnest that they cannot have a joke about it. Thus you will have a mock trial of the monopolist reported, in which Colonel So-and-so for the people brings a crushing case against the defendant, and General Blank says what little can be said for him. The judge — this time a just one — charges the "ladies and gentlemen of SOCIALIST LITERATURE. J57 the jury " in a manner that leaves little hope of escape for the uirainal. If they convict they are instructed, according to the law in their State, to fix the punish- ment, " which must include a restoration of the twenty- one billion dollars or more of which the robber has robbed the people." "When heavy taxation of land was urged years ago, it was in this fashion : " Tax these lands till they perspire great clots of coin ; tax them till the owner shall so groan beneath his weifjht of land that the grave shall be a welcome resting-place from his burthens ; tax them for a school-house upon every mile square, though there be not a shepherd's tow- headed urchin within ten miles of the site. Open through these tracts great broad highways, and build, wherever gulch or stream or rivulet crosses them, splendid bridges of cut granite. Let the Legislature tax them, and the country supervisors tax them, and the township and village authorities tax them." The first great strike on record is thus described in the Journal of the Knights of Labour: "The first strike on record was led by an agitator named Moses, and took place in Egypt over three thousa-id years ago. This Moses was a Jew, and it is a singular fact that this race has furnished all the great Socialists. Moses was not only an agitator and leader of strikes, but he encouraged the strikers to borrow a lot of gold and jewellery, which was never returned to the owners ; and he caused the death of a number of deputy marshals and * Pinker tons ' by enticing them into tbe dangerous fold of the Ked Sea." One of the most popular of the ephemeral class of writings is entitled, "The Dogs and the Fleas," by '* One of the Dogs," which is announced as an entirely new departure in Reform Literature. It is declared by the Socialist press to be a " vitriolic, side-splitting satire " on society, and the Populist Governor of Illinois recommends it as " one of the most striking books of the period." But its chief recommendation to the American mind appears to be its fun. s I i i ( «' I if ' SOCIALISM. The press here freely opens its columns to adverse criticism, much in the same way as in conversation people will admit great evils to exist in their country, with the air of men who can afford to do it. I saw in many papers the letter that Herbert Spencer wrote to an American friend concerning the Chicago strike, in which he declared that they were rapidly advancing towards a "military despotism of a severe type." To bo sure, it was only what he had said of England already : " We are on the way back to the rule of the strong hand, in the shape of the bureaucratic despotism of a Socialist organisation, and then of a military despotism that must follow it, if indeed some social crash does not bring this last upon us more quickly." It cannot be said that these papers of the bookstall assist one much in arriving at a just conclusion of the subjects dealt with. Their value is in showing the man- ner in which the theories of the closet are served up for common acceptation. They also have the merit of for- cibly calling attention to defects in the social state that must and will be, in some way, mitigated. They may do this in an exaggerated and a bitter style. The spirit that actuates some of them may be mainly destructive. Yet among a people who are fairly intelligent they do useful work all the same. Some whom I met with made little of them all, said that nobody minded them, and that their inefl'ectiveness was proved by the few repre- sentatives of the cause who were elected, either in Eng- land or America. But their influence, so far, is felt not so much in the number of members that they can return, as in the manner that they affect the ideas of the wage- earners, and thus indirectly the views of the two parties that are struggling for power in each country. In Eng- land we know that many of the Liberal measures, from Catholic Emancipation to Household Suffrage, have been passed by the Conservatives. In America the Income Tax is credited to the Populists ; and in the Old Country what are called the half Socialist tendencies of some of the Rosebery Ministry, are ascribed to the influence of I ■ SOCIALIST LITERATURE. 259 the Labour party. But too much weight must not haJ given to the bookstall either. The v-^ry quantity and ^ the variety of aim of much that is p.'- ',ed dissipates its J strength. The extravagance that sometiaics marks it^ carries with it its own corrective. We think of a thing printed as given to all the world, but in fact only a few of the people may read it ; of those who read less may attend to it. Many Americans seemed to regard the "tallest" of writing (and speaking) as only so much business to be got through for the cause in hand, and not J to be taken too literally. Behind all is the common sense of all the people, and the older they are in political experience, the more wary they become. Nearly twenty years ago, Fawcett prophesied that if Socialism in the United States continued to advance with the same rapidity that it had lately shown, the day was near ^ when it would control the legislation of the country. It has been speaking and writing ever since, and that day appears to be still distant. 8 2 CHAPTER Xr. ii M THOUGHTS OF THE MAX IN THE 8T1IEET. It may seem labour in vain to discuss the possibilities of the Socialist ideal, since the most intelligent Hocialists admit that its complete accomplishment is far distant, some saying that it will take generations, and others centuries, before men are ready for it. Yet the iutpiiry is a practical one, for it influences the aspect in whlc>h you will regard remedies that are now proposed, the length that you will be ready to push them to, nntl particularly the direction that you will give them. When you are treating the patien ^t is important to know whether his constitution only . ^nts strengthening and improved tone, or whether his case is so desperate that you must, at the risk of his life, adopt a kill-or-cure method. Many now become Socialists without in the least knowing where they are going to. There has been much philosophical discussion upon this subject, and many learned arguments concerning the modified attitude of the newest school of political economy towards it. Twenty-one pages of one number of T/tc Fortniylitly Review were occupied while I was in England with an erudite answer by Professor Karl Pearson to Mr. Kidd, in which evolution, Darwin's theory, intra-group struggle and extra-group struggle, physical selection, and panmixia were deeply considered, and the argument as to panmixia was reprcicnicd --ym- bolicallyby a series of equations. Suet cvrc r;he probiv'ns that lie at ths core of this subject I derire, bcwever, ^ T THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IN THE STREET. 261 rather to suggest some of the difficulties that occur to the mail in the street, and Hume of the reasons that lend him, thnu/^h perliaps at first attracted by the hniiiane Hpirit of HuciidiHMi and the grand j)ro.spccts thiit it holds out, to see i\\i\l it cannot heconic a fiU't. H' IIi'mI, (iinl indccil tlm njidn, postulatfi of the lata la llnit llm HliiM! nhoidd own the hind arid all - 1,1111 iiiatiiiiij^iifcsi at pmUuiilnu and rxchiUiUi'. This was reaolvL'd tiMiininii)l(f4|)'i (Jl/Klwll |||///|v|s/j/||f/ as the liiwyers say, at the Norwicli (iiiiwfi'Ht'M, | iu^vbt heard) liny HUgucHlJoii iiH to how the State was to get theseK exci'[it liy the H|)(diatlon of the present owners, and/ this course is approved by representative BocialistsA Tliis would mean revolution. Further, I never heard \ or read of any plausible justiiica(i(/U for such spoliation. People have bought and improved, not only with the 4. sanction of the present law and industrial system, hut [ nt its invitation ; for men have been encouraged by their fellow-men to save and invest fur centuries. A r,al)our leader told nid that tlio |J(Jl)pIo turn were nofc bound by laws that they had no voice la irni-ld ll^; Thi«l doctrine would upset all continuity of niitionni life, /in(j reduce a State from being one entity, with genendio/j knit into genernlion, to becimie a series of dissolving crowds inhabiting one part of tins earth's surface, lint, besides that, England has had some popular government Hot' nixty years at least. It has had household suffrage and the ballot for thirty years. In the United States th<;y havve all other considerations at all times and on all Oi'xiasions. Besid-es tii« danger that a man void of principle runs in betraying his trust and bringing affairs into confusion, the evil example of placing a bad man in an honourable station tends to damp all desire of keeping &p a character. And what can be imagined more ruin >as to a State than to kill emulation in the people — the noblest of all emulation, the emulation of being virtuous ' "' I 1 ( I I I 266 SOCIALISM. ( These are lofty ideals, but can wo (calculate upon reaching tliem when politics become a personal matter and appeal to the sordid part of human nature ? And, as the American workman, whose conversation I have previously recorded, remarked to me, if, when the Sociah'sts come in, the politicians do not vastly improve, what a mess they would all be in ! Personal independence must be given up in the Socialist state. Some tliat I spoke to seemed rather to enjoy the prospect. But the idea in their minds was th;it tliey and their friends would govern the rest. They never contemplated what it wouhi really be like to live under an industrial despotism. They would be the very people who would resent it. Much is submitted to now, under trade organisations, because they are fighting their cause against tlie capitalist. But dien the system became a Government, with all men subjects beneath it, the love of liberty, which is so indestructible in man, and which has played so large a part in his history, would reappear — divine discontent, with the longing for change, would be present as i( was in the beginning and has been ever since, and the old cause of personal freedom, now neglected because securely achieved, would again stir the hearts and rouse the energies of men. It would again have its poets, heroes, martyrs. That would then be the line of progress. For the obvious difficulties as to how work is to be apportioned, and how, when apportioned, enforced, when the motives that now direct and impel the individual are paralysed, no reasonable solution is sussested. People, we are told, will volunteer to sweep *&&^ the gutters or dig in the mine, or a short time at unpleasant labour will be pitted against a long day in the shop or the office. No such compensation influences people's choice now. A boy or girl now will prefer the most grinding service in the bank, or behind the counter, to three hours a day at the plough or the wash- tub. Soma have ability and no strength, others have strength and no ability. Who is to discriminate ? And THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IX THE STREI'X 2G7 \ the iJlo ? Some say that tliey arc to he let starve. But \ is compassion, even tor the worthless, ; . become extinct in men's hearts ? And if tlicre wore a good many of them, as there always has l)oen, what then? (Jthers say that they will be subjefted to penal disci {)line. Is this to be after a legal adjudication or at the word of the overseer? Is it confusion or the shn'-ilrivcr ? Seeing the futility of all this, one or two authorities say that, in some unexplained way, people are to be allowed to select their own work, and even to have the " rent of ability." If so, we need no revolution. We can work towards improved conditions of life upon the present lines. The truth is that if you take away indej ndent exertion, with the stimulus of rivahy, fron men, you can only find an ade(piatc motive power to keep things going in the compulsion of slavery. Socialists hold out the hope of two or three hours' work a day producing all that we need, and the rest of the time being spent in intellectual cultivation or innocent pleasure. This is surely a welcome prospect for poor man, upon whose brow the sweat of toil has ever stood. When one thinks of the cruel effect of overwork now, who can help longing for such a deliverance ? It is impossible not to s3'mpathise with workers when they tell you that they look forward to this rest. But can production be indeed thus main- tained ? Can accumulation for bad cycles be secured ? Can the rivalry in the world's business of non-Socialistic states be fought, or is foreign commerce to be dis- regarded? How is the inffux of useless foreigners to be met ? And what would be the effect upon a people of going to the other extreme, and having no work to do tor twenty hours out of the twenty-four ? To few of even the highly educated and trained is given the aptitude to occupy a leisure life in a healthy manner. The failure of young men v/ho are exempted from the discipline of labour by a competency is the common- place of observation. It is in vain that, oppressed by the evil of overwork, men take refuse in the vision of a [ 11 1 k ' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^/ *> *^>^ 1.0 ■50 "^^ Mn 2.2 I.I 2.0 11.25 •- 6" Sciences Corporalion 23 WBT MAIN STRUT WfBSTiR,N.Y. MSM (716) 872-4S03 % r'- ^ ^ 4^ r 4^ %^ 268 SOCIALIS^r. general rest. Nature will not have her plans upset in that way. Quite apart from the Darwinian theory, or the details of the learned article in The Fortnightly Jfeview that I have referred to, experience teaches us that industry is necessary to keep human nature sweet. The idle races spoil. The iniquity of Sodom was declared in part to consist of "fulness of bread and abundance of idleness." National decay would be the penalty of national inactivity. Jefferson, the father of American democracy, when arguing for a wider distribution of the power of government among different organs, says : *' Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap we should soon want bread." No such fear disturbs the Socialist speculator. The individual being suppressed, the State or the local government is to supply the directing pow^er for managing the intricacies of commerce, the hazards of agriculture, the methods of manufacture, the infinite complexity of the details of distribution. Surely these things are the chimeras of the closet. They are like the assumption that there is to be no more war either by or against the Socialist State — apparently because it would not accord with the then fitness of things, or that if one country adopted this system all would follow. Cobden, with more reason, though in vain, prophesied that all nations would tread in England's free-trade footsteps. Finally, Socialism is incompatible with fixed marriage and separate family life. These are inextricably mixed up with individualism, with allowing a man to work for his own people and keep what he earns, and so are condemned by advanced Socialists in an absolute manner, while others hesitate at the conclusion to which their principles naturally lead. I will deal with this topic later. So far, then, as the complete Socialist system is concerned, the conviction forced upon the mind of the man in the street is that it cannot be successfully established. If imposed upon men by force it would THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IN THE STREET. 269 not loug be submitted to. If one nation did submit it would soon be thrown behind by the others and left to decay. If all the advanced nations .adopted the principle — were this possible — it would show that this cycle of civilisation had run its course, and that Prov'dence was preparing means for its gradual decline. No means could be better adapted towards the end. But though the final stage proposed by the Socialist be unattainable, it by no means follows that nations may not take some steps on the way to it ; for it is a peculiarity of the situation that many lines of progress seeai all to run on the one track, like the rails at '. railway junction. It is not till you pursue them awhile that you find that of several, which are side by side at first, some would ultimately take you to the east and others far away to the west. Thus all will agree in promoting a better distribution of wealth, in securing higher remuneration for the worker, and in destroying the dominant position of monopolies ; but some do all this with the object of subverting the present social system, others with a view to improving and preserving it. It would be outside the scope of these pages to discuss fully the various schemes of social reform, that are advanced in our time, either in concert with Socialism or in conflict with it. Obviously one of the first things that meets us on the onward road is the just demand of the worker to get a larger share of the value of the production in which he takes part. This has long been recognised by fair-minded men, and a genera- tion ago high hopes were entertained of its being secured by profit-sharing in co-operative work. This principle of co-operation has enlisted the support of the most eminent men, from Gladstone, who pronounced it *' most excellent," to the political economists like Mill and Cairnes, who declared it to be the true way for the labouring classes to emerge from the mere hand-to- mouth way of living. Pronounced advocates of the working man used to applaud it. At the Co-operative V / i 270 SOCIALISM. Congress held at Newcastle in 1873, Mr. Holyoake submitted these resolutions : 1. To regard capital not as the natural eiiemy of anybody, but rather as tho nursing mother of production, and accord it adequate interest. 