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There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028286015 fp^-v^^V C^*-*'^-^'^*^^ MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS 1885-1910 BY FRANCIS ALLSTON CHANNING MEMBER FOB EAST NOBTHAMPTONSHIBE WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS LONDON CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LTD. 1918 ■■11 Y .N Printed in Great Britain y y// TO MY OLD CONSTITUENTS DSr GRATEFUL RECOLLECTION OF MANY YEARS OF UNBROKEN HAPPINESS PREFACE The quarter of a century from 1885 to 1910, starting with the county franchise and redistribution of seats, and closing with the rejection of a boldly democratic budget, and the ParHament Act limiting the powers of the Lords, was one of those periods of transition when new ideas and new forces come into play, and move things rapidly on, from one stage of national evolution to another. At such times there are those who fear and those who hope. Those who hoped were probably in the right. For the England of to-day is visibly and tangibly not less but more capable of lofty ideals and heroic efforts than the England of thirty years ago. This book is an attempt to throw light on the story of those years and the actual operation of the ideas and forces which brought about these immense modifi- cations of political and social life from month to month and year to year. It has been sought to present the political temper and outlook of that time in the concrete, in the fresh- ness and intense vitality of day-by-day demands and protests, criticisms and enthusiasms, and in the thoughts and words of the men of the moment and at the moment. In one sense this volume is a tribute to a constitu- ency which, to a higher degree perhaps than most, illustrated all these ideas and forces and their succes- sive phases, a constituency which instinct, judgment and loyalty had continuously identified with the viii MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS cardinal principles out of which they sprang, principles which, so grasped, irresistibly impelled and guided those who grasped them, to apply them promptly and rationally to each new problem. It was the singular good fortune of the author to be chosen as the first Member of this newly formed con- stituency, and still greater good fortune that my own outlook on politics had been arrived at on almost exactly the same lines of thought and sympathy. Cordial confidence from the first, renewed six times by great and scarcely varying majorities, marked our long alliance which had given me the privilege of long and unbroken public service. They gave me the freest of hands, and supported me in all the controversies of the time with continuous generosity, even when some dissented from some things done or not done, said or not said. On questions of personal freedom, and equal rights as against religious or political dictation, or against class interests or privilege — on qiiestions of economic finance, the finance of the younger Pitt before the great war, of the Radicals of 1832, and their followers, the school of Hume, of that prince of administrators, James Graham, of Sir Robert Peel, who applied those prin- ciples decisively to the gravest of all problems ; of the canons of just taxation eloquently enforced by Glad- stone for two generations, ripening to-day into still more precise readjustments to secure equaMty of sacri- fice and complete equity of proportion of contribution — ^we were absolutely at one. The motto of the old Chartist banner so cherished at Kettering — ' Justice for all ' — was not a mere catch- word but a living gospel. It was on these corner- stones that remedies for grievances old and new, and social miseries crying for relief, naturally built themselves up. PREFACE ix We were in full and active sympatliy because we were Liberals by conviction, without misgiving or dread of bold and progressive reconstruction either in legislation or administration. Again, our outlook abroad was conceived in similar spirit. Gladstone's appeal for ' nations rightly strug- gling to be free ' — the Eastern Christians suffering under the infamies of Turkish tyranny, the victims of the rubber trade on the Congo — all in their turn found us friends and helpers. On wider issues no constituency has so clung to the love of peace, the hatred of aggression, the