la THIS AGE OF OURS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF OUR TIMES Especially for the use of Brother Journalists and, without distinction of party, of those wh deal with politics. I'RINTED BY T SOWLER AND CO., MANCHESTER. THIS AGE OF OURS CONTAINING THE BOOK OF PROBLEMS AND THE BOOK ON SOCIALISM CHARLES HERMANN LEIBBRAND Ph.D. \v Member of t/te Institute of Journalists WITH LETTERS FROM MR. HERBERT SPENCER, MR. W. E. H. LECKY, DR. JOHN TYNDAI.L, AND PROFESSOR J. A. FROUDE. LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY Limited St. SHmetan'0 Ijouac FETTER LANE, FLEET STREET, E.C. 1895 [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED] Parts of the following contents are revised and enlarged selections from a series of Special Articles contributed to the Manchester Courier and other papers during the year 1894 Mr. HERBERT SPENCER on "THE BOOK ON SOCIALISM." May 2Qth, 1895. DEAR SIR, Books sent to me are in most cases formally acknow- ledged by my secretary : my state of health being such that I am often obliged to ignore them altogether, and even otherwise can do no more than glance at them. Since the acknowledg- ment of your work, " This Age of Ours," I have looked into the part dealing with Socialism and see that it contains matter and argument of much value. I should be glad to see it widely circulated. I am, Faithfully yours, HERBERT SPENCER. Dr. CH. H. LEIBBRAND. Mr. W. E. H. LECKY on "THE BOOK OF PROBLEMS." May 2jrd, 1895. . . . . I must thank you for sending me your book I have been reading a good deal of it . . . . and am very glad to see how greatly your writing has improved in that quality of self-restraint which is so important in literature and in which I ventured to think your former book was deficient. You treat of a number of interesting subjects and with a knowledge that is not common in England. . . I hope the book will prove a great success It contains much truth and good sense May 25th, 1895. . . . . There is, indeed, much that is good and useful in your book His Grace the DUKE OF ARGYLL writes on "THIS AGE OF OURS." June i8th, . . ."I am obliged to you for the Volume of Essays published under the title of "This Age of Ours"; and I see that they are full of interest. I hope they will be widely read " To HARRY SOWLER, JOHN LIONEL GOLDSTEIN, RICHARD W. MIDDLE TON, AND JOHN FARRELL. It is frequently asserted that man is made what he is by his environments, the physical and economic p/ienomena of his existence being more powerful factors in tJie process of shaping his destiny than ethics, phi/osophy or belles lettres. For this reason I thought that it would be the more popular course first to publish that volume of " This Age of Ours" which deals with the matter of fact problems, problems of a con- stitutional, political and economic nature, and to reserve for the .volume to follow the consideration of the purely ethical, philo- sophical and to some extent literary questions which engage, and often threaten to absorb, the minds of the men of our times. Whether from a bookseller's standpoint I have acted wisely in adopting this arrangement I shall learn soon enough from the manner in which tJie public receive this volume. Considered from the standpoint of a ivould-be scholar I feel convinced that to adopt the present arrangement, ivas my bounden duty. However, I had better state the reason simple though it be. When I pub Us J ted my book " Mr. Gladstone A Life Misspent" just two years ago, fault ^uas found witli my impassioned style, amongst others, by Professor J. A. Froude, Dr. Jo Jin Tyndall, and Mr. W. E. H. Lecky, the historian, who favoured me with the following instructive letters, now for the first time publisJied. Professor J, A. Froude wrote: In reading the book which you have so kindly sent me, I was reminded of a saying of Jean Paul (Richter), that if you wish to express indignation in words speech or writing you must do it by irony. The rapier is more deadly than the bludgeon, and it is always disagreeable to see a man prostratedly trunched however much the fellow may deserve it. You ask me to give you my opinion candidly ; so I give it : one, or at most two, mortal strokes produce more effect than a great many which bruise and do not kill. I think your estimate of Gladstone perfectly right. But the nation which has taken up such a person and put him at its head, and worshipped him, is as much to blame as and more to blame than he is himself. He will pass away, but the dispositions which made an idol of him will remain. You are still young and hot. You see an object which you hate and you go for it with all your energy but some of your blows should have fallen on the adorers in this extraordinary shrine. Carlyle wisely says that nations always get such rulers as they deserve. The deservings of the English must be very considerable just now Dr. John Tyndall wrote : I am a slow reader, and for the last three years have been a sorely smitten invalid. I have been an extremely active man, but this power was rudely broken in upon by the inflammation, in succession, of the veins of my two legs. These attacks were succeeded by recurrent pneumonia and influenza, so that at the end of all, I was obliged to read the greater part of your book in bed. This accounts for the tardiness of my reply. There is, of course, in the work evident ground for the judgment of Mr. Lecky and Mr. Froude, but when I take into account your years the passion of which they complain is not only to be excused but to be admired. It leaves something for time to work upon and mellow down. I am not surprised to see a man blazing into fury when he closely contemplates Mr. Gladstone's career. That you have studied that career your work abundantly testifies. Considering your age the thoroughness of the volume surprises me. In a second edition I hope you will have an opportunity of toning down portions objected to by Mr. Froude and Mr. Lecky. For my part I am so exasperated with our Prime Minister, so deeply imbued with the sense of the mischief he has done, and of the greater mischief which he intends to do, that I should be an incompetent adviser. . . For the present I must be content to put together the pieces of my broken health in the hope that before this battle is ended, I may have an opportunity of striking a blow. Mr. W. E. Hartpole Lecky wrote : . . . It certainly shows wide reading and contains many things with which I agree, but you must excuse me if I add that I think it would have been a truer and more powerful book if you had tried to draw both lights and shades with more impartiality And Professor J. A. Froude, in anotJier letter, likewise impressed upon me the necessity of impartiality in a writer, saying : Whilst you have undoubtedly talent and rectitude of mind, you must never forget that no talent, however great, will be of any avail without that rectitude of mind is concurrently fully developed. Now, being enlightened, and partly encouraged, by such teachers, it would ftave been strange indeed had I not striven hard to conform to their instruction wJien writing a new book. But altJwugh I clearly understood the futility of appeal- ing to the British mind by emotional expedients instead of laying before it hard facts expounded in a judicial style, I was nevertheless apprehensive that were I to deal in " This Age of Ours" first with the emotional theorems, I might yet be carried away fartJier than either Mr. Froude or Dr. Tyndall could have approved of. Hence this volume contain- ing the Book of Problems and the Book on Socialism. And I venture to hope that, although there may be many literary shortcomings in this first volume of " This Age of Ours; " its matter, at least, will not be found to be tainted with party spirit or any other prejudice, but, on the contrary, will present a conscientious enumeration of data and a calm statement of arguments. To this Jiope I may give the more free expression because to whatever extent the book possesses those two essential qualities, it is hardly I who may take credit for them since they are the direct result of that excellent teaching of which I have presumed to quote a fe^v instances. Yet they are in a not less degree also due to the true friend- ship which you have extended to me at one timt and other, and to your precept as well as example, wherefore I now desire to acknowledge my debt of gratitude, small or rather poor though my means of acknowledgment still be. Let me think that you will kindly receive this child of my brain, notwithstanding that it be frail, like the membrane from which it has issued. It is the pledge of a love which was kindled when, in 1889, I came to live in this Island; of a love that was soon to grow into a passion for its people, its literature, its institutions. It has inherited but one fault, if fault it be an uncompromising hatred of all that is revolu- tionary. In this, I am sure, it will have your constant sympathy. And this your sympathy, I believe, will not be weakened by the fact of the parent being desirous to show in the first volume of " This Age of Ours," that the two great historical parties of Great Britain alike, have shared A in the rearing and consolidation of The Empire, and that so long as they do not now lastingly forget the traditions of their past, they cannot fail to successfully defend their Imperial inheritance, and to maintain it intact for future generations, even though a considerable faction, more im- pressionable and carried away by its passion for reform, pursues a policy which, were it persisted in, would in the end inevitably ruin the interests and prospects of the whole nation. There is yet need for one more observation. It is to express my sincere thanks to my wife and to two of my Manchester friends, viz., Mr. Henry Moodie, LL.B., Solicitor, and Mr. Alex. Shanks, M.D.,for having given me their valuable assistance in reading and improving the proof sheets. Similar sincere thanks I beg to tender to my friend Mr. Charles Sutton, the Chief Librarian of Manchester; his ready bibliographic and bibliologic knowledge was a great help in my search for passages of verification. My sincere thanks are equally due to Mr. Thomas Sowler, Barrister-at-Law and Proprietor of the " Courier." Manchester, May, 1895. CHARLES HERMANN LEIBBRAND. SYNOPSIS AND CONTENTS. NOTE. Read ''''political" in the few instances in which the misprint ** politic" has accidentally been left standing. SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK OF PROBLEMS. Pages I 206. Anarchism i 8 General introduction to " Book of Problems " Amongst these Problems Anarchism one of the most harassing Danger arising from indiffer- ence of Society Anarchism as a philosophical political school Proudhon German Anarchist theorisers Michael Bakunin "Pro- paganda by deed " commenced by Russians Its work in Germany Active Anarchism in Spain, Austria, United States of America, France and England Compromise with Anarchists impossible Necessity of exceptional laws against Anarchism, and of Federation between European and American States for that purpose Repressive legislation, however, not sufficient ; reform and constructive laws requisite at the same time. The Jewish Question (Farm Colonies) 8 14 Importance of Jewish Question Influence of Jews upon British labour market Economic principles and the character of Jewish emigrants from Russia Baron Hirsch's farm colonies in Argentina likely to contribute to the solution of the Jewish Question Critical analysis of Jewish character in general Jewish emigrants to Argentina promise to be of the true mettle, and are likely to be useful colonizers History of the colonisation movement Antisemitism in Russia, Germany, Austria and France Prominent features of the Jewish immigration organisation Its success so far Its importance as regards " the Credit Problem." The People's Banks 14 19 Destructive struggle in the economic world Danger of the middle-classes, and especially of the small tradesmen and master artisans being crushed between capitalism and labour Consequent value of People's Banks which should especially be appreciated in England Their mission is threefold Father of People's Banks, Schultze-Delitsch Royal Bank of Scotland a kind of People's Bank Principles of the People's Banks as laid down by Schultze-Delilsch Spread and success of these credit institutions on the Continent Statistics as regards Schultze-Delitsch Banks proper Their establishment in Germany a venture Likely to be so in England Their importance and usefulness not- withstanding. Agricultural Credit Societies 19 24 The financial and economic struggle extends to farmers Deplorable con- dition of Agriculture Want of credit one of the chief causes Impor- tant statement by Professor Goltz in his "Agrarian Questions of the Day" concerning the assertion that the credit problem is the funda- mental problem of agricultural crises Indebtedness of Agriculture in Prussia, France, Sweden and Austria State protection of little real Synopsis. help : proof, Italy, Germany, France and the United States Necessity of, and opportunity for, Agricultural Credit Societies Existing societies in England Difference between the organisation of Raiffeissen and of Schultze-Delitsch Method of operation and principles of Agricultural Credit Societies Necessity of corres- ponding popular instruction in economic science. The Immigration Question 24 30 Dangers of England being any longer the free field of immigrant- exploitation or a place of refuge for foreign exiles Of the changes in the industrial, commercial and economic fields in Europe and elsewhere during the last fifty years Concurrent increase in population of England Measures to restrict immigration into this Island so far failures because half-hearted Restriction of immigration in accord with International Law United States Legislation against immigration French laws against immigrants and aliens German Trades and Industrial Law in relation to emigrants and foreigners Character and ideas of immigrants frequently antagonistic to those of the natives The moral faculties and economic capacities of the former often inferior to those of the latter Enumeration of the cases in which immigration in large numbers, may become ruinous to the hospitable country. Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition 30 39 England's natural advantages over other nations State interference with commerce and industry likely to reduce these advantages What are the real data of foreign competition ? Great and rapid improvement in the economic and industrial organisation of other States Their technical superiority Germany : its present position as a commercial and manufacturing country and its immediate prospects ; German and English markets for raw material ; German and English workers; their wages and output Switzerland : its labour, wages and output Belgium : its competition with England in steel and iron industry India and England The United States of America and industrial England Eight hours' day impracticable. Anglo-Irish History in Relation to Home Rule 39 102 Introduction : Importance of Irish Question 1. Ireland under the Plantagenets, 39 45. 2. Ireland under the Tudors and Stuarts, 45 51. 3. Ireland under the Georges, 51 54. 4. The Era of Irish Parliamentary Independence, 54 56. 5. The Act of Union, 5761 6. The Famine, its causes, 61 63. 7. The Famine and England, 63 64. 8. Improvement of Irish Affairs, 64 65. 9. English Land Policy in Ireland and Fenianism, 65 68. 10. The Irish Gladstonian Era and the Home Rule Bill of 1886, pages 68 92. Synopsis, (a) Mr. Gladstone and the Irish Church, 69 ; (/>) The fruits of Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church Policy, 71 ; (c) First Land Bill, 72 ; (d) Promising Results of First Land Bill, 73 ; () his nationality ; (c) the place and date of his birth ; (d) the place of his last residence ; (e) his profession and means of existence ; (f) names, ages, and nationality of his wife and children under age. He must produce all the documents verifying this declaration. Art. III. If a change of domicile takes place afterwards, a new declaration must be made before the mayor of the place where the alien intends to fix his new residence. Then, such as the provocative enactment in section II., paragraph 35, of the "Military Law" of July, 1889 according to which Air those residing in France who are for some reason or other exempted from military service are bound to pay a tax. Even phlegmatic Germany became in due time alive to the danger of foreign immigration, and of foreign, frequently unscrupulous and ruinous, competition resulting from the influx of foreign paupers and workmen. As far back as 1872 we find, for instance, the Trades and Industrial Law, which stipulates that (i) A traveller (commercial) must be possessed of a legitimation card, con- taining the name of that individual ; the name of the person or firm by whom he is engaged ; the designation of the character of the wares, and the nature of the business he travels for. (2) The possessor of such a card is bound to show it on demand to the proper authority, i.e., the police. If the alien travellers do not comply with this order they are forbidden to sell, and may be banished from the country. (3) Foreign travellers have to pay a yearly tax. (4) Aliens may be allowed to be agent, hawker, pedlar, or travelling salesman under certain restrictions, viz., they require a travelling trades ticket (Wandergewer- beschein). (5) Organ players, pipers, wandering musicians, tinkers, dealers in wire ware and similar articles obtain such ticket only on condition that they held one in the previous year. (6) The ticket is not granted if there is sufficient supply in a certain trade or article. (7) The ticket is always refused to gipsies. (8) Aliens who have not yet reached their 25th year, or those persons who give cause for objection, caunot obtain such ticket. (9) Also, aliens who are likely to apply for relief cannot become possessed either of a traveller's legitimation card or a trades ticket. (10) Likewise those foreigners who do not understand the German language. The following papers must be handed in by aliens, in support of the applica- tion for such card or ticket : (a) a passport ; (/>) a document of his respective legation or consul as to the applicant's irreproachable repute, (n) Aliens have, besides, to show that they pay municipal and district taxes. (12) Foreign companies and other industrial or commercial associations may carry on their trades only if the Government grants them a licence. (13) Finally, every foreigner in any town or village throughout Germany has, within three days, to announce to the police of such town or village his arrival, name, and business. Only England remained, and, it seems, will remain T/te Immigration Question. 29 inactive, leaving her ports, her markets, and her factories open to the inrush of a competition which, worse than the most literal observance of the principle of Free-trade, must finally bring disaster both upon her capitalists and her workers. Yet the dangers arising from this unrestrained immigration are so obvious ! Those arising from the unlimited immigration of pauper Jews have already been shown in the article, ' The Jewish Question.' The perils which result from the influx of large numbers of foreigners, not Jewish, belonging to the labour- ing, the artisan, and commercial classes, are not less palpable. It is not only that a multitude of aliens in a country may cause constant convulsions and disturbances, inasmuch as nations are organisms and like organisms are roused to resist the encroachment of any strange body ; but those aliens must also, in the majority of cases, disturb the social, economic, and financial conditions of the people amongst whom they have taken up their residence. Furthermore, the notion concerning ' What is life/ and again, ' What is required to enjoy life,' varies with each nation, owing to early impressions, as well as to the influence of soil and climate ; so that people in northern countries require more strengthening food and more alcoholic drinks than nations who inhabit the south. Again, a man's ideas concerning the price of com- modities, and the rate of salary for his labour, is, in most cases, fixed by the standard value which money has in his native country. To this must be added that the moral, mental, and physical state of the immigrants belonging to the class of foreign workmen is usually inferior to that of our own labouring classes, because at present under the protection of Constitutional Governments and in the enjoyment of religious liberty, if not of actual equality, few if any lawabiding, competent, intelligent, and honest citizens, whether of France, Austria, or Germany have occasion to emigrate. 3O Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. From all of which follows that the presence of such large multitudes of these aliens in this densely-populated country must result 1. In depriving a considerable section of the natives of the means of subsistence : 2. In lowering wages in general : 3. In lowering the workmanship of manufactured articles, chiefly of those made by hand : 4. In burdening heavily indoor and outdoor relief in case a crisis in industry and commerce should occur, or a final migration of these two to other countries should take place : 5. In causing such a migration, or in bringing on such a crisis. But it may also lead to a betrayal of the inventions, industry, manufactures, and commerce of the hospitable nation by the aliens introducing these into their native land. Finally it may lead to the aliens taking the management of the economic and even of the political affairs of this Nation out of her hands, by changing her social, industrial, and commercial life, and, indeed, affecting even her educa- tional system. Closely connected with the problem of unfair competition is that of an Eight Hours Day which has been raised by a certain class of social and economic reformers. For their proposal of such an Eight Hours Day, compulsory for all British workers, is likely to do more mischief than a wholesale immigration of foreigners carried out by British Sweaters. EIGHT HOURS A DAY AND FOREIGN COMPETITION. The " eight hours " men, to be sure, boast that " We weave our wheat on Rochdale looms ; grind our meat on Sheffield stones, and hew our wool in Durham coalpits." Now, there is no need to insist here on the unconscious Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. 31 sarcasm, so suggestive of thou shalt " eat thy bread in the sweat of thy brow," which underlies that saying. It was undoubtedly meant to be a refutation of the objection that an eight hours day would inevitably lead to the ruin of England's principal industries. In fact, to some extent it is true that it little matters whether Englishmen are working nine, eight, or seven hours a day. Bountiful Nature has most liberally provided for them those raw materials which in our present industrial organisation constitute some of the most staple and most important factors in manu- facturing. With such essential possessions, English workers may unquestionably be in the position to produce the greater number of marketable articles as cheap as other nations, if not cheaper, in spite of higher wages and shorter hours. But England is not alone Nature's favoured one. Even supposing she were, may not other countries already enjoy, or be on the road to enjoy advantages which will more than counterbalance England's wealth in those raw materials? If, however, there are other countries besides Great Britain rich in coal and iron, it will certainly be a matter for serious reflection whether a difference of two or three hours between the English and the foreign working day, together with a considerable difference in the respective wages, is not likely to counteract the few advantages which an English worker is still deriving from this greater pro- ductive capacity, and from better machinery. The French "Journal des Economistes" in its fifth monthly issue, dated May 1 5th, 1894, published a remarkable paragraph concerning this all-important problem of an English eight hours day : " England," the writer asserted, " makes constant concessions to Socialism. The so-called Liberal Cabinet is not content with offering to that god of the day graduated succession duties ; the Ministry sacrifices to it, even without being asked, the freedom of labour, in supporting the Bill which limits a day's work in mines to eight hours. Thanks to the support given by Lord Rosebery and Mr. Asquith, and in spite of the opposition of Mr. Burl, formerly a working miner, and now Secretary to the Board of Trade, who has resolutely severed himself from his colleagues, this Bill has obtained in the second reading in the House of Commons a majority of 281 votes as against 194. Mr. Burt expressed not only the opinion of the mineowners, but also that of an important group of miners belonging to Wales, Monmouthshire, Durham, and Northumberland, 32 Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. who apprehend, not without reason, that this protection of the workers may result in the suppression of work by favouring the competition of Belgian and German mines." As to this apprehension and the case of English mines versus German and Belgium mines, there are certainly equally good grounds for the assumption that Great Britain's coal trade is so exceptionally well placed as to render foreign competition improbable for years yet to come, provided the parties concerned, especially the miners, know how to pursue a moderate policy. But in a large number of our other and most important industries, the prospects are obviously anything but cheering. In these the advantages which our manufacturers still enjoy are actually but few, and even they are rapidly disappearing before foreign competition. As a matter of fact, what are the real data concerning this foreign competition ? Does the principal argument of the advocates of an eight hours day, " that the industrial rivalry of the nations is fast becoming a mere contest in the personal productive capacity of their labourers," further the case of England ? Is Macaulay's dictum, " If we are ever to be deprived of our industrial supremacy, it will only be by a finer and more powerful industrial people than the people of England," not partly exploded already? We need but look abroad to find that in the economic and industrial organisation of the United States, as well as of Continental countries, fundamental and material changes are constantly being wrought, which bring their peoples more and more to the front in the world-competition. And these changes proceed not so much in the direction of reducing a day's work to eight hours, as in the improve- ment of machinery and the development of skill on the part of the worker, and hence of his productive capacity. The industrial advantages which England possesses at present are, in reality, merely temporary. The meaning of this is easily explained. Even few examples will show of what foreign competition may be capable. If we turn to Germany, we recognise at once its great Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. 33 possibilities both as regards the capacities of the workers and the means of production ; possibilities which only require to be developed in order to make the Fatherland one of the leading industrial countries. That which still pre- vents it from assuming such a domineering position is simply lack, of organisation, and want of physical training or " manual " technical education. Yet against this stands the fact that, although the German workman is still inferior to his English competitor in bodily efficiency, and in the skill with which the latter uses the loom, or the anvil, or the forge ; he is equipped with a fairly trained intellect, due to the indisputable excellence of German elementary school education and instruction in the theory of manu- facturing. In the way of designing ; in producing greater varieties of manufactures, and above all, by reason of his adaptability to the fancies, circumstances and requirements of foreign nationalities and tribes, the German is even superior to the English worker. Then, with respect to the " manual " technical training, his position is now likewise to be improved, for not only have his Govern- ment and his employer begun to pay assiduous atten- tion to it, but he, the worker, himself appears to fully recognise its importance. As Dr. Schulze Gaebernitz informs us, Though Germany has made very great progress upon the theoretic side, the manual part of technical education is still comparatively neglected by the classes for whom it is specially intended. But there are many indications of a general tendency amongst the working classes to make greater use than they have hitherto done of the provision afforded, both by the State and by private schools, for practical technical education. Thus the last link in the training of the German factory hands is to be forged, and affixed by the workers' own exertions a proceeding which cannot fail to consider- ably increase their productive capacity. And this in turn must finally destroy one of the two advantages which at present still enable English manufacturers to successfully compete with their Continental rivals. There only remains, then, the facility which the English enjoy over the latter in purchasing their raw material. But a better organisation amongst German manufacturers will likewise increase their D 34 Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. purchasing faculties. After this, How many of the few advantages, which it is our boast we are possessing over our German competitors, will be left ? The relative conditions of the textile industries of the two countries will supply us with the data for an answer. For as to the German millowners, to be sure, they have still to buy their raw material months in advance, a some- what costly proceeding ; whilst the English spinner is able to make weekly purchases, thereby avoiding losses from fluctuations in the price. Yet, the former need but improve their organization ; they need but extend and make more profitable use of the system of buying and selling through wholesale agents and this inequality will soon dwindle to insignificant proportions. Concerning the workers, apart from the want of manual technical education, there is, at present, as we have seen, a lack of organization. This causes a scarcity of really skilled labour, a scarcity which is partly owing to constant migrations of the employees from the factory to farm occupations, and vice versa. However, in this, too, improvements are already noticeable, and if they progress at their present pace, a thing not at all unlikely, they will soon amply compensate for past disadvantages. Again, in Germany inferior machinery is still used in the majority of cases. Hence it is only natural that, whilst at Oldham 2-4 hands are employed per 1,000 spindles, at Mulhouse, in Alsace, 5 '8 are required. Further, arising from the same causes, namely, inferior machinery and insufficient practice, a German attends on an average from two to three looms only, whereas a good English weaver manages four looms at once, in some cases even five and six. At the same time, the amount of production lost through the breaking of threads varies in Germany from between 15 to 25 per cent, being 10 and 15 per cent in excess of the time lost in like manner in England. But these disadvantages can quite as easily be minimised, if not actually removed, as those already dealt with. In reality, they are fast disappearing owing to the erection of Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. 35 new looms running with increased speed ; to the introduc- tion of new labour-saving machinery, and last, though by no means least, to the greater proficiency which German operatives are constantly acquiring in the use of them. It may even safely be assumed that in ten years the inequalities between the productive capacities of the two countries will be but few and trifling. What, then, will England do with her eight hours day? In coarse yarns Germany is already successfully competing with this country. With the increased productive capacity of the workers, with efficient machinery, and with a ten, or even a nine, hours day in the Fatherland, England will in other manufactures have no better chance against the Germans. For there is the item of a large supply of water-power in Germany, which, when more extensively made use of, will materially operate to the detriment of our own country. There is, besides, the item of cheaper coal, which again helps the German manufacturer as regards the cost of pro- duction. There is also the item of lower wages, which in South Germany the Palatinate, Alsace, Lorraine, and Wurtemburg range between 1 8s. and 22s. for spinners and between IDS. and us. for assistants ; in Saxony amounting respectively to 22s. and 8s. to 95. but which rise in Oldham to 455. per spinner, and 155. to 253. per assistant ; and in Bolton to 465. per operative and I2s. 9d. per assistant ; similar proportions likewise existing between German and English weavers. But, above all, there is the item of longer hours. And in this item there will never be a material reduction, unless the German Government loses the firm hold which it now has upon the workers, and until the disposition of these workers changes fundamentally. For a noticeable feature in most of the German strikes is the fact that they are occasioned much oftener by an unsuccessful demand for a rise in wages than for a reduction in the number of the hours of work. The position of England will consequently be in no way improved. As a matter of fact, even if wages were to advance in Germany by 50 per cent and the working hours 36 Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. were to be reduced to nine per day ; according to the maxim " that good diet and rest for the worker increases his productive capacity" Germany would still be able to undersell England, since the abnormal increase in the wages by 50 per cent would in the Fatherland work wonders for the improvement in the bodily efficiency of the artisans, considering the greater purchasing power of a mark there over a shilling here, and considering also the German climate. What may be said of Germany applies to Switzerland with even greater force. Not only are wages there lower than in the " Fatherland," but the hours of work, though in theory n, are nevertheless longer, being practically extended to 12 hours through overtime and accessory duties. In addition to this, just as is the case in Germany, in Switzerland the introduction of female labour, especially in the weaving sheds, is assuming disquieting proportions. Now, these workers are frequently the daughters of small farmers and artisans. Hence, since whatever they earn is only supplementary to the family income, their employment must undoubtedly militate against any possible strikes for higher wages. Again, the old machinery is rapidly giving place to improved mules and looms, and the " hundreds of new factories fulfil every technical requirement" Of what industrial Switzerland, backward though it still be when compared with England, is really capable may be seen from its exports in 1891 amounting to 25,000,000, of which 4,000,000 alone must be credited to the export of machine-made embroideries. The eight hours problem assumes the same serious aspect when considered in connection with the shipbuilding and machinery trades. It is chiefly in these industries where the number of working hours and the amount of wages exercise a considerable influence upon the price of manu- factures. This holds good especially as regards Belgium. We know, for instance, that actually into large railway workshops close to Manchester steel springs are imported from that country. Said to be quite as good as English Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. 37 manufactures, they come materially cheaper than those made in our own country. But, if we suffer under existing con- ditions from this difference in the cost of production, what must be the effect when 10 or 12 per cent representing the loss arising from an eight hours day will have to be added to the balance, which already operates against us so detri- mentally, and which, according to Sir John Ball's "Principles of the Manufacture of Iron and Steel," amounts to not less than 27 per cent ? Indeed, in addition to Germany, which last year succeeded in selling in our home markets iron and steel manufactures to the extent of over ^"900,000, and machinery to the value of ^800,000 ; France and Belgium are successful competitors, thanks to their longer working hours and lower wages. The former average 10 and n hours; the latter are for founders 2s. pd. to 35. 6d., for fitters 2s. 6d. to 33. Qd., for smiths 2s. pd. to 35. 6d., and exceptionally, in one district only Seraing for forgemen 73. per day. But the most serious competition comes from India and the United States. With respect to India and its cotton industry, it is con- tended that the climate is against the spinner ; that his plant costs him 50 per cent more than it does in England ; that it wears out sooner ; above all, that the productive capacity of the Indian operative is far inferior to that of his Lancashire teacher. Yet, here once more the question arises, For how long have the Hindoos been accustomed to their work ? Again, Will their dawdling habits never be improved upon? Further, their superstition is stated to interfere with their work. But are there no examples where superstitions have disappeared the moment there appeared on the other side a chance of making a good living ? And even if wages were rising in India, the excessive supply of labour, the frugal habits and the cheapness of the necessaries of life there will always keep them far below the standard of wages paid to and claimed by a Lancashire operative. Besides, the Indian manufacturer has his raw material and 38 Eight Hours a Day and Foreign Competition. his market at his very door ; and there are traces of rich coalfields. As regards the United States, the industrial activity and tenacity of the North Americans as well as the variety in the hours of their working day are well known. And though perhaps in heavy work, such as puddling huge iron bars, the English workman is superior to the American, the American workman is superior to the English in lighter work, such as girder rolling. In spinning and weaving, too, although their machinery is inferior to that used in Lancashire and Yorkshire, the Americans are more efficient in actual production than the Lancashire and Yorkshire operatives, thanks to the practice of specialisation, an American mill confining its attention to one class of articles only. To this productive proficiency of the worker must be added the richness of the soil, the mineral wealth, the advantageous commercial, and political position, and finally the Bimetallistic standard of the States, which latter system of exchange especially favours their trade with Eastern nations. In the face of these facts it is obvious that a universal legal eight hours' day, with abolition of all overtime and piecework that constant evader of any limit of the working hours must destroy England's staple industries, if these have to compete with foreign rivals amongst which longer hours and lower wages prevail. But all important though these social and economic questions be, there are some " Constitutional Problems " flung on to the Nation which threaten to block every path, to check every movement towards healthy progress. Among these the first place is due to the Anglo-Irish Question, treated in the following article. Ireland under the Plantagenets. 39 ANGLO-IRISH HISTORY IN RELATION TO HOME RULE. This Irish Question has assumed especial importance since the Home Rule Bill has been advanced, and its adoption warmly advocated, as being the panacea for the almost chronic disease which is devouring England and Ireland. The subsequent historical analysis of the past and present relations between the two Islands, with a view to that Home Rule Bill, certainly does not pretend to be final. But is finality possible? We may be able, in many events, to trace their cause and effect. Our wit may suffice to grasp the machinations of man. In the making of the real Irish History, however, other superior powers, besides those of the two peoples concerned, were at work. For that Irish History is the story of a land and of a race marked by the finger of Fate, and of a kingdom and a nation whom that adverse Fate chose for its instrument. Still, so much we know, the Irish and the English were, and are, and will be two peoples whom Nature meant to be one; but whom a conspiracy of circumstances, aided by treachery, prejudice, and passions, drove into two hostile camps almost from the first moment of their historical existence. Now, What were the conditions in which they met ? What were their respective prospects ? Let us consider Ireland under the Plantagenets. The Irish people had sunk from a high standard of civilisation in the eighth century, slowly but surely within two ages, to a state of the grossest immorality and lawlessness. Its government being oligarchic, the condition of the masses was very little short of slavery. Bloodshed was of daily occurrence. Of two hundred Irish kings not more than thirty died a natural death. As to the chieftains, they kept the peasants by 4O Anglo- 1 risk History in relation to Home Rule. their exactions in hopeless poverty ; by their tyranny they retained them in constant fear. They claimed the right, not only of taking from their tenants provisions for their own use just as it pleased them, or of sojourn- ing in the houses of their dependents ; but also of quartering their soldiers upon the unhappy people. " For the perpetual warfare of these petty chieftains had given rise to the employment of mercenary troops, partly natives, partly from Scotland, known by the uncouth names of Kernes or Gallow-glasses." That this system, and the Oriental custom of polygamy, should prove to be the scourge of Ireland was inevitable. And these evils could not but be aggravated by the law of ' tanistry,' in virtue of which the demesne lands and dignities of chieftainship descended to the eldest and most worthy of the same blood a source of perpetual civil quarrels. They were increased a hundred- fold by an extraordinary system of land tenure, that of ' gavelkind,' by which, on the decease of a proprietor, instead of an equal partition among his children, the chief of the sept made a fresh division of all the land within his district. He allotted to the heirs of the deceased a portion of the integral territory along with the other members of the tribe a practice which produced a continual change of possession ; thus preclud- ing altogether the improvement of the soil. As to the Church, she, too, though formerly flourishing, had, with the surrounding degeneration, become destitute of any effective organisation, and was powerless to stop the backward march of the unhappy nation. Nay, so far from being able to introduce order into the anarchy of the warring tribes, she shared their anarchy. Such was the condition of Ireland, presaging utter ruin for the future, when Pope Adrian the Fourth sanctioned the raid of Henry II. into the Emerald Isle for the purpose ' of enlarging the bounds of the Church, of restrain- ing the progress of vice, of correcting the manners of her people, and of planting virtue among them.' Such was the state of civilisation of the Irish tribes, when, in 1168, Ireland under the Plantagenets. 41 Dermot, King of Leinster, presented himself at the Court of Henry II., and did homage to him for the dominions from which he had been driven in the course of one of the endless civil wars that distracted the country. Thus, both the unhappy condition of the Island and the free homage of one of its chief kings not only seemed to favour, but actually to legitimise, the reduction of Ireland under the dominion of England. Yet commotions at home prevented Henry II. from at once setting sail for Erin, and, supported by the royal prestige, preparing by peaceful means the reception of the daughter isle into the English kingdom. Instead, a troop of Anglo-Norman adventurers accompanied Dermot ; Lacy, Strongbow and Fitz Stephen became the real conquerors of Ireland. In contemplating the subsequent development of Anglo- Irish history this unfortunate event must constantly be remembered. Impressing upon the conquest of the Island a peculiarly lawless character, it was also the seed whence all the later evils grew. It reveals the secret of the English government over Ireland, and explains the apparent neglect, and even abandonment, of its authority as well as of its duties. By dint of force and by guile these adventurers had won a- portion of the Irish soil ; by dint of force and by guile alone could they hope to retain it. Reckless as they already were from former habits and dissipations, they were easily led to deem their swords better security than royal charters. The establishment of order, the organisation of the peasantry, the propagation of true religion, the teaching of morals, and the introduction of equitable laws were too troublesome a task. Without any higher aim, without any policy even, unless it were the acquisition of large territories, their position was simply that of freebooters, and could not but tend towards their and their Irish neighbours' further demoralisation. No wonder, therefore, that when circumstances at last enabled Henry II. to visit the Emerald Isle it was too late ; the English adventurers had already tasted of the ' sweet- 42 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. ness' of lawless power, and the Irish felt the iron arm of the oppressor. The ' lording' of Henry's son, John, though lasting but a few months, widened the gulf of misery and hatred which was fast opening between the English and the Irish. It was in vain that Henry endeavoured to raise an edifice of regular Government by granting charters of privileges to the chief towns ; by dividing the country into counties ; by appointing sheriffs and judges of assize to administer justice; and finally by erecting law courts in Dublin. It was in vain that the Magna Charta, that great title-deed of English liber- ties, was sent over to the daughter isle. The representatives of the English 'Government' over Ireland soon matched the Irish chieftains in their malpractices and oppression. In fact, they outdid the latter in profligacy and vice, so that law- lessness, rapine, and bloodshed ruled supreme. A section of the Irish, it is true, once again applied to the King of England for help, or rather for redress. But as on previous occasions, the British Sovereigns were unable to render them assistance. They had to content themselves with insisting by writs and proclamations upon the due observance of the laws. This was all that John and his successor Henry III. could do for the protection of their new subjects ; troubles and treason at home prevented them from obtaining abroad submission to their royal will by force of arms. Unhappily also, Ireland herself was split into several divisions. The conflict between the North and South, East and West had never ceased. The hatred amongst the various tribes and the endless feuds between the different clans were only intensified by their common hatred of the more skilful and successful intruders. Nevertheless, in consequence of increased ill-usage from their own leaders the Irish people renewed their supplica- tions to the English Kings. Both Edward I. and Edward III. were ready to grant them the protection they sought. But the same unconquerable oligarchy made a peaceful solution of the Irish problem impossible. Instead, the Ireland under the Plantagenets. 43 English barons and Irish chiefs commenced to vie with each other in harassing their tenants. Anarchism spread more and more widely. Under such conditions it was that Edward Bruce landed with a Scotch force to 'help' the Irish. For once the sons of Erin seemed to rise united. Yet, with their defeat on the bloody field of Athenree, the shadow of independence and national unity vanished again. Nor was any other result to be expected, for not all Ireland had marched against the host of the barons of the Pale. Moreover, could the daughter-isle hope to win her freedom from the mother- isle by the arms of foreigners ? It was not Ireland's destiny to be free. No doubt the English lords were much to blame for the hopeless position of its population. The misdeeds of the barons unques- tionably contributed even directly to their misery. They may actually have been the original cause of the explosion which afterwards not only devastated the Emerald Isle, but nearly wrecked Great Britain. The Geraldines, the Fitz-Maurices, and the De Courcys had unfortunately for ever abandoned the laws and better regulated habits of the English. Notwithstanding this, and however blameable they may have been in other respects, it was not the English settlers who deprived the Irish people of religion, order, peace, freedom, and happiness, for the simple reason that the Irish people had never known these blessings under theirown chief- tains. The truth is that the fusion of the two ' aristocracies ' became more and more complete. The so-called Kilkenny Statute proved powerless. Nay, the Brehon or native law rapidly gained ground within the English Pale. The barons all but threw off even the semblance of allegiance to the English King. This at last roused Richard II. He appeared in Ireland with a powerful army, and awed by this display of a superior strength, the chieftains crowded round his throne offering homage. Yet, scarcely had the King left, when they and the barons returned to their former lawlessness and 44 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. ' independent ' anarchy. At the same time the Kil- kenny Statute had really wrought mischief. Without improving the character of the Anglo-Irish lords, it had estranged the Irish tribes from the English crown ; by its provisions they were outlawed. Thus it came to pass that under Edward V. and Richard III. English rule over Ireland was but a mere shadow a name. The Emerald Isle had for a considerable time simply served the purpose of rebellious invaders rather than the interests of the English monarchy. Yet, was it not necessary, and even vitally important, that the acquisition of Ireland should become more than a name? Indeed, were there any tangible reasons why she should not be incorporated into England? The Irish could only gain thereby. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to fairly deduce from the events of Anglo-Irish history of the time, that under the Plantagenets Ireland was misruled and system- atically oppressed. The policy of those kings was generally wise and beneficent ; though the co-ordinate power of Parliament, with its resulting limitations of their pre- rogative, certainly obstructed more than once their exertions, and was often the screen of private tyranny and abuse. And there can be no doubt that whilst this incapacity either for doing good, or inflicting harm, pro- duced, comparatively speaking, little mischief in Great Britain, where the aristocratic element of the Constitution was neither so prominent nor so much in opposition to the general interest as it may be deemed to have been in Ireland ; it had a baneful effect upon the development of the latter. But it is manifestly absurd to charge the Edwards and Henrys, or those to whom their authority was delegated at Dublin, with crimes which they vainly endeavoured to chastise, if not to prevent ; much more to represent either the wild barbarians of the North, the O'Neals and O'Connors, or the degenerate Houses of Bourke and Fitzgerald, as having been patriotic champions of their country's welfare. The laws and liberties of England were the best inheritance Ireland under the Tudors and Stuarts. 45 to which Ireland could attain ; the sovereignty of the English crown her only shield against native or foreign tyranny. It was Ireland's calamity that these advantages were withheld from the people. Ireland under the Tudors and Stuarts. With the advent of the Tudors upon the stage of royalty the history of Anglo- Ireland entered into a new phase. The continuity in their policy, their more sagacious diplomacy, above all the extended powers of their pre- rogative, could not fail to enable them better to restrain and govern both the rebellious barons of English origin and the demoralised Irish chieftains. It is true that under Henry VII. the old state of disorder still prevailed, if it did not even change for the worse. In spite of the enactment of the famous Statute of Drogheda, which contained such provisions as ' that to excite the Irish to war should be held to be high treason,' and ' that all statutes lately made in England should be deemed good and effectual in Ireland ; ' further, ' that all private hostilities without the Deputy's licence were to be declared illegal' in spite of this statute, the feuds of the Butlers and the Geraldines, and of the De la Peers and Fitzpatricks were as incessant after the King's departure as the slaughters amongst the Irish septs. At the same time the lords of the Pale found it to be in their interest to maintain a strife which enabled them to pursue their own family ambitions. Nor was this policy difficult to carry out considering that the Irish are a people whose ' nature is such that for money one shall have the son to war against the father, and the father against his child.' With the accession of Henry VIII. to the throne, how- ever, began really, and, as much as circumstances permitted, permanently, a change for the better in the affairs of Ireland. Henry not only at once recognised the evil of ruling the Irish people through the great Anglo-Irish lords, but 46 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Ride. when Thomas Fitzgerald broke out into rebellion against the King's government, and began a struggle for the liberation of the Irish barons and chieftains from the English 'yoke,' as is usual in Irish revolts, with an assassination the murder of the Archbishop of Dublin the King, with the quickness of lightning, crushed this mutiny almost in its first stage. The Kernes of Wicklow and Wexford, Clare, and Connaught, together with the great ' Norman ' House of the De Burghs, and even the wild tribes of the North, were soon brought back, under the King's rule, to peace and order. Within a few years from the landing of Skeffington it could be said that Henry's government extended over the length and breadth of the Emerald Isle ; and one of the judges, the Lord Chief Justice, could justifiably boast to Cromwell : ' the King's Sessions are being kept in five shires more than formerly.' There can be no doubt that this happy result was chiefly due to the King's firmness and energy in at once establish- ing the royal authority, and, where needed, unswervingly enforcing it by the sword. But it was also due to his moderation. Although never relaxing his grip on the reins of government ; soon after the extirpation of the first Geraldines he pursued a policy of conciliation, endeavour- ing by persuasion and good example to win over the Irish chiefs. His aim was to ' Anglicise ' them ; then, using the traditional devotion of their tribal dependants as a means of diffusing the new civilisation of their nobles, to reform the country. And indeed, ' chieftain after chieftain was induced to accept the indenture which guaranteed him in the possession of his land, and left his authority over his tribesmen untouched, on con- dition of a pledge of loyalty, of abstinence from illegal wars and exactions on his fellow-subjects, and of rendering a fixed tribute and service in war time to the Crown.' Nevertheless, this policy, this wise policy likewise failed in the end. It was sterile, notwithstanding that both Edward VI. and Mary carried out in the main this system of conciliation, although the rebellion of two septs in Ireland under the Tudors and Stuarts. 47 Leinster under the former's reign might have justified the resumption of rigorous measures. It failed in spite of the act of the Earl of Sussex, Mary's Lord-Lieutenant, who thought to benefit the Irish by reducing the country of the O'Connors to shire-land under the names of King's and Queen's Counties. It could certainly be said even at that time ' that men may quietly pass between Limerick and Tipperary without danger or other displeasure,' and that ' ploughing increaseth daily.' But this promising order, this general tranquillity, was in reality merely the lull before the storm. Ireland's evil destiny willed it that the sword should not be buried, or the unfortunate people prosper. Who conjured up once more the demon of discord ? What caused the fresh misunderstanding between the two predominant partners of the British Empire? Was it the fault of England, the England whose Kings desired and strove to be benefactors to Ireland, or was this new unfortunate commotion brought about by the Irish them- selves ? The interests of the people of Ireland undoubtedly lay in a free reciprocation of the conciliatory spirit of the English Government. They could not do better than accept the British Constitution which, at least in theory, was given to their country, and to press with spontaneous homage round the throne of the English Sovereign. The interests of the people, however, and those of their chieftains were antagonistic. No matter whether of Irish or English descent, whether born of a Shane O'Neill, an Earl of Tyrone, or of a Desmond ; the lords within the Pale, as well as the chiefs without, all dreaded alike the firm, though conciliatory government, of the English King. It was this oligarchy which had hitherto been the curse of the Emerald Isle ; her ' aristocratic ' enemies were now joined by her most bitter foes the priests, both Ireland's bane and her ruin. There is, indeed, ample evidence in the history of Queen Elizabeth's reign that the activity of the Romish clergy, in deluding a people 'too open at all 48 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. times to their counsels,' aggravated the rebellious spirit of the Irish, and rendered their obedience to the law more unattainable. Of course, the advent of the Reformation fanned the smouldering fire. And Elizabeth actually attempted to force upon a nation so prone to superstition as the sons of Erin the dogmas and simple, though rational, ceremonies of the Reformed English Church. This act was un- questionably ill advised, though in itself the policy of the Virgin Queen was not without precedent, it being in conformity with the doctrine of those times as to the Sovereign de " Dei gratia," in virtue of which ' the religion of a people followed generally that of its king.' More- over, had not Elizabeth before her eyes the endless crimes of the Inquisition ; the examples of Philip and Mary ; the tragedy of St. Bartholomew's Day ? Yet even so, the fact remains indisputable that at least at the beginning of her reign there was no religious persecution at all. The Act of Uniformity, though proclaimed, was allowed to remain a dead letter. ' In the many complaints of Shane O'Neill, mostly for imaginary causes, there is not a single religious grievance mentioned.' The truth is, had it not been for the great Irish and Anglo-Irish families, who by their mismanagement and dissensions were the scourge of their vassals, the Irish people could have lived in a security hitherto unknown ; the masses certainly were not unfriendly towards the English Sovereign. It may be admitted that before the blight of foreign intervention in, and ostensibly for the benefit of, Ireland fell for the first time upon her relations with England, the revolt of Shane O'Neill had somewhat disturbed this general and mutual feeling of goodwill. But the victory of Sidney had at once restored to the unfor- tunate country order and peace. The truce lasted for ten years. Would that it could have lasted for ten times ten years ! Papal interference and Papal interest in the ascendancy of Ireland for the better destruction, not so much of the Ireland under the Tudors and Stuarts. 49 Anglo-Irish colonists, as of Protestant England threw the Emerald Isle into a whirlpool of endless, useless, and ruinous revolts and wars. Only when the floods of Spanish, French, and Italian invasion by the way of Ireland threatened to drown the English lion ; when the Pope hurled his anathemas at England's Sovereign, and sent his emissaries to assassinate her ; when Jesuit and Dominican policy saw in the Irish people a tool and a lever for overthrowing the heretic Nation ; when Papal soldiers, headed by a Legate, actually landed on the Irish shores and entrenched themselves in the fort of Smerwick, their leaders, by bulls and vituperations, exciting the Irish to perpetrate on the English intruders an Irish St. Bartholomew's Day then only it was that England abandoned her policy of conciliation for rigorous measures. She was compelled to adopt this policy in self-defence, since even the Earl of Desmond had risen to hail the arrival of her arch-enemies. From that moment England was justified in whatever precautions she took for the purpose of checking Irish aggression. She dared no longer waste her energies in endeavours to win the Irish to civilisation ; henceforth she had to combat in them her most bitter and most dangerous foes, the more dangerous because of their constant close proximity. The attack of the Pope, and the almost unceasing revolts of the Earl of Tyrone, instigated by Rome and Spain, could not fail to convince the English Government that an Ireland free, an Ireland independent, likely to be rent by the savage feuds of its clans and chieftains, would be an ever-present peril offering England's rivals at home and abroad every facility for using Ireland as a ' place d'armes ' and as a gate of sally into English territory. The establishment of a settlement in Ulster was for this reason wise, politic, and patriotic. It was a vitally necessary act. Considering that the Irish were incessantly conspiring with, and actually harbouring, the enemies of England, thus continually threatening her left flank with a sudden invasion, E 5O Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. the colonisation of Ulster with stalwart and doughty Britons, loyal unto death to their mother country, was the only reliable means by which the English could hope to prevent such raids. The British colony in the North of Ireland did service as an army of observation pushed in turn on to the flank of the Irish. The subsequent history, and especially the episode of the siege of Londonderry, indeed, proved the all-importance of this colonisation ; for not England's foreign enemies alone were welcomed by the Irish, her own traitors and tyrants found ready support from them. But is it necessary to unfold the tale of James II.'s con- nection with Ireland? It is a sickening story of hypocrisy, of treachery, and of cruelty. Or is it necessary to recall the scenes of horror and outrage which were enacted in Ireland and through the Irish within the sanguinary period from Charles I. to James II. ? England certainly retaliated. Her retaliation was brought home to her Irish enemies in the form of Cromwell's master- ful rule ; masterful, no doubt, and even sanguinary, though in truth it should be stated that in the whole course of his conquest of the Emerald Isle, with but one exception, 'not a single Irishman was killed unless he had been met in arms.' Yet had he actually extirpated one half of the population of Ireland his conduct would have been excusable, being provoked by the Irish rising and the massacres of 1641, undoubtedly designed for the extirpation of the Scots and English. Cromwell's retribution was simply the necessary and just punishment a punishment in reality far too lenient of outrages such as the history of the world has happily seldom had to record. It was a retribu- tion most inadequate considering the villanies committed by the Irish, in the course of which ' thousands of English people perished in a few days, some of whom, though innocent, were burned on set purpose ; others drowned for sport and pastime ; many of whom were buried quick, and some set into the earth breast high, and there left to famish ; in the course of which husbands were cut to Ireland under the Georges. 51 pieces in the presence of their wives, their children's brains dashed out before their eyes,their daughters brutally violated, and driven out naked to perish, frozen in the woods.' Ireland under the Georges. As many of the most trustworthy historians emphatically assert, for nearly a hundred years Ireland ceased to be a con- tinual source of political danger to Great Britain ; and this comparative security appears to have been partly due to the fact that the Irish still remembered the thrashing Cromwell had given them, partly tothe vigorous policy which the British Government pursued towards the daughter isle. It is true that the measures taken by England for the preservation of order among the ill-starred Irish people were not such as were likely to foster love between the inhabitants of the two countries. But the Irish scarcely deserved the favours of an unreasoning and, under the circumstances of that time, decidedly pernicious sentimentality on the part of the English Nation. Had it not been shown thatan Ireland free and independent implied the certain ruin of England, brought about by the coalition of her foreign foes with the sons of Erin? On the other hand, a peaceful affiliation with Great Britain was rendered impossible by the jealousy both of the Irish chief- tains and the descendants of the barons of the Pale. Not less were Popery and the Irish priesthood opposed to a Union between the two peoples. They were suspicious of England on account of her intellectual and commer- cial superiority. They hated her for her 'heresy.' Any possible rapprochement between the two countries, even if it would not have utterly destroyed, might at least have diminished, their own political and social power, a power gained by means of sacerdotal administrations to Irish superstition. Besides, as we have seen on more than one occasion it had happened that, when driven to despair by the savage feuds amongst themselves and the cruel oppres- sion of their chieftains, the Irish people applied to the British 52 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. kings for protection ; but that the moment there was a lull in the turmoil of clannish factions, they immediately repaid with atrocities the friendly overtures and kindnesses bestowed upon them by the English sovereigns. Thus, no other course was left open to England than to treat the Emerald Isle as a conquered land. Such a policy was the only reasonable one. It was England's duty to persist in it with all energy. Froude has well expressed the position in which England was placed. ' Only by England being deliberately determined to keep Ireland poor,' he says, ' she might hope to prevent it from being troublesome.' At the same time it should be remembered that the hard- ships which that policy inflicted upon the people were less burdensome at that period than it appears now to its ' refined ' critics. The peasantry of those times, thanks to the sins of omission on the part of their chieftains and spiritual advisers, being half savage, having little culture and education, would not miss so much the comforts of an advancing civilisation. It was a principle of this rigorous policy that England should lay upon Irish commerce and manufactures certain restrictions. No doubt, these embargos, restrictions, and especially England's prohibition of cattle exportation from Ireland,, dealt a severe blow to the prosperity of that ill-advised country. Nor can it be denied that the Act passed against the importation into England of wool and woollen cloth from Ireland was even the direct cause of a vast amount of poverty and distress, chiefly amongst the people in the South of Ireland. Not less detrimental, considering the backward state of Irish agriculture, were the differential duties and the disabilities by which the English Govern- ment endeavoured to control or rather to check its develop- ment. But, though the exclusion of Ireland from the advantages of the Navigation Laws unmistakably closed to the Irish people many sources of income, if not actually of wealth, it would have been against good policy to allow them to construct a fleet and permit them to hoard up Ireland under t/ie Georges. 53 treasures which, to judge from their antecedents, they would be only too inclined to put at the disposal of any enemy of Great Britain who might solicit their support. In justification of the Penal Laws, or so-called ' Papist Code,' there were even stronger reasons to be advanced. The various massacres by the Irish, and the repeated revolts of the English Jacobites, with but a few exceptions, set aflame by Jesuit intrigues go a long way to justify the enactment of exceptional laws which, it was then thought, would in all probability crush the hydra of discontent in its breeding-place. Above all, Roman Catholicism, not only by the intolerance of its principal dogmas, but also by numerous acts of cruel and relentless persecution of those who hesitated to conform to the most insignificant assertion of its priestly teaching, provoked such reciprocal treatment. And what Romanism is, we have on the excellent authority of Mr. W. E. Gladstone. "No more cunning plot," he says, "was ever devised against the freedom, the happiness, and the virtue of mankind than Romanism." Such was the policy by which Ireland was governed, and such were the motives for that policy. If it did not bring forth much good, it prevented at least greater evil. Moreover, not Ireland alone was dealt with in that manner. The system was practised too against Scotland. It was at that time considered to be the only way in which governments could hope to successfully rule quick-tempered nations, and insecure, though all-important, dependencies. England, unfortunately, swerved from this policy. Her Government once more returned to a system of conciliation, in spite of the sanguinary warnings of previous times. It resumed the lenient policy of Henry II., Edward III., and Henry VIII. Instead of opposing to ruffianism and lawlessness an un- alterable, energetic and prompt administration, England now made concessions to the intimidation, not of a whole people, but of a number of turbulent, discontented demagogues and proletarians. 54 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home. Rule. Lord Charlemont and Lord Rockingham were the first who, in deference to the clamours of an Irish faction, abandoned the only true and wholesome policy of principle and fixed purpose for 'opportunism.' England's Ministers and Lord-lieutenants thenceforth rapidly degenerated to mere tools in the hands of a number of lawless organisations and secret societies, the epigones of which became so notorious afterwards in the Land League era. As to Ireland, the association of the 'Heart of Oak Boys,' and especially the league of the ' Whiteboys,' instead of agitating for measures from which their country might hope to derive some benefit, inaugurated the era of terrorism. ' They houghed cattle, levelled inclosures, broke up roads, murdered landlords and their agents, and ill-treated, many times with shocking atrocities, their wives and children.' At the same time England's ill-advised policy of ' expedients ' and concessions could not produce any better result concerning Ireland's anti-English relations with England's foreign enemies. It was to be expected that during the crisis of the American struggle, when England seemed on' the brink of ruin, Ireland should turn on her. When France \vas contemplating an invasion of Great Britain, and Spain as well as Holland joined the former for the purpose of helping the Americans against the English, it was quite natural that Ireland should unfurl the banner of rebellion, although this time the danger came even from a worse and unexpected quarter. Protestant Ireland now rounded on England, and alack ! once more the latter was weak enough to submit to threats and factious clamours. The baneful effect of this unfortunate surrender was THE ERA or IRISH PARLIAMENTARY ' INDEPENDENCE.' This independence consisted in the sudden ascendency of an Irish Parliament, tyrannical, oligarchic, capricious, rapacious, and iniquitous. It meant a substitution of 'par- liamentary undertakers' and ' proletarian agitators ' in place The Era of Irish Parliamentary Independence. 5 5 of the despotism of the Irish chieftains and the ' lording ' of the barons of the Pale of former times. It furnished another proof of the fact that ' if ever there was a country unfit to govern itself, it is Ireland. A corrupt aristocracy, a ferocious commonalty, a distracted government, a divided people ! ' Comprising the representatives and nominees of a narrow- minded, egotistic, and demoralised oligarchy, its members, unrestrained as they were, naturally glutted themselves with the spoils of a betrayed country. Moreover, Lord Rocking- ham, upon the intimidation of the Volunteers, had removed the only check to the despotism of those Parliamentarians, a check which had been of some benefit, and which consisted in the subordination of their policy to the English Privy Council. Thus it came to pass that for eighteen years the Irish Parliament at Stephen's Green ruled supreme, and that Ireland was independent ; independent as regards political independence of England, but the Irish themselves being more than ever enslaved by an aristocratic clique. The names of the Hills, the Ponsonbys, and the Beresfords sufficiently recall the memory of the O'Neills and O'Connors, the Bourkes and Fitzgeralds, the Butlers and Geraldines, the De la Poers and Fitzpatricks. The Parliament at Stephen's Green, indeed, deserved its early and ignominious death. It was doomed from the outset by its injustice. Had it lived longer, but a few years, it would have brought about the utter ruin of the Irish people. It certainly passed several, under the conditions of that time, very liberal Acts in favour of the Roman Catholic population of the country. But, if naught else, its insidious conduct with respect to the Regency Bill conclusively showed how dangerous its existence was to the existence of England. During that portentous crisis the Irish impetuously claimed the Regency for the Prince of Wales, better known as George IV., against the direct resolution of both the British Houses of Parliament and the will of the English people. After this it could no longer be doubtful that no matter whether the majority of the Irish 56 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. Legislators were Roman Catholics or Protestants, their ultimate aim, the goal of their hopes, and the idol of their ambitions was complete separation. Whilst thus the hurricane of faction was once more gathering over Ireland, threatening to hurl its unfortunate people into the abyss of anarchism, the sun of Pitt was rapidly ascending on the political horizon of Great Britain, a sign of peace and goodwill. The Irish people, blinded though they were by fanaticism, could not fail to behold with hopeful expecta- tion the rainbow of his reflection as it vaulted over the Emerald Isle. It would have been a blessing to the daughter- island if Pitt had never sunk under the irresistible march of time and nature, though he at least left behind him THE ACT OF UNION. Long before the consummation of this great achieve- ment of statecraft, Pitt had laid the foundations for the growth of a new nation out of the two misguided peoples. He effected a thorough reform of the mercantile and industrial legislation. He also removed many of the barriers of religious disabilities against which the discontent of the Irish Roman Catholics was surging higher and higher. In truth, a new era seemed to have set in. The times were full of changes. Pitt had to ask himself the question : Could England weather the storm with a mutinous Ireland on board ? Though aware of the failures of former policies of conciliation, Statesman as he was, he thought, that with the aid of an advancing civilisation he might once more try peaceful means. The auspices appeared to be rather favourable in spite of the turmoil of the epoch. He hoped, not without some tangible reasons, that the Irish, when once placed upon a footing of economic equality with Great Britain, might yet obey the hint of Nature conveyed by the geograpical position, the climatic conditions, the peculiarity of the soil, and the resources of their country. If properly advised the Irish, he thought, would soon recognise that their real advantage The Act of Union. 57 lay in a close and friendly co-operation, and in fact, in an alliance with England. Pitt believed in a possible ' Union of Hearts,' begotten by the solidarity of interests between the two peoples. Above all, his were legislative measures that neither threats nor corruption had wrung from the British Government, but which were voluntary acts, passed in the first instance for the benefit of Ireland. They could, therefore, easily and justly be suspended, the moment the Irish attempted to use them to the detriment of the English. In this his premises were correct, and his policy was sound ; though as yet Pitt did not contemplate the abolition of the Dublin Parliament. But, he was soon to be convinced of the necessity of a complete union of Ireland with England. Events which turned the Emerald Isle into a hell, forced him to at least destroy this one source of continual agitation and danger : the Irish Parliamentary * independence.' These events, and the evils arising from them, happened when the waves of the great Revolution in France broke over her borders and rolled westward and northward. "Turbulent as they were by nature, superstitious, credulous of falsehood, prone to violence, and eager for change" ; it was to be expected that the Irish would rapidly be infected by the French revolutionary fever. Besides, the British Government had shown leniency, and even culpable lukewarmness, in repressing riots. Such a policy almost invited the conspiracy of the "United Irish- men " with Republican France, and the attempt of General Lazare Hoche to invade Great Britain by way of Ireland. Yet these events, deplorable though they were, proved to be but mere threatenings of the storm which was to ravage the Emerald Isle a few years later. They were only the murmurs of a disaffection which, as the months passed by, swelled into one of the most fiendish rebellions ever known, reaching its climax when General Humbert disembarked with a French force at Killala. The British Nation at last understood the lessons 58 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. which Fate thus wrote for her with a gory hand. Notwithstanding the stubborn and determined opposition of the ' Boroughmongers,' the Act of Union was finally passed. Their resistance was a sheer question of gold. The peace and prosperity of the two countries, henceforth to be one, was unquestionably well worth the one and a half million sterling which the Government spent in satis- fying their cupidity. Commerce between the two peoples was now com- pletely freed from every restriction, and all trading privileges of the one country were thrown open to the other. The benefits of the English law were to become Irish property. The glory and prosperity of the Empire were to extend their blessings to the Irish as well as the British. Finally, it was arranged that the taxation necessary for the maintenance of the State-household should be levied pro- portionally upon the two countries. One measure, it is true, one essential part of reform remained as yet unrealised. Both the Presbyterians and the middle, or rather the better class, of Irish Roman Catholics had still to be fully emancipated. Pitt had commenced this task. He had endeavoured to obtain for them unqualified as well as unlimited franchise and citizenship. But his plan was wrecked on the stubbornness of George III. The King, certainly not without reason, mistrusted any such measure. The Government had felt more than once before the dangerous and almost fatal power of the priests. George III. apprehended that under cover of Pitt's Emancipation Act they would possibly gain anew too great an ascendency, an ascendency which might become ruinous to England and to the Empire. At the same time, the Irish Roman Catholics, no doubt partly through the fault of the British, were utterly uneducated, and to judge from the comparative low standard of civilisation of other Roman Catholic tribes and nations in Europe and elsewhere, it was hardly likely that as an exception the Irish would educationally improve under Romish priest-rule. Nor were reasons wanting for the King's apprehensions regarding the The Act of Union, 59 Presbyterians. The history of the Covenant, as well as their overbearing factious temper in the time of Cromwell, could not but cause grave doubts as to their capacity for moderation and tolerance. In fact, the Prime Minister himself seemed in the course of events to have lost faith in a sweeping measure for the enfranchisement of Papists and Dissenters, though at one time he had endeavoured to con- vince the King of the advisability of such an act. Whatever may have been the cause of his change of opinion Pitt certainly began to question the wisdom of having flung his reform-project for the political emancipation of the Roman Catholics on to the Nation, almost as it were, without warning. It may also have been that he had no longer the same opportunities as previously. This much is clear, that when he was once more returned to power, he did not immediately resume the solution of that thorny question. And even had he been inclined so to do, before he would have had time to take up the problem, death stayed his glorious career. The Nation lost in him her great pilot and the Irish lost in him a friend who had conscientiously attempted to reduce the nameless and endless Irish and Anglo-Irish difficulties to a minimum. . Happily, the ideas of the great Pitt were not to be buried with his mortal remains. On the contrary, they continued to live. They throve and bore fruit, as it were, within one season, fruit worthy of its origin. As a matter of fact, the full emancipation of the Catholics was soon to be effected. Not that the policy against them had been a severe one in the eighteenth century. The very opposite was the case. As Mr. Lecky observes, ' already before the middle of that age the laws against Catholic worship were virtually obsolete, and before its close the Parliament had become the most tolerant in Europe.' Roman Catholics, politically, however, were still without the rights of full citizenship ; the moment for the passing of such a measure had not yet matured at the time of the passing of 60 Anglo- Irish History in relation to Home Rule. the Act of Union. But it was maturescent. It required only a few more years for its full development. These went rapidly by. Already in 1829 all the principles of such emancipation were formulated. In that same year they became law. And by this act was removed the only grievance which the Irish agitators could still bring forward as some sort of excuse for their rioting; though not even the most rigorous enactments against Popery justified the crimes which in the name of religion and on account of religious disability they had incessantly committed. To record these gory acts cannot be desirable. Nor need the rebellion of Robert Emmett as usual, beginning with a murder, the assassination of Lord Kilwarden, the Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench be specially mentioned. The only matter worthy of remembrance is that notwithstanding the conditions of the country and the character of its population, Irish affairs were after the passing of the Act of Union improving, and, but for the Secret Societies, would have gone on improving. Mention should certainly be made, and the fact should be of interest at the present juncture, that in 1810 the Protestant Corporation of Dublin unanimously resolved upon presenting a petition for the repeal of the Union. But it was only natural that the memory of their heydays under Irish 'independence' still influenced their policy. Again, it is true that seventeen years later, by the direction of the priesthood and the Catholic Association, as well as with the aid of spiritual and physical intimidation, O'Connell, the Repealer and Republican, was returned a member for the County of Clare. Yet it should be borne in mind that this time the ' emancipation ' of their flock promised them the supremacy over Ireland when once more 'independent.' Indeed, these events show that if Pitt's Act of Union had been firmly carried out, the despotism of oligarchic factions and the tyranny of the lawless rabble would, thanks to its operation, in the course of years have become impossible, no matter whether exercised by Protestants or Roman Catholics. The Famine. Its Causes. 