2. To secure the workman a fair share of profits, and protect his share by giving him adequate representation on the directory of the company for which he works. 3. To credit the customer with the share that remains when justice has been done to all producing agents concerned in serving him. 4. To set apart, as the stores do, funds for educational ant^ journalistic purposes. Since that time co-operation has growo, though not as it was expected it would, a good deal owing to the Socialist diversion to other and wider aims, and also to the fact that it takes time to e'^ucate men up to the higher tone required for successful co-operation. Yet theie are in the United Kingdom nearly 1,800 co- operative societies, with over 1,280,000 members, a capital of more than £18,000,000, and making yearly profits of nearly five millions sterling. They sell goods to the value of fifty millions a year. The difficulty has been with co-operativo production, partly owing to the want of management, and partly from the common difficultv of want of market. Yet what would seem more feasible, or could be more admirable, than that a number of men should join together to cultivate the cheap land, say in our colonies, and divide the produce or profit among them ? In 1873 i passed a bill through the Victorian Legislature giving friendly societies the power to trade, and facilitating, among other things, co-operative settlement on land. But men's minds have been somewhat diverted from efforts in directions such as this by the large scope of employments and the expectations that the State holds out. Many, indeed, who have no faith in Socialism advocate the Government owning and working all monopolies. Unquestionably there is both justice and expediency in the State having control over great; vJk ' i THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IN THE STREET. 271 industrial afjcncies, that for their operation require tlie assistance of State laws, and often the monopoly of public advantages. The railways of America are an example of what unrestrained private ownership leads i to. It is no new idea, but, as I have said before, as old as our Common Law, that no set of men are entitled to monopolise public advantages to the detriment of the common weal. If in any case, for industrial reasons, it be for the public good to allow it, it should be on such conditions and under such control as best secures the ' interests of the whole people. It must be admitted, as a charge against popular government in America, that it has been so feeble in grappling with the rings and trusts and aggressive combinations of capitalists. If public opinion was strong enough to support a resolute administration of the law against such abuses, there would be less demand for the alternative of State ownership. There is now a considerable body of opinion among the working classes in England and America in favour of extending the sphere of State ownership, and experiments will probably be made in this direction. Holders of stock who get small profits, and classes of the public who suffer exploiting, favour the movement. If a domination such as we have seen in America can be prevented in no other way, the State may have to substitute itself for private ot ership in this class of undertakings. The objection to ais course is that State ownership of the monopoly is apt to be followed by State management of the industry, though it is by no- means its necessary complement. The State might own and lease under such general conditions as would be necessary to protect the public interest. But what the- Socialist party want is for the political Government to be the employer of the workers and the manager of the- works. To this many Americans, socially inclined, demurred. As I heard the Boston lecturer, Dr. Joseph Cook, express it, they felt that they were between the devil of monopoly and the deep sea of Government, management. 273 SOCIALISM. Their objection to Government management is well founded. It never has been a continued success. It can only avoid mercantile failure by absolutely cxcludiDg political influence ; and the more democratic Govern- ments become, the more difficult — indeed, the more impossible — it is to do this. Some of the American States that made the attempt failed, and had to hand over their railways to private management. Italy also was forced to renounce Government control and to lease her railways. The experience of other countries is the same. The conditions developed by politics are antagonistic to those wanted for industrial enterprise. The ballot-box is adapted to express public policy, not to indicate business capacity. Democracies do not organise well. The American general, Sherman, in his letters, deplores the waste of life in war, in which he took so brilliant a part, owing to the incapacity of the Government management. Under it there would be no necessity for economy ; for if the undertaking does not pay, the alternative is not bankruptcy, but the open public purse. Old countries, already weighted with their heavy taxation, could not stand the strain. Dis- cipline would be impaired by the fact that the employes would be the masters of their masters. The incentive to push, to inventiveness, to striving to please and attract the public, would be weak. The indispensable condition of success is to have able men at the head, and these can only be secured by large rewards and assured position, which democracies object, on principle, to give. The plan of paying all well and none much can produce only mediocrity. At election times the State employes would exercise a determining influence, partly owing to the cogent force of private interest as compared with the general sense of the public good, and partly owing to the generous feeling which induces the outside working classes to make common cause with their fellows. The Americans will experience all this if their Government ever undertakes the management of the THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IN THE STREET. 273 railways, with its million employes. Some advocates i of State managemsnt there told me, in a confident ^^ manner, that they would easily meet any difficulties \ such as these by disfranchising all the public servants. \ This only shows how proposals are adopted without being thought out. Others proposed to have an inde- pendent board to manage, as it would a private business. The difficulty is that the business is not a private one. If the board is really independc Lt it is also irresponsible to the political body, and this is apt to produce friction. If there is to be public patrorage, where, it is asked, can it move properly be trusted than in the hands of the people's representatives ? If the political authority indirectly controls it, then the board is only a screen. If Governments are forced to take the ownership of monopolies, experience will teach them to avoid the management. The privileged position and liberal payment of Government employes is lauded by Socialist leaders in England as establishing a high standard of wages. And there can be no question that if the Government is ai* employer it should be as liberal as the most liberal private employer can be. Bat the more State business is undertaken the more it will be found impossible to stop at this. The result would prove to be the estab- lishment of a privileged caste under Government, which the outside community, and particularly the tillers of the soil, for whom the State can do little, must be taxed to support. Thus private industry is discouraged, particularly farming, and all strive to enter the safe and highly paid ranks of Government employment. A middle class of State functionaries is constituted in the name of the poor man, in which, however, in fact he has small share. Indeed, when the State enters into business the more it does employ the more it may employ ; and to be just it should complete the Socialist circle and em.ploy all. And if it will be found bad for business to be mixed with politics, it will be found equally bad for politics to be mixed with business. 274 SOCIALISM. Public spirit would be dulled in the State employ^ by a natural regard for his own weal, and public issues would be determined by the activity of a number of private interests. I do not knov; that we could reason- ably expect this to be otherwise. Yet it disappoints the old prophecy as to the value of the franchise in taking a man out of himself and possesiing him with a noble concern for the public. This f.nticipation would not only be unfulfilled but reversed. Soine thoughtful American writers realize these difficulties, and propose that the Government should own and then lease, under proper conditions, to private management. Experience will probably drive them to this, or to a real control and strict regulation of private enterprise. If the communities, then, that I have been visiting are not likely to adopt the full creed of Socialism, neither are they likely to go very far on the road of the State management of indu .ries, though State ownership may be necessary if, in any country, the people and the law are not strong enough to cope otherwise with the abuses of monopoly. State ownership and independent management by co-operative private industry may come about in the future. In this way the wage-earner would cease to be a mere wage-earner, and would be, as he ought to be, a participator in the profits. It is unfortunate that the Socialist plan for a general upturning is pressed on while, as yet, the system of freedom has had no fair trial. Socialists appeal to the evils of the past and to the bad conditions of the pre- sent, as if it must be always thus, and things were never to improve. But this is not so. Struggling out of feudal conditions, the better off classes having government in their hands in England till as late as 1832, then the rampancy of individualism having been maintained for a generation by the Manchester school, the true principle of individual* industry has hitherto had to contend there with unfavourable surroundings. It has also had to cope with disadvantageous conditions in other lands. THOUGHTS OF THE MAX IN THE STREET. 275 ■ \ It never, indeed, was part of that principle that every one was to be allowed license to do what ho pleased with any industrial' agencies that he could get hold of. and that there was to be no Government inter- ference to help those who had fallen and were in danger of being trampled on, or to restr.iin those who were abusing social powers. Adam Smith, starting from the premiss that " no society can be flourishing and happy of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable," justified many phases of Government intervention on behalf of the people, from State educa- tion down to laws for suppressing the truck system. Mill, while, like Henry George, strongly defending the legitimate principle of competition, worked during his whole life to secure for all fair conditions under which to carry on the contest. Mr. Goschen did not consider it at all inconsistent with his pronounced devotion to freedom in industrial affairs to warmly support Govern- ment intervention to secure decent dwellings for the poor. The Socialists fall into the error of accusing the advocates of liberty of being the champions of license. But there remidns the old solid distinction between the two. The writings of some economists may give colour to this mistake ; but the masters of the science are not open to the cavil, and certainly not the English Govern- ment for forty years past, which has often thrown the shelter of its laws over the workman, and striven by just regulation to make that personal freedom in in- dustry, which it has so far maintained, a reality and not merely a name. It takes time to modify the conditions of social life, yet that, even under disadvantageous conditions, a marked improvement in the state of the poor has been going on in the past, gives hope for what may be won in the future. Sixty-two persons in every thousand were paupers in England in 1849, but only twenty-five in a thousand in lo92. Wages have risen, and also the purchasin;^ power of wages, and thrift has increased. Investiga ion shows that the number of fairly well otF T 2 i^ I r iisi 276 SOCIALISM. people increases faster in England than does that of the rich. Tliere are more people rich, but not more very rich people. And now the conditions of the struggle are being altered nil in favour of the we«k, and the improvements that we witness are only the l)eginning of a great onward movement of general amelioration. The education of all, which is not so much a mcire question of book learning as a guarantee that none shall grow up outcast of the community, is only beginning to do its work. Taxation that will deal generously with the poor, strict control of monopolies, facilitating small holdings of land, provident regulation of industries, arbitration for labour disputes, the proper housing of the people, and, in the near future, co-operation and profit-sharing in inuustry — all these belong to normal progress, and do not depend on Socialism nor require revolution. The details of a plan for State aid to pen- sions are still unsettled, but the principle of the State assisting the worker in his effort to make adequate pro- vision for old age is so just that, if progress upon the present social lines is not diverted into the new track, it must succeed. There is no measure which should be more earuestly undertaken, and none for which the better off should be more willing to submit to any taxation that may be found necessary. One of the evil results of the Socialist crusade is that it turns men's minds from useful reforms that are now possible, lead- ing some to contemn them as only postponing the revolution, and others to be lukewarm about them, fearing that the attitude of the extreme r»arty may render them unpalatable to the people, ara therefore of little value in the end. For the ablest of the So- cialists condemn unsparingly all efforts at individual help. Mr. Sidney Webb says : I should have thought there would have been no doubt as to the side that we Socialists should take in this controversy. It may be all very well for a little group of thrifty artisans to club together and set up in business for themselves in a small way. If their venture u prosperous, they may find it more agreeable to work under each other's eye than under a foreman. Co-operative production of this T THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IN THE STREET. 277 aort is at boat only a partnership of jobbin;; craftamon, with all the limitations and disadvantages of the small industry. From begin- ning to end it is diametrically opposed to the Socialist ideal. The associated craftsmen produce entirely with a view to their own profit. Tha community obtains no more control over their industry than over that of an individual employer. Further on he writes : I suppose no Socialist desires to see the land of the country divided among small peasant freeholders, though this is still the ideal professed by many statesmen of advanced views. . . . The same spurious Collectivism runs through t^U forms of leasehold en- franchisement — a thoroughly reactionary movement which, I am glad to think, is nearly dead. Mr. Belfort Bax writes : As I have said, co-operative experiments reflect what are, from a Socialist point of view, the worst aspects of the current order. The trade co-operator canonises the bourgeois virtues, but Socialist vices of " overwork " and " thrift." To the Socialist, labour is an evil to be minimised to the utmost. . . . Again, *' thrift," che hoarding up of the products of labour, it is obvious, must be without rhyme or reason except on a capitalist basis. Thus Socialism represses independent energy, and by impairing the ceaseless and all-pervading principle of self-help would promote a general habit of leaning, in the hope of its justifying and ensuring in the end the adoption of its full scheme. But these represent the conclusions of men with a propaganda to enforce, not the aspirations of the average man. He still longs to get a piece of land for his very own. Emphatically, it will be found, when the test time comes, that he still wishes to remain free. Simultaneously with the improvement of the condition of the poor, there is also going on a reforming movement at the other end of the social scale. Capital is losing its importance and some of its value. The fall in its pro- ductiveness is world-wide, and the best authorities say this fall must continue with its increasing accumulation. The tendency is for rent, interest on money, and trade profits to decline. Here natural causes are quietly, and in a legiti- mate way, working a revolution. Money no longer gives r \ mmm 278 SOCIALISM. tiue social position or political authority. All vulgar display or coiisciencclcas uac of it is sharply condemned by an increasingly active public opinion. It is true that in some of the American States it influences politics in an underhand manner. But tliis is only a passing phase arising out of exceptional industrial and, let us hope, exceptional political conditions. Entails and the feudal tone of society that promote the continued holding of property do not exist out of England, and thus the powerful natural causes that scatter accumulations have full play. In democratic comnmnitios nothing is more striking than the rapid way in which families rise from the crowd and then fall back again into the crowd, sometimes in one lifetime. All idea of fixed or privileged classes is happily gone. Whatever may bo said for an aristocracy of intellect — if you only knew how to find the best men — or even an aristocracy of birth in past times, when social conditions favoured it, no people could endure an aristocracy of wealth. Property, too, is now enfeebled by being divorced from public duties that in past times were not only allowed to it, but required from it. Each generation of a family must vindicate itself by its own merits. We learn from history that all privileged classes, even under the old social conditions, have died out in a few generations. In our time the wealthy and their families have no individual continuity; they only exist as a set that is constantly changing its personality by replacement from below. Society is like some of the substances that philosophers tell us of, with the atoms constantly dartitig up and down, and none remaining fixedly either in the upper line or the lower. The political and industrial agencies that are now active, evidently go not only to facilitate this dispersion of wealth, but also to slacken the causes that would promote its continued concentration in the hands of a few. We are growing naturally towards equality under the present system, and the agencies that in the past have produced an unfair depression of the masses, which is no necessary condition of the method of freedom, are THOUGHTS OF THE MAN IN THK STREET. 