desire to avoid any step which needlessly challenged the rights of others, or would be provocative of hostile action on either side. Such principles and sympathies may at times go too far, and lead to errors of judgment which may bring grave peril. But, wisely directed, they are forces which have helped to build up the generous and essentially manly character of England, as we know it now. They are the sources of the spirit of enthusiastic courage, of patient endurance of suffering, of the overpowering passion to arrest and punish wrongdoing, that has marked these years of the Great War — the noblest level of realisation of aU its highest ideals, almost unconsciously attained by the spirit of England facing, as she is now facing, the gravest danger in national history. As a Liberal whose own mental and political life has shaped itself on the same instincts and aspirations as the constituency which made me their first member, I cannot but put forward the claim of Liberal prin- ciples to have played a great part in helping to develop and guide these noble impulses of our people. Liberal principles have played a determining part in the evolution of the Colonies from the trading station. z MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS through the Crown Colony, up to the free self-govern- ing States of to-day, at once independent and indis- solubly linked to each other, and to the Empire as a whole. Liberals can claim their share in building up that glorious unity of purpose. The same claim on its own lines holds good for the magnificent loyalty and devotion of India and its great chiefs. Similarly Liberals can urge that the great reforms at home, which their party has pushed through, one by one, often after embittered controversies, have had their share in making the community what it is, and have helped to open mind and heart to nobler truths, and to rouse the spirit to nobler ideals. They can claim their share in the enduring purpose and the heroic self-sacrifice which are saving England and the whole world. On the other hand, men of all parties are rejoicing that for this supreme duty all parties are now sinking differences and standing together. Every open-minded Liberal recognises the splendid devotion, generosity, and sagacity with which Conservatives are helping in Cabinet and in Parliament, and equally recognises the measureless services Conservatism has rendered to the historic ideals of the nation, and how great has been its contribution to national life, to its tenacity, its con- centrated vigour, to the ingrained love of order and discipline, to iincomplaining self-sacrifice and indomit- able courage — to all that makes up the noblest concep- tion of patriotic duty. Each of the great historic parties has, in its own special way, contributed to the total sum of what England stands for to-day. Mr. Buckle has just re- minded us of Mr. Disraeli's own contribution in carrying household suffrage in boroughs in 1867. That was the logical outcome — long overdue — of the Radical Reform Bill of 1832, just as county franchise carried PREFACE xi by Mr. Gladstone in 1884 was the logical complement of the reform of 1867. Disraeli, after aU, started his career as a democrat, and all these reforms had their initial stage still further back in the briUiant intellect of the younger Pitt, when he first entered pubhc life as a keen and bold reformer. In the mental processes of the ablest men of either party and of all parties there is a common vein of the spirit of evolution, now reined in by keener perception of danger, now spurred on by reasoned ideahsm. And in the following pages, which largely deal with the brisk give-and-take of stem and strenuous poUtical fighting, with its thrust and parry of hard words and blows, there are plenty of illustrations of the methods and lines on which men of open minds and generous hopes can, and will, join in pushing, in common, the big ideas which wiU help the present and shape the future. It can do nothing but good to weigh and imderstand the forces on either side which have helped to bring into possibility the amazing attainment in a few months of such a standard of moral and physical organisa- tion and efl&ciency as we see winning this greatest of wars. As a Liberal who loved and clung to the last to the hope of maintaining peace, I have found intense satis- faction