61 It is true, although Ireland was participating in the advantages of a British Government a famine now broke out, ravaging it in a manner such as no country had ever before experienced, 'when death, absolute starvation of strong men and women and children, were things daily and hourly to be told.' But what were the causes of this famine? Did they originate in the Act of Union? They were five-fold ; yet not a single one could be traced home to the working of the Union ! THE FAMINE. ITS CAUSES. In the first instance there was the pernicious policy of the Irish Legislature. Its members enacted regulations for the planting of, and dealing in, corn. In doing this they attempted to force Nature, which had made Ireland, with its damp climate, a country ill-adapted for the production of any cereal crop. Yet their legislative proceedings were favoured for a time by the high war prices during the Republican and the Napoleonic epochs. This apparently advantageous and unquestionably lucky coincidence begot the second cause. For it was inevitable that the only too eager adoption of such an expedient would lead in its turn to a thoughtless and even unnatural multiplication of small holdings. In this, their excessive number, we must thus recognise the embryo of the third cause. The previous favourable political situation underwent a complete change, affecting, and in fact, upsetting, the economic conditions. Not only the high war prices fell suddenly after the battle of Waterloo ; but the bounty-system, too, was given up. Consequently the cultivation of cereals, to the growth of which climate and soil were already hostile, was no longer profitable ; in reality it did not even furnish the means of bare subsistence. Was it then surprising that the peasants were driven from their holdings by sheer want, and the labourers thrown out of employment by tens of thousands ? Still, even under these conditions there was hope that 62 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. their material, and with it their moral and political, position would again improve under the aegis of the privileges of the Act of Union. It certainly can not be denied that the Irish soil was henceforth turned into large tracts of pasturage and numberless potato-fields. Nevertheless, the prospects of the Irish actually improved somewhat, though as yet more in a spasmodic manner. ' This improvement, however, would have been permanent, had it not been for the Secret Societies'; the fourth cause of Ireland's ruin and the origin of the Famine. It was these Societies which actually kept Ireland within the vicious circle of evils, producing and reproducing each other. Turmoil and con- spiracies were begetting anxiety, lawlessness, and insecurity ; insecurity, in its turn, want of capital ; want of capital again producing want of employment ; want of employment creating misery and turbulence ; this turbulence once more causing intensified anxiety and worse commercial insecurity ; which insecurity naturally prevented the introduction and accumulation of capital. Therefore, until security could be given, no capital would be invested, hence there could be no employment, such enforced idleness begetting, in its turn, new vices and excesses. In this connection O'Connell's utterance at Youghal in 1 829, since he was at that time the guiding spirit of the movement, is of special interest. ' I recollect,' he said, ' when we agitators were almost as much execrated by our fellow slaves (?) as we the agitators were by our oppressors (?).' To this baneful influence of the Precursor Whiteboys Catholic and Repeal Associations came the effects of a fifth cause : the almost phenomenal and economically unhealthy overgrowth in the population of Ireland. It was an overgrowth such as no rich State could have borne for a length of time without great distress, far less an island which was already in natural resources so poor as Ireland. No wonder that, when under these conditions the potato blight fell upon the unprepared and distracted and betrayed country, its inhabitants were within a few days The Famine and England. 63 famine stricken. Nay, the history of this terrible famine proves that, if left to themselves, the Irish would be doomed to ruin. In that year civil war, pestilence and starvation might for ever have rid the English of the Irish tumour in their left side. THE FAMINE AND ENGLAND. But England did not desert the daughter isle in the hour of tribulation. The Government at once recognised their moral obliga- tion towards Ireland, a responsibility which but for the Act of Union might have been disputed ; and ' alien' England promptly exerted herself, not only in checking the natural causes of the famine, but also in rescuing the Irish people from the dreadful consequences of their own folly and depravity. Guided by the principles of the Act of Union, the English people even undertook the tremendous task of feeding half the population of Ireland, over 3,000,000, a work of relief such as had never before been carried out in the world's history. Burying the wrongs and insults and injuries which the British had suffered at the hands of the Irish ; every man and woman and child in the kingdom hastened to help their suffering brethren across St. George's Channel. In truth, all England supported the daughter isle, though all England knew that the Secret Societies, the curse of Ireland, would repay the Nation with rebellion against its Lord-Lieutenants, and with mutilation and murder of its Scotch and English settlers. For as to Irish gratitude ! All England understood that the Irish people durst not be grateful ; gratitude meant the overthrow of the tyranny of the Irish demagogues. How true this is, mention need only be made of the case of Forster. Even he, who had been so conspicuous amongst those who had exerted themselves for the alleviation of the distress and despair in Ireland, did not finally escape the murderous attacks of Fenians and Moonlighters. His very devotion to the Irish people during the famine was a crime in the eyes 64 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. of the agitators ; a crime in that it restrained them from trafficking in the misery of their fellow-countrymen. IMPROVEMENT OF IRISH AFFAIRS. Yet though her efforts were repaid with the grossest ingratitude, England had the satisfaction of knowing that she had nobly and successfully performed her duty in the spirit of the Act of Union. Nor was the useful working of the Act of Union in other directions seriously interrupted by the famine. We know, before that cruel visitation there was the useful administration of a Drummond, consolidating law and order, thus benefiting the general morals of the people. At the same time it will be remembered that the repeal of the Navigation Laws, as well as the admission of Ireland to all the advantages of British commerce, produced en- couraging results. Now this improvement continued, after the Black Year, in a manner which was full of hopeful promise. It could be fairly asserted that ' Ireland advanced more rapidly, and recovered from the condition of almost total wreck more completely than any other country would have done or ever has done.' Nor can it be denied that this was due to a great extent to the commutation of the tithe, the last point in the ' Catholic grievance.' The measure completed the beneficial changes which had been expected from the Act. With great truth has Mr. Lecky stated: 'The Irish Church, when it was sup- ported by tithes, was the most unpopular ecclesiastical establishment in Europe. . . . After the commutation of tithes nearly all active hostility to it disappeared. The Church question speedily became a matter of indifference to the great mass of the people ; the Protestant clergy were a beneficent, and usually a popular element in Irish society, and the measure which finally disendowed them was much more due to the exigencies of English party politics than to any genuine pressure of Irish opinion.' Again, regrettable though the famine was, it caused an Improvement of Irish Affairs. 65 improvement in the condition of the survivors ; with the decrease of the population of Ireland the number of acres under cultivation increased in proportion. Thus, while in 1841 there had been for each individual of the rural population one and eight-tenths of an acre, about twenty years after there were two and a half to three acres for each peasant. Favoured also by exceptional climatic conditions, this general improvement extended to the returns of the tillage of the soil. The potato crop as well as the corn crop produced in each succes- sive year a larger quantity than in the preceding one, so that in 1868 the potato harvest was estimated at 4,062,207 tons ; the wheat produce at 954,818 quarters ; the oats crop at 7,628,857. This remarkable improvement was no*less visible in the rise of wages. Up to the year 1 860, and later on, there was a great and universal increase in the rate of pay to artisans and labourers throughout Ireland, amounting in some places to 30 per cent, in others to 50 per cent, and in others again to as much as 100 per cent. The improvement spread even to the tenements of the Irish peasants, in so far that the number of third and fourth-class houses, of which in 1841 there were respectively 491,278 and 533,297, gradually decreased, whereas the number of the first and second class increased in proportion. ENGLISH LAND POLICY IN IRELAND AND FENIANISM. Such was the state of Ireland at that time. It was a fairly satisfactory state, and may be said to have been solely the result of the advantages which the provisions of the Act of Union had conferred upon Ireland. Unfortunately, England became too solicitous for the welfare of the Emerald Isle. The English Government was induced by party tricks and by false representations to believe that there was still another grievance, the Land Question, which, unless it were settled in conformity with the dictates of the demagogues, would always stand in a hostile manner between the two peoples. Being misled by these F 66 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule, misrepresentations Great Britain's Ministers now embarked upon a suicidal Land Legislation. The Government not only again granted concessions to threats and violence ; but, upon the instigation of a so-called British Statesman, the doctrine of spoliation and murder for political ends was raised to a moral principle in politics. Under these circumstances it can hardly be surprising that the very first Act of this Land Legislation, " the Encumbered Estates Act," purporting to redress the imaginary grievances, was actually an Act of the grossest injustice. It turned out to be one of the principal causes of most of the sub- sequent troubles. No doubt, the Measure brought large tracts of heavily mort- gaged land within the reach of the farmer in general. Yet it replaced the landlord's agent by the middleman and money- lender, and thus acted demoralisingly upon the agricultural class itself. Instead of benefiting the poor peasant, it intro- duced into the class of landowners, a new, a foreign element. Above all it hastened and intensified the financial as well as commercial ruin of hundreds of old families, and resulted in their expulsion from hearth and home. It is, however, unnecessary to dwell here at great length on the proceedings of the Encumbered Estates Court or on Deasy's Act of 1860, the sequels of the Encumbered Estate Act, that first iniquitous measure of the so-called Land Reform. Nor need the rebellion of Smith O'Brien or the con- spiracy of Mitchel be particularly mentioned here. They were the effects of that policy, vacillating and without principle, now imposing upon the country the Treason Felony Act and suspending the Habeas Corpus Act ; now, for the purpose of furthering British party politics, by conces- sions to the rabble betraying those who loyally defended the interests of the Empire. It was only natural that a policy such as this should result in renewed criminal agitation and felony on the part of the Irish, ' to whom, next to a fair or a funeral, nothing is dearer than a conspiracy or a sanguinary riot.' English Land Policy in Ireland and Fenianism. 67 Neither could the bursting of the Sadleir and Keogh bubble ' Sadleir and Keogh,' the leaders of the first Irish Parliamentary clique in the House of Commons ! come as a surprise. The whole history of Ireland, from the earliest historical records to the present day, shows only too clearly how easily the Irish were led at all times by self- serving agitators and by the enemies of England, no matter whether they appeared in the gown of a Dominican priest or Jesuit fanatic ; under the guise of a deliverer or as the apostles of dynamite. Nor is it necessary to enlarge upon the influence which the revolutionary events on the Continent exercised upon the Irish demagogues during the next twelve years. It would have been unnatural in at least a very large section of the Irish, if the July Revolution in France had not found an echo amongst them. And when the Indian Mutiny broke out the rebellion must have seemed to men such as Stephens and O'Donovan Rossa as well as to the young members of the " Literary " Phcenix Club to offer the most favourable opportunity for establishing an Irish Republic after the model of the French. The life-purpose of the Fenians being destruction, they could not fail at once to appreciate the chance of finally ruining an Empire, already shaken to its very foundations by the Indian Mutiny. It is sufficient for ourpurposeto statethat Ireland was again rolling into the all-devouring vortex of faction ; or rather falling once more into the clutches of a band of assassins. It fell under the bane of the Clan-na-Gael and the Invincibles in short, of the Fenians. They represented no grievance. They did not formulate or proffer reasonable claims for the consideration of the British Nation. They set up no ideal of patriotism. Their aim was fighting and bloodshed. The daggers of their members were raised against society indis- criminately. Revolution, that is the reign of animal Commun- ism, being their ideal ; Terrorism, as the best means to realise it, was the idol that they worshipped. Indeed, as to this part of Irish history it is enough to know that the general 68 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. improvement in the economic affairs of Ireland was hence- forth checked as usual in the first instance through conspiracies and factious violence. The interesting, if not momentous, part in this new phase into which Irish history now enters, is the fact that this change for the worse in the condition of Ireland is mainly due to the short-sightedness or perverseness of a British Statesman. The moonlighters, the cattle mutilators, the dynamitards and the Land Leaguers, as well as their so-called Parliamentary representatives in the House of Commons sprang up, grew, and flourished under the patronage of Mr. Gladstone. THE IRISH GLADSTONIAN ERA AND THE HOME RULE BILL OF 1886. On the 3Oth of March, 1868, opened this new phase in the history of Ireland which was to terminate with the first Home Rule Bill of 1886, and, which posterity will perhaps call the Irish-Gladstonian era of humiliation, surrender, afflic- tion, and treason. It was placed by its originator under the symbol of an Upas Tree, whose three branches it was necessary to cut off, before the dream of a Union of Hearts between the Irish and the English could be realised. The first scene of this new drama may be fitly superscribed MR. GLADSTONE AND THE IRISH CHURCH. On the 3Oth of March, 1 868, Mr. Gladstone moved his famous resolutions intended to bring about the disestablishment of the Irish Church, the twin-sister of the United Church, which, according to the fifth article of the Act of Union, ' was to be deemed and taken to be an essential and funda- mental part of that Union.' On that day, by three resolu- tions, the first move was made for the severance of Ireland from Great Britain involving perhaps the disruption of the Empire. On that day the hatchet was raised to strike off the top branch of the Anglo-Irish Upas Tree. It is true, Mr. Gladstone then asserted that, although his Mr. Gladstone and tJie Irish Church. 69 measure might alter some of the provisions of the Act of Union, yet he could ' confidently contend that by it he was confirming the general purport and substance of that Act of Union.' It may likewise be admitted that the State's endowment of the Church of the minority was in various respects unfair to the majority, although since the commuta- tion of tithes the burden of maintaining that Church no longer pressed upon the Roman Catholic population of Ireland. Still, the Bill for the Disestablishment of the Irish Church had not been suggested by considerations of equity, nor was it effected on grounds of general policy. During twenty-five years in the course of which Mr. Gladstone had repeatedly been in power, he had not once, however feebly, raised his voice in support of redressing any Irish 'grievance.' On the contrary, to quote Beaconsfield's taunt, ' Mr. Glad- stone had during all this time never done anything for Ireland but make speeches in favour of the Irish Church.' The Liberal Lord Grey explained the true motive of this anti-Church policy when he said that ' It was not the welfare of the nation, but party interest, which seemed to have guided the conduct of Mr. Gladstone. The resolutions he brought forward, and the manner in which they were advocated, made all compromise impossible, and in the electoral campaign, when Parliament was dissolved, his speeches were calculated to inflame to the very utmost the fierce party passions of the Roman Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, and to kindle a spirit of hatred against this country in the minds of the Irish.' In the second instance, the disestablishment of the Irish Church was a concession to violence. It was a complete surrender to events which rapidly and naturally followed the Ministerial announce- ment in February, 1867, namely, that the then Government intended once more to try in Ireland a policy of forbear- ance, and restore to its population the Habeas Corpus Act. It was a concession to the murder of a policeman at Man- chester by Fenians ; to the Irish plot to seize the arsenal at Chester; and especially to the Fenian atrocity at the Clerk- 70 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. en well Prison. In broad daylight, and in the midst of a crowd of mothers and their children, Irish conspirators attempted to set two Fenian captives at large by placing against the prison wall, and causing to explode, a barrel of gunpowder which spread mutilation and death amongst more than a hundred innocent persons. These were the causes which led to the revival of the Irish Church Question. They brought it within the range of practical politics. Thus, the first move towards the settlement of the Irish problem, if a problem there were, bore within itself the sting of opportunism and iniquity. No wonder that the Bill for the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, instead of being a gospel of peace and goodwill, proved to be a scourge upon the Irish. It was, as Lord Derby exclaimed, ' a measure unjust, calculated to shake confidence in all property, and to alienate those who had hitherto been the firmest supporters of the British throne and of British connection, and to stimulate to fresh demands that portion, that violent portion of the Roman Catholic population which looks forward to ultimate emancipation from the control of the British Legislature.' And indeed, so far from being a settlement, as Mr. Gladstone and John Bright proclaimed, ' tending to a more true and solid union between Ireland and Great Britain, giving tranquillity to our people, greater strength to the realm, and adding new dignity to the Crown ' the Act became the source of all the disastrous commotions under which Ireland and England have since been writhing in well nigh an agony of despair. The mischief inherent in that measure affected even the routine and administration of its several provisions. It affected it in such a manner that Disraeli was justified in saying ' The law has been defeated, the Legislature baffled, the country swindled.' And yet, a just and equitable solution of this Irish Church Question, for an Irish Church Question there undoubtedly was, might have contributed to the welfare of the Irish people and guaranteed order and peace to the English! It might have led to a revival of the British prestige and of British prosperity ! The Fruits of Mr. Gladstone's Irish Church Policy. 7 1 THE FRUITS OF MR. GLADSTONE'S IRISH CHURCH POLICY. As it is at the best an act of spoliation, the Disestablish- ment was in reality an endowment of, and a premium on, priestly tyranny and Fenian terrorism. Consequently it can hardly be wondered that the iniquitous Bill was quickly followed by the Irish Glebe Lands Bill, intended to authorise the grant of loans from the spoils of the Irish Church for the purpose of assisting the Roman Catholic clergy in the purchase of glebes and the erection of glebe houses. Re- ferring to this proposal even Maguire, the first mover for the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, stated 'that if the Government had been so mad as to introduce the Bill at the commencement of the Session, Scotland would have been up in arms against it, but as it happened, it was a well-planned attempt to steal a march upon Great Britain.' As a matter of course, being encouraged by the new measure 'for the conciliation of Irish discontent,' the Romish Irish prelates in 1871 issued a manifesto insisting upon denominational education, or ' educational equality ' as they termed it ; " the Glebe Lands Bill having already embodied the 'question of equal treatment of the clergy of all religions.' In so doing they aimed at the overthrow of the existing unsectarian education which in reality placed all denomina- tions on a footing of perfect equality ; and actually demanded as their right from the treasury of Protestant England the endowment of Roman Catholic schools and colleges over which they alone were to exercise control, and which were to be devoted to the teaching of Ultramontane doctrines ; doctrines of which Mr. Gladstone himself had said at one time ' they were an incentive to general disturbance, a premium upon European war, and aiming deadly blows at the freedom of mankind.' Still, not only were Roman Catholic pretensions rapidly increasing in number and importance, but their revival was also accompanied by fresh agrarian crimes as well as 72 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. by deeds of violence. The lay and clerical agitators and demagogues redoubled their energy in exciting the ignorant peasants to the commission of acts of lawlessness and sedition. Nor were circumstances unfavourable to their conspiracies. Apart from the raid upon the sister Church of the Church of England instigated by the British Government and apart from the violation both of the rights of property and of equitable principle ; the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act had been allowed to expire. At the same time, several of the most notorious Fenian criminals were released from the captivity which they so well deserved, an act of misguided policy before the results of which England had every reason and occasion to tremble. For the first use which the Fenians made of their freedom was to issue a proclamation by which in vehement terms they re-asserted their unabated hostility to the British Government. They then instigated a new sanguinary agitation for the purpose of procuring the release of the remaining Fenian convicts. And, on the eve of leaving for America, they actually endeavoured to excite their beguiled countrymen to open rebellion against the Crown. But the perverse policy of the time was yet to beget something worse, Mr. Gladstone's FIRST LAND BILL. On the 1 5th of February, 1870 this ever-memorable measure, by which its author 'wished to alarm none, to injure none,' was laid on the table of the House of Commons. On that day the Nation was blessed with the first of the kaleidoscopic proposals, the adoption of which was to bring ' hope where there has been despondency, con- fidence where there has been mistrust ; and by which, where there has been alienation and hate, there shall, how- ever gradually, be woven the ties of a strong attachment between man and man ! ' On that day the second branch of the Upas Tree was to be felled, an act concerning which an ardent wish was entertained " that it would prosper, and The First Land Bill 73 that in Ireland, which was to be united to England and Scotland by the only enduring ties those of free will and free affection peace, order and a settled and cheerful industry would diffuse their blessings from year to year and from day to day over a smiling land." The smiling land, the smile raised by the Land Bill ! To be sure, ere the year in which that measure was brought forward had passed away, ITS PROMISING FIRSTLINGS WERE ALREADY RIPE FOR REAPING. By the Land Bill the Ulster custom was henceforth legalised throughout Ireland, namely, the custom of granting compensation for improvements, and of crediting the out- going tenant with the price of the goodwill of the land. The measure also conferred rights by which the farmer could claim from the landlord damages for disturbance or eviction. It further contained the regulation that for the purpose of creating a peasant " proprietary " the Board of Works should advance loans at 3^ per cent, interest for the purchase of holdings. There was likewise a clause that the Court was to consider when valuing the tenant's compensation, whether the demanded rent was reasonable. Now all these provisions of the Land Bill, it will be seen, were hostile to the landlords. They were concessions to the clamours of the demagogues, and they produced a new, a more vehement and a more cruel form of terrorism. These provisions of the Land Bill were teaching the rabble how easy it would be in future to break contracts under a so-called ' British ' Government, since this very Government itself violated the first principles of ownership, and virtually confiscated for the benefit of the enemies of Great Britain the property of those who, whatever their shortcomings were, had at least been the staunchest and most loyal supporters of the Law and the Crown. And the rabble eagerly learnt the 74 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. lesson. The Irish demagogues once again organised lawless bands of armed men, who swarmed over the county of Mayo, under threat of instant death coercing the farmers into taking an oath to unsettle their pasture lands. They revived the memory of O'Connell and of the ' martyred ' Fenian assassins. They resumed their seditious schemes. They returned John Martin, the convict, to Parliament as a Home Ruler. They went forth preaching the doctrine of Separation and proclaiming the Irish Republic. The English Government, it is true, retaliated with the CRIMES ACT, one of the most coercive of measures ; though in view of the outrages committed by the agitators and their beguiled tools, unquestionably justifiable and vitally necessary. And indeed as to its usefulness, it may safely be assumed that its enactments would have operated to the benefit of the betrayed Irish people> had the Government for any length of time persisted in a systematic application of the Act. But only a few months later the British Cabinet of the day fell back upon its ' opportunistic,' ' conciliatory,' and ' expiatory ' policy. The Fenian convicts who were still in prison were released. And lest the mischief thus wrought might not be sufficiently detrimental to the prosperity and order of Ireland, as well as harmful to the welfare and peace of England, they were banished both from the English and Irish territories. They were actually driven out of the reach and supervision of the British police. They were set at large in the United States, so that by this unwise act the English Government assisted thus directly in the formation of the party of American Fenians now generally known under the name of the Clan-na-Gael. What kind of enemy England had in them England was soon to feel. When a French deputation arrived in Ireland to thank the Irish Ambulance Society for the assistance which it had rendered France during the Franco-German war, the Irish ostentatiously indulged in violent demonstrations against The Firstlings of this Land Bill. 75 the English. But worse results followed ! Juries refused to convict of murder Fenians and rebels against whom there was the clearest circumstantial evidence, and even those who had been taken in flagrante delicto. The ' Irishman} the organ of the Nationalists, proclaimed ' that the man who shot an informer against moonlighters, cattle-mutilators and assas- sins, was, so far from being a criminal, a hero, worthy of honour and reward.' At the same time, the agitation for Home Rule became more and more turbulent. During the election of a Mr. Smyth for Westmeath, it was even declared ' that in him the electors were sending a man to Parliament to tell Mr. Gladstone his mock legislation was a humbug, and that the Nationalists would not stand a base, bloody, and brutal Whig in Ireland." But although the Empire was almost shaken to its founda- tions by the disturbances resulting from this legislation for the 'settlement' of Ireland, the axe was once more raised to strike off the third branch of the Upas Tree. There can be no doubt that the British Government must have heard the murmurs of the coming gale. They could not but see the clouds gathering thicker and thicker over Ireland. In fact, as if to show that he was fully conscious of the growing turmoil, as well as partly in answer to the factious clamours of the demagogues and Invincibles for Home Rule, Mr. Gladstone, at Aberdeen, in September, 1871, gave utterance to the following denunciations : Why is Parliameut to be broken up ? Has Ireland great grievances ? What is it that Ireland has demanded from the Imperial Parliament and that the Imperial Parliament has refused ? It will not do to deal with this matter in vague and shadowy assertions. I have looked in vain for the setting forth of any practical scheme of policy which the Imperial Parliament is not equal to deal with, or which it refuses to deal wilh, and which is to be brought about by Home Rule. You would expect when it is said that the Imperial Parliament is to be broken up you would expect that at the very least a case should be made out, showing there were great subjects of policy and great demands necessary for the welfare of Ireland, which the representatives of Ireland had united to ask, and which the representatives of England, Scotland, and Wales had united to refuse. There is no such grievance. There is nothing that Ireland has asked that this country and that this Parliament has refused. This Parliament has done for Ireland what it would have scrupled to do for England and for Scot- land. What are the inequalities of England and Ireland ? I declare that I know none, except that there are certain taxes still remaining which are levied on Englishmen and Scotsmen, and which are not levied upon Irish- men ; and likewise that there are certain purposes for which public money is 76 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. freely and largely given in Ireland, and for which it is not given in England or Scotland. That seems to me to be a very feeble case indeed for the argument which has been made, by means of which, as we are told, the fabric of the United Parliament of this country is to be broken up. But, although all these recent convictions, and the san- guinary lessons of Irish history stood there as a warning that 'CONCILIATION,' according to Mr. John Morley, 'MEANT IN PLAIN LANGUAGE, SEPARATION where Ireland is concerned ;' a measure was now brought forward, to wit : THE IRISH UNIVERSITY BILL, of which Mr. Gladstone asserted that its acceptance was contributive ' not only to the honour and existence of the British Government, but also to the welfare of Ireland!' This Bill was to be the final settlement of Ireland's grievances. ' When Parliament,' the author of the Bill stated, ' had passed the Church Act of 1869, and the Land Act of 1870, there remained under the great head of Imperial equity only one serious question to be dealt with that of higher education. I consider that the Liberal majority of the House of Commons, and the Government to which I had the honour and satisfaction to belong, formally tendered payment in full of this portion of the debt by the Irish University Bill of February, 1873. Some, indeed, say that it was overpaid.' But fortunately this last blow was stayed. The Bill which ' nobody wanted, nobody accepted ; which settled nothing, BUT UNSETTLED EVERYTHING,' was rejected by the patriotism and common sense of the Nation on the 1 2th of March, 1873. Still the very fact that a British Government had ventured upon laying such a Bill on the table of the House wrought incalculable mischief. The measure stirred up the ' muddy ' waters of religious passions, notwithstanding that by its mere production ' the debt to Ireland was being paid in full.' How the country, how the Irish, how the English accepted this kind of payment was quickly shown by the indignation and dissatisfaction it provoked every- The Irish University Bill. 77 where. On the one side it was said that Great Britain would regard a vote in its favour ' as being tantamount to a vote of confidence in Cardinal Cullen and his priests ; ' and on the other side, Mr. Gladstone vehemently im- peached that very Roman Catholic prelacy of Ireland for the defeat of his Bill. Nevertheless, the blessings of peace seemed once more to throw forth their enlivening beams over the Emerald Isle, and prosperity to shine upon its population. The axe which had been raised against the last branch of the Upas Tree rebounded. The blow went home to the striker, and the Gladstone Ministry fell to pieces. For a time Ireland and England appeared to be spared any further conciliatory legislative experiments. On the con- trary, the reins of Government were pulled tighter. And, obviously, thanks to the renewal and prompt administration of the Peace Preservation Act, it could be stated of Ireland in 1875-6 'that at no time of its history did the Emerald Isle appear more tranquil, more free from serious crime, more prosperous and contented.' But the demagogues were not thoroughly weeded out. Thus the peace could not last long. Disraeli, certainly, had successfully taken up the policy of Elizabeth, Cromwell, Chatham, and Pitt. Con- vinced that Great Britain, limited to Great Britain, would soon fall from her proud, and above all, commercially and industrially advantageous, position of a first European Power he endeavoured to extend her political sphere of influence in proportion to the rapid growth of her popula- tion. Being assured that in new foreign markets alone could be found relief for the flooded industries and over-crowded cities at home ; and that the lustre of the Crown as well as the glory of the British name would shed economic and social blessings upon the Sister Isles Disraeli unfurled in the face of the envious nations abroad the Imperial banner amidst the enthusiasm of the patriots of Great, and the peoples of Greater Britain, raising Queen Victoria to the throne of the Moguls as Empress of India. 78 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. The policy of dismemberment seemed doomed. Yet there was still one party discontented with the Imperial policy. To them the ' civis Britannicus sum ' doctrine had a hateful sound. It was the party of which its late leader had once stated that ' through them the House of Commons would degenerate into an assembly of municipal and parochial minds ; ' the party of which he said that it was composed of ' little luminaries fitter for a municipal chamber than for the senate of the most extended Empire in the world ; ' the party of which he, Mr. Gladstone, ' viewed with deep regret the undue predominance it gave to merely local ideas, a conduct that would threaten to leave the Govern- ment of the greatest Empire in the world to be the prize of a scramble among a motley crowd of eager, contentious, and egotistical mediocrities.' This party of Little Englanders became the new hope of the Irish demagogues. Their narrow-minded outcries were only too willingly re-echoed by the Irish Parliamentary rebels. The country was driven into a state of frenzied fear by fanciful descrip- tions of the perils into which Beaconsfield's policy would plunge England. Rumours were spread of an inevitable war with Russia. And Mr. Gladstone's inflammatory harangues fell with the vehemence of volcanic eruptions upon the Nation until she was one glowing and boiling mass. In the end the Liberal-Radical party rode on it to power. Ireland had to pay the cost of this victory. What its state of affairs and its prospects were at the time is neatly expressed in Lord Beaconsfield's manifesto. 'The measures,' he says, 'respecting the state of Ireland which Her Majesty's Government so anxiously considered with your Excellency, and in which they were much aided by your advice and authority, are now about to be submitted for the Royal Assent, and it is at length in the power of the Ministers to advise the Queen to recur to the sense of her people. The acts of agitators which represented that England, instead of being the generous and sympathising friend, was indifferent to the dangers and sufferings of Ireland have been defeated by the measures at once liberal and prudent which Parlia- ment has almost unanimously sanctioned. ' During the six years of the present Administration the improvement of Ireland and the content of our fellow-countrymen in that island have much The Land League. 79 occupied the care of the Ministry, and they may remember with satisfaction that in this period they have solved one of the most difficult problems con- nected with its government and people by establishing a system of public education open to all classes and creeds. ' Nevertheless, a danger, in its ultimate results scarcely less disastrous than pestilence and famine, and which now engages your Excellency's attention, distracts that country. A portion of its population is attempting to sever the Constitutional tie which unites it to Great Britain in that bond which has favoured the power and prosperity of both. ' It is to be hoped that all men of light and leading will resist this destructive doctrine. The strength of this nation depends on the unity of feeling which should pervade the United Kingdom and its widespread dependencies. The first duty of an English Minister should be to consolidate that co-operation which renders irresistible a community educated as our own in an equal love of liberty and law. 4 And yet there are some who challenge the expediency of the Imperial character of this realm. Having attempted and failed to enfeeble our Colonies by their policy of decomposition, they may perhaps now recognise in the dis- integration of the United Kingdom a mode which will not only accomplish but precipitate their purpose.' Indeed, with an Ireland law-abiding and progressing constitutional, social, and economic legislation might have been possible. But the new Democracy in England, on the contrary, needed turmoil and commotion so that its programme could not be put to a practical test. It was therefore most expedient to hurl this new commotion upon Ireland. If once again writhing under the blight of further spasmodic, contradictory and conglomerate laws, its convulsions could not fail to react upon and seriously to affect the whole Nation. Circumstances and events favoured this scheme. The Irish themselves proved once more their own and worst enemies. They joined, and at least afforded cover to a new conspiracy, the conspiracy of THE LAND LEAGUE which was fast forming and mustering in the Emerald Isle. For, just as in England a certain party could not succeed with an Ireland law-abiding, so the Republican brotherhood in Ireland could not flourish with an Ireland contented. Upon a population constantly improving its moral and material position, and thus becoming more and more reconciled to the existing regime, there was nothing for the demagogues to live upon. Therefore, their very existence was at stake, and to save it they had to make violent efforts. 8o Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. Moreover, the teachings of the Butts and the Powers were rapidly paling. On the Irish horizon appeared the Parnell Comet. From the Irish soil rose the Land Leaguer, Michael Davitt. The doctrines of the skir- mishers, the Clan-na-Gael, the V.C., and the American Nationalists began pest-like to infect the Home Rule party in Ireland, corrupting the latter's aims and ambitions to such an extent that they were no longer satisfied with trying to place Ireland in the same relation to the British Empire which the State of New York bears to the Confederation of the United States of America, but henceforth worked directly for a national and completely independent existence. ' The peasantry in Ireland was, however, as yet in a dormant state.' The Separation movement, according to the Father of the Land League, had hitherto failed, for two reasons : First, 'because there had never been one in which the people were united ; ' second, ' because the movements had been wholly sentimental.' It needed, accordingly, something more luring ; a something that would rouse the prejudices of the people ; a something that would excite the cupidity of the masses and inflame their worst passions. Only by dint of work, great energy and incessant appeals to every feeling, every sentiment, every wrong, and every superstition which would stir the peasantry into action, was it possible to bring the Land League beyond the point to which these Butts had brought it "in their drag-along movement." Now a Land Question furnished this all-powerful pretext. It could not fail to invigorate a movement which in the words of Dillon 'would succeed and overthrow the first garrison of an alien and hostile govern- ment.' Hence such a Land League was organised, both the characteristics of the formation, and the principles, of which Michael Davitt has explained in the following words : ' The principle upon which the Land League was founded is, as a matter of course, subject for dispute and difference of opinion, and the programme which was drawn up by the persons named (the American Nationalists) and em- bodied in resolutions of the Conference on October 21, 1879 (inasmuch as it did not comprise any demand for self-government), cannot be credited with Compensation for Disturbance Bill. 8 1 containing the whole " principles" upon which the Land League was founded. The organisers of the Conference had to consider the advisability of framing such a programme as would not "scare" any timid land reformer away from the projected movement, and it was further considered necessary to render it eminently constitutional for the double purpose of legal protection against the Castle and to enable members of Parliament to defend it within the House of Commons. What, then, was the principle upon which the Land League was founded ? I maintain that it was the complete destruction of Irish landlordism : first, as the system which was responsible for the poverty and periodical famines which have decimated Ireland ; and, secondly, because landlordism was a British garrison, which barred the way to national independence.' Such were the avowed aims of the Land League, namely, the severance of Ireland from England, and the establish- ment of an Irish Republic. By the irresistible force of common interests the champions of these pernicious teachings, as we have seen } became henceforth the allies of the Radical Party. It should be admitted that the Government was for a time still vacillating between coercion and felonious con- cession. But it could be foreseen that the struggle would end in a humiliating surrender to Fenianism ; leading to a betrayal of England, and be a curse on Ireland. The first gift of this new era was the COMPENSATION FOR DISTURBANCE BILL, a ' legislative ' proposal which of course roused the wildest expectations. It was the evil consequence of a previous iniquitous measure, the first Land Act, which, as is known, had legalised the doctrine of robbery, destroyed the rights of ownership, and punished loyal devotion to the interests of England. This Compensation for Disturbance Bill now meant the final sacrifice to the Irish Parliamentarians of the land- lords, the garrison of the Union. Happily this sacrifice was too much for the Nation. At the same time it was scornfully rejected by the Parnellites themselves, to whom it appeared to offer still too little. Under these circumstances Is it surprising that Mr. Gladstone had to ask for additional powers necessary to secure protection for life and property and personal liberty G 82 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Riile. of action? Aye, the Prime Minister had to bring in 'The Protection Bill' and 'The Arms Bill: It would have been well for Ireland had these measures been energetically carried out ! But alack ! Not restora- tion, peace, and prosperity, but commotion and annihilation were to be the order of the day. The doggerel which was at that time circulated amongst the Irish children for the formation of a children's Land League explaining that A is the army that covers the ground, B is the buckshot we're getting all round ; C is the crowbar of cruellest fame, D is our Davitt, a right glorious name, E is the English who have robbed us of bread, F is the famine they've left us instead, G is the Gladstone, whose life is a lie, shows the real state of feeling of the Irish at that critical juncture. The British Government, it was said, had betrayed the Irish vote in passing the Coercion Acts. Now the moment had arrived when it was necessary to betray per- fidious, though for the time being foolishly confiding, Albion. Under these circumstances it stands to reason that the appeals which were immediately addressed to the peasant mind neither originated in the " exalted " patriotism of a Thomas Davis, nor excited the farmers to the practice of virtues of " disinterested " patriotism. As Michael Davitt himself has afterwards candidly stated, ' the appeals were made to self-interest rather than to self- sacrifice.' Parnell, too, delivered at Galway, in 1880, a speech in which he declared : ' I wish to see the tenant farmers prosperous ; but large and important as is the class of tenant farmers, constituting, as they do, with their wives and families, the majority of the people of this country, I would not have taken off my coat and gone to this work if I had not known that we were laying the foundations by this movement for the recovery of our legislative independence. Push on, then, towards this goal, extend your organisation, and let every tenant farmer, while he keeps a firm grip of his holding, recognise also the great truth that he is serving his country and the people at large, and helping to break down English misrule in Ireland.' Redmond likewise declaimed: ' I say for one I have a great and another object in view in this land movement. I am anxious that the peasants of Ireland should be free and Compensation for Disturbance Bill. 83 independent men. I am anxious above all that Ireland should be a free and an independent self-governing country. And it is because I know by the history of the past that landlordism in Ireland has ever been the supporter of alien rule, and because I know that to-day it is the only link which binds us in that hateful union to England it is for that reason above all others that I, at any rate, am here to-day as a Land Leaguer. Now, fellow-countrymen, I have said over and over again, and I repeat it here to-day, that in this movement in Ireland we are only continuing and prolonging the same old struggle which has never ceased to be waged by Irishmen against foreign rule in this island. In the old days that movement had other names. In the old days it was supported by other means, but to-day, on a constitutional platform, in working for the land, for the people, we, every man of us, are still continuing the struggle which our forefathers made on the hill-side and in the valley when they laid down their lives for the independence of their country.' Finally, Matthew Harris revealed that : ' When we found reason and argument of no avail, we found it necessary to appeal to the passions of the people, to tell them how they were rack-rented by landlords, how they were exterminated by landlords, and tell them all the evils that could rouse up the passions and the " manhood" of the country.' It might harve been foreseen that any concession to, that any compromise with, the Irish demagogues and Fenian republicans would only lead to further extortions on their part. The goal of their ambitions was an Irish Republic. This naturally implied the previous destruction of England and the English. So long as these two obstacles blocked their success the Irish conspirators would march on 'through rapine and murder' till the last and great treason conces- sion could be wrested from a moribund British Government. Parnell, the sagacious Parnell, himself had triumphantly declared at Westport : ' There is really no reason why we should permit ourselves to be demoral- ised by the greatest concession of all. If you obtain concessions of right privileges, such as the Irish Church Act and the Land Act, you run no risk of demoralising yourselves. I have always noticed that the breaking down of barriers between different classes has increased their self-respect, and in- creased the spirit of nationality amongst our people. I am convinced that nothing would more effectually promote the cause of self-government for Ire- land than the breaking down of those barriers between different classes, Nothing would be more effectual for that than the obtaining of a good Land Bill the planting of the people in the soil. If we had the farmers of Ireland the owners of the soil to-morrow, we would not be long without getting an Irish Parliament. I do not intend to be demoralised myself by any concessions. While we are getting a concession we may show the Government a little con- sideration for the time being, and give them a quid pro quo, but after that the bargain ceases ; and when we have returned them a fitting return for what we have got, we are quits again, and are free to use such measures as may be necessary accord ng to the times and according to the circumstances. You have a great country to struggle for a great country before you. It is worth a little exertion on your part ; it is worth a little time. Do your best, and your country will thank you for it, and your children hereafter.' There could be no doubt that the Land League, or rather 84 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. the National League, would spread terrorism and murder all over the country. Nor could the Land League and the National League exist without relentlessly persecuting even the meanest of their opponents. Who these opponents were past events had already sufficiently shown. But the Irish, as if eager to leave no room for the slightest misconception of their intentions, now deliberately warned England that it was not merely the loyal citizen, but every law-abiding, industrious, and honest man, who would henceforth fall under the proscription of the Fenians. It was made con- clusively clear that whosoever dared refuse to join the con- spirators and assassins was doomed ; he was boycotted and persecuted into the grave. Parnell himself admitted in the House of Commons ' that the practice of boycotting has been used not only against persons who " robbed " their neighbours by taking their holdings from them, but it has also been used against persons who refused to join the Land League; against persons who refused to illuminate their houses, and finally against people who refused to subscribe to- various popular movements. But apart from these manipu- lations, the practice of boycotting has been used in a variety of other ways which merit the severity of the most stringent condemnation.' Yet in spite of all these warnings the ' expiatory ' policy was persisted in. Even though, according to Mr. Gladstone's emphatic declaration the debt to Ireland was paid in full in 1873 ; and although the attacks of Fenians and Moon- lighters, of Skirmishers and Land Leaguers, were directed against landlordism, because landlordism was the British garrison and a pillar of strength to the Union, another con- ciliatory Bill was now laid on the table of the House of Commons, namely, THE LAND BILL. This Land Bill, too, did not spring from a virgin soil. From the source whence it originated no good and beneficial harvest could possibly grow, however auspicious the con- The Land Bill. 85 ditions of the season might have been. Having been sown in a field already polluted by previous legislative abortions, the Land Bill could not but bring misery on Ireland and trouble upon England. The measure was one of the many more or less unscrupulous concessions to well-organised unscrupulous extortion. It was a denial of all former pro- fessions of faith ; a refutation of pledges repeatedly given ; an abandonment of all the principles, the solemn announce- ment of which was still sounding through the kingdom. Indeed it contained all the elements of demoralisation, public plunder, and disintegration. Its provisions renounced the fundamental doctrines of government and of those ethics upon which human society exists. It overthrew the very rules and precepts which Mr. Gladstone and his friends and followers had at one time or other pronounced as vitally essential to the moral health of the Body Politic, and which had been warmly recommended as the panacea against Socialist revolution. ' Fixity of tenure wholly unsustained by the slightest attempt at reasoning. Perpetuity of tenure on the part of the occupier, a virtual expropriation of the landlord . . . the effect of which provision would be that the landlord became a pensioner and rent-charger upon what is now his own estate. Perpetuity of tenure, a phrase that he Mr. Gladstone flattered himself is going a little out of fashion. If he Mr. Gladstone has contributed anything towards it he Mr. Gladstone is not sorry' all these most iniquitous 'propositions which, if adopted, would bring the most grievous evils upon the country, and against which the Nation ought to be solemnly warned,' were embodied in this Land Bill. But the cup of iniquity was not yet full. Beyond the most sanguine expectations of the Irish demagogues in the House of Commons the proposal to establish an ad- ministrative department for the express purpose of reducing excessive rents was carried, notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Gladstone had formerly attacked this very proposal in the following words : 86 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. ' I own I have not heard, I do not know, and I cannot conceive what is to be said for the prospective power to reduce excessive rents. . . . Shall I really be told that it is for the interest of the Irish tenant bidding for a farm that the law should say to him ' Cast aside all providence and forethought ; go into the field and bid what you like ; drive out of the field the prudent man who means to fulfil his engagement ; bid right above him and induce the land- lord to give you the farm, and the moment you have got it come forward, go to the public authority, show that the rent is excessive and that you cannot pay it, and get released ! If I could conceive a plan, first of all for throwing into confusion the whole agricultural arrangements of the country ; secondly, for driving out of the field all solvent and honest men who might be bidders for farms, and might desire to carry on the honourable business of agriculture ; thirdly, for carrying ^videspread demoralisation throughout the whole mass of the Irish people, I must say it is this plan and this demand that we should embody in our Bill as a part of permanent legislation, a provision by which men shall be told that there shall be an authority always existing ready to release them from the contracts they have deliberately made.' These Gladstonian utterances were verified by subsequent events in a manner that THE LAND BILL BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH DEMORALISATION ! ' This demoralisation spread amongst the whole of the Irish people ;' it infected even a large section of 'England's Democracy.' Ireland was henceforth involved in a chaos of outrages, crime and murder ; whilst England resounded with the impassioned accusations which the British Prime Minister was forced to hurl against the Irish agitators. The message of peace had once more become a challenge for war with The Land Bill synonymous zvith Demoralisation. 87 all the atrocities of Irish faction-strife. The compact of ' goodwill ' and ' conciliation ' between the Liberal party and the Irish demagogues had produced the bitterest hatred. It is true that the English Government did not content itself with denunciations. It actually struck a blow at the hydra heads of Irish rebellion. Some of the chiefs of the Irish ' Parliamentary' party were sent to prison. And when entertained at the Guildhall Mr. Gladstone even delivered the ever-memorable homily on the claims of law, public order, and loyalty to the throne and institutions of the country. At the same time a most eloquent appeal was made to all the leaders of all the political parties to support the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament. Yet the subsequent events quickly dispelled the momentary enthusiastic illusion. Closely following upon the murder of Cavendish and Burke; the betrayal of Forster, the release of Parnell and the Pact of Kilmainham showed that Irish terrorism had conquered, and that the Parnellites dragged along on their triumphal progress the English Government, fettered in chains. The British Government lowered the flag, whilst in the memory of men was still Mr. Gladstone's a. attack on John Dillon : '* He comes here as the apostle of a creed of force, which is a creed of oppression, which is a creed of the destruction of all liberty ;' b. his accusations against the Parnellites and Land Leaguers : (l.) 'For nearly the first time in the history of Christendom a body a small body of men have arisen who are not ashamed to preach in Ireland the doctrine of public plunder." (2.) 'Behind the commission of these agrarian outrages in Ireland there are influences at work higher than any that belong to those who commit them.' (3.) ' These Irish members are not persons seeking amendment of the law. They are seeking to dismember the British Empire.' (4.) ' So that with fatal and painful precision the steps of crime dogged the steps of the Land Leaeue, and it is not possible to get nd, by any ingenuity, of facts such as I have stated, by vague and general complaints by imputations against parties, imputations against England, imputations against Governments. You must meet them and confute them if you can.' (5.) 'The process called " Iwycotting " is, according to the hon. member (Parnell), a legitimate and proper process. What is meant by " boycotting?" In the first place, it is combined intimidation. In the second place, it is combined intimidation made use of for the purpose of destroying the private liberty of choice by fear of ruin and starvation. In the third place, that being what Ixjycotting is in itself, we must look to this, that the creed of "boycotting, 88 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. like any other creed, requires a sanction, and the sanction of "boycotting," that which stands in the rear of " boycotting," and by which alone "boycotting " can in the long run be made thoroughly effective, is THE MURDF.R WHICH is NOT TO BE DENOUNCED;' c. his criticism of the infamously famous, happily defunct, Parliament at St. Stephen's Green : ' It seems almost impossible that such events could have happened only ninety years ago, but the present position of affairs in Ireland, with many of the Wolfe Tone-type, leads us to realise that if France was not too much occupied with thoughts of Germany there are adventurous spirits in her army who would be ready to repeat the enterprise of Hoche. If Ireland had Home Rule given her to-morrow, she would use her power with the continued endeavour, consistent with all her recent utterances, of complete separation from England.' This is the lesson of history as to the prospects of a successful experiment in Home Rule. ' It is a great issue ; it is a conflict for the very first and elementary principles upon which civil society is constituted. It is idle to talk of either law or order, or liberty, or religion-, or civilisation if these gentlemen (the Irish Home Rulers) are to carry through the reckless and chaotic schemes that they have devised. Rapine is the first object ; but rapine is not the only object. It is perfectly true that these gentlemen wish to march through rapine to the disintegration and dismemberment of the Empire, and, I am sorry to say, even to the placing of different parts of the Empire in direct hostility one with the other. That is the issue in which we are engaged. Our opponents are not the people of Ireland. We are endeavouring to relieve the people of Ireland from the weight of a tyrannical yoke.' The British Government gave up the struggle, and surrendered to the party of which John Bright had declared : ' An Irish rebel party, the main portion of whose funds for agitation come directly from the avowed enemies of England and whose oath of allegiance is broken by association with its enemies ; ' concerning which Sir William Harcourt stated : ' The land agitation in their hands (the hands of the Irish Nationalists) is an agitation whose object is to destroy the Union of the Empire and to overthrow the established Government of the United Kingdom ; ' and with respect to which Sir George Trevelyan asserted : ' If you want to get at the truth you must never forget that there are two Irelands the Ireland of men of all creeds, ranks, and callings, who, whatever else they may differ upon, unite in wishing to preserve law and order, and the right of every citizen to go about his business in peace and safety. . . . On the other hand stand the men who planned and executed the Dublin murders, the Galway murders, the boycotting and firing into houses, the mutilation of cattle, and intimidation of every sort and kind throughout the island.' (1883.) The British Government gave in, ostensibly for the purpose of forming a Union of Hearts with men of whose character and disposition they yet possessed excellent knowledge, thanks to utterances such as John Dillon's : The Home Rule Phase. 89 'Gladstone's reputation in politics is, I believe, a false reputation, and based upon a most extraordinary gift of skilful misrepresentation of fact ;' (1891.) such as William Redmond's : 1 There is not a single man from Mr. Parnell down to myself who does not hate the Government of England with all the intensity and fervour of his heart;' (1885.) such as J. O'Kelly's : ' Should a war break out between England and any foreign Power within three months, every man capable of holding a gun will be found fighting for the enemy against Great Britain ;' (1885.) but, above all, thanks to the Parnellite manifesto of 1885 to the Irish voters : 1 In 1880 the Liberal Party promised Peace, and it afterwards made unjust war ; Economy, and its Budget reached the highest point yet attained ; Justice to aspiring nationalities, and it mercilessly crushed the national movement of Egypt under Arabi Pasha, and murdered thousands of Arabs '' rightly struggling to be free." To Ireland, more than to any other country, it bound itself by most solemn pledges, and these it most flagrantly violated. It denounced coercion, and it practised a system of coercion more brutal than that of any previous Administration, Liberal or Tory. Under this system juries were packed with a shamelessness unprecedented even in Liberal Administrations, and innocent men were hanged or sent to the living death of penal servitude ; 1,200 men were imprisoned without trial ; ladies were con- victed under an obsolete Act directed against the degraded of their sex ; and for a period every utterance of the popular Press and of the popular meeting was as completely suppressed as if Ireland were Poland, and the Administra- tion of England a Russian autocracy. ' ' We feel bound to advise our countrymen to place no confidence in the Liberal or Radical Party, and so far as in them lies to prevent the Government of the Empire from falling into the hands of a party so perfidious, treacherous, and incompetent. In no case ought an Irish Nationalist to give a vote, in our opinion, to a member of the Liberal or Radical Party, except in some few casts in which courageous fealty to the Irish cause in the last Parliament has given a guarantee that the candidate will not belong to the servile and cowardly and unprincipled herd that would break every pledge and violate every principle in obedience to the call of the Whip and the mandate of the caucus. We earnestly advise our countrymen to vote against the men who coerced Ireland, deluged Egypt with blood, menace religious liberty in the school, the freedom of speech in Parliament, and promise to the country generally a repetition of the crimes and follies of the last Liberal Administration.' With this final surrender of the then British Government commenced THE HOME RULE PHASE. The boiling gulf of hatred which surged between the Liberal Party and the Irish ' Parliamentary ' band, the mercenaries of American Fenianism, of the Invincibles and go Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. Dynamitards, and of the men of the Skirmishing Fund, was once more to be overbridged by a conciliatory Bill which put a premium on treason against England. Forgotten was Sir William Harcourt's : ' If the English, if Great Britain, if we (the Liberals) are to govern Ireland according to the ideas of Irish demagogues, I fear we shall find ourselves reduced to the consequences of not governing Ireland at all.' Forgotten were Lord Rosebery's warnings : ' The followers of Mr. Parnell do not give votes for nothing. I fear the result will be disastrous. I don't profess to be a very imaginative person, but I confess that my imagination fails to lead me to what the practical result of that alliance may be. We know the friendly feeling of Mr. Parnell towards this country, and we may be certain that it is not England, or Scotland, or Wales that will benefit by this new and interesting alliance. It is an alliance which has not merely struck a mortal stab at political principles, but it in- volves a danger to the Empire itself:' October 15, 1885. In spite of Lord Salisbury's declaration at the outset of his interim ministry ' that he intended to restore order, to check terrorism, and to carry out the law in Ireland in the same manner in which it was administered in England;' in spite of John Bright's assertion on July 4, 1886, 'of a complete surrender of the destinies of the Empire,' the British Government of the day, headed by Mr. Gladstoner threw now before the hungry pack of the Irish Parliamen- tarians the BILL TO AMEND THE PROVISIONS FOR THE FUTURE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND. Is it necessary to enlarge upon the pernicious effects which the adoption of these Provisions for the Future Government of Ireland would have had on the future exist- ence of Ireland and of England ? Legislative enactments such as those lined out in clauses 9, 10, and 1 1 of this amending Bill are hardly conceivable as likely to 'have worked usefully and beneficially. These clauses provided that 9. (l.) The Irish Legislative Body shall consist of a first and second ' order.' (2.) The two orders shall deliberate together and shall vote together, except that, if any question arises in relation to legislation, or to the Standing Orders First Bill to amend Government of Ireland. 9 1 or Rules of Procedure, or to any other matter in that behalf in this Act speci- fied, and such question is to be determined by vote, each order shall, if a majority of the members present of either ' order ' demand a separate vote, give their votes in like manner as if they were separate Legislative Bodies ; and if the result of the voting of the two orders does not agree, the question shall be resolved in the negative. 10. (i.) The first 'order' of the Irish Legislative Body shall consist of one hundred and three members, of whom seventy-five shall be elective members and twenty-eight peerage members. (2.) Each elective member shall, at the date of his election and during his period of membership, be bon&fide possessed of property which (a.) if realty, or partly realty and partly personalty, yields two hundred pounds a year or upwards, free of all charges ; or (b.) if personalty, yields the same income, or is of the capital value of four thousand pounds or upwards, free of all charges. (5.) The term of office of an elective member shall be ten years. (6.) In every fifth year thirty-seven or thirty-eight of the elective members, as the case requires, shall retire from office, and their places shall be filled by election ; the members to retire shall be those who have been members for the longest time without re-election. (7.) The offices of the peerage members shall be filled as follows ; that is to say : (a.) Each of the Irish peers who on the appointed day is one of the twenty- eight Irish representative peers shall, on giving his written assent to the Lord Lieutenant, become a peerage member of the ' first order ' of the Irish Legislative Body ; and if at any time within thirty years after the appointed day any such peer vacates his office by death or resignation, the vacancy shall be filled by the election to that office by the Irish peers of one of their number in manner heretofore in use respecting the election of Irish representative peers, subject to adaptation as provided by this Act, and if the vacancy is not so filled within the proper time it shall be filled by the election of an elective member. (b.) If any of the twenty-eight peers aforesaid does not, within one month after the appointed day, give such assent to be a peerage member of the first order, the vacancy so created shall be filled up as if he had assented and vacated his office by resignation. (8.) A peerage member shall be entitled to hold office during his life or until the expiration of thirty years from the appointed day, whichever period is the shortest. At the expiration of such thirty years the offices of all the peerage members shall be vacated as if they were dead, and their places shall be filled by elective members qualified and elected in manner provided by this Act with respect to elective members of the first order, and such elective members may be distributed by the Irish Legislature among the electoral districts, so, however, that care shall be taken to give additional members to the most populous places. (9.) The offices of members of the ' first order' shall not be vacated by the dissolution of the Legislative Body. (10. ) The provisions in the Second Schedule to this Act relating to members of the ' first order ' of the Legislative Body shall be of the same force as if they were enacted in the body of this Act. 11. ( I. ) Subject as in this section hereafter mentioned, the ' second order ' of the Legislative Body shall consist of two hundred and four members. (2.) The meml>ers of the 'second order' shall be chosen by the existing constituencies of Ireland, two by each constituency, with the exception of the City of Cork, which shall be divided into two divisions in manner set forth in the Third Schedule to this Act, and two members shall be chosen by each of such divisions. (3.) Any person who, on the appointed day, is a member representing an existing Irish constituency in the House of Commons shall, on giving his written assent to the Lord Lieutenant, become a member of the ' second order' 92 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. of the Irish Legislative Body as if he had been elected by the constituency which he was representing in the House of Commons. Each of the members for the City of Cork, on the said day, may elect for which of the divisions of that city he wishes to be deemed to have been elected. (4.) If any member does not give such written assent within one month after the appointed day, his place shall be filled by election in the same manner and at the same time as if he had assented and vacated his office by death. (5.) If the same person is elected to ' both orders,' he shall, within seven days after the meeting of the Legislative Body, or if the Body is sitting at the time of the election, within seven days after the election, elect in which order he will serve, and his membership of the other order shall be void and be filled by a fresh election. Such were to be the romantic provisions for the future government of Ireland. Their comic grotesqueness and unreality was all apparent, and the English people instinctively recognised the perils which if the Bill had become law would inevitably have arisen from its incon- gruities. It saw at once that a Legislative Assembly such as the one sketched out by Mr. Gladstone's provisions for the future Government of Ireland was doomed to be abortive, and would therefore bring ruin upon both countries. For whilst on the one side some provisions granted to Ireland excessive liberties, another provision virtually disfranchised the daughter-isle in so far as she would henceforth have no representatives at Westminster. Nor could the reser- vating clauses as to Customs and the retention of the Royal Irish Constabulary under the control of the British Imperial Executive, which left Great Britain the real ruler over the Irish, ever be put into harmonious operation. And yet at the same time another ' conciliatory ' measure was introduced, namely, THE LAND PURCHASE BILL, by the terms of which the Irish landlords were to be bought out at from twenty to twenty-two years' purchase of their judicial rents, with something extra by way of compensation for arrears. Here at least, though, it cannot be gainsaid that many items in this proposal seemed to be 'adopted under a serious conviction of honour and duty.' The Bill for the Better Government of Ireland. 93 Still the British Nation persisted in its opposition to both Bills. Such Whigs as the Duke of Argyll, the Duke of Westminster, Lord Hartington, Bright, Chamberlain, and Goschen withdrew from the Liberal Party. The country, then appealed to, called a Balfour and a Salisbury to the helm of the State barque. And the vessel appeared to right herself, entering upon a calmer course. Beneficial enactments and laws were promptly passed, encouraging the economic, social and moral development of Ireland. There was a general revival of confidence and energy, thanks to a firm and for this very reason truly Irish administration. The Parnell Commission culminating in the ever-memorable speech of Sir Henry James, threw a glaring light upon the infernal workings of the Irish demagogues and conspirators. With this exposure the last danger was apparently removed. Peace and prosperity seemed once more within the reach of the peoples of the two Islands. But the peace was to last only for seven years. The Nation wanted a change, and she went to the Radical mountain. And the mountain was all eager and ready. As is said in the fable : Mons parturibat, gemitus immanes ciens, Eratque in terris maxima expectatio ; Quid ille pareret ? At ille legem ' Proteam ' peperit ; The Radical mountain brought forth THE BILL FOR THE 'BETTER' GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND. The Irish parliamentary rabble was delighted with it. As to the English, a goodly number of John Bull's children gazed at it in bewilderment, though in the end they acquiesced. The Conservatives and so-called Liberal- Unionists, it is true, were all fury and wrath ; they were, however, in a minority. All other factions turned Home Rulers. The more advanced cockney Radicals rejoiced in the anticipation of the spoils which in the course of the 94 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. working of this Home Rule measure would come to them. Finally, the Walshite and Jesuit opposition submitted to be muzzled ; they read Rome Rule for Home Rule. There were certainly a few patriots in the English " Irish Home Rule " camp who still remembered the statement in the " Freeman's Journal" of April 16, 1891 : ' No body of clergymen in Great Britain would venture to put forward such claims as some of the Catholic bishops have recently advanced in Ireland, nor would it be possible for any organisation of ministers of religion across the Channel to interfere in elections in the spirit and after the fashion marking recent contests in Ireland.' as well as Dr. Walsh's declaration that 'As priests, and independent of all human organisations, they possess an inalienable and indisputable right to guide their people in this momentous pro- ceeding, as in every other proceeding where the interests of Catholicity as well as the interests of Irish nationality are involved.' But they had not the courage to state their apprehensions in the House, where universal satisfaction seemed to rule supreme. For, as a matter of fact, even the Socialists imagined they saw behind the Home Rule Bill visions of their Millennium. The Anarchists, too, rejoiced over its first reading. They, together with the Fenians and Irish- American dynamitards, recognised in its stipulations a generous acknowledgment of the success of their peculiar methods of warfare. And the anti-Popish scruples, or rather the terrors of a supremacy of the Romish antichrist, which had hitherto harassed the Nonconformist conscience, suddenly disappeared with the introduction of that Bill for the 'Better' Government of Ireland. Were not the Veto and Suspensory Bills nestling under its protecting wings ? Indeed, there was a general shaking of hands ; everybody felt the charm of the " Union of Hearts." All the previous warnings appeared to be forgotten. Though Sir Robert Peel, speaking on the ruin of a policy of concession, had solemnly asserted years before : ' I will do anything to conciliate any portion of the people of Ireland that is just towards them, just also towards others. But, alas ! we have had many warnings that conciliation and peace are not the necessary results of conces- sion and of intended kindness ;' The Bill for the Better Government of Ireland. 