279 now working with renewed energy to secure an open field for all. There is always a fascination about the methods of revolution. The remedy proposed appears to be so complete and so prompt as compared with the slow progress of gradual reform. But the best and most lasting ameliorations in the condition of the human race Lave not been accomplished by violent dislocations with the past. The French Revolution and the civil war that freed the American slaves are no examples to the contrary. The most effective advances have been made by the help of many various causes, each of them perhaps small in itself, working slowly and often unnoticed by contemporaries. It is hard to point to the exact date when the English peasant became a free man, so quietly was the change accomplished from villanage to liberty. Things move faster now, and the next stage, from the wage-earner to the profit-sharer, is already well advanced, and will be accomplished as effectively, and without the loss again of personal freedom, unless progress should be violently turned into some backward track. Time, the great innovator, is ever producing change by the condition of growth and the continual dropping off of the dying parts. The people of communities sprung from the Saxon stem will prefer to assist this process rather than cut down the tree, marked though it be with some blighted spots, in the vain expectation of there springing up in its place some wholly new growth that is to be free from the natural imperfections of the forest and not subject to « :, dec ay- CHAPTER XII. *i.- RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. The attitude of Socialism to religion and the family engages the attention of any one who desires to know whether it is ever likely to permanently influence human life and government. The amiable and even religious feelings of many who call themselves Socialists, and perhaps think themselves such, does not alter the principles that the new system really rests upon, noi' the results that would come from the adoption of those , principles. Men are free to choose their own line of action, but not the consequences that naturally follow upon it. The present phase of Socialism is imported from Germany, and there can be no question that there it distinctly rests upon Atheism. This is not an incident of the new creed, but its foundation. Mr. Brooks, in his " Industry and Property," gives some pointed references, out of many that could be had. Karl Marx is regarded by English as well as German Socialists as the high priest of the system. No one is more frequently referred to by Socialist authors of repute in both countries. He says : " We are content to lay down the foundation of the revolution. We shall have deserved well of it if we stir hatred and contempt against all existing institutions. We make war \xg iinst all prevailing ideas of religion. The idea of God is ihe keystone of a perverted civilisation. It must be destroyed. The true root of liberty, of equality, of RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 281 culture, is Atheism." Feverbach thus exphiins the new idea : " Man alono is our god, our father, our judge, our redeemer, our true home, our law and rule. . . . Man by himself is but man, man with man, the unity of I and Thou, is God." The following was the first resolution adopted at the Socialistic Alliance of Geneva : " 1. The Alliance declares itself Atheist ; it demands the abolition of all worship, the substitution of science for faith, and of human justice for Divine justice ; the abolition of marriage, so far as it is a political, religious, juridical, or civil institution." Bakunin shortly puts it : *' We declare ourselves Atheistic ; we seek the abolition of all religion, and the abolition of marriage." These may be taken as samples of German thought upon this subject. Sorae English writers express them- selves with equal directiiess, at least against all the existing forms of belief; others express the same thing inferentially, or quietly assume the negation as true. A few seek to join yocialism to Christianity. Mr. Belfort Bax, who is always outspoken, and whose works are recommended in the Fabian Tract entitled, " What to Read," puts it in his •* Ethics of Socialism " thus : " It is useless blinking the fact that the Christian doctrine is more revolting to the higher moral sense of to-day than the Saturnalia or the cult of Proserpine could have been to the conscience of the early Christians. . . . * Ye cannot serve God and humanity * is the burthen of the nobler instincts of our epoch. . . . The higher human ideal stands in opposition at once to Capitalism, the gospel of success, with its refined art of cheating, through the process of exchange, or in short to ivorldli- ness; and to Christianism, the gospel of success in a hypothetical other life, or in short, to other ivorldliness." He goes on to urge that if we want an object of personal reverence, we should look not to Chris L, but to some of the modern martyrs of Socialism. The Fabian Essays may be considered the text-book of the school in England. In the paper entitled, "Economic," the basis n 282 SOCIALISM. of belief is analysed thus : "It was pleasant to believe, that a benevolent hand was guiding the steps of society; overruling all evil appearances for good ; and making poverty here the earnest of a great blessedaess and reward hereafter. It was pleasant to lose the sense of worldly inequality in the contemplation of our equality before God. But utilitarian questioning and scientific answering turned all this tranquil optimism into the blackest pessimism. Nature was shown to us as ' red in tooth and claw.' If the guiding hand were indeed benevolent, then it could not be omnipotent, so that our trust in it was broken; if it were omnipotent, it could not be benevolent, so that our love of it turned to fear and hatred. We had never admitted that the other world, which was to compensate for the sorrows of this, was open to horses and apes (though we had not on that account been any the more merciful to our horses) ; and now came Science to show us the corner of the pointed ear of the horse upon our own heads, and present the ape to us as our blood relation. No proof came of the existence of that other world and that benevolent power to which we had left the atrocious wrongs of the poor. Nature knew and cared no more about our pains and pleasures than we know or care about the tiny creatures we crush under foot as we walk through the fields." Here is the old problem of the Atheist school, and not better told than before. Mr. H. M. Hyndman describes Christianity as seen in England as " merely the chloroform agency of the contiscating classes." Gron- lund, in his "Co-operative Commonwealth," which is also recommended to students by the Fabian Society, says : "If, however, by religion you mean dogmatic theology. Socialists do propose to drive it out Socialism is the inveterate foe of theology — a fttct of which our ecclesiastics are well aware, wherefore they are con- sistent in damning Socialisn:. . . . Theology is being driven out of human life by that ' Titanic laughter — that terrible, side-shaking, throne and altar shaking Si If mmv^ mmm ^' RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 283 laughter ' which Rabelais started." He would, however, allow an undefined religion of his own, which might or might not include the belief in a life beyond the grave, the longing for which " has been fostered by creeds whose whole strength consists in oft'erinj,' a consolation to people who feel miserable here. It is possible that when men live to a good old age, and enjoy during life all the delights which nature permits, this longing will disappear." This touches the keynote of Socialism. What one learns from personal converse with Socialists quite accords with the ideas thus expressed. In England they do not make a profession of Atheism, and many, I doubt not, have religious feelings of their own ; but the majority break absolutely with the existing Christian religion. Such was the statement to me of a clever and sincere Labour Socialist leader. Another leader put the same thing, only not so directly. His position, in eflfect, was that he knew this world, but not another, and that one world was enough to deal with at a time. The American workman, to whom I have in a previous chapter referred, told me that what drove him out from the Socialist ranks was the blank Atheism and free-love principles that he found were being developed there. Where they can, they establish Labour Churches and Sunday Schools of their ow:a. But the idea of their Church is defective ; its message being avowedly addressed to one part of the people only. There are a few of them in England. These are not in one sense irreligious, for they propound a religion of their own, a religion, if it may be so called, centred in this life, and adapted as a counterpart to the secular principles of Socialism for remoulding it. In the •Sunday School they teach the childrf j everything about reforming society, but nothing about reforming them- selves. The Labour Prophet is their organ. It explains their creed thus : " The message of the older Churches is that ' God was in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world to Himself.' The messase of the Labour Church is. 284 SOCIALISM. fi' i that God is in the Labour movement, establishing His kingdom upon earth." We are also told that '* we must cast away all the conceptions of God which we have been taught to regard as true." The Bradford Labour Church has its " object " printed prominently upon all its papers. It is : " The realisation of Heaven in this life by the establishment of a state of society founded upon justice and love to our neigh- bour." '* In this life " is put in capital letters. Books are recommended " which throw an entirely new light upon the Bible." Certainly these Labour Churches make little progress, for reasons that I have referred to before ; but they, or no form of the worship of God, are the reasonable outcome of the Socialist position ; as is also the " rational " education for children, which one can see advertised in the Socialist papers. In the Fabian News one reads this among the advertisements : " Rational education for girls. — Park, Cromer. Ethical and moral training are sub- stituted for so-called 'religious' teaching. The education of the body, for health and skill, is systematically carried out under the care of a specially- trained health mistress. Manual work has its proper place in the school curriculum. Competition is absent. For par- ticulars apply to the principal, Miss ." The coarser version of these views is to be found at some of the meetings that I was present at, where plain, rough men denounced in abusive terms religion and marriage. Even at the Kensington meeting that I have described, one of the songs sold there warned the people to avoid, above all things, '* the Gospel Grind." Socialists, from as far back as Robert Owen, have pronounced against fixed marriage and the family. Several whom I met, particularly in England, did not accept this position ; neither, however, did they deny it. They left the question to the future, as they are quite entitled to do. But the more thorough exponents of the Socialist view, carried to its necessary outcome, admit and proclaim as much in England as ail do II RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 285 J upon the Continent, that the individualism of marriage and family ties must be \it an end to. As Mr. William Morris, known in Socialist circles as ** the eminent poet and art worker," puts it : " The present marriage system is based upon the supposition of economic dependence of the woman on the man. This basis would disappear with the advent of Socialipm, and permanent contracts would become unnecessary." I cite Mr. Belfort Bax again, as he is one of the most active members of the Socialist League, and the author of many works upon Socialism. He says : " I should observe that we are concerned not with the Civilised man, but with the Socialised man, which makes all the difference ; for Collectivism is undeniably a reversion, if you like to call it so, to primitive conditions. . . . The fact that group marriage obtained in early society should rather be, as far as it goes, a presumption in favour of something analogous to it obtaining in the future." The same author, in his "Keligion of Socialism," says : "We defy any human being to point to a single reality, good or bad, in the composition of the bourgeois family. It has the merit of being the most perfect specimen of the complete sham that history has pre- sented to the world. There are no holes in the texture through which reality might chance to peer. The bourgeois hearth dreads honesty as its cat dreads cold water." Further on he writes : ** The transformation of the current family form, founded as it is on the economic dependence of women, the maintenance of the young and the aged falling on individuals, rather than on the community, etc., into a freer, more real, and therefore higher form, must inevitably follow the economic revolucion which will place the means of production and distribution under the control of all for the good of all. The bourgeois hearth, with its jerry- built architecture, its cheap art, its shoddy furniture, its false sentiment, its pretentious pseudo-culture, will then be as dead as Koman Britain." Another Socialist authority refers to the " cant talked about family life— 28G SOCIALISM. man, after all, being but the highest animal, and there being no family life among cats and dogs." Mr. Bernard Shaw looks forward to the " happy time when the con- tinuity of society will no longer depend upon the private nursery." Mrs. Besant and Mr. Belfort Bax would take the education of the family away from the parents. "Bourgeois liberty of conscience" is to givo way to true liberty. The core of the matter is to make mother- hood a business, arranged and paid for by the State, and to root out the institution and the very idea of the exclusive family. All this, however, is based upon, and only follows upon, the previous carrying out of the other proposals of Socialism. At present it is of im- portance only as showing to what these necessarily lead. As Karl Pearsoa, a gentleman whose authority is frequently invoked, puts it, the change in the mode of possessing wealth must connote a change in the sexual relationships. This subject was discussed, in all its aspects while I was in London, at a meetiiig of men and women who met at a Socialist club, to hear a paper by Mr. Levy upon the danger to women involved in the spread of Socialism. The report of the debate, in which a number of ladies took part, filled a column and a half of The Sunday Times. In it much appears about the old •* bourgeois sentiment," " group marriage," Jean Jacques Kousseau, equality of women with men, Individualism, civilised man, and Mrs. Lynn Linton. Mr. Levy, who is an able champion of Individualism, rightly under- stood, showed that the Socialist movement had for its object the abolition of fixed marriage. A Socialist who replied to him declared that "what ciU true Socialists desired was that marriage should be an ordinary con- tract, to be dissolved by notice by either party." Several of the ladies who spoke were, wisely we must admit, not prepared to accept, even to this extent, the new creed, and contented themselves with strictures upon marriage conditions as they are now. . As I was desirous of seeing how this subject was i ' 1 \ RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 287 presented to the man in the street — which is, after all, the practical question — I got a pamphlet which had just been published by the Labour Press Society. It was entitled " Marriage in Free Society," by Edward Carpenter. The author is a well-known writer upon the Socialist subject, and has published several pamphlets upon its political aspect, and several more upon the manner in which the new principle will deal with the relation between the sexes. A prominent Labour leader told me that Mr. Carpenter was an excellent man, and one who spoke with authority in labour circles. I would repeat, however, that I do not infer that his views are necessarily accepted by all the labour Socialists. I only glance at the contents of this pamphlet, as showing the moral philosophy of the proposed revolution as it is presented, under reputable auspices, at the bookstall. The writer first devotes many pages to the condemna- tion of the present system of marriage, by which one man takes one woman for life. The youug people " marry