in the soHd, visible fact that the liberties and the aspirations for which Liberals have fought for generations have proved a source, not of weakness, but of strength in this hour of national perU. It has been a special satisfaction, too, that the great con- stituency which I represented so many years, in spite of the large proportion of young men of miUtary age — 40 per cent, it is said — engaged in the production of army boots, contributed to the five miUions of voluntary recruits one of the highest averages in the whole country. The reason is plain. What is at stake xii MEMORIES OF MIDLAOT) POLITICS is the life or death of this country, and all it has meant for freedom and civilisation. All that Liberals have fought for and won in the past stands on the brink. The ideals, the mental and moral equipment of national life, as we have known it, will be held aloft for all time and blossom into newer and more glorious developments just because Liberals and Tories alike are resolved to win that decisive victory Avhich will entrench them for ever. FRANCIS ALLSTON CHANNING. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTEE I Introductory ....... "i PAOB CHAPTEE II Summer Campaigning. (1885) .... 10 Invited as Candidate — Kettering Corn Exchange — Welling- borough—Charles Pollard— Finedon and Wollaaton— Pytohley and the Villages — Joint Meeting at Northampton. CHAPTEE III Pytchley — The First Election. (1885) . . . 32 Pytohley and its People — Parish Churches — Confused Election Issues — Sir Lyon Playfair — Henry Broadhurst — Polling Day — Great Majority. CHAPTEE IV The Six Months' Parliament. (1886) . . .45 What should be done- The Creed, the Majority, the Leader — Strike now — Victory on the Land Issue — Home Rule — Heroic Tactics — Bold Initiatives — Railway Regulation Bill — July Elec- tion — Democracy the Great Reconciler — Reunion — ' Keep by Gladstone ' — Second Victory. CHAPTEE V The Salisbury Parliament. (1887) . . . 67 Gladstone's Lifting Force — Untiring Free Lances — The Two Streams — Lord Spencer on Ireland — The Allotments Campaign — Liberal Members visit Ireland. CHAPTEE VI Ireland and Liberalism. (1888) . . . .76 The Kettering Delegates — Sullivan at Northampton — Charles Wicksteed — Liberal Club — Local Government Bill — School Boards — Division of Rates — Village Reforms — Women's Liberal Associa- tion. xiv MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS CHAPTER VII Freedom. CHAPTER VIII PA.OE Great Men and Great Issubs. (1889) . . .93 County Oouncils — Passing of John Bright — Stanaf eld and Sullivan at Kettering — Bye-Elections — Wilfrid Lawson — Brigjjt on Policies and Personalities — Land and Labour. (1890, 1891) 104 Lord Salisbury surrenders Heligoland — Irish Measures — Allot- ments Conference — Fall of Parnell — Labour Problems — Three Vital Proposals by Liberals— Railway Hours — Conspiracy Law -^Faii; Wage Clause — Agriculture and Liberalism — Sir Edward Grey — Shaw-Lefevre. CHAPTER IX The New Electioneering. (1892) .... 128 Chamberlain and Allotments — Democracy and Home Rule — Free Education — Our Third Victory — Stockburn's Grand Fight. CHAPTER X Gladstone and the Lords. (1893, 1894) . .141 Gladstone's Supreme Effort — Tory Obstruction to Liberal Bills — Tuckwell's Harvest Home — Home Rule thrown out by the Lords — -Gladstone Retires — Visit to Aran Islands — Haroourt Budget — Rosebery declares War on the Lords — Rural and Labour Reforms — Agriculture Commission. CHAPTER XI Dissensions and Disaster. (1895) . . . .160 The Brotherhood of Democracy — Pointed Discussions — Joseph Wilf ord — A Liberal Vioar^ Armenian Horrors — The Shoe War — Policy of ' Thorough ' — Our Fourth Victory — New Political Era — Lady Henry Somerset — Co-operative Production — Thomas Burt on Ideals — Disintegration and Intrigue. CHAPTER XII Education and Rating. (1896) . . . .178 The Education Ideals — We defeat Tory Education Bill — Agri- cultural Rates — Relieving the Wrong Man — Gladstone's Last Appeal for Armenia — Lord Rosebery's Resignation — Philip Stan- hope — Necessitous School Boards — ' A Fighting Radical,' TABLE OF CONTENTS xv CHAPTER XIII PAGE Liberty Abroad, Popular Control at Home. (1897, 1898) 191 Aid Grants and Associations — Secret Service Fund for Sectarian- ism — Greece and Crete — Sir Robert Reid's Forecast of Parliaraent Act — Canning and Gladstone on Concert of Europe — Lloyd