95 and had stated : ' I can have no security for the protection of law, property, or individual liberty so long as the slightest degree of influence is exercised over the ignorant population of Ireland by agitators and conspirators. ... A separate Parlia- ment in Ireland would amount to a disbanding of society ; and, new relations having sprung up since the incorporation of the two countries, to retain Ireland, after a dissolution of the Union, within her proper orbit in the system of the Empire would require the might of that omniscient and omnipotent Power by which the harmony of the planetary system had been arranged and was sustained.' and although Mr. Gladstone was once the pupil of Sir Robert Peel ; he, Mr. Gladstone, persisted in believing in the virtues of his Home-Rule-specific. The fact is that his Government was already sold to the Irish irredeemably. The Bill for the "Better" Government lay on the table of the House ; it could not be withdrawn. By clause I of this ' Protean ' Measure Ireland was granted a Legislature. By clause 9 the Irish were likewise allowed eighty representatives in the Imperial Parliament. The Irish-American republicans were thus made more than ever the arbiters of England's destinies, inasmuch as the Bill for the Better Government of Ireland embodied the instructions laid down by William O'Brien (January, 1892) : ' We are all united in demanding that the Irish Parliament, while it acts within its own province, shall be as free from Imperial meddling as the Parlia- ments of Australia and Canada that is to say, practically speaking, as free as air ; ' and followed at the same time upon the lines of Parnell's : ' It is now known to all men that when our Parliament has been restored to us it shall have power to make laws for Ireland, and that there shall be no English veto upon these laws except the constitutional veto of the Crown, exercised in the same way as in the Imperial Parliament.' But in this there was, after all, nothing startling, for not- withstanding that Mr. Gladstone had proclaimed in 1886 : ' I never will be a party to any plan which gives to the Irish people a eparate Parliament, and also gives them a voice in British affairs at home.' the new revolutionary proposal neither contained the clause of the old scheme of 1886 : 19. (i.) It shall not be lawful for the Irish Legislative Body to adopt or pass any vote, resolution, address, or Bill for the raising or appropriation for any purpose of any part of the public revenue of Ireland, or of any tax, duty, or impost, except in pursuance of a recommendation from Her Majesty signified through the Lord Lieutenant in the session in which such vote, resolution, address, or Bill is proposed. 96 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. nor the clause : 12. (i.) For the purpose of providing for the public service of Ireland the Irish Legislature may impose taxes other than duties of customs or excise, which duties shall continue to be imposed and levied by and under the direction of the Imperial Parliament only. nor the clause : 33. (a.) The existing law relating to the Exchequer and the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom shall apply to the Irish Exchequer and Consolidated Fund, and an officer shall from time to time be appointed by the Lord Lieutenant to fill the office of the Comptroller General of the receipt and issue of Her Majesty's Exchequer and Auditor General of public accounts so far as respects Ireland ; and (b.) The accounts of the Irish Consolidated Fund shall be audited as appropriation accounts in manner provided by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866, by or under the direction of the holder of such office. Instead, it handed over to the Irish proletariats and its Parliamentary agitators all the powers of finance ; the ' improved ' Bill enacting that 'All matters relating to the taxes in Ireland and the collection and manage- ment thereof shall be regulated by " Irish" Act, and the same shall be col- lected and managed by the Irish Government, and form part of the public revenue of Ireland.' and stipulating that : Save as in this Act mentioned, all the public revenues of Ireland shall be paid into the Irish Exchequer and form a Consolidated Fund, and be appro- priated to the public service of Ireland by Irish Act. In the 'Bill for the "Better" Government of Ireland/ there were no longer safeguarding provisions, such as : 18. If Her Majesty declares that a state of war exists, and is pleased to signify such declaration to the Irish Legislative Body by speech or message, it shall be lawful for the Irish Legislature to appropriate a further sum out of the Consolidated Fund of Ireland in aid of the army or navy, or other measures which Her Majesty may take for the prosecution of the war and defence of the realm, and to provide and raise money for that purpose ; and all moneys so provided and raised, whether by loan, taxation, or otherwise, shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom. or as : 3. The Irish Legislature shall not make laws relating to : (3) The army, navy, MILITIA, VOLUNTEERS, or other military or naval forces, or the defence of the realm. Neither did it contain provision 22 of the old Bill, which reserved to Great Britain : (l.) The power of erecting forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other buildings for military or naval purposes. (2.) The power of taking waste land, and, on making due compensation, any The Bill for the Better Government of Ireland. 97 other land, for the purpose of erecting such forts, magazines, arsenals, dock- yards, or other buildings as aforesaid, and for any other military or naval pur- pose, or the defence of the realm. By way of compensation for these omissions the 'im- proved ' Bill, through Clause 30, proposed to hand over to the tender mercies of the mercenaries of the Irish-American dynamitards, of the Clan-na-Gael, of the Invincibles, and of the men of the Skirmishing Fund, 1 the loyal Irish Con- stabulary, the only safe-guard and reliable guarantee for the true and prompt and honest fulfilment of Ireland's obligations and duties towards England. 1 As to this ' Skirmishing Fund,' the ' Irish World ' gives, under date August 28, 1880, the following information concerning the motives for and aims of its formation : ' Five years ago O'Donovan Rossa, through the columns of this paper, made known to the Irish people the idea of skirmishing. . . . He did not himself write the address that was published. Rossa called for $5,000. The first notion seemed to rise no higher than the rescue of a few Fenian prisoners then held in English gaols. He wanted badly to knock a feather out of England's cap. That sort of theatrical work did not satisfy us. ' Nor did it commend itself to some others either. Rossa then said he was willing to burn down some shipping in Liverpool. Why not burn down London and the principal cities of England? asked one of the two whom Rossa, in the beginning, associated with him in the movement. Rossa said he was in favour of anything. The question of loss of life was raised. Yes, said he who has put forward the idea, yes, it is war, and in all wars life must be lost ; but in my opinion the loss of life under such circumstances would not be one-tenth that recorded in the least of the smallest battles between the South and the North. Some one suggested that plenty of thieves and burglars in London could be got to do this job. Here we interposed. Why should you ask others to do what you yourself deem wrong ? After all, would it not be yourself that would be committing the sin ? Gentlemen, if you cannot go into this thing with a good conscience you ought not to entertain the notion at all. 'Here now, two questions presented themselves: (i) Was the thing feasible ? (2) If feasible, what would be the probable result ? ' That the idea could be carried into execution, that London could be laid in ashes in twenty-four hours, was to us self-evident. England could be invaded by a small and resolute band of men, say ten or a dozen, when a force of a thousand times this number, coming with ships and artillery, and banners flying, could not effect a landing. Spaniards in the days of the Invincible Armada, and Zulus to-day, could not do what English-speaking Irishmen can accomplish. Language, skin-colour, dress, general manners, are all in favour of the Irish. Then, tens of thousands of Irishmen, from long residence in the enemy's country, know England's cities well. Our Irish Skirmishers would be well disguised. They would enter London unknown and unnoticed. When the night for action came, the night that the wind was blowing strong this little band would deploy, each man setting about his own allotted task, and no man, save the captain of the band alone, knowing what any other man was to do, and at the same instant strike with lightning the enemy of their land and race. ... In two hours from the word of command London would be in flames, shooting up to the heavens in fifty different places. Whilst this would be going on, the men could be still at work. The blazing spectacle would attract all eyes, and leave the skirmishers to operate with impunity in the darkness.' II 98 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. And lest the supremacy of Ireland should not be suffi- ciently secured the Bill for its Better Government appealed to the Nation for contributions in amounts of half millions sterling, though it was obvious that these supplies taken from the British taxpayers would go to swell the coffers of the Fenian the Dynamitard the Irish Republican factions. Still, this ' Protean ' Bill had some redeeming features. Certainly in its principles as well as in its purports and provisions for Irish Autonomy, it was even devoid of originality. Long before its appearance there had existed so-called ' Personal Unions,' such as the Home Rule measure aimed at establishing in Great Britain. They had existed in the old German, that is, in the holy Roman Empire, which soon became the laughing-stock of Europe. A ' Personal Union ' had been in existence in Spain under Charles V. By ' Personal Union ' Poland and Saxony were at one time governed in the reign of Augustus ; England and Hanover under the Georges. The Bill for the Better Government of Ireland at the same time attempted to reproduce in the two Isles the happily defunct, and for ages moribund ' Deutsche Bundesstaat.' It is further true that the provisions for the " Better Government of Ireland " also provided sufficient material for a conflict similar to that which is raging in Scandinavia between the 'Riksdag' and ' Ridderhus ' on the one side, and the ' Storthing,' that is the ' Lagthing ' and the ' Odels- thing,' on the other. Nor can it be denied that had the measure become law, it would have been productive of events such as are con- stantly disturbing the development of federate Canada. Containing no provisions for the establishment of more or less autonomous County Councils or sub-divisional Provincial Delegations by which a large minority, differing in religion and race from an antagonistic majority, would successfully have been protected against the latter's oppression ; the Home Rule "Scheme" could not have failed to bring about in the loyal, prosperous, and industrious Ulster a state of The Bill for the Better Government of Ireland, 99 affairs as mischievous as that which plays such havoc amongst the Protestant population of British origin in the province of Quebec. On the other hand although surrendering all the rights and powers of government to the Irish Legislature the Home Rule Bill yet contained no clause by which the garrisoning in Ireland of a British army of occupation was rendered unlawful. On the contrary, it left in the Emerald Isle such regiments as were already quartered there ; though it seems obvious that the very presence of these soldiers in the midst of " Independent Ireland " and amongst "Ireland the Nation" would not only have been a continual source of vexation to the Irish parlia- mentary delegates at St. Stephen's Green ; but sooner or later would also have come into inevitable collision with the ultimate policy of the Walshes, the Egans, the Davitts, the Tim Healys, and the Redmonds. And yet there were some redeeming features in the Bill for the Better Government of Ireland. It contained two provisos in every respect unique. Evidently advised by : When two authorities are up, Neither supreme, how soon confusion May enter 'twixt the gap of both ; the Government took good care that the Home Rule measure commenced with a safe-guarding preamble: 'Whereas it is "expedient" that without "impairing" or "restricting" the supreme authority of Parliament, an Irish Legislature should be created.' The Imperial supremacy being thus protected by the charms and forces of a preamble it was thought of small consequence if loyal Ulster and a loyal Constabulary, who had hitherto been the backbone of that supreme authority of the Imperial Parliament, were now disarmed and disbanded. Reassured by such a preamble, it was absurd for British Ministers to consider the possibility that in case of an Irish alliance with an American or French host against England ; or in case of a fresh outbreak of Fenian terrorism ; or in the event of the inevitable ' Irish parliamentary' anarchy, the ioo Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. British troops might be compelled to re-enforce this supreme authority; perhaps at the point of the bayonet, and acting no longer as protectors of the common people, but this time really as alien invaders. The measure likewise contained a second proviso by which the Lord Lieutenant was to be retained. The Lord Lieutenant, no doubt, and even the representative of the Queen ! but virtually the dependent of an ' Irish ' Executive, which again would have been the tool of the 'Irish' Legislature, swayed in turns by the rabble and the priests ; sometimes coerced by both at one and the same time ; fooling the Queen's representative, and tyrannising over the industrious part of the population of Ireland ! EPITOME. This Home Rule Bill was passed by the Commons. A majority of thirty members, inclusive of the whole Irish Vote, endorsed its provisions. On reaching the House of Lords the Bill was actually admitted for inspection. But the hereditary legislators, rinding that on the one side its grants of licences and on the other side its safeguarding clauses were beyond their intellectual horizon ; without even making use of their customary courtesy threw out the whole Bill. For a moment England was awe-struck. John Bull's children asked themselves if their country were not hanging on the brink of revolution; for it was hardly conceivable that the people would stand such conduct of that stubborn Upper House. Contrary, however, to all expectations, the people did stand the ejectment of the Home Rule Bill,. concerning which the conviction appears to gain that, had it actually become law, it would have severed the bonds by which the British community is held together. In fact, the Nation seems more and more to recognise that, apart from the provision in the Bill which proposed permanently to install the Irish Members at Westminster as the arbiters of the Imperial Parliament, the fiscal and other provisions of Epitome. 101 the Home Rule measure on becoming law would have struck the death-blow to the rights and security of property, even where acquired by dint of industry, self-denial and thrift. The Nation begins to recognise that the so-called "judicial clauses " of the Home Rule Bill would have destroyed the law and corrupted the administration of justice ; and that its electoral machinery would have established the terrorism of the brutal force of numbers, disfranchising minorities and preventing them from stating and defending their cause in a constitutional manner. At the same time it now appears clear that by the adoption of the principles of the Bill toler- ance would have become a sham, and religion a pompous farce. And last, though certainly not least, it is generally admitted that the realisation of the Home-Rule-promises to Fenian threats and murder, perjury and treason, could not have failed to tarnish the Nation's honour ; revealing both to the peoples abroad and the foreign enemies of Great Britain, the infamous story of how England, led by a British Statesman, betrayed the Nation's most sacred obligations towards thousands of loyal citizens and civil servants in the daughter isle. In truth, Anglo-Irish history teaches the maxim that unless there is a powerful Imperial supremacy either England or Ireland must go to the wall. The two Islands and their in- habitants cannot exist side by side in a state of independence. There is an eternal law of nature by which the smaller atoms are by the larger particles with which they come into contact attracted, assimilated and converted into one solid, one united mass. The same law presides over the formation of States, and it is unquestionably true that " This Age of Ours " is an era of national concentration and political centralisation ; indeed, history shows that he who thrusts his arm between the wheels of that evolution is likely to perish. To be sure there are States-unions and States-federations in existence at this moment. But they are tottering towards their fall. Scandinavia, Austria, and Turkey are mournful illustrations of this sombre fact. They are fast approach- ing their dissolution, for they have been raised upon a IO2 Anglo-Irish History in relation to Home Rule. patchwork of compromises and treaties, whilst the policy of their governments is nothing but opportunistic concession. These States vegetate within the vicious circle of self- governing, provincial, tribal, and small national legislatures, and of Imperial diets and royal delegations. They are worn out by the collisions between these their various governing bodies, each moved by its own principles and inspired by its own particular aims and ambitions. These States, not unlike the idol made up of fragments of clay, iron, brass, silver and gold, that fell to pieces before the breath of a better creed, will be broken up ere long by the irresistible national movement. They will soon be cast into the furnace of evolution, there to be melted down, and moulded afresh into new forms more in harmony with the age, so that the hundred features of their hundred tribal " nationalities " will be effaced, and the new nation bear the impress of one uniform character. For such is the course of civilisation ; its end is an international union of large States with an international board of arbitration. Thus there can be no room for every tribal claim to a national independence, even if proffered by the Parnellites and Healyites, supported by the Gladstones, and advocated by the Roseberys. Nature, conditions, circumstances, as we have seen, all point to the impossibility of indepen- dent, separate Irish and English Governments or State- households, and the lessons of European, not less than Anglo-Irish history, conclusively denounce any attempt even at establishing two such distinct Legislatures, implying as they do, two organic States. These lessons, on the con- trary, all point to the fact that the Irish can only then hope to be prosperous and to live in peace, if and when they commence to recognise in the English not only their true friends but also their stronger brothers. For with the dawn of such an understanding the era of mutual goodwill and co-operation will begin. And it may safely be assumed that, once the advantages of this union are felt, the in- habitants of the mother and daughter-isles will be welded together by^common interests inseparably and for ever. The British Constitution. 103 THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. Next to the Anglo-Irish Question, the growing discontent with the British Constitution that exists amongst a large section of the Nation, presents a problem full of grave issues. And yet, have not a thousand years sanctioned and even sanctified the various institutions now assailed? Are not all of them part and parcel of the British Constitution, which created and wrought into form and shape by Nature and circumstances, has shed upon Great Britain the blessings of peace and prosperity for ages? Indeed, unique as this Constitution is, the patriot is justified in considering it to be synonymous with the safety, prosperity and grandeur of England. It is certainly neither a document nor is it a statute or a code. It is neither tangible nor visible. " No stones or casements enclose it, no bayonets protect it, no circuits of entrenched posts confine it." Like the country for which it was destined, it is free. There are no boundaries which might mar its majesty. Unsullied by the pedantry and egotism, prejudice and ambition, bigotry and passion of man, it is limited only by restrictions which were inspired by divine precepts and suggested by physical laws. But the principles of this Constitution have become the universal conceptions of the English nation. They regulate British sentiment, British thought, and British conduct. And it may be safely said that this Constitution, the greatest of inheritances, has grown into the hearts of the people whence it sprung ; that it is one with the people as a whole, though some in their impatient discontent would fain emerge from under its protecting dome to get lost in the Anarchic wilderness without. A lofty dome is truly the one architectural structure to which the structure of the British Constitution is comparable. IO4 The British Constitution. This dome rests upon three fundamental pillars that may be named the Crown, or Prerogative with its Ministerial Executive ; the House of Lords, or Veto and Legislative ; the House of Commons, or the Initiative and Legislative. In nature and character they are distinct from one another, yet, as a matter of fact, all three serve one common purpose. Lest the Crown overshadow the Commons, it is checked by the Lords ; lest it be crushed by the Commons, it is supported by the Lords. And in the same measure as the Upper House forms the connecting link between the Crown and Legislative, i.e. the Sovereign and the People, the Cabinet is the common factor between Prerogative, Control and Initiative, so that none stands solitary. The British Constitution embodies thus the ideal Consti- tution of Aristotle. It realises the best government of which Polybius tells us the constitution which consists of the three forms, regni, optimatium, et populi imperio : in English, Sovereign, Lords and Commoners. The mixed government of Cicero is represented in the British : Crown, Nobles and Commoners participate in the administration of Great Britain. In theory they are deputed by, and symbolic of parties ; in practice, they are part and parcel of the English people. United, they frame the laws and regula- tions, which, jointly and severally, they willingly bear and gladly obey. Thanks to this concord no deadlock is to be apprehended in Great Britain ; a deadlock such as may happen, and actually does happen, in Austria and the United States of America, the Legislatures of which do not represent the country as a whole, and the people as a unit, but only heterogeneous parts and particles, as, for instance, in the North American Republic, where the Senators are the representatives of particular States-Legislatures frequently antagonistically opposed to one another to the detriment of the Imperial interest ; whilst the elected of the Con- gress are often the delegates of caucuses, cliques, factions and rings. The British Constitution. 105 Neither does the British Constitution contain many possibilities of dangers of the nature of those to which the French Constitution is constantly exposing France, whose Legislature is likewise composed of the most heterogeneous elements, the Senate being an assembly of Ministerial and other dependents, salaried, and in virtue of the nine or rather three years' limit of the Senatorial office exercising their functions at the pleasure of their protectors, clubs or cabals ; whilst the French Chamber is the meeting-place of the ambitious, of agitators and fanatics, of place-hunters, journalists and financiers ; legislators in the pay of the people, and usually the slaves of the mob or the tools of their coterie or sect. Finally, the danger of the sovereign or his chancellor coercing or otherwise abusing the Legislature, has occurred and is occuring in Germany and Austria, is remote, if not impossible, in this country. In fact, the British Constitution is the Constitution that in- corporates most completely equity, moderation and equality, and therefore true Liberty. Its fundamental principle is 'one common law and one justice for all and everyone,' though, perhaps, there have happened, and will happen, in some particular instances, exceptional cases of irregularity. As a rule, passions and ambitions for supreme power, exercised by an individual over the Nation have always had to burn out within themselves ; under the shadow of the British Constitution there never was vantage ground for excessive egotism, brutal licentiousness, or cruel despotism. On the contrary, its history shows how through its magnetic influence the virtues of each of the three ' Estates,' the Crown, the Lords, and the Commoners were, and are, constantly called forth and brought into beneficial action. And as to the vices of each, they were restrained, balanced, modified, or changed to advantage by a continual jealousy of one another, and by the fear of a coalition between two of the three elements for the destruction of the third. The mere thought of such a coalition was dreaded and treated as high treason. The character of io6 The British Constitution. the people, the nature of its conditions, and the condition of its surroundings, as well as the memory of past events, were organically opposed to it. The ' Estates ' knew that of the two surviving parties, one, in its turn, would become annihilated in an inevitable duel for the final supremacy. This harmonious and beneficial working of the British Constitution can be more fully understood when its effect is compared, for example, with the effects which the French Constitutions have had on the French people. There, in France, what a perpetual cyclone of rebellion, tyranny and revolution ! Not only from the time of Louis XI. till that of Louis XIV., but also, within two brief ages, from the death of the author of " 1'etat c'est moi " to the Great Revolution ; from the Reign of Terror until the despotism of Napoleon ; from the times of the " Sacre," the Polignacs, the Guizots, the Lamartines and the Louis Blancs, till the periods of the Louis Buonapartes, then of the Petroleuse, of the MacMahons, of the Boulangers, and again of the Panama Scandals what a world of costly and ruinous changes were wrought ; what a multitude of riots were caused ; what streams of blood were shed through the baneful influence of the manifold written French Constitutions ! It is true, the constitutional history of England, too, is not without its dark pages. The British Constitution did traverse a ' Sturm-und Drang-Periode.' It had to pass through vicissitudes, for everything connected with man has to undergo trials, and will be affected by the changes to which human nature is liable and continually subjected. Yet upon a moment of turmoil always followed an era of calm. Whatever attempts were made at encroachment quickly failed and brought disaster upon those who made them. For instance, there were the assumptions of the nobles under Henry VII., assumptions arrogant and turbulent, because due to a great extent to the demoralising effects of the Wars of the Roses and the disturbing influence of the bloody struggles with France. But this aristocratic The British Constitution. 107 venture to invade the balance of power such as the Constitution had granted to each of the Estates was a lamentable failure, the boundaries of their respective duties and rights being too well marked, even at that remote period. Again, it is true that Mary infringed some provisions of the Constitution. Yet had she lived longer, her probable fate might have afforded a precedent for the fate which over- took Charles I. or James II. for similar infringements. The fact is, to state it once more, the British Constitution has been one and the same Constitution from the dawn of modern historical Britain to the present day. It may be that the Witans and the Witenagemote were not exactly as rowdy as our recent Parliaments. Nor was in the ancient Parliament a Committee Room Number Fifteen. And the Witans certainly did not resemble the gatherings at ' Spring Gardens.' Notwithstanding, the Witenagemote and the Witans or the Parliament and the County Councils, the Hundred Courts or the Quarter Sessions, the Town Moots or the Municipalities are neither in principle, nor even structurally, essentially different. ' In the days of the Saxon kings, the Lord-Lieutenants, the Sheriffs, the Justices of the Peace, were not elected magistrates to do the work of their constituents, but the king's servants, named by him to do the king's work, i.e., public work.' And this character of their appointments and the nature of their functions do not seem to have changed during these many centuries. They are in principle almost the same now as they were then. Just as is our present Parliament, only upon a narrower basis, the "Witenagemote was a great meeting for the making of laws and the voting of taxes. It was an assembly ot the wise of the realm, and though the members were bishops, earldormen, thanes, magistrates of boroughs, four-men, reeves of townships, some may say, men more or less of aristocratic proclivities ; the White- nagemote represented the whole English people, as the wise moots of each kingdom represented the several io8 The British Constitution. peoples of each. In all, the freemen and citizens gathered round the wise men at London and Winchester, and participated by acclamation in the election of a king." The life of this Constitution was unquestionably some- what precarious under the Normans. Yet, on the whole, their Government likewise pro- ceeded on Saxon principles. There was the Grand Council of the lords and wise men. They had the King, 'who reserved to himself from the freemen nothing but their free service, as their lands were granted to them in inheritance of the King by the Common Council of the whole kingdom.' So there was also a Common Council. And this manifestation of the fundamental principles of the British Constitution continues throughout the course .of English history. Developing with the development of the Nation's civilisation, we see as time goes on the duties and rights between the different Estates of the realm more and more clearly expressed and better defined. Thus, William the Conqueror's assertion of the liberty of the freemen and of the representative body of the kingdom may be considered as having been the basis of that greatest of constitutional pacts, enactments, proclama- tions, and declarations, that is of the Magna Charta " the noble and singular proof of the sympathy existing at that time between the barons and the people of England, and, as it were, of the instinctive disposition for constitutional government, manifest even in one of the most unscrupulous of her kingly rulers.' This wonderful people's charter again supplied the guiding principles for all the subsequent title-deeds of the people or part-charters of the constitutional liberties of the Nation. And as to the direct effects of the Constitution on the English, there cannot be the least doubt that the good qualities which England's kings and nobles and people have exhibited at many a critical moment in the course of centuries were due to that Constitution, with its mixed character, in which three elements (antagonistic amongst The House of Lords. 109 all other nations) are, as we have seen, harmoniously blended. For this reason, the predilection and love of the patriots for England's parliamentary and other institutions seems, in every respect, to be justified. The "unique" Constitution of England resembles a matchless crown of diamonds ; it is pure ; it is lustrous ; it is of a marvellous durability. Only a general conflagration can destroy such diamonds as the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Rights, the Habeas Corpus Act, the Act of Settlement, and Mr. Fox's Press Law. Nevertheless we are confronted by a problem that aims at the overthrow of one of the three pillars upon which the British Constitutional dome rests, namely, THE HOUSE OF LORDS. This problem is contained in the question : Are the powers which the House of Lords still possesses as the Upper Chamber of the British Parliament any longer reconcileable with the democratic tendency of "This Age of Ours," and compatible with the legislative claims of the people ? There can be no difference of opinion concerning the necessity of some sort of reform in the present constitution of the House of Lords. Whilst its champions assert that it possesses too little power ; its opponents contend that it possesses too much. This is a confusion of judg- ment and a conflict of opinion sufficiently grave to require prompt examination and careful settlement, difficult though such an undertaking be. For, as to the oppo- nents of the Lords, a goodly number amongst them stoutly maintain that the virtues of the Peers are spotted over by their vices. Not that in their opinion the Upper House deserved any severe condemnation because it rejected the Home Rule I io Tlie House of Lords, Bill. In doing this, they admit, it simply performed its obligation towards the Empire, fulfilling its duty as a Parliamentary Revision Court. Nor are they wishful to accuse the House of Lords of obstinately pursuing a reactionary policy merely on account of its honest and manly attitude when the Employers' Liability Bill and the Parish Councils' Bill were submitted to its judgment- With respect to these measures they believe that it acted the part of the wise Mentor whose notions of statecraft are well matured, and not the unfortunate inspirations of a moment of panic or unreasoning senti- mentality. The House of Lords being hitherto supposed to know what is equitable and just, its adversaries grant that it would have betrayed its mission and stained its reputation, had it sold to the brutal force of numbers the rights of minorities which it was its duty to protect. Even as regards endowments and other Church property, these critics concede that the Lords would actually have committed an unlawful act in surrendering to conglomerates of villagers and of townsmen, without distinction of creed, without property or any other qualification, the titles of ownership which by the legally expressed wishes of former generations had been and are vested in the Vicars and their wardens for specific purposes. The opponents of the Lords found their assertion that there is an absolute necessity to reform the Upper Chamber upon the following more general counts, to wit : that the House of Lords is a " nauseous and ludicrous anachronism ; " that its sins are not only sins of omission ; that it is not merely rejecting or mutilating bills ; but that its baneful influence is already potent on the very threshold of the Lower House. The Lords, those critics say, were determined at the time the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1871 was under consideration, " that picketing should be a penal offence ? " But what business was it of theirs to consider whether even legally restricted picketing might not be abused for coercive and worse purposes, after the people, or rather Trade Unionism, had expressed its opinion on this matter ? The House of Lords. 1 1 1 Again, they say, the Lords opposed to the utmost of their power the Great Reform Bill. Since, however, they themselves were a hereditary Legislative Body, What right had they to examine whether the enlargement of the franchise would lead to an enslavement by officialdom and to a curtailment of our liberties as well as of our rights by loud-voiced cliques ? Or, themselves being class and party legislators, Had they any better title to object to those electoral manipulations simply because they tended to advance the policy of a certain faction, with whom, to quote Mr. Gladstone's bold assertion concerning the Radical School, The removal of abuses is mainly a means to the end, and that end is a fundamental change in the character of our institutions ? The Lords, an assembly of " figure-heads and old women," could at that time hardly have so much political prescience as to foresee what Mr. Gladstone later on stated would be the aim of that faction, namely, To centralise administration, to break up the masses of landed property, TO DISCOUNTENANCE THE UNPAID service which among us is so closely asso- ciated with the influence of hereditary station, to concentrate political power in the towns, to discredit the ancient traditions of Government, to prevent the Church from gaining real strength and union by good laws, to make the franchise irresponsible and the representative a delegate, and when by these means the sapping process has been brought to sufficient ripeness, then to open the batteries AGAINST THE INDEPENDENCE OK THE HOUSE OF LORDS, the connection between the religious and the civil institutions of the country, and whatever else of the Constitution may still remain open to attack and be worth attacking. But although, as the hostile critics say, the Lords have been duly enlightened since, they threaten now to continue their nefarious policy of obstructing all progressive bills. They actually persist in their perverse endeavours to stem the growing tide of the Social Revolution ! So, for in- stance, whilst modern Demos would fain vote God and the instinct of patriotism out of existence, at least within England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, can it be denied that out of sheer egotism the Peers still entertain some anti- quated patriotic sentiment, and profess, no doubt from self-interest, warm sympathy with the Church? And again, whilst Modern Demos acknowledges universal I 1 2 The House of Lords. suffrage and mass-legislation to be the panacea of our social and economic and politic evils; the Lords seem to disdain the dreams of " utopists? to scorn the wiles of reform- touts, and to reject the bribes of election-tricksters, though they all present themselves at the threshold of the Upper Chamber in the name of the supreme Collectivist people ! Thus, the critics of the Lords ask, What other proofs are wanted in support of the fact that the " aristo- cratic legislators" are no longer in touch with the spirit of " This Age of Ours," which is a levelling spirit with a swamping tendency ? These are arguments, powerful arguments, which, indeed, it will be well for our statesmen to consider with all diligence. One Cicero, a statesman himself, and, besides, the author of some fair treatises on the various kinds of Governments, certainly says ' As in flutes and harps and in all vocal performances, a certain unison and harmony must be preserved amid the distinctive tones, which cannot be broken or violated without offending experienced ears, and as this concord and delicious harmony is produced by the exact gradation and modulation of dissimilar notes, even so by means of the just apportionment of the highest, middle, and lower classes, the State is maintained in concord and peace by the harmonious subordination of its discordant elements.' And truly, the House of Lords was actually at one time believed to be the ' counterpoint ' in the harmonious concord of the British Constitution. Neither was it for ages seriously disputed that without an independent control there can be no stable government. It was then admitted by an equally large number of people that this independence could best be secured by entrusting with legislative power and legislative control men who possessed the prestige of illustrious ancestors or of substantial means (landed lords); men noteworthy for highly trained intellectual qualities (law lords, lord bishops and lords literati) ; men Tlie House of Lords. 113 who had gained some prestige by exceptional deeds, deeds which implied the possession of exceptional characters (army and navy peers) ; finally, such men as were justly and judiciously ennobled for their great commercial or industrial enterprise, sagacity, energy and integrity. Even a short time ago there were still many who actually believed that all the elements above enumerated as being essential to an independent Legislature were re- presented in the House of Lords. They reasoned thus from the fact that as recently as last year the House of Lords counted amongst its members no fewer than 169 peers who had had a practical training in the House of Commons ; 114 peers who had served in offices of State or as governors of colonies, judges, or ambassadors, and 1 26 peers who were members of County Councils in England and Wales. At the same time, although these people did not exactly assert that the Upper House was a fertile soil for the mushroom growth of geniuses, they were nevertheless of opinion that it was at least a safeguard for the continuity in politics and legislation, and a safety-valve for public opinion. Nor were the duties of the Lords seriously disputed at one time. As history clearly shows, the House of Lords was thought to possess the power of altering or rejecting any Bill on which the House of Commons was not yet in thorough earnest ; and of suspending the passage into law of any Bill on which the Nation was not yet decided. It was supposed to sit almost as a Court of Review upon all the measures coming from the Lower House. And as with but few exceptions these measures were assumed to have previously been fully discussed before the country, in and out of Parliament, the House of Lords was held to be best enabled to adjudicate on their merits or defects, to gauge their popularity, not with a faction but with the Nation ; above all, to judge of their final usefulness to the Empire. Neither was there any doubt as to its components. From I 114 TJie House of Lords. its appearance people would conclude that it consisted of almost homogeneous elements, and that, although being in character aristocratic, it was influenced rather by 'honour.' These qualities naturally implied that it was more compact and less open to a bribe, particularly to a social bribe, than the Lower House, composed of most heterogeneous elements. Moreover, the British public fairly recognised that the welfare and existence of the Lords largely depended, not only on the Sovereign, but in the first instance, on the prosperity of the Empire and the contentment of the Nation. Upon this ground many believed the House of Lords to be particularly careful in its support and direction of the foreign policy of Great Britain. Further, the difficulties of its place and office in the Con- stitution suggested the adoption of the principle of moderation for its maxim. Had not Montesquieu already asserted concerning the ' principe de 1'aristocratie : ' 'la moderation est 1'atne de ce gouvernement. J'entends celle qui est fondle sur la vertu, sur la sagesse, sur 1'experience ; non pas celle qui vient d'une lachete et d'une paresse de Fame ' ? Owing to this moderation ; owing to the homo- geneity of its members ; owing, in most cases, to their financially and socially independent positions ; owing, too, to their matured age and ripened experience, the House of Lords was then looked upon as being not only a Constitutional Pillar, but also and above all a Constitutional Pilot. Finally, though not so much a source whence many new organic laws originated, it was frequently admitted that the members of the Upper House, unrestrained by all- absorbing business callings, were rendering to the country invaluable service in Committees, in Royal Commissions, and particularly in the Judicature, as the Imperial High Court of Appeal, thus in many instances preventing the establishment of a salaried officialdom's tyranny. Such were the Lords in the estimation of many who even now would fain imagine that the inmates of the Gilded The House of Lords. 115 Chamber have never been found wanting in any of those conditions or failed in the fulfilment of any of those duties. But these supporters of the "Peers" seem to undervalue the counts which, not without some justification, their oppon- ents advance in their indictment of the House of Lords, namely, that its members have acted on several occasions, as we have seen, in a foolish, in a stubborn, if not actually in a reactionary manner. And in this evolutionary Age of Ours it is obvious that an assertion as sweeping as the statement, "the hereditary principle is an obstacle to our progress towards the Millennium of Collectivism," must speedily gain credence amongst the emancipated people. Nay, at a time when no smaller men than the Parish dignitaries are being lifted on to their village Governorships by means of suffrage- cranes, it is unquestionably an anachronism to allow a batch of noblemen to interfere with the destinies of a great Nation simply because their ancestors rendered some ser- vice to the king or the country. This attack on the Lords seems in reality to be a national duty, since merely by virtue of this accident of birth the Upper House may any day be invaded by elements which would be most unde- sirable acquisitions even for the Lower House. For although they never possessed much prestige or political power for the furtherance or mutilation of any genuine people's Bill ; a few such "lawless" or erratic Lords have at one time or other actually sat in the Upper Chamber as lawful legislators. Not without considerable provocation are the ques- tions being raised, " What is to be done with the Lords ? Are they to be mended ? Or are they actually to be ended ? Are they to be replaced? If so, by what? By whom? With whom ? " Indeed, it can be of but small interest to the exclusive British mind that the advantages which, in the judgment of some people, the House of Lords has hitherto conferred upon the Nation are still being shared by other nations who possess a similar hereditary Second Chamber. If the lessons n6 The House of Lords. of the past appear to be so easily forgotten, it would be preposterous to expect that the lessons which even this evolutionary Age of Ours teaches, should be more readily accepted. It is certainly true that where an hereditary Upper House exists, as for example in Prussia and Bavaria, the country is prospering, and the people are in the full enjoy- ment of their political privileges. It is equally true that, on the contrary, there, where the Senate is composed of the nominees of the King and proteges of Ministers, as is the case for instance in Italy, the Upper House is no protector and safeguard for the liberties of the people, but is more a tool in the hands of unscrupulous statesmen, or a mere echo, and for this reason a mischievous cover, for the misdeeds of loud-mouthed demagogues. And it cannot be disputed that there, where the Second Chamber consists of members chosen upon some kind of elective principle, such as we see tried in France and the United States, the nation is always exposed to the danger of the Lower House coming in pernicious conflict with the elected Senators of the Upper House, which must either lead to a lamentable deadlock in the business of the State, or, if a great principle is at stake, be decided perhaps by civil war. But important though these facts are in themselves, the House of Lords is proven to be " a nauseous anachronism "; it is a stumbling-block in the path of progressive legisla- tion. Modern Demos consequently acts quite reasonably in endeavouring either to mend or end it, by resolution or otherwise. Nor is it out of keeping with the fitness of things that the "people " has heartily taken up this problem of mending or ending. As a matter of fact, the "people " has been at constitutional tinkering before, so it ought to know what it is about, and it would be unfair to allow prejudices to stand in its way, however much they may coincide with the severe logic of historic data. Aye, since it seems the tendency of " This Age of Ours," at least as far as Great Britain is concerned, to cut up this Jingo creation, the monster of the British Empire, into The House of Lords. 117 small legislative gatherings ; perhaps it would be best that the Lords should go with speed. For as to the mending of the House of Lords ; it is doubtful whether the merits of the Peers would be improved by the introduction of a number of life-peers. Attempts at creating such life-peers have already been made, and repeated, as recently as 1856. The success of this innovation has always been questionable. On the other hand, it is not less doubtful whether much good would be derived from accord- ing the peers the privilege, as some Conservatives desire, of choosing between sitting in the Upper House or presenting themselves as candidates for the House of Commons. There is still the expedient of actually reorganising the House of Lords upon the elective principle. But the first, and fundamental condition in the organisation of a dual Legislature is that the Upper House be not a duplicate of the Lower House. The former must therefore be chosen by a limited and more opulent body of electors than that which elects the members of the latter. Yet such an arrangement, whilst abolishing one privileged class, would create another privileged class, a creation hardly compatible with the levelling tendency of " This Age of Ours." And even if it were compatible, even if the new First Chamber were scrupulously formed in accordance with the ' no- duplicate ' principle ; owing to the elective feature of its constitution it would not be secure from disturbance by popular commotions, from the tyranny of coteries, and from the usurpation of princely or mobocratic agitators. It would be lacking in one, and that the most powerful element, namely, the principle of independence : in that " a seat in the Upper House is inalienable, and its holder irremovable except according to the law of the country, if and when he should violate the law of the country." However, this is the very principle which, the champions of the House of Lords assert, has hitherto made its existence, although valuable to the existence of the Empire, so objectionable to Modern Demos. There- fore, we had rather abandon the idea of mending the 1 1 8 The House of Lords. House of Lords. Nay, since the era of universal peace and goodwill can never dawn over this Island unless it be ushered in by truly Democratic equality, we had better do without an Independent Upper Chamber at all. Besides are not the Lords the hereditary embodiment of legislative privileges acquired in the uncouth age of Feudalism ? It is true, Sir R. Crease says, " England had and has the advantage of the nobility without being cursed with a ' noblesse ' ; it is thus that the term ' roturier ' is untrans- latable into English." And Hallam observes " What is most particular, the peerage confers no privilege except on its actual possessor. The sons of peers are commoners, and totally destitute of any legal right beyond a barren pre-eminence. There is no part of our Constitution so admirable as this equality of Civil rights, this ' isonomia,' which the philosophers of ancient Greece only hoped to find in democratical governments. The English law confers not, it never did confer, those unjust immunities from public burdens which the superior orders arrogated to themselves upon the Continent. Thus, while the privileges of the peers as hereditary legislators of a free people are incom- parably more valuable and dignified in their nature, they are far less invidious in their exercise than those of any other nobility in Europe." But their wisdom is only the wisdom of learning. These two historians have been fumbling rather in the dusty and mouldering past than watching the awakening of the new spirit now arising against the House of Lords. To be sure, Modern Demos will encounter some difficulties. It is attacking powerful private, and some even think, powerful national interests. To slay these it has grasped a two-edged sword. It has drawn the keen atten- tion of Great Britain to the importance of its endangered institutions. And there are a goodly number of queer people in this Island. Out of sheer perverseness they might conceive the notion that, if anything, the power of the peers has hitherto been far too limited. For The House of Lords. 119 this reason Lord Rosebery has rendered the truly Democratic cause a bad service by speaking at Edinburgh whilst an election was pending close by. In doing so he has overthrown one of the many political disabilities from which the Lords have hitherto been suffering. Modern Demos must see to it that such actions are not repeated under pains and penalties of boycott and other like radical tribulations. At the same time all statements which tend to disparage the Anti-Lord-Movement should be rigorously suppressed. So, for instance, it is asserted that the act of the Laboucheres in striking at the Lords is an imitation of the sage conduct of the monkey who sawed off the branch on which he sat, because, as the slanderous " Peerites " say, without the Lords the Laboucheres would be without a pretext of existence. Again, it is suggested that if the English were really to abolish the Upper House, they would soon behold a genuine fight amongst the Democratic weasels and the Kilkenny cats, a fight, unquestionably amusing, nevertheless perhaps undesirable, as the country might the while go to the dogs. However, there is still hope left that this affair of the Lords will mend. If resolution and all else should' fail, may be, a compromise could be arrived at, whereby the hereditary principle might continue to be represented in the Upper House in the same way as the Irish and Scotch peers are at present represented there, that is, by the selection of the best of them to go to the Gilded Chamber. Then in addition to these, men such as those who had capably governed our colonies or India, many of whom are already members of the Upper House, and finally, such men as medical men or barristers, who had attained to a leading position in their respective professions, might be made part and parcel of the House of Lords. But, of course, considering the tendency of " This Age of Ours," even this arrangement could only be a postpone- ment of the solution of the "Lords' problem," not the solution itself. The fact is, Modern Demos maintains that I2o The House of Commons and the Franchise. behind the question of the House of Lords looms the next problem, the problem of THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE FRANCHISE. It were an outrage on the common sense and the evolutionised intellect of Modern Demos to assume that its craving for " Constitutional " development could be appeased by the immolation of the House of Lords. It aims at a loftier ideal. It contemplates the reform of the House of Commons. Nor can it be denied that such a reform is much needed from a Democratic point of view. As Modern Demos pithily says, "The Lower House is still too compact an assembly.'' Faddists and utopists cannot as yet thrive there and blossom forth into all the luxuriance of their imaginations. The class representatives at West- minster still exclude the masses from the game of legislating, and prevent them from letting loose their collectivist in- stincts. And in the midst of the present scramble amongst the bourgeois-politicians for office, privilege and lucre, the friends of the "people" have not yet sufficient chance to successfully push their own advancement. It is certainly admitted that those newly-fledged servants of the multitude, the Ministers, who might wish to speculate upon the corruptive parts in human nature are in this respect already well-favoured by the free and easy disposition of a number of Commoners. But generally speaking, the members of the Lower House are yet rather coy as regards monetary bribes. Being partly backed up by the financial interests they represent in the House, partly kept in awe by the hierarchic composition of society, they still prefer a social bribe. It is equally admitted that what were at one time the principal functions of the House of Commons, namely, to control the expenditure in the State-household, and by participating in the Government of the country to check any administrative excesses, have already become obsolete. The House of Commons and the Franchise. 121 But the levelling process of degrading the fit morally, financially and physically and forcing into their places the unfit, regardless of their incurable physical debility, moral barrenness and hopeless economic embarrassment, still en- counters too many unsympathetic elements in the Lower House. Thus it is obviously the duty of Modern Demos to finally swamp the Lower House since a swamped Legislature must swamp Legislation. And this swamping process can be most effectually carried out by vulgarising the franchise. No doubt there are many people whom every fresh Reform or so-called Registration Bill fills with new and increased alarm. They contend that it is a dangerous proceeding to disfranchise those citizens who are interested in the well-being of the State on account of their property, property gained by dint of energy and industry, by thrift and self-denial. They cannot see how necessary it is in a Democratic Age to appease by means of the franchise those who, being without possessions, without too much character, without stability, have little to lose, but may hope to gain much by constant and rapid political changes. On the contrary those reactionists are still of the old-fashioned opinion that such a proceeding is the first and most important step towards handing over to the rabble the Government of a commercial people. They say that such liberality in bestowing the franchise has a tendency to efface from the minds of the electors the obligation they are under to fulfil their public duties before they enjoy public privileges. Any Bill which proposes to enfranchise all men who do not pay rates or men who, being liable to pay rates do not pay them, they assert, enfranchises a great class, the class of defaulters. Will it be benefiting the State, they ask, to enfranchise defaulters, often intentional defaulters? If Modern Demos is going to take off the register those men who fulfil every obligation, and have interests in the State, should it at the same time enfranchise those men who are defaulters ? These reactionists so much deplore any attempt at 122 The House of Commons and the Franchise. finally emancipating the masses ; in their self-righteous disgust of all that seems tricky they so much abhor the very idea of establishing universal suffrage by means of Registration Bills that for once they even heartily endorse Mr. Gladstone's dictum and declare with him We do not agree in the demand either for manhood or household suffrage. . . . Changes that effect sudden and extensive transfer of powers are attended by great temptations to the weakness of human nature, and, however high our opinion may be of the labouring classes, we believe that it would be wrong to place such temptations as the franchise might give within the reach of them. Yet these people apparently forget how Modern Demos has shown in the Registration Bill of 1894 that there is no desire for the continuance of household suffrage. On the contrary, true to the levelling spirit of "This Age of Ours," already clause I, section 2 of that Bill expressly stipulated So much of any Act as requires that any person or premises shall be rated, or the name of any person shall be inserted in the rate-book, or any assessed taxes or poor or other rate shall be paid for the purpose of entitling a person to be a parliamentary or local government elector, "shall be repealed." Again, they forget that Modern Demos, so far from wishing to extend the franchise, is anxious to restrict its exercise, since clause 4, section I of that Registration Bill laid down Where a parliamentary elector votes at a parliamentary election in one con- stituency, he shall not, while the then current parliamentary register of electors is in force, vote at a parliamentary election in any other constituency. Finally, they fail to recognise that by arranging for the elections to be held all on one day by equalised numbers of electors in equalised electoral districts, Modern Demos really endeavoured to* simplify the establishment of a government by plebiscite, the most popular government, in spite of its being liable to grave abuses by pretenders or demagogues. The fact is Modern Demos begins to see the absurdity of the idea that a man should have two or three votes, simply because having worked harder and been more thrifty than his neighbour, he succeeded in acquiring property in several electoral districts. At the same time, Modern Demos slowly but surely recognises the iniquity of leaving the inhabitants of South Kensington, the artists and professional men of West Hampstead or Chelsea, the The House of Commons and the Franchise. 123 tradesmen of Islington and Finsbury Park larger electoral powers than the mechanics, trade unionists, and Social Democrats of Battersea, the masses of Clerkenwell, and the proletariat of the East End, which iniquity is becoming the more aggravating since the care for Imperial interest has gone out of date and it is now the fashion for our statesmen and politicians to be absorbed by parochial administration and District Government. And indeed, with respect to this Franchise -problem, it can truly be asserted that England has hitherto marched rather in the wake than in the van of civilisation. Granted in Germany, for example, no man is as yet permitted to record his vote unless he has reached his twenty-fifth year, and been a resident in one of the Federal States for at least twelve months previous to the election. Apparently two checks are thus set by a provident Government against any serious abuse of the voting power. The fixing of age is intended to guarantee that the majority of the electors are heads of families. The second limit pre-supposes that, at any rate, the voter has paid direct taxes within six months before the election. But, reactionary though these provisions seem to be, Modern Demos is in other respects already effectually encouraged by the thoroughly Democratic equality and uniformity which govern both the electorate and the elections in the Fatherland. Thanks to these, thanks to the "equalised" electoral districts, to the "universal" suffrage, based upon the principle of one man one vote, and especially thanks to the fact that all the elections are held throughout the Empire on one and the same day, the Republican Socialists are gaining the very power which the Government would fain have withheld from them by means of those checks. Owing to these electoral concessions over- bearing those reactionary checks, the more stable and better elements are already being thrust aside, and the Government pushed to make all sorts of costly legis- lative experiments. Again, it is unquestionably true that in France, too, the 124 Tlie House of Commons and the Franchise. suffrage is still restricted by some sort of tax qualification. Yet, not only the equalisation of the electoral districts and the electorates, but also the reduction of the age limit in that an elector becomes entitled to a vote the moment he reaches his twenty-first year, are full of' promise for the era of universal suffrage. How admirably even her present, as yet somewhat restricted, electoral system has already worked in the true interest of Modern Demos, can be seen from the fact that even now the " to be or not to be" of the Republic depends upon the good graces of a few deputies ; that her institutions are shaking upon the quicksands of the Wilson-Caffarell and the Panama scandals ; that the Chamber itself resembles a huge fiery machine, trembling, shrieking, interpellating as if in the throes of a mighty creation, but productive of nothing ; finally, that the nation, sick unto death of her stagnant political and merely vegetating social life, is ready to acclaim any pretender. Even the Belgians are bestirring themselves in the eman- cipation of the masses. The promoters of their recent Reform Bill certainly admitted that they asked the nation to take a leap in the dark. They certainly were ignorant of the propensities of the larger body of the electors whom they were going to enfranchise. But true to the' tendency of " This Age of Ours " they persisted with their measure, thanks to which, instead of 135,000 voters, there is already an army of 2,111,000 electors in Belgium. Nay, they actually succeeded in inducing the Belgians to efface their "bourgeoise" Constitution of 1831, which had given them freedom, order, and prosperity, for a more democratic system, following in this effort the general movement amongst the nations for a government elected and a Legislature established upon a mobocratic basis. To be sure it took some considerable time to bring about this desirable reform. So far back as 1870 a revision of the Belgian Constitution had been asked for. Thence- forth it had been discussed again and again until in 1890 the problem was at last introduced in the Chamber as a The House of Commons and the Franchise. 125 tangible legislative proposal. Even then the discussions on the platform and upon the tribune lasted three more years. It was only in October, 1893, that the revision could so far be called a "fait accompli;" so far only, inasmuch as the electoral qualification for the Senate still remained in controversy. For, after the Clerical party had given way in April, 1893, to the clamour for a more or less free selection of deputies to the Chamber, they were anxious to preserve at least one somewhat con- servative legislative body. And once more the reactionists managed to baffle on this point the intelligent people who just before had been enfranchised so that Modern Demos might assume the reins of government. They contrived that the Senate should be composed of two classes of members, one-fourth to be elected by the provincial councils, without property qualification ; the other three-fourths to be returned by universal suffrage, the candidates, though, to be selected from the ranks of those who pay taxes amounting to the minimum of i,2Oof. The reactionists, indeed, manipulated their interests so well that at least 500,000 of the new electors were, and are still, invested with plural votes, in spite of the fact that this reform measure provided for 1,200,000 electors, equivalent to an increase of 100 per cent. . With respect to the reform in the composition of the Chamber the franchise movement, however, had more far-reaching and more promising consequences. There the revision of the Constitution and the new electoral law realised many of the principal aspirations of the awakened proletariat. Certainly, the electors still remain divided into three classes, the class of the " univox," that of the " bivox," and that of the "trivox," according to the number of their votes, in virtue of which arrangement all persons above twenty-five years of age, who have resided for at least a year in the district in which they wish to vote, belong to the first class ; married men and widowers with families, who pay a personal tax of five francs to the State to the second class : whilst the third 126 The House of Commons and the Franchise. category comprises the so-called intellectual section, em- bracing those whom position and education entitle to vote. And it is true that as a result of these restrictions the priests as yet possess three votes, unquestionably a crying political inequality, since amongst the Belgians there are no fewer than 10,000 persons in holy orders. But handicapped though it still be by these restrictions there are already hopeful signs that Modern Demos will soon free itself likewise from this Clerical burden, and that the downfall of the other reservations will speedily follow. As a matter of fact, loyal to its love for official despotism exercised by the Ministerial servants of the State or rather of the "people " for the oppression of the people ; true also to its life-purpose, namely, to crush individualism as implying too much liberty, Modern Demos has already successfully introduced into the new electoral Law a provision by which the "emancipated" voters Are compelled to make use of their franchise, unless they have previously obtained an exemption from a civil judge, to whom an affidavit must be submitted for that purpose, setting forth the reasons for such exemption. So, wherever we look we see the principle of one man one vote triumphantly invade the governments and over- throw the barriers which have hitherto prevented the "people" from showing that man belongs to the animal kingdom. For it is of small significance that by way of exception for instance, Holland still retains in its new, modernised Constitution, Article 80, which stipulates The members of the Second Chamber are elected by those citizens of the Netherlands who possess the necessary qualification of mental and material well-being, that is All Dutchmen, who are 23 years old, and who are in the full enjoyment of their civil and political rights, shall be electors, provided they pay a personal tax in virtue of the local value of the house, or part of the house, which they are inhabiting, or provided they pay a property tax of 10 florins. It can be of but little importance that whilst it is generally conceded a workman may be, and perhaps is, as incorruptible as a man known to be a millionaire ; it is, nevertheless, advisable to require from him, like- wise, proper evidence of the fact that he lives an independent life, and maintains a family; which evidence The House of Commons and the Franchise. 127 is supplied by the voter paying some sort of tax, however small. It is a trifling matter, as the liberal John Russell once declared, that " The House of Commons, as a deliberative assembly, should include amongst its members a large proportion of gentlemen of knowledge, experience, and independence of character." It is of no consequence that the burden of Imperial taxation falls upon the class to be disfranchised to the amount of 48,500,000, whereas upon the masses to be enfranchised only to the amount of 17,300,000 ; that the huge Democracy contributes towards the Local revenues 4,000,000 ; whilst the so-called privileged class now to be deprived of their inheritance pays 24,000000 in rates. The spirit of " This Age of Ours " is a levelling spirit, with a swamping tendency, and it is only fit in a Christian country that to those who possess nothing shall be given from those who have acquired something. In order to achieve this laudable aim, there is no better means than to demoralise the House of Commons through leavening it by admitting into its " hallowed " council street- demagogues and gutter-politicians. That these say they require, besides office and power, some monetary consideration for their legislative duties ; that they will insist upon due payment on the part of the country for the privilege of being ruined by its Parlia- mentary Knight-errants : Who could reasonably complain of this request or of their conduct ? It is not only women once fair, but now fallen into the decay of advanced age, who love and swallow with voracity barefaced adulation ; Modern Demos hungers even more greedily after fulsome flattery. The "people" is a querulous mistress, and her chosen ones will have to make strenuous efforts to keep her in good temper ; and therefore ought to be paid for their difficult service. But after all, the Democratic leaders may yet be spared the heartburnings and disappointments which, it is said, the Tom Manns, the John Burns, the Shiptons, and the legion 128 Education. of trade-union secretaries are already experiencing. They are not yet appointed by the supreme "people " to act as trustees and administrators of the Nation. There is one problem from the solution of which much depends, the problem of EDUCATION. Many, if not all, the foregoing problems revolve round this educational problem. Neither the House of Lords nor the House of Commons, but the school is destined to be the final battlefield between the revolu- tionary and evolutionary forces; between collectivism and individualism. Out of the educational crucible will go forth the elements which will have to decide whether those fundamental constitutional changes are to be wrought or not. On the educational reform depends the re-organisation of our economic and social power. Unquestionably much has been done of late years in the interest of education. The Universities have already be- stirred themselves and shaken off the lethargy of mediaeval customs, formulas and doctrines. The headmasters of our public schools are awaking to the fact that a more liberal instruction in physical science, economics and especially in modern languages, may not only do no harm, but may actually benefit their pupils when cast upon the stream of life. And both the managers of Church schools and the members of School Boards are striving hard that the course of studies at their schools shall comprise all the useful branches of education. Yet in spite of these praiseworthy exertions, and serious though these attempts at reform have been, quite as much, if not even more, still remains to be done. Our educational system is still incomplete. Code and syllabus and exami- nation are not sufficient to make education a faithful and efficient pilot under whose guidance the Nation may safely glide past the Scyllas and Charybdes of " This Evolutionary Age of Ours." Without the spirit of patriotism, tempered by rational religion, breathing into them life and enthusiasm, Education. 129 they must remain more or less useless matter. So far, however, from being enlivened and enlightened by those, there is actually the danger of many of our educa- tionists who have hitherto been pioneers in the onward movement forgetting that education must be based upon Christianity, not in a sectarian and narrow interpretation, but as the revelation of morals par excellence. Nay, our education is not even reared upon the national principle, in consequence of which uniformity and common motive as well as common aim, are conspicuous by their absence from our educational system. This is noticeable in what is called elementary education. The policy of the Education Board, to a great extent in- fluenced and confused by electoral experiments on the part of successive Conservative and Liberal Governments is still too much a dilly-dallying policy. The eccentricities of the various School Boards, here their parsimony, there their extravagance, on the one side check the development of elementary education by stinting it ; on the other side undermine its foundation by chilling the enthusiasm of the people in that it forces upon them the question whether the immediate returns obtained from it are worth the money expended. And the prejudices of frequently time- Serving or incompetent managers as well as the wrangles of denominationalists, sectarians and undenominationalists tend to taint its purpose, militating against its civilising influence. As to the Public Schools, and especially Eton and Harrow, which claim to be the training fields of our Statesmen, too much precious time and talent is still being wasted there over the drilling for speech-days and for the parades at " Lord's" and at Henley. Their pupils are more efficiently brought up for Society than for the world. They are instructed in the rules of caste rather than in the duties of citizenship and economic science. Chester- field's dictum that " the sign of a young gentleman is not only to know Latin, but also to know Greek " yet influences their curriculum far too much so that the composition of J 1 30 Education. bad Latin verses and worse Greek odes is considered to be one of the proudest achievements an Etonian or Harrowite can aspire to. The study of their mother-tongue is in consequence somewhat neglected. The teaching of their national literature, and the exposition of the glorious pages of British history are only touched upon with a view to stereotyped examinations. But most noticeable are those wants, those defects in the organisation of the Middle Class Schools, and amongst these, especially in the composition and management of the so-called Boarding Schools, Colleges, High Schools, smaller Grammar Schools, with or without Endowment, Collegiate Schools, and Preparatory Schools for Gentlemen's Sons only. The sons of the middle class, which ought to be the leaven of our social and national life, gather in these schools for instruction. The future District, Municipal and County Councillors are to be formed there in body, character and mind. From the pupils of these schools the ever-increasing army of subaltern officials is to be recruited. The future merchants and manufacturers, tradesmen, and frequently professional men, are to be trained there for the buffeting and the difficulties of their respective careers. But instead of being educational agencies, they are at present mere school-hostelries. They are established upon strictly commercial principles. They are scrupulously conducted on business lines. They are owned and superintended by headmasters who, without first acquiring the essential knowledge for effective teaching, have taken to school-keeping as an apparently easy way of making a living. For Middle Class Education is a field open to free exploration. The Legislature has left it almost entirely to private enterprise. There is no need of these head- masters previously obtaining a certificate setting forth their qualification to undertake the education of the rising gene- ration. They may be men with an academic smattering. They may actually be B.A.'s, or rather M.A.'s. They may be broken down gentlemen, ruined merchants, ex-lay- Education. 131 preachers, or men in holy orders. Or they may be "nothing"; it matters little. They do not even require a licence. They only need to be possessed of funds, their own or borrowed, in order to qualify for their scholastic profession. Neither does there exist any supervision, regulation or restriction concerning their assistant masters. Physical abilities in the football field and on the cricket ground give these junior masters a greater chance of being appointed than intellectual merits or educational qualifications. As their supply is manipulated by scho- lastic agencies, fees and commissions are the principal consideration in the transaction. And in the view of the Head-Masters, their employers, cheapness of the material offered is to them of paramount interest. Thus, for instance, Mr. N , Principal of the Dandy School, Moonhome, requires an assistant master for Latin, English subjects, drawing and music, or a foreign master for French, German, perhaps Italian and Spanish; oftentimes also for music, Latin, mathematics and drawing. These wants he accordingly communicates to the scholastic broker, who, he knows, has some weeks before the commencement of the assistant-master-recruiting season lavishly advertised for hundreds of tutors and masters, offering them good salaries and comfortable posts. And as in "This Evolu- tionary Age of Ours" there are thousands of ' academical ' proletarians and unemployed clerks : in reply to these ad- vertisements hundreds of applicants of all possible standards of education and morals are flocking to the office. There they pay a preliminary fee of two shillings, or half-a-crown. In return, the agent hands to them a circular of the following kind : " Mr. Y. Z., Principal of Sapientia College, N , will require next term, an Assistant Master to teach French, German, Music, Drawing. Salary 30 to 35." Or he submits a notice setting forth that a junior master is wanted to teach "Latin, Greek, French, Mathematics, Music. Salary 50 to 60 (an Englishman being stipulated for) ; resident ; comfortable post ; strong staff" of masters ; large school ; only Gentlemen's sons." Or, again, he arranges for 132 Education. an interview between the respective Head Master and a dozen or two of would-be Assistant Masters. At this meeting, the Principal, priding himself on being a great physiognomist, selects his man, more often influenced by appearances than by qualification certificates. For either he has no time to verify their statements, or, in the case of foreigners, he is unable to read their contents. Nor would he trouble himself much, as the man promises to be a docile tool, and, above all, cheap. A few days after this interview the Assistant Master proceeds to his new 'place.' There he generally remains for a term, teaching and educating the growing generation ; In most cases for one term only, because the fact of the heterogeneous elements being carelessly brought together, and the divers interests of Head Master, pupils and Assistant Masters being opposed to each other ; as well as the unsound, artificial conditions in which they move, and the undefined, even farcical aims for which they pretend to work do not allow their being together for a longer period. These, then, are the ' pedagogues ' into whose hands the welfare of England's youth is placed indiscriminately and criminally. Is it necessary to ask, What education can be obtained in these schools when the teaching is made sub- servient to financial considerations? What uniformity is there possible where there is neither control, nor direction ? Is there any room for the development or application oi pedagogic principles ? Where the aim is but lucre can the ethics of patriotism the mainspring of true citizenship find a place in the curriculum ? Apart from the masters, the young pupils before going to school have been impressed by the fact that money places the possessor above the responsibilities of life, and the obligations towards one's fellow-citizens and one's native country. Upon the Head-Master, who lives from school- keeping, consequently devolves the duty not to disillusionize the young " gentlemen " by subjecting them to hard study and moral training. It suffices for the reputation of the school-hostelry that there are every year a certain number Education. 