without misgiving, and their hearts overflow with gratitude to the white-surpliced old gentleman who reads the service over them. It is only at a later hour, and with calmer thought, that they realize that it is a life sentence which he has so suavely passed upon them — not reducible (as in the case of ordinary convicts) even to a term of twenty years." Once married, however, the slavery of the woman begins, and ** willing or unwilling, they have to bear children to the caprice of their lords, and in this serf-life thei:? very natures have been blunted." Even where the " bourgeois marriage " — the reader will have noticed this expression before ; it is supposed to carry its own condemnation with it — is quite happy, and "just in its most successful and pious and respectable form, it carries with it an odious sense of stuffiness and narrow- ness, moral and intellectual, and the type of family which it provides is too often like that which is dis- closed when on turning over a large stone we disturb . an insect home that seldom sees light." The " modern *J 1 S 288 SOCIALISM. monogamic >i mamage, condemned as as it is accurately termed, ia further condemned as either "a thiug obviously and by its nature bad and degrading," or at least condemned by **a fatal narrowness and stuffiness." As far as it is concerned, the only cure is declared to be " the abro- gation or modification of the present odious law which bindu people together for life, without scruple, and in the most artificial and ill-assorted unions." So far, there have been censures on the present system of marriage, with many oblique references to the "true » c« marriage,' "real love unions," and so on. Coming to the remedies for this bad state of things, we are told that there must be greater familiarity between the sexes in youth. This would not lead "to an increase of casual or clandestine sex relations. But even if casualties of this kind did occur, they would not be the fatal and unpardonable sins that they now — at least for girls — are considered to be." There must also be greater freedom for married people, for " it seems rash to lay down any very hard and fast general laws for the marriage relation, or to insist that a real and honourable affection can only exist under this or that special form. It is probably through this fact of the variety of love that it does remain possible, in some cases, for married people to have intimacies with out- siders and yet to remain perfectly true to each other ; and in rare instances, for triune and other such relations to be permanently maintained." After this ambiguous explanation, which rather puzzles the man in the street, the reader is prepared for the conclusion that in real marriage there should be no contract at all. '* Perhaps the most decent thing in true marriage would be to say nothing, make no promises, either for a year or for a lifetime." " It would be felt intolerable in any decently constituted society, that the old blunderbuss of the Law should interfere in the delicate relations of wedded life." This all puts in a tentative manner what more fearless writers, like Mr. Bax, assert directly and unequivocally. The conviction left upon the mind by the literature RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 289 of Socialism, and by what one hears from its exponents, is not only that it does declare against religion, marriage, and the family, but that it must do so, if it is to prevail. It cannot succeed so long as they are in the ■way. The antagonism between them is absolute and lasting. Religion forbids us to centre all our hopes in this life, and declarec that men cannot find full con- tentment here. Marriage of one man to one woman for life gives to ^ach some of the most sacred attributes ■of property in the other. The family unquestionably means some exclusiveness, so long as good men think first of the happiness of wife and children, and prefer it to the pleasure of others, or even to their own. It would be futile to allow the old domestic institutions to continue while you condemn the economic conditions upon which they rest, and the virtues — as they have been considered — upon which their value and usefulness •depend. Two writers of authority represent, as it seems to me, truly, what the Socialist position leads to. M. Emile de Laveleye says : " Herein is summarised the entire doctrine. Man is desirous of family joys and the supreme charm of liberty. Instead of these he is allotted compulsory labour and promiscuity of inter- •course." Mr. Hep worth Dixon, cited by Mr. O'Brien in his " Socialism Tested by Facts," says : " The very first conception of a Socialist state is such a relation of the sexes as shall prevent men and women from falling into selfish family groups. Family life is eternally at war with Socialistic life. When you have a private household, you must have personal (property to feed it ; hence a community of goods, the first idea of a Socialistic state, has been found in every case to imply a community of children and to promote a community of wives. That you cannot Jiave Socialism without introducing Communism is the teaching of all experience, whether the trials have been made upon a large scale or a small scale, in the old world or the new. All the Pentecostal and Universal Churches have begun their career with a 290 SOCIALISM. strong disposition toward that fraternal state in which private property is unknown. Some have travelled along that line, adopting all the conclusions to which the journey led them, while others have turned back in alarm on seeing that the fraternal was at war with all the sacred traditions of home. . . . All the social reformers who have striven to reconcile the family group with the general fund have failed, though some of these reformers, like the pioneers at Brook Farm,, were men of consummate abilities and unselfish aims." Such being Socialism, how do the Christian bodies^ regard it ? The position of the Roman Catholic Church is clear. It sympathises with all the Socialist's concern for the poor and the unfortunate, but disputes his right to be considered their only champion, and unequivocally condemns the measures that he declares to be necessary for their relief. The utterances of more than one Pope upon this subject are unmistakable. "Avoid," said the Pope to the French pilgrims, " perverse men, especially when they come in the name of Socialists, to overthrow- social order to your detriment." So also is the teaching of lesser clerical authorities. When visiting the Church at Brompton, I found inside its precincts a bookstall, from which suitable literature was sold to the people. One pamphlet which I bought was entitled, " Why no- good Catholic can be a Socialist." It was written by a priest, and, on the front page, stated to be published under the authority of Cardinal Manning, whose life- long sympathy with suflfering is the common knowledge of London, and indeed of the world. It demonstrates upon ecclesiastical lines how Socialism is irreconcilable with Christianity. A Catholic gentleman in America, who was well informed upon the subject, assured me that, as indeed might have been expected, there was in the voice of his Church there absolute unity upon the- subject. That Ch.irch, indeed, while not disdaining policy at some times, and for some purposes, can claim this credit, that upon matters which it con- siders vital, it hoists an unmistakable signal, nails RELTOION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 291 it to tlic mnst, and if need be, is ready to pro down with it. The writings of the Fatliers are by sonio referred to as supporting Socialism ; and they do BO, in so fur as denouncing selfishness, rapacity, the want of brotherly love, and the conscienceless use of riches, may be said to give that support. Hut they assume as their standpoint the truth of the Christian doctrines and of the Ten Commandments. The attitude of the Church of England and the other Protestant bodies is also hostile to the essential doctrines of Socialism, while they are not behind the Catholic Church in their concern for the poor. But the position of the Church of England is peculiar. It is an Established Church. Its Bishops are Peers. It has for centuries been identified with the landed and propertied classes. It possesses vast endowments itself. It cannot say with the early Apostles, *' Silver and gold have I none." Though it has always enclosed within its fold many truly Christian and merciful men, its attitude as a Church in England has in past generations been in- dift'erent and hard to the suffering masses. It is a fact that the spiritual Peers in Parliament have been hostile or unsympathetic to the humane reforms that are the glory of our century, from that which freed the black slaves abroad to those which rescued the white slaves in the factories at home. Any other Churchmen, or men similarly identified with the Government and the ruling classes, would doubtless have been the same. It constitutes a striking v/arning against planning new social states, he buttresses of which are to be un- selfishness, when we find that it was impossible to wholly banish that frailty from even a few select men, who had all the improving influence of high education, joined to which was often intellectual power and religious principle. But this unsympathetic attitude of the Established Church has for many years past roused the indignation of an active and progressive party in her ranks, who are eager to show their affection for the poor, to disconnect u 2 w 292 SOCIALISM. her cause from that of rank and wenlth, and link it to the people. Their main motive, and probably the only one they are conscious of, is the wish that the Church may rightly fulfil its divine mission among the masses, which obviously it never con so long as it is mixed up only with the well-to-do. Behind this is the Church- man's concern at the people slipping away from their control, and the determination to accept whatever may be necessary for keeping hold of them. They do not want to lose the people. They want the Ciiurch of England to have in reality that supremacy in every parish in England which technically it claims. For more than a generation the tone of the Church has been liberalised, and its efforts to relieve and elevate the poor have been unspariLg. It is to further this object that a new development has taken place among the younger clergy. Socialism having undoubtedly a strong hold upon the masses, and the clerical estimate of its strength being possibly even exaggerated, many of them, from the time of Kingsley, have earnestly set themselves to see how far they can go with it. He and his friends vehemently condemned the Manchester school. In "Socialism in England" this attitude is contemptuously described as the Church " timidly turning to the rising — - " Finding that, to start with, they have much in Bun. common with the Socialists, as all wish to help the poor, and all condemn the abuse of wealth, they gladly call themselves Socialists. As is the wont of suspected people, they protest strongly. But their real purpose is religious, rather than economical. They become seeming Socialists in the hope of making the people real Christians. This was the attitude of the young clergyman whose views I have recorded in a previous chapter. He and all his friends were Socialists, but gave no sanction to, and indeed had no knowledge of, the real proposals of Socialism. They were Socialists in the same sense that their bishops are, when they pledge themselves, in the consecration service, to be examples of self-denial, and to show compassion to the BELIGION AND THE FA^IILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 293 poor and needy and to all who are destitute of help. Affecting to give a new name to the exercise, however fervid, of old Christian virtues and duties, is a weakness in their position, and certainly imposes upon no one outside of themselves. How far removed these worthy men are from the Socialist who means business, we can readdy learn by a glance at their "Church Socialism" publications. The Lambeth Conference of Bishops appointed a Committee to report upon the Social problem. It, after due deliberation, reported in favour of the extension of the system of small farms, of co-operation. Boards of Arbitration for labour disputes, the acquisition by municipalities of town lauds, and the abolition of entail. It states further that "it does not doubt that the Government can do much to protect the proletariat from the evils of unchecked competition." The Bishops also declare themselves for a peaceful solution of social problems " without violence or injustice." Most of these proposals not only would not satisfy the Socialist, but would be tenaciously opposed by him. A paper by the Bishop of Durham on Socialism is apparently regarded as a declaration of Faith by the Socialist Church Guilds. It begins by stating that the Socialism that the Bishop contemplates has "no necessary affinity with any forms of violence, or confiscation, or class selfishness, or financial arrangement." It is obviously, therefore, not the movement with whose champions I have been conversing. The " Guild of St. Matthew " is declared to be the true Socialist organisation in the Church. Its principles are stated to be two, each equally obvious and just : that all should work, and that the produce of labour should be distributed on a more equitable system than at present. Sermons and papers of excellent tone are published by the Christian Socialist School, which deplore social in- equalities and reprobate the selfishness of many. They proclaim no more than the truth, but do not do it as vigorously as Hugh Latimer did when he hurled *11 mr ^^sm ■i mmmmm 294 SOCIALISM. I Christian anathemas against the wealthy Londoners who allowed the poor to languish at their doors. But an impassable gulf yawns between the true Christian and the true Socialist. A man can be either, but not both, None proclaim this in louder tones than do the outspoken Socialists. I quote Mr. Bax again, because he, as usual, speaks directly : " Lastly, one word on that singular hybrid, the ' Christian Socialist.' Though the word Socialism has not been mentioned, it will have been sufficiently evident that the goal indicated in the present articles is none other than Socialism. But the nssociation of Christianism with any form of Socialism is a mystery, rivalling the mysterious combination of ethical and other contradictions in the Christian Divinity himself. Notwithstanding that the soi disant Christian Socialist confessedly finds the natural enemies of his Socialism among Christians of all orthodox denominations, still he persists in retaining the designation, while refusing to employ it in its ordinary signification. It is difficult to divine the motive for thus preserving a name which, confessedly, in its ordinary meaning is not only alien, but hostile to the doctrine of Socialism." If Socialists thus regard the Christian religion and morality, and religion thus looks upon Socialists, what is the impression left upon the man in the street by the controversy ? As to morality, it is easy enough to see that Socialism, when developed, is inconsistent with the marriage of one to one, and with the exclusiveness of family life. From amid the decent veil of learned discussions and technical terms, and many references to primitive man and early group marriages, there emeiges Free Love and State nurseries. The ev^ils of the present aystett) are obvious and are consid rable. But it is plain that the advanced nations have been, by slow degrees, growing out of a state of more pro- miscuous living to the higher condition of Christian wedded life. The restraints that it imposes upon men and women, and particularly upon men for the benefit RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 295 of women, are apparent. Bacon, whose wisdom will live when the controversies of to-day have long been forgotten, truly describes it as " the discipline of humanity." In one aspect, indeed, men and women are only anin^pls, the woman obviously being enfeebled by her special functions. It has been the glory of religion and civilisation to equalize the reh.tionship between them, and also to dignify it, mainly by the means of the institution of the family, as we know it. Keeping intact the intercourse and progeny of one wedded pair, with its necessary adjunct, the separate family, has long appeared to thinking men an admirable means for ennoblino: the relation between man and woman, and also for securing stable continuity to States, the true urJt of which is the family, not the individual. To cast all this aside at the bidding of some recent but not new theories — for they have been advanced and discarded in times past — and to revert rather to the condition of the flocks and herds, certainly seems to the man in the street to be retrogression. It is not progress for the State, for man, or for woman, and particularly not for woman. The more you revert to mere animal conditions, the worse it is for the weaker animal. As to the religious side of the controversy, it is to be observed that the question is not between one form of religion and another, but between some principle of religion and no religion. The idea of the Socialist is founded on sympathy for the poor and the unfortunate, and all credit to him for it ; but it rests there, and has its ideas and aspirations so centred in this world that it cares not to look beyond it. The Socialist, while his nobler conceptions are the offspring of Chris- tianity — for where, among men, outside the range of Christianity, is Socialism to be found ? — yet stretches forth against the parent principle an unnatural hand. His system would inculcate in the place of what we term " religion," a noble love of humanity. But its creed is circumscribed by the outline of this globe on J i! 296 SOCIALISM. ■' which successive generations of us men appear and disappear. Its idea is expressed by the motto of one of the Continental associations, '• The earth is man's and the fulness thereof." Its philosophy is exemplified in the sentiment that one world is enough to look after at one time. This philosophy contains within itself the seeds of failure. It is good-natured, but not strong enough for the place. It is doomed to decay, and to make the human race decay if they a^lopted it. Life is too grave a matter to be disposed upon these lines. If it is a serious thing to die, it is also a serious thing to b've, and experience shows that to guide and support mea effectually in the needs and stress of this life, you want sanctions drawn from beyond it — at least if you are to- preserve the better type of mankind. Only a few of the more debased savage races are destitute of these higher aspirations. You must have the fulcrum of the power that is to influence civilised men, fixed outside. It is quite true, as a thoughtful Socialist remarked to me in answer to this view, that there is now among many little living religious belief. In every age the mass of people have taken but small interest in the religions of their day, and probably have not had much active belief among ihem. The few of higher aspira- tions bore aloft the ark of the faith, and were thua trustees for the rest. Some among the many turned now and then fitfully to religion for its consolations iu the emergencies of life. But this state of things is widely different from a proclamation of national Atheism, a formal declaration that men's hopes and fears alike are to be centred in this world, and the announcement of a new creed, the principle of which is exactly ex- pressed by the ancient exhortation ; " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." What would be the effect on a nation's character of such a creed as this ? For peoples do reflect their religion in their character, or what stands in the place of a religion to them. If it is fierce, they are fierce ; if it is base, so are they. rt I J RELIGION AND THE FAMILY UNDER SOCIALISM. 