George on Tory Policy — Conference on Agricultural Holdings — Technical Institute — Spirit of Progress — The Czar for Peace — The Kaiser for the Turks — One Policy and One Leader — Lord Spencer on Education — The Volunteers. CHAPTER XIV South Africa. (1899) . . . . .211 The War Cloud — Morley at Manchester — Chamberlain on his own Policy — ^Last Appeal to Common Sense — Autumn Conference — Liberal Traditions — Asquith at Dundee — Sargeaunt at Bozeat — The South African Despatches — Provoking War — Lord Spencer in Cumberland — The Golden Rule — Higham — An Empire of Tolera- tion — Earls Barton — Reasonable Arbitration — Kettering — The Two Races— Rhodes the Statesman, or Rhodes the Conspirator — Militarism the Foe of Democracy — Peace the Stronghold of Liberty. CHAPTER XV The War Election. (1900) . . . . .234 Spence Watson at Nottingham — 'Lust of Gold was throttling this Land' — Lawrence Lowell — Annual Meeting — Free Self- Government, not the Raid Policy — Women's Summer Meeting — ■ ' The Paths of Peace ' — Impending Election — The Delegates — Democracy or Financial Imperialism — A Supreme Moment — The Capitalist Conspiracy — John Burns and Rushden — Rhodes and the Committee — Old Silsbee — Tory Chivalry — Finedon En- thusiasm — An Increased Majority — Lord Northampton. CHAPTER XVI Educational Reaction — Farm-Burning — Food Taxes. (1901, 1902) ...... 262 Crippling Higher Education — Unconditional Surrender or Equal Rights — Kitchener or Chamberlain — The Concentration Camps — Asquith and Party Unity — Campbell-Bannerman and Gladstone —Respite for Kritzinger — The School Boards — Revival of Corn Duty — The Workers' Income Tax. xvi MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS CHAPTER XVII PAGE Tariff Ekform. (1903, 1904) . . . .280 Repeal of Corn Duty — Tariff Reform Plunge — Weekly Batch of Inaccuracies — Chamberlain the Worst of Commercial Travellers — Coleridge — Unionist Free Traders — Evading Decisions — Land Reform Answer — Face neither Country nor Commons—' The Heathen Chinee ' — James Tomkinson — ' Unsettled Convictions.' CHAPTER XVIII Liberalism, liABOXJR, and Free Trade. (1905) . . 299 Reconstruction or Co-operation — Crush Chamberlain — Rural Policy Amendment — Record Exports — Mrs. Spencer and the Social Council — Raunda Strike Settlement — Mars and Mammon Rule — The Poorest Hit Hardest — Does the Foreigner Pay? — Labour Reforms the Comer Stone — Reasonable Hours, Combination Rights, Fair Wage backed by Liberals, Ijabour Men, and Socialists — All the Angels for our Pool of Betheada — America and Protec- tion — Pure Air and Men like Burt and Bums. CHAPTER XIX The Great Free Trade Triumph. (1906) . . . 315 Pytohley Starts — Debt of Liberals and Free Trade to Sir Robert Peel, and Great Conservative Financiers — Conciliating Ireland — Cruelty of Food Taxation — A Majority to beat the Lords — Mrs. Sharman at Women's Meeting — Landslide of Free Trade Tories — Immense Victory and Rejoicings — 'No Good Thing this Parlia- ment Cannot and Will not do' — Martin Sutton — Passing of Lawaon — Band of Hope. CHAPTER XX An Agrarian Policy. (1907) .... 338 Small Holdings Report — Lord Onslow — Lord Reay and Agri- cultural Education — Organised Small Farming — Rural Education Conferences — St. Anne de Bellevue and James Robertson — Pre- sentations — A Way would be Found — Small Holdings Act — Young Liberals' League — Honours to Stockburn. CHAPTER XXI Licensing, Small Holdings, Asquith. (1908). . . 358 Licensing Bill and the Clubs— Address to Club Men— Conference on Small Holdings and Co-operative Organisation — Lord Carring- ton— Asquith, Prime Minister— Sharman Presentation— Social Adjustment— Unemployment. TABLE OF CONTENTS xvii CHAPTER XXII PAGE The Democratic Budget — Agricultural Development. (1909) 374 Campbell-Bannerman'a Great Programme realised — Readjustment of Local Expenditure — Old Age Pensioners — Samuel Taylor — Grey on Dreadnoughts — Working of Holdings Act — Sheffield's Garden Party — Budget League Meeting at Kettering — The Part- ing of the Ways — The Grand Development Policy. CHAPTER XXIII The Madness of the Lords. (1909) . . 