133 of successful passes in the examinations of the College of Preceptors, the University Local Examinations, and a few Scholarships obtained at Cambridge or Oxford. As to the rest, it is of small consequence that Head Masters, Assistant Masters, Parents and Pupils place them- selves in false positions towards each other. Let the result be the inculcation of hypocrisy from beginning to end Why prevent it? The educational farce performed at the school-hostelry is lucrative to the Head-Master ; momentarily flattering to the parents ; agreeable to the pupils for the time being ; naught else, it appears, is needful. That the system betrays the very welfare of the country upon which it will impose a generation thus educated matters little. The requirements of education are amply complied with to the satisfaction of all the parties con- cerned by the issue of monthly reports of the work supposed to be done at the school ; reports which the Head Master begs the mother to take special notice of when writing to her son. They prove the school- keeper's zeal, showing that he is a wise, considerate gentleman. They afford the mother in turn an opportunity of exhibiting her intelligent appreciation and tender affection. After this exchange of confidences the monthly rehearsal can commence once more. Such is our national Middle-Class education. Such are the schools in which the sons of the English " bourgeoisie " are brought up. Such are our Middle-Class moral and intellectual training-centres. From out of this educational crucible no sound metal can flow. In truth, England's Elementary, University, and especially Middle-Class education, instead of being uniform, national, patriotic, and whilst independent of all political parties rigorously superintended by the State, is in a chaotic condition, and frequently governed by sordid con- siderations. Yet at no other time was there greater need of a thoroughly rational and national educational system than at this moment, either for the purpose of checking Modern Demos, or, if that be impossible, at least of teach- 1 34 Education. ing it how to use its power to the advantage of all and not merely for the advancement of its own leaders ! On the one side, in the far West of the European Con- tinent the French Socialists proclaim : " We are beholding the end of a world. The old society, based on un- trammelled individualism, and on the war of each against all, is dying of the anarchy which it has unchained, and which is resulting in the most savage of duels that between the bomb and the guillotine, over the corpse of public liberties. Alone in the midst of these convulsions Socialism incarnate, in a minority growing day by day, represents order, civilisation, humanity in the throes of deliverance. Yet a few more efforts and the political power won by your class will permit you to put your hand to the impending social transformation ! " On the other side, in the far East the Russian Socialists cry, "A bas le Despotisme ! Vive la Democratic Socialiste Internationale ! " " Vive la Revolution ! " Down in the South, the National Council of the Spanish Labour Party take up this cry. And from the Centre of seething Europe the German Social Democrats, the Liebknechts and Bebels raise their voices, insisting upon "this international solidarity of the workers." The French Labour Party joins issue with the Belgian Socialists. The General Union of Workers beyond the Pyrenees enters into an alliance with the British New Trade-Unionists. At their congresses at Norwich and Madrid they rally to the political and economic expro- priation of the capitalist class as being the only solution of the social problem, emphatically reiterating the assurance of their international solidarity. " To-day " this Cosmopolitan Modern Demos proclaims, "there are no longer any frontiers between the workers of Old Europe ; they are united in the same programme and the same policy. 'Vive ITnternationale du Travail, vive le Socialisme !'" No other proof is needed that the dragon of Socialism Education. 135 can best be combated with the help of an educational system, uniform, national, inspired by patriotism and may be an insti- tution of the State, but independent of parties. It is here that our educationists, it is here that our law givers, or rather our law makers, should set to work. And their task cannot be difficult The majority of men, it may be assumed, believe in the eternity of their work. Patriotism is identical with that belief, only enlarged, comprising the whole, instead of merely the parts. As regards this Island in par- ticular, it embodies a hope in the eternal existence of the British nation. From this love of our ancestors for England the great British Empire has originated. Without that elevating sentiment their lives would have had no moral stimulus, and their existence been absorbed by material con- siderations and appetites. Indeed, patriotism, so far from being antagonistic to religion, is, in fact, her helper, since he who is inspired by love for his earthly homestead will also be inspired by some expectation of a heavenly home, and live his life accordingly. We know that Tolstoi and the Socialists assert that patriotism is the source of war. '' Patriotism," they say, "is in its simplest and purest form notning but a tool in the hands of the governing classes, with the aid of which they strive to achieve their egotistic and ambitious aims ; as regards the governed people, however, patriotism means loss of all human dignity, of all reason, and of all conscience. Patriotism is mere slavery." But the more they inveigh against the patriotic sentiment which still animates a large section of the people of England, the more urgent becomes the necessity of making the development of the patriotic instinct one of the chief aims ol our educational system. For so long as love for home and country flourishes in the heart of a great people, the phantasms of Collectivist Socialism and immoral Com- munism will obtain no power over it. And this love can be best inculcated in our rising generation by unremittingly disclosing to them the riches of our truly national literature ; by constantly expounding to them the glorious passages in 136 Our Volunteers. the history of England ; by incessantly teaching them the vital importance of the British Constitution. The ideal of a patriotic education will be attained if the more favoured of the rising generation are taught that their advantages, privileges and comforts, resulting from a more fortunate accident of birth, impose on them at the same time certain duties, responsi- bilities and obligations towards those who are less favoured. It will be attained if in return the latter are shown that, whilst in some cases their lot may be ameliorated, the con- trasts and inequalities in life, or in other words, in the social, economic and politic worlds are not so much the work of man, as the effect produced by the working of natural, if not eternal, laws. Above all, it will be attained by convincing the future generations that they are all children of one common mother, the British Nation ; that they all own and belong to one and the same home the British Empire. This leads by natural sequence to OUR VOLUNTEERS. Next to the Schools the Volunteer-force will be an excellent agency for attaining and completing that high patriotic education of the Nation. On various occasions already have its members demonstrated that they are com- posed of the genuine material, not only of a true soldier, but for this very reason also of a true citizen. They have given many proofs of self negation, devotion to duty, and of a surprising submission to the somewhat rigorous restraints of discipline. They have repeatedly exhibited characteristics which show that their conduct is animated by patriotism. In sum, the Volunteers are both a powerful and beneficial educational agency and the embryo of a powerful and noble people's army. Thus it might reason- ably be assumed that a careful Government would make strenuous exertions to nurse and aid the growth of this Our Volunteers. 137 living rampart against the revolutionary elements at home, and our economic and politic enemies abroad. Instead, to take first the politic aspect of the Volunteer problem into consideration, England's wise-acres at the War Office, in their shortsightedness, treat this valuable reserve grudgingly, if not actually slightingly ! Whilst Italy is arming and straining every nerve to obtain a truly representative citizen army ; whilst France, the rival of Great Britain, summons her last peasant and even her seminarists to swell still more her already colossal divisions ; whilst Germany exhausts her stock of men, calling every one of her citizens under arms, away from the counter, the workbench and the ploughshare, in England, a force which, if judiciously nursed, might soon become the equal of Austria and Germany's " Landwehr," and reasonably rank with the territorial army of France this force our Volunteers is allowed to struggle on hope- lessly for want of proper support from those who boast to be the Modern Paladins of Great Britain ! Is it because England's armament is already sufficiently powerful to resist any attack from within or without ? To be sure there are some good points in our present army organi- sation. Yet when compared with our rivals it would appear that even the regulars of the British Army could hardly be called effective for modern requirements, either as regards number or training. Nay, it is more than questionable whether they could cope with the people-armies of the Continental Powers. Personal valour, it is true, still counts for much in warfare. But the final victory will rest with that belligerent who can mobilise in the shortest time the most numerous legions. However, few up-to-date staff officers would maintain that with the exception of the brigade of Guards, our regular troops could easily be mobilised. Neither could they contend that there are many army-corps available for mobilisation. For what are the regiments of our home service? Many of them consist of not more than four companies on a war-footing. To complete their cadres it is necessary to call in the Reserves. Yet these Reserves are often lacking in the very qualities for which 138 Our Volunteers. they are required. A large number of them have been away from their colours for one, for two, and even for three years. During all this time they have been without any serious training. That a country with such interests at stake as England should be relying on a force thus composed of questionable elements seems indeed almost incredible. At the same time, even supposing our regular army were efficient, it is strange that the wire-pullers at the War Office should think of exposing them to the first fury of a great war. From ancient times it has always been the principle with great captains to keep their best troops in reserve. Napoleon particularly observed this tactical rule. For instance, at the battle of Waterloo, it was only after the struggle had been raging for a length of time that, at the critical moment, he flung his famous Guards upon the enemy. Granted, in this combat he for once failed. But how many times before had he gained the victory by that move ? These considerations alone should prove the value of our Volunteer force. Its training is certainly still insufficient for the serious purposes of war. Its officers, with a few exceptions, possess little military experience. Its discipline, praiseworthy though it be, might be strengthened yet. The equipment of the Volunteers could and should be materially improved, since they have to provide even their own boots. Their Staffs ought to be considerably increased. Their officers, too, have only a dim knowledge of concentration. Their ordnance office is noteworthy rather for its disor- ganised condition than on account of its ability and means to cope with a sudden mobilisation. As a matter of fact, it is asserted that if two brigades were to be concentrated at one town it would take them three days to move. The railway service is altogether inefficient. Then the number of drills required in order to obtain the Govern- ment grant is as sparing as the grant itself. This permits a certain class of men to enter the Volunteer corps whose presence is more detrimental than beneficial, as they Our Volunteers. 139 seem to be bent rather upon enjoyment than duty, and are reluctant to go through more drill than is absolutely necessary. But these defects are not of a character to render honest efforts at removing or at least modifying them a priori impossible. Especially concerning the training and education of officers, a stiffer examination for lieu- tenants' and captains' certificates would soon improve their military capabilities. Yet these defects are not removed. Those few evils are not remedied, though there are apparently no reasons for such a negative policy. The cost which such a reorganisation might entail ought to be of small moment where the safety and prosperity of England are in question. And our country is open to invasion whatever may be said of our fleet, that first line of our defence. Great Britain is open to invasion either after her living sea-wall is broken through, an event though not probable, yet possible ; or to a surprise invasion, and the latter is not a chimera. General Roche's attempt on Ireland in 1796, and Napoleon's conquest of Egypt in 1798, demonstrate the facility with which such an operation could be carried out. In the Volunteer corps lies the element which alone can reduce that danger to almost insignificant proportions. In bestowing greater attention upon their requirements we may avoid the bitter experience of the French, that neither armies nor generals can be improvised by a decree, and that ' though military educa- tion is rapid on the field of battle, its cost is far too dear.' As to the idea that the Volunteers are merely a force for defensive purposes it must be abandoned. Time is no longer, as formerly, on the side of the defence. Strong garrisons may be valuable, but the Franco-German War, the Prussian-Austrian War, Sedan and Metz and Sadowa, teach us that an army capable of taking the offensive is far more valuable. That notion must give way to the axiom that permanent preparation and rapidity of mobilisation are of paramount importance in modern warfare. This lesson should constantly be taught to our Volunteers. Both their men and their officers afford excellent material to improve 140 Our Volunteers. upon. As a matter of fact, it is with their help, and with their help alone, that the great problem of the reorganisation of our Army can be solved. If and when Regulars, Militia, Yeomanry, and last, though not least, our Volunteers are once blended together in one uniformly trained army, England need fear no enemy. It is certainly true that our Volunteers are not supposed to fight outside their own country. Yet the sacrifices which they have hitherto made in serving the Volunteer cause and the spirit of devotion they have always manifested are suffi- cient guarantee that if England were to call on them to help her abroad in a struggle for existence, our Volunteers of all soldiers, would not be found wanting in the hour of need. Aye, badly as they are treated now, in time of danger the Government has only been too ready to remember that these citizen soldiers represent real military possibilities. So far back as 1803, when Napoleon I. threatened an invasion, Pitt was compelled to say of the first Volunteer movement, ' England has saved herself by her exertions, and the rest of Europe by her example.' So again in 1859, when there was a dread of another invasion by the French, whose Emperor had marched into Italy and was apparently determined to aggrandise France at the expense of the rest of Europe. Our defences were then absolutely inadequate, vast numbers of our troops being in India and elsewhere. Even Sir Charles Napier, Sir Duncan MacDougal, and Sir Allan M'Nab were impressed by the danger arising from this incomplete military organisation, and were urging the advantage of a Volunteer army to supply a reserve force. And the Government *#3 1 3>939>7%% roubles. Concurrently the liabilities of Russia's Armaments. 155 railway companies, taxpayers, &c., have risen to 1,404,111,465 roubles, those of the former reaching the sum of 1,103,728,892 roubles, unquestionably a large, but for all that, a fairly safe, debt. Besides, these advances have been risked for the extension of commerce and industry. To this must be added the amount which Turkey owes to Russia, bringing in yearly 2,000,000 roubles, and the 1,255,760 roubles which are due from the Khan of Khiva. Considering, finally, that M. de Witte is amassing a large treasure of gold, representing already the sum of ; 1 1 2,000,000, the scheme of Russia to establish a world- empire in Asia is anything but fantastic. On the contrary, her economic and financial situation, disturbed though it still be owing to the famines and crises of the past fifteen years, should induce England to prepare in time against the attempt of Russia to realise her gigantic ambitions, an attempt which it appears is not far off. III. RUSSIA'S ARMAMENTS. Her military power would certainly justify her in making this attempt at once. For no other nation has been more energetic in increasing her armaments than the Russian, as the history of her army during the last twenty years shows. Under no other Tsar have the Russian legions attained such an extraordinary state of efficiency as under Alexander III., the much-vaunted guardian of European equilibrium. He subjected the military forces of his country to the most thorough reorganisation, which now enables Nicholas II. to put more than 2,500,000 warriors into the field, of whom no fewer than 950,000 men, with 37,850 officers, are actually under the colours. The significance of this development is emphasised by the fact that twelve years previous to Alexander's accession the Russian army had already undergone two not less gigantic and expensive reforms. The first had taken place imme- diately after the Franco-German War when the system of conscription was introduced into Russia, changing at once her whole military organism. This great reform was followed 156 Russia's Affairs and Anti-English Projects. by a number of minor reforms, all tending to develop the tactical advantages which the newly-enrolled fighting masses gave to the Russian Government. The financial crisis following the Turkish War in some measure interrupted this process of army-evolution. But no sooner had Alexander III. assumed the command than he ordered General Wannowski to carry out a fresh plan of reorganisation that led to the second important reform, which, whilst reducing the expenditure by means of concentration, greatly enhanced the war efficiency of Russia's colossal legions. Yet, even then, Alexander III. was dissatisfied with his army. Though personally, perhaps, inspired by a genuine love of peace ; the feverish armaments of Russia's Western neighbours, and the growing power of Panslavism, induced him to venture upon the third and in every respect most important army reform, so huge and thoroughgoing that it will still require two more years before it can be said to be complete in every detail. Not only was General Wannowski's measure of con- centrating the various troops further developed, and a comprehensive plan of mobilisation elaborated, but Alexander III. insisted also upon the creation of a reserve, and the re-organisation of the artillery, cavalry, and engineers in conformity with the rules of modern strategy. The whole army received a national uniform, the colour of the tunics being respectively dark green and dark blue, and the tunics themselves being noteworthy for the absence of buttons. The cavalry was transformed into mounted infantry. The fourteen regiments of Uhlans and the other fourteen regiments of hussars were changed into dragoons, a measure which brought up the effective strength of this useful force to forty-six regiments. The numerous cavalry of the line was then divided into fourteen brigades, each consisting of three regiments of these dragoons and two regiments of Cossacks. They were equipped with the Berdan rifle, and are constantly instructed in infantry drill, and target and platoon firing. During the years 1883 to 1887 this arm was increased by 112 Russia's Armaments. 157 squadrons. In 1891 Alexander III. formed a fifteenth brigade, so that the Russian Government has now at its disposal in Europe fifteen brigades of cavalry of the line, two cavalry divisions of the Guard, one Caucasian and five Cossack brigades. The force was strengthened by fifteen regiments of field artillery, and hand-in-hand with it the five brigades of sharpshooters were raised to six brigades, consisting of twenty-one regiments, and likewise strengthened by twelve mounted batteries. Russia obtained thereby a most effective army of invasion, able, without delay, to break into the territory of any opponent. As to the artillery, Alexander III. introduced a new feature two battalions of siege artillery, whose duty is to effect the erection of batteries, and who are placed with the garrison artillery. He caused also the formation of three regiments of so-called field-mortar artillery. He reorganised the seventeen engineer, eight pioneer, and four railway battalions, concentrating them respectively in six brigades and one brigade. In 1891 the Russian Government followed the example of the Western Powers, and commenced to equip its army with a repeating rifle similar to the German weapon, though asregards precision somewhat inferior to the latter. But most noteworthy is the creation of a Reserve, which upon the basis of the new organisation now consists of seventy-six battalions, divided into nine brigades, and the cadres of which are so arranged that in case of mobilisation they will form one unity with the regular army. Since Alexander III. took the command there have also been created six brigades of Reserve Artillery, possessing 112 batteries. Twenty battalions of Infantry Reserve were organised for the purpose of forming the nucleus of a so-called occupation or fortress infantry. Alexander extended his attention even to the "Opolt- schin " a force not unlike the German Landsturm and the French Territorial Army reorganising it so as to bring it up to the requirements of modern warfare. 158 Russia's Affairs and Anti- English Projects. At the same time, a general staff was established, and the military districts were considerably enlarged. These in the place of former more or less independent divisions and brigades, now comprise one unity, organised upon the basis of an independent army, three of these armies being centred respectively in Kieff, Wilna, and Warsaw. The hugeness of these armies even in time of peace is extraordinary and appalling. In the Warsaw district alone there are fourteen divisions of infantry, representing a force of 200,000 men, and six divisions of cavalry, containing 156 squadrons which could, in a few days, be considerably increased by calling out the Cossacks of the first and second Reserve ; altogether close on 330,000 men, with 630 guns. There cannot be the slightest doubt, especially with the present change in the Russian Government, that these armaments of Russia in Europe are worthy of our most scrupulous attention, since circumstances may arise likely to draw the colossal Russian Empire into a war. And even if Nicholas II. be a lover of peace, an army such as his is a perpetual and terrible temptation. Moreover, the whole of Europe may be likened to one huge powder-magazine. Germany can put into the field 2,000,000 infantry ; 180,000 cavalry ; 278,000 men belonging to the artillery ; 73,000 pioneers and engineers; in all 2,589,000 soldiers, with an additional 400,000 men appertaining to the Landsturm. Austria-Hungary can muster 1,147,000 warriors, or, with the Landsturm, 1,540,000 men. France, inclusive of her Territorial Army, 1,667,000 infantry; 105,000 cavalry; 313,000 soldiers enlisted in the artillery service; 50,000 pioneers and engineers ; altogether, with the miscellaneous services, 2,352,000 men. Thus there is not less temptation from without. Yet not only is the European military frontier of Russia a constant menace ; but dangers threaten also in the South-East of her Asiatic boundary. The same unceasing care which Alexander III. has bestowed upon perfecting the defensive and offensive armaments of his country in the West, his Russia's Raihvay Policy. 159 War Ministers and his governors have shown in the South-Eastern and Southern military districts. And though it is possible, and indeed desirable, that Russia and England should enter into cordial and friendly relations ; still con- fronted by the former's colossal armaments, the latter should not fail to act on the adage "If you desire peace prepare for war." As a matter of fact the ambitious aims of Russia are plainly discernible in her RAILWAY POLICY. This Russian railway system is the more important as railways are nowadays not only the veins of the industrial, commercial and economic life of a people, but also the great purveyors of the sinews of war. The first Russian railway was constructed in 1840. The length of the line then laid was 15 miles. Five years later it was extended to 80 miles. In 1850, at a time when Belgium had 483 miles, France 1,747 miles, and our own country 6,054 miles, the huge empire of the Tsar possessed but 283 miles of rail. Indeed, the progress of railway extension was so lethargic and insignificant in spite of the great energy which other States mani- fested in developing their railway system, that in the Russian Empire there were only 590 miles of rail in 1855, 898 miles in 1860, and 2,218 miles in 1865. But the Russian Government soon became alive to the importance of possessing an extensive system of railroads. What the interests of industry, economic considerations and the claims of commerce failed to bring about, the exigencies of militarism succeeded in obtaining. Russia, confronted by the strategical railway development of her neighbours, and bordered by nations in arms, recognised that she could no longer afford to disregard the useful- ness of the iron horse. And the fresh outbreaks of famine ; the obvious necessity of providing means for the quick distribution of food and other commodities, 160 Russia's Affairs and Anti-English Projects. soon forced the Government to lay down lines on a larger scale. It set to work with extraordinary energy and skill. The 2,218 miles of rail which had taken twenty-five years to construct, swelled within five more years to 6,351 miles. By 1876 they were increased to 12,457 miles. So rapidly progressed this extension of the railway system that whilst in France there were only 14,864 miles in 1880; in England, the railway country par excellence, but 16,405 miles ; and in Germany 18,984 miles, Russia could already boast of 14,900 miles, or 23,857 kilometres. It is true, in a country, the surface of which comprises not less than 5,300,000 square kilometres, these 23,857 kilometres of line represented merely the insignificant proportion of 0x305 km. of rail to the square kilometre, or 3 km. to 10,000 inhabitants ; whereas the proportion in Belgium was in that year (1880) O'i5i km. per square km., or 77 km. to 10,000 inhabitants ; in Germany 0x37 \ km., or S'l km. ; in France o - o6i km., or 87 km. and in England 0x399 km. of rail to one square kilometre, or 8*4 of a kilometre to 10,000 inhabitants. But, although the mileage of Russian railroads was still far below the mileage or number of kilometres of the English and German railway systems, that is, in proportion to the surface and number of inhabitants of the respective countries ; Russia continued to extend her railway system so assiduously that in 1877 there were 26,969 km., or 16,850 miles of rail, exclusive of 1,064 km., or 660 miles belonging to the Trans-Caspian line, and 1,547 km., or 965 miles, appertaining to the railways of Finland. This number again increased in 1890 to 29,270 km., or 18,160 miles. Certainly out of these 18,160 miles there were then only 4,717 km,, or about 2,945 miles of double lines. Yet the Government has since turned its attention to this defect also. However, as already asserted, not so much in the interest of the peaceful development of her people as for aggressive purposes has Russia been so energetic in extending her rail- way system. Her Ministers had long before recognised that the first condition of a successful war is a good army ; again, Russia 's Railway Policy. 161 that the efficiency of the army depends on a full treasury which, in its turn can best be filled if an extensive network of rails develops a country's commerce and industry, and enables it to dispose of its agricultural superabundance. In keeping with this politic maxim the State had already acquired 947 km., or 590 miles in 1881, which, in 1892, it increased to 11,643 km., or 6,550 miles. Concurrently, the Government by all possible means, lawful and other- wise, has encouraged the investment of Russian capital in railway undertakings. The 241,000,000 which represented in 1882 the capital spent on the construction of railways, has since (that is, in 1891) increased to the enormous sum of 320,080,000, of which 227,520,000 have been expended by the State. The Government has also come to the assistance of private companies by guaranteeing 86,040,000 of their share capital, and by consolidating, moreover, 165,480,000 of nominal capital. It has thereby incurred a yearly expenditure of 4,360,000 resulting from its guarantee, and of 7,440,000 partly as costs of liquida- tions and partly as interest on the consolidated capital. In addition to the responsibilities of being surety the State has heavily burdened itself by actually borrowing money in order to again advance it to the companies, without barter or profit, the sum accumulated from these transactions and now due to the Government amounting to 100,000,000. After this, the sacrifices which Russia has made in the prosecution of her railway policy must be obvious. They are of an alarming nature considering that in 1873 the receipts were 123,865,000 roubles, or 18,579,750; and in 1882, only 3 1, 7 1 0,900* or 211,406,000 roubles, in spite of the extensive construction of new lines during that period, and the more thorough working of others. Certainly these receipts have since reached the sum of 43,840,000 (in 1891) accruing from 47,942,800 travellers and 70,970,100 tons of goods. Yet even these returns are unsatisfac- tory, when compared to the risk, and labour and money involved in Russia's policy of railway extension. The whole history of this development of the Russian L 1 62 France and Colonial Enterprise. Railway system shows that the Government of the Tsar pursues its aim of forming a world-Empire unswervingly and without regard to expenditure. We see that Russia moves slowly. But we also recognise that when once in motion she increases her speed, not unlike an avalanche that comes rushing down from a high glacier. For this reason it may be asserted that the people which should venture to thwart her must be well prepared. As to our own interests, it is obvious that the more we can learn of Russian affairs the better it will be for us. The British lion and the double-headed eagle are destined yet to meet for a deadly struggle on the snow-fields of the Pamirs and in the fertile valley of the Ganges. In view of this inevitable event the strategical importance of the Russian Trans-Siberian Trunk cannot too often be insisted upon. The same holds good as regards the Trans-Caspian railway. England and her Government in India will be wanting in their duty if they fail to spread a network of military railroads over all the Eastern posses- sions of Great Britain. The constant exchanges of friendship between Russia and France, and Russia and Germany, as well as their colonial ambitions, warn England that in time of need she may be without powerful and trustworthy allies. Then railways will prove their usefulness. The truth of this isolated position of England and the aggressive activity of her rivals, is conclusively corroborated by the problem of FRANCE AND COLONIAL ENTERPRISE. I. HISTORY AND GENERAL ASPECT. Few questions connected with our foreign and home policy show more disquieting symptoms of quarrelsome unrest than this colonial enterprise of France, especially as its progress in Asia and on the Dark Continent is for once attended by success. It brings before us the problem of our future export commerce upon which undoubtedly the very existence of the British Empire depends. History and General Aspect. 163 For our neighbours across the Channel spin the meshes of a net of colonies, territories, and dependencies more and more closely round England's possessions abroad. It is true, the French nation resented Jules Ferry's ad- vanced colonial policy, in many respects costly and venturesome. It drove him from office when in 1884-85 he involved it in a conflict with the Chinese. But an inert dislike of Ferry's enterprise in Tonquin was not the motive of this act of ingratitude. On the contrary, a colonial- political legacy left from last century stipulates that the conquest of China and the reconquest of India are to be the chief aims of French statecraft. Hence Napoleon's attempt in Syria ; his efforts in Egypt, and finally his projects concerning Persia and Russia. The French resented Ferry's enterprise in the Far East purely out of considerations connected with domestic policy. They apprehended that the troops required to conquer an empire abroad might at the very moment be wanted to defend the Empire at home. There was Germany flaunting the possession of the much-coveted provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. There was Bismarck threatening with his Triple Alliance. Yet although the French sacrificed Ferry ; they continued his colonial policy. Rather than abandon Tonquin, they further exposed themselves to Germany's first attack. The French even embarked upon fresh ventures. They added Siam to their programme of colonial enterprises. And in the course of a few years they have already succeeded in incorporating Luang-Phrabang and Eastern Siam. The frontier of Colonial France is actually at this moment conterminous to that of our Indian Empire, along the Eastern border of the English Shan State of Kiang-hang. In this way the French all but blockade China, encircling it closer and closer with an armed girdle. In North and South-West Africa, France exhibits the same restless activity. Even in the South- Western part of the Soudan, that is in Dahomey and at Timbuctoo, the 164 France and Colonial Enterprise. French unfold their tricolor ; undoubtedly actuated by the belief that the moment Timbuctoo is again placed under the influence of a strong Government, it will prosper afresh. And, indeed, although for the last forty years its influence has been somewhat on the wane owing to the constant raids by the Tawareks, and particularly to their attacks on the trading caravans the majority of which have begun to direct their route towards Egga, a fairly important commercial terminus on the Niger, with more than 15,000 inhabitants: Timbuctoo, being an ancient commercial city, still enjoys a large share of the trading reputation it possessed amongst Arabs and other tribes in past centuries. It contains about 20,000 inhabitants, belongs to the Fellatah State, Masina, and can easily be put into direct communication with the harbour town, Kabara, on the Upper Niger, from which it is only eighteen miles distant. Moreover, this ancient Fellatah city, Timbuctoo, is a religious centre, and as such is still one of the most important places in the Soudan. Once under French administration, not only the tide of trade is likely to be again turned away from Egga, the advanced post of the English Niger Company, but there is also grave danger that in the end the whole traffic may be usurped by the French to the benefit of Senegambia and Algeria ; to the loss of Sierra Leone and the regions of the Lower Niger. Apart from these considerations of the probable com- mercial usefulness and prosperity of the new dependency, French politicians recognise that Timbuctoo will at least serve as an additional and powerful lever with which to force the English from the western part of Africa. To gain this end " the whole French nation is prepared to bear the expenses in money and troops necessary to teach the warrior tribes of the Sahara from the Niger upwards to the frontiers of Tripoli ; from the small villages of Tuat down to the regions where the Tawareks pitch their leathern tents that the influence of France upon the political destinies of those districts is inevitable." By way of preliminary, commercial relations with the History and General Aspect. 165 Confederations of the North and East of Africa have been established. And, had the conflict not broken out between Spain and Morocco about Melilla, the former's port on the latter's coast, France might by now have forged another powerful link to the chain with which she en- deavours to enclose the dominion of the Moors. The Governor-general of Algeria had already mustered his troops for an expedition against the villages of Tuat which stretch along the southern frontier of Morocco in a westerly direction. Whence this success of modern French colonial enter- prise? We know the principles which governed her colonial policy in the past have led to constant blunders and failures, notwithstanding that the first colonial movement of France was organised by the great genius of a Coligny. So far back as the i6th century the French attempted to form settlements in Canada, Newfoundland, Labrador and Central Brazil, which were only abandoned in conse- quence of the religious wars. These colonial schemes were taken up again by Henry IV. and Richelieu. The former established Quebec. The latter elaborated a complete colonisation plan, comprising Canada, the lesser Antilles, Madagascar, the East Indies, and stations along the shores of the North Cape. But Richelieu's aim was not so much to develop shipping and commerce as to propagate the Roman Catholic religion, and to obtain outposts against the Spanish. This explains the otherwise inexplicable problem of the failure for several centuries of French colonisation. Richelieu wished to colonise for purely political purposes. In doing so he suppressed all private enterprise, cutting off the only fertile sources from which prosperous colonies can originate. His endeavours consequently met with but in- different success. This conduct of the colonial enterprise of France also explains the reason why the French nation as a whole did not at that time particularly favour the acquisition of colonies. On the contrary, the people at large, and most prominently the merchant class, strenuously opposed 1 66 France and Colonial Enterprise. it. Colonisation being carried out by privileged companies, chiefly composed of Government officials the commercial cliques were jealous of the benefits which the latter might eventually reap. Nevertheless, Richelieu's policy was continued by sub- sequent Governments, though it cannot be denied that Colbert advanced a step farther. He established trading settlements by the side of the so-called military colonies. But here, too, officialism soon usurped all power, and prevented any healthy development by private activity. So, for instance, Canada from the very outset was almost swamped with governors, superintendents, judges, secretaries and overseers. To this must be added the vastness of the undertaking of Colbert, whose ambition appears to have been to colonise the whole world at one and the same time ; and the restrictions that were laid upon the settlers as to the articles in which, and the ports at which, they would be allowed to trade. These failures had naturally a dispiriting effect on the French, whose dislike of colonial enterprise was not lessened by further arbitrary efforts of the Government to obtain settlements at any cost. They could not but bitterly resent the compulsory colonisation of Guiana which though un- doubtedly fertile, was fatal to Europeans on account of its deadly swamps ; yet by the acquisition of which the Ministers of Louis XVI. hoped to console the nation for the loss of Canada. However, since the conquest of Algeria upon the instiga- tion of Polignac, and thanks to the costly experience which the French gained there in matters colonial during the first thirty years, a new spirit has slowly but surely grown up, and with it a new system. Henceforth, the State is to conquer any necessary territories ; it will then be left to private enterprise to develop their resources, the Govern- ment helping them only where its assistance may be advantageous. In establishing such " protectorates," the French will be relieved from being directly responsible for the government Financial Aspect of French Colonial Enterprise. 167 of the country placed under their " protection " ; whilst they secure to themselves indirectly all commercial and political advantages arising from the " protected " dependency. The fact that this colonial policy commences to be successful in Tunis, and even in Algeria and elsewhere, has of course whetted the appetite of our rivals. It explains their present activity which is also partly due to Gambetta's ardent advocacy of the .creation of a French Colonial Empire. And though we may think our neigh- bours across the Channel are not colonizers in the true sense, it is sufficiently alarming that they have the heart to persist in their bold attempts in spite of former failures. II. FINANCIAL ASPECT OF FRENCH COLONIAL ENTERPRISE. In order to fully comprehend the wide scope of French Colonial enterprise, it is only necessary to examine a statistical table, let us say, of the dependencies of France in Africa. According to these statistics, the French zone in the Dark Continent comprises about 90,870 square miles, with 3 5, 8 50,000 inhabitants ; whereas the English zone contains but 51,710 square miles, with 26,165,000 inhabitants; and the German zone 28,100 square miles, with a population of 14,300,000. The French tricolor is unfurled in the Sahara, at Hassi-Chebaba, about 1,230 miles from Algiers. It floats, as we have seen, over Timbuctoo in the Soudan, about 1,780 miles from St. Louis in the Senegal. It is visible on the shores of the Oubanghi M'Boumon, a tributary of the Congo, 2,400 miles from Gaboon. Thanks to the Conventions of 1890 between England and France, and of 1894 between Germany and France, Algeria and Tunis may join hands ere long with the Senegal and the Soudan across the Sahara. Further, the French Soudan will soon be connected by military posts with the French colonies in Guinea, on the Ivory Coast, and in Dahomey ; whilst by means of the Niger the French are advancing 168 France and Colonial Enterprise. towards Lake Tchad. Thus the time may not be distant when a Parisian can travel from Babylon-on-the-Seine to the Equator, across the Mediterranean, through Algeria, past the Sahara and the Soudan, over Lake Tchad, and across the Chari and Congo ; that is, a distance of about 6,000 miles, exclusively over French territory. It is true that this Greater France has, up to now, brought neither wealth, nor welfare, nor prestige to the mother country. It has not even been self-supporting. Financially French colonisation is still a failure in Asia as well as in Africa. The history of the French in Tonquin proves this. It is close on ten years since that territory was conquered by France. The conquest cost hecatombs of men, and necessitated additional taxation at home in order to pay the interest on the enormous sums which the Tonquin campaigns swallowed up. Yet these sacrifices have so far been fruitless. Everywhere are discontent, unrest, and indeed, rebellion in the conquered dependency, and particularly in the province of Shan-Hoa. Commerce is languishing. Business transactions are insecure. The harvests are bad, and seem to become worse every year. The cultivation of rice and silk is decreasing rapidly. The value of the transit, ten years ago amounting to ^40,000, reaches even now only ^"280,000. The same unrest and discontent exist in Annam, bills being posted on the Annamite monuments and public buildings, threatening the French with death and destruction. Likewise the history of the French in Algeria proves this financial failure of their colonial enterprise. Conquered on the eve of the July Revolution by Polignac, that country has been subjected to no less than fifteen various experi- ments in colonisation. Settlements of veterans ; settlements consisting of convicts, and peasant settlements have in turn been tried in vain. Military administration was replaced by civil administration, the latter giving way again to a military governor ; the affairs of Algeria thus moving in a vicious circle. Attempts were made to reform the land Financial Aspect of French Colonial Enterprise. 169 law ; they, too, failed. Both natives and colonists were admitted into the Legislature in Paris. At the same time the Algerian Jews were emancipated in 1870. The two measures led to similar negative results. Thus throughout these many years Algeria has gone from bad to worse, in spite of reforms in the taxation, the foreign residents being now assessed ; in spite of advances by the French exchequer, amounting to 35,000,000 ; and in spite of reforms in the laws and administration of justice. Two other even more pregnant illustrations of the colonial' incapacity of the French are supplied by the West Indian islands of St. Bartholomew and St. Martin. When Sweden surrendered the first named to France, in 1877, small culture, cattle farming, gardening, the mining industry and fisheries were in a flourishing condition. To-day, eighteen years after the assumption of the government by France, all those signs of prosperity have disappeared from the island. Agriculture and industry have altogether ceased to exist there, and the population is constantly menaced by famine and misery. French colonial enterprise produced the same effects in St. Martin. And similar results are visible all round, with the exception of Tunis. In fact, whilst the colonial expenses were set down in the Budget of 1857 at 22,ooo,ooof, or 880,000, the total of the commercial transactions between the mother country and the colonial dependencies amounting to 23O,ooo,ooof, or 9,200,000 ; the expenses have since increased to 92,ooo,ooof., or 3,680,000, the total value of the trade having decreased to I73,ooo,ooof., or 6,920,000. But, although from a financial standpoint French colonial enterprise has hitherto been a failure, there are significant signs of improvement even as regards the all-important question of a surplus in the revenue from the colonies over the expenditure. Nor are efforts wanting to bring about this improvement. There is the new move on the part of the Government to obtain business by turning the French consulates into inquiry and commission agencies. Then there are the advantages to be derived from the prestige 170 France and Colonial Enterprise. which French arms and colonial dash cannot fail to give to the commerce of France. Above all, as Mr. Stanley asserts, the polite and sober bearing, as well as the almost parsimonious habits of the French merchant and modern settler are likely to seriously interfere with the influence which the stubborn and self-conscious British colonist and exporter have hitherto enjoyed. III. FRANCE AND MADAGASCAR. But whether or not French colonial enterprise will gain financially at the expense of English colonial enterprise ; a grave danger to England's actual Colonial Empire, indeed, the gravest danger, still remains in the feverish activity which France exhibits in acquiring colonial possessions. And this danger is the greater since, as we have seen, French enter- prise in Africa and Asia now seems to be governed by the new colonial policy which, it is known, was propitiously inaugurated in 1882 with the so-called Bardo Treaty. In short, the lessons of the past are, to all intents and purposes, to be applied to the needs of the present and future colonial movement of France. For instance as regards Madagascar, the French Government no longer relies upon the efficacy of naval demonstrations and the occupation of a few fortified places. Only when the whole of the Island is reduced to unreserved submission to the tricolor, and the native population permanently impressed with the power of France, will Madagascar be handed back to cultivation by the Malagasy, and the aegis of a French protectorate be extended over its vast territory. Thus the mistakes com- mitted in Dahomey, and the losses incurred in Cochin China are apparently not to be repeated here. On the contrary, France seems bent upon showing that although she allowed Egypt to slip into the hands of the English, she intends to hold fast to Madagascar, and make the best possible use of its not less strategically than commercially, important position in the Indian Ocean. The significance of this new departure, great though it be France and Madagascar. 171 in so far as it concerns the future colonial policy of the French, is even greater with respect to the colonial future of England. French rivalry and anger at our successes are setting in motion the 15,000 men of whom the expeditionary corps is to consist. Anti-English Chauvinism is inducing the French taxpayers to bear willingly the primary expen- diture of 65,ooo,ooof., and to accept without murmur the probability of heavier burdens which are sure to follow in the course of the Madagascar campaign. As a matter of fact, the expedition to the Island is another French reply to the colonial activity which the English have displayed during previous years in Egypt ; in South Africa under the leadership of Mr. Cecil Rhodes, and in India. It cannot be denied that the French Government had acquired certain rights in connection with the Island long before the Chamber declared, in January, 1894, "The Parliament of France is resolved to support the Govern- ment in its measures for the maintenance of our position in Madagascar, the protection of our titles, and the defence of the interests of French colonists there." It will be remembered that already so far back as the time of Richelieu, that is 250 years ago, the French had a settlement in the Island. In 1883 France bodily invaded it. Her Government on that occasion expended not less than 26,ooo,ooof. for the purpose of imposing on Madagascar the supremacy of France. The additional concessions then obtained and the previous rights of the French were ratified anew by the treaty of 1885. Its principal stipulations were to secure to France the supremacy and to transfer the conduct of the foreign affairs of Madagascar to a French Minister Resident, whose seat was to be in Antananarivo, the capital, and who was to enjoy the privileges of having a military bodyguard, and of private audiences with the Queen. Not one of these terms was objected to by the European Powers when the French Government notified their Foreign Secretaries that hence- forth all negotiations with the Hovas Government would have to be carried on through the intermediary of the French 172 France and Colonial Enterprise. plenipotentiary. The International Conference which met at Brussels in 1890, for the purpose of regulating the importation of weapons into Africa, formally acknowledged the existence of a French Protectorate over Madagascar. And England herself whether wisely or foolishly the future will reveal distinctly accepted it in the same year by treaty, declaring that she recognised " the protectorate of France over the Island of Madagascar in all its bearings, especially as regards matters concerning the exequatur of consuls and British agents, which should henceforth be obtained through the French Resident-General." As to the grievances of France against the Hovas Government ; soon after the ratification of the treaty of 1885 the latter endeavoured to evade its application, and tried to prevent the French Minister Resident from assuming the conduct of the foreign affairs of Madagascar. In addition to this, the position of the French settlers became more and more difficult. They were hindered in acquiring land. They were interfered with in the pursuit of their trade by vexatious regulations. They were exposed to physical violence. Even robbery and murder have been committed on them recently. Both diplomatic rights and sufficient provocation seem therefore to justify the present venture of France against Madagascar. Nevertheless, it is to be regretted that the development of affairs should have led to the step which the French Government has taken, and which the French Parliament has enthusiastically ratified. Not that this new venture of France is devoid of redeeming features. It may prove of advantage to the tribes of Madagascar. It may prove of still greater advantage to the people of England. On the one side the Malagasy may possibly derive some benefits from a French occupation, which, no doubt, will bring them nearer the pale of civilisation. There is every reason for believing that the 5,000,000 inhabitants of Madagascar will be amenable to educational influences. On the other hand, France may find in the Island a second Mexico, France, England and Egypt. 173 and the conquest of Antananarivo may prove more disastrous to the French army than the siege of Puebla. Even if successful, the affairs of Madagascar may absorb the attention and wear out the strength of France for many a year. Either result would prevent her from causing trouble elsewhere. What will be the result, however, if the enterprise should be actually productive of both glory and wealth ? After all, this is a possibility. Madagascar is not a poor country. There are vast stretches of excellent pasture lands. Again, the soil is favourable to the cultivation of tea and cotton. Merino sheep seem to thrive there. The Island, too, possesses minerals in sufficient quantity to maintain a mining industry, and it is also rich in timber. If the system which has proved so effective in Tunis is strictly adhered to when France establishes the final Protectorate over Madagascar, it is obvious that she will make the utmost use of these natural resources. In that case, whither will the Madagascar expedition lead ? For the excellent strategical position of the Island which should easily enable the French to turn it into a stronghold of first order, is already a serious temptation to employ Madagascar as a constant check to any foreign navy in the Indian Ocean, particularly that of the English. It is, in truth, difficult to conceive the proportions which French Colonial Chauvinism will assume if further excited by the stimulus of such a success in Madagascar. IV. FRANCE, ENGLAND AND EGYPT. This much is clear, the next move of French colonial enterprise will unquestionably be an attempt on the part of the Napoleonic epigones to re-occupy Egypt. Nearly a hundred years ago their great ancestor fought the glorious battle of the Pyramids, when the French eagle spread its wings over the Nile Valley, and the tricolor floated from the battlements of Alexandria. Now the English lion is prowling in the land of the Pharoahs ! 174 France and Colonial Enterprise. Yet, not only has the Nile country a fertile soil, but he who possesses it may claim that he holds the key to the East. Tonkin and Siam, the Shan States and China not to speak of Madagascar can best be reached by way of Egypt. On the other hand France has, at least, in her own opinion, rendered valuable services to Egypt at one time or other. It was she who supported that country in its struggle for Home Rule, or rather independence from the suzerainty of Turkey. It was to France that Mehemet Ali turned for aid when he was smitten with the praiseworthy, though in a Turk extraordinary, desire to reform his people and civilise the native land of the Fellaheen. Again, French engineers, and French lawyers have been in Egypt for generations. Last, though by no means least, there is that remarkable creation of French skill and enterprise, the Suez Canal, on the banks of which lies a real French colony. Nominally Egyptian territory, the township of Ismailia is really a French city. Thus France may claim to possess some actual interest in the good government of the Nile Valley. Nor are signs wanting that she intends to make good her claim, since, as the French journals are never tired of stating, such good government cannot come from England. It is certainly true that up to the present day European sentiment, generally speaking, has rather favoured British occupation. Under the latter Egypt has made astonishing strides towards civilisation. The Nile Valley, formerly the hot-bed of rebellion and disorder, has become a peaceful and, it can safely be asserted, a promising country. Great and wholesome reforms have been wrought in its administration, and in the habits of the people. To men- tion a few. The yoke of the Corvee has been removed, thanks to the British occupation. The taxation of foreigners has been equalised. The number and salaries of superfluous officials have been reduced. The tribunals and the police have been reorganised. The vast irrigation works of the British cannot fail to aid the economic development of the country, and the commercial activity France, England and Egypt. 175 of the English must stimulate that of the Egyptians. Finally, the public finances are in a most promising con- dition. The actual surplus for 1894 was .785,000. The estimated surplus for 1895 is .660,000. The accumulated economies resulting from the partial conversion of the debt now amount to ^1,445,000. But Europe is persistently told by the French that, after all, the aim of the British is to finally incorporate the Nile Valley into their Empire. The latter are said to work upon the following scheme : " To maintain an aggressive policy, in the hope that the day may arrive when, either through the interference of foreign Powers, or on account of internal disorders, the administration of the country, such as it is at present, shall become impossible. This will create the necessity of deposing the Khedive and assuming the protec- torate, in other words it will bring about the realisation of the ambition which the Anglo-Egyptians have enter- tained ever since the Kitchener incident." Repeated day after day it is inevitable that these French Chauvinist outbursts against England should produce results. Considering then how quickly and firmly the colonial mania has taken hold of the French, and how well their aims in Eastern Europe fall in with the schemes of Russia in Turkey and Asia Minor such results must be harmful to British interests. The fire of colonial jealousy is but smouldering. The slightest provocation will cause its outbreak. The point at issue is not that France may gain something from a re-arrangement of Egypt's affairs ; it is that England is certain to lose by it. Her best plan is, by firmness and precision of method and purpose, at once to check any further aggression ; then, by additional reforms permanently to strengthen her hold on the Nile Valley. French envy shows that Egypt would be a valuable possession to France. For this reason it is a more valuable possession to Great Britain. It is fervently to be hoped that the English electors will not be allowed to forget the duty they owe in this respect to their offspring, and especially to coming 176 A nglo -India. generations. They cannot be doubtful as to the Colonial aspirations of the French, and particularly as to their in- tentions with regard to Egypt. The aims of the Nile-country and England are, and must be, identical for many years to come. The land of the Khedive cannot yet offer the necessary guarantees against our vital interests in the far East being interfered with by other nations. At present, when a certain economic and administrative confusion are still marked features of the Khedival State, our French or Russian rivals might be tempted to use the Nile Valley as a fulcrum with which to oust Great Britain from her Eastern Empire. Egypt is its principal out-work. ANGLO-INDIA. Only earnest and sincere efforts to alleviate the sufferings, and to improve the condition of the masses of our vast Eastern Empire, have enabled us to govern it successfully, in the past. For although law, order and progress appear to have resulted from our administration in India since the great Mutiny, it is obvious that our occupation is but tolerated. The dependency has been won by the sword and must be held by the sword. The precarious nature of our Indian rule is further indicated by the increasing frontier troubles. And apart from Russia's aggressive policy and French colonial ambition the situation is aggravated by the unsettled state of affairs in Corea and Siam. Hence a new tremendous task may devolve upon our army in India at any moment. Will this army, however, be effective to cope with the inevitable outbreak ? Even if we go by mere figures, the answer must decidedly be in the negative. 74,000 soldiers seem an insignificant garrison. They are surrounded by 290,000,000 Indian citizens, in themselves a host, peacefully inclined though they be. A nglo-India, \ 77 To these latter must be added the various armies, consisting of combatant men, which are kept by the "Independent" States. They number no fewer than 350,000 men, with 600 guns and 50,000 cavalry. Sir Lepel Griffin and others are certainly disposed to hold them scarcely worthy of the name of soldier. Yet, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the majority of the princes have enlisted into their service Sikhs, Arabs, and Rohellas ; and that these are good fighters the history of the past shows only too well. Then there is the want of a general staff with one supreme head-quarter, the command at present being divided between the generals of Bombay and Madras, and the Indian Foreign Secretary. There is likewise a serious deficiency in the number of transport troops, and in the quantity as well as quality of their equip- ment. There is also the undermanning of the regiments with subaltern and staff officers. So far from endeavouring to improve this defective military organisation in India; so far from strengthening our Government in the Eastern Dependency, there are alarm- ing signs that the latter's authority is to be curtailed, and our insufficient army of occupation further weakened. As a matter of fact, the interference of the House of Commons in Indian affairs increases daily. And this inter- ference is not restricted to purely administrative matters. The holding of examinations in Calcutta, by which the Bengalese are admitted as joint administrators, and thrust as Governors upon nations opposed by racial and religious antipathies, and the Opium Commission which threatened to ruin one of the chief sources of revenue, are but incidents of this harmful policy. Under the pretext of purifying the moral condition of military cantonments the army is actually being disorganised. In suppressing the facilities of medically regulated sexual intercourse the powerful influence of climate and soil, as well as the hygienic necessities arising from the enforced celibate state of the troops, are ignored. The consequence is that the hospital cases among the rank and file are rapidly in- M 178 Anglo-India. creasing, and venereal disease is fast reducing the physical efficiency of our soldiers. Corresponding with this disturbance in our camp there is a growing discontent among the Hindoos, on whose tradi- tions and customs European civilisation makes too sudden and uncompromising inroads. Indeed, although the Caste system which so fundamentally separated the Babu from the Parsee seems to become attenuated, it is still a powerful factor in the life of the Hindoo population. Difficulties threaten also from the increasing opposition of the Brahmin, the Gnou and the Mulvie, whose influence is endangered by Anglican and other missionaries, and by educational experimentalists. And their resistance to new creeds and modern ideas is backed up by the revival of religious feeling among the Hindoos. This manifests itself in the anti-cow-killing riots that occur more and more frequently. No doubt, a similar revival of religious feeling is noticeable throughout the Mahommedan population, which makes possible a continuity of our policy hitherto so suc- cessful, namely, to play one race or sect against the other. But on the other side these ramparts of British rule in India, as the religious antagonisms may fitly be called, are being fast undermined by the demoralising attempt to force self-government and parliamentary institutions upon a population thus composed of the most heterogeneous elements. The unsatisfactory state of Indian finances menaces its economic well-being, and the constant French and Russian intrigues incessantly fan the smouldering discontent, so that it needs but an unfortunate incident to bring about a general outbreak. Such is the situation which confronts us with an in- sufficient army, and with a disheartened Anglo-Indian administration whose authority is being crippled, as its acts are constantly subjected to adverse criticisms by certain political coteries in England. It is a situation that implies the possibility of England losing her great Indian market, the returns from which amounted last year to Rs.92,ooo,ooo, or about 2 per head of our population. Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. 179 Concurrently, this situation indicates that the material monuments of British activity, namely, the mileage of roads, railways, telegraphs, and irrigation canals, as well as the monumental sea and harbour works, must either fall into rapid decay or be appropriated by our rivals. New, and even more liberal, efforts on our part can alone prevent the catastrophe. These efforts, however, ought not to be confined to a re-oganisation of the Indian Army and a re-adjustment of the administrative and legislative powers which, as regards Anglo-Indian affairs, are laid claim to by the British Parliament and the Vice-Regal Government. Considering our precarious position in Egypt, and the all-importance of our naval supremacy in the Mediterranean, our highway to India, it will further be advisable to enlist the services of an ally. Of all Southern European Countries Italy offers the fairest advantages as regards such an alliance. She. should be our watch-tower in the Mediterra- nean, the more so as the interests of Italy and France are antagonistic, and as the French have conceded to the Russians the use of their coaling stations on the South coast. ITALY, OUR MEDITERRANEAN ALLY. The problems which Italy herself has to solve certainly raise tremendous issues, and it is obvious that the Italian State-barque is in a perilons position. Her finances are in a state of utter disorganisation. Her credit system received the first serious shock by the bank scandals, one bank after the other, unable to redeem its indiscriminate issue of notes, being compelled to go into liquidation. And although Giollitti endeavoured to reform the banking institutions by restricting the issue of such notes in the future, and by abolishing the various State banks with the exception of the Monti of Naples and Sicily ; and though, in order to reduce the loss to the i8o Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. Treasury in the gold agio he further introduced the " Affidavit," and put a check on the proprietors of Italian Consols who were sending their coupons abroad for pay- ment ; he unfortunately saddled the Banca d' Italia with the bad debts of the suppressed banks and with their bad paper money. To this must be added the difficulties created by the dissolution of the Latin Silver Union. On joining it Italy threw upon the market small silver coin to the amount of 550,000,000 lire. Of these 400,000,000 lire went into foreign countries, mostly into France. Now that the Union has been dissolved, Italy, by a stipulation in the convention, is obliged to redeem from the French about 150,000,000 lire within the next five years. But there is already a great scarcity of gold at the Treasury in Rome, owing to Italy's paper money having driven away her good coin. The fact that the repeal of the Sherman Act and the Calcutta Decree have lowered the price of silver by 50 per cent, aggravates the situation, this fall involving an addi- tional considerable loss to Italy. There is, too, the constant fall in the value of her " rente " or " consols," caused to a great extent by the persistent attacks of French journals. Then there is the national debt amounting to about three milliards. We must also consider that in order to retain in the Exchequer a quantity of gold, Italy is compelled to demand payment of all Custom dues in that metal, which measure, whilst raising the rate of exchange, cannot fail to harmfully interfere with the development of her industries and commerce. At the same time the army budget is a heavy one. And it must not be forgotten that Italy has hitherto required yearly 390,000,000 lire alone for absolutely necessary imports. Corresponding with this deplorable condition of Italy's finances, and practically as a result, there is increased taxa- tion on incomes and land, and there are likewise new dues on salt and new succession duties. Italian credit abroad has, been materially weakened by the "forced" reduction of the interest on Italian Rente to Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. 181 4 per cent, which is tantamount to a declaration that the Government prefers insolvency to a further increase in the deficit. As the Fanfulla admitted, the result of this measure must be that Europe will cease to trust Italy, especially after the Government had given repeated and emphatic assurances that no such " forced " reduction would be carried out. The politic and economic situation in the Italian Kingdom appears to be not much better. It is true that Signor Crispi has somewhat restored order and confidence in Sicily. But the Maffia and brigandage still continue their work in the island. Nor is the agrarian difficulty solved there. Little, if any, improvement is noticeable in the sulphur industry. The worst of truck systems still prevails in the mining districts. The Fasci de Lavoratori are not yet suppressed. These so-called trade unions and clubs of agricultural labourers still spread their meshes across the whole country. Th^ir representatives are yet entitled to the boast that with their excellent organisation of hundreds of well trained sections, they can place in the field 300,000 combatants. And the encounters which they have hitherto had with the troops prove that the Fasci de Lavoratori really represent a formidable power. Again, an unhealthy atmosphere presses round the Italian Parliament at Monte Citorio, weakening, if not utterly demoralising, Italy's legislators and statesmen. No Premier in Italy can long count upon a large and compact majority. There are, as yet, no two such great parties as we have in England. The Premier can never rely upon the Chamber. To-day in a majority, to-morrow he may find himself in a woeful minority ; and this not on account of great principles being at stake, but simply because the deputies cannot live without intrigue. The " onorevoli " of Monte Citorio, it seems, are unable to rise beyond the influences of caucuses and " caves." With the exception of a few, they are still " little country " politicians whose aspirations are sunk in their parishes. 1 82 Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. As the Op intone once asserted : The condition of Italy would not be demoralised so much, if the deputies did not persistently blind themselves to the real interests of the country, and curb and humble themselves before a false public opinion artificially created. Still, in spite of these threatening commotions ; in spite of this instability in Italy's banking institutions ; in spite of the apparent corruption of her politicians, her alliance will be of advantage to England in case a conflict should break out concerning India or Egypt. The Italians are not without excellent statesmen. They have at present Signer Crispi for their pilot, and many are the storms the Italian State-barque has weathered under his guidance. They possess a number of capable generals. They have a fairly trained and sufficiently numerous army. They own a well equipped and ably manned navy. Above all, the Italian people is patriotic, and, although the deputies may be self-serving, Italy's statesmen are encouraged by one of the most powerful political factors, national sentiment. That this is so, is proved by the fact, that, whatever may be in store for Italy, the Government will not concede any material retrenchment in the colossal War Budget. Both the Italian people and its statesmen recognise that to do so would be committing an act of folly. As Crispi declared last year : Oil the morrow of a dissolution of the Triple Alliance Italy will be menaced in the East, and may very likely likewise be without the friendship of the French Republic. On the morning of an European conflict, Italy disarmed, will, as heretofore, have to pay the expenses of the victorious party. The Italians do not desire to wage war against France ; this would be civil war. At the same time, though the French helped the Italian people in 1859 to conquer Lombardy, in return for their services they took from us tke Western Alps. ITow, then, can Italy disarm ? After the defeats at Custozza and Lissa, she fared no better in the East. Neither could Italy obtain the Eastern Alps. Is it therefore patriotic to demand from us that we disarm, the country being actually without its natural frontiers? No doubt, under Rudini, for instance, the expenditure for the army amounted to 246,000,000 lire, and, if anywhere, economy would be desirable here. But, as even at that figure the military organism was half starved, it is obvious that a reduction of the twelve army corps to ten army corps would not much improve its condition. Neither would a corresponding reduction in the war budget be of much benefit, since the Carabinieri alone require 25,000,000 lire Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. 183 annually. Important alterations or large modifications are therefore not to be expected, unless it can be clearly shown that it would be possible to replace by real economies a number of the proposals for fresh taxes. Yet, as the primary condition of such retrenchments is that the reductions in the administrative expenditure shall not interfere with the strength and efficiency of the army, these modifications are impossible since the conviction of Italian Statesmen that Italy must be protected by an efficient army and navy is only too well founded. As to the resources of the country, strained though they be, they may, after all, be capable of bearing their present and additional burdens for a number of years longer, until a successful war shall ease them in some measure. For whilst it cannot be denied that the financial and agricultural situation in Italy is positively unfavourable, it seems that the Italian agricultural crisis is not worse than that in many other countries. On the contrary, there are sound reasons for the assertion of Italian politicians, that the farmers of Italy feel the agricultural depression less than the Germans or English or French, because, on the one side, the costs of cultivation are comparatively speaking small, and on the other side the price of most of the manu- factured commodities is 25 per cent, lower than in 1885. It is true enough, that the production of barley, rice, hemp, flax and chestnuts has materially decreased. But, against this, the cultivation of wheat and other cereals is stated to have markedly extended. Wine farming especially has developed by more than 48 per cent since 1883. Again, though the revenue from the salt duties has fallen during the last 10 years ; the reduction was accompanied by a fall in price. On the other hand, the demand for the commodity has largely increased. With respect to mortgage indebtedness, the statements which have been spread abroad are said to be great exaggerations, since the actual amount of these debts is calculated not to exceed 240,000,000. The same may be said of the assertion that the taxation is suppressing all 184 Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. economic and industrial activity. So far from industrial enterprise decreasing, the partisans of Signor Crispi main- tain that the industries of Italy are developing in an extraordinary manner. If any reliance is to be placed on the report of the Custom's Directorate, this much is certain : Italy's com- mercial relations with foreign countries have considerably improved last year. Both as regards imports and exports there was a marked increase. Apart from silver and gold metals, the imports during 1893 already represented a value of 1,191,200,000 lire, showing a surplus of 17,800,000 lire over the value of the imports in the preceding year. The exports came to 964,000,000 lire, showing another surplus of 6,000,000 lire. And this increase, especially in the imports, is the more noteworthy, as it was mainly due to the importation of cotton, jute and coal. The tendency to improve is continuing. As a matter of fact the imports in 1894 come to 1,094,690,000 lire, whilst the exports represent the value of 1,025,660,000 lire. Concerning the Exchequer, a much larger revenue can be obtained from the liquor traffic than the present one without damaging the trade. Then, some of the chief causes of Italy's deplorable financial position are being removed. One of these has hitherto been the fraudulent practice by which one Finance Minister after another has tried to hide the real state of the treasury. They have obtained more or less fictitious sums by granting to banks the issue of notes for a certain consideration ; by guaranteeing these issues in return for fresh loans from these banks ; by covering one debt by the expedient of a new debt, and actually by means of so-called " particular expenditure " and " extraordinary expenditure," terms that have a somewhat less disquieting appearance in a Budget programme. Signor Magliani has acted in this deceitful manner ; Signor Luzzatti has followed his example, and Giolitti, and even bold Sonnino, have been and are their faithful imitators. Another cause is the unreasonable construction of rail- Italy, our Mediterranean Ally. 185 ways, which must be debited with having swallowed up ; 1 00,000,000. Then the senseless speculation in the building trade wrought almost irreparable mischief. The banks, chiefly the " Banca d'ltalia," invested in it one half of their authorised circulation, instead of endeavouring to increase the insufficient currency. The shameless exploitation of public moneys by Italian officials completed the demoralisation. But, as stated, an improvement being noticeable even in this imporant department of the Italian State-household, an alliance with Italy unquestionably offers some tangible securities. The Italian Kingdom is the only naval power whose interests do not clash with our own, but, on the contrary, are identical with ours so far as France is concerned. Special importance must thus attach to the fact that to the fortified port of Toulon Italy can oppose the even stronger port of Spezzia. Then in addition to being a valuable aid in the Mediter- ranean, Italy may also be a valuable ally in Africa. Not only will Italian and British interests in the Dark Continent be identical for some years to come, but it should also be considered that since the seizure of Kassala the prospects of the Italian Colony of Erythrea are brightening up. The Italians appear to have undermined the power of the Mahdi. Kassala is being connected with Massowah by means of strategical roads. The moral development of the tribes in that region has successfully been taken up by the Capuchins. And hand in hand with the moral improvement proceeds the economic improvement. A sack of durra which cost 56 lire three years ago, now costs 20 lire. The revenue, too, increases markedly. By thus organising and civilising their African possessions which are closely connected with our own, the Italians are consequently rendering us another service the service of a faithful ally against French colonial aggression. Whilst the preceding problems in the East, in Asia and 1 86 The Affairs of the U.S.A. in relation to England. India, then in the West of Europe, and again in the Mediterranean, are of sufficient gravity to almost absorb the attention of British statesmen ; across the Atlantic, in the Far West, a not less important problem is being raised, a problem concerning THE AFFAIRS OF THE UNITED STATES AS REGARDS THEIR REACTION UPON ENGLISH AFFAIRS AND ANGLO- AMERICAN RELATIONS. The passing into law of the Wilson Tariff Bill, even in its mutilated shape, has dispersed the more dangerous storm clouds which have so heavily weighed upon the commercial relations between England and the United States of America. The commerce which existed to the mutual advantage of the two countries before the enact- ment of the M'Kinley Tariff, is likely to regain part of its former importance. The complete failure of the Chicago strike must have a fairly wholesome influence upon the conditions in the North American labour world. There are prospects of more stable and prosperous times to come which cannot fail to beneficially react on our own com- merce and industries. But the United States have not yet escaped the cyclone of financial and economic and politic crises which they have been traversing now for some years. Nor is the possibility that the disturbance and commotion will spread over to England in any appreciable measure modified or removed. In America tidings upon tidings of labour troubles come in from all parts of the vast continent. Strike still suc- ceeds strike, disorder follows upon disorder, and scarcely is riot quelled in one district than it breaks out with increased vehemence in the neighbouring State. There has been the march of the so-called industrial army upon Washington, which, though full of the ludicrous, was not without alarm- ing features, and is certainly a bad precedent for the future. The Negro Problem. 