297 Socialists demand for the new state a change of man's nature, or at least that human nature shall take a new direction, and empty itself ef oolfisbness. But they reject the only religion that has made this sacrifice of self a living principle among men. The few Socialist communities that have had any success have been based upon this sublime and unworldly doctrine of Chris- tianity. Where they have rested upon merely secular principles they have failed ; for no one earthly motive has been found strong enough to subjugate all the rest. But the principle of Faith, and the support of hope beyond the grave, has nerved men during many generations to face cheerfully all the evils and terrors of this life. In truth, this divine element in the animal man is itself a standing miracle and a living proof that he is not designed to be all earthy. Whence comes it ? It is a powerful instinct which is able to transform his nature, and to make him superior to all the pleasures that this world can give and the evils that itJ can inflict. If we can get so far as to concede a Creator to the universe, can we conclude that He is selling His creatures by implanting in them such aspirations while all the time He designs them only to grovel to the earth? Is this impulse alone among all our instincts delusive and purposeless ? This concentration, then, of the philosophy of Socialism on worldly phenomena only, lames it for dealing efiectually with men even in the world. It lacks power to control, and scope to satisfy humanity. Obvious facts that other moral schemes endeavour to grapple with, it quietly ignores. The doctrine of some original fault in man may be held to be an invention of priests, but at least it is an invention to explain a fact. Universal experience, from the dawn of history till to-day, has revealed a defect in human nature that takes ditferent directions in different ages, and iu different circumstances, but shows little sign of thinning out altogether. Various races have their own legends for explaining it. It eludes the influence of the most Hi ,•'■ 298 SOCIALISM. diverse social conditions, and appears in every variety of human character. Poverty does not cause it, nor affluence cure it. The highest education may modify it, but by no means eradicates it. Could we get rid of it, the face of the world to-day would soon be changed. We could then throw off the burthv?n of standing armies, police, gaols, law courts, and the greater part of our public charities. Side by side with this moral frailty, and partly connected with it, though partaking also of nobler elements, is the discontent of mankind. This certainly induces progress, but no progress appeases it. No fact in the inner history of men is more certain than that this life does not satisfy them. All the good things that it can afford are vain to secure permanent contentment. Experience shows that wealth, ease, distinction, do not make the possessors personally happier than those in a humbler lot. The truth of the old story about the Fates remains. As the web of our lives is being spun, the envious sister stands by to slip the black thread into every coil. It is something coming from within us, not imposed from outside. From this imperfection and this discontent come the ditiiculties of human government. To them are due the failures of life. The Socialist triumphantly waves all this aside, and fastening upon men's industrial conditions, some of which are undoubtedly defective, imputes to them all human ills and dissatisfactions, and promises relief for all by a revolution that is to bring in material prosperity. But were all done and all swept away as he desires, man himself would still remain, and with him the weakness and the perplexity of human life. These cannot be charmed away by essay or manifesto. The final feeling of the man in the street, after listening to all the wisdom of the Socialist, is that there is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in his philosophy, and especially more in heaven. '«•• mmmm im y APPENDICES n. r S: fit 'A m m APPENDICES APPENDIX A. The following Despatches contain the best summary that is to be had of the views of the Imperial authorities upon the question that we considered at Ottawa, of trade relations within the Empire— a question that many of us believe has a future before it. Ottawa Confbrbnob, 1894. No. 1. The Marquess of Ripon to the Governor-General of Canada, the Governors of the Atistralasian Colonies (ercept Western Australia), and the Governor of the Cape. Downing Street, June 28, 1896. My Lord, Sir, In my despatch of the 13th of December last I transmitted io you copies of the Report of the Earl of Jersey, G.C.M.G., on the proceedings at the Colonial Conference at Ottawa, together with copies of the proceedings of the Conference. 2. Since then the questions discussed at the Conference have been under the consideration of the various Departments specially con- cerned, and I am now in a position to place you in possession of the general views of Her Majesty's Government on the questions which formed the subject of the three Resolutions classed together by Lord Jersey as dealing with trade relations. 3. The first two of these Resolutions have for their object the repeal of legislation and the cancelling of treaty stipulations which, in the opinion of the delegates, obstruct the realisation of th? policy indicated in the third Resolution, and it may be convenient <;hat I 302 APPENDICES. snould in the first instance explain the views of Her M-^jcsty's Government with regard to that policy before discussing the first two Hesolutions. 4. The third Resolution declares that : ** Whereas the stability and progress of the British Empire can be best assured by drawing con- tinually closer the bonds that unite the Colonies with the Mother Country, and by the continuous growth of a practical sympathy and co-operation in all that pertains to the common welfare : and whereas this co-operation and unity can in no way be more effectually promoted than by the cultivation and extension of the mutual and profit'ible interchange of their products : "Therefore resolved: That this Conference records its belief in the advisability of a Customs arrangement between Great Britain and her Colonies by which trade within the Empire may be placed on a more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign countries. •* Further resolved : That until the Mother Country can see her way to enter into Customs arrangements with her Colonios it is. desirable that, when empowered so to do, the Colonies of Great Britain, or such of them as may be disposed to accede to this view, take steps to place each ether's products in whole or in part on a more favoured Customs basis than is accorded to the like products of foreign countries. *' Further resolved : That for the purposes of this Resolution the South African Customs Union be considered as part of the territory capable of being brought within the scope of the contemplated trade arrangements." 5. With the preamble of this Resolution the feeling, not only of Her Majesty's Government, but of the entire population of this country, is, I need not say, in hearty sympathy — a sympathy to which no proposal clearly tending to promote the stability and progress o£ the Empire can appeal in vain. 6. The unanimity of sentiment which prevailed throughout the Conference on this point has been noted with pleasure by Her Majesty's Government, and it is with regret, therefore, that they feel compelled to express a grave doubt whether the fiscal policy the principle of which was adopted by the majority of the Conference, as^ a means of securing this object, is really calculated to promote it. 7. The Resolution does not advocate the establishment of a Customs Union comprising the whole Empire, whereby all the exist- ing barriers to free commercial intercourse between the various mem- bers would be removed, and the aggregate Customs revenue equitably APPENDIX A. 303 ' apportioned among the different communities. Such an arrangement would be in principle free from objection, and, if it were practicable, would certainly prove effective in cementing the I'.nity of the Empire and promoting its progress and stability. IJut it was unanimously recognised by the Delegates that the circumstfjnces of the Colonies make such a union, for the present at any rate, impossible ; and it is, therefore, unnecessary to discuss the practical, difficulties which stand in the way of its realisation. 8. The actual proposition is something essentially different, namely the establishment of differential duties in this country in favour of Colonial produce, and in the Colonies in favour of the produce of the Mother Country. Commercial intercourse within the Empire is not to be freed from the Customs barriers which now impede it, but new duties, confined to foreign goods, are to be imposed where none exist at present, and existing rates of duty, now of impartial application, are to be either increased as against foreign trade or diminished in favour of British Colonial trade. 9. It was generally recognised at the Conference that this policy involves a complete reversal of the fiscal and commercial system which was deliberately adopted by Great Britain half a century ago, and which has been maintained and extended ever since. By a consistent adherence to this system one duty after another has been swept away in this country, until, at the present day, the few import duties remaining are retained, either for revenue purposv^s alone on articles not produced here, or in order to protect the Excise revenue. 10. A differential duty is open to all the objections from the con- sumer's point of view which can be urged against a general duty, and, while it renders necessary the same restrictions on trade, it has the additional disadvantage of dislocating trade by its tendency to divert it from its regular and natural channels. 11. These general objections to the policy advocated are sufficiently^ serious, and there are others, no less serious, which flow from th& existing conditions under which the trade of the Empire is distributed. 12. Assuming that the preference aimed at by the liesolutions is given in the way most favourable to trade, namely, by the partial remission of existing duties in favour of British and Colonial goods, rather than by an increase of duties on foreign goods (coupled with- the imposition of duties on goods of foreign origin now admitted free which compete with British and Colonial produce), it is obvious that, as the total trade of the Empire with foreign countries far exceeds the trade between the various members constituting the Empire, the volume of trade upon which taxation is to be placed exceeds the volume \' |i! 304 APPENDICES. which would be partiftlly relieved. The result would not only neces- sitate increased taxation but would involve a serious net loss of trade, the burden of which in both casns would fall with greatest severity on those parts of the Empire which have the largest proportion of foreign trade, and the loss to these parts would more than outweigh the gain to the other parts. 13. On closer examination it would appear that the material results of the proposal would be even more prejudicial than appears from the general statement of its more obvious results. In the case of this country, the bulk of the imports from foreign countries and almost the whole of our imports from the Colonies consists of food or raw materials for manufacture. 14. To impose a duty on food means at once a diminution of the real wages of the workman. If, in addition to this, a duty were imposed on raw materials, a further encroachment would have to be made on wages to enable the manufacturer to compete with bis rivals in countries where there are no such duties. 15. The Honourable Mr. Foster, in his speech introducing the motion now under review, drew a vivid picture of the vigorous and unrelenting competition which the British manufacturer has to meet in the markets of the world ; and, if he somewhat over-estimated the results of that competition, there can be no question as to the fact that in many branches of trade in which Great Britain once held a distinct superiority other nations now compete on equal terms. In so far, then, as the British manufacturer failed to shift the burden of any duty on food and raw materials on to wages he would be at a disadvantage in the open markets of the world, and the remission in the Colonies of part of the duty in his favour would scarcely place him on level terms with his foreign competitor even there. 16. It must not be forgotten, moreover, that at present about one- fourth of the export trade of this country consists of foreign and Colonial produce, and that the imposition of duties on foreign produce would involve an enormous immediate outlay for the extension of bonding facilities, and the necessary charges for their use and main- tenance. The result would be to place such obstacles in the way of this trade that its transference elsewhere would speedily take place, goods which this country now receives for re-export being sent direct to their market, or through some other entrepdt where they would not be subjected to such disabilities. Thus the position of this country as the great market of the world, already threatened, would ■be dtistroyed. 17. Theso changes could not fail to seriously injure our important . APPENDIX A. 305 carrying trade and to react injuriously on every industry in the United Kingdom. 18. On the other Itand the gain to the Colonies, whatever it might be, would, even at first, bo altogether incommensurate with the loss to the Mother Country. And it is improbable that there would be any permanent gain, for, apart from the general loss of purchasing power due to the fall in wages and profits resulting from the imposition of duties, it is obvious that the reduction of our imports from foreign 'Countries would be followed by a reduction in our exports to them, no inconsiderable part of which consists of Colonial produce imported in a crude state and more or less manufactured in this country. The demand, therefore, for Colonial produce, even with the preferential advantage proposed to be allowed to it, would not bo likely to increase, and the price obtained for it would, therefore, not be ulti- mately enhanced. 19. If the differentiation is to be confined to some specifiod articles, the dif!ic"lt'!cij of arriving at an equitable arrangement would be in no way diminished. Some of these difficulties were clearly pointed out by the representatives of New South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand, in the course of the discussion, and no practical standard was suggested by which the value of the ccncessions to be made on «ach side could be tried or adjusted. These would obviously vary according to the number of Colonies sharing in the arrangement and many other circumstances, and, as the people of this country and those of the Colonies would approach the consideration of the question from entirely different points of view, a satisfactory agreement would seem almost impossible. To this country it would mean a possible increase of revenue for a period, but at the same time a serious curtailment of trade, with loss of employment and enhanced price of food and other necessaries, and it would, in the main, be judged by its effect on our commerce and on the condition of the people. 