392 'That Way Revolution Lies' — Reconsider my Resignation — The Constitution a Sacred Instrument to evolve England's Liberties — Lords reject the Finance Bill — Protest Meeting — Campaign from Wieksteed's. CHAPTER XXIV Seventh Victory. (1910) . . • ■ .402 The January Election — Sir Chandos Leigh at Irohester— Earls Barton — Rushden — Wellingborough — Women's Free Trade Meet- ing— Dr. Clifford's Great Speech— Irthlingborough Cross— Polling Day and Rejoicings — Last Meeting at Kettering — Mr. Gladstone's Prayer for England. Index ....... 425 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Sir Francis Channing, Bart., M.P. John Turner Stockburn, J. P., Kettering William Sproston Caine, M.P. George W. Maycock, Wellingborough Charles Pollard, Kettering Pratt Walker, Wollaston . Elizabeth Channing .... Pytchley House .... Rev. TiIdward Gates, Vicar of Pytchley . John Stanley, Pytchley Et. Hon. Sib Lyon Playfair, M.P. . C. J. K. Woolston, J.P., C.A., Wellingborough Rt. Hon. Earl Spencer, K.G. Samuel W. Taylor, T. Miller Wilson, P. D. M Delegates to Ireland . Charles Wicksteed, J.P., G.A., Kettering Rt. Hon. Anthony J. Mundella, M.P. Mrs. John Wallis, Kettering Rt. Hon. John Bright, M.P. Rt. Hon. James Stansfeld, M.P. Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bart., M.P. . Thomas Sanders, Higham Ferrers . Rt. Hon. Sir Walter Foster, M.D , M.P. . William Summers, M.P. Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Grey, Bart., M.P. . Frontispiece ACING PAGE 7 9 19 21 23 27 33 35 37 39 49 69 GOWAN, 77 81 89 91 95 97 101 103 111 119 123 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XIX FACING PAGE Rt. Hon. G. J. Shaw-Lefkvre, M.P. John Parker, Finedon Joseph Harlock, Finedon Blanche M. Channing Henry P. Cobb, M.P. . J. Alfred G-otch, J.P., Kettering . George Tailby, Stanwick Samuel Rye, Irthlingborough William Errington, Joseph Wilford, George Moebs, Pytchley ..... Daniel Sheffield, Earls Barton Henry Broadhurst, M.P. . Rev. M. E. Parkin, Rushden George Denton, J.P., Rushden Rt. Hon. Thomas Burt, M.P. Hon. Philip Stanhope, M.P. Mrs. Bain, Wellingborough ... Mrs. Lloyd Pratt, Wellingborough Stephen Parsons, George Bowen, Irohester Rev. W. D. Sargeaunt, Vicar of Bozeat . Frank Ballard, Kettering .... Mrs. N. Pearce Sharman, Swanspool, Wellingborough W. Owen Sanders, Wollaston W. H. WiLKiNS, CO., J.P., Rushden Election Scenes, Irthlingborough Cross and Finedon The Marquess of Northampton John Wilson, M.P., Mid-Durham . Lord Coleridge .... N. Pearce Sharman on Favourite Hunter L. E. Bradley, J.P., Kettering, Labour Leader XX MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS FACING PAGE Wm. Bazeley, J. p., Eushden, Labour Leader R. BuRLEY Wallis, J.P., Kettering Mrs. Charles Kennard (Mary Cleveland Channing) Jambs Heygate, Wellingborough . G-EORGE Lawrence, C.C, J.P., Wellingborough . James Page, Wellingborough Et. Hon. Charles Egbert Spencer, M.P. . N. Pearce Sharman, J.P., Wellingborough Mrs. Laycock, Women's Liberal Association, Welling- borough ...... Miss James, Women's Liberal Association, Welling borough ...... C. L. Bradfield and Fred Knight, J.P., Eushden Outside Billiard Eoom, The Poplars Garden Meeting, Earls Barton George Parkin, Eushden .... James Jackson, Northampton E. M. Nunneley, J.P., C.A., Wellingborough Miss Hilda Wicksteed, Bryn Hafod, Kettering. Dr. John Clifford ..... Edward P. Toller, J. P., Kettering Julia A. Channing ..... J. T. Stockburn and Sir Francis Channing at Mission House, Keti'ering . . . . 307 321 331 345 351 351 355 369 371 371 377 383 385 387 .387 403 405 409 411 417 421 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY The General Election that followed Redistribution in 1885 gave exceptional opportunities to new men. I was perhaps as fortunate as any man who then entered public life. My earliest associations had stirred keen interest in land questions. Ten years of University work made me eager for educational progress. I was an enthusiast, even at Oxford, for the ideas personified in Gladstone. The sweep of big principles, the possibilities of vital reform, the intense interest of the evolution of the Anglo-Saxon race, the lives and personalities of great men, and the nobler pages of history had captured my imagination. But it was the impulse of Gladstone's sympathy with ' Nations struggling to be free ' that brought me into touch with the living forces and the supreme duties of political life. George Canning's generous hopes for South America, Byron's romantic efforts for Greece, and the series of protests by Gladstone against tyranny and cruelty and rapme, first in Italy, and then in European Turkey