187 Then, in spite of their defeat, the miners of the bituminous coal regions in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois, and West Virginia, are again moving. The railway employees show signs of renewed disaffection, and the Knights of Labour are stirring afresh. Above all, there is one question rapidly rising on the Southern and South- Western horizon of the United States, which, if allowed to develop, may bring upon them the disasters of a social and politico-economic hurricane. This question is I. THE NEGRO PROBLEM. Shall the 7,000,000 negroes who reside in the regions south of the Potomac and Ohio enjoy, and continue to enjoy, the same political and civil rights as those Southerners who belong to the Causasian race? This is the thorny problem which the Government at Washington will have to solve ere long. And the issues which it raises have a considerable bearing not only upon the social and economic conditions of the Southern States themselves, but indirectly also upon the commercial and industrial affairs of Great Britain. A glance at the ethnographical map will show that out of the 7,000,000 negroes in North America, no fewer than 5,500,000 reside at the present time in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In the three last named States, in fact, the black population exceeds the number of the white inhabitants by one-fifth ; in Alabama and Georgia it has already obtained the majority ; whilst in the three remaining States it will soon become the most numerous factor. These are the very States in the stability and general well- being of which England, and especially Lancashire, may be assumed to have a particular interest Rapidly increasing as is the negro element, government by the black people has been averted only by means of the most scandalous election frauds, though there seems to be ample justification for the conduct of the white Southerners in this respect. They need but point to the deplorable 1 88 The Affairs of the U.S.A. in relation to England. misgovernment of the Convention of South Carolina in 1867. To this Convention, out of 97 delegates 63 negroes were deputed. Making use of their numerical superiority they seized upon all the important Government offices. And their rule speedily proved to be a costly mismanagement of the public funds, and of the affairs of South Carolina. Matters went on in this way, from bad to worse, for ten years, until at last the Central Government at Washington saw itself compelled to appoint a Joint Committee of Investi- gation which discovered a number of really shameful abuses of authority, and an unscrupulous squandering, if not actual robbery, of the revenue. But although this experiment in government by the negroes so signally failed in South Carolina, a new political supremacy exercised by the negro population has become an urgent problem within the sphere of practical politics. It is certainly true that the negro population in the Southern States is still at an inferior stage of civilisation, an evil augury for the future development of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, if the negroes were to obtain that new political power. Not only does great immorality prevail amongst the blacks of these States, but their intellectual development seems to be possible only up to a certain limit. As regards the former, in Alabama and Georgia, and, indeed, in most of the Southern States, instead of lawful marriage, the system of cohabitation is in general vogue. In addition to this, criminality amongst the black population is far greater than amongst the white inhabitants of the Southern States, although, with the exception of negro outrages on white women, generally dealt with by the so-called Lynch Law, it appears justice is impartially administered. Thus, for example, the peniten- tiaries in Alabama and Georgia contain seven negro felons to one white convict, and nine negro criminals to one white prisoner respectively. Nevertheless the prospects of a negro supremacy assume a more and more tangible shape. Not that the negroes of The Negro Problem. 189 to-day aspire to social equality with the white population. The charge against them is greatly exaggerated. The financial inequality that exists between the two anta- gonists the white and the black would render any attempt at obtaining social equality absolutely fruitless. But, though there appear to be powerful obstacles to a social emancipation of the negroes in North America, it should not be forgotten that the negroes of to-day belong no longer to the generation of black slaves whom the great civil war liberated. Their descendants, and especially those whom necessity drove to " establish themselves," in other words, to learn a trade or set up as small farmers and shopkeepers, have already amassed a not inconsiderable property. The accounts of the savings banks show that about $20,000,000 have been deposited by the black people. Again, in Georgia alone, the negroes own almost 1,000,000 acres. Their harvest was valued in 1889 at close on $10,000,000. Corresponding with this economic betterment, there has been a noticeable improvement and development in the moral and educational status of the negro population. Not less than sixty newspapers are at the present moment entirely edited, printed, and published by black people. Concerning churches and schools, there are 160,000 negroes who belong to the Roman Catholic faith, possessing 29 churches, superintended by 34 priests ; and 102 schools, attended by 8,400 negro children. The Protestant section of the African Methodists counts 460,000 members, owns i ,200 chapels, superintended by no fewer than 8,000 pastors, and can boast 15,000 Sunday Schools. In proportion with this educational and financial improve- ment in the condition of the blacks, the difficulties of the negro problem are indeed daily increasing. This is the more evident as it is doubtful whether the problem of negro-ascen- dency can be solved by a general and lasting fusion between the white people and the negroes, desirable though it were, since it appears to offer the best guarantees for a peaceful and lasting adjustment of the claims of the white and the black. The Affairs of the U.S.A. in relation to England. Apart from the natural inferiority of the negro race to the Causcasian race the prejudice of colour, the endeavours of the Southerners to maintain their supremacy, and the degradation into which the negroes have fallen during several centuries of slavery, are grave obstacles to any such fusion. With respect to the different plans of bringing about a final solution ; some American statesmen advocate a general disfranchisement of the black population. Others contend that the efforts made in the interests of education are insufficient not only as regards the negroes, but especially as regards the white proletariat. A third class of politicians recommends freedom of marriage between the black and white, or at least between the octoroons and the white, as the only solution of the Negro Problem. It can easily be seen that none of these remedies would produce a durable change in the conditions and relations of the negro Southerners and white Southerners. The plan of a wholesale compulsory migration of the black element into a negro reservation, similar to the Indian Territory, appears to be more feasible and promising fair success. Yet the question arises, Where shall this reservation be opened up ? On the other hand, apart from the danger of throwing the negroes back into a state of barbarism by rigorously preventing them from coming into contact with the white people, such treatment is likely to brand them with an ineffaceable stigma, exposing them to a persecution which cannot fail to react demoralisingly upon the manners of the population of America at large. But, deplorable though these results of a wholesale com- pulsory migration be, the United States Government will have to risk this alternative. It will have to do so in pre- ference to civil war, and the social and economic as well as the political ruin of Virginia, Louisiana, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama. This migration will, no doubt, depopulate the sugar and cotton plantations, Swedish and German farm labourers being unable to with- stand the degenerating influence of the climate for any length The Knights of Labour. 191 of time. Yet whilst it may be admitted that the negroes are useful, and even excellent, workers in all that pertains to manual labour, a qualification of first importance in a country with highly developed agricultural interests ; when it becomes a question of " to be or not to be " between the white and the black, the claims of the white race, with its possibilities of, comparatively speaking, infinite development, should promptly prevail with American statesmen. However, whether this negro question be speedily and satisfactorily solved or not, the Government of the United States is likely to be confronted with a labour problem which is second in importance only to that Negro question. American statesmen have to wage unceasing war against the revolutionary aspirations of such powerful workmen's associations, as, for instance, II. THE KNIGHTS OF LABOUR. Though beaten last year, this organisation is reported to be gathering once more for a powerful assault on the economic and industrial system of the States. It was owing to the trial against the clubs of the Molly Maguires that people first became aware of the existence of the Knights of Labour, at that time a strictly secret organisa- tion which had been formed at Philadelphia, in 1869. Its founders were a number of Philadelphian weavers. At the outset, the union seemed to have had but small chances. It was languishing for several years, and, in fact, well nigh met with a premature death. Then there arose a new class of leaders. They very soon conceived the idea of extending the right of membership not only to their own sister trades, but also to master workmen, small tradesmen, jobmasters, and even merchants. Thenceforth the future of the organisation was secure, for the financial part of the union was safely protected by that resolution against any sudden fluctuations. Under the pilotage of the new spirit " of the brotherhood of all workers and of the oppressed and weak," the organisation sailed past its Scylla and Charybdis in no 192 The Affairs of the U.S.A. in relation to England. time. Its ranks began to swell rapidly, so much so that already in 1878 the Knights of Labour were a power that could boastfully muster its forces at the congress which met at Reading in September of that year, and elaborate a con- stitution, the introduction to which contains the following proclamation : The ever increasing concentration of capital, which, if not checked in time, must lead to the further degradation and impoverishment of the workers, compels us, if we wish to enjoy the blessings of this life, to combat that power and its unjust development, and to work out a system that will secure to the worker the fruits of his labour. Knowing, however, that this end can only be attained by a perfect organisation of labour, and by the common efforts of those who obey the sacred injunction " Thou shall eat thy bread in the sweat of thy brow," we resolved to form this union ; trusting that by solidarity of purpose and action our organisation may be successfully protected against the power of the capitalists. With this end in view we proclaim the aims of our association, and appeal to all those who believe in the maxim of the greatest happiness of the greatest number. This proclamation supplied an appropriate basis for the erection of the " statutory " pillars of the organisation of the Knights of Labour. In these statutes the law was laid down that not wealth, but industrial and moral worth, were the foundation of individual and national power and pros- perity. The aims of the Union were then declared to be as follows : Firstly, to secure the worker a due share of the proceeds of his labour ; secondly, to establish statistical labour bureaus for the purpose of ascertaining the moral, educational, and financial condition of the worker ; thirdly, to organise co-operative societies ; fourthly, to secure the land to its real cultivator, and prevent the railway companies from acquiring a single acre. The delegates of the Knights of Labour further demanded that all laws which appeared to favour capital should be immediately repealed ; that the wages should be paid in current coin ; that competition by prison labour should be abolished, and the hours of a working day be reduced to eight. It might seem at first sight that these doctrines enunciated by the Labour Congress at Reading were inspired by the loftiest motives which can move the mind of man. Yet it soon became manifest that ambition and egotism were the forces which moved the leaders of the organisation. The constitution of the Association at once placed unlimited Chinese Labour. 193 powers at the disposal of a few crafty agitators, as is shown by the oath with which every new member has to pledge his good faith. It reads : 1 swear by God to obey the laws and the constitution of this Assembly ; to maintain the same ; not to betray, either by word or deed, the proceedings of the Assembly, or any member of the organisation ; nor to reveal the names nor any action of the members of the Order of Knights of Labour. I swear by God that I will maintain the organisation in all its dignity ; defend it in case of danger to the utmost of my ability ; and contribute as much as lies in my power to the maintenance of our rights ; finally, to support any branch of the organisation, or any member, or worker, according to my faculties. Should I violate this oath in any way, I am willing to bear the consequences of this wilful perjury, and abide by the judgment of this Assembly. So help me God ! The influence which, by means of this oath, accumulated in the hands of the leaders of the Knights of Labour, naturally reacted upon the sphere of policy and action of the organisation. At first, anything but a revolutionary or social -democratic body ; it has, since the great strike at Chicago, become more and more permeated by the worst doctrines of Communism. Its claims are no longer restricted to the amelioration of the condition of labour. It has taken up the question of the nationalisation not only of the means of locomotion and communication, but also of the land and of the means of production. It appears that it likewise contemplates an agitation for the abolition of all property and the annihilation of private capital. Given time and a favourable opportunity, the organisation of the Knights of Labour, assimilating and absorbing in its onward movement kindred associations of workmen, may prove disastrous to the United States. For so far from decreasing, the labour difficulties are growing in intensity owing to the introduction of new competitive elements, as for instance, of III. CHINESE LABOUR. We have seen in the "Immigration Question" (page 24), that no country has been mdre eager in the past to protect its industrial classes against the competition of foreign workmen than the United States. t But now their Govern- ment commences to vacillate in its policy. N 194 The Affairs of the U.S.A. in relation to England. It has already receded from its hostile, though advan- tageous attitude towards the Chinese, notwithstanding the damage inflicted on the working classes of America by Chinese labour. Indeed, so early as November, 1880, the United States were compelled to seek a compact with China in virtue of which they might for a certain period prohibit the immigration of such Chinese labourers as would be likely to endanger the labour interests of the United States. But the stipulations of this treaty were soon found to be insufficient. Attempts were then made to strengthen their operation by various harbour police regulations. These again proved ineffective, and the Federal Government was constrained in May, 1892, to bring forward the "Chinese Exclusion Act." By this Act the emigrants from the Celestial Empire were subjected to severe restrictions as regards domicile, terms of contracting for employment, and inter- course with the residents from other foreign countries, as well as with American citizens. Of course the Chinese Govern- ment incessantly remonstrated with the Federal Govern- ment against these humiliating restraints, declaring that the " Exclusion Act " made Chinese labour impossible in America. However, considering the deplorable condition of the industrial classes in the United States, it seemed unlikely that their Government would give way to the pro- tests and representations of the Chinese. Now this is the very thing that has happened. A new "Emigration Convention" has actually been signed at Washington which stipulates that the citizens of both countries shall henceforth be on a footing of equality. There is certainly a clause which enacts that no new labour-emigrants from China are to be admitted into American territory during the next ten years. But those Chinese who are at present resident in the States, and who have families there, or possess real property, may at any time revisit their native country. They are allowed to leave their kin and offspring the while in America. After an unlimited sojourn at home, they can return again to the The States' Protectionist and Financial Policy. 195 States for the purpose of competing more vigorously than ever with the American artisans and labourers. England might contemplate these dangers which the Government of the United States thus creates for itself, with little concern, were it not possible that, if the United States should come to grief on the negro, the labour, or the Chinese question, their ruin would detrimentally affect this Island. That these are no imaginary perils, and that the fortunes of commercial and industrial England are more intricately connected with those of the States than is desirable, we can easily ascertain when we consider IV. THE STATES' PROTECTIONIST AND FINANCIAL POLICY. As to this policy and financial position of the North American Republic we observe that, whereas in former times foreign capitalists invested their money in American financial and industrial undertakings, because the active and freely-developing economic life in the States guaran- teed good returns, these foreign capitalists have not only since withdrawn, but are actually being followed by Americans themselves, who find that European countries offer a better field for investment. The fact is that whilst formerly the American Administration could point to a yearly surplus, it has now to contract loans at a con- siderable rate of interest, in the vain endeavour to cover thereby its yearly deficit. And this deficit is constantly increasing. Indeed, when President Harrison took over the reins of government from President Cleveland, so far from there being a balance on the wrong side, there were about $100,000,000 in the State treasury. Yet during the four years he ruled at Washington, this sum not only dwindled down to zero, but on handing back the Presidential power to Cleveland, Harrison bequeathed to him the certainty of a deficit. This was the outcome of the mischievous manner in which pensions were indiscriminately bestowed upon 196 The Affairs of the U.S. A, in relation to England. all who pretended to have a claim on the gratitude of the country, either for military or electioneering services. At the same time the large and constantly increasing amount of paper money circulating all over America contributed towards bringing about that deplorable situation. But the M'Kinley tariff was at the root of all the evil. The States were not in a position to bear the losses which would inevitably result from the reaction during the first period of its existence, for it was British money that had created some of the most important undertakings in the States. It was British money which had supported a large number of American factories and railways. The prohibi- tive tariff destroyed the inducement to invest further ; it no longer tolerated British capital. England ceased to manufacture goods for the States. Owing to this loss of the American market, many of the English works had to be closed. This again reacted upon American exports of raw materials. Yet, it also affected American industries. The English required their capital at home, which implied an additional and serious loss to the States. To increase this efflux of money, that is of gold, large sums as payment of interest were concurrently going out of the country. So the Americans were driven round a vicious circle. Such was the state of affairs in the North American Republic when the stress of adverse circumstances led to the production of the Wilson Tariff Bill. It is needless to quote the speech which M'Kinley delivered at Boston on that occasion, the leading motive of which was as follows : " I sound," he said, " a note of warning here to-night, which I wish may reach every corner of the country, namely, that every reduction in the tariff will be followed by a reduction of wages." It is unnecessary to reproduce in full the charac- teristic article entitled, "Tariff and Business," which ex- Speaker Reed published in the " North American Review," and in which this protectionist denounced the competition of Bradford, concluding with the following tirade : The States' Protectionist and Financial Policy. 197 Such are the people we have to meet, and we can only meet them by a reduction of prices of labour. If then, we reduce the price of labour, we can at best only hold our own markets, and with the price of labour reduced what are our markets worth ? Just so much less as our wages come down. What makes America so good a market that all the world learns to break into it ? The payments for labour both of brain and muscle, the wages . . . Lower wages and lower prices may seem simple of adjustment to a man in a closet, but less work because of foreign goods, and a market cut in two by reduction of wages, may prove impossible of endurance to men who have to live in a practical world. It suffices to state that Senator Hill and others declared " the passing of the measure into law would not only close the factories and throw hundreds of thousands of workmen out of employment, but would also irreparably disorganise America's commerce and finances." As a matter of fact, a violent party-warfare broke out. The Congress accused the Senate of unduly favouring certain interests to the detriment of other national concerns. The Senate managers in turn were angry with the House managers, because they had tried to bribe behind the former's backs the Senators of Louisiana who had made an agree- ment not to allow any Tariff Bill to pass without providing bounties for the sugar growers. Concerning the Legislatures of the several Federal States, they, too, would not sacrifice their selfish jealousies on the altar of their common country. Strong private contending interests and claims proved more powerful than the consideration of the interests of the Ameri- can people. Pennsylvania and Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, and California were threatened with the income tax. Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama looked with horror upon free coals. The former Confederate or Southern States had an interest in silver. In the opinion of the Western States, on the contrary, free silver coinage was the panacea for all financial and economic disturbances. A coalition of interests succeeded in engaging the Senate not to consent to the free importation of wool, sugar and iron. On the other hand, an important Caucus in the Congress was pledged to obtain their free importation. And this demoralising traffic between the Republican and Demo- cratic representatives of the people with the various parties interested in the Tariff Bill, was continued in the 198 The Affairs of the U.S.A. in relation to England. Lobby of the Congress and in the corridors of the Senate House. Yet experience had taught that, apart from the havoc which the M'Kinley Tariff wrought in private industries, it disorganised and impoverished the public treasure. Possibly many were misled by the idea that protec- tionist duties may also be Revenue duties. And it cannot be denied that such has been the case in several instances. It is equally true that the State is justified in protecting its home manufactures by a reasonable Customs tariff. And as such a tariff can only be reasonable when it establishes a just proportion between the country's own resources and requirements, and the resources and requirements of other countries, the duties which the State thus levies on foreign goods may enrich its revenue without impairing its industries and commerce. But this politico-economic axiom could not apply in the case of the North American Republic. For, however high the Americans might raise, for example, the duties on cloth, they could not prevent foreign fabrics from finding their way to the States, since, even if the Americans were in possession of all the raw material, and the necessary machinery, there would still be the problem of obtaining at a reasonable rate such skilled labour as might enable a cloth manufacturer in the United States to compete to advantage with his English rival. Indeed, it is incessantly asserted ^that : It will take the United States a long time to manufacture anything like the quantity of cloth required. They are not used to this sort of work. It would take them years to gain the necessary experience. They can compete with us in cotton but not in woollen goods. American emulators of the producers of English woollen fabrics have always been struggling to supply themselves and others with such cloth as they get from us, but Yorkshire manufacturers will have;; no cause to fear American opposition of this sort for many years to come. The same may be said of other industries. To quote ex-Speaker Reed, he himself unconsciously admitted that the coalfields in West Virginia and a vast number of in- dustries are yet undeveloped." Nevertheless, conclusive though these considerations and Free Trade, Fair Trade, Protection. 199 facts seemed to be in favour of the Wilson Tariff Bill, and incomplete though this Bill in itself was, it only became law in a seriously mutilated form. As a result of this ill-considered trade-policy we see that the States' industries and commerce are further disorganised and handicapped ; we see that on the one side the Hills and the Germans, on the other side the Knights of Labour and the General American Labour Union, barter and play with the destinies of a young nation ; and, justly alarmed, we watch the serious and detrimental effects which these constant fluctuations and this narrow-minded legisla- tion in the United States have upon our home industries and our commerce. FREE TRADE, FAIR TRADE, PROTEC- TION, AND THE RUSSIAN-GERMAN COMMERCIAL TREATY. I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. And yet, if we are attentive observers, the lessons which the failures of the States' economic policy teach us may not be too dearly bought. The considerable decrease in the value of American home industries, as well as of American exports ; the egotistic and unscrupulous agitations of the "silver men" and "gold men"; the movements and com- motions amongst the workers, and the ever-increasing deficit in the Treasury are all instructive phenomena. They prove that in the economic, commercial and financial world of our times there is no room for pronounced selfish particularism. Everything is dovetailed there. The interests of one country must in the long run try to accommodate themselves to those of the neighbouring country. The relations between the two are those between the cogs of two wheels. If those interests fail to accommodate each other, the whole international and national trade machinery is thrown out of gear. Not that a State should be debarred from protecting its 2OO Free Trade, Fair Trade, Protection, home industries against unfair competition from abroad. On the contrary, we have already admitted that one of the chief raisons d'etre of the State is to afford its citizens the best means possible of obtaining a decent and com- fortable living. Therefore, should necessity require that a State's agriculture, or commerce, or manufactures be nursed, and, in fact, supported by a Protectionist tariff, its Government ought to impose on foreign imports the needful Customs-dues without delay. But whilst this maxim holds good in general, politicians should be very wary in applying it extensively to particular cases. If enforced too quickly, if used in a harsh manner, without somewhat considering the claims of the rival ; such a tariff very frequently and promptly changes from a defen- sive into an offensive weapon. It then provokes bitter retaliation, and finally raises the question of the survival of the fittest, which question might have been left in abey- ance for years but for the tariff-challenge. The tariff war which raged between Russia and Germany during the greater part of 1893, and which ended in the conclusion of a commercial treaty (vide pp. 149-150) is for this reason of special interest as it contributes largely to the solution of the important tariff problem. II. THE RUSSIAN-GERMAN COMMERCIAL TREATY. This treaty marked the beginning of a new epoch, or we should rather say, it was a return to the policy pursued by the German Government before the then Count Bismarck had issued his famous circular-letter of December I5th, 1878. In this remarkable document he had proposed to the Federal Council the taxation of all imported products and manufactures. Not only considerations for the great landowners, but also a desire to create in the Fatherland independent resources, had induced him to make such a complete change in Germany's commercial policy. However, although the duties on corn rose is. per 100 kilos, (equivalent to about 2OOlbs.) in 1873, 33. per 100 kilos, in 1885, 5s. per And the RTtssian-German Commercial Treaty. 201 100 kilos, in 1887 German agriculture did not seem to have benefited largely. Indeed, whilst the population was increasing by half a million a year, the agricultural produce proportionally decreased. Thus a too rigorous Protectionist policy appears to have been a mistake as much in Germany as we know the M'Kinley Tariff was in the United States of America. The new departure in Germany's commercial and eco- nomic policy was consequently fully justified. It soon became a question of differential duties, though the treaty itself was no doubt brought about by a policy of retaliation. The history of this far-reaching politico-economic move- ment shows that Russia was the aggressor. It is not necessary to enter here into the detailed motives which induced the Russian Government to take the field. It may have been induced by the same economic consider- ations to which Bismarck gave expression in his above- mentioned famous circular-letter. There may also have been/0/zV*Vfl/considerations. Somuch is certain: earlyin 1877 Russia began to raise her import tariffs. About twelve months later, she issued a rescript that all Customs-dues should be paid in gold. As the value of the Russian rouble then stood, this meant a further increase of about 30 per Cent, in the import-tax. But the Russian Government seemed to have been still dissatisfied with the effects produced by such rigorous prohibitive measures. In 1891 the duties were once more raised, and at the same time a maximum tariff for special cases was elaborated. This was the more galling to the Fatherland, as imports from France and England were differently treated, and inasmuch as other nations were particularly favoured in Finland, which had been left outside the Russian Customs frontier. The remonstrances of the German Chambers of Commerce and the petitions from the Commercial Congress (Allgemeine Handelstag) appeared, however, to be of little avail with the Berlin Government, for it did not retaliate, and Russia persisted more than ever in her Protectionist policy a I' ou trance. But a fundamental change was nevertheless preparing. Bismarck 2O2 Free Trade, Fair Trade, Protection, was no longer Chancellor. The Emperor, William II., had assumed the direction of Germany's policy. The era of commercial treaties had begun. In the winter of 1890-1 negotiations with Austria were entered into with a view to forming a Customs Union. If successful, Russia's export- trade, hitherto undisturbed, was in real danger, as Germany expressed her readiness to materially lower the duties on the import of cereals from Austria-Hungary. Russia now sent forth a feeler to Berlin, though if actually desirous of peace with Germany, it was a strange way of making overtures. The Russian Government demanded a reduction in the import duties levied by Germany on "cereals, eggs, butter, game, poultry, horses, swine and timber," and also asked the Berlin Government to fix for a certain period the existing tariff on other com- modities. In return, Russia undertook not to raise her exclusive duties ; however, positively declining to entertain any request for a reduction a-limine. Now let us consider the relative positions of Germany and Russia as to their imports and exports. According to statistics, Russia sent to Germany in 1891 : 1. Wheat, barley, and oats, valued at 12,000,000. 2. Other cereals, valued at 1,750,000. 3. Cattle, poultry, dead meat, and eggs, valued at 2,500,000. 4. Timber and woodwork, valued at 3,000,000. The total of Russian exports amounted thus in that year to about 19,250,000, to which we must add 750,000, for miscellaneous articles. Germany's principal export commodities consist of chemicals, textile goods, and manufactures in metals. The total of her exports to Russia in the same year amounted to about 10,000,000. The balance between these exports and imports had been different before 1876. Then, the totals stood inverted, Germany being credited with 16,250,000 and Russia with about 8,000,000. These figures somewhat explain how Russia could And tJie Russian-German Commercial Treaty. 203 advance the propositions of which we spoke above. Whilst she had developed her industries and resources, enlarged her markets abroad, and opened new ones in other countries, German manufactures had been more and more driven back from Russia. Yet, notwithstanding this difficult position, the Berlin Government remained firm in its request that the Russian tariff against Germany's principal export commodities should be reduced. In the meantime the Austro-German Customs Union had become an all-important factor giving no small proof of the astuteness of both the German Emperor and Caprivi. Its effect upon Russia was soon to be perceived. In a note to the Berlin Government, Russia asked for a de- tailed statement of the reductions which Germany claimed. After having re-assured itself that Russia was willing to give up the differential treatment as to the import both by land and sea, and even to accord Germany the benefit of the most favoured nation-clause in Finland ; the Foreign Office at Berlin forwarded, in March, 1893, to Russia all the required particulars. To this statement the Russian Government replied that Finland was to be included in the Russian Customs frontier. Concerning the reductions which Germany had asked for, Russia refused them in part, and as to the remainder, allowed a percentage less than that by which the German Government desired the duties to be lowered. Concurrently Russia offered concessions with respect to commodities which the Government in Berlin had not included in its demand, and proposed to Germany a provisorium as the experience thereby to be obtained might offer a basis for later negotiations. Russia also proposed that she should have the advantage of the stipulations in the Customs Union between Germany and Austria, whilst the Fatherland should participate in the " benefits " of the Franco-Russian tariff. These " benefits " the German Government was unable to consider as such. It rejected the idea of a provisorium, or " commercial truce," because this would inevitably have weakened its position in later negotiations, yet without 2O4 Free Trade, Fair Trade, Protection, affording a basis for a future understanding. Germany repudiated the offer of Russia concerning any provisory arrangement on account of its inherent evils, in case the German Government should encounter difficulties which might compel it to resort to a tariff war. Events proved the wisdom of this refusal. Indeed, immediately on Russia receiving Germany's reply, the Russian Government issued, in July, a rescript in which it decreed that from the ist of August, 1893, the maximum tariff should be enforced against all German products and commodities. But before that term was reached, the Federal Council had increased the duties on all Russian imports by 50 per cent. Thus that " peaceful " modern mode of contest began. The damage which this " civilised " warfare inflicted on both nations can easily be guessed. The maximum tariff of Russia seriously affected German industries. Its stipu- lations raised the duties, for example, on iron goods from between 218 and 520 per cent. In comparison with this percentage the rise in the German tariff, with its 50 per cent, appears almost insignificant. But, on the other hand, Russia could not fail to recognise that the United States, and even India, might easily supplant her agricultural produce ; and that Canada might supply timber as cheap, if notcheaper,than Russia could. Let us add to these considera- tions the fact that the harvests in 1893 turned out far better than the Russian Government had expected ; that the close commercial intercourse between Austria and Germany had not merely an economic but also a political significance, and we can understand why Russia, after all, once more proffered suggestions for an understanding. However, Germany, too, had every reason to come to an arrangement. It is true, the Agricultural Union (Der Bund der Landwirthe) even joined the Antisemites in order to defeat the intentions of the German Government. It issued a manifesto full of defiance and reactionary tendencies. Yet apart from this opposition the correspondence between the Chancellor, von Caprivi, and the East Prussian Con- And Agriculture. 205 servative Union, as well as the resolution of the latter, show that the Germans, as a whole, likewise desired a speedy and fair settlement of the dispute. This settlement was at last arrived at, and the success which Germany obtained, whilst certainly suggesting the weapons with which England will have to fight in case she should be called upon to defend her industrial and com- mercial interests, proves at the same time the dangers of a too rigorous protectionist policy. III. PROTECTION AND AGRICULTURE. And this problematic efficacy of a Protectionist policy should be particularly noted in the case of Agriculture. For when we consider the deplorab.le state of Agriculture in France, 18,000,000 of whose inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits ; when we consider the almost chronic agricultural crises in the other European States, in spite of protective duties and State-help, we are justified in doubting whether Protection is really so efficacious as its advocates endeavour to make out. Indeed, one cannot help seeking elsewhere for the reasons of the discrepancy between the cost of production and the returns which farming brings in. No doubt, amongst these causes may be reckoned high freight tariffs and market difficulties ; financial insecurity ; instability in the standards of value and above all defective credit-systems (vide p. 19, etc.). But it is not Protection that will remove these difficulties. The problem of the agricultural crises is, to a great extent, a question of adopting new methods for increasing the productive power of the soil, by using scientific manures and by employing machinery, in the use of which ex- penditure could hardly be an obstacle, since farmers might easily combine for the purpose of covering the cost. The agricultural problem is likewise a question of fruit and poultry farming the latter being particularly neglected in England. The laws which regulate the chemical combination of the 206 Protection and Agriculture. soil and the laws which govern the lives of plants and animals have not long been discovered. They are not yet understood in all their bearings upon agriculture. Let human intellect once penetrate deeper into those organic secrets ; let the discoveries be then properly applied to the cultivation of the land ; let the means of locomotion and communication be cheapened, and the tillers of the soil most useful members of a State will again be enabled to obtain by increased produce from their labours a fair margin of profits over the costs of production. Rapid, like the flashes of lightning, are the changes and advances in the economic, financial, and industrial world ; the farmers must keep pace with the speed of " This Age of Ours." They will then neither need to risk another trial with the questionable weapon of Protection ; nor are they likely to be ensnared by the allurements of the " New Creed." THE BOOK ON THE NEW CREED OR SOCIALISM. SOCIALISM; OR, THE NEW CREED. PROLEGOMENA. E have seen in the preceding " Book " how full " This Age of Ours " is of mighty changes and of problems pregnant with commotion and evil. On the one side Caesarism, armed to the teeth, is threatening the peace of Europe. On the other side, the fever of Chauvinism is seizing upon millions of citizens hitherto peaceful, but, owing to their military training, only too ready victims of this fever of national jealousies and Imperial pretensions. Before us are rising the masses. They are already moving to and fro, not unlike the rolling of an ocean that wakes to a terrible outbreak of wrath, in its blind fury bent upon destruction. In the industrial and economic worlds Trade Unions and master- associations eagerly proceed with the erection of vast camps into which capital and labour are marshalling their armies for purposes not too peaceful, and certainly not contributive to the national welfare. In the midst of these, as we have seen, the faction of dynamiters is stealing, preaching " propaganda by deed," or in other words, the universal re-organisation of man and cosmos by their previous annihilation. So it seems as if storm-clouds were slowly gathering over the old order of society presaging an era of endless and aimless commotion, in comparison to which previous social and political upheavals dwindle to insignificance. Not even the French Revolution, when the remaining forces of feo- O 2io Socialism; of, the New Creed, dalism gathered for the final struggle with the third Estate, the " hated " bourgeoisie of our days, can be compared to the present crisis. Then the last ramparts of absolute monarchy in so-called civilised States were either over- thrown or at least so shattered that their crumbling to pieces before the "vigorous" breath of the "new" spirit abroad was but a question of time. Thus the outbreak had a definite purpose likely to lead to a tangible result- But what are the aims of this new commotion ? What are the elements of the " New Creed " that is now forcing itself upon the peoples ? The name " Socialism " by which it goes is well known. But what is known of its purposes ? Does Socialism merely mean a political revolution, or is it a social regeneration, or will it bring about an economic re-organisation ? Of the numerous and various gospels or rather shibboleths, intended to remedy the few real and the many imaginary evils, from which society is said to suffer, Socialism is unquestionably the most dangerous. Swelled with prophetic bombast, and in its outward appearance re- sembling the insinuating advertisement of a universal quack medicine, the " New Creed " has a charm for unsophisticated people. England is no longer free from its influence. The Socialist whirlwind has crossed the silver stream which enabled the English to develop the resources of their country, and educate their character at a time when Continental nations were constantly checked, and even wrecked, in their aspirations through dissensions and feuds, their too close neighbourhood to each other preventing a peaceful and healthy growth. Hiding its destructive principles and ruinous aims under the delusive names of reform, re-organisation and salvation, Socialism has scattered its pernicious seed broadcast over this Island. And the "Creed" is growing rapidly. It has already become a force in the new Trade Unionism. Socialistic doctrines have infested the old trade guilds. The influence of the "New Belief" is undermining even the great historical Prolegomena. 2 1 1 Parties of Great Britain, whose constant antagonism furthered the social, economic and political development of our national life. Yet, surprising though this influence may seem, it is but natural in " This Age of Ours," with its vague aspirations. The success of Socialism, as already suggested, lies in the very fact that it entered the political arena without a well- defined programme. The " founders " of the " New Creed " early recognised that nothing would be more fatal to their cause than a clear knowledge amongst the people of the transitory stages, and especially of the ends, of Socialism. Hence, even to this day only the few initiated are fully acquainted with both the means and final objects of the Socialistic agitation. The general, and for this reason palatable, assertion that " We, the Socialists, will manage somehow to conduct suffering mankind into the haven of peace and prosperity," is considered to be quite sufficient for the masses. Not that Socialism has been and is without self-conscious pilots. It confronts us with Lassalle, Buchner, Marx, Blanc, Thorreau, Saint Simeon, Proudhon and Enfantin, Bebel and Liebknecht, the Henry Georgians and Fabian Society men. And it cannot be denied that at least some of them have given proof of more than average capacity. Nevertheless, neither their acts nor their teachings have hitherto warranted the belief that they are possessed of the moral and intellectual power absolutely requisite for safely piloting the peoples through the reform-cyclone which they have roused by their agitation. There is amongst them no uniformity of purpose or of method. On the contrary, there are just as many Socialist schools as there are leaders. The bitterness with which each of these combats the others is not less intense than the violence with which they all attack the actual state of society, unfortunately more and more misunder- stood under the Socialistic misnomer of Capitalism, or the tyrannic reign of wealth. However, as it is an axiom that where there is no unity of purpose and aim there can be 212 Socialism; or, the Neiv Creed. no uniformity of principle ; and, as another axiom says, that no successful action can ensue if it is not rightly motived : it follows that, being devoid of these two essential elements, Socialism must also be devoid of any practical value for the moral, and hence the material, better- ment of the human species. As a matter of fact, the " New Creed " does not aim at raising the standard of the intellectual and spiritual man. Nor does it endeavour to establish a just balance between the two opposed elements so indispensable to the life of both man and nation : the elements of self-negation and self-assertion. In other words, the "New Creed" does not strive here to develop charity, there to modify egotism. Again, not even in its theoretical " system " has Socialism at any time attempted to indicate where the domain of individuality should end and the dominion of collectivist co-operation and ownership begin. It has never distinctly mapped out the sphere of action of the different and frequently antagonistic particles of which the Community and the State are composed. The Socialists are just as little decided concerning the powers which ought to be left in the hands of, or to be conferred upon, the Government. Socialism is merely a negative reform-agent. Granted it were successful, it would force society into a chaotic position whence no Socialist leader would be able to rescue it again. Socialists, it is true, maintain that the inequalities in the conditions of life justify their revolutionary agitation, and sanctify the wholesale abolition of the institutions, laws and customs by which men are ruled at present. Yet they are silent as regards the substitutes which will be necessary to carry on the existence of the human species, with all the manifestations of a higher status so noticeable in the communal and national life. That their aim is simply destruction and not construction, is shown by the callousness with which they enlarge on the miseries of some of their fellow-beings. Were it otherwise their conduct would be incomprehensible. For these suffer- Prolegomena. 213 ings may bear the stamp of the law of necessity, as expressed in unalterable circumstances. It matters little to the Socialists. Those sufferings may have been caused by constitutional weakness ; or they may be the result of wilful self-indulgence. Either fact has with them no weight. Instead of making strenuous efforts to reduce the vacuum of the unfortunate gulf which obviously separates one class of men from the other, they exert themselves to deepen, and to widen it. Socialists aim at the equal distribution of property, unconscious of the fact that they would thereby destroy a most powerful element in human conduct, the stimulus of thrift and the consciousness of ownership so beneficial if modified, or rather enlightened, by ethics ; and so essential to the healthy development of men and nations. Socialism desires competition to be replaced by Associa- tion Co-operative Association. The people shall no longer work for the "enrichment of others," but each "worker" shall, in the first instance, fully reap and possess the fruits of his labour. Though the one be skilled, the other un- skilled, this one requiring long, intellectual training, that one mere " automatic " exertion : yet the sum of the results of all these labours shall then be equally divided amongst the " producers." It is especially here where the fallacies and incongruities, if not utter impossibilities, of the Socialistic reform projects appear most glaring. To judge from the writings of some of the teachers of Socialism, they certainly seem to recognise that without the previous renewal of the intellectual, above all, of the moral man, a realisation of the claims of the " greatest happiness " doctrine cannot become possible. They actually seem to be apprehensive that even if it were realisable, it would not be workable for a length of time. But although fully appre- hensive, if not really conscious, of this likely failure ; in practice Socialists make no attempt to effect such moral evolution before material evolution. The fact is they discount the influence of good and evil in man. It may be admitted that Socialism pretends to establish 214 Socialism; or, the New Creed. an artificial code of "justice" and morals, pointing, in justification of its new laws, at what it calls the negation of justice ; a negation which its expounders say is manifested in the existence of classes and masses, of rich and poor, of successful and unfortunate. Still, it appeals to the very instincts in human nature which are opposed to justice and moral conduct to the instinct of self-gratification. No doubt the teachers of Socialism are frequently deceiv- ing themselves in good faith when they imagine that by rousing this instinct of self-gratification in man they are successfully improving the position of those people who are less favoured by the present distribution of wealth. But whether they are moved by a genuine desire or not, they unquestionably ignore the fact that this unequal distribution is in a certain unalterable degree utterly independent of human calculations and man's exertions. The reason is, Socialists fail to see that where there is a variety of climate, there must also be a variety even in the components of the various species inhabiting the regions which are under the influence of the different climates. They appear to wilfully disregard that the diversity in the soil produces a diversity in its products, which, again, interfere with, and form the appetite of men, acting and reacting upon their character, and most directly upon their fortunes. Forgetful of the axiom, that there are not two men alike at one and the same time in character, appetites, aspirations and even appearance ; the Socialists forget that there must also be a difference, and a vaster difference, between the various nations ; a difference never to be effaced, never to be removed, never even to be modified. Yet this difference natural y implies in the end an inequality in the respective economic con- ditions of the different nations. Such being the omissions in the Socialist system of society and such being the false premises upon which Socialism is founded, it is not surprising that the " New Creed " asserts the possibility of a universal brotherhood, when all men may pleasantly " toil " in order to satisfy their primitive Prolegomena. 215 \vants of commodities, having returned to Rousseau's state of nature. Indeed, we may assume that according to the Socialist visionaries, the ideal of human society will only be truly realised when " State-Omnipotence" summons, not the "individual" workers, but to use the terminology of the universal reorganisation party the automatic particles of the Socialistic worker-cosmos to their two or three hours' "toil" in the world's one workshop. It will only be realised when in this world's workshop there are no longer directors, managers, and foremen, but a superintending, though brotherly and, " forbearing," bureaucracy of "deputation overseers" and "rotation managers " belonging to, and emanating from, the "State-Omnipotence" with all its monopolies as regards the means of production, locomotion, communication, and distribution. It will only be realised when the sweet nymphs of "free love" swarm forth upon the world's one pleasure and recreation ground for some bacchanal or rather Socialistic-Communistic enjoyment with the " uni- versal brotherhood of the world's associated workers," after the latter's equalised, and in every respect equal exertions for the acquisition of the few commodities then necessary. And why not, since in England, as well as elsewhere, corn need but grow and animals propagate in order to supply man's primitive wants ? These are the prospects of the Socialist's Millennium. Attractive as they are, they are dangerous. We are told of the fiendish treacheries of those mirages which haunt the vast deserts and drive many a poor deluded wanderer to a frenzy of suicidal fury and despair. The Socialistic aspirations, the Socialistic dreams of equality, fraternity and liberty in man and creation are such mirages. They lure the people from the considera- tion of the true problems of life. They prevent them from endeavouring to find a "modus vivendi? in other words, an adjustment between the privileges as well as desires of self and the claims of fellow beings. 216 Socialism; or, the New Creed. The Socialist apostles know that, if they fight single- handed against nature which will eternally be nature, they will not even have the chance of coming to a close attack on the present order of society. For this reason they clamour for the intervention of the State in all and every detail of human life and conduct. State help will prepare the way for the Socialistic Association and the Socialistic Delegation Government. Though this is sure to bring about the general enslavement of men by State Omnipotence it is nevertheless expected to usher in the golden era of the Socialistic Cosmos. However, with the help of historical research and by means of analysis we shall be able to closely examine the soundness of Socialist tenets, and with the aid of intuition to gauge their usefulness or uselessness. There is sufficient ground to hope that such an inquiry will not merely be negatively destructive. It certainly must lead to a condemnation of the " New Creed." But, whilst this may at first have a some- what depressing effect, likely to discourage efforts on a large scale for economic and social improvement, the result in the end will be beneficial. It cannot fail to induce people to abandon their wild chase after phantoms ; to invite them to reckon with actualities; and finally to teach them that their position in life can only be permanently improved, when each individual citizen aims at a reasonable accommodation of his individuality to the claims of the communal and State interest. There is room, and not un frequently occasion, for reform, in order to meet the requirements of our advancing civilisation. Yet, though we ought to strive for whatever amelioration is possible and requisite, we should never ose sight of the axiom " that the sum of man's happiness and the burden of his sufferings will neither much increase nor markedly decrease, however strenuously he and his fellow beings may exert themselves." Such is the inexorable law of nature, as we shall see in "Socialism and Evolution." SOCIALISM AND EVOLUTION, i. Nature's Immutable Laws and Socialism. The Socialistic organism consists of four components the Socialistic proper, the Communistic, the Anarchistic, and the Nihilistic. Four in name, they are in reality but one. They have a common origin. They all deny those ethics which culminate in self-denial, counter- balancing inborn self-assertion, the two again being ruled by conscience terminating in justice. There are three different methods by which the inquiry into Socialistic reform-schemes might proceed. These three methods are (a) Research into, and critical examina- tion of, the historical aspects and features of the Socialistic and kindred movements, (b] An analysis on the one side of the Utopian, and on the other side of the over-realistic expositions of the principal speculators and propagators of the "New Creed." (c] A comparison between, and a direct application of, the theses thus obtained to the data given by nature, which data are found in the position which man, both as an animal, and at the the same time intelligent being, holds in creation and civilisation. Historical research seems to be the most conclusive method for examining Socialism. The reasons which suggest historical research as the basis for the inquiry are obvious. They are indicated in the paradox that history treated dialectically, that is treated philosophically, is a kind of physiological ethnology or scientific analysis of nations. Physiology proper, we know, is the science of the functions of living beings. It is as such that it has become almost an infallible and invaluable guide for the conduct of man. At first sight its operation certainly appears to be confined to man's physical existence. But actually, though not at once 2i8 Socialism and Evolution. visibly, it comprises both his physical and moral existence. Philosophic history, being a kind of physiology of nations, may consequently serve in a similar manner as a valuable guide for the actions, aspirations and life manifestations of peoples. Applied to general history these axioms reveal to us preliminary truisms, all important for this special case of historical inquiry into Socialistic movements. They prove that in creation there is one development only ; one process of growth. Millions of changes there may be ; nature knows of but one evolution. This evolution is both encircled and governed by immutable, or in other words, eternal kws. They preside over origin, the embryo state, the period of development, the epoch of maturity, the time of decadence, the act of death and the era of resurrection, and so on. It does not matter that every organised being is every moment, though the same, yet not the same. Neither does the fact that it assimilates every minute particles or molecules from without and secretes other particles from its organism, in the least interfere with the fundamental law. There, where cells of its body die or waste, other cells form instead. This process is so regular and continuous that, although the molecules are in one respect fresh ones, and though the matter of an organism is in more or less time, as it were, constantly renewed, every organised being is always the same. The rose which originates from a minute seed, then forms as a bud, then timidly unfolds her tender petals, then blooms forth in all her beauty, vying with the golden splendour of the mid-day or the rosy mellow tints of the setting sun, is not less than this all-powerful and creative luminary subject to those immutable laws. When full blown and her mission fulfilled, she is destroyed by autumn winds, and her leaves are scattered abroad by these heralds of periodically recurring winter. Likewise, suns and stars are thrown out of their ellipses, and dissolve into atoms in their fall as soon as they are past their full blaze, and the reason for their existence ceases. Between these two phenomena Nature's Immutable Laws and Socialism. 219 of evolution and decadence it is only a question of time. The period of growth and decadence of the first is reckoned by seasons ; aeons, comprising thousands of ages, are the time for the evolution and dissolution of the latter ; only, man, whose life is but a span, cannot follow this latter process of growth and devolution. As a matter of fact he, this man, the poet-man, the metaphysician-man, the fanatic-man, and the visionary- man, that is, each of them, and even the Socialist who is soaring outside the unalterable realities of his existence to phantasmagorical regions, is subject to the same laws. He is akin to, and meets the same doom as, a night beetle, whose sight kindles only in gloom and dark- ness, yet which ventures forth ere the hour for its activity has spread the obscuring wings. It goes forth, perhaps, moved, too, by a longing after some existence beyond its own groove or may be by the desire for a richer, that is, a luminous life. But in its attempt it is crushed under the heel of that very fanatic-man, that very poet- man, or that very Socialist whom it yet so much resembled. And this Socialist-man will, in his turn, tumble into the despair of nothingness whither he lost himself by abandon- ing the world of realities for the world of potentialities. Whether beetle or human being, if we outrage in one way or other these immutable laws ; if we dare to force the limits and the frontiers which they have set to our existence; if we neglect or rebel against the conditions they have laid upon our life, and by which they govern our organisms the attempt will recoil upon the head of the violator or self-indulger with terrible promptitude. To move from the sphere of action and the steep path of improvement which the law of evolution has marked out, is tantamount to an attempt to stop its ever going machinery ; an attempt which must crush the creature, the tribe or the people, foolhardy enough to try it. In the same manner as these laws exist for the individual being in itself; in equal measuie they encircle and govern the relations, claims and obligations, rulerships and depen- 22O Socialism and Evolution. dences between one individual creature and the other individual creature ; between one representative species and the other typical species ; between each of this one's varieties and each of that one's varieties. The truth is, that though the two poles of an antithesis, the positive and the negative, seem diametrically opposed ; in reality they are inseparable. They mutually interpenetrate. Likewise it is with the conception of cause and effect. They are applicable only with respect to a particular case. If considered in their relation to creation as a whole, they are mixed up in one another, for in that universal action and re-action in which both cause and effect are constantly changing places* effect becomes cause and cause effect. At the same time it may be granted that although the animal world, and, in fact, all creation, is subject to those immutable laws, the animal may develop within a fixed limit. This development can be effected by selection spread over eras, and passing through manifold stages. While in the course of this evolutionary process, perhaps bringing about the deterioration of one half of a species, selection may succeed in raising the other half to a higher grade, and will thus form, as it were, a new type. But man, though he belongs to the animal world, in other words, is begotten and begets according to physical laws, nevertheless cannot alter his physical nature and the conditions of his physical existence, because he is the culmination of this animal world. His scope for develop- ment lies only in the moral and intellectual sphere. By reform in this direction alone will he be able to modify his life's conditions. Concurrently with the evil propensities appertaining to his species which man inherits and transfers, he inherits and transfers also the faculty of moral and intellectual knowledge. As is already manifested by the more or less pronounced existence of conscience in every human being, he is capable of perceiving that his conduct must be regulated by a code of ethics. These ethics, further explained and corroborated by science, show him that he, too, may and can, by intellec. Evolution and the Aims and Beliefs of Socialism. 221 tual and moral selection the equivalent of aesthetic choice on the one hand, increase the total of his goodness ; on the other, multiply the aggregate of his wickedness. In short, he possesses the capacity of increasing the gratifica- tion of his animal nature by degradation, or of improving his ethical intellectuality by education. But, as we have seen in the use and enjoyment of this capacity, he is strictly and unalterably restrained within natural boundaries. It is here that we should compare the unrealities of the Socialistic cosmos with the actualities of eternal Nature. For, although reason enables man to fully recognise that the development of altruism or self-denial may enhance the total of his happiness, and the overgrowth of egotism or self-assertion intensify the amount of his suffering; yet the total of his possible happiness, and the amount of his irre- movable suffering will always be in proportion to the sum of his physical possibilities, and these physical possibilities, we know, are for ever limited. 2. Evolution and the Aims and Beliefs of Socialism. The important truths which the preceding examination into the relations between Socialism and the laws of nature elucidated, if considered with the aims and beliefs of Social- ism, have a direct bearing upon the history of its origin and development. They should not be lost sight of throughout this inquiry, the less so as we understand that the organ- ism and evolutionary process of nations being like the organism and evolutionary process of man: the causes and conditions which form and influence the one, must create and domineer the other. Such a comparison will show us all that is practicable in the yearnings of Socialism, as well as all that is realisable of its visions. They demon- strate the impossibility of its aspirations in their totality, destroying thus the phantasmagoria of its cosmos. With their help we are enabled to truly appreciate the Socialistic symbol of the golden, the silver, the bronze, and the iron age, the "terrible" iron age in which we are "vegetating," 222 Socialism and Evolution. " suffering," and " vanishing." With their help we arc able to understand what Socialists mean by a collective regime ; a regime, they say, which will replace the lower and "physically" disordered struggle for existence by "co-operation" for "existence," systematically arranged, and administered by delegations appointed on the principle of rotation. They place us in the position to grasp the actuality of the Socialist conception of the new world, presenting itself (a) In industry as co-operative Communism. (b) In the sphere of affection and appetites as free exchange and enjoyment of same, the first culminating in "free love " which within the Socialistic cosmos is absolutely bound to replace marriage, the root and the sanctuary of " that accursed vice property T (c) In politics as an international Republicanism. (d} In " religion " as atheistic " Humanism" replacing moral progress by material progress, such progress, the Socialists say, being the highest end and aim of our existence. At the same time they help us to understand the Socialistic definitions of the existing creeds and Churches, such as a. That Paganism was tJie religion of slave industry. ]3. That Catholic Christianity or Sacredotalism has been the religion of serfage. y. That Protestant Christianity or Biblical dogma is the religion of capitalism. 8. That Humanism, as stated, or Socialism, will be the religion of the " neiv mankind." These definitions reveal to us how Socialists understand the teachings of Christ ; how little they have in common with the conduct even of His first followers, and how pre- posterouslyirrational it is for them here to assail Christianity ; there to pretend to erect their Socialistic system of society upon its tenets the tenets, the teachings of Christ, as to which they say with Swinbourne Historical Distinctions. 223 Though before Thee the throned Cytharean Be fallen, and hidden her head, Yet Thy kingdom shall pass, Galilean, Thy dead shall go down to the dead. 3. Evolution and Historical Distinctions. These truisms considered together with the aims of Socialism and its definitions of the various creeds and Churches, finally enable us to make historical distinctions. Enlightened by them, we recognise at once the difference that exists between, aye, that cleaves asunder, the Socialism of our days, which is essentially un-British and unnatural, and the Socialism of former times which, it should be emphasised, is neither of foreign, nor of English origin, but is universal. Indeed, the latter is universal not less than it is ancient. It is as ancient as the existence of man- kind. For, though the term " Socialism " is but of recent use, having been invented by Pierre Leroux in 1838, and having become current in the discussions of" the Association of all Classes of all Nations," formed by Owen, the elements which make up its nature are as old as Adam. Generally speaking names, in this respect, are mere outward signs for the recognition of varieties. The species of world reformers remains the same species throughout. Let them riowadays be called Socialists or Communists, their aims, considered from this standpoint, are more or less identical with those of previous world -re formers. They differ only in the choice of the means. It is in the application of these means for the realisation of their aspirations that they essentially diverge from one another. Above all, they essentially differ in their motives. It is as regards these motives, that Socialism, the Socialism of the present day, the Socialism of the Lassalles, the Marxs, the Engels, the Saint Simons and the Owens, the Fouriers and Bakunins; the Socialism of the Cabets, Louis Blancs, and Rodberti ; then the Socialism of the Fabian Society men and Social Democratic Federation men is of modern origin, and a foreign reform-narcotic. Richard Owen himself, the fountain head of misnamed English Socialism, and the real founder 224 Socialism and Evolution. of the new Trade Unionism, received his " infants chool " and other educational theories from abroad. It was from Con- tinental sources, too, that he gained his " free love " opinions on marriage, and imbibed his atheistic hatred of Churches. Doubt there can be none that under that one aspect Socialists and Communists have been moved, were moved, and are being moved by common instincts, no matter whether they degenerate into Nihilists, Intransigentists or the Petroleum Commmunists of Parisian fame ; whether they appear in the confreries of the Eleusinian mysteries or Egyptian priesthoods; whether they are Pythagoreans ; Essenes or Gnostics ; Pelagians, or again, Moravians of recent times. The history of Socialism considered from this standpoint brings us face to face with the problems of the so-called Carpacratians and Nicholaitans of the early age of the Christian Church and with the tenets of the Beghards, Fraticelli, Cajhari and Brothers of the Common Lot of the pre-mediaeval era and the Middle Ages. Considered from this standpoint we must at once recognise Socialistic- Communistic manifestations in Monasticism, and in the com- munities of the Waldenses. We discover the same vague desires, the same upheaving leaven in the outbreaks of the Hussites and of the Lollards ; in the revolts of serfs and peasants led by Wat Tyler, or by John Ball, or by Ulrich Hutton. We see it produce creative abortions in the Christian Republic at Paraquay ; the Ovvenite settlements ; the Phalansteres of Fourier, or the Icarian Communes. 4. The Fundamental Motive of Socialistic Movements. And this terrible ferment, what is it ? What has been the motive power of all these Utopian aspirations ; and What has been the cause of these visionary, and again, licentious, commotions? What is this all-absorbing element in our own times? The many schools, the manifold sects, some of them really inspired by the loftiest principles human nature is capable of con- ceiving After what have they been striving? Where The Fundamental Motive of Socialistic Movements. 225 are the monuments due to their exertions ? Are their altars still erect, adorned for sweet thanksgivings to, for joyful praises of, their deities ? Are their gospels vibrating in the heart of man, everywhere and amidst dire trials teaching him to bear and forbear, or have they, by their Communistic bacchanals, succeeded in infesting with chronic demoralisation, if not the whole, at least a large part, of mankind ? These questions arise as the story of more than a hundred ages unfolds. The echoes they call forth denounce Fanaticism, Idolatry, Sensualism and Materialism, which have been the evil spirits of all those Socialistic movements. The promises they dangled before suffering man, are being shown to have been wicked delusions. Ethics and the immutable laws of nature and pure reason throw their all- searching rays into the chasms and labyrinths of those false creeds. History points to the Universe, and we see the brilliant promises of these reform sects fade away, absorbed by the leaden mists of doubt, if not of misery and despair, worse than that which they professed to be able to remove. The answer which time utters with bated breath is, that all their aspirations and endeavours have ended in nothingness. The schemes which these sects pursued have proved will- o'-the-wisps. Mankind has remained mankind. Being a particle of nature, and nature continuing to be always nature, mankind has continued to be always mankind. The march of centuries has almost effaced those Socialistic confederations and Communistic associations. But the sight of even the few ruins which were left of them has pressed its Cain-mark, or rather its inherent curse on the nations which in their progress have had to pass by those ruins. And this curse of Socialism has obviously fallen upon the generations now on their pilgrimage. Likewise the peoples to come will groan under its burden. For, the cry for the rights of man ; the clamour after the promiscuous, the savage, " happiness" of the primeval times ; and the laments after Paradise lost have been resounding from times immemorial, are now and will for P 226 Socialism and Evolution. ever be resounding through the anguished bosom of man- kind with bitterness sharper than that which rent the hearts of the father and mother of man as they were driven from Eden. It is in this ever existing, ever unfulfilled, yearning that Socialism and Communism find an all-powerful ally ; it may be, since this vain discontent seems to be inborn in man, that it is the life-element of both. Hence the vital importance of an examination of the historical development of the Socialistic, or " New," Creed which claims to re-make both mankind and the system of the Cosmos. 5. The Aim of Modern Socialism purely an Economic One. As stated, throughout the history of Socialism we are startled by the cry for the " rights of man ; " the clamour for the promiscuous and sensuous " happiness " of primeval times and the lament after " Paradise lost." We are con- fronted by the ever present, ever unfulfilled yearning after life conditions better than the actual, and for this reason, possible ones. This yearning has been the motive power of the Socialistic, (taken in its general meaning) and kindred movements from the origin of Society. In its historical development it evolves convincingly, and, indeed, quite naturally, three axioms. It proves by facts the soundness of the theses set up in the previous Pro- legomena. It shows that man possesses the faculty of speculative reasoning concerning a higher state. It exemplifies that this man is further endowed with will, or rather with the power of " to will," as manifested by his oft repeated attempts to attain such higher state. Finally, it conclusively demonstrates by the non-success with which every such attempt has met, that, nevertheless, there are some influential physical phenomena surrounding and, as we have seen, governing man's existence, which are irremovable ; in other words, that man is the slave of unalterable circum- stances. Hence, whilst we may philosophically recognise that the sphere of his improvement lies more in the Economic Aim of Modern Socialism : Definitions. 227 intellectual and moral world ; the historic development of Socialist and kindred movements teaches us that practi- cally even there his possibilities are limited. The fact that man during his sojourn on this earth is always subject to human infirmities and defects prevents any infinite moral development. Whilst in his earthly stage of evolu- tion he is rather a particle of the concrete world. We cannot deny that in the aspirations and creeds of many sects the religious or ethical, or, what amounts to the same, the intellectual and moral, aims for a higher state visibly predominate. Yet at the same time we cannot fail to observe that side by side with the loftiest ethical aims there occurs in the various reform theories and reorganisa- tion commotions a fundamental principle which is common to all those aspirations and creeds, and which is most clearly and precisely a principle of an economic nature. Thus, on considering these two phenomena, the following conclusion forces itself upon us. We recognise that I a. if there is an irremovable limit or barrier set to all human aspirations, of whatever nature they be, so long as they are confined to this world ; \b. and if even in his metaphysical exploits into the spiritual or ethical sphere man is only allowed to conceive but not actually to attain a state of perfection, a perfection which will really be his hereafter ; 2. Socialism being one such human aspiration and con- ception 3. it must likewise have limits which are in reality far more reduced and narrow in their circumference than any other speculation and aim, because the quintessence of Modern Socialism is purely and simply " economic? As such, it is directly and more than any other creed dependent from the environment of the unalterable physical facts of creation. However, is it admitted by the expounders of Socialism that its aim is purely economic, thus directly dependent on the unalterable organic laws of the material world ? In answer, it is but necessary to quote a few definitions taken from the principal writers on the " New Creed." 