20. Tu the Colonies, on the other hand, it would in the first instance mainly present itself as a question of revenue. A remission of duty on the bulk of their imports would involve an entire read- justment of their fiscal system, requiring the resort to increasei direct taxation or other means, and though there might be at first an increase in the price of their produce imported into this country, the revenue difficulty would probably appeal to them most strongly. 21. A consideration of these practical difficulties, and of the more immediate results above indicated, of a system of mutual tariff dis- crimination, has convinced Her Majesty's Government that, even if its consequences were confined to the limits of the Empire, and even ik ■ 306 APPENDICES. if it wore not followed by changes of fiscal policy on tlie part of foreign Powers unfavourable to this country, its gonerpl economic reaulta would not be beneficial to the Empire. Such duties are really a weapon of commercial war, used as a means of retaliation, and inflicting possibly more loss on the country employing it than on the country against which it is directed, and which would not be likely to view them with indiffere'ico. 22. Foreign countries are well aware that the Colonies differ in their fiscal policies and systems from the Mother Country and each other, and if a policy of the kind advocated were adopted, oui foreign rivals would not improbably retaliate, with results injurious to tho trade of the whole Empire. 23. In the course of the discussion at the Conference the opinion was generally expressed that, although in present circumstances, while^ so large a proportion of the trade of Great Britain is with foreign countries, the arrangement might scarcely be acceptable to this country, the Colonial trade of Great Britain increases so much faster than the foreign that the conditions and proportions would be reversed at no very distant date, and the arguments now urged against the policy of the Resolution would no longer be regarded as valid. 24. As a matter of fact, however, the proportion of the Colonial trade of this country to its foreign trade is very nearly the same now as it was forty years ago.* The development of external trade does not always keep pace with the growth of population, more especially when it is subject to tariff restrictions either avowedly or incidentally protective, and although the Colonies have much room for expansion in the matter of population, and English capital has flowed into them, perhaps more freely than into foreign countries, there is at present no appearance of any sustained alteration in the relative proportions of foreign av.d Colonial trade. But even if those proportions were reversed, Her Majesty's Government are convinced that the evil results of a preferential policy would be mitigated only slightly, * Gomparisona are only possible since 1854. For the five years, 1854-58, the total imports into this countiy were £820,904,330; the imports from British possessions being £195,556,990, or 238 per cent, of the whole. During the five years, 1889-93, the total imports were £2,112,252,916, and the imports from British possessions were £482,427,761, or 228 per cent, of the whole. The total exports during 1854-58 were £657,699,825, and the exports to British possessions £186,056,817, or 283 per cent, of the whole. During the period 1889-93 the total exports from this country were £1,521,736,951, of which the exports to British possessions were £438,491,542, or 28*8 per cent. Taking imports and exports together, the trade of this country with British possesBions in the earlier of the two periods formed 25'8 per cent, of the total> and in the later 258 per cent. APPENDIX A. 307 although they might full with los^ severity on thia country and with greater severity on the Colonies than would I»i) the case undor existing circumstances. 25. I have dealt with this question at some length, because the strong support which the proposal met with from the majority of the representatives at the Conference entitles it to the fullest considera- tion, and renders it desirable to sot forth the reasons which have satisfied Her Majesty's Government that it would fail to secure tbo object aimed at — namely, the stability and progress of the Empire. 26. I now pass to the second part of the Resolution, which urges •' That until the Mother Country can see her way to enter into Customs arrangements with the Colonies, the Colonies should take steps to place each other's products in whole or in part on a more favoured Customs basis than is accorded to the like products of foreign countries." This Resolution raises somewhat different issues from the preceding one. At first sight it would appear that this was a matter in which only the Colonies making such arrangements are themselves con- cerned, and that as Her Majesty's Government have allowed the Colonies full liberty to frame their fiscal systems with the view, if they think fit, of protecting their local industries, there can be no objection to their making arrangements to extend a somewhat similar protection or preference to those of a sister Colony. 27. It must be remembered, however, that the primary object of a differential duty is a diversion rather than an increase of trade, and that as the proportion of the external trade of most of the Colonies which is carried on with foreign countries is insignificant compared ■with that carried on with the Mother Country and other parts of Her Majesty's dominions, it will be difficult for one Colony to give a preference in its markets to the trade of another solely at the expense of the foreigner, and without at the some time diverting trade from the Mother Country or from sister Colonies which may not be parties to the arrangement. 28. Serious injury might thus be inflicted on the commerce of a neighbouring Colony, and unfriendly feelings generated, which might provoke retaliation, and would in any case estrange the Colonies concerned in a manner which would not conduce to the great aim which the Conference had in view throughout. 29. Any agreement for reciprocal preferential treatment between two Colonies will, therefore, require careful consideration in regard to its probable effect on the commerce of the rest of the Empire, and although Her Majesty's Government have the fullest confidence that the X 2 308 APPENDICES. loyalty and good feeling happily prevailing between the various parts of the Empire would prevent one Colony seeking an advantage to itself which could only be gained at the serious prejudice of other parts of Her Majesty's dominions, it is impossible for them to relieve themselves of their responsibility in regard to the general interests of the Empire in such a matter. 30. The last part of the Resolution, which urges ** That for the purposes of this Resolution the South African Customs Uniop be considered as part of the territory capable of being brought within the scope of the contemplated trade arrangements," opens, as Lord Jersey has remarked in his Report, a prospect of additional complication. 31. The Orange Free State is a party to that arrangement, and if a Colony outside South Africa were to extend to the produce of that State preferential terms granted to the produce of the Cape Colony, Her Majesty's Government might, unless the same terms were extended to all countries entitled to most-favoured-nation treatment in that Colony, be involved in a serious controversy with those countries. 32. Having now indicated generally the views of Her Majesty's Government on the policy advocated by the Conference, I tuiu to the Resolutions which urge the removal of such obstacles, arising from legislation or Treaty, as impede the carrying out of that policy. The only legislative obstacle to such arrangements as are contem- placed by the Resolutions is the clause in the Constitution Acts of the Australian Colonies prohibiting the imposition of differential duties. After full consideration Her Majesty's Government decided that, however much such duties might be inconsistent with the fiscal policy of this country, they should not, in so far as such duties can be imposed without breach of Her Majesty's Treaty obligations and without detriment to the unity of the Empire, interfere with the discretion of the Colonies in the matter. Parliament has, therefore, on the initiative of Her Majesty's Government, agreed to relieve the Australian Colonies of the special disabilities under which they were placed by the operation of their Constitution Acts, and, in conse- quence, has passed the Act of which copies are enclosed,* repealing the provisions referred to, and that Act has now received Her Majesty's assent. 33. In the case of the Colonies of New South "Wales and Victoria, section 45 of the Constitution Act of the former and section 43 of the * Aostralian Colonies Datiee Act, 1895, 68 & 69 Vict. cap. 3. APPENDIX A. 309 Constitution Act of the latter also prohibit the imposition of diffe- rential duties, but as the repeal of these provisions is now a matter within the competence of the local Legislatures, Her Majesty's Govern- ment leave it to them to take the necessary action. 34. While, however, Parliament has thus removed all legislative restrictions on the Colonies, so far as Imperial legislation is concerned, it will be necessary, in order that Her Majesty's Government may be in a position to give effect to their responsibility for the international obligations of the Empire, and for the protection of its general interests, that any Bill passed by a Colonial Legislature providing for the im- position of differential duties should be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, so as to 'allow full opportunity for its consideration from these points of view. 35. For this reason and in order to prevent inconvenience it will be desirable, if such duties are included in a General Tariff Bill, that a proviso should be added that they are not to come i.rito force until Her Majesty's pleasure has been signified. 36. I may here point out that any Act such as that passed by the Legislature of New Zealand in 1870, which proposed to enable the Governor of the Colony in C/'ouncil to suspend or modify uny of the duties imposed by the Customs Duties Acts of the Colony, in accordance with any inter-colonial agreement, besides being open to grave objection on constitutional grounds, would deprive Her Majesty's Government of any opportunity of considering such agreements, and unless, therefore, the articles to which the power should apply and the extent to which remission might be granted were specified, Her Majesty's Government would have grave doubts as to the propriety of advising Her Majesty to assent to such an Act. They trust, there- fore, that the Colonial Legislatures will not eeek to divest themselves in any measure of their power to fix the amount of their taxation, nor to confer on the Executive a power the exorcise of which without the fullest deliberation might inadvertently give rise to serious complications, not only with other Colonies but with foreign Powers. 37. Tha second Resolution states "That this Conference is of opinion that any provisions in existing Treaties between Great Britain and any foreign Power, which prevent the self-governing dependencies of the Empire from entering into agreements of com- mercial reciprocity with each other or with Great Britain, should be removed." The Treaties aimed at by this Resolution are the Commercial Treaties between this country and Germany and Belgium. 38. The particular Articles of these Treaties which might give 310 APPENDICES. rise to difficulties in regard to preferential arrangements between tlie various portions of the British Empire are as follows : Belgium, AniicLK XV. " Articles the produce or manu- factures of Belgium shall not be subject in the British Colonics to other or higher duties than those ■which are or may be imposed upon similar articles of Biitish origin." " Les produits d'origine ou de manufacture beige ne seront pas grevt'S dans les Colonies Britan- ni(pies d'autres ou de plus forts droits que ceux qui frappent ou frapperont les produits similairea originaircsdelaGrande-Bretagne." l"he English and French texts are both given, as there is a shade of distinction in the translation of the word " British." ZoLLVEREiN (German Empire). Article VII. " The stipulations of the preceding Articles I. to VI.'" (they con- tain the whole Treaty) "shall also be applied to the Colonies and Foreign Possessions of Her Britannic Majesty. In those Colonies and Possessions the produce of the States of the Zollverein shall not be subject to any higher or other import duties than the produce of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of any other country of the like kind ; nor shall the exportation from those Colonies or Possessions to the Zollverein be subject to any higher or other duties than the exportation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." 39. It is to be observed that any advantages which migit be granted by Great Britain to either Belgium or Germany in 'r-":',-.}^: of these particular stipulations must also be extended to various o ji ;r countries under the ordinary most-favoured-nation clauses in existing Treaties. If, however. Article XV. of the Belgium Treaty and Article VII. of the Zollverein Treaty wore no longer in force, there are no stipulations of a similar character in any other Treaty con- cluded by this country and now in force which could give rise to the same difficulties. 40. The general effect of these stipulations in regard to import duties, as understood by Her Majesty's Government, is stated in the note on page 5 of Lord Jersey's Keport as follows : 1. They do not prevent differential treatment by the United Kingdom in favour of British Colonies. 1.4 APPENDIX A. 311 i- 2. They do not prevent dilTerential treatment by British Colonies in favour of each other. 3. They do prevent differential treatment by Lritish Colonies in favour of the United Kingdom. 41. In regard to the first of the foregoing propositions, I may observe that, as will be gathered from what has been said above, the question of admitting Colonial produce into the United Kingdom on more favourable terms than the produce of foreign countries is a question which Her ^lajesty's Government are not at present prepared to take into consideration ; and if, at any future time, it were to come into practical discussion, it could be approached with equal freedom whether the Treaties with Belgium and the ZoUverein were in force or not. 42. As regards tho second proposition, the opinion formed by Her Majesty's Government as to the interpretation of Article XV. of the Treaty with Belgium is in conformity with an opinion expressed by the Law Officers of the Crown, to the effect that the words "Similar articles of British origin," or in the French text ''produits similaires originaires de la Grande-Bretagne," relate to the produce of the United Kingdom alone. 43. It must, however, be recollected that in the construction of any Treaty the interpretation of one of the parties alone does not necessarily prevail. 44. In regard to the third proposition, it seems clear that und«r the terms of Article XV. of the Belgian Treaty, and of Article VII. in the Treaty with the ZoUverein, the British Colonies cannot grant to the produce of the United Kingdom any preferential treatment as to Customs duties without such treatment being also extended to Belgium and Germany, and through them to other countries which have ordinary most-favoured-nation clauses with Great Britain. In these circumstances the question arises whether it is desirable : (a) To endeavour to obtain the abrogation of Article XV. of the Belgian Treaty and of Article VII. of the ZoUverein Treaty separately, without the denunciation of the entire Treaties ; or (b) Failing the abrogation of these particular clauses alone, to denounce the Treaties themselves, which can be done by giving twelve months' notice. 45. In regard to the separate denunciation of these Articles, it may be stated that both the Belgian and German Governments have been asked whether they would consent to the abrogation of these particular clauses without the rest of the Treaties being terminated, !i i. .ssm= 312 APPENDICES. il^ end the reply in both cases was to the effect that the clauses could Dot be denounced apart from the rest of the Treaty. 46. Her Majesty's Government have no Treaty right to demand the abrogation of these Articles separately, and in view of these replies, there would evidently be no use in further approaching either Government in this direction ; and the only method of getting rid of these clauses would be the denunciation of the Treaties themselves. 47. Such denunciation would be a step of the greatest gravity^ and whilst Her Majesty's Government are fully alive to the desira- bility of removing any Treaty stipulations which may hamper the action of the Colonies in regard to trade relations, they consider the advantages to be derived from such a step should be very clearly shown to outweigh the disadvantages before it could properly be resorted to. 48. It has been shown above that the United Kingdom could, if it were at any time judged proper, grant preferential terms to Colonial produce without infringing the particular articles in question, and further that the British Colonies could also grant preferential treatment to each other without infringing them as they are inter- preted by Her Majesty's Government. The only point, therefore, which remains for consideration is, whether the advantages to be derived from permitting the United Kingdom to enjoy preferential treatment in the British Colonies is sufficient to outweigh the dis- advantages to the Empire of the denunciation of the entire Belgian and Zoliverein Treaties. 