culminating in his appeal to English humanity on behalf of the massacred Bulgarians, pushed me into the fighting line. For some years in the seventies I had lived at Brighton, and taken part in local administration and political, organisation. At the election of 1880 I had 2 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 actively helped in winning the remarkable victory which once more gave Brighton two Liberal members. Shortly after, I joined in starting the London and Counties Liberal Union, of which I became Hon. Secre- tary ; and also joined the Committee of the Farmers' Alliance formed in 1881. As Hon. Secretary of the East Sussex Liberal Association I carried out a vigor- ous campaign in 1882, 1883, and 1884. In Hove I had been for some years on the School Board, Among my most valued friends was George Gladstone, Chair- man of that Board, a thoughtful expert in practical working, and in the theory and principles of a true National system — a clear-sighted and loyal Liberal and natural leader of educational progress on democratic lines. Mr. George Gladstone was also the kindest and gentlest and most affectionate of friends, for years one of my wisest counsellors and helpers in the educational struggle. Another friendship of early days was v/ith Dr. Crosskey, then leader of Birmingham's bold educa- tional creed, as that gentle and courageous spirit, E. F. M. M'Carthy, has been since. With Crosskey I studied the admirable schools and rational independent methods of Birmingham, and till his death he was a frequent correspondent. In organising and speaking for the London and Counties Liberal Union, I made many friends, some afterwards colleagues m Parliament. I addressed many meetings for the Farmers' Alliance, and took part in its organisation and discussions, winning valued friends among the farmers all over England, who were demanding better protection for their improvements. For Mr. James Howard, its first President, I had warm admiration and regard. From thoughtful and ener- getic reformers who then worked with me I have had kindly and sympathetic letters all through my career. i885] INTRODUCTORY At the great Conference I organised in 1897, on the amendment of the Agricultural Holdings Acts, one or two of the old Farmers' Alliance set took part, or sent, some in ruin and retirement, sad but still hopeful letters to help the cause. During these years I con- stantly listened to discussions on these matters from a seat under the gaUery in Parliament. I had made a close study of the Irish Land Question from as far back as 1870, and now the debates on ' Compensation for Disturbance,' ' Arrears,' and the Land Bill of 1881, where I had my first experience of Gladstone's marvellous eloquence, and stiU more mar- vellous mastery of intricate details, drew me often to the House. His scheme of assuring through a Land Commission that the fair economic rent only should be paid for the land, and the value of the tenant's improvements should be definitely marked off from the landlord's freehold share in the farm — the old demand of the Devon Commission — the mine from which I dug out the truth as to Irish Land — went to the root of the matter, and was visibly just. When the House of Lords, and Mr. "W. H. Smith, tried to counter Mr. Gladstone's policy by the ingenious use of British credit to promote the transfer of holdings from landlord to tenant, on terms which really meant that the British tax- payer was asked to put back in the landlord's pocket, in capitalised form, the unjust rents Gladstone's reform had taken from him, I took the stand I have uniformly maintained upon these Purchase Acts. Early in 1883 I first made the acquaintance of Mr, Chamberlain, whom I had officially ^ invited to speak at more than one great meeting ; I often travelled great distances to hear his important speeches. Their lucidity and incisiveness charmed me, rousing high hopes of his future as a great leader. One of our 1 As Hon. Sec. of the L. and C. Liberal Union and the East Sussex Associations. 4 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 Brighton members ' turned his coat ' and made a grossly unfair attack, which led me vigorously to take up Chamberlain's defence. After going down to the celebrated Cobden Club Dinner at Greenwich, which Tenniel immortalised by his ' Ugly Duckling ' cartoon, I had an interview with