228 Socialism and Evolution. For instance, RoscJier defines Socialism as : "including those tendencies which demand a greater regard for the commonweal than is consistent with human nature," that is, the New Creed demands an all-absorbing interest for the material well-being to the detriment of moral health. Again, Adolf Held calls "Socialistic every tendency which necessitates the subordination of the individual will to the community," or, in other terms, he concedes that Socialism transforms the intellectual man into an automatic machine Janet, the well-known Socialist, says "Socialism is every doctrine which teaches that the State has a right to correct the inequality of wealth which exists amongst men, and to legally establish the balance by ' taking ' from those who have too much in order to give to those who have not enough, and that in a permanent manner, and not in such and such a case as a famine or a public calamity . . ." These three expositions are summarised in Schaeffle's "The Alpha and Omega of Socialism is the transformation of private competing capital into a united collective capital." Laveleye is not less outspoken concerning the purely economic aim of Socialism. He maintains that, " in the first place, every Socialistic doctrine endeavours to introduce greater equality in social conditions, and in the second place, it attempts to realise those reforms by the State or law." But above all, Engel the great disciple of Marx, is worthy of consideration since he asserts that " Modern Socialism is, in its essence, the direct product of the recog- nition, on the one hand, of the class antagonisms existing in the society of to-day, between proprietors and non- proprietors, between capitalists and wage workers ; on the other hand, of the anarchy existing in production. But in its theoretical form Modern Socialism originally appears 'ostensibly' as a more logical extension of the principles laid down by the great French philosophers. Like every new theory, Modern Socialism had, at first, to connect itself with the intellectual stock-in-trade to its hand, how- ever deeply its roots lay in material economic facts." SOCIALISM, ANCIENT AND MODERN. In the historical examination of the Greek, the Roman, and, in short, of every Socialism, taken universally and in the meaning of an innate desire in mankind for a better state than the actual, or rather the possible one, the know- ledge just gained is materially useful. On contemplating the Socialistic movement amongst the Greeks, and that amongst the Romans, we observe almost the same absence of purely moral aspirations which is so strikingly manifest in Modern Socialism. I. THE SOCIALISM OF THE GREEKS. The general aspect of Greek Socialism shows that where ethical elements entered into their Socialistic speculations, the Greeks judged and used them, not on account of their intrinsic idealistic value, but with a view to economic or material improvement. Not that they were without notions of morals, or that they under-estimated the importance of such. On the contrary, morals of some sort are ingrafted in every human being, however distorted the cognisance thereof may be. The Greeks certainly possessed such moral notions, as we learn from the allegorical myth in the Protagoras. In this myth, Hermes, ere he starts to carry Justice and Moderation down to men, is said to ask Zeus whether these two gifts should become common good, or the property of but a few persons ; just as one only, in a large number, is en- dowed with the gift of healing, the one being sufficient for a certain number. Zeus replies : " Let these two gifts be distributed to all, for cities would never come into existence if only a few individuals partook of these gifts, as is the case with other arts." But, although not devoid of moral conceptions, all the 230 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. aims and endeavours of the Greeks were utilitarian. With them enjoyment was preferable to bliss. I. Comparison between Greek and Modern Socialism. Ifwe>compare this Greek Socialism with Modern Socialism we cannot help being struck by the close affinity which exists between their essentials. It is true that Greek Socialism was thoroughly negative so far as mankind outside Greek cities or tribes was concerned. Theirs was a kind of Socialism of caste, of kinship, and of nationality. Small though the various States were, the world seemed to centre in them. Without the city boundaries there were neither nations, nor civilisation. Within them the greatest possible happiness, that is sensuous happiness, was the supreme end and aim of their existence. Philosophy was merely the handmaid of ma- terialism. As Goethe has pointedly observed, "No people understood the dream of ' life ' better than the Greeks." It is likewise true that this very cohesion amongst the members of the city, this anxious concern in the welfare of the small commonweal, fostered some noble, if not actually ethical, sentiments. It kindled patriotism, produced com- munal devotion, and infused into the idea of tribal honour a powerful educational influence. In these two features it must be admitted, Modern Socialism seems diametrically opposed to Greek Socialism. The former endeavours not only to subvert the patriotic and constitutional State in every form, but also aims at the overthrow of all existing political and social institutions. As Karl Marx, its principal expounder, has emphatically stated, "Modern Socialism strives to supersede tJie existing governments by a vast international combination of the workers of all nations without distinction of creed, colour, or nationality" So there seems to be little if any affinity between the ancient and the modernised Creed, Modern Socialism in this respect being as aggressive as Greek Socialism was passive. Comparison between Greek and Modern Socialism. 231 Yet when we consider the end of their endeavours, namely, the highest development of egotism ; in other words the greatest possible "abandonment" of man to the gratifica- tion of his animal appetites, culminating in abnormal acts and intolerance and injustice Modern Socialism differs but immaterially from Greek Socialism. Man, the animal man in opposition to the spiritual man, was as much the beginning and end with Greek Socialist reform sects as he is the all-absorbing element in the new or regenerated Cosmos of Modern Socialism. In these Greek reform sects we find that the dream of life was enjoyment, just as the greatest possible self-indulgence is the ideal life of Modern Socialism. In Greek Socialism individuality was sunk in the City Community. In Modern Socialism, individuality is to be swamped by Collectivism or rather it is to be absorbed by the World Association of the workers, and suppressed by State Omnipotence. . We are aware that Socrates, for one, endeavoured to make the study of morals the principal aim of "man's intellectual struggle. One of his tenets was that " a true knowledge of what is morally right leads of necessity to corresponding conduct," His "yywn atavrbv," know thyself a doctrine which since it contains, the very germ of philosophic individualism, is as apart from modern Socialist and Communist theories as the tropical regions are from Y % e Poles has indeed become proverbial. Besides, v crates was not much in sympathy either with eramenes and his Republican government of the OJ, or educated men; nor with Critias and Charmides, ic upholders of the government by the 070^01 or well-born ; nor with the politic aspirations of the Demos, the equivalent of our modern proletariat. He considered the development of individuality according to ethical precepts to be the first and absolutely necessary basis for material and political betterment. Yet for holding these doctrines Socrates himself had to drink the cup of hemlock. His teaching was smothered by sophistry and prevented by 232 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. Protagoras and Gorgias from enlightening the people, the community, and the State. Certainly, they themselves as yet shrank from openly declaring " virtue and religion to be nothing but illusions." However, their immediate disciples did so, and went even farther in their subversion of ethics. It is between Greek Sophists and modern Socialists that the affinity between Greek and Modern Socialism clearly appears, and this affinity is so evident that we need not enter into a minute comparison between the Lycurgan, or Solonian, or Cretan communities or institutions and the cosmogoria of the Owens, and the Fouriers. Benoit Malon and others, it is true, reject the assump- tion that active reform can be Socialistic unless it aims at, and terminates in, a complete overthrow and thorough re-making of society. They do not admit their ancient brethren to be reformers at all, conceding only that they were redressers. Nevertheless, in the Eleusynian mysteries; in the Arcadian festivals, at which slaves were allowed full liberty to meet their masters at a common table ; in the Cretan " andries " ; and in the Spartan "phidites," the features of Socialistic communities, such as the modern Collectivists desire to establish, are traceable. As a matter of fact, the Institute of Croton, that is the institute of Pythagorean Communism, with its cloths, commodities, provisions, education, and pleasures all in common with its common tables, at which ten so called brothers and sisters were seated presented many of the suggested features of a modern Socialistic Community. Still, even these do not show the repetition of history so well as, with the exception, perhaps, of the Epicureans, the disciples of Protagoras and Gorgias do. The modern Socialist schools assert that all laws and institutions exist only in the interest of the powerful, and for the protection of capitalists. Similar tenets were held by the sects and schools, founded by Protagoras and Gorgias, which sprang up in the course of the Peloponnesian Modern Socialism and the Cynics and Cyrenaics. 233 war. Their creed was that "justice and the belief in the gods were but the inventions of ancient rulers and legislators in order to strengthen their hold on the common herd " (the proletariat.) Some of these schools unquestionably advocated the assumption of government by the icaAot not cryaSot that is, not by the well-born, but by the educated men. Instead of these, however, the Sophists usurped the power. It is from their administrative experiments that Saint Simon and Bazard, Enfantin and Louis Blanc seem to have borrowed the first two : their system of government by the men of industrial science ; Enfantin : his system of government by spiritual autocracy, culminating in fantastic sacer- dotalism ; the last-named : his hierarchy of capacity, or his hierarchy of talent. There are further points of affinity. With a boldness characteristic of ignorance and inexperience, these Greek " sociologic philosophers " ventured upon the solution of the most difficult problems without regard to experiments and facts within the reach of rational man. With like boldness the modern Socialist theorists manufacture Utopias and new worlds, as we have seen, either wilfully misreading, or out of ignorance passing by, the ever existing physical and ethical conditions that surround and govern every human being. Better than Sparta, better than any other Greek Socialist community Athens, free, or rather Democratic Athens, exhibits in her rise and fall such Socialistic features as are common to both Ancient and Modern Socialism. It was Athens that first uttered the cry for State-Omni- potence. A considerable amount of the large revenue ob- tained, of course, by compelling many other cities not Athenian to contribute their wealth for the ostensible pur- pose of making the town the focus of Greek art and 44 civilisation," was distributed in Athens among the citizens 234 Socialism ) Ancient and Modern. in the form of wages for attendance at the courts of justice ; for attendance at the public assembly ; for attendance at the Council ; and as fees for attending the theatre. This distinctly Socialistic custom of the Athenian people of sitting and listening at the Pnyx and the courts of justice the whole day produced loquacious and dissolute citizens, who passed their lives in the market and other public places. Love of genuine beauty was forced to give place to sensual desires which, encouraged by State-aid, soon engulfed the people in turbulent bacchanals. And, as Plato says (in his Gorgias, 515 E), "the Athenian became lazy, cowardly, and covetous." 2. Modern Socialism and the Cynics and Cyrenaics. By these terms Plato designated the immediate followers of Protagoras and Gorgias. It is in their successors, the Cynics and Cyrenaics, that modern Socialists and Anarchists may complacently view their real prototypes. These Cynics and Cyrenaics, in more than one aspect, foreshadowed the visions of impossible worlds which the "New Creed" has cunningly raised. They forestalled the free-love revels of Enfantin, Richard Owen, and of kindred "humanitarian" reformers. Their attempts to over- ride the ever existing physical and ethical laws which govern man's existence on the one side terminated in Anarchy or Individualism run mad ; on the other side culminated in Socialistic Communism. And in the course of this process of degeneration they themselves became mere brutes or animal machines. Outwardly these Ancients differed in some measure from their modern epigones. But only outwardly, though, as a matter of fact, the difference is even here very slight. The efforts of the Ancients, whatever efforts there were, to change the condition of men remained barren. It was the barrenness of negation which is also the inherent vice of the " New Creed." As to the difference which exists between the Ancients Modern Socialism and the Cynics and Cyrenaics. 235 and Moderns ; it is a difference only as regards the scope of their retrogressive activity. The Cynics and Cyrenaics had a narrow field of operation. They were the enemies merely of those Greeks who strove after a higher, that is an ethical, life. The Anarchists and Socialists, on the contrary, are compassing the destruction of freedom and civilisation. In all other respects the affinity between the Ancients and their modern epigones is easily established. The former understood progress to be retrogression, just as the latter endeavour to drive man back to the savage happiness of primeval times a happiness possible only "with one male and several female inhabitants to the square mile of land, land not covered with ' wild forests,' but of self-fertilising garden soil, and with fishpond and game preserve." Not that in the material world there is no such thing as natural, or rather periodical, retrogression. Here, as day follows upon night, and night succeeds day, so there have always been years of plenty, years of famine, and years of medium supply. Here, as the diagram shows : there have been, and ever will be, economic low tides and high tides, high tides and low tides, with spring tides of plenty and neap tides of famine. But this is neither the Socialist nor Anarchist notion of retrogression. It was not thus understood by the Cynics and Cyrenaics. Again, in the moral and intellectual world, no doubt, there is likewise retrogression, because there is progression. As the diagram indicates, into ripening civilisation barbarous epochs interpenetrate, and so on. The only difference here is that in this constant retrogression there is besides a marked " forward " tendency towards certain progression: 236 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. But this fact, too, the Socialists and Anarchists reject, herein joining hands with the Cynics and Cyrenaics. A long process of slow progression in the moral and intellectual world within those well-defined and well-limited cycles is not their ideal of man's improvement. It certainly was not that of the Cynics and Cyrenaics. Both the Ancients and their modern epigones forgot and forget that man's development up to its limit has to proceed according to laws and those well-defined cycles. And their forgetfulness is the more noteworthy as history and ethnography have never ceased to furnish conclusive evidence of the existence of these evolutionary cycles. They teach that long before us, in parts of the world which remained unknown to the inhabitants of this hemisphere for thousands of years, there have been civilisations, if not quite, still almost, as developed as ours. They show that there have been so-called moral codes elaborated by man centuries before Plato ; a hundred ages before Tolstoi's pseudo- Christianity of " Non-Resistance to evil;" many centuries previous to the publication of his "disquisition" on "mar- riage," entitled : " The Kreutzer Sonata." They prove that our Socialists and Anarchists are a second and undoubtedly cheaper edition of those ancient world-reformers, the Cynics and Cyrenaics. Concerning these " Cynics? Antisthenes was their founder. It is more than 2,000 years ago since he forsook the world of moral capacities for the nebular region of moral impossi- bilities. He centred man's happiness in insensibility of body, soul, and mind. He admitted that the human being was a Modern Socialism and tlie Cynics and Cyrenaics. 237 compound of natural and spiritual elements. But he insisted that in order to become really free, man had to suppress all his natural instincts. Asceticism, worse than that of stagnant Monasticism, was his moral and economic specific against the sufferings of mankind. In this sense he may accordingly be said to have actually been the precursor of modern Anarchism inasmuch as the conduct of an individual possessed by such asceticism is not merely negatively, but positively, destructive towards his fellow- beings. Instead of studying and practising virtue he becomes absorbed by the vice of egotism. As to the " Cyrenaics," they hailed their father in Aristippus. The affinity between these and the modern Socialists is clear beyond dispute. Their kinship is recognisable in their treat- ment of nature, of justice, and of property. Their affinity is apparent in their dictatorial suppression of everything opposed to the cravings of their appetites ; and in the nega- tion of all that is good and lofty, and especially of that which interfered with the gratification of their sensual passions. Again, just as the Socialists would fain assert that they represent the true principles of Christianity, so the Cynics and Cyrenaics claimed to be the followers of Socrates. The affinity extends even to outward appearance. Apart from the fact that the writings of Antisthenes are Socialistic in style and tendency we need but mention his "Cyrus" or "Versus Akibiades;" "Politicus" or the "Lampoon against Athens' Leading Men ;" "Archelaus," a tribute of Socialistic gratitude to his former teacher Gorgias ; " Aspasia," a calumny on the sons of Pericles ; and " Sattio " or " Plato truly vulgarised " the founder of the Cynics was a very Sans-culotte in his apparel. Indeed, with respect to modern Socialism, who does not see amongst the fashions of the Saint Simonites, the " Mapahs," the Eliphas Levis, the Phalanstere men of Fou- rier and the Icarian heroes, true copies of what we read anent those Cynics in "Diogenes Laertes" ? Affectation induced Antisthenes to substitute ascetic ex- travagances for natural simplicity. His personal habits 238 Socialism, Ancient and Modern, were most offensive. None but Diogenes " the Dog " could remain with him. He appeared in the worst beggarly clothing, with the staff and wallet of mendicancy. And this spleen he carried so far that he once forced Socrates to exclaim : " The vanity of Antisthenes I see through the holes of his garment." Snarling temper and shameless effrontery were the characteristics of the founder of the Cynic school. As a matter of fact, only after he had become an outcast from his native city of Sinope on account of vicious excesses, Antisthenes took to the other extreme, namely, to maniac asceticism. His were the teachings of a man who had no longer a character to lose. But this affinity between the Moderns and their ancient prototypes in outward conduct and appearance is still more marked in the Cyrenaics. The Cynics used affected austerity as a cloak for their shamelessness. The Cyrenaics went farther. They un- disguisedly proclaimed the pursuit of selfish and sensuous gratification to be the essence of man's existence. It was the aim of Aristippus, the founder, and of his disciples, to obtain the largest possible amount of present enjoyment and to escape, so far as lies in man's power, the ordinary troubles and annoyances of life. Like their modern copies, they believed that in acting thus they made themselves superior to the outer world, that is, became independent of external circumstances. We wish to draw the most minute attention, however, to the principal features of their " philosophical " system, as it is the prototype of the " moral " and " economic " philosophy of Modern Socialism. On examining the writings of Aristippus we find : that happiness and pleasure " are " convertible terms. This main Sophistic proposition then contains five points. The first concerns things to be chosen and things to be avoided. We learn there that the " end of life is transitory pleasure." " The present alone belongs to man." " The past is no longer available." " The future looks precarious.' Modern and Greek Socialist Philosophy. 239 The second considers pleasure. This is defined as a calm and even motion. Indifference we see compared to a dead calm. Pain we are taught is a storm, dangerous and to be avoided. The third regards action. There we are told that actions are neither good nor bad. Virtue consists in that which conduces to pleasure. The fourth deals with causes. These causes were under- stood to be merely the outward occasions of our bodily sensations. Man is thus simply passive ; and as his business is to get the greatest amount of pleasure out of the world around him, he must, as far as possible, transform disagree- able sensations into sources of enjoyment. The fifth defines proof. Here we learn that the senses alone are the true criterion. Infected with such doctrines, can it be wondered at that Athens, and in fact, the whole of Greece, rolled rapidly down- ward into the chasm of sensual degradation and political disorganisation ? The spread of those teachings produced the Cleons, great champions of the mob, and a first edition of the Marats, and of the Socialist agitators of the present day. The acceptance of those doctrines made possible the career of a Hyperboles, a political lampooner of the blackest dye, and of a Eucrates both citizen generals and cobblers ; finally of a Sysikles in turn a mutton merchant and a " statesman." 3. Modern and Greek Socialist Philosophy. Concerning this affinity between Modern Socialism and the State-Socialism of the Greeks, Herbert Spencer, in his " Man versus State," part 2 " The Coming Slavery," asserts : The members of the Social Democratic Federation propose that production should be carried on by agricultural and industrial armies under State control, apparently not remembering that armies pre-suppose "grades" of officers If so, each member of the community as an individual would be a slave to the community as a whole. Such a relation has habitually existed in militant communities, even under quasi-popular forms of government. In ancient Greece the accepted principle was that the citizen belonged neither to himself nor to his family, but belonged to his city the city being with the Greek 240 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. equivalent to the community. And this doctrine, proper to a state of constant warfare, is a doctrine which Socialism unawares reintroduces into a state intended to be purely industrial. The service of each will belong to the aggregate of all ; and for these services such returns will be given as the authorities think proper. So that even if the administration is of the beneficent kind intended to be secured, slavery, however mild, must be the outcome of the arrangement. Mr. Herbert Spencer deals in this passage both with economic and political Socialism, that is, with its immediate outward application. His dictum supports our argument, that the Socialistic problem, as we have partly seen, is not a mere question whether the means of locomotion or communication ought to be " nationalised " or not. It is a question of the freedom of mankind. The municipalisation of tramways, water and gas ; the erection of municipal laundries and baths ; of communal schools and gymnasia ; of communal kitchens, common dining halls, and of dormitories ; the establishment of national workshops ; and finally, the nationalisation of the railways, telegraphs, and telephones are but items in the programme of Socialism. Neither is this programme exhausted by the seizure of the land for the benefit of the people, this land to be tilled by Phalansteres whom the Socialistic Delegation Government will send forth in rotation. Com- mercial and industrial State monopolies are merely the means to bring about the slavery of Socialism, though even the realisation of this part of its programme would already involve a fundamental change in the economic and political conditions of man which could only be accomplished by a previous outrage on man's physical, moral, and intellectual organisation. In this wholesale revolution lies the real connection between the ancient and modern Socialists. In treating of the Cynics and Cyrenaics and their Greek and Roman progeny, we foreshadow the materialistic school of English philosophers ; the French Encyclopaedists and their epi- gones, and the German group of Socialist and Anarchist theorisers. In examining the social and political history of Greece, but especially that of Rome, we notice the same type of a proletariat and of proletarian demagogues that Comparison befaveen Plato and Fourier. 241 nowadays is allowed to fester on the Body Politic. From the ancient Socialists proceeded the same clamour of "the land and the wealth of the land for the people " which Modern Socialism utters. In short, the more we proceed, the clearer this affinity appears. Plato, the Idealist, it is true, was a contemporary of the Cynics and Cyrenaics, and he bitterly criticised the latter. But though in various aspects an uncompromising enemy of those bands of Sophists, Plato may, nevertheless, be claimed by the modern Communists as one of their pro- genitors, not so much on account of his somewhat doubtful " Laws," as on account of his " Republic." Plato certainly asserted that " moral virtue is equivalent to reason as manifesting itself by subjugating the animal and lower instincts and faculties of man." He also contended (Respublica IV.), that " man is only then virtuous when the ' will ' acts as the servant of the ' reason ' in controlling the 'appetite.' " Modern Socialism, on the contrary, is understod to be an agitation for the purpose of acquiring the means wherewith to obtain the greatest possible gratification of those very lower instincts and faculties of man. But, side by side 'of the ethical precepts just quoted, Plato's " Republic " (book V.), contains provisions for the establish- ment and government of a commonweal which, though heartless and inconsistent both with morality and civilisa- tion are nevertheless the propositions and tenets of Modern Socialism. Mitchell calls this fifth book of Plato's "Republic" lying; absurd, unfeeling, and guilty. He speaks of it as lying because the ancient " Socialist " treats that which is " useful " as being " honourable." He maintains that it is absurd because Plato stifles the natural instinct in man. He says it is unfeeling in that it suppresses domestic affection. Finally, he considers it guilty inasmuch as the disciple of Socrates in his fifth book actually teaches mendacity, fraud and hypocrisy. From this fifth book the majority of Socialist teachers Q 242 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. largely borrow their imaginative theorems on State and society. Let us, therefore, examine its theses. 4. Comparison between Plato's Republic and Fourier's Social System. Plato's Republic, we find, consists of four classes. Though at first divided into various social and political grades, they finally arrive at a "complete" equality. There is Communism in conjugal rights. There are likewise common dining-rooms ; common amusements ; common dormitories ; uniformity in dress, and universal free education ; thus we see already a second edition of the Communism of Pythagoras represented, as we remember, in his Institute of Croton (see page 231). However, as it is an "enlarged" edition, generalising and comprising a whole people, we must consider it quite natural that in Plato's "Republic" the children no longer belong to a coterie, but to the State. What marriage there is, is arranged by a yearly lottery. After the year is over the lottery is again consulted, and a fresh wife obtained. Monogamy, it is true, is the law in theory. In practice there is promiscuous polygamy, as a man may marry with the help of the yearly draw twenty or more women successively. Of course there is complete emancipation of the sexes, that is in the meaning of our modern world reformers. In Plato's "Republic" women, too, may have in the same manner twenty or more husbands. As this arrangement is not expected to proceed altogether smoothly, since it is important that the couples be always well matched, the " rotation " or deputy overseers, in order to remove any difficulties of the draw, are permitted to commit " utilitarian " frauds while superintending it. Concerning the children, from birth they are deposited at common nurseries, to be reared and educated there as the offspring of the " State." Knowledge or affection for either father or mother is rendered impossible. The status of population is fixed. Artificial checks are resorted to against over population, &c. Deformed or feeble children are destroyed. Comparison between Plato and Fourier. 243 Let us now compare with these provisions and with a passage from Plato's " Laws " the projects of our modern world-creators. In Plato's ideal State as depicted in the " Laws " there are three supreme magistrates, elected annually and by " universal suffrage." The population is divided into three " choirs." We have the " choir of children " ; that of" young people under thirty years"; and the " choir of the remaining population over thirty years of age." Plato uses thus "choirs" and " arithmetical " symbols or divisions. As we have seen, he also poses " utility " as the principle for man's conduct. The modern Socialists proceed on the same lines, and amongst these Fourier presents the most noteworthy example. He, too, declares that " wealth " (richesse) is the supreme aim, and its acquisition a fundamental principle, of Socialism ; arguing in this like Plato and Marx. This "wealth" Fourier divides into exterior wealth or luxury (plaisir et richesse), and interior wealth, that is, sante or health. "Attraction" is the all moving power in his " Phalanges." He then enumerates the following analogies : (a) Friendship corresponds to childhood. (/>) Love is equal to youth. (t) Love and ambition are the co-relatives of manhood. (d) Ambition agrees with maturity. (e) Paternity and family are bracketted with old age. His " Harmony " consists of " phalanges." Each " phalange " has 16 " tribes " or " choirs." This " phalange " is divided in : Genders. Orders or Classes. Males and Females. Ages. (Nurslings to I year. Infants i to 2 years. Weaned 2 to 3 years. Tribes or Choirs. Rising transition ( I choir)... I. Children 3 to 4$. Small rising wing (2 choirs)/ * Jherubims 4* to 6. ' 1. 3. Serapmms 6j to 9. 4. Lyceists 9 to 12. Rising wing (3 choirs) Centre (4 choirs) 5. Gymnasists 12 to 15$. 6. Boys and Girls 15^ to 20. 7. Youths and maidens. 8. Developed. RKIGN. 9. Athletes. 10. Men. 244 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. Til. The Experienced -[ 12. Decreasing wing (3 choirs) -112. The Temperate. [13. The Prudent. Small decreasing wing (a choirs)^; e Reve.nd. &c. &c. Such is Fourier's " Phalange." In Plato's " Republic" husbands and wives continually exchange. It is, therefore, only in the fitness of things that Fourier should have re-edited this part, also. Each " phalange " consists of eight hundred actors. The enter- tainments offered by Fourier beat those of Apicius, and his " fetes amoureuses " eclipse the " love-deliriums " of a Richelieu or a Ninon. Indeed, for all young women over eighteen years of age a "majority amoureuse" is decreed. Those maidens belonging to the " seventh period " organise themselves in " corporations amoureuses." Need we proceed farther and unveil the doctrines of " free love " carried to their finality by Owen or Enfantin " ? The salient features of Plato and Fouriers' social systems just pointed out already conclusively prove the affinity existing between the ancient and modern Socialists. Thus we may rapidly conclude the chapter on the Greeks. 5. Results produced by Greek Socialistic Philosophy. It cannot be wondered at that the baneful influence of the Sophists, the Cynics and Cyrenaics, actually elaborated by a Plato, should speedily sap the last foundations of what was good in Greek life and destroy the plants of Greek culture which were after all too delicate. Of these but few had been reared in a healthy atmo- sphere of morality. Wars with Philip of Macedonia ; wars with Alexander ; then internal dissensions ; riotous and sensual bacchanals were soon of daily occurrence in the " betrayed Hellas." It was only to be expected that the miseries attendant on them should increase, and that even the small, temporarily stimulating influence of these regenera- tion-schemes would speedily vanish. Sensualism and Results produced by Greek Socialistic Philosophy. 245 Materialism obtained undisputed sway. Domestic life and marriage, and in short, all noble affections were soon looked upon as " barbarous." The reign of the hetaerae of the "literary" courtesans enslaved the Athenian and Grecian youth. Even the poet Menander was attached to Glicera. Diphilus doted on Guathaena. Again, in the philosophic world, on the one side we see the sceptic Pyrrho arise. He preaches the "eternal doubt," that is, disbelief in the gods ; doubt in virtue and a denial of honour. On the other side, Epicurus founds his sect. He, too, has common tables at which " literary " courtesans preside. He, too, propounds a " materialistic " logic which he calls " canonic." He designs it to furnish a basis for both ; 1. his "moral" system which makes "happiness" the end of life, such "happiness" to consist in a recollection of past and a mental anticipation of future sensual enjoyment. 2. his " physics " in which he endeavours, by means of the " atomistic theory " to relieve the mind from all appre- hensions of the future, that is of a future state which might tend to mar the tranquility of a man's present enjoy- ment. It certainly cannot be denied that Zeno flourished at that time. He founded the sect of the " Stoics." These were, however, not much better than the " Cynics." The death of Zeno who commits suicide, because, having fallen and broken a finger, he considers this terrible misfortune to be a summons from Pluto, as well as the fact that Athenodorus, the disciple of the great Stoic, thinks it necessary to expunge from the works of his master all passages of a harsh and offensive nature complete the pitiful picture of the Socialistic world-reformers of Antiquity. So we may drop the veil over Greece, and pass on to Rome under the regime of State-Omnipotence brought about by State Socialistic tendencies of the people. 246 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. II. ROME AND STATE-SOCIALISM. We may assume that in the previous chapter we were able to prove the truth of Herbert Spencer's paradox : " The success of modern Socialism implies a retrogression to the doctrines governing Greek communities." The history of Rome supplies us with even stronger evidence against this modern reform-narcotic. Just as in the ancient Greek States agricultural and other labour was not always performed by slaves, but, by day labourers, (SfjTte), at least in -their earlier periods; so in Rome trades and agriculture were mainly carried on by Romans, so that it may safely be asserted " there is no material difference between the economic organisation of that time and that of the present age." And this fact, of course, emphasises the importance of Roman history as a commentary on the development of Modern Socialism. In Rome the leading political maxim was the com- plete establishment of State Omnipotence. As Theodore Mommsen says : " The Roman State made the highest demands on its citizens. It carried the subordination of the individual to the interests of the community further than any State before or since has done." In the early history of Rome we find that the land was cultivated upon the principle of joint possession. It was given out to the various clans, each of which tilled its allotted part. The products obtained were then distributed amongst the several families forming the clan. There was private property, it is true. We hear of personal ownership in cattle. As to the allotments of land, the community unquestionably let them on lease to its members but kept ultimate possession of them ; and though, no doubt, a Roman could bequeath, still his will was subject to the approval or disapproval of the community. As a matter of fact, the Romans were not individually free. The nucleus of the Roman people was the State. What liberty it did leave to its citizens was merely political equality. Apart from this a burgess was an instrument of the State. Rome and State Socialism. 247 There were neither ground rents nor heritable leases in Rome. Binding contracts existed only between the State and the individual citizen ; agreements between private persons had no legal protection. They were only valid when attested by representatives of the com- munity and confirmed by them. Women enjoyed a certain equality with men ; their sphere of action was restricted only as regards the administration of property. In other respects they were even better cared for than the citizens since there was a kind of general insurance by the State : " Persons unable to bear arms, that is, unable to protect themselves ; minors ; widows and lunatics were well looked after by official guardians." The Roman Government, it is true, did not claim to conduct the education of youth, herein markedly differ- ing from the Greeks, and even more from the modern Socialists. The rearing and training of children were confined to the narrowest limits of the domestic circle. But, whilst parents were left in the undisturbed possession of their children, the State claimed them the instant they reached man's estate. They were liable to military service. Another noteworthy feature in the organisation of the Roman State was, that when a dispute arose amongst individual burgesses, expiation or satisfaction given to the injured party was deemed sufficient. Although this arrangement frequently led to the enslavement of one citizen by another ; the State abstained from interfering so long as there was no forfeiture of life. The slaughter of a Roman by a Roman was thought incompatible with the interests of the community which claimed the lives of all citizens. The moment, however, a crime was committed against the interests or policy of the State, the officers of the law arraigned the culprit, whose doom was death. It mattered little that the delinquency might be trifling in comparison with an outrage committed by the same delinquent against a fellow-citizen. The former offence, though in itself 248 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. perhaps trivial, was a capital offence because directed against the majesty of the State. In this rigorous enforcement of public claims and in- different treatment of private wrongs, the Roman State was consistent, considering the following policy essential to its stability and success. Being eager to develop agriculture, the Government as we know, conducted the distribution and rearrangement of all allotments so that there might be as many freeholders as possible. By steadily pursuing this policy it hoped to keep agriculturalists free from debt. Then the State endeavoured to establish independent mer- cantile credit ; and finally to prevent all breaches of fidelity. In the prosecution of these aims the State evolved a series of laws " which," as Mommsen graphically remarks " looked as if the Government found pleasure in presenting on all sides the sharpest possible spikes against aggressors. The tyrannic nature of the idea of the State's right is forcibly- obtruded on the bluntest understanding." There is neither equity nor forbearance. The manifestation of individual will is rendered impossible. Where it is attempted the perpetrator is punished with inexorable severity. The law is the law of State-Omnipotence. A debtor to the State ; a debt contracted by a citizen with another citizen without its sanction both were thought to endanger its security. Hence " these living entombments, worse than chambers of torture and roofs of lead (Venice), which the law penned for those who unfortunately were driven to offend against its debtor policy." Yet even this excellent Roman State had to compromise with human nature and give way to actualities. The people, reckoned as a whole, cannot individually participate in the government in equal proportions. The rulership must be deputed. The modern State-Socialists wish to do it by deputy and rotation overseers. In Rome " magistrates " were appointed at first for life. But this was a concession to the people, and the people, having got hold of a finger, clamoured for the whole body. On the other side the magistrates, tasting of the sweetness of Rome and State Socialism. 249 power, tried to remove the restraints on, and obstacles to, the aggrandisement of that power. Nor were reasons wanting for the discontent of both parties. The evolution of Roman State-Omnipotence was constantly creating new interests which of course came into violent contact with the existing ones. In fact, although we ascertained that originally there were joint ownership and political equality in Rome, soon after in the Servian " Reform Bill " occur the terms of " assidui " and " proletarii " that is, " freeholders " and " producers of children." As it was obvious that the latter would be of great service to a military State, providing that their supply of recruits were of a good quality physically: the Roman Government promptly acknowledged the importance of the producers of children. Whilst doing so, it could not help recognising that producers of children are not the best, and not always the most industrious cultivators of the soil, or most successful producers of corn. Hence, paternal as it was, the State naturally assumed the roles of corn-chandler and provision dealer. It erected State granaries, whither the people repaired for the purpose of obtaining their neces- saries. And since granaries do not fill themselves the Government called on the farmers that is, the class of freeholders to bear the burden of filling them. Now, as they paid likewise the taxes necessary for administrative purposes, it was natural that in return they should acquire special political power. Once acquired, they could not fail to increase this new public influence, for though politically equal, all Romans were not alike in character and capacities. On the contrary, we may take it for granted that even in Rome there were incorrigibly lazy or at least careless proprietors. If people who had to lose something could neglect their affairs and degenerate, it follows that the producers of children, who possessing nothing had nothing to lose with the exception of their offspring, were not likely to be better or more provident. So we need not be astonished that we soon hear of 250 Socialism, Ancient and Modern. " equites " or large landowners ; of impoverished landlords and of an agricultural proletariat. Nor need it surprise us that the latter is joined ere long by a town proletariat. There were now two new elements. Would they agree ? They were the creatures of the State which constantly strove to enlarge its sphere of action. It was, therefore, not in the interests of this State that its creatures should agree. Rome certainly grew powerful in spite of these revolu- tions. But it neither brought welfare to the nations it subjected, nor did it bestow upon its own citizens free- dom or happiness. With all its censors and its sanitary inspectors, the Government was not a moral agent. So far, indeed, from rising to a higher standard of ethics, Rome slowly but surely sank to a lower standard. The life magistrates were now done away with. Demo- cracy seemed to triumph at last. Yet this Democratic epoch was only transitory. Rome was destined to be absorbed by State-Omnipotence. For the Romans con- tinued to place formidable powers in the hands of the officials of the State, notwithstanding that the yearly magistrates proved even worse tyrants than the former magistrates for life had done, since their reign being a short one, they recognised the necessity of making the best use of it ; for human nature covets, and always will covet, gain and power. As regards the land, ere long Rome is confronted with a problem of landlordism. Concurrently a formidable class of dependents crops up. Now the estates are let out in small parcels. In this manner the "Democratic" evolution of Rome pro- ceeds. The City is soon agitated by violent dissensions caused by the Agrarian Law of Spurius Cassius (B.C. 486). He wishes to rearrange the distribution and management of the public lands. His attempt rouses the anger of the Patricians. It fails to satisfy the Proletariat. Cassius desires an arrangement based upon principles of right and equity. They clamour for spoliation and robbery. Between the two hostile claims Spurius Cassius succumbs. Rome and State Socialism. 251 But whilst the development of Democracy increases the miseries of the people, the Patricians through these very causes are gaining unrestrained power over their clients. Yet in this crisis the Romans did not think of employing moral agencies for the purpose of suppressing, or at least modifying, the growing evils. The State appeared to them to be the only means whereby they might remedy their sufferings. So the Tribunate is restored. The magistra- cies are thrown open to the masses. Their number is increased. The qusestorships are likewise brought within the people's reach. Officialism soon permeates and usurps all Rome. There are officials placed over the granaries, officials to superintend the markets, and officials for street regulations. There are the aediles or police officers proper. Nevertheless the inequality in the distribution of wealth does not decrease. On the contrary, the small farmers vanish from the scene. The Proletariat becomes more impoverished, although politically the Roman Demo- cracy succeeds: it effects the overthrow of the Patricians. The result of the people's victory is that the nobles disappear, only to be followed by a new aristocracy " the caste of wealth " or " plutocracy." This rise of the commoners to the status of nobles is naturally accompanied by the appearance of a new party of " progress," with unrealisable programmes ; and the experiments in govern- ment and reform to which these programmes lead, inaugurate the era of civil wars. Henceforth they break out periodically, until the Romans are flung into the chasms opened up by Marius and Sulla ; Pompeius and Caesar ; Augustus and Antonius. The free citizens of Rome become the slaves of an autocratic government. They fall a prey to the unlimited sway of Imperators who again give birth to a Nero and a Caligula. State-Omnipotence is triumphant. SOCIALISM AND CHRISTIANITY. We have seen how the Omnipotence of the State swallowed up all that was noble and good in Greece and in Rome. The citizens of the Roman community were either excessively rich or despairingly poor. Both sections were enslaved by loathsome vices, Atheism and political tyranny. This was the end of State-Omnipo- tence : the people were writhing in three-fold bondage. Such was the Roman world when the Gospel of Christ proclaimed " ye are brethren," and " ye shall be free"; when that morning red of the Christian Creed rose in the East, announcing to the suffering nations these symbols : " Faith, Hope and Charity." With it was revealed the Christianity of Love destined to regenerate men and to lead them into the haven of earthly peace and contentment. The task was heavy, but the ethical force of Christianity gave fair hope of success. And indeed, for eighteen hundred years Christianity has been at work, and the fruits which have grown forth under its enlivening breath have been and are manifold, rich and good. What were and what are the qualities capable of pro- ducing such moral and frequently economic improvement in the condition of man ? Are the qualities which have made Christianity such a power also distinguishing qualities of Modern Socialism ? Charles Kingsley and Frederick Maurice, Lamennais and Ketteler, Stoeker and Wagner assert as much. i. Ethical and other fundamental differences between Christianity and Modern Socialism. But between Christianity and Socialism there can be no relation or affinity ; even if it be granted that whilst the one does bestow, the other at least genuinely endeavours to Etliical and other Fundamental Differences. 253 bestow upon mankind the greatest possible " happiness." Were the latter actually as successful as the former, Socialistic happiness would still be fundamentally different from, and in fact directly opposed to, the Christian idea of happiness. Christianity turns man's attention towards the actuality of a life to come. His body is a temple of God. His existence on this earth is but a short passage. Worldly goods and the pleasures of men are things neither needful nor desirable for the children of the Lord. The happiness which Chris- tianity aims to give to man is a moral happiness, a spiritual happiness it is bliss. Socialism, on the contrary, as we have already ascertained, means : In industry, co-operative Communism. In the sphere of appetites and affections, free exchange and free love. In politics, International Republicanism. In Religion, " Atheistic " Humanism. Belfort Bax, one of the leading expounders of Modern Socialism, actually states " the triumph of Socialism implies that : Thy kingdom shall pass, Galilean, Thy dead shall go down to the dead." In this " New Creed" there is not an atom of belief in a life to come. Nor do we find in Socialistic doctrines the idea of a God, as the Creator of man and the world. Marx, the author of the Socialist bible, says on this sub- ject in his " Capital " : " With Hegel the thought process, which he transforms into an independent subject under the name idea, is the creator of the real which forms only its external manifestations. With me, on the contrary, the idea is nothing else than the material transformed and translated in the human brain." Here then is the materialistic conception of the world in its crudest form, so that to speak of Christian Socialism is to parody Christianity. Certainly Basil had declared, " The rich man is a thief." 254 Socialism and Christianity. Chrysostom's " The rich are robbers, better all things were in common " is well known. There is also Ambrose's " Nature created community ; private property is the off- spring of usurpation ;" and St. Paul's admonition, " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." But the brotherly love preached by Jesus, when he said, "If thou wilt be perfect go and sell all thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven," is not the characteristic of Modem Socialism. Love must be just, whereas Socialism is founded upon injustice. Christianity hopes to bring about a redistribution of wealth through the medium of charity. Its aim is a moral problem. Its means are moral agents. The Socialistic equalisation of property, on the contrary, is to be brought about by means of terrorism, and compulsion exercised by the State. There is, in fact, a constant conflict between Socialism and Christianity. Socialists are resolved to have " on this solid planet already all the happiness which Christianity promises to the saints in the vague regions beyond the grave and in the starry spheres above." Too materialistic to find pleasure in an ideal excellence, they discredit the teaching of the Churches that poverty possesses a consider- able intrinsic value both educationally and ethically. No doubt, the early Christian Communities and the Society of the Apostles have given a shadow of reality to Socialistic efforts to link Modern Socialism with the " original," " unstained," and " undistorted " Christianity of the first two centuries. But the motive power of this so-called primitive Christian Socialism was not Collectivism and State-Omnipotence. If the early Christian community was inspired with a predilection for Communism in property ; it was because of the prevailing expectation of the approaching subversion of all things. Before them was the all-absorbing allurement of a Paradise to come. Around and behind them, they thought, brooded the great, fast approaching catastrophe Ethical and otJier Fundamental Differences. 255 of a general deluge. They firmly believed that the end of all things was at hand. Again, if Basil and Ambrose spoke words which Socialists have eagerly adopted, though rejecting all their other teachings ; there are utterances of Christ and his Apostles which powerfully denounce the "New Creed." There is His " Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's." There is St. Peter's " Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme ; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punish- ment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well." Above all there is " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house . . . nor anything that is thy neighbour's." With respect to the Communistic Societies immediately after the first Christian epoch and the monastic Com- munism; they can hardly be said to support the claim of Socialism alone to reveal and practise the true principles of Christianity as best manifested in that very community of goods. For the doctrines of the Essenes (who at no time comprised more than about 4,000 members) were " Love of God, love of virtue, love of mankind." The teachers of Modern Socialism, on the contrary, following Richard Owen proclaim that " Three obstacles block the path to social reform Private property, the present form of marriage, and religion." Then the programme of the International Social- Democratic Alliance seeks the abolition of all religions ; displacing faith by science, and substituting "human justice" for divine justice and it claims the abolition of marriage as a political, religious, legal and bourgeois institution. Even that would-be model of primitive and perfect society, the Socialist community of " Brook Farm," near Boston, professes, is taught, and teaches, that " The life of the world is now the Christian life. For eighteen centuries art, litera- ture, philosophy and poetry have followed the fortunes of the Christian idea. Modern history, however, begins the history 256 Socialism and Christianity. of rational religion" Then, as regards marriage they hold " Marriage, as at present constituted, is most decidedly an individual, and not a universal act. It is made the ground- work of the institution of property which is itself the foundation of so many evils. This institution of property and its numerous auxiliaries must be abrogated in associative life, or it will be little better than isolated life. But it cannot, it will not, be repealed so long as marital unions are indulged in." These doctrines are not the doctrines of Christianity. Self-renunciation and simple forms of life were the teachings and beliefs of the Essenes and early Christians. Their equality was the result of sentiments of charity. They lived abstemious and even ascetic lives. Christianity, as a matter of fact, advocates a certain abstemiousness, yet guarantees freedom of action, modified and governed by love and charity. Socialism, on the contrary, wishes to destroy private initiative, not only in the material world, but above all in the world of ethics, and to substitute for the free agencies of love and charity an administrative system that will make men mere animal machines. 2. Monasticism, Socialist Communities in the Middle Ages and Modern Socialism. The conduct of the first monastic settlements was com- pletely influenced by the maxims that guided these Essenes. Those Communists generally went about barefoot. Bread and water was their daily fare. Oil and salt were their luxuries. They indulged in olives and figs. Divided in small groups, they ate their scanty food in silence. Every monk had, however, his private cell. Palm leaves and a bundle of papyrus served for a bed and pillow by night, and for a seat by day. Their time was spent in orisons and in reading the Gospels. Temporal possessions, it is true, were held by them in common ; but the sexes were rigorously separated. Monasticism, and Mediceval Socialist Communities. 257 This is decidedly not the life-ideal of modern Com- munism ; another proof that Socialism and Christianity are organically opposed to each other. The principal element of Monastic Communism was the vow of poverty. Then came the vow of chastity. A monastic city was built by the spirit of self-sacrifice. It was enabled to exist by affection, free devotion and obedience. The modern Socialist city is to be erected upon the principle of self-indulgence. Envy and covetousness are its architects. Behind these stands fear. It is a misuse of names even to speak of Christian Socialism. It is a misuse which has done an immense amount of mischief, and which, if persisted in, will lead to disaster. "Christian" Socialism is non-existent. It is an utter im- possibility. Both the early so-called Communistic Christian sects and the monastic settlements can only be considered Socialistic in the sense that as we know from the beginning of society there has been a craving in man for a better state than that actually existing. For this reason the history of these so-called Christian Communistic sects and monastic settlements is valuable. If they with their lofty principles failed to achieve lasting good and to bring about the regeneration of man, Modern Socialism, with its denial of morals, with its negation of a just God, and, finally, with its perversion of right and law is not likely to do better, or even as well. The "Commonwealth of Love" at Jerusalem, the small Society of the Poor Saints, prove the futility, nay, the unreality of the "New Creed" which pretends to confer on all an equal share in the property of all ; or should it rather be said an equal share in the earnings of the industrious and thrifty? Indeed, the Communism of the early Christians, and especially of the Monasteries, turned out to be a lamentable failure, notwithstanding that theirs were no schemes for the violent reconstruction of society, such as are put forward by K 258 Socialism and Christianity. modern Socialists. It failed to emphasise it once more notwithstanding that those Christian Communists aimed at moral perfection, and for this reason wisely kept aloof from the agency of the State. As if instinct had told them, they felt that the protection and assistance of the Govern- ment would corrupt their loftiest endeavours. Concerning the Communism of the Monasteries^ no doubt many of these were apparently properly conducted in conformity with Socialist notions. But, in reality, as was the case amongst early Christian settlers, the inmates of the Monasteries, too, were moved by the highest instincts of morality, inspired by a religious mysticism, and restrained by regulations of asceticism rigorously enforced. It is true, there were " industrial centres " even in the Cloisters. Labour was apportioned there to each member according to his ability and faculties. Thus the common stock of talent which our friends the Fouriers and Blancs have made so great a feature in their schemes for the regeneration of society, was already in use in the Monas- teries during the Middle Ages. There existed likewise the much-vaunted equality, at least outwardly. But, whilst we may grant that these Socialist features were present in the monastic organisation, and whilst we may acknowledge the great services which Monasteries rendered to civilisation by forming a kind of focus or sanctuary where the culture of ancient times could take refuge when the barbarians swept over Europe ; What durable improvements did they actually effect in the moral condition of man, and in what did they permanently modify the inequalties of life, or to what extent did they reduce the crying abuses in the material and socio-political world? Again, Were the monks really on a footing of equality with the laity or amongst themselves? Their very organisation prevented equality. The number of the brethren was restricted. Celibacy was a rule. Whilst they were free from the burden of children, they were, on the other hand, without the civilising influence of family life. They formed a small world within a large one. Monasticism and Medieval Socialist Communities. 259 Naturally their time and labour were their own. Yet so far from contributing to the nation's industrial output, they obtained their necessaries of life and commodities from the crafts of the towns and the labour of their tenants, having herein one important feature in common with Modern Socialism, that is, feeding and living on the exertions and economies of others. In all other respects the " Christian Communism of the Monasteries had as little affinity with Socialism proper as the aspirations of the Cathari and Fraticelli might be said to have with Anarchism. It may be admitted that the secret working of the Cathari upon the discontent in the depths of society made itself felt in an alarming manner. It produced a powerful spirit of sympathy which united all religious sectaries, thus forming a sort of international society. In this they might be called the precursors of the Social Democratic International Alliance of the Marxs and Proudhons, comprising all nations and countries. But they, likewise, differed from the modern Socialists in one essential feature which separates the two by an impassable gulf. The Cathari and Fraticelli were ascetics and devout purists. As to the mediaeval Communistic Societies and Sects, we likewise recognise Socialistic tendencies in the struggles of the Hussites, the Lollards, and the German Peasants ; and we cannot fail to see Communism pure and simple in the bacchanals at Munster. Hence the terrible and untimely end to which their followers invariably came. It is true, many grievances existed not only on the Continent but also in England. As Mr. Green, in his " Short History of the English People," says, " The funda- mental motive of Lollardism was the tyranny of property that then, as ever, roused the defiance of Socialism." Yet whilst there were ample grounds for improvement, a spirit unquestionably far more tyrannical than the tyranny of property was abroad. Cupidity and sensuality seized on the masses like an 260 Socialism and Christianity. epidemic. They were goaded on by the thirst for revenge associated with a craving to obtain the largest possible indulgence in worldly pleasures. This insubordination of the common people to the authority of the Church, their opposition to the superstitious claims of Roman Catholicism, their clamours for a purer life amongst the upper classes, degenerated into Socialist-Communistic riots, instigated by the levelling doctrine of John Ball, which we find condensed in the well-known rhyme When Adam delved and Eve span Who was then the gentleman ? It was this teaching of John Ball, " the mad priest of Kent " asserting " the original equality of mankind," and declaring that " things will never go well in England so long as goods be not in common, and so long as there be villeins and gentlemen," which led to the rising of Wat Tyler, or in other words, to the so-called Socialist revolt of the Lollards. These rebellions certainly brought about a momentary improvement in the condition of the labourers. But even had it been permanent, it would have been bought far too dearly. For John Ball's agrarian revolt turned England into a Pandemonium, and after thousands of his misguided followers had died on the gallows, the rest had to abide in bondage, " not their old bondage, but a worse ! " (vide Richard the Second's address to the Essex-men). A similar disastrous end overtook the Christian Com- munists in Austria, the so-called Taborites. Their reorganisation-movement, too, originated in a desire to establish so-called pure and primitive Christianity, as well as the political, social, and economic equality of men. And indeed, this new Christian Republic was formed on Mount Tabor, in Bohemia, after a solemn celebration of the Holy Communion, of which no fewer than 40,000 Hussites are said to have partaken. The administrative, economic, and social organisation of the Taborites was then based upon the principle of a community of goods. The en- thusiasts confidently expected the advent of Christ himself- But although victorious for sixteen years in which their Mediaeval so-called Christian Socialist Communities. 261 enemy's country was filled with "the thundering roll of Ziska's chariots, the shrieks of stormed cities, and the wails of hostile armies mowed down by the scythe," the Hussites brought about no lasting change in the condition of the people. On the contrary, the Christian Socialists of Bohemia themselves soon degenerated into ferocious and desperate fanatics," destroying in their blind fury lofty cathedrals and stately palaces, ravaging cities, devastating the country, plundering churches and monasteries." As a matter of fact, only twenty years after the solemn feast of true Christian brotherhood on Mount Tabor, the Taborites, no longer able to live on the spoil accumulated in marauding expeditions, were compelled to return to handicrafts and commerce for a living, and to abandon the community of goods. Not less disastrous consequences followed the revolt of the " Bundschuh Socialists " or " League of Shoes " which demanded " Christian Union and Fraternity," another Socialist movement in which so-called primitive Christianity and Communism were fatally mixed. The valleys of the Rhine and Neckar were turned into ghastly deserts. " Abbeys were sacked, castles were razed to the ground, and cities pillaged." Unheard of cruelties and outrages were committed in the name of the Socialist creed which taught " We have one common father, Adam ; where then comes this diversity of rank and goods ? Why do the people groan in poverty whilst others have delicacies ? Have we not a right to the equality of goods which, by their nature are made to be distributed without distinction amongst us ? Return us the riches of the time being, restore us that which you retain unjustly. Thomas Muntzer actually proclaimed Arise ! Fight the battle of the Lord ! On ! on ! on ! Now is the time ; the wicked tremble when they hear you. Be pitiless ! Heed not the groans of the impious ! Rouse up the towns and villages. Above all rouse, up the miners of the mountains. On ! on ! on ! while the fire is burning ! On, while the hot ground is yet reeking with the slaughter ! Give the fire no time to go out ; the sword no time to cool ! Kill the proud ones : while one of them lives you will not be free from the fear of man ! While they reign over you it is no use to talk of God. Giren at Mulhausen 1525, Thomas Muntzer, servant of God against the wicked. And the proud ones were slain. But with them fell close on half-a-million of peasant Communists ; whilst their un- 262 Socialism and Christianity. fortunate and innocent offspring, and the survivors of the conflict between nobles and villeins, proletarians and capitalists, sank into worse misery. However, the pest of Christian Socialism, of Christian Communism of the Middle Ages, was not to disappear for a time without one more fiendish revel. In the North of Germany, in Miinster, the capital of Westphalia, John Matthias, of Harlem, and John of Leyden succeeded in establishing the " New Kingdom of Heaven," founding the " Society of Equals " and introducing the Asiatic system of seraglios and polygamy. For fourteen months they and their followers a turbulent motley of male and female Anabaptists celebrated in the market and public places of Miinster, the advent of Christ by " free-love " feasts. For fourteen months they committed excesses of such enormity that Luther himself invoked the wrath of God upon Miinster the city worse than Soclom and Gomorrah. For fourteen months so-called Christian Com- munism was triumphant until the faithful were at last destroyed by the conflagration which they themselves had kindled. Thus ended so-called Christian Communism and Social- ism of the Middle Ages. As Kaufman says "A movement which years before had begun with comparatively moderate demands for Social reform, ended in wild Socialistic extravaganzas. What had commenced as a protest against the self-indulgence of the few at the expense of the many ended in the unbridled self-indulgence of all. Blind delusions and lawlessness retarded the progress of social reform for centuries." These two delusion and self-indulgence were the inherent vices of Ancient Socialism. They were the curse of the mediaeval, so called Christian, Communism. They are the most prominent features of Modern Socialism. MODERN SOCIALISM. I. FRENCH SOCIALISM. Modern Socialism is henceforth to be the subject of this inquiry. The value of the previous examination of ancient State Socialism, and the so-called Communism of mediaeval times, will become evident. The lessons which the pre- ceding historic examinations evolved are like so many beacons to light us across this Socialist Age of Ours, obstructed and encumbered with the many wreckages wrought by the " New Creed." Where did this Socialism in its general meaning reappear for the first time since the Middle Ages ? Some assert that England, others that France was the country in which the Socialist Utopias generated once more. It is difficult to say which of the two States has the greater claim. Easier it is to decide the other and far more important point, whether Germany, or France, or the North American Republic, or Great Britain has begotten the revolutionary Socialism the Socialism of our days, and the Socialism most powerful in this country. In spite of the fact that there was a Richard Owen previous to the French group of Socialist writers, it seems that France flung this curse on modern society. Yet this questionable title does not so much arise from her having convulsed the whole world by the Great Revolution at the end of the last century as from the " philosophers " whom she produced. Their atheistical and rebellious teachings, misunderstood both by the Girondists and Jacobins, were the dark powers which called forth the energies of Fourier, Proudhon, Blanc, and Blanqui. Even Richard Owen, apart from his opinions on " free love " which were suggested by the revels of Marat, was indebted for his Socialistic and Communistic views to Rousseau, and, strange to say, to 264 Modern Socialism in France. Voltaire and not to the moving spirits of the years 1789-92. A historical criticism of the French Revolution, brief though it were, is not requisite. Indeed, if it be granted, for argument's sake, that the Socialism of our time, in its first and transitory stages, is vehemently opposed to Individualism, the reign of which it actually calls Anarchy ; the great Revolution can have no affinity with the modern revolution premeditated by the Liebknechts, Bebels, Engels Hyndmans, Jaure"s, Guesdes, and De Felices. As M. Yves Guyot remarked in an essay on the " New Creed " in France : " In 1789 the French Revolution affirmed the rights of man against the rights of the State." Whence, then, dates the rise of Modern French Socialism? Seven names stand prominently forth in the annals of this part of the history of France. They are Saint-Simon ; his disciples, Bazard and Enfantin ; Fourier; Louis Blanc; Proudhon, and Cabet. These indicate that the history of modern economic Socialism began at the time of the French Restoration. Saint-Simon and Fourier ; Proudhon and Louis Blanc were its chief exponents. I. Fourier and Saint- Simon. The doctrines and aims of the first named we quoted on pages 242 and 243. There it was shown that Fourier wished to establish " Wealth," and as attraction was to be the chief moving agency, the establishment of the Republic of " Wealth " would be secured by an unrestricted exchange of affections, or, in other words, by free love. Saint-Simon's theories materially differed from those of Fourier. They were in some respects actually tainted with Puritanism. That they would, nevertheless, lead in the end to the same disorder, corruption, demoralisa- tion and anarchy as the teachings of Fourier, became clear from the conduct of his disciples, the most notorious of whom was the sensuous Enfantin. The reasons which account for this lamentable result are obvious. In Saint- Simon, as in the other Socialist reformers, yet in him most Fourier and Saint-Simon. 26$ markedly, appeared the fundamental fault of all these Communist apostles, namely, want of previous systematic and historical education. It would be invidious to mention here the various episodes in his life, though the peculiar adventures of Saint-Simon might throw additional light upon the real mission of the man, and though they have unquestionably a valuable bearing upon the value of his teachings, so that a minute examination of his private conduct would not be labour lost. Indeed, it would be uncharitable to enlarge upon his excessive vanity and ambition, so graphically illustrated by the orders he gave to his valet : " Wake me every morning with these words, ' Remember, Monsieur le Comte, that you have great things to do.'" It might be improper to detail that after amassing a fortune by speculation he squandered it in licentious excesses, until, reduced to misery in body and mind, he attempted to terminate an ill-starred life by suicide. It was Saint-Simon who first propounded the assumption " that Christianity had many affinities with Socialism," a pro- position which, as we have seen, has since been warmly taken up by Modern Socialists. In his " Nouveau Christianisme," or " New Christianity," the noble Count pretended to take Christianity back to its untainted original principles. He claimed to prune it from dogmas and other excrescences and defects which, according to him, had gathered round both its Catholic and Protestant forms. Once having made up his mind, and " Remembering that he had great things to do," Monsieur le Comte set to work with the zeal of a fanatic. He elaborated a " theological," and at the same time " Socialistic," disquisi- tion on Christianity, which, no doubt, inspired the Socialist Belfort Bax and others to their bold declarations on the religions and churches. (See page 222.) The principal doctrine which Saint-Simon evolved in his New Christianity was that according to the " New Creed " men should act towards one another as if they were truly brethren. Hence his dictum : 266 Modern Socialism in France. " The new Christian organisation will deduce the temporal not less than the spiritual institutions from that principle." This foundation laid, the whole of society ought to strive for the amelioration of the moral and physical existence of the poorest class. Then, so as not to lose precious time, society ought at once to organise itself in the way best adapted for attaining this end. The doctrine just quoted was so far reasonable, and it is to be regretted that the fundamental theorem of Saint- Simon, whilst at one time exercising considerable influence, has since been rejected by the more advanced Socialistic " thinkers," upon whom, they say, this mixture of Christian religion and materialism of the senses jars ; inasmuch as their speculations concerning the reorganisation of the social and economic man exclude a priori the existence of God. These " thinkers," moreover, have learned to dislike the mystic and rigid hierarchy of Saint-Simon's " New Christianity," because it would establish the rule of the "industrials" that is, of the workers, including bankers, manufacturers, and merchants. Concurrently, they repudiate him for having vehemently denounced the possibility of the lower, non-possessing masses ever governing, adducing as a proof for the truism of his assertion the Reign of Terror, concerning which he ex- claimed, " See what happened to France when your comrades held sway there they brought about a famine." As to Saint-Simon's other doctrine claiming " the labour and perhaps sacrifice of the fittest for the survival of the less fit or unfittest," if considered seriously, reward would be given where deserts were smallest. In the words of Herbert Spencer, the inferior would be encouraged to multiply indiscriminately, entailing immeasurable mischief. " Yet note the state of universal warfare maintained throughout creation. Remark the fight- ing, which, for example, is so universal amongst animals during the pairing season, preventing all vitiation of the race through the multiplication of its inferior samples. A similar process is necessary for the development Louis Blanc and ProudJwn. 267 of mankind. Its ultimate success is secured by that same beneficent though severe discipline. The poverty of the incapable ; the distress that comes upon the improvident ; the starvation of the idle, and those shoulderings aside of the weak by the strong, which leave so many in shallows and miseries, 'are the decrees of a large, far-seeing benevolence.' This, process must be undergone, and the sufferings must be endured. No power on earth, no cunningly-devised laws of statesmen, no world-rectifying schemes of the human species, no communist panaceas, can diminish them one jot. Intensified they may be and are ; philanthropy may prevent such intensification. But a normal amount of suffering there will always be; it cannot be lessened without altering the very laws of life. The beneficial results of the survival of the fittest are obvious for the ultimate happiness of the human race." However, neither the Saint-Simonites nor the Fouriers succeeded in converting France. New men arose, amongst whom the most prominent were 2. Louis Blanc and Proud/ion. More practical than Saint-Simon, and far more honest than Fourier with his immoral " associations amoureuses " and absurd "phalanges;" Blanc carried the Socialistic agitation into the very midst of the economic camp, and endeavoured to solve the social problems of the day by means of his " Organisation of Labour." His idea was to erect workshops, over each of which there should be the in- scription, " Whoever does not work is .a thief." The State, he thought, should be the sole producer and distributor of wealth. At the same time, Proudhon appeared on the scene, by way of antithesis, proclaiming his famous " Property is theft," of which all those who are possessors of hard-earned savings would do well to take particular notice. He ridiculed Communism, and wished to suppress " interest " by the establishment of a bank of exchange. " Barter," Proudhon was of opinion, " should replace the use of money, the only 268 Modern Socialism in France. way in which it would be possible to realise the equalisation of fortunes and the abolition of poverty." As to his faith, " ' Dieu : c'est le mal.' God is the real evil," wrote Proudhon, in his " Economic Contradictions." On the ethics of marriage, he declared in his " Pornocratie " that woman was an animal which the man the husband had the right to kill for six causes, the enumeration of which may be omitted out of respect for the feelings of the reader. Proudhon's economic theorem consisted in establishing a law of exchange, a system of mutuality. His aim was the abolition of all authority, in consequence of which there would no longer be any debts or mortgages, nor any expenses necessary for the administration of Church, State, and Law. Credit would become gratuitous ; ex- change equalised ; association untrammelled by any mere restrictions ; the values of commodities regulated ; education, work, and low house rent guaranteed. These results obtained, the antagonism amongst men ; the sanguinary wars between nations ; the centralisation of Governments and the " humbugs " of priests, would be made impossible. The doctrine of the right of contract he paradoxically enough admitted. But, as already briefly mentioned, he insisted at the same time upon a complete equality of remuneration ; so that a Richard Wagner, composing for six hours, would be paid the same salary as the man who, during that time, simply copied the master's score ; or a doctor, performing a difficult and dangerous operation, would receive the wages of a butcher for killing and dressing a pig ; or an engineer, organising the construction of a rail- way would be treated in the same manner as the several artisans and labourers engaged on the work. The progressive abolition of property, he thought, could be obtained by the State compulsorily reducing interest, rent, profit, &c., to the smallest possible minimum until they became merely nominal and unremunerative. Some sort of people's banks and banks of exchange, established upon the principles that " to work is to produce from nothing (?) ; credit is exchange ; to exchange is to Louis Blanc and Proud/ion. 269 capitalise ; reciprocity is the formula ; " were then to com- plete the Socialistic world of Proudhon. (See also article "Anarchism," p. I, etc., "Book of Problems.") Proudhon's social science, it will be seen, was a science "absolute, rigorous, based on the nature of man and of his faculties, and on their mutual relations ; a science which we have not to invent, but merely to discover." He manifested the most vehement opposition to phantasmagoria, such as, one after the other, Saint Simon, Cabet, and Fourier hatched in their fertile and impressionable brains for the benefit of suffering mankind. According to Proudhon "the most accursed lie that could be offered to men was the attempt to make them believe in the possibility, or rather probability, of a ready-made and complete regeneration, without passing through the tedious and painful throes of second birth and evolution." Herewith he flung on mankind his curse of Anarchism ; just as Louis Blanc plunged his countrymen into the vortex of national bankruptcy. Yet it may be granted that Louis Blanc, the would- be saviour of the proletariat by means of national work- shops, truly believed in the genuineness and efficaciousness of his regeneration specific. Nor is there any reason to impeach the sincerity of Proudhon, the would-be improver of society, by the establishment of a system of the most perfect equality of remuneration. Whatever the faults of Proudhon ; the author of the aphorism, " Each man should be a law unto himself : Government of man by man is oppression : The highest perfection of society is found in the union of order and anarchy," was, at least, a genuine believer in his self-made creed and lived honestly up to it. 3. France and t/ie application of Proud/ion and Louis Blanc's Theories. For this very reason one would have thought that their efforts for the reform, if not actual regeneration, of society 270 Modern Socialism in France. would be attended by fair results. Both men were practical as far as Socialists can be. They proceeded on the most cut and dried business lines. But it was of no consequence that Blanc and Proudhon both declared against sexual excesses and confined them- selves to economic speculations. In the material world they preached the doctrine of theft, and denounced hard- earned savings as being robbery from the proletariat. The disastrous failures which resulted from their attempts at regeneration were thus inevitable. Yet what excellent soil France offered at that time for such reforms ! It seemed to be the era of philanthropy with a vengeance. French society was enthusiastic about Socialistic speculations. The journals "Le Constitutionnel," " Le Journal des Debats," " Le Siecle ; " Eugene Sue in his "Mysteres de Paris," "Le Juif Errant," " L'Enfant Trouve " all exerted themselves to popularise the Socialistic aspirations. Just as at the present day, so there were then whole sets of fashionable humanitarians and parson -Socialists who magnanimously, or rather, unwit- tingly, encouraged the manufacture of revolutionary powder, which on the ever memorable 24th of February, 1848, should well nigh blow them up. The creed of the day was, " there is no other love but love for the people ; no other inspiring source of poetry than the sufferings of the people ; no other ambition but the deliverance of the people. The hatred of honest men must be roused against every privilege, of whatever nature, as if the pos- session thereof were a deadly vice." Paris appeared to be the very focus of Socialistic inspira- tions. It counted amongst its inhabitants Mazzini, Henry Heine ; the German Social Democrats, Karl Marx, Lassalle and Karl Grun; the Russian Ogareff, and the notorious Bakunin ; our Proudhons, Leroux, Louis Blancs, Enfantins, Raspails, Blanquists, and Auguste Barbiers. " The moment seemed to have come," as Bakunin wrote thirty-six years later, " when we would be allowed to bury the old civilisation, and when the new reign of the equality of Application of Blanc and Proudhoris Theories. 