49. The following figures may serve to indicate generally how the interests of the United Kingdom are affected. The annual value of the exports from the United Kingdom, according to the Statistical Abstract, may be roughly estimated as liaving been in 1893 : To Germany To Belgium . Total .. £28,000,000 .. £1.3,000,000 .. £41,000,000 The value of exports from the United Kingdom to all the self- governing Colonies for the same year may bo roughly estimated at £35,000,000 (India not included). The comparison Avould not be quite the same if account were taken of the exports of British and Irish produce only. Here it would seem that the exports from the United Kingdom to British I u APPENDIX A. 3ia self-governing Colonies exceed the exports to Belgium and Germany. The self-governing Colonies, moreover, being geographically distant, the exports to them give proportionately more employment to shipping than do exports to adjacent countries like Belgium and Germany. But the exports to Belgium and Germany are undoubtedly important in themselves. 50. The denunciation of the Treaties with Belgium and Germany would thus expose the trade of the United Kingdom to some risks, and might possibly be followed by a loss of some part of the export trade to those countries ; probably of some portion of it, which consists in the distribution of foreign and Colonial produce. With the denunciation of the Treaties the commerce of the Empire with these countries would have to be carried on under fiscal conditions subject to constant changes and fluctuations, or at all events without that permanence and security which is of primary importance to successful and profitable interchange. It would be extremely diffi- cult, in existing circumstances, to negotiate new Treaties of a satis- factory character at an early date, and the loss which might in the meantime result to a trade of forty-one millions sterling would, perhaps, prove to be irreparable. On the other hand, no scheme has been proposed which foreshadows any precise advantages to be secured to the export trade, amounting to thirty-five millions sterlings from the United Kingdom to the British Colonies, in the event of the termination of these Treaties. 51. I may further observe that the self-governing Colonies themselves would lose any advantage they now derive from their inclusion in the German and Belgian Treaties ; since, if those Treaties were denounced, both countries would, in view of the circumstances attending the passing of the Resolutions of the Colonial Conference and in view of the high tariffs existing in many of the Colonies, no doubt decline to include the British Colonies in any new Treaty that might be negotiated, and considering the small amount of their trade, it would be very difficult for them, if in an isolated position, to secure advantageous terms except by very heavy concessions. In this connection it might be expedient for the self-governing Colonies themselves to consider how much their interests are involved. A large item in the exports from the United Kingdom to Belgium and Germany is " wool,'' about £8,000,000 in value, largely, there is no doubt, Colonial wool. Other articles of "Colonial export also find a market in Belgium and Germany. 52. In these circumstances, as preferential arrangements in which this country should be included cannot, under present conditions, be I T !'l "■- -^ ■' ' «■ 3U APPENDICES. considered a matter of practical politics, and a^ the clauses in the Treaties do not, in the view of Her Majesty's Government, prevent inter-colonial preferential arrangements, Her Majesty's Government consider that it would not be prudent to contemplate the denunciation of the Treaties at the present moment, bearing in mind that this could always be done on twelve months' notice, if circumstances should hereafter show it to be desirable. 53. In conclusion, it only remains for me to state that in the con- sideration of these questions the discussions at the Conference have been of the greatest service to Her ^lajesty'a Government. The discussion throughout was maintained at a high level, and the speeches were eminently practical and to the point, and I have observed with pleasure the unanimity which prevailed as to the importance and desirability in principle, not only of preserving but of strengthening the bonds of sentiment, sympathy, and mutual benefit which now unite the Empire. This was one of the main objects for which the Conference was summoned, and Her Majesty's Government are convinced that the result has been a substantial and permanent contribution to the establishment and maintenance of that mutual understanding and sympathy without which that Imperial union which we prize so highly can scarcely hope to be permanent. I have, etc., RIPON. \ ii No. 2. TJie Marqiiess of Ripon to the Governor-General of Canada, the Governors of the Australasian Colonies {except Western Australia), and the Governor of the Cape. Downing Street, Jane 28, 1895. My Lord, Sir, In my despatch of even date,* I communicated to you an expression of the views of Her Majesty's Government on the Ee- solutions passed by the Colonial Conference at Ottawa in regard to the trade relations of the Empire. 2. In the course of the discussions there, a question of con- siderable importance was more than once alluded to, namely, the question of commercial agreements between Her Majesty's Govern- ment and foreign Powers in regard to their trade with the Colonies. * No. 1. ^' »^ AriENDIX A. 315 :,. 1 ^ ti % Such Conventions have already boon made on more than one occasion in regard to the trade of Her ^lnjcsty'B Dominions in North America with the United States of America, and recently with the (n)vernraent of Franco in regard to the trade between that country and Canada; and the Cape Colony has also entered into a Customs Union with the neighbouring Independent Republic, the Orange Free State. 3. Although the area within which such agreements are possible is now but limited, owing to the network of commercial Treaties by which the nations are bound together, there are still some Powers, such as France, with which agreements of the kind could bo made, either because no commercial Treaty exists between them and this country, or because some of the Colonies have not adhered to the existing Treaty. It appears desirable, now that the same liberty of tariff legislation has been accorded to the Australian Colonies as has been enjoyed by Canada, the Cape Colony, and New Zealand, and that t^'e Colonies generally are considering the question of extending and increasing their external commerce, that the views of Her Majesty's Government on this question should bo generally known. 4. In the first instance it is advisable that the international position of such agreements and the procedure to be followed in regard to them should be made clear, and in this connexion I desire to quote from the able speech delivered by Sir Henry Wrix.on at the meeting of the Conference on the 10th of June. 5. Referring to this question, he said : "I do not know that I have ever thoroughly understood the position which the Imperial Government takes with regard to the power which they have already allowed to Canada and the Cape, because we all know that nations can only know one another through the supreme head. Eiich nation is an entity as regards any other ration, and I have no knowledge of how you could recognise a part of an Empire making arrangements for itself. If you look at the thing in the last resort, supposing conflicts arose, or cause of war, the foreign Power that had cause to complain of the breach of a commercial Treaty must naturally look to the head of an Empire, and they could not be put off by telling them to look for satisfaction to the dependency. If any foreign Power made an arrangement with the Cape, and had cause to complain, and wanted to enforce any proviso, they must go to the Empire of Great Britain ; and, therefore, as far as I can understand it, I am quite against any attempt to recognise the right of a dependency of the Empire to f 316 APPENDICES. I '.< act on its own lehalf. Everything must be done through the head of the Empire when we are dealing with foreign nations. One nation is one individual, and it can only deal with other nations on that basis; therefore I deliberately excluded any reference in my motion to that subject, and I may only add that I think it is quite unncessary to refer to it, because we can have no doult that the Imperial Government will extend the same consideration to all the dependencies of the Empire that it has already extended to Canada and the Cape, if in any case any dependency of the Empiro shows that it has good ground for entering into a commercial Treaty outside. I have not the slightest doubt that the Imperial Govern- ment would do for other dependencies what it has already done for the premier dependency of Canada and the Cape. "Hon. Mr. Fitzgerald. — Do you wish it done by legislation? " Sir Henry Wrixox. — No. I do not understand how it can be done, because I have no idea of a nation as anything else than one complete unity with regard to an outside nation, and I cannot under- stand a dependency of the Empire arranging with an outside Power ; and I presume, where the Iinpciial Government has allowed Canada and the Cape to make arrangi'ment^, the Imperial Government itself has contracted and would be prepared to vindicate the conduct of the dependency in the last resort. I understand that when occasion arises the dependency informs the Imperial Government of its desire to enter into certain arrangements. The Imperial Government authorises its ^Minister ut the Court of the Powci- which is to be treated with to carry on that neg(jtiation, and then, technically, it is the Empire which makes the Treaty. In our country some claimed more than this right. I repudiated any such position. I think it is not consistent with the unity of the Empire, and I added to that a reason why it was unnecessary — namely, because the Imperial Government will do for us what they have done for Canada and the Cape, and will help us to make a Treaty if we want to make a Treaty with any foreign Power." 6. This speech not only indicates the procedure to be followed in the case of such arrangements, but clearly explains the reasons for it. A foreign Power can only be approached through Her Majesty's Repre- sentative, and any agreement entered into with it, atfecting any part of Her Majesty's dominions, is an agreement between Her Majesty and the Sovereign of a foreign State, and it is to Her Majesty's Government that the foreign State would apply in case of any question arising under it. 7. To give the Colonies the power of negotiating Treaties for 4 APPENDIX A. 317 i themselves without reference to Her ^Injeaty's riovernment would be to give them an international status as separate and sovereign States, and would be equivalent to breaking up the Empire into a number of independent States, a result which Her ^Majesty's Goveviimeni are satisfied would be injurious equally to the Colonies and to the Mother Country, and would be desired by neither. The negotiation, then, being between Her Majesty and the Sovereign of the foreign State must be conducted by Her Majesty's Representative at the Court of the foreign I'ower, v;ho would keep Her Majesty's Government informed of the progresf. of the discussion, and seek instructions from them as necessity arose. It could hardly be expected, however, that he would be sufficiently cognisant of the circumstances and wishes of the Coloiiy to enable him to conduct the negotiation satisfactorily alone, and it would be desirable generally, therefore, that he should have the assistance, either as a second Plenipotentiary or in a subordinate capacity, as Her Majesty's Government think the circumstances require, of a delegate appointed by the Colonial Government. If, as a result of the negotiations, any arrangement is arrived at, it must be approved by Her Majesty's Government and by the Colonial Government, and also by the Colonial Legislature if it involves legislative action, before the ratifications can be exchanged. 8. The same considerations which dictate tho procedure to be followed have also dictated the conditions under which, though never distinctly formulated. Her Majesty's Government have hitherto con- ducted such negotiations, and as to the propriety of which they are confident that no question can be raised. 9. These considerations are : the strict observance of existing international obligations, and the preservation of the unity of the Empire. The question, then, to be dealt with is how far these con- siderations necessarily limit the scope and application of any com- mercial arrangement dealing with the trade between one of Her Majesty's Colonies and a foreign Power, both in respect of the concessions which may be offered by the Colony and the con- cessions which it seeks in return. 10. It is obvious that a Colony could not offer a foreign Power tariff concessions which were not at the same time to be •extended to all other Powers entitled by Treaty to most-favoured- nation treatment in the Colony. In the Constitution Acts of some Colonies such a course is specifically prohibited, but, even where that is not the case, it is obvious that Her Majesty could not properly enter into any engagements with a foreign Power incon- 318 ArPENDICES. Bf« t>i8tent witli her obligations to other Powers, and l)ofore any Convention or Treaty can be ratifiotl, therefore, Her Miijestj's CJovernment must be satisfied that it fultils this condition, and also that any legislation for giving effect to it makes full provision for enabling Her Miijcsty to fulfil her obligations, both to the Power immediately concerned, and to any other Powers whose rights under Treaty may be affected. To do otherwise would be a breach of public faith to which Her Majesty's Government could not lend themselves in any way. Further, Her ^lajesty's Government regard it as eseential that any tariff concessions proposed to be conceded by a Colony to a foreign Power should be extended to this country and to the rest of Her Majesty's dominions. As I have already pointed out, there are but few nations with which Her Majesty's Government have not Treaties containing most- favoured-nation clause?, and to most of these Treaties all or some of the responsible Government Colonies have adhered. Any tariff advantages granted by a Colony, therefore, to a foreign Power would have to be extended to all Powers entitled by Treaty to most- favoured-nation treatment in the Colony, and Her Majesty's Govern- ment piesume that no Colony would wish to afford to, practically, all foreign nations better treatment than it accorded to the rest of the Empire of which it forms a part. 11. This point has already arisen in connection with negotiations on behalf of Colonies with foreign States. "When informal dis- cussions with a view to a commercial arrangement between the United States of America and Canada took place in 1892, the delegates of the Dominion Government refused the demand of the United States that Canada should discriminate against the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom, and the negotiations were broken off on this point. Similarly, when Newfoundland, in 1890, had made preliminary arrangements for a Convention with the United States nnder which preferential treatment might have been accorded to that Power, Her Majesty's Government acknowledged the force of the protest made by Canada, and when the Newfoundland Governmen proposed to pass legislation to grant the concessions stipulated for by the United States, my predecessor, in a despatch dated the 26th of March, 1892, informed the Dominion Government that they might rest assured '* that Her Majesty will not be advised to assent to any legislation discriminating directly against the products of the Dominion." 12. It must not be forgotten that, as I have pointed out in my ■ I m^sm » ^ 1 APPENDIX A. 819 othor despatch of this date,* Avhilst the grant of preferential tariff treatment ia a friendly act to the country receiving it, it it. au unfriendly act to countries or places excluded from it, and Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that the bonds which unite the various parts of the Empire together require that every Colony should accord to the rest at least as favourable terms as it grants to any foreign country. If a Colony were to grant preferential treatment to the produce of a foreign country and were to refuse to extend the benefit of that treatment to the Mother Country and the other Colonies, or some of them, such a step could not fail to isolate and alienate that Colony from the rest of the Empire, and attract it politically as well as commercially towards the favoured Power. Her Majesty's Government are convinced that the Colonies will agree that such a result would bo fraught with danger to the interests of the Empire as a whole, and that they will also agree that it would bo impossible for Her Majesty's Government to assent to any such arrangement. 13. In regard to the other side of the question, namely as to the terms which a Colony seeks from a foreign Power, the con- siderations mentioned appear to require that a Colony should not endeavour in such a negotiation to obtain an advantage at the expense of other parts of Her Majesty's dominions. In the case, therefore, of preference being sought by or offered to the Colony iu respect of any article in which it competed seriously with other Colonies or with the Mother Country, Her Majesty's Government ■would feel it to be their duty to use every effort to obtain the ex- tension of the concession to the rest of the Empire, and in any case to ascertain as far as possible whether the other Colonies affected would wish to be made a party to the arrangement. In the event of this being impossible, and of the result to the trade of the ex- cluded portions of the Empire being seriously prejudicial, it would be necessary to consider whether it was desirable, in the common interests, to proceed with the negotiation. 