271 men would commence." There were but few who could resist the influence of this revolutionary spirit of Socialism that was then abroad. "Two months spent about the boulevards were sufficient to transform a Liberal into a Socialist." Mazzini himself, who in subsequent years un- compromisingly fought those Communistic tendencies, wrote at the time and under the spell of the spectacle before his eyes ; " Individualism has ceased to exist ; henceforth Socialism will rule. The abolition of the Proletariat is coming to pass ; the emancipation of the workers from the tyranny of capital concentrated in a small number of individuals is dawning ; there will be an equal distribution of the products of labour, and an equal remuneration to the producers." The French and German Socialists shook hands, and fraternised with the Italians, the Russians and Poles. The time had arrived when it was said that " French Socialist propaganda desires the federation of the peoples of Europe." As the leaders of the universal regeneration movement declared : " French, Germans, Russians and Italians all inhabit one country Europe." "All are but one family humanity" whatever that meant. And in keeping with this doctrine "All world regenerators will be summoned to a great congress which will make the nations brothers, and establish one unique European Republic." Socialist Paris did not even abstain from uttering out- rageous blasphemies. France, exploited and dishonoured by the reigning bourgeoisie, was compared to Jesus in the tomb. The resurrection was near. All the peoples would be free. Every throne would be destroyed. (Paroles d'un Croyant Esquiros : le livre du peuple.) Lest the charm of antithesis should be missing, and lest this new creation should be without a well-defined plan, cementing at the same time the brotherhood of nation- alities and peoples, the Radical journal La Reforme pub- lished the following Socialistic programme : 272 Modern Socialism in France. All men are brothers. Where there is no equality, liberty is a he. Society, it is true, cannot exist without inequality of abilities and talents and diversity of employment ; but, these superior aptitudes do not confer greater privileges ; on the contrary, they entail greater responsibilities. The principle of equality is association. The final aim of association is to satisfy the intellectual, moral, and material needs of all. How this part of the Socialist programme apparently sensible and seemingly reflective of Christian charity was eventually to be realised, La Reforme explained in the second part. According to the doctrines evolved therein The workers have been slaves ; they were serfs ; they are now wage-earners ; they must become master-associates. A Democracy alone can achieve this reform. A Democracy is a State where the sovereignty of the people is the leading principle. Its origin is universal suffrage. Its ambition consists in affording the complete triumph of the formula : Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. There ought to be free education ; the State being both purveyor and teacher. Every citizen must become a soldier. None can escape military service. All must help in the defence of their native country. On the one side the brotherhood of man and nations ; on the other the individual citizen-soldier existing for the express purpose of defending his native country against some brother-nation : such were the queer ideas and strange notions that floated in the air like so many poisonous microbes, when the theories of Louis Blanc and Pierre Joseph Proudhon, and the ravings of Blanqui, were put to a practical test. How the revolution to which they led terminated is a matter of general history. It is likewise known that these Communistic and Socialistic doctrines brought about just that regime which their authors thought to render for ever impossible, namely, the tyrannical sway of a dictator, and the unjust exploitation, if exploitation it was, of the workers by the capitalists. Instead of a policy of progress, they advocated a re- actionary policy. For since Social workshops were the regeneration specific of Louis Blanc, the establishment of State-Omnipotence, implying the enslavement of the nation, was inevitable. The erection of such national workshops could not be pro- Louis Elands National Works/tops. 273 ceeded with without ample funds. The State was to be called upon to furnish these indispensable funds. The measure was made palatable by the pleasing suggestion that when once started, the factories would be self- supporting, self-acting, and self-governing. There was also to be a " new education," in order to give the " hierarchy of talent " a chance of existence. Wages were to be equalised. Blanc's "new education" would teach the people that there were other and more powerful in- ducements to work, besides the prospect of a higher salary or of influence, or of a direct command over one's fellow- beings. It was not long before these schemes were put into practice, and the grotesqueness of the manifesto with which this new era of universal happiness was to be inaugurated promised fair sport. It began by stating that : Seeing the revolution made by the people should be also for the people ; Seeing it is time to put an end to the long and iniquitous sufferings of the workers ; Seeing the question of work is of extreme importance, &c. ; The Provisional Government of the Republic decrees : That a permanent committee, to be called the Government Committee for Workers, shall be nominated with the express and special object of watching over the workers. Louis Blanc will be president ; M. Albert, a workman vice-president. Concurrently appeared the decree concerning the right to wages by which the Provisional Government of the French Republic bound itself to guarantee the existence of the workman by means of work. This principle was then enlarged so that the States guaranteed employment to every citizen. Finally, the right of the toilers to organise, to unite, and to enjoy the fruits of their labour was formally recognised. Under such apparently happy auspices, that is, under the exacting protection of the Provisional Government, assisted, if not superintended, by the Government Committee for Workers, Louis Blanc started his " national workshops." 4. Louis Blanks National Workshops. Any man who wanted work could henceforth proffer a claim for employment, or for a "wage of subsistence." s 274 Modern Socialism in France. Armed with a certificate from the person . with whom he lodged, in which it was stated that the candidate belonged to the Department of the Seine, he only needed to go to the " maire " of his district. If there was room in the work- shops he obtained an order for 40 sous, or one shilling and eightpence ; if not he received one shilling and threepence, or 30 sous. One hundred and thirty thousand workers were soon enrolled under this scheme, divided somewhat after the style of Fourier's phalange, but without the "associations amoureuses ; " or after the idea which seems to govern the organisation of the Salvation Army, though with- out lady captains and Hallelujah lasses. There were "escouades" consisting of eleven persons. There was Mon- sieur " L'escouadier," or overseer, with fivepence extra remuneration. Five " escouades " then formed a brigade commanded by a chief or brigadier, receiving two shillings and sixpence a day. These leaders were all elected by their subordinates. But there were also lieutenants, company chiefs, and rulers of districts, appointed by the Government, and receiving progressively higher pay. Moreover, bread was distributed to the families of the " toilers " in proportion to the number of children, for the Provisional Government, like the old Romans with their granaries, wisely recognised the importance of these producers of fresh generations. The "manufacturing" was now proceeded with, and was soon in full swing. The National Guards of the Socialist Republic wanted suits. The " Guarde Mobile " and the regular troops had likewise worn out their uniforms. An age of plethora, if not the Millennium, seemed to have dawned, at least, on the tailors. The contract price a master tailor charged for each uniform was nf. The Government agreed to give the organised journeyman tailors at the Hotel Clichy the same price. The wages were to be 2f. per day, and a share in the eventual profits. How merrily now the cutting, and stitching, and pressing, and talking went on in these workshops ! So well that Louis Blanc, the great Socialist saviour, expected every Louis Blanc's National Workshops. 275 moment France would undergo the prophesied process of complete resurrection. But the tailors were not the only blessed ones. Unmindful as to whether there were really any need for fresh furniture the Government now similarly organised the cabinet- makers. Hopes and expectations rose with feverish growth. Alas ! The merriment did not last long. The paeans soon changed to loud laments and bitter recriminations. The catastrophe was fast approaching. The Socialistic recruits of "the new army of workers" had, no doubt, tasted of the sweetness of great expecta- tions. And dazzling must have been the visions of the huge profits that would eventually fall to each of the " national toilers." Many a brave tailor and cabinet maker's breast must have swelled with proud sentiment. Were not the inmates of the social workshops pioneers in the industrial world of the "New Creed"? They were not ordinary individuals. They played at being masters and workmen at one and the same time. Yet, all good things must come to an end, and, as stated, the day of reckoning could no longer be postponed. The surplus was to be divided. Now, the charge of the Govern- ment for each suit had been 1 1 francs. At that price the master tailor would have made some profit, paid his men reasonable wages, and satisfied any incidental expenses. But whilst the Socialistic workers in the national shops had been living on a daily pittance for bare subsistence, the manufacture of each suit had cost the State 16 francs. So there were no profits. Creditors seized the uniforms of the Noble Guards. As to the valiant tailors, it may be assumed that those beguiled workers who would be Socialists were not animated by peaceful sentiments. In fact, contrary to the rules of dramatic composition, this great melodrama of" State Socialism Triumphant" had commenced with the happy and funny scenes. It was to terminate in a terrible insurrection. And yet how pompous had been the prospectus sent out by Louis Blanc and his associates ! The factories were 276 Modern Socialism in France. to be bought by the State, the price being paid in annui- ties and in kind. The distribution of the net profits from each workshop the Socialist statesmen then intended to arrange in the following manner : One-fourth for the former proprietor ; one-fourth for an insurance fund that should benefit the wounded, old and sick ; one-fourth as a kind of bonus for the workers ; the remaining fourth to be set aside for the purpose of meeting any incidental ex- penses or losses. Lest one workshop might compete with another "atelier national," their great organisers also elaborated rules for the regulation of the prices of com- modities and manufactures, supremely disdaining to consider the condition of the industrial world outside the French pale of Socialistic salvation. But the unfortunate proletariat had not been entertained with promises only of luxurious rewards. Nor were all proprietors to be bought out. On the contrary, France was something more than a Socialistic Republic. Her re- generators cherished bolder ambitions. Their State of the " great future " should be Social-Democratic in the truest and fullest meaning of the term. Those who desired to pay indemnities to the expropriated were soon outvoted. Barbes, Bible in hand, lectured on the community of goods and free and universal love. At the same time, the clubs of Raspail, the partisans of Blanqui, the visionary fanatics of Cabet, and more than a dozen other " reform " associa- tions proclaimed that only wholesale robbery could bring about the expected Millennium. The provisional Government of the happy Republic proved both docile and faithful to such excellent instruction. Bankruptcy was waiting at the threshold of the Palais du Luxembourg. Within, Goudcheau had been squandering the booty obtained by the confiscation and pillage of the property that belonged to reactionists who had been daring enough to oppose the inauguration of the republican era of Socialism. Without, the deluded people were dying from starvation. And, as if the condition of the workers were not already sufficiently lamentable, Garnier-Pages now com- OtJier Experiments in Collectivist Production. 277 pleted the glorious task both of Socialist and Communist regeneration by seizing upon the money which the artizans and small shopkeepers had been induced to deposit with the savings banks. Is it surprising that Paris rose at last in insurrection ? The fighting in the streets went on for four days and nights. Twelve thousand victims fell to the demon of the "New Creed." And as a reward for such sacrifice, the reign of Napoleon III. was erected upon the smouldering ruins, that is, a government which inflicted on the nation worse misery and worse tyranny than the most despotic French King ever inflicted. But this was not the only damage which Louis Blanc and his followers and fellow - Socialists caused to their unfortunate country. " The national workshops," Victor Hugo declared, " have proved a fatal experiment. The wealthy idler we already know ; you have created a person a hundred times more dangerous both to himself and to others the pauper idler. At this very moment England sits smiling by the side of the abyss into which France is falling." Even the Commission appointed by the French Govern- ment to inquire into the reasons of this disastrous failure was forced to confess " that the Revolution which found the workmen of Paris contented in their proper sphere, has been, by treating them like spoilt children, the cause of that change in their character which makes everyone now dread the excesses of which they may be guilty." 5. Several other Experiments in Collectivist Production. These experiments in Collectivism, however, stood not alone. There were other effoits, such as those of Flora Tristan, and the enterprise of a would-be Socialist capitalist manufacturer, of which Thiers gives an interesting account in his " Rights of Property." Both ended in similar disaster, thus rebutting the charge that Louis Blanc had not had a fair chance. And they are the more noteworthy, because, if success had been possible, in the case of Flora Tristan and 278 Modern Socialism in Prance. especially in that of the capitalist manufacturer, everything that might contribute to, and be essential for it was ready for exhaustive use. The proprietor of a great engine factory agreed to lend his establishment to his workmen, so that there would be no necessity to sink capital in the erection of a new workshop which is always an undertaking more or less risky. The arrangement was entered into on the understanding that he would buy from them, at a stated price, any machines they might turn out. The associated workmen were to govern themselves, to pay themselves, and to share without charge the entire profits amongst them. Lest the organisations which they had had until then might be interfered with, and so the habits they had acquired be disturbed, the associated workmen remained divided in different departments, just as they had been hitherto. Of course, where there had formerly been overseers, the " Associated " now placed at the head of each shop a president, and a general president over the whole establish- ment. But, they retained the former classification of wages, with the exception that a common labourer was to receive three francs per day instead of two francs and a half ; whereas the skilled workmen were no longer to receive the high wages of piece work. Naturally, in return, they were not supposed to work all day like the rest ; and lest they should become dissatisfied, they were accorded supplementary wages, of between 15 and 20 " sous " per day, which brought their pay to about five francs. But they had previously been earning as much as eight francs and as it was, moreover, left to the discretion of the workmen-presidents to award the supplementary wages, the humanitarian experiment which had been started by depriving the clever and good workmen of their just due, and bestowing it upon the unskilled and, possibly idle, labourers was speedily on the way to absolute failure. It might have been foreseen that there would be daily Other experiments' in Collectivist Production. 279 disputes in the workshops. The men took a holiday when- ever it pleased them to take part in any demonstration. When at work, they did it at their leisure. The presidents charged with the supervision of the labour and the main- tenance of order were changed two or three times a fortnight. With such organic disorder and confusion, the financial results could not be very favourable. Whilst the factory had been under the management of the philanthropic manufacturer, the workmen had earned in wages 367,000^ in three months. Now that the workshops were under their own management the returns amounted only to I97,ooof, notwithstanding that the price for the machines produced by them had been raised 17 per cent above the average rate. What were the causes of these startling results ? Was it on account of the lesser number of days and hours the workmen attended the shops that the enterprise failed ? No, competition had been removed. There was no inducement for the piece hands who now received at the utmost only the trifling supplement of a franc, to be very zealous in labouring for the benefit of the associated fellow- workers, comprising the unskilled labourers. In a word, 100 labourers received half a franc a day more ; 400 workmen received their ordinary wages, but for fewer days' labour, since they took more holidays ; and the large majority of clever mechanics, who formerly did piecework, were deprived of the advantages tJiey had hitherto enjoyed on account of their talents and exertions. This state of affairs, it was evident, could not endure long. The good hands were all determined to leave the establish- ment, and when the three months of trial that had been assigned to the Association had expired, it came to an end without a single protest, for it terminated in lamentable in- solvency. Many workmen were not even paid for some of the few hours they had been industrious, and the general bankruptcy did not spare the little capital of a benefit fund which the philanthropic manufacturer had instituted previous to the establishment of the Association. 280 Modern Socialism in Germany. Such was the result of that other experiment in Collec- tivism "in miniature." To emphasise by arguments the lessons it conveys would only be to weaken the conviction they carry as to the futility of Socialist-Communist aspirations. To amplify them may be left to subsequent chapters. Socialism had been in its glory in France. The year 1848 had seen the triumph of Collectivist principles, not only as regards merely distributive co-operation, but also with respect to productive co-operation. However, as we know, after Communist-Socialism had been at work a few months, the crash came with a vengeance. The bubble of grandiose hopes burst, and with the victims of the general massacre which quite naturally followed, Socialism was buried a failure and a sham. But madness is infectious. The rabies spread epidemic- like, and " philosphic " Germany got bitten. Socialism was entombed for the time being in France ; its seed, which had been sown during that great era of the regeneration of men when the " national " tailors and " national " cabinet-makers had for once become the Paladins of the French Workers-Republic, was destined to grow rapidly in the Fatherland, and to bear ere long its baneful fruit. II. SOCIALISM IN GERMANY. I. Collectivism before the time of Lassalle and Marx. A small revolution had already been enacted in Berlin, almost contemporaneously with the Parisian melodrama. After the Prussian rebellion in the month of March, 1848, and the short period of Anarchy which succeeded it, the era of Municipal, if not State Socialism in miniature, had had its innings. Society being apparentlyout of joint,and capitalists being justifiably unwilling to risk their money any longer money acquired in most cases by dint of energy, self- Collectivism previous to Lassalle and Marx. 281 denial, and industry the deluded " workers " by unduly coercing capital had managed once more to cut off their only source of supply in locking themselves out. Of course, when the distress, the inevitable consequence, spread like wild-fire, the funds of the ratepayers and the con- tributions of the taxpayers were seized. It ought to be stated in fairness that these Communist- Socialists of Berlin, like their French brothers, were by no means beggars, at least if we judge from their declaration that ' Free working men as they are, they do not want alms but work.' Notwithstanding, following the example of their Parisian prototypes, they did not refuse to receive loans sufficient for the purchase of food. As human beings entitled to certain comforts of life, they also claimed the right to attend public entertainments without charge. Then, acting upon the Socialistic doctrine that the State has to find work for the unemployed, they forced the municipal authorities to start a number of buildings and other undertakings, which, though actually relief works, were called "national jobs." Did it behove them to inquire where the necessary money was to come from ? Certainly not. Neither was it their business to see whether the building and other enterprises were of any real use or not. It was not their duty to trouble themselves about wasteful expenditure that could not fail to lead to general bankruptcy, and finally plunge them into worse misery. They had brought on themselves and their un- fortunate families starvation. Yet starve they would not. At the same time, neither did they wish for alms from the hated capitalists. There was a problem a difficult problem. But difficult though it seemed to be, it was easily solved. Alms were not only not objectionable, but the very thing the Socialists coveted the moment these alms reached them through the purifying and sanctifying channels of the municipality and the State. As a natural sequence Berlin had the pleasure of seeing Communistic Socialism at work, and of feeling its effects. Yet, in spite of the disasters in which these preliminary 282 Modern Socialism in Germany. adventures ended, Social Democracy succeeded in capturing the German intellect, so easy a prey to sentimentality. 2. Lassalle and Karl Marx. The chief apostles or rather creators of this Socialism were Ferdinand Lassalle and Karl Marx. Both had been staying at Paris during the eventful epoch described in the previous chapter. Returning to their Fatherland, they promptly scattered the pernicious notions throughout the country. Which of the two was the more successful Socialist ? There can be no doubt that Ferdinand Lassalle, the revolutionary meteor, might have laid the flattering unction to his soul of having " improved " upon the condition of the working classes. He can boast of having roused in them hopes and excited expectations which can never be fulfilled, and which, even if they could be realised, would degrade the existence of the free-workers, " who do not want alms but work," to that of May-flies ("Ephemerae). Now, though not an agreeable, it is an absolutely necessary, task to lift the veil from the private life of any great Socialist. Such an inquiry reveals to us the secret springs to the actions of the agitators of the New Creed. It shows us their motives, from which we can easily estimate the real value of their labours in the interest of labour. In the case of Herr Ferdinand Lassalle, we find that this "aristocratic" champion of Collectivism, possessed talents in an extraordinary measure. He was endowed with eloquence suchas is given to but fewmen. Correspondingly, he was filled with an ungovernable ambition, being bent upon playing a leading role in the history of the world. In the more narrow limits of his Fatherland he aimed at nothing less than replacing the dynasty of the Hohenzollerns by the dynasty of the Ferdinand Lassalles, so that, had the unselfish, modest Social Democrat succeeded we would now have to reckon with a Ferdinand Lassalle the Second instead of with a William the Second. It is obvious that such a man could not pay any regard Lassalle. 283 to the conventionalities of the world. Though he preached moral conduct to others, Herr Ferdinand Lassalle himself doted on a divorced countess, upon whose kind gifts of money he was enabled to lead the brilliant life of a brilliant agitator. He dilated on the virtues of self-denial and labour, but himself gave free and unrestrained vent to his decidedly fashionable and luxurious inclinations. He, the apostle of the poor, was a dandy noted for his dress, for his dinners, and for his addiction to primitive lusts. His suppers, indeed, were the choicest and freest in Berlin. Again, Ferdinand Lassalle, the teacher of a universal love that was to embrace all mankind, proved himself most vindictive and unscrupulous in his conduct towards his enemies. His temper was unrelenting whenever and wherever an unfortunate fellow-brother had the imper- tinence or ill-luck to cross his path or to denounce his wiles. Such was the real Ferdinand Lassalle, the social reformer whose philosophy of life is summed up in the famous defence which he delivered before the Correctional Tribunal of Berlin, and of which the following passage is the most characteristic : " If I may give you the quintessence of long and painful studies, the universal result of my researches in the most various historical sciences in a single sentence, this sentence runs : " One of two things. Either let us drink Cyprian wine and kiss beautiful maidens" in other words, indulge in the most common selfishness of pleasure "or, if we are to speak of the State and of morality, let us dedicate all our powers to the improvement of the dark lot of the vast majority of mankind, out of whose night-covered floods we, the propertied class, only rise like solitary pillars, as if to show how dark are those floods, how deep is their abyss." This was the Ferdinand Lassalle, the pet of the ladies, the idol of all the fashionable and eccentric ; a Byron and an Alcibiades at one and the same time. Indeed, in him better than in any other agitator can the 284 Modern Socialism in Germany. reader study the true character of a modern Socialist leader. This dandy, whose house was a model of elegance, actually fancied himself to be a second Robespierre, the renowned hero of the "Reign of Terror." Always carrying Robespierre's walking stick, a present given to him by the historian Foerster, Lassalle on more than one occasion accosted his friends with the sublimely ridiculous exclama- tions: "See, here is Robespierre's walking stick." Then, touching his head, " And here is Robespierre's head." Even poor Samson of the old Testament was not spared. " You see," Herr Ferdinand Lassalle was in the habit of crying, "my thick and strong hair. I am like Samson ; my strength lies in my hair;" a comparison not altogether inappropriate when one remembers that he cut short his "splendid" career in a duel for the possession of a second Delilah, Fraulein Helene von Doenniges, a young lady of twenty, whose character was as unconventional and original as that of Lassalle, and whose notions of morality were in full harmony with those of her adored world reformer. Well might this noble apostle of the solidarity and brotherhood of men thus address the workers of the Fatherland: "You German workmen are a curious people. French and English workmen have to be shown how their miserable condition may be improved ; but you have first to be shown that you are in a miserable condition. So long as you have a piece of bad sausage and a glass of beer, you do not think that you want anything. That is the result of your accursed absence of needs. What, you will say, is this then not a virtue? Yes, in the eyes of the Christian preacher of morality it is certainly a virtue. Absence of needs is the virtue of the Indian pillar saint and of the Christian monk, but in the eyes of the student of history and the political economist it is not. To have as many needs as possible, that is the virtue of the present, of the economic age ! " As to Karl Marx, the author of " Capital," misnamed the Socialist bible, he, like Ferdinand Lassalle, was of Jewish extraction, though whilst the latter in his youth Lassalle and Karl Marx. 285 appeared to have had sympathy with, rather than aversion to, the Christian faith, the former's early career already fur- nishes the key at least to the Quixotic bitterness with which he attacked Christianity. Marx's father, a lawyer, having received from the Minister of Prussia orders either to be baptised into the Christian Church or to cease legal prac- tice at Treves and on German territory, chose the former, in spite of the fact that the Marx family could boast of an unbroken line of Rabbis from the sixteenth century. This conversion of old Marx was thus not the act of fear, since there was no danger of a religious persecution, nor did it take place from conviction, nor was it brought about by persuasion, but it was simply the result of sordid opportunism. Such a nature and mind in the father could not but be inherited in a more or less degree by the son. It is true enough, there was little of an accommodating disposition in this modern Cynic, or rather Cyrenaic Social- Democrat, towards what he professed to hate capitalism, patriotism, and Christianity. Karl Marx persecuted these with all the obstinacy of a fanatic whose intellect is absorbed by the one object of his hatred. Yet, apart from this he was a self-serving Opportunist, even more so than the illustrious Ferdinand Lassalle. Marx certainly did not sink so low as the moralising Ferdinand in the pursuit of worldly pleasures. However, in other respects he elaborated his own code of morals which he endeavoured practically to illustrate by his life. For instance, he demonstrated the worldly-wisdom of his assertion " that surplus labour, whether supplied or appro- priated, is a thing never to be tolerated in honest society " by complacently borrowing the principal Socialist ideas of Rodbertus, and incorporating them into his great work " Capital," without indicating the source which had inspired him. He manifested not less peculiar notions in his transactions with Arnold Ruge, in conjunction with whom he edited in Paris for some time the Franco-German Annals. Throughout his life Marx's conduct was noteworthy for 286 Modern Socialism in Germany. callous ambition, callous vindictiveness, and callous in- difference to the real happiness of the poor people he strove to delude. First German Socialist ; then, after his .expulsion, French Communist ; again, Belgian Sansculotte ; then at London that strange being International- Anarchist- Communist-Socialist ; he seized at last on the phantom of a a world-brotherhood as the only straw left by the help of which he might yet retain the shadow in place of the substance of personal power. Such was Karl Marx, the second great Socialist agitator. What were the doctrines both of Lassalle and Marx, and what results did their teachings produce? It is all important to ascertain this fully, for their sayings are the Alpha and Omega of Socialism, such as it is under- stood in "This Age of Ours." 3. Marx's Capital and Lassalle 's Doctrines. In the preceding chapter we considered Karl Marx and Ferdinand Lassalle that is, the men and not their works. Marx's " Capital," the so-called " Bible of the working- classes," and some of Lassalle's writings shall be the subject matter of this. The same contradictions, and even excesses, in their characters and modes of life are noticeable in the grotesqueness of their philosophies. A comparison between the two, the men and their writings, irrefutably shows that as regards the fundamental principle of their propaganda the great agitators acted for once with wonderful consistency, according to the adage, " Do as I say, and not as I do." 3A. Marx's Capital. Marx endeavoured to construct his theory of "Capital" and his argument on " Surplus Value " upon a historical basis. In order at the same time to give them a modern and realistic background he profusely illustrated his theories from industrial England. But, as he threw the pictures thus borrowed on to the screen of his " historical Capital " through the medium of a German magic lantern, it is Marx's Capital. 287 difficult for us to recognise any English features in the strange shows which he produced as truly representing phenomena of the English industrial world. Marx certainly guarded himself against conveying the impression that the condition of the artisan and labour classes in England was better than that of the proletariat in Germany. Yet he committed himself to make the declaration that Great Britain might be the only country where a peaceful revolution would be possible, giving thereby another proof that, German academician and meta- physician as he was, he had absolutely no practical insight into the complicated machinery of the industrial world in England or elsewhere. As a matter of fact, apart from this one concession to the possible fairness of capitalism, Marx incessantly proclaimed that there can never be any social evolution without a previous, or at least contemporaneous, thorough- going political revolution. In his " Misery of Philosophy," he says, " It cannot be maintained that the social movement excludes the political. There is no social movement which is not also political. As long as there are classes there will be class dis- tinctions. Remove the former, and social evolutions will cease to be political revolutions. Until then, on the eve of every general reorganisation of society, the final word of Social Democracy will always have to be ' Combat or death ; bloody war or misery.' There is the great problem in all its inexorable harshness." "The labourer," he contended, "has been expropriated by the capitalist ; the capitalist must now be ousted from his usurped possessions by the working-classes. Land is to become national property. The instruments of production must be collective and social property." Marx's ideal was a Labour State. Charity, sympathy, and affection were to be banished as tending to effeminacy. All subjects of this Labour State were to share equally in the labour and in the produce of labour. None would be excused from working. Labour was to be compulsory for 288 Modern Socialism in Germany. all without exception or distinction. He who refused to work, for him it was best to lie down at once and die, since he would not be allowed to eat. It need not be discussed here whether the working- classes would be happy under such a regime as that outlined in Marx's "Capital," or whether they could any longer indulge in inconsiderate strikes, and in appeals to " public sympathy with the unhappy lot of the exploited toilers." One thing is certain, the great expounder of Socialism was wrong in assuming capital to be merely the proceeds from the expropriation of the direct producers. Private property, he argued, possessed by the labourer in his means of production, is the basis of the small industry. Such a mode of production necessitates the splitting up of the land, and of all the various means of production. Hence it arises that first co-operation ; then division of labour within each process of production, and, finally, the free development of social productive power are impossible. "This state of affairs," Herr Marx declaims, " is only compatible with an unprogressive condition of Society." For the natural consequence of " this state of affairs " is that individual and divided means of production are wrongly concentrated. The small properties of the many become the property of the few. The reign of capitalism is made possible by dispossessing the people of the soil, of the instru- ments of labour, and the means of subsistence. This process being accomplished, private property subsists on the exploitation of the labour of the wage-earning class, inasmuch as labour is nominally, but not really free. Marx admitted in this argument against capitalism that private property possessed by the labourer in his means of production is the foundation of the small industry. He then asserted that this mode of production quite naturally leads to the splitting up of the land and of the various means of that production, introducing thus the reign of that capitalism. In so doing he argued against the direct evidence of history, destroying the logical basis upon which he erected his theory of the evolution of the proletariat. Marrfs Capital. 289 He not only forgot, or at least suppressed, the initiating and managing part with which the capitalist was cJiarged in tJie inevitable evolution of our industrial world, but he also failed to see that without the capitalist tJie bonds of the old feudal order could never have been broken. Marx could not or would not recognise that " capital did not grow rich on the produce of unpaid labour, but tJiat on the contrary labour, without the aid of capital would have remained in social, political, and material enslavement'' Itis trulyeasier to disentangle one's self from the intricacies of a maze than to follow Herr Marx through the specious fallacies of his " Capital." Yet Marx's contention that " the profits of the capitalist are obtained simply by appro- priating the products of unpaid labour " is an assertion so misleading, and in its effects so vicious, that the difficult task must be undertaken. According to Marx, there is necessary and surplus labour. Necessary labour consists of the amount of exertion a man is compelled to make in order to produce the means of subsistence. Any labour performed beyond that necessary amount of exertion is surplus labour, the benefits of which are reaped or rather appropriated by the capitalist. .Let us then examine if this is really the case ? Let us first assume that a shoe operative requires 45. per day for his maintenance. Let us further suppose that he can make a pair of shoes in seven hours. Let us finally concede that the labour day in the shoe factories consists of seven hours. According to Marx if the shoe operative now works two hours longer (soling, perhaps, a second pair of shoes) without, however, receiving for his labour one or two additional shillings, his labour, or to be more correct, his surplus labour, is exploited by the capitalist. But true though this contention seems to be, it is never- theless fallacious. No shoe operative can work without the necessary materials and implements. These he may be able to procure in three ways. He can produce them himself, the most costly and unsatisfactory T 290 Modern Socialism. process. He can purchase them, an act which immediately subjects him to the rigorous laws of credit and exchange. He can hire them, a system that prevails in most industries. But whichever method the workman adopts, he must first expend a certain amount of labour before he can start working at his own specific trade. Now to return to Marx's assertions that " the labour of an artisan represents not only value, but also surplus value," and that at the same time " the commodity or article which he produces likewise con- stitutes value, and when brought into the market usually obtains a surplus value which, however, goes no more to the operative than the so-called surplus value of the labour, but is actually reaped by the employer or capitalist." If these assertions are borne out by facts, the question arises, Has the capitalist done anythingin order to deserve this surplus value? We know that without implements and materials the operative cannot make any shoes, and that the manufacture of these necessaries, tools, machinery, and leather requires a certain amount of labour and expenditure. We also know that the shoe operative himself neither produces, nor makes, them. We likewise know that he does not obtain them by means of exchange, as he has nothing to offer in exchange. Shoes he has none ; neither does he possess money. To make his bargain there remains only his labour, the value of which is determined by the demand for shoes and by the quantity of tools and leather in the market. This labour the operative offers to the capitalist in return for the necessary implements and materials. But unless the former holds out to the latter a certain margin of profit, there is no inducement for the capitalist to risk in the transaction the capital he has either acquired himself or inherited from the labours of his ancestors. In order to hold out such inducement the operative has then to tender an offer that he is prepared to put in more labour time than is required for his subsistence. This overtime is consequently not surplus value of labour appropriated by the capitalist, but is interest paid by labour on loans advanced in kind, tJiat is in tools and materials. Marxs Capital and Lassalle's Doctrines. 291 However, let us take another example. Marx asserts that the capitalist endeavours to make the labour power he purchases not only a source of value, but of more value than it possesses in itself. Supposing, now, a man buys ten pounds of cotton. Let us assume he pays five shillings for it. This cotton he now wishes to convert into yarn. As he cannot do it himself ; he calls in the help of a cotton operative. Let us take it for granted that the latter will have to work three hours in order to change the cotton into yarn. The value of the labour of this man is to be two shillings. If we reckon then the loss from the wear and tear of the machinery employed in the process at one shilling, and assume that there are other incidental expenses amount- ing perhaps to sixpence, the money laid out by the capitalist on the enterprise will reach the sum of eight shillings and sixpence. The question now arises, Of what value will this yarn be to the capitalist if he requires it for personal use, or in case he should wish to sell it in the market? Marx contends that the value of the labour which the operative bestowed on the spinning of the cotton into yarn does not depend upon any such issue. Whether the capitalist will gain or lose by the transaction does not matter ; he has given to the operative two shillings, and the operative has returned to the capitalist the same value, repre- sented by his labour for three hours. To demand, there- fore, that the mill-hand should work an additional hour beyond the three without receiving additional wages, simply because the spinner would otherwise make no profit, Marx contends, would be a crying iniquity. But where is the capitalists " living -wage " to come in ? If the author of the "Bible of the Working Man" is right, the cotton operative will live by depriving the millowner of the means of living. Marx says, in order to obtain such profit, the capitalist compels the working man to work for the same amount four hours instead of the three hours, so that he may obtain some margin or surplus value from the yarn. But what if the millowner does not think it worth his while to risk his five shillings in the purchase of that 292 Modern Socialism. cotton ; to expend various sums of money on the necessary machinery ; to devote his time and thoughts to the preliminary preparations necessary for the process of converting the cotton into yarn : Whence will the operative obtain the means of subsistence? Besides, is the value of the labour of the operative not dependent upon the market value of the commodity in the manufacture of which he assists ? As to this, we have seen that values are not always one and the same. They are in no way fixed. They are subject to fluctuations, fluctuations frequently and absolutely independent of man's actions. This, of course, implies that there are really two kinds of capital. Marx admits their existence. He describes them as constant and variable. But in arguing on their relative merits the fallacies of his reasoning become obvious. Raw materials, auxiliary materials, and machinery, or tools, he says, are constant capital. Now the value of these, Herr Marx says, never changes, at least not whilst employed in the process of production. What truth there is in this we can easily ascertain if we return to the case of the shoe operative. Here the supply of leather may be more plentiful or become scarce, raising or lowering its price or value in the market. Tools may be replaced by better tools, slow producing machinery by quicker working machinery, making a larger production or output possible. Yet, according to Herr Marx, all these material changes do not affect the value of the product, because, to repeat his assertion, they do not arise from the process of production ; they can, therefore, have nothing to do with the surplus value which so-called exploited labour furnishes ! With Marx, be it once more stated, "surplus labour" is that which the labourer performs for the capitalist after he has produced the necessaries for his own ex- istence, and the time thus employed is surplus labour time. If the value of the labourer's daily necessaries represents three hours' labour, this period constitutes the necessary labour time, and all beyond it is occupied in Martfs Capital. 293 creating for the capitalist a surplus value. " Since the value of the variable capital," he goes on to say, " is equal to the labour power it purchases ; since the value of this labour power determines the necessary part of the working day, while the surplus value is determined by the super- fluous part of the working day ; it follows that the surplus value bears the same ratio to the variable capital as the surplus to the necessary labour, or the rate of surplus value. Both ratios express the same relationship, though in different forms, in one case in the form of incorporated labour, and in the other case in fluent labour. The rate of surplus value is therefore the exact expression of the degree of exploitation of labour power by capital, or of the labourer by the capitalist." How pernicious these fallacies are ; how they have given a deceptive appearance of reality to the insinua- tions of State Socialism, can easily be seen. But they have also an important bearing upon the problem of an eight hours' day, which, if adopted with all its rigorous conse- quences, would lead to old or feeble working men being cast aside, as if they were scrap iron. Herr Marx's reasonings are unconsciously significant as regards this point, bearing on the fundamental principle of the constitution of his Labour State, namely, that " he who does not work shall not eat." Yet it is not only this unconscious advocacy of State despotism which vitiates Marx's " Capital." Like Rod- bertus, the great Socialist expounder of the wages principle, Marx coolly rejected the facts that man's mind and energy and enterprise count, too, for something in the construction of our economic and industrial world. He certainly admitted the great part these played in the development of the working-men's era. He himself says that " the labouring classes are ever swelling in number, and become disciplined, united, and organised by the capitalist process of production." But, so far from giving credit to the capitalists for the initiative which, according to Marx himself, they thus took in educating the workers and in ameliorating their condition, 294 Modern Socialism in Germany. he constantly gave free expression to his hope that what he calls " the centralisation of the means of production and the socialisation of labour " might reach a point at which they would clash against each other for a final deadly struggle. Then, he prophesied the last hour of capitalist private property would strike. The expropriators, as he misnamed the capitalists, would in their turn be expropriated. There can be no doubt that Marx was a disciple of Ricardo in that he further developed the latter's dictum : " the principle of labour being the source of value." Yet the fallacies of this contention are exploded by the fact that, although there are certainly two requisites of production, namely, labour and, what Mill is pleased to term, " appropriate natural objects," these two requisites cannot be obtained without, and must always be subsidised from, capital. Still there is some excuse for this error in 'Marx's economic theorem " that the principle of labour is the only source of value." At the time when the great Socialist conceived his theories about " capital " and " surplus value," it was held by political economists that the cost of production deter- mined the price or value of exchange. It was, therefore, quite easy and natural for a mind such as that of Marx to calmly assume that this value of exchange contained nothing else but merely labour embodied in the product. The illustrious Socialist did not seriously take into account that the purchaser of a commodity is far more influenced by the imperative need he has of an article which need alone induces him to buy it than by the consideration for the labour embodied in the product. We have already seen the cynical, not to say callous, indifference to all human sentiments which Marx manifested when elaborating his draconic laws and ruthless police regulations for his so-called "Labour State." Consequently it cannot be surprising that he thought labour, embodied in a product, was only then worthy of consideration if most recent and actually visible in that product. Marx's Capital. 295 To be sure, he conceded the possibility of other labours and exertions having already been incorporated in such a product previous to that finishing labour. However, he reckoned these to be in value equal to nothing. Marx reduced them to being merely normal conditions of produc- tion. He certainly also took into account that labour which is necessary for maintaining buildings and machinery, as well as for the conservation of the capital. But this so-called maintenance labour he likewise wished to see carried out entirely by the workers, although in spite of their manifold tasks the citizens of his Labour State were to be mere marionettes, moving automaton-like, so that the working man would be degraded to a soulless, slavish tool. His theory was that the sum of labour embodied in a product simply represented single labour multiplied. Taking for granted that the amount of this " multiplied " single labour which two commodities of exchange might contain was equal, he argued that the trouble and labour of each co-worker engaged in those two products were likewise equal. Thus, if the value of exchange is exactly equal to the aggregate of the single or individual labour embodied in the product, the capitalist, Herr Marx contended, has no right to claim a share in the transaction. How vicious, how delusive this fundamental proposition of Marx is appears even from the fact that if a machine did not produce more value than is absorbed by its initial cost, by the interest on the money expended in its construc- tion, and by the outlay for repairs, as well as by the loss from wear and tear resulting from constant use, nobody would have any interest in erecting such a machine. The consumer alone might think it desirable that the "social conditions of production " could be perfected more and more, because he alone would derive the benefits arising from a diminution in the price of commodities. Yet, as all the workers are also consumers, What else could be the result of the development of this tendency to its logical and final conclusion but a return to the savage state, when the necessity to provide 296 Modern Socialism. the means for bare subsistence would be the only stimulus to exertion, and perhaps a three hours' poaching the highest standard of labour ? Another not less corruptive illusion of Marx was his idea of the stability of prices. And the baneful effects of his teachings on this question are endangering the staple industry of England the coal trade even at the pre- sent moment. For prices in a normal state of industry can never be stable. ''If capital can produce exchange values, whilst prices have not yet reached that stable equilibrium, it will produce them always, for such an equilibrium does not exist in nature." But the most remarkable feature in Marx's Socialistic system of a new society is that on the one side he vehemently denounced capitalism, yet on the other side wished to preserve economic property. This inconsistency, this prevarication and actual misrepresentation, if not deliberate falsification, of historical facts, characterise his work throughout. Marx's influence was mainly due to his insinuating exposition and delusive statements concerning our social evolution. In dealing with the struggle between the classes and masses his prejudiced mind and fanatic nature had full scope, and he used his perverse talents with telling effect 4. Marx and Lassalle as Agitators. Notwithstanding, Marx was inferior to Lassalle as an agitator. The latter was a past-master of the pernicious art of exciting the masses to revolt and of rousing their animal instincts. Marx certainly tried his best to bring about a universal revolution. He had early imposed on the " League of the Just," distinguished by its sentimental Communism, which found appropriate expression in the motto of the League, "all men are brothers." He had also very soon succeeded in inducing this " League of the Just " to adopt a new programme, whose aim was henceforth to be the Marx and Lassalie as Agitators. 297 overthrow of the bourgeoisie; the omnipotent rule of the mob ; the abolition of the old society resting on class an- tagonisms, and the founding of a new society without classes and without private property. Marx's dictum was that the " misery of the people has hitherto been caused by the class struggles." Naturally, in his attempt to prove the iniquities of these classes, history was not over scrupulously dealt with by the great Socialist. Nor is it surprising that the so-called iron law of wages was represented by him in a most exaggerated and deceptive form. And it would have been strange indeed, had the abolition of tlie family not formed a principal item in the programme-manifesto which he wrote for the " League of the Just." The fact is, Marx did not lack a certain sense of humour. For instance, evidently remembering that he was the spiritual doctor of the " League of the Just," the author of the " Working Men's Bible " declared that " every society founded on democratic principles repudiates all appropria- tion by capital, whether in the form of rent, interest, profit, or in any form or manner whatsoever. Labour must have its full right and reward." This full right and reward labour would obtain by means of wholesale expropriation of the capitalist, or in other words, by indiscriminate confiscation, no matter whether of unearned increment or of hard-earned savings. Again, as if he alone were unconscious of the horror which the Parisian Commune provoked throughout the civilized world, Marx declaimed about it in the following strain : " The Paris of the workers, with its Commune, will ever be renowned as the glorious herald of a new society. Its martyrs will be enshrined in the great heart of the working class. History has already nailed its destroyers to the pillory, from which all the prayers of the priests are impo- tent to deliver them." Still, as stated, none knew better how to strike the right Socialistic note at the right moment than Ferdinand Lassalie. 298 Modern Socialism. In the "Working Men's Programme" he called the workers "the makers and representatives of a new era in the history of the world " and fixed the commencement of this free and generous era on the 28th of February, 1848, when the famous national workshops for the universal tailors and cabinet-makers were just opened. Concurrently he ex- plained to the somewhat nebulous Germans that, being the makers and representatives of the age in which the Millennium would surely dawn upon suffering men, they were fools to toil all day long, and then indulge in bad sausage and sour beer. Indeed, in the art of teaching others the full misery of their existence by leading a luxurious life himself; in that mis- chievous craft of creating animal desires in men, of exciting their cupidity, and of rousing in them lascivious cravings, lay his chief power ; for as to Lassalle's writings, their intrinsic merit is comparatively speaking so small that it will not be necessary to examine them at greater length. For, although a brilliant agitator, he was not an original thinker. On the other hand, however, he was not a mere copyist. Ferdinand Lassalle was simply a skilful, un- scrupulous manipulator of the theories of others. He did not disdain to borrow wholesale from the works of his French predecessors and German contemporaries. One characteristic feature appeared prominently in his "copybooks." We see throughout his writings that Lassalle worshipped the " State." His Socialism is purely and simply State-Socialism. And whilst Ferdinand Lassalle deserves our gratitude for having made it so clear that German Socialism would never have originated had it not been for the cue he gave to the agitators of the " New Creed " (vide supra) ; he deserves our gratitude in no smaller measure for having so distinctly explained the salient features and principal functions of the Socialist State. We meet them over and over again in the next chapter on Modern State-Socialism its origin, development, trial, and failure. MODERN STATE SOCIALISM. The most interesting items in the programmes of the Socialist working men's party of Germany, which Marx and Lassalle created, and of the American Knights of Labour are: II. Direct legislation by the people. III. Universal military duty. A people's army in place of the standing armies. IV. Free justice ; administra- tion of justice by the people. VI. Universal and equal education by the State. Compulsory education. Free education in all public places of instruction. 2. A single progressive income-tax for State and Commerce, instead of the existing taxes, and especially of the indirect impositions, &c., &c. The purport of these demands is obvious. The functions of the State as a general purveyor are to be extended, and the army of officials considerably increased. This implies a further increase in the expenditure. To cover it, the opening up of new resources will be necessary. To do this may seem impossible, considering the fact that almost all civilised States are already exhausted by the constant claims of the public exchequer. However, the sources from which these new revenues are to come are thoughtfully indicated by the framers of those programmes. We read there the following declaration : The emancipation of the working class demands the transformation of the instruments of labour into the common property of society, and the co-operative control of the total labour. . . . Proceeding from these principles, the Socialist working men's party aims at the establishment of the free State and the Socialistic Society, to destroy the iron law of wages by abolishing the system of wage labour, to put an end to exploitation in every form, and to remove all social and political inequality. In order to prepare the way for the solution of this social question, the party demands the establishment of Socialistic productive associations with State help, under the Democratic control of the labouring people In other words, the German Social Democrats in union with the Knights of Labour demand : That the workshops be taken over by the State ; that the land be made the heritage and property of the people, worked, however, by the State ; that banks be abolished, and the State become the bank of the people, yet without charging any interest on the notes or legal tenders to be issued. The State is to be made the universal purveyor of all the things of this world that appear useful and agree- 300 Modern State Socialism. able. The question, therefore, arises, Will it be able to perform these manifold and heavy duties ; and will the results of its labours and administration be worth the abnormal expenditure ? Let us examine this question. I. THE STATE AS A MANUFACTURER AND ITS EMPLOYEES. The State has had ample opportunities to experiment in essential parts of the programmes above mentioned. It will be seen in the following chapters how it has succeded in its task, especially as regards its undertakings as a railway contractor and as an Insurance Agency. But first we must ask, What has been, is, and will be, the position of the State employees? It will be instructive to ascertain whether and what worldly or monetary advantages have accrued and are likely to accrue to the workmen in the employ of the State. For there exist serious doubts as to whether the workers will really obtain higher wages and be better cared for under the control of the State. And, again, it is important to ascertain whether the State will and can introduce profit-sharing in all the factories and industries which it not only manages, but of which it also sells the products. At the same time it is essential to trace the sources whence the State will derive the necessary capital with which to establish and carry out those industrial and commercial undertakings. There are many who cry for State-monopoly in industry and commerce. Not a few denounce the exploitation of labour by capital. But it seems that they have never endeavoured to solve the fundamental problem as to the best manner in which to adjust expenditure and revenue under a State-Socialistic regime, or rather whether it will be possible to effect such an adjustment at all. The truth is, in complaining against the present economic condition, two all-important factors are lost sight of. It will accordingly be advisable to re-state them. The Socialistic State and Surplus Labour. 301 i. The Socialistic State and Surplus Labour. Let us, for argument's sake, concede that the artisan or labourer works now-a-days one hour or two longer than he needs for his bare subsistence. Let us assume this surplus labour provides the capitalist with the means of living. It follows that, by enabling the capitalist to obtain some return from his outlay in money, the worker provides for his own continuous employment. " But," says the Socialist, " this is just what we want to prevent in future. We wish to emancipate labour from capital, for which end the State will be the best means." In making this assertion the State-Socialist omits to explain how the State would be able to create something from nothing. It would have to obtain capital from somewhere, otherwise it could neither erect its works nor start them. The present taxation, heavy though it be, scarcely suffices to supply the needs of the individualist State-household. The demands of the collectivist State-household would increase these needs a hundredfold. To fulfil its obligations the Collectivist State would therefore have to exhaust the taxable capacity of its citizens, and as even that would not be sufficient, it would have to resort to confiscation. Now, supposing the State does rob every so-called capitalist no matter whether his property be unearned increment or derived from hard-earned savings. Let us then assume that, with the money thus obtained, it sets to work as a huge manufacturing concern. Unless all the other States or countries are similarly organised, the State must make some profits out of its undertakings, because there will be competition. But supposing again that it successfully tries to free itself from the effects of this competition by means of a so-called Chinese-wall of Protection. This will require an army of Customs officials, certainly workers in their way, but nonproductive workers. Yet they must live, and this they will have to do from salaries or contributions in kind. Therefore, in this case, too, the State must make some profits 302 Modern State Socialism. in order to be enabled to pay or supply that army of Customs officials. In what manner can it obtain such profits ? There are two ways. The State may either compel its citizen-customer to buy his commodities in its warehouses at artificially raised prices, that is, far above their real value, or it may force its employees to work an hour or two longer than would be requisite merely for their subsistence. For, as the State cannot supply the necessaries of life, or actual luxuries, for nothing ; the Socialist State-citizen, if he wishes the State to avoid general bankruptcy, will have to pay for the blessings of Collectivism. This he must do not only by contributing his labour, which obvious fundamental truth Karl Marx himself recognised when he declared that " in his Labour-State a man must either work or resign himself to die the death of starvation;" but also by purchasing his necessaries at a price above their ordinary marketable value. The so-called workers, therefore, will be no better off if the State should ever take the place of the capitalists. 2. TJie State as a Manufacturer, and Profit- Sharing. There is a second consideration not less important. At present a worker may hope to share in the profits derived from his labour. In fact, he does so, if not in bonuses or certain percentages, at least in proportionately increasing wages. The State will not be in the position to grant such profit- sharing unless, as indicated, it resorts to confiscation, because it derives its funds from the taxpayers. Moreover, in the Socialist productive State all, or at least the vast majority of these taxpayers, are citizens. Therefore, whatever it pays to its workers it has previously taken from these workers. The Socialist State will be forced to do this since even under a State-Socialist regime there will never be any human enterprise without some sort of stimulus, without some prospect of individual profit. For instance, let us assume that the State is a tobacco The State as a Manufacturer, and Profit- Sharing. 303 monopolist. As such it must make more money than it spends even now, in order to provide for wear and tear and possible losses. For this purpose it is compelled to levy a surplus price, however small, over the price of raw material and the cost of production. To this must be added that the State is also obliged to give its workmen a higher rate of wages, or, in other words, allow them a share in the profits. As the State forces every smoker in the land to buy his tobacco from its factories, it follows that the Government imposes an inequitable indirect tax on those of its workmen who are smokers. Profit-sharing in connection with State employment really means exploitation of the nation for the benefit of its officials. But it is not the common employees in the State factories who will derive any benefits from the whole- sale robbery. In the first instance the Customs and police officials, as well as the superintending functionaries in the factories of the State will be the beneficiaries under the monopoly which the State holds of committing wholesale robbery. The labour of the mass of State-employees will go towards the making up of the fund required for the maintenance of the superintending classes of the official hierarchy. But let us assume that benefits could be derived by the workers from the fact of being in the employ of the State, and that the workers would share in whatever profits there might be. The question, For how long ? would still need an answer, though the answer is easy to find. It has been proved that the Socialists wish to transform the State into a universal producer, and all the workers into functionaries. Granted, the State were to succeed in swallowing up not only railway, telegraph and telephone companies, but also manufacturing tailors, cabinet-makers, cobblers, tinkers, brewers and chemists, and that the armies of trade union workers, as well as of blacklegs, were to be changed into one huge labour army, marshalled and owned by the State, What would follow ? This leads us to 304 Modern State Socialism. 3. The Socialist State and the position of its employees. As to the position of the workers under State-Socialism : in the present organisation of private industries excesses by managers, foremen, or overseers can be redressed in many ways and without much difficulty. There are the Trade Unions. There is competition. There are inspectors of factories, still zealous in the performance of their duties owing to that very competition between their own official importance and the authority of the factory-owner or manager. But in the workshops of the State discipline would rule supreme, which discipline could only be enforced by a rigorous bureaucratic system. Thus the appeal of an employee against the presumptions of a supervising official would lie to another official, and it has yet to be shown that the State would proceed against its first and second class functionaries for the sake of its workmen-employees. It stands to reason that since even State-Socialism cannot re-make human nature, the arrogance of officials, protected in so effective a manner, would speedily become tyrannic. The fact of having, nevertheless, to work for the main- tenance of those officials whose very duty would compel them to coerce the vast brotherhood of workers, could not fail to disillusionize the " toiler " as to the charm of being an employee of the State. At the same time, without the stimulus of commercial competition and the rivalry of industrial enterprise, the public workshops would inevitably fall into a chronic state of indifference and languor. Is it necessary to work out the conclusion ? The dissent of the workers would result in a war of extermination. Concerning the economic aspect, perhaps after an in- crease in wages for a short time, instead of profits there would be constantly increasing losses which finally could not fail to lead to bankruptcy. The deficits, which the State shows in the various commercial and industrial undertakings it has in recent years attempted to manage, already point The State as a Huge Insurance Agency. 305 to that disastrous termination. In this connection we need but consider II. THE STATE AS A HUGE INSURANCE AGENCY. The system of State Insurance of Labour which is being tried in Germany presents a conclusive case against State- Socialism. It is there that a just notion of the extent of its failure may be obtained. I. Historical Outline of State Insurance Policy. The laws which the Government of the Fatherland has enacted since 1883, apparently for the purpose of improving the condition of the workers, have in reality created a number of nurseries of paupers and of hectoring officials. Concerning these laws, there was first the Sickness Insurance Law of 1883. Then appeared the Accident Insurance Laws of 1884 and 1885. These were followed by the Old Age Insurance Law, the crowning piece of a daring and ruinous scheme. It took the Government of the Fatherland four years to elaborate this last colossal measure. Only in 1889 could the Bill be introduced to the Reichstag, which was with great difficulty persuaded to pass it. The new Law finally established the principle of the " Endowment of Old Age," or the pensioning by the State of workmen rendered unfit for labour through the burden of their years. The wonderful edifice of State-Socialism was thus erected, and the nation, not without some reason, confidently expected that the Socialistic Millennium would not tarry any longer but would speedily complete the social and economic emancipation of the " toilers." That the Insurance Laws were not free from Socialistic tendencies Bismarck himself admitted. That the State, he said, should interest itself to a greater degree than hitherto in those of its members who need assistance : is a duty of Stale- preserving 7 policy. The population should be taught that the State is not only a necessary but a beneficent institution. The non-propertied classes, that is the masses, must be led to regard the State not as an institution contrived for the protection of the better classes of society, but as one serving their own ends, needs, and interests. The apprehension that a Socialist element might be introduced into legislation, if this end were followed , ought not to check us. U 306 Modern State Socialism. Nevertheless, apart from this indirect admission of the Socialistic tendencies of the laws, Bismarck, as well as the Emperor, really intended by their help to check the spread of the " New Creed." The laws were looked upon as remedies for social ills. William I. emphasised this when in 1 88 1 he declared A cure cannot alone be sought in the repression of Socialistic excesses ; this must be accompanied by a positive advancement of the welfare of the working classes. And here the care of those workpeople who are incapable of earning their livelihood is of the first importance. In the interests of these I have caused a Bill for the insurance of workpeople against the consequences of accident to be sent to the Bun- desrath. It is hoped it will meet the need felt for a long time, both by workpeople and employers. I expect that the measure will in principle receive the assent of the Federal Governments, and that it will be welcomed by the Reichstag as a complement of the legislation affording protection against Social-Democratic movements. Past institutions have proved inadequate to insure the working classes against the danger of falling into a condition of helplessness owing to the incapacity resulting from accident or old age. The insufficiency of these laws has to no small extent contributed to the spread of Socialism. It has induced the workmen to seek help by participating in Social-Democratic movements. However, it is said "the road to hell is paved with good intentions," and the best statesmen are known to~ have made grievous mistakes. Such came to pass in the case of the State Insurance policy. The laws, meant for the cure of those who were seized by the Socialistic craze, operated just in the opposite direction. 2. The Employers' Liability Bill. It was held that the cure of social ills must be sought not exclusively in the repression of Social Democratic excesses, but simultaneously in the positive advancement of the welfare of the working classes. A closer union between the wealthy and the masses, a combination of the workpeople in the form of corporate associations with State protection and State help, it was thought, would achieve that praiseworthy aim. To bring about this combination of the workpeople in the form of corporate associations with State protection and State aid, the Government compelled all the manu- facturers, that is, all the so-called industrial "parasites" who were living on the surplus labour of their workpeople, to insure against accident and bodily harm their employees and even their clerks, when in receipt of a salary of less The Employers Liability Bill. 307 than 100 per annum. Lest State-Omnipotence should not obtain sufficient control, the employees themselves were forced to form a trade association. On the other side, in order to ensure that the employers took their proper share in the responsibilities of "State protection" and "State help," the Government forced them to form trade federa- tions superintended by Government officials. Ostensibly the purpose of this system of co-operation was to provide the strongest possible guarantee to the employed that there should always be funds available when com- pensation became due. But the promoters of the measure had beyond that other and more ambitious aims. Control and administration of the Insurance Fund, it is true, were vested in local committees, on which, side by side with the employers, the workmen had their repre- sentatives. The Government provided also Courts of Arbitration with an independent president. However, the era of State protection and State help was successfully inaugurated, and the various Insurance Laws whetted the appetite of the Social Democrats ; the powers which the Laws placed in the hands of the Government officials did not less excite their desire to increase the influence thus obtained. It stands, therefore, to reason that every decision at which those tribunals might arrive was made referable to the Imperial Insurance Office, and every facility was given to enable persons eager to lodge an appeal, to do so. 3. The Insurance Laws in Operation. At first, twelve millions of workpeople came under the 41 protection " of these Sickness and Accident Insurance Laws. This number soon grew to sixteen and a half millions. The sums paid in compensation were .1,185,000 in 1891, and ,1,450,000 in 1892. The costs of administra- tion amounted to 243,000 in 1891, and to .269,000 in 1892. The revenue during the same two years rose from 2,690,000 to 3,005,000. It can be seen at a glance that enormous sums were 308 Modern State Socialism. required in order to make adequate provision for those demands. Did the benevolent State supply them ? Undoubtedly. Bismarck was at the head of the Govern- ment, and Bismarck, if anything, was original and thoroughgoing. He had espoused the cause of Social Democracy for the purpose of better destroying Social Democracy. And as one wrong step leads in the majority of cases to further steps in the wrong direction, Bismarck also imbibed the Socialistic hatred of capitalistic individualism. The employers were not left to the mercies of the old Law of Liability of June 7, 1871, which, even as it stood, had already saddled them with a considerable number of heavy responsibilities. No. They were compelled to join the so-called trade associations, which, as we have learned, were organised in the various industrial districts throughout Germany, and entrusted with the duty of carrying out the regulations and obligations arising from the Accident and Sick Insurance Laws. It was then arranged that the contribution of each employer should be fixed yearly having regard to (1) the amount of money which he paid in salaries and wages during the previous year ; (2) the degree and character of risk incidental to his industry or trade. The employers were further called upon to advance not only their premiums for a whole year, but also those of their employees. Again, in cases of accident in a factory occurring to persons not actually employed there as foremen or work- men the employer alone was made liable, though permission was granted to him to insure visitors or callers by paying a certain sum to the association, so that all persons entering a factory are now marked in a register which is kept at the door. And, in cases where the accident should be proved in a criminal action to have been caused through the negli- gence of the employer or his representatives, or his foremen, The Insurance Laws in Operation. 309 the employer, it was stipulated, shall be bound to make up the difference required under the Law of Insurance and of Liability. So, whenever a workman should be completely disabled, the employer was made to pay an additional one-third of the wage beyond the two-thirds accruing to the workman under the Law of Insurance. Moreover, the employer was made liable to the association for any disbursements which it made on behalf of the injured workman, the moment it was proved that the accident was caused through the negligence of the employer himself, or his representatives or foremen. Finally, such employers, as for example, large landowners upon whose estates various industries are carried on, were compelled to become contributors to the several trade associations. These were the principal stipulations of the Employers' Liability Law. Is it surprising that such a measure which, whilst unduly favouring labour, was unjust to, and excessively burdensome on, the employers, failed to produce good results ? As a bribe, or rather as an attempt at pandering to the passions of the masses passions, we have seen, artificially roused by the Lassalles and others Bismarck's State Socialistic legislation proved a lamentable mistake. Not only was it fruitless in positive results favourable to the peace of society and the stability of constitutional Government, but it brought about just the very state of affairs it was intended to prevent. Bebel, the great Socialist, justly commented on its ruinous effects upon the patriotic and monarchic sentiment of the Germans when he said " If anything has furthered the Social Democratic agitation, it is the fact that Bismarck has declared for Socialism and social reform. However, we are the master, and he is the scholar. People are saying everywhere, 'when Bismarck comes forward to-day, not only acknowledging the existence of a social question, but also declaring for Socialism, and regarding it as his duty to introduce measures on the subject, then it may well be concluded that Social Democracy is after all right.' " Nor was Liebknecht's criticism of the law less con- demnatory : "It has been stated," he declared, "with great force of argument based upon facts, that the Government hopes to prevent social revolution by social legisla- 310 Modern State Socialism. tion. But is there any real difference between Social reform and social revolu- tion ? Let us see. What is social reform ? A proper and effective social reform means a fundamental change of society as it now exists. There are evils to be removed. What are these evils ? They consist in the wrong relationship between production and consumption, and in our present wages system. He who takes up the question of social reform must begin here ; he must remove this wrong relationship between production and consumption ; he must abolish the exploitation of the working classes by capital. This is social reform. If it is carried out thoroughly, it means nothing else but social revolution. What the Imperial Chancellor understands by social reform has nothing in common with actual social reform. Firstly, What is the Sick Fund Law? A police law for the regulation of a part of the poor law system. Secondly, What is the Accident Law ? Precisely the same thing a polite law for the regulation of a part of the poor relief system. Thirdly, What is the great law which still hovers before us in the misty future, the " Law for the Support of the Infirm and Old?" Exactly the same thing a police law for the regulation of a part of the poor relief system. And why is this so ? The reasons are obvious. All those persons who are to receive support under the Sickness Insurance Law, in virtue of the Accident Insurance Law, and through the powers of the proposed law providing for age, do already receive that support under our present poor law. Thus Bismarck's proposals are not solving the social problem ; they are not even opening the era of social reform. It is not by this " kind of reform that the Government will be able to obviate a violent settlement of the question." There was, indeed, no actual necessity for the measure. As regards the Accident Law, a modification and at the same time a reasonable extension of the Liability Law of 1871 would have been amply sufficient for the purpose of pro- tecting the workpeople. Concerning the Sick Insurance Law, the Friendly Societies were efficiently dealing with any cases that did not fall under the categories to be attended to by municipalities and communal corporations. With respect to the first measure, it is true that the actual number of serious accidents, that is, fatal ones, has diminished. But, on the other side of the balance sheet, the number of accidents which enable a workman to enjoy a more or less prolonged holiday at the expense of his thrifty fellow- workers, and especially of his employers, is said to have largely increased. Out of 100,000 persons insured, we find that the percentage of deaths, total disablement, and partial disablement was in 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. Deaths... 70 ... 77 ... 68 ... 72 Total disablement. 45 ... 72 ... 44 ... 48 Partial do. 109 ... 210 ... 238 ... 270 Endowment of Old Age and the Savings Banks. 311 Again, in 1890, the Commission entrusted with inquiring into the effect of the Insurance Laws ascertained, that during that year there was likewise a marked increase in the number of accidents, amounting to 2-99 per 1,000 as compared witn 2^26 in the previous year. It should be stated in fairness to the Insurance Office, that it became alarmed at this rapid increase. Upon its suggestion the Government appointed a fresh " enquete," or Imperial Parliamentary Commission, which ascertained : 1. that there was a general tendency on the part of the workmen to try to prove that illness previously contracted, or contracted whilst not engaged in their occupation, had been caused or intensified by an accident. 2. that increased security, in "view of certain compen- sation," had led to carelessness and neglect of proper precautions. 3. that strikes were becoming more frequent, and that their frequency in turn had contributed towards that in- crease of accidents. 4. that claims for compensation were greatly extending, and a love for litigation was rapidly developing among the working classes. Finally, it was pointed out that the successful working of .the measure, (successful so far as the interests of State Omnipotence are concerned), would never have been possible, had it not been for the elaborate administrative machinery already existing for military and police purposes. 4. Endowment of Old Age by the Socialistic State, and the Savings Banks. Now with respect to the Law for providing Pensions for Old Age, there was not even a shadow of justification for the measure as the development of the credit institutions, particularly in North Germany, irrefutably shows. For example, so far back as 1869 there were not fewer than 917 savings banks in Prussia, with a savings fund amounting to ^73,510,000. In the comparatively short 312 Modern State Socialism. period of twenty years, these had increased by 48 per cent, so that in 1889 there were 1,363 savings banks, with 1,402 receiving offices. During the same period, the in- crease of the capital deposited was at the rate of 49 per cent. At the beginning of 1890 the funds of the savings banks amounted to 144,370,000, with 6,500,000 reserve and subsidiary funds. That these figures point to a most flourishing develop- ment cannot be denied. The question arises, then, To whom was it due ? To the capitalists ? It is not the rich who are depositors at the savings banks. There are about 1,000,000 income-tax payers in Prussia whose incomes are. each valued at more than 150 per annum. The number of savings bank books given out, however, is reckoned at over 5,000,000. Therefore the depositors must have belonged more to the class of small tradesmen, master artisans and workpeople. And indeed, to quote one instance, out of 1,250,000 which were lodged with the savings banks at Dortmund in 1890, half-a-million sterling represented the savings of 1,313 master craftsmen in the majority of cases themselves nothing more than journeymen artisans and those of 1,415 small farmers. 162,000 were deposited by miners and smelters; 20,350 by labourers; 14,350 by factory workers ; 5,020 by shop assistants. The remainder of the deposits was paid in by people likewise belonging to the poorer classes and to the families or relations of the wage-labourers, or, as Evert calls them, the "smaller people." With regard to England which is said to groan in like manner under the iron law of wages, and to starve through the tyranny of capitalism ; similar savings have been made by what are called the humbler classes and by the workpeople. They represent deposits in : Post Office Savings Banks ^71, 608,000 Trustee Savings Banks 42,875,000 Government Stock in the name of depositors at Post Office 5,087,000 Government Stock owned by depositors at Trustee Banks 1,282,000 Total - ^120,852,000 Deductions drawn from the previous Chapters. 3 1 3 5. Deductions drawn from the previous Chapters. What are the lessons which we learn from this comparison between the history of the German State Agency for the Insurance of Labour and the annals of the savings banks? We learn that the case between protection of labour by State-Socialism, and the infinite possibilities of labour, if left to itself, that is to its own energy, activity and devices, is simple enough. There are no difficulties of specialisation, inasmuch as the workpeople, like almost every other class, may be divided into the thrifty and unthrifty. The former are valuable to the healthy development of a country. The latter are more or less unstable, and for this reason dangerous to the well-being of the country. The records of those savings banks now prove that the thrifty are pretty numerous ; that they have ample oppor- tunities for fully exercising their economical instincts, and that they make the most of their opportunities. Such being the position and .prospects of labour, What need is there for other insurance or savings agencies ? Those workers who would really deserve to be assisted in case of an industrial crisis, or if disabled by accident, or through sickness, or owing to old age, already provide on their own initiative against any such event, and their provisions, as has been shown, appear to be most efficient. It is obvious then that it is not the useful element which will derive benefits from the doubtful blessings of State Insurance of Labour. There remains only one other class, the class of improvident workers. It is in the interests of the latter that Labour is enslaved by State Insurance. No doubt, by forcibly taking away from their wages a percentage to be invested in the Accident, Sickness, and Old Age Funds the State compels the latter to make Savings which they would not do otherwise. But these contributions ,53,482,000 Building Societies ;653>42,ooo Industrial and Provident or Co-operative Societies - 16,261,000 anies 9,220,000 21,120,000 Total .... 100,083,000 Industrial Insurance Companies 9,220,000 Friendly Societies - - 21,120,000 314 Modern State Socialism. represent only a small part of the amount requisite for their subsistence when the time of disablement arrives. Other assistance has to be called in in order to make up the sum still wanting. The history of the German State Insurance informs us of the sources from which this assist- ance is obtained, and explains to us the manner in which it is levied. It is in the first instance the factory owners, the employers of labour, the men for whom there exists no eight hours day, but whose lot is perhaps sorrow, anxiety, work and trouble day and night, throughout the year, these it is who are called upon to make good the huge deficit. In the second instance, it is the good and thrifty workers whose earnings are inconsiderately used for the same pur- pose, that is for the purpose of further pauperising their improvident co-workers by those alms, otherwise called Accident, Sick, and Old Age Pensions. It is difficult, therefore, to conceive of what real advantage to the workers or to the nation at large, are State Insurance of Labour and State Interference with Labour. A workman may be willing to work ten hours, being desirous of saving something for his children. He may be able to work during these ten hours without incurring the slightest risk to his health or interests. Yet the State says, "Thou shalt work no longer than I think fit, no matter whether thou art a miner, or blacksmith, or mill operative, or painter, or bargeman, or brewer, or smelter, or engine driver, or sailor, or fisherman." Though thus handicapped in his industry the workman may still be able to save. He may wish to invest this surplus of his wages after having duly provided for his subsistence. He may be anxious to put it into an under- taking which guarantees to him secure and profitable returns, or he may wish to deposit it with a savings bank. But the State says to the man : " No, there are a lot of im- provident workmen ; there are a goodly number of more or less idle loafers. Consequently thou must not invest thy money in a profitable and honest concern or a savings bank. I will be the keeper of thy earnings. I have a large, The State as a Raihvay Fanner and Constructor. 315 ever increasing following of parasites the officials whom I have thought proper to set over thee in order to prevent thee from getting independent. These gentlemen want to live ; they demand to be fed. Besides, I myself might perhaps require a large war treasure. Thou, again, ought to be protected against accident, sickness, and old age, as thou art but a mere child that needs leading by the apron-strings. Thus, let us inaugurate the State Insurance ; it will serve both our purposes. If the whole enterprise should turn out to be a failure or rather swindle, thou wilt be neither the better nor much the worse for it." How muck worse the condition of the worker under the " perfect " regime of State-Socialism would really be, the previous history of the partial experiments in State- Socialism sufficiently indicates. As Herbert Spencer says, " The New Creed " is reactionary, and can only lead to the enslavement and disorganisation of labour- That the old and leading Trade Unions of England fully appreciate these dangers, is proved by their evidence before the " Royal Commission on Labour." Nevertheless, they seem to favour the collectivist notion of the nationalisation of the means of locomotion and com- munication. Many Trade Unions, in fact, openly favour the claims put forth by the International Congress of Railway Workers, which met in Paris last year, namely, " the right of the people to the railways, these railways to be farmed by the State in the name of the people." This leads us to a brief but conclusive examination of III. THE STATE AS A RAILWAY FARMER AND CONSTRUCTOR. That in this undertaking the State has even been less successful than as an Insurance Agency we gather from the history of the State Railways. Certainly, if we look at the annual report, presented to the Board of Trade, on the returns of the Railway Com- 316 Modern State Socialism. panics of the United Kingdom for the year 1893 we find a state of affairs not too satisfactory. Confronted by its hard facts it is possible that not only Trade Unionists but also the capitalist shareholders of the Great Northern and Western and other private Companies would favourably consider an arrangement by which the State were to take over their burdens and responsibilities, affording them in return cheaper travelling, better accommodation, and, indirectly, financial benefits by "refunding taxes from the railway profits under State management." For this report states that "the railway returns have not for many years shown such unsatisfactory net results as those of the past year." But whilst it may be true that the railways of Great Britain could in the year quoted have been worked to greater advantage both of the shareholders and the Nation at large ; the very attempt to nationalise our railroads would for ever disorganise England's industries and com- merce, hence her social, economic, and political well-being. So far from improving the system and working of our railways, bankruptcy would be the inevitable result were the Government of a free country with Parliamentary institutions to farm the means of transport and communi- cation. There are ample proofs of this assertion. The European Continent and Australia, the land of the "democratic future," supply us with excellent illustrations of the manner in which the State farms its nationalised railways. The management of the Australian lines by the Govern- ment is tantamount to jobbery, extravagance and inefficiency. In Victoria, the Melbourne Argus recently published a list, occupying eleven and a half closely printed columns, of free passes over the State railways which have been granted to the wives and families, clerks and governesses, servants and dependents of members of the Victorian Parliament. In Austria-Hungary, the administration of the railways by the State has just as signally failed in all its engagements and undertakings. The State as a Raihvay Fanner and Const nictor. 317 Full of the zeal of a novice, and in order, apparently, to make itself popular, amidst loud-sounding flourishes of trumpet it reduced the rates of freight and the charges for passenger traffic. But the business had not been carried on many months upon these liberal principles before the Direction saw itself face to face with a rapidly- increasing balance on the wrong side. If matters continued in this manner bankruptcy appeared to be the only possible termination of their venture. To avoid this catastrophe, and to make good the losses resulting from their " generosity," noteworthy on account of its utter disregard for the pockets of the taxpayers, the State directors of the State railways were compelled not only to re-establish the former tariff but also to advance it by 25 per cent. This remarkable attempt at State economy was made on July 1st, 1891. The not less remarkable admission of its failure became known on June 1st, 1892, and it, too, was accompanied by considerable noise, caused by the downfall of many business houses and industrial works. Believing in the bona-fides of the State with respect to the maintenance of its reduced tariff, their owners had entered into engagements based upon that reduction. Of course, the advocates of the nationalisation of railways were at once ready to cast all the blame for this lamentable failure upon the few private companies which were at that time still existing, in spite of the ruinous attention with which Herr von Baross, the then Hungarian Traffic Minister, favoured them. Against their assertion, however, stood the fact that, out of 10,500 miles, 5,000 miles belonged entirely to the Government, whilst other 1,500 miles, though owned by a private company, were likewise exploited by the State. The competition of the remaining 4,000 miles actually owned and managed by private com- panies was, therefore, handicapped even as regards mere mileage of rails. It was, moreover, hampered by the above-mentioned vexatious and arbitrary Ministerial regulations. Yet Hungary is not alone. Bismarck, we have seen, became a State-Socialist in 1878. As such the Chancellor 318 Modern State Socialism. conceived, in 1879, a notion of the advantages which the nationalisation of the Prussian railways would confer upon passengers, shippers, employees, and the nation alike, thanks to reduced tariffs, and to a more thorough exploitation ; im- plying a rapidly decreasing railway debt, and an even more rapidly increasing State revenue. To conceive an apparently feasible project and to attempt its realisation was with Bismarck only a question of a few days, and he induced the Prussian Government to acquire no fewer than 25,000 miles of rail. What has been the result ? The liquidation of the railway debt has so far remained a pious wish. Concerning the reduction of the tariffs, after thirteen years' experience the Traffic Minister has to confess that the situation is a grave one, obliging the Govern- ment to oppose any question of a reform of the tariffs which might lead to reductions in the charges, because the revenue has diminished, whilst the expenses are persistently increasing. As to the promised advantages which the passengers were to derive from the State-farming of the Prussian railways, they have not only not obtained any reduction in the fares, but they are also enjoying the educational privilege of being handled by railway officials who are hallowed by State-Omnipotence. The most instructive experience, however, was made with respect to the profits. Whilst formerly a large amount of the surplus revenue was expended upon the improvement of the various lines, and to the general advantage of com- merce and industry the small profits which the State railways made, though these even for a few years only, and in spite of the suicidal policy of their State directors, were and are now seized upon and expended in the interest of the army for the manufacture of cannon and rifles and bayonets. These few instances show what it means to a nation to have its railways nationalised, or even merely managed by the State. SOCIALISM AND LAND NATIONALISATION. But what would be the effect upon the development of a nation were the Socialist demand for the so-called national- isation of the land carried out, so that all the soil of England under cultivation would be owned by the State, and systematically farmed by its functionaries according to the best methods, an arrangement which, it is contended, " could not fail to considerably reduce the cost of produc- tion, whilst securing an increased produce " ? i. Henry George on State-Socialism and Land Nationalisation. In connection with this question, let us first hear what Henry George, the most uncompromising critic of the present mode of land ownership, has to say concerning State-Socialism : " The limits," he states, " within which I wish to keep this book, will not permit an examination in detail of the methods in which it is proposed to mitigate or extirpate poverty by governmental regulation of industry and accumulation, and which in their most thoroughgoing form are called Socialistic. Nor is it necessary, for the same defects attack to them all. These are the sub- stitution of governmental direction for the play of individual action, and to secure by restriction what can better be secured by freedom It is evident that whatever savours of regulation and restriction is in itself bad, and should not be resorted to if any other mode of accomplishing the same end presents itself. For instance, to take one of the simplest and mildest of the class of measures I refer to a graduated tax on incomes. The object at which it aims, the reduction or prevention of immense concentrations of wealth, is in itself good. But this means involves the employment of a large number of officials clothed with inquisitorial poivers ; temptations to bribery ; perjury, and to all other means of evasion, which beget a demoralisation of opinion and put a premium upon unscrupulousness and a tax upon conscience ; and, finally, just in proportion as the tax accomplishes its effect, a lessening of the incentive to the accumulation of wealth, which is one of the strong forces of industrial progress. While, if the elaborate schemes for regulating everything and finding a place for everybody could be carried out, we should have a state of society resembling that of ancient Peru, or that which the Jesuits instituted and so long maintained in Paraguay. I will not say that such a state as this is not a better social state than that to which we now seem to be tending (But) a Socialism in anything approaching such a form modern society cannot successfully attempt. The only force that has ever proved competent for it a strong and definite religious faith is wanting and is daily growing less. We have passed out of the Socialism of the tribal state [which, properly speaking, never existed] and cannot re-enter it again, except by a retrogression that would involve 320 Socialism and Land Nationalisation. Anarchy and perhaps barbarism. Our Government, as is already plainly evident, would break down in the attempt. Instead of an intelligent award of duties and earnings we should have a Roman distribution of Sicilian corn, and the demagogue would soon become the iinperator. Society is an organism, not a machine. It can only live by the individual life of its parts. And in the free and natural development of all the parts will be secured the harmony of the whole. Such is Henry George's opinion of the practicability of State-Socialism, both as regards the nationalisation of the land, and as regards its bearings upon the evolution of society and the possible adjustment of the inequalities in the conditions of men. Let us now examine to what extent he is inconsistent in en- dorsing, nevertheless, the Socialistic doctrine thaf'the present capitalist monopoly in land is an irremovable barrier to such equitable adjustment in the conditions of men." Let us likewise examine the reasons which are advanced for, and in justification of, the nationalisation of land, namely, that "land was originally held in common ; that consequently all have an equal right to the land, so that the present individual owners have no right to their estates because they bought them from people who had no right to sell them, "and because "those purchasers paid for them withmoney which theythem- selves had never earned." Let us also examine the special pleading of so-called English Socialists who assert that " the nationalisation of the land is the only means to prevent the ruin of England's agriculture, which under the present system of landlordism, with partial free trade in land, seems to be inevitable," and who, Internationalists though they pretend to be, proclaim that " if English agriculture were really allowed thus to be destroyed, its destruction would in turn destroy the independence of the Nation at one blow, and render her defenceless." 2. Primitive Collectivist or Individual Oivnership of Land ? First, as to the right of common ownership of land, we notice that amongst the Chinese, a most conservative and ancient people, no village communities existed in the sense of the " Socialistic" village communities with common Primitive Collectivist or Individual Ownership? 321 ownership of land. On the contrary, as Professor Douglas points out : In the earliest stage of human history in China the young of both sexes no sooner felt themselves independent of their parents than they deserted their homes Later, the family becomes the unit around which the elements of social life were gathered. In their earliest communities groups of eight families were settled in as many farms of a hundred (Chinese) acres each. In the centre of the square formed by these settlements was another hundred acres, eighty of which were decreed to be common land, and twenty were set apart for the eight homesteads Considering that out of those nine hundred acres eighty only were common, land, it is obvious that each family had a kind of occupying ownership in its hundred acres, which, indeed, "is now the general condition of land ownership in China." That such a proprietary right must have been in existence 'from the first formation of a community is further demonstrated by the fact that, as Professor Douglas says : The affairs of each were in the old days presided over by the heads of the eight families, and in the large communities an extended assembly of elders adjudicated on all matters relating to the administration of their " neighbour- hoods " or " Chings." To a great extent this system exists at the present day. Now, as in the days of yore, the head of each household holds autocratic sway over all the members of his family. The very lives of his sons and daughters are in his hands, and if his conduct, however cruel towards his wife, concu- bines and dependents, is not of a kind to outrage the feelings of his brother elders and as a rule it takes a great deal to do this it is allowed to pass without attracting the attention of any public authority. This autocratic proprietorship of the elder or head of the family shows that the idea of absolute ownership was from the first fully developed in the original Chinese community. It was, in fact, so firmly established that it speedily led to the establishment of a social hierarchy, resulting in the creation of a hereditary pre-eminence in one family pro- ducing " the tipao, or headman, who was then as now held responsible for the peace and well-being of his neighbour- hood or ' Cliingl and who was then as now commonly assisted in his office by the elders of the village or district." Even the primitive Chinese " village community " had, therefore, little in common with the Socialistic land nationali- sation, the latter asserting, as it does, the Collectivist ownership of all the land by the people under the control of the State. If we turn now to India we certainly find there a quasi State ownership of the land, at least in the era of the v 322 Socialism and Land Nationalisation. Great Moguls, the Great Mogul of the time being both theoretically and practically the proprietor of the soil. Concurrently, however, with this existence of a kind of feudalism, there existed a well-defined kind of landlordism, which, of course, implies an acknowledged right of absolute and individual ownership. Indeed, so far from there being a Collectivist or Social Democratic ownership of land, the earliest records of India (vide Sir William Hunter " Orissa ") inform us that " The Aryan invaders never penetrated in sufficient numbers into India to engross any large proportion of the soil. Sudra or non- Aryan races tilled most of the land ; husbandry being scorned by the Aryan conquerors . . . In Orissa, where Aryan colonisation never amounted to more than a thin top- dressing of priests and " nobles" the generic word of husbandman is sometimes used as a synonym for the Non- Aryan caste " We recognise consequently the existence of a hierarchy, an aristocracy of conquerors may be, but for this very reason an unmistakable aristocracy of landlords and we observe further that, although in the so-called " Kandh Hamlets" there is an apparent occupying joint-ownership of the land, the absolute ownership in the soil is actually vested in each family, the " Hamlet " as a whole possessing no corporate authority. However, even if India could furnish a basis for the Socialist argument in favour of land nationalisation, or rather State-ownership of the soil ; both the Russian "Mir" and the German "Mark" of which Engels and others presumed to make a case in support of land nationali- sation, conclusively refute the Socialist doctrines concerning the land and the respectively individual or national owner- ship thereof. Concerning this so-called German Mark or Gemeinland, we find in the Salic law, "De terra nulla in muliere hereditas ; ad virilem sexum tota terra pertineat" women have no hereditary right to the land which belongs to males. In the Ripuarian Law we likewise recognise the explicit principle of hereditary transmission, strengthened by the power to dispose of the land by sale. The Lex Wisi- gothorum contains the significant passage, "Silvaedominus; is cujus pascua sunt." Primitive Collectivist or Individual Ownership ? 323 Concerning then Maurer's assertion that "amongst the Ger- mans land was originally held in common, and for the purpose of tillage divided into equal lots, such division taking place afresh each year," it is refuted by the very authority which he brings forward in support of his contention, namely, by Caesar. As De Coulanges points out, in the passage to which Maurer alludes (Csesar vi.,22)the Roman Dictator does not show us a Mark GenossenscJiaft, that is, an association of peasants, cultivating in common the stretch of land of which they were common owners. " Caesar describes, and this is a very different thing, the chiefs of the cantons, steadily disposing of the sail of which they alone appear to be owners, and each year moving families and groups of men from one place to another. These people have apparently no rights, no power of initiation ; the chiefs leave them only as much land as they the chiefs think fit, and where they think fit." Yet, stronger than all these proofs is the fact admitted by Engels, Marx's principal disciple, that from the earliest origin of German communities the homestead was a kind of sanctuary an acknowledgement of the sanctity of the hearth, or in other words an assertion of the inviolability of the owner-right which the cottage holder possessed in his dwelling. This being so, it is easily conceivable that the proprietorship of the cottager was not restricted to the immediate precincts of his divelling. Engels himself states (Socialism, Scientific and Utopian) : From the beginning there were in Germany itself, besides the close villages other villages, where, besides homesteads, the fields also were excluded from the Mark, the property of the Community (?), and were parcelled out among the individual peasants as their hereditary property. To be sure he immediately after adds : But this was only the case where the nature of the place, so to say, com- pelled it, in narrow valleys, and on narrow, flat ridges between marshes, as in Westphalia ; in the Odenwald, and in almost all the Alpine valleys. Nevertheless, Engels is compelled finally to concede that the system of individual ownership existed, and was fully recognised, for he continues In these places the village consisted, as it does now, of scattered individual dwellings each surrounded (>y the fields belonging to it. 324 Socialism and Land Nationalisation. Indeed, the Mark itself (Landesgemeinde), so far from being an economic symbol of Communism as regards the ownership of the land under tillage, was a political com- munity based upon individualism. It was " a community of free Marksmen, seated within the boundaries of a Gau or other well defined geographical area, who in virtue of their being freemen have the right of oivning land, and who,. in virtue of their right of oivning land, have certain public duties to perform. Freedom, landed property, public duty y these are the correlatives which make up political society in the embryo state of the Teutonic polity" (Local Government and Taxation, Cobden Club Essays.) As regards the Russian Mir there can be no doubt that " the fear of wild beasts, the constant Tartar and Polish incursions, the long winter, with snow-storms in which a solitary cottage might easily be overwhelmed all this, combined with the natural gregariousness of the Russian peasant," tended from the earliest times to develop amongst the tillers of the soil a certain Communistic spirit, the existence of which seems to favour the idea of a common ownership of land. But even Kovalevsky (" Modern Customs and Ancient Laws of Russia ") fails to disprove that side by side with this Communism "The unlimited right of private homesteads to appropriate as much soil as each required was scrupulously maintained " (vide also Ashley, " The English Manor"). It is, therefore, obvious that the Socialist doctrine of original common ownership of the land is as little tenable in the case of primitive German and Russian communities as it has been proved to be in the case of Chinese and Indian agricultural settlements. And this truism is fully established by no less a person than Henry George himself. On page 333 of his "Progress and Poverty," the advocate of the abolition of all taxation save that upon land values, certainly says : " Wherever we can trace the early history of Society, whether in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, in America, or in Polynesia, land has been considered as common property, in which the rights of all who had admitted rights were equal. That is to say that all members of a community all citizens (?) as we should say had equal rights to the use and enjoyment of the land of the community." Primitive Collectivist or Individual Ownership ? 325 But, with obvious though inconsistent force of argument, he proceeds, " This recognition of the common right to land did not prevent the full recognition of the particular and exclusive rights in things which are the result of labour ; nor was it abandoned when the development of agriculture had i'tiposed the necessity of recognising exclusive possession of land in order to secure the exclusive enjoyment of the results of the labour expended in cultivating it." It is true that Henry George continues to assert " The division of land between the industrial units, whether families, joint families, or individuals, only went as far as was necessary for that purpose, pastures and forest lands being retained as Common." However, he concludes "Equality as to agricultural land was secured either by a periodical re-divi- sion, as among the Teutonic races (which re-division as we have seen was the exception rather than the rule) or by the prohibition of alienation (which implies an interest vested in the family) as in the law of Moses." From this it appears evident that the assertion of the Socialists "The people were in the so-called Golden Age joint owners of the land " is historically untenable. Quite as untenable is the doctrine of Henry George that "Common ownership of land is the only natural condition of men." That in some instances there may have been a kind of Communistic ownership of the land during the period usually called primitive times, can readily be granted. The necessities of man, arising from his unsettled existence at that epoch, would force upon him the advantages of gregariousness. There was the never-ceasing struggle to live, which prevented a rapid reproduction of the human species. This and the dangers of the swamps ; the perils of the forests, and the warring with hostile elements, taught him the power of resistance which he would derive from associating with others. At the same time his frugal wants were easily supplied by hunting and fishing. Where these failed, he subsisted on roots and berries. But even in the above cases, the moment man took to agriculture the necessities of his existence fundamentally changed. Thenceforth his economic development pro- ceeded upon the maxim to which Sir Henry Maine has given true expression, in asserting that "civilisation began from the period when common ownership in the land changed into private ownership," though " civilisation " should undoubtedly read " agriculture." 326 Socialism and Land Nationalisation. 3. Agricultural Development and Individual Ownership of Land. That truism of Sir Henry Maine elucidates the two fol- lowing principles of policy or conduct : I. The successful tillage of the soil necessitated individual exertion. II. This individual exertion required to be excited by the stimulus of individual ownership of the means to produce and of the fruits of the production. Amongst other land reformers, even Mr. Alfred Russell Wallace, the eager advocate of land nationalisation, as if bent on stultifying himself, adduces weighty proofs in support of this contention that "occupying ownership is the essential condition of a healthy development of agriculture." In his " Land Nationalisation " he says : The true opposition of landlord and tenant two persons with conflicting interests is owner and occupier combined in the same person. This ownership may be of the nature of freehold or copyhold ; but, in order that all the evils of landlordism be avoided, it must be secure and permanent ; it must be transmissible to a man's children and heirs ; it must be freely saleable and otherwise transferable. The one thing to be aimed at is, that the occupier and owner of the land be also the virtual owner; that all the fruits of his labour shall be secure to him ; that the increased value of the land given by permanent improvements shall be all his own. Mortgages or other encumbrances on the land (except to a limited proportion of its value, and repayable by instalments in a moderate term of years), must also be forbidden, because a farmer whose land is heavily encumbered, and who, on failing to pay interest in a bad year, may have his land taken from him, has little more power or inducement to make permanent improvements or cultivate in the best manner than the mere tenant at will. Mr. Wallace then quotes a number of very appropriate illustrations, as, for instance, the following extract from Sismondi's " Studies in Political Economy." It is from Switzerland we learn that agriculture, practised by the very peasant zvho enjoys its fruits, suffices to procure great comfort for a very numerous population ; a great independence, arising from independence of position ; a great commerce of consumption, the result of the easy circumstances of all the inhabitants, even in a country whose climate is rude, where soil is but moderately fertile, and where late frosts and inconstancy of seasons often blight the hopes of the cultivator. It h impossible to see without admiration those timber houses of the poorest peasant, so vast, so well closed in, so covered with carvings ........... Mr. Wallace further adduces the testimony of a Mr. Inglis, who states : In walking anywhere in the neighbourhood of Zurich one is struck with the extraordinary industry of the inhabitants in the cultivation of their land. Agricultural Development and Individual Ownership. 327 When I used to open my casement between four and five in the morning, to look upon the lake and the distant Alps, / saw the labourer in the fields ; and when I returned from an evening walk, long after sunset, as late perhaps as half-past eight, there was the labourer mowing his grass or tying up his vines It is impossible to look at a field, a garden, a hedging, scarcely even a tree, without perceiving proofs of the extreme care and industry that are bestowed upon the cultivation of the soil In the whole of the Engadine the land belongs to the peasantry , who, like the inhabitants of every other place -where this state of things exists, vary greatly in the extent of their possessions. Generally speaking, an Engadine peasant lives entirely upon the produce of his land, with the exception of articles of foreign growth required by his family, such as sugar, coffee, &c. The excellent husbandry is the result of individual ownership of the land under cultivation. Mr. Wallace, the advocate of State ownership of the land, such ownership to be carried out by the simple means of frve selection* also quotes the praises which Mr. Kay sings of the present farming of Russia, Saxony, Holland and Switzerland. "The most perfect and economical farming I (that is Mr. Kay) have ever witnessed in any country It is indeed a notorious fact that during the last 30 years, and since the peasants became the proprietors of the land, there has been a rapid and continual improvement in the condition of the houses, in the manner of living, in the dress of the peasants, and particularly in the culture of the land. I affirm that there is no farming in all Europe superior to the laboriotisly careful cultivation of the valleys of that part of Saxony. . The peasants endeavour to outstrip one another in the quantity and quality of the produce, in the preparation of the ground, and in the general cultivation of their respective portions. All the little proprietors are eager to find out how to farm so as to produce the greatest results. They diligently seek after improvements ; they send their children to agricultural schools in order to fit them to assist their fathers; and each proprietor soon adopts a new improvement introduced by any of his neighbours. The author of Land Nationalisation by the simple means of " free selection of Residential Plots by Labourers and others," to crown his self-stultification and complete the This simple mode by which the great boon of Land Nationalisation may be obtained, as suggested by Mr. Wallace is too good to be withheld from the readers. We give it thus in full, for " Every Englishman," Mr. Wallace says, ' ' should be allowed, once in his life, to select a plot of land for his personal occupation. His right of choice will, of course, be limited to agricultural or waste land (?) ; it will also be limited to land bordered by public roads affording access to it ; it will further be limited to a quantity of not less than one acre or more than five acres, and will cease on any estate from which a fixed proportion, say ten per cent off the whole, has been taken, while it should not apply at all to very small holdings ; and finally it will be limited by proximity to the dwelling of the occupier of the land so as to subject him to no unnecessary annoyance. These limitations would be determined in each case by a local Court of the same character as the Sub- Commissions under the Irish Land Act, who would visit the ground, hear the statements of both parties, and finally mark out the lot granted. The Court would also determine the proportion of the quit rent to be taken over by the new occupier, and the amount to be paid the farmer for his tenant-right of the plot in question." 328 Socialism and Land Nationalisation. refutation of his argument in favour of State-ownership of the land, finally republishes the following passage from Howitt's "Rural and Domestic Life in Germany" : "The Rhenish peasants are the great and ever present objects of country life. They are the great population of the country, because they are them- selves the possessors They are themselves the proprietors ; it is, perhaps, from this cause that they are probably the most industrious peasantrv in the world. They labotir earty and late, because they feel they are labouring for themselves The German peasants -work hard, but they have no actual want. Every man has his house, his orchard, his roadside trees, commonly so heavy with fruit that he is obliged to prop and secure them all ways, or they would be torn in pieces. He has his own plot, his plots for mangel-wurzel, for hemp, and so on. He is his own master, and he and every member of his family have the strongest motive to labour. You see the effect of this in that unremitting diligence which is beyond that of the whole world besides, and his economy, which is still greater ....." 4. Individual versus Collectivist Ownership of Land. The deductions to be drawn from these beneficial effects which individual ownership of land has upon the develop- ment of the productive power of both the tillers and the soil, are self-evident. They certainly supply some powerful arguments against the present system of landlordism which, in fact, needs speedy and thorough reform, if greater security is to be given to the actual farmers of the land as regards the value of their improvements and the terms of their tenure. Yet, whilst these excellent results of occupying ownership denounce landlordism such as it is at present, they form an all-powerful, and, indeed, irrefutable argument against Collectivist or State-ownership of land. For the main incentive to those marvellously productive exertions on the part of the Swiss and Rhenish peasants is, as in every other human enterprise, the feeling, or rather, the knowledge, that they are labouring for themselves. Not that State-ownership of the agricultural land would be impotent to undertake so-called " intensive agriculture," which Prince Krapotkin explains thus : By combining a series of such simple observations as the selections of seeds, sowing in rows, and proper manuring, the crops can be increased by at least 75 per cent, over the best present average, while the cost of production can be reduced by 50 per cent, by the use of some inexpensive machinery, to say nothing of costly machines, like the steam digger, or the pulverisers which make the soil required for each special culture. Individual versus Collectivist Ozunership of Land. 329 On the contrary, it is conceivable that the State could exhaust the productive capacity of the soil more thoroughly than any other farming agency. Yet, in order to do so, it would unquestionably have to strain all its resources to the utmost, so that the complete exhaustion of its citizens would be the preliminary condition of " intensive agriculture." Its efforts moving thus in a vicifcus circle could not but ter- minate in a general paralysis, or in other words, in agricul- tural sterility, just as its efforts in manufacturing and in insurance business have led, and must always lead, to bankruptcy. Discipline a Voutrance, we know, is the motive power of a Collectivist or Socialistic State-rSgtme. This discipline necessitates uniformity of action, which is fundamentally opposed to individual enterprise, because such uniformity of action or conduct can only be brought about by a process of levelling. Granted that the Collectivist Agricultural State could carry out this process of reducing the capacities and faculties of men to one such uniform level ; granted further that the various capacities and qualities of the soil could equally be reduced to one such level by the Collectivist State machine two rather bold hypotheses the inevitable result would be a stereotyped condition of the community and a stereotyped cultivation of the soil. Both imply stagnation, which would mean decadence and retrogression instead of development and progress. Apart from the fact that such a Collectivist agricultural State would have to artificially protect itself against the competition of countries with free development of agri- culture in itself a costly policy its own productive power would diminish in proportion to that decadence and retro- gression, the result of the levelling process above mentioned. So far, therefore, from being able to feed its growing popula- tion, it would be compelled either to check such natural growth or to revert to individual agriculture, lest it became absorbed by more progressive countries. CO-OPERATION AND SOCIALISM. I. Co-operation and Socialism. However, apart from the previous considerations the claim for " Three acres and a cow " of our times, is, as Russell M. Gamier says in his " History of the English Landed Interest," merely an altered form of the enactment which sought to establish " Four acres and a cottage " in Elizabeth's reign. Whilst its recurrence after three centuries demonstrates the difficulties of its realisation, it also demonstrates the incapacity of Socialism ever to per- manently settle it. For the principle which underlies this rlaim is purely individualistic. It is the laconic translation of that tendency in human nature " to live by individual efforts upon the basis of individual ownership." Hence the antagonism between Co-operators and Collectivists. An able writer in the Sunday Chronicle* gives conclusive expression on the one side to the tyrannic instincts of the " New Creed," on the other side to its organic opposition to Co-operation. Describing English Socialism, the writer states: Some one has said somewhere that a man who begins by thinking more of his religion than of the truth will end by thinking more of himself than of his religion. Something like this is true of Mr. Hyndman (the father of modern English Socialism). Whether sincerely or otherwise, he has always identified the Socialist movement with the particular little body of Socialists to which he belonged. Instead of holding out a friendly and helping hand to every other society and every other individual who was working on the same lines and in the same direction as himself, he always seemed to regard them as his bitterest enemies, and to clapper-claw them accordingly. He and his paper ' ' Justice " have always their fiercest onslaughts for those whose opinions were most like their own. A Socialist who joined the Federation was a man and a "comrade" ; one who didn't was a " reptile and a traitor." Thus the Radicals have ever come in for a larger share of vituperation and ill -humour than the Liberals, and the Liberals than the Conservatives. It was never enough for Mr. Hyndman, for instance, to point out gently and good-naturedly that Co-operation, though an excellent thing in itself, was inadequate to solve the social problem ; he must always fall upon it tooth and claws, and denounce it as a folly and a fraud thus alienating a number of well-inclined persons, who were already half-way on the right road. Yet, although this antagonism between Socialists and * Hubert : " Memories and Impressions of Persons and Incidents connected with the English Socialist Movement during the last fifteen years." Co-operation and Socialism. 331 Co-operators may appear to be impolitic, it arises from a fundamental difference in their respective aims. Socialists desire a better distribution of the wealth of the Nation for tJie benefit of the producers or workers. Co-operators endeavour to bring about such better distribution in the interest of the consumers. The Pioneers of the co-operative movement made this principle that "the consumer alone should reap the profits accruing from Co-operation," the basis of their co-operative organisation. Louis Blanc, Duchez, Marx, Lassalle, Fourier, and the so-called English " Christian " Socialists, on the contrary, attempted to enforce " the con- ception of workers as brethren of work as coming from a brotherhood of men, associated for their common benefit, who therefore rejected any notion of competition with each other as inconsistent with the true state of society." With- out formally preaching Communism they sought to form industrial establishments, of which it should be the aim, while paying ordinary wages and interest, to apply the profits of the business in wages conducive to the common advantages of the body whose work produced them. Again, as the first President of the Co-operative Congress of 1894 (Mr. Tweddel) declared "Co-operators believe in paying capital a living wage." It is true, he adds, "just enough to keep it alive." But though expressing antipathy to capitalism in this proviso, he nevertheless emphasises the initiatory capacity of capital. The speaker continues, "just enough indeed, to create the inducement to save, because without that inducement those vast accumulations of capital that we see enshrined in the ever-increasing property of the stores in Leicester shoe works, in Dunston flour mill, at Shieldhall, and in the other palatial establishments of the Wholesale Federations, which give, with the machinery they contain, such an effectiveness to labour, would disappear and leave not a wrack behind." Socialists, on the other hand, deny that capital has been and is the inception of industry, though Thomas Kirkup, in his sympathetic History of Socialism, is obliged by the evidence of undisputable facts to admit that : 332 Co-operation and Socialism. In past accumulation, in the control and management of industry generally, the capitalist has had the leading part. Socialists denounce capital as being unproductive, not- withstanding that Mill's theorem, so fondly quoted by the advocates of the " New Creed," viz. : The requisites of production are two : Labour and oppropriate natural objects. concludes with the following affirmation of the initiatory usefulness of capital : It will be observed that I have assumed (taken for granted) that the labourers are always subsisted from capital, and this is obviously the fact, although the capital need not necessarily be furnished by a person called a capitalist. Finally, the principles of self-help, self-responsibility, and self-administration are the foundation and the power of the English and German Co-operative Societies. Not one of these principles is to be found in State-Socialism, which is the terror-stricken and slavish acknowledgment of the worker's impotence to work out his own salvation, a feeling of impotence on the part of the Socialist co-operative producers that seems to be only too well justified by the failures of the hundreds of associations of co-operative workers. As Miss Potter says : The ideal advanced by the Christian Socialists, and constantly forced by the individualist school of Co-operators on the attention of the stores and the Wholesale Societies this fair vision of a brotherhood of workers, of a self-govern- ing Co-operative workshop, in which the manager and committee are to be elected by the members from among their OT.VII body vanishes into an indescrib- able industrial phantom, which, unlike the texture of real existence, becomes more and more imperceptible with the application of the magnifying glass. For when we look carefully into these societies of Co-operative workers we dis- cover that over one-third of the trade is transacted by establishments which are simply capitalist associations adopting some scheme of profit-sharing. It is true that a small proportion of them compel or encourage workers to become shareholders. But in all cases, without a single exception, outside shareholders hold the balance of power. If we turn our magnifying-glass from off the bulk of the trade on to the majority of the societies, we lay bare a positive evil instead of a harmless self-delusion. So-called associations of workers are con- stantly resolving themselves into associations oj small masters, into an industrial organisation which is perilously near, if not actually included within, the sweat- ing system, or we discover associations of workers so indifferent and sceptical of the advantages they offer as employers that they prefer the security of private trade and leave the co-operative ivorkshop open- to hirelings. Or again, we watch associations beginning with fervour and success, but surrendering in the course of a year or two at discretion to a dictator ; or we see far-sighted pro- moters carefully securing their own position as irremovable managers. Thus we see these associations, with a fair trade, disperse in various directions, and we are left with our microscope pointed at eight minute specks on our industrial system, as the net result of forty-five years' agitation in favour of the self-governing profit-sharing workshop. THE EPITOME. The fair vision of a brotherhood of workers, whenever its realisation is attempted, must, indeed, always vanish into an indescribable industrial phantom. It must vanish, because Socialists are not Co-operators. Co-operation means construction. Socialism is the equivalent of destruc- tion. No doubt the " New Creed " dangles before the yearning eyes of this earth's weary pilgrims those other pictures of a Republican, self-governing Harmony consisting of the world's associated and fraternising producers. And they are pictures pleasant to gaze upon with their seductive perspectives of the infinite developments of the working classes. But how will the " New Creed " proceed with the realisation of these dreams? Have its champions con- sidered by what possible means they are to bring about such realisation? Let us listen to the author of so-called " Merrie England " : The question, he says, is, how can Socialism be accomplished ? I confess that I approach this question with great reluctance. 7 he establishment atut organisation of a Socialistic State are the two branches of the work to which I have given least attention. Hitherto I have devoted my efforts to teaching the Principles of Socialism [that is, to exposing the miseries to which mankind is subject], and to disproving the arguments brought against it. But I will do my best, merely observing that I can lay claim to no special knowledge, nor to any special aptitude for such a task of establishing and organising a Socialistic State. I have no " system " ready cut and dried. I don't think any sensible Socialist would offer such a system. Socialists are practical people in these days, and know that coats must be cut according to cloth. But after all there is a system cut and dried. The re- organisation of men and of the earth might begin with the land. Or, as the author of " Merrie England " suggests " Perhaps with the unemployed. Perhaps with the mines and railways." It is instructive to listen to him once more. "Suppose," he says, (p. 106) "we begin with the land. The land must be made the property of the nation. Very well, what about compensation? Personally I [that is, the advocate of the "New Creed" which is said to be based upon the principles of equity, freedom, toleration, and rig/it], am against com- pensation, but I suppose it would have to be given, and my only hope is that it 334 TJie Epitome. tvould be kept as low as possible. So with the mines and the railways. They could be bought, and the smaller the price the better. Then as to the unemployed. They must be registered in their various trades, and set to work. I should divide them into three principal classes 1. Agricultural labourers ; 2. General labourers ; 3. Building trades. The first I should send to work on State farms, the second to work at public improvements, and the third to build dwelling-houses for the people. I daresay, you may feel rather uneasy at these suggestions, and imagine that I am going to ruin the nation by saddling upon it the keep of a vast army of paupers. But, my practical friend, the worst use you can put a man to is to make a tramp of him. All the tramps, bear in mind, and all the able-bodied paupers have to be fed and lodged now in some fashion. And although they are badly fed, and treated worse than dogs, you must not suppose that they cost little. For you must know that it costs about ninepence to give a pauper threepennyworth of food, and when you take into account the large number of policemen and other officials who are paid to watch and punish and attend to the tramps, it will be quite clear that a tramp is a more costly luxury than he appears to be. But besides that it is much better that a tramp should be making something than marring himself; you must not suppose that the State farms would be a burden to you. Decently managed, they would soon prove a great benefit. For don't you see that all those hands which are now idle would then be produc- ing wealth, and when I remind you that the best authorities agree that a four hours day would enable the people to produce enough for all, you will see that our unemployed could, on those State farms, very easily keep themselves. Each of these farms would be the base for the formation of a new com- munal town one of the Towns of Merrie England. To it would be sent all kinds of craftsmen ; tailors, shoemakers, joiners, and the like, so that each commune would be complete in itself. Houses upon a new model, to be arranged by a special State Board of archi- tects, artists, sanitary engineers, and Socialists, would be built for the workers, with baths, libraries, dining-rooms, theatres, meeting-rooms, gardens, and every kind of institution needful for the education, health, and pleasure of the people. Understand, further, that these men would not be treated as paupers. They would be treated as honourable citizens, and after rent and other charges had been paid to the State, they would receive all the produce of their labour. Pensions would be granted to the aged poor, and all the workhouses and casual wards would be abolished. There would be no such thing as a pauper, or a man out of work, or a beggar, or a tramp in all England. Meanwhile it would be a wise thing to form a commission of the cleverest mechanical engineers and inventors in England for the purpose of developing electricity, so as to do away with steam power, with gas lighting, and the smoke nuisance. Then we should very probably establish a universal eight hours day, and a plan for educating and feeding all children free at the public schools. We should nationalize the railways, ships, canals, dockyards, mines and farms, and put all those industries under State control. We should have an Agricultural Minister just as we now have a Postmaster- General. He would be held responsible that the department under him produced bread and vegetables, meat and fruit for 36 millions of people, just as the Postmaster-General is now held responsible for the carriage and delivery of our letters. So by degrees we should get all the land and instruments of production into the hands of the State, and so by degrees we should get our industry organised. These are my ideas. They are very crude, and, of course, very imperfect. The Epitome. 335 But don't trouble on that score. When your public understands Socialisx and desires to establish it there will be no difficulty about plans. Just get . number of your cleverest organisers and administrators into committee and let them formulate a scheme. Depend upon it they will produce a much better scheme than mine." Truly, in this Socialistic State there would be no un- necessary clerks, no canvassers ; only the absolutely necessary army of superintendents and overseers. Neither would there be any paupers or unemployed. Not that the Socialistic State would compel a man to work. On the contrary : The Socialistic State in this respect would be inconsistent. " It would merely organise the industries, production and distribution of the Community, and would then say to the citizen, ' If you wish to enjoy the benefits and share the xvealth of the Collectivist Commonwealth, you must also share the labour and obey the laws.'" In other words, the Socialistic State would say to those who could not or would not work, " If you are hungry go and work. If you refuse to do so, go and starve" for the funda- mental doctrine of the " New Creed " is to prevent " An unproductive man from living on the production of the Collectivist workers." (Page 187, "Merrie England.") Indeed, instead of idealising man, the " New Creed " would deepen the furrows on the heated brow of the worker. It would ineffacably brand him with the mark of slavery. In the place of his Trade Union emblem he would wear the badge of serfdom, namely, his number as a particle of the worker-army of the Monopolistic State. His purpose of life would be simply the gratification of his animal instincts. All citizen-producers being fixed on one level, and the hope of a future reward being blighted, there could be no other inducement to live, to work, to study, to strive for. Yet does not Socialism reject the notion that men are actuated by the prospect of gain, by the vice of avarice ! The author of " Merrie England " in fact declares (pages 119-120): It seems an amazing thing to us, this persistence in the belief that greed is the motive power of humanity. The refutation of that error is for ever under our noses. We see how men strive at cricket ; you see the intense effort and the fierce zeal which they display at football ; you see men nearly kill them- selves in boat races, on cycling tracks and running grounds ; you know that 336 The Epitome. lese men do all this without the hope of a single penny of gain, and yet you ell me in the face of the powerful football combinations, and rowing clubs, and cricket clubs, and with a quarter of a million of volunteers amongst you , and with the records of Inkerman, and Lucknow, and Marston Moor on your shelves, and with the walls of the hospitals, and the lifeboats of the Royal Humane Society, and the 'spires of your churches, and the convents of the Sisters of Charity, and the statues of your Cromwells, and Wellingtons, and Nelsons, and Cobdens, all ready for you to knock your stupid heads against, that the only reliable human motive is the desire for gain. Look about you and see what men do for gain, and what for honour. Your volunteer force does that exist for gain ? Your lifeboat service, again is that worked by the incentive of dirty dross? What will not a soldier do for a tiny bronze cross, not worth a crown piece ? What will a husband endure for his wife's sake ? a father for his children ? a fanatic for his religion ? However, Is there any room for the fanatic under the Socialist regime ? With Socialism religion is the Omnipo- tence of the State. Again, Is there any occasion for raising statues to the Cromwell's, Wellington's and Nelson's under the Socialist regime ? Its advocates declare that " the basis of the Socialistic State is the brotherhood of men " ; thus conquest and victories and battlefields are irreconcilable with the idea of such a universal world's Association of mankind. Further, What need would there be for the free patriotic service of Volunteers in the era of Socialism ? The teachers of the "New Creed" assert that "Patriotism is in its simplest and purest form nothing but a tool in the hands of the governing classes, with the aid of which they strive to achieve their egotistic and ambitious aims ; as regards the governed people, however, patriotism means loss of all human dignity, of all reason, and of all conscience. Patriotism is mere slavery. " Ah, but there are the Con- vents of the Sisters of Charity ! Yet, they too are induced to lead a life of self-sacrifice by an expectation of a reward, though this reward happens to be in a future existence. However, apart from other factors, such a world to come is not even mentioned in the " New Creed." The religion of Socialism is atheistic Humanism. It replaces moral progress by material progress. It denounces that very faith which inspires the conduct of those Sisters of Charity, as having been and being the religion of serfage, for accord- ing to Belford Bax (Ethics of Socialism^) " Catholic Chris- tianity has been the religion of serfage" ( Vide also page 222 of the Book on the " New Creed "). The Epitome. 337 In the thousand various features and manifestations of life we see that all are actuated by some stimulus. This motive power is the expectation of a reward for one's exertions. The question of time, place, and shape as regards the nature and distribution of such reward is of no consequence. The fact that men expect it remains indis- putable and unalterable. Hence it is that throughout creation organic life is a struggle for existence. Men may modify this struggle, but to remove it is impossible unless it be by crushing organic life itself to death. It is, therefore, only by previously compassing the economic, intellectual and moral destruction of mankind that the " New Creed " can obtain a fleeting sway a reign over ruins and deserts. The Maoris say : "As the white man's rat has driven away the native rat, so the European fly has driven away our fly, so the clover kills our fern, and so will the Maori himself disappear before the white man." They express the funda- mental law of our existence and the eternal struggle resulting in the survival of the fittest. A wave of false sentiment is once more passing over this country, and as may be expected, its line of advance is marked by an increasing pauperism. Instead of the indigent drunkard, the habitual tramp and the periodical unemployed, this false sentimentality has already created an army of paupers, better instructed and less brutal, it is true, but more helpless, yet at the same time more pretentious, claiming as a right to be kept and fed at cheap rates, and to be allowed to move at little cost from place to place or from district to district. And this army of paupers threatens to further increase and degenerate into an even finer and feebler, but for this very reason far more vicious and discontented, injurious and pernicious pauperism than that of any other time. The advocates of the " New Creed " and the so-called Christian Socialists are mainly responsible for this. They are pressing a race of giants the Caucasian race- down to the level of the Maoris, so that the white men may disappear the quicker before the Mongol races in the final struggle for racial existence. W BY THE SAME AUTHOR READY FOR IMMEDIATE ISSUE UNDER THE BAN OF LOVE IN THE PRESS AMONGST THE GOD-BEGOTTEN CHILDREN IN PREPARATION The Second Volume of "THIS AGE OF OURS" BY THE SAME AUTHOR. MR. W. E. GLADSTONE: A LIFE MISSPENT. A Copy of which was in Mr. Gladstone's hands as he appeared from the Division Lobhy on April aist, 1893, the night of the passing of the Second Reading of the Home Rule Bill. Vide LONDON EVENING PAPERS. SOME PRESS CRITICISMS ON THE ABOVE BOOK. "... The book is full of facts. . . . Every voter should be instructed in it. . . . It is a pity the book was not published before last election. But it comes in good time for the next." The National Observer. " The writer of the series of thirteen letters to and on Mr. Gladstone has chosen to remain anonymous. They are vigorous, powerful, and at times slightly venomous, for the writer is serving in the Unionist camp. . . . He writes cleverly from the anti-Gladstone point of view " Public Opinion. ' . . . The author of ' Mr. W. E. Gladstone : a Life Misspent," if not another ' Junlus,' is the inditer of lively letters on the political adventures of the Prime Minister. . . . ." The Saturday Review. "... The book is full of action and smartness from first to last, and pro- vides ample food for political reflection. May it bear fruit." The Western Mail. "... The author, whoever he may be, has a thorough and intimate acquaint- ance with the politics of the day, and has evidently made a minute study, amount- ing to a complete analysis, of Mr. Gladstone's mind and intellect and conscience. . . . Theauthor does full justice to the splendid intellectual powers and literary attainments of a many-sided man. The book is opportunely published, . . . The Bristol Times and Mirror. "... The book, written by the late Mr. Louis Jennings, M.P., 'Mr. Gladstone: A Study,' was possibly quite as severe in the effect of its deductions though the style was very different. Here we have what an Irish patriot would call, were it on his side, the unsophisti- cated language of the heart. Being what it is, and on the other side, it is impossible to suggest in what terms a Hibernian martyr would describe it. It may suffice to say that it sums up the character and career of ' the greatest statesman of this and any other age ' in language about as candid and emphatic as that resorted to by, say, M. T. P. O'Connor or Mr. William O'Brien in the year 1885. But in one notable respect the criticism of the unknown author differs widely from the other strictures referred to. It displays a knowledge of the history of this country and of Europe, an intelligent appreciation of the tendencies of our time and their effect, and a serious regard for the actua- lities of history and experience, which, if general in our midst, and united to a sincere patriotism, would render separation as impossible as Carlyle has depicted it. ... In tremendously plain terms the naked facts regarding the most extraordinary career of the century are set down in these thirteen letters. Much as we must wish that softer epithets could have been used, it is to be feared that the ultimate verdict of history will be written with no more tenderness '' Liverpool Courier. " Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall & Co. have just published an interesting volume, ' Mr. W. E.Gladstone: a Life Misspent. 1 . . . The writer powerfully denounces Mr. Gladstone's policy, and the book shows that he has a complete mastery of English political history. The language is terse, graphic, and often eloquent. The volume will be welcomed by all politicians at the present time." The Bath Argus. ". . . The letters are cleverly and forcibly written. . . ." The Northern Whig. ' . . . Happy the pure Scotchman (Mr. Gladstone) that he was born in a more tolerant era ! Whether his fortune in that respect will compensate for the burden of the attack made upon him in these pages is another matter. . . ." The Glasgow Herald. "... The letters thirteen in number form an elaborate criticism of the various measures which the Liberal Leader has introduced into Parliament. . . . The work commends itself as a means of enlightenment of all those who support Mr. Glad- stone in his public life, who would do well to peruse it. . . ."The Brighton Gazette and Sussex Telegraph. "... The book will be read with avidity by hundreds of readers of all political creeds. . . ." The Publishers' Circular. " Politics in a book must be admitted on all hands to be most deadly dull. We get our fill thereof in the newspapers. But this book is an indictment of a weighty kind by whomsoever written. . . . The book is clever to a fault. ... If the writer be so young as he seems to make out, the book is a marvel of talent. . . .'' The Middle- sex Courier . . . The book does not deal in any way with Mr. Gladstone outside the House of Commons. It is as Member of Parliament, Party Leader, and Prime Minister that he is here regarded, and in these capacities he has been subjected to what we can best describe as mental dissection. The prominent movements in which he has taken part, the causes he has advocated and afterwards discarded or denounced, and the motives underlying all his actions are set forth with a dash and with such outspokenness as is seldom known when the present Pr.me Minister is under discussion. His blundering foreign policy with regard to Egypt and the withdrawal of English troops , his desertion of India and the Australian Colonies ; his abandonment of Turkey, and the danger accruing to England from such a course these are the matters dealt with in a powerful and effective manner. But that section dealing with Ireland will prove of greatest Interest and use to the students of the present day. . . . A brief historical sketch of Ireland from the eighth century down to the present time is given. Its condition under the Plantagenets, the Tudors and Stuarts, under Cromwell, the Georges, William, and Victoria, is sketched rapidly, it is true, but In a manner suggestive of wide knowledge and careful study on the part of the author. This, of course, is but a preliminary to what we consider the best piece of writing in the book the onslaught on the Home Rule Bill. . . . For those who have not the opportunity of studying larger and more comprehensive works on the subject, we recommend this book, showing as it does that however much a man may be personally venerated, such hero-worship may not always be a safe guide in affairs of State. . . . " The Birmingham Daily Gazette. "... This is in many respects a remarkable book. . " The Essex Guardian. " 'Mr. W. E. Gladstone: a Life Misspent,' by an author who conceals his identity under the device of three stars, is one of the most uncompromising and vigorous attacks on that eminent politician which we have of late read. While professing the greatest respct for Mr. Gladstone in his capacity of a private English gentleman, the author makes no secret of his detestation of the principles and the political career of Mr. Gladstone the party leader. In thirteen letters the Premier's political life, and more especially his Irish policy, is passed in review, scrutinised and commented upon with a directness of speech and vivacity of phrase which remind one of the controversialists of the time of Junius. We cannot say that the book is unfair, it is merely very outspoken, and the writer who has obviously studied Mr. Gladstone thoroughly, formulate* an indictment which even that eminent master of tortuous phrases would find it difficult to explain away. That the author believes Mr. Gladstone to be a dangerous and revolutionary politician is evident enough many people hold that opinion in common with him and that he writes und^r the compulsion of a sense of duty we can all well under- stand. . . . We must commend the present volume as a thorough and clever, if at times strongly worded exposure, not only of the dangers, the absurdities, and the iniquities of Mr. Gladstone's Home Rule policy, bul of the arrogant recklessness with which he has at times imperilled the stability of the Empire in pursuance of some particular object which seemed to him at the time, as Home Rule seems now, all important." Nottingham Guardian. " . . . . While professing to give the moralist's unreserved approbation to Mr. Gladstone as a husband and father, as a private friend, &c. . . . the letters proceed at considerable length and with an old-fashioned eloquence to expose the faults and errors of his political career. . . . There is often force in the arguments used. ..." The Scotsman. ... The aim, then, of the author is to rouse the British, lest the safety and pros speak.'" Here follow now quotations under four headings. The Westminster Gazette concludes then : "This strikes us as much the sort of thing that Sir Ellis Ashniead Hartlett turns out. The fact, however, that the anonymous patriot is obviously a non-English speaking foreigner, would point rather to certain others of Sir Ellis' s specially patriotic colleagues. There is not enough 'bloody' and 'putrid' about it for another eminent Unionist, of whose style it is, in other respect*, fairly up to ample." The Westminster Gazette. " To the three asterisks which represent on the title-pare the author of " Mr. Gladstone : a Life Misspent,' we can only recommend faith, hope, and charity. . . . But above all Charity. . . . " The Manchester Guardian. "... Slices of this production will probably be heard from many Unionist orators, who are not so apt at manufacturing their own stage thunder, before the year Is out." The Bradford Observer. LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT * CO., LIMITED, SMITH & SON, RAILWAY STALLS, AND ALL BOOKSELLERS. Crown 8vo. cloth, 300 pages, price &%. ELIJER COWS WORKS. A NEW CHEAP EDITION OF THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ELIJER GOFF WILL SHORTLY BE PUBLISHED. It will include the follmving : /. His Travels, Tmbbles, and other A moozements. a. His Kristmus Book. 3. Kronikles of a King. 4. The Grate Fite. f. The Politikle Manifesto. 6. The Bore and Pigskin Papers. 7. The Central Afrikan Buster. 8. The Senior Devle. &c., &>c., &>c. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "This book is one of the most entertaining we have ever seen. It abounds, moreover, in clever writing, and is full of fun." Free Lance. " It is full of humour." Judy. " Elijer Goff is uncommonly droll, and in many places quite irresistible. . . . No man can read his book without laughing heartily, and every woman can read it with safety and amusement." Freeman's Journal. " He is original from beginning to end. His drollery could not be exceeded." Liverpool Weekly Albion. "It overflows with Comicality, and will create a great deal of laughter.'" News oj the World. " Brimful of humour." Manchester Courier. " I begin by smiling, I then ripple with suppressed laughter, and end by bursting .... Talk of humour and sarcasm, here you have the full flavour." Sporting Chronicle. " The more we read of Elijer Goff the more we want to." The Metropolitan. " It is full of wit and humour of the most mirth-provoking kind." Oxford Chronicle, HN 0045 THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. Series 9482 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000867104 2