14. Her Majesty's Government recognise, of course, that in the present state of opinion among foreign Powers and many of the Colonies as to differential duties, and in a matter which, to some extent, would affect only a particular Colony, they would not feel justified in objecting to a proposal merely on the ground that it was inconsistent in this respect with the commercial and financial policy of this country. But the guardianship of the common interests of the Empire * No. 1. 320 APPENDICES. rests with them, and they could not in any way bo parties to, or assist in, any arrangements detrimental to these interests as a wliolo. In the performance of this duty it may sometimes be necessary to require apparent sacrifices on the part of a CoLny, but Her Majesty's Government are confident that their general policy in regard to matters in which Colonial interests are involved is sufficient to satisfy the Colonies that they will not, without good reason, place difficulties in the way of any arrangements which a Colony Eau.y regard as likely to be beneficial to it. I have, etc., RIPON. [(' or 3lo. to ty's to sfy ties ely APPENDIX B. To illustrate the difTurenco in tho style of Parliamentary oratory that the changes of some seventy years have brought about, I give extracts from George Canning's speech in the House of Commons on I'arliamentary Reform, in 1822, and from that of the member from Missouri in the House of Representatives, Washington, on the Cleve- land Wilson Tariff lUll, 1894. Of course the reader must bear in luind that Canning was one of the greatest rhetoricians that tho House of Commons has produced, while the member from Missouri is only a successful speaker in Congress. Still tho difference in style is one of kind, not merely degree ; also it is a question which kind of eloquence would tell best in the House of Representatives to-day. Mr. Canning. — " If this House is adequate to the functions which really belong to it — which functions are not to exercise an undivided, supreme dominion in the name of the people, over the Crown and the other branch of the Legislature, but checking the one and balancing the other, to watch over the people's interests — if, I say, the House is adequate to the performance of these its legitimate functions, the mode of its composition appears to me a consideration of secondary importance. I am aware, tliat by stating this opinion so plainly I run the risk of exciting a cry against myself ; but it is my deliberate opinion, and I am not afraid to declare it. Persons may look with a critical and microscopic eye into bodies physical or moral, until doubts arise whether it is possible for them to perform their assigned functions. Man himself is said by inspired authority to be ' fearfully ' as well as 'wonderfully made.' The study of anatomy, while it leads to the most beneficial discoveries for the detection and cure of physical disease, has a tendency, in some minds, rather to degrade than to exalt the opinion of human nature. It appears surprising to the contemplation of a skeleton of the human form, that the eye- 322 APPENDICES. r i >1 less skull, the sapless bones, the assemblage of sinews and cartilages in which intellect and volition have ceased to reside, that this piece of raechanism should constitute a creature so noble in reason, so infinite in faculties, in apprehension so like a god ; a creature formed after the image of the Divinity, to whom Providence Os — sublime dedlt ; ca3lamqiie tueri JuRsit, et erectoB ad sidera tollere vultus. So in considering too curiously the composition of this House, and the different processes through which it is composed, not those processes alone which are emphatically considered as pollution and corruption, but those also which rank among the noblest exercises of personal freedom, the canvasses, the conflicts, the controversies, and (what is inseparable from these) the vituperations and excesses of popular election, a dissector of political constitutions might Avell be surprised to behold the product of such elements in an assembly, of which, whatever may be other tharacteristicSj no man will seriously deny that it comprehends as much of intellectual ability and of moral integrity f,s was ever brought together in the civilised world. . . . Let it not be thought that this is an unfriendly or disheartening counsel to those who are either struggling under the pressure of harsh government or exulting in the novelty of sudden emancipation. It is addressed much rather to those who, though cradled and educated amidst the sober blessings of the British Constitution, pant for other schemes of liberty than those which that Constitution sanctions — other than are compatible with a just equality of civil rights or with the necessary restraints of social obligation ; of some of whom it may be said, in the language which Dryden puts into the mouth of one of the most extravagant of his heroes, that They wonld be free as nature 6r8t made man, Ere the base laws of servitude began, When wild in the woods the noble savage ran. Noble and swelling sentiments ! but such as cannot be reduced into practice. Grand ideas ! but which must be qualified and adjusted by a compromise between the aspiring of individuals aud a due concern for the general tranquillity; must be subdued aud chastened by reason and experience before they can be directed to any useful end, A search after abstract perfection in government may produce, in generous minds, an enterprise and enthusiasm to be recorded by the historian and to be celebrated by the poet : but such perfection is not an . -ect of reasonable pursuit, because it is not one of possible attainment ,nd never yet did a passionate struggle after an abso- 'I i ! I APPEXDIX B. 323 * h ]utely unattainable object fail to b3 productive of misery to an individual, of madness and confusion to a people. As the inhabitants of those burning climates, which lie beneath a tropical sun, sigh for the coolness of the mountain and the grove, so (all history instructs us) do nations which have ha-iked for a time in the torrent blaze of au unmitigated liberty, too often call upon the shades of despotism, even of military despotism, to cover them. O qiiis me gelidis ia rallibus Haetni Sis'at, et iugeuti raruorum protegat umbra — a protection which blights while it shelters ; which dwarfs the intellect, and stunts the energies of man, but to which a wearied nation willingly resorts from intolerable heats and from perpetual danger of convulsion. Our lot is happily cast in the temperate zone of freedom, the clime best suited to the development of the moral qualities of the human race ; to the cultivation of their faculties, and to the security as well as the improvement of their virtues — a clime not exempt, indeed, from variations of the elements, bat variatious which purify, while they agitate, the atmosphere that we breathe. Let us be sensible of the advantages which it is our happiness _^to enjoy. Let us guard with pious gratitude the flame of genuine liberty, that iire from heaven, of which our Constitution is the holy depository ; and let us not, for the chance of rendering it more intense and more radiant, impair its purity or hazjrd its extinction." The Member fuosi W souri. — "Farmers are not natural born fools. ■ Xo tariff can add to the price of things that are exported, and tho farmers know it. They know that the M'Kinley Bill is a fraud and a shame. Being exporters they know that it adds nothing to the prices they receive, and being importers they know it adds much to the prices they pay. The authors of that Bdl went to the country on it, and did you ever know any one get such a beautiful trouncing before 1 (Laughter.) Down in Brother Cannon's district, an old fellow who had been voting for him and Kepublicauism for forty years heard the news that Cannon was beaten. ' Pack up, Sal,' he said. ' You and me's got to move to somewhere where Republicans live.' Then he went to town, and heard more news, and pretty soon came back and said : ' Unpack, Sal ; there is no place on God's earth left to move to.' (Laughter.) Any industry that depends upon the tariff is a pauper industry. It's contrary to nature. (Applause.) God Almighty never intended us to hog everything. If He had. He'd have made us with snouts. (Wild laughter.) God could have made «« ^^ 'l 1 I 324 APPENDICES. this world, if He had wanted to, with exactly the fame climate and soil all over it, so that each nation would h:ive been entirely in- dependent of every other nation. But He didn't do that. He made this world so that every nation in it has got to depend for something upon some other nations. He did that to promote kinship among the different people. Let us drop this unnatural business, and return to the rules of sanity. There is no end to the ingenuity of man. You can fix up a scheme, if you want to, for raising oranges in Maine, but a barrel of those oranges would make William Waldorf Astor's pocket-book sick. (Laughter.) You can raise elephants in the jungles of Vermont, but it would take all the inheritance-tax on the Gould estate to pay the cost. (Laughter.) You can raise Polar bears on the equator if you spend money enough, but it would take a king's ransom to do it. (Laughter.) Whom the gods destroy they first make mad; and that's what's the matter with the Protectionists. Your greed grows by that on which it feeds. You refused the Morrison Bill, with its little reduction ; you rejected the Mills Bill, with its small charges ; and now you are kicking at the moderate Wilson Bill. You may beat this Bill by the help of the assistant Republicans. (Laughter.) But if you do, you will build a Free-trade party, and the men with brains, and hearts, and love of humanity will rend the temple of Protection till not one stone remains upon anothrr in that robbers' roost. (Applause.) You want to know what a tariff reformer really is. I'll tell you. A tariff reformer is a rudimentary Free-trader. (Laughter.) He is the germ of a Free-trader ; the egg from which a Free-trader is hatched. (Laughter.) And you Protectionists are acting simply as incubators — (laughter) — hatchirg out Kadical Free- traders so fast that it takes a lightning calculator to keep count of the chicks. (Laughter and applause.) What the brook is to the river, what the young colt is to the war-horse, that the tariff reformer is to the Free-trader. You can misrepresent him, you can abuse him, you can call him names, you can make faces at him, but you cannot disturb his peace of mind, for he knows that the coming years are his!. (Applause.) Those of you who don't want to be run over by the car of Juggernaut had better get out of the way of the procession. (Laughter.) This army is marching on, and where the advance halts to-day the rear-guard will camp to-morrow. You are breeding Free-traders faster than rabbits are bred m Australia. (Laughter.) If you reject this Bill you are preparing a club bigger than that of Hercules, and some day there'll be such a cracking of Protectionists' skulls as will startle the man in I . \ H ■ APPENDIX B. 325 the moon when he goes sailing over Homestead and Johnstown and Sparrow Point. (Laughter.) In those days it will be worse for Protectionists than for the foxes in the days when Samson tied fire- brands to their tails. (Laughter.) The waves would not recede for Canute ; no more will this great wave of popular sentiment be stayed by the commands of the tarifif barons. (Applause.)" <' /. APPENDIX C. ,1 Some of the remarks of Lord Chief Justice Kenyon in the case of the King against Waddington, tried in the year 1800, which I have referred to in the text, may be of interest ; as, old-fashioned though they are, they show how the ancient principles of our law condemn the exploitation of the public by means of commercial monopoly. We can imagine how surprised this old judge would have been at the practices of the Rings, Trusts, and Combinations that I have referred to in my notes. He says, in giving judgment : " So far as the policy of this system of laws that has been lately called in question, I have endeavoured to inform myself as much as lay in my power, and for this purpose I have read Dr. Adam Smith's work, and various other publications upon the same subject. . . . Bat without attending to disputed points, let us state fairly what this case really is, and then see if it be possible to doubt whether the defendant has been guiUy of any offence. Here is a person going into the market who deals in a certain commodity. If he went there for the purpose of making his purchases in the fair course of dealing, with a view of afterwards dispersing the commodity which he collected in proportion to the wants and convenience of the public, whatever profit accrues to him from the transaction, no blame is imputable to him. On the contrary, if the whole of his conduct shows plainly that he did not make his purchases in the market with this view, but that his traffic there was carried on with a view to enhance the price of his commodity ; to deprive the people of their ordinary subsistence, or else to compel them to purchase it at an exorbitant price ; who can deny that this is an offence of the greatest magnitude 1 It was the peculiar policy of this system of laws to provide for the wants of the poor labouring class of the *A APPENDIX C. 327 country. If humanity alone cannot operate to this end, interest and policy must compel our attention to it. Now this defendant went into the market for the very purpose of tempting the dealers in hops to raise the price of the article, offering them higher terms than they themselves proposed and were contented to take, and urging them to withhold their hops from the market in order to compel the public to pay a higher price. What defence can be made for such conduct ? And how is it possible to impute an innocent intention to him 1 We must judge of a man's motives from his overt acts ; and by that rule it cannot be said that the defendant's conduct was fair and honest to the public. It is our duty to take care that persons in pursuing their own particular interests do not transgress those laws which were made for the benefit of the whole community." APPENDIX D. I HAVE alluded to the danger threatening Australia of being swamped by an influx of Chinese. It is surprising how soon thoy make themselves at home in a country, and seek to get their share of the best that is going. Years ago, when an advance in Protec'ave duties was proposed in Victoria, a Chinaman, who had married a European wife, got his wife to address to a Royal Commission this statement of his claim for a duty : "Possum Gully, September, 1882. " My husband, who is a good Chinaman, wants to know if you will put a big duty on the birds' nests that his people bring to this country, as it is only the rich boss Chinamen that use them. ° lie has found out how to make them from sparrows' nests, so if you put about five shiUiugs on each nest he will make them, " Yours respectfully, "Annib a." to this m mmmmmm APPENDIX E. It may amuse tha reader who ia interested in studying the social conditions of the United States, to call to mind some of Sydney Smith's comments upon that subject in the early part of the century. "One of the great advantages of the American Government is its cheapness. The American king has about £5,000 per annum • the vice-king £1,000. They hire their Lord Liverpool at about £1 000 pe/ annum, and their Lord Sidmouth (a good bargain) at the same sum. Iheir INfr. Crokers are inexpressibly cheap-somewhere about the price of an English doorkeeper or bearer of a mace. Life, how- ever, seems to go on very well, in spite of these low salaries. A judge administers justice without calorific wig and particoloured gown, in a coat and pantaloons. He is obeyed, however, and life and property are not badly protected in the United States. •' Literature the Americans have none— no native literature wo mean. It is all imported. They had a Franklin, indeed, and may afford to live for half a century on his fame. There is, cr was, a Mr. Dwight, who wrote some poems, and hii baptismal name was Timothy. There is also a small account of Virginia by Jefferson, and an epic by Joel Barlow, and some pieces of pleasantry by Mr.' Irving. But why should the Americans write books, when a six weeks' passage brings them, in their own tongue, our sense, science, and genius, in bales and hogsheads 1 Prairies, steamboats, grist-mills; are their natural objects for centuries to come. Then, when they have got to the Pacific Ocean— epic poems, plays, pleasures of memory, and all the elegant gratifications of an ancient people who have tamed the wild earth, and set down to amuse themselves,— this is the natural march of human affairs. I-,' 330 APPENDICES. •• We are terribly afraid that some Americans spit upon the floor, oven when the floor is covered by good carpets. Now all claims to civilisation are suspended till this secretion is otherwise disposed of. No English gentleman has spit upon the floor since the Heptarchj'. " Unitarians are increasing very fast in the United States, not being kept down by charges from bishops and archdeacons, their natural enemies. •' America seems, on the whole, to be a country possessing vast advantages and little inconveniences. They have a cheap Government and bad roads; they pay no tithes and have stage-coaches without springs. They have no poor laws and no monopolies, but their inns are inconvenient and travellers are teased with questions. They have no collections in the fine arts, but they have no Lord Chancellor, and they can go to law without absolute ruin. They cannot make Latin verses, but they expend immense sums in the education of the poor." THE END. if't ,!■ ' t, Tt, ETAHS AKD CO., LIMITED, PBIKTIiBB, CKTSTAL FALACF, 8.8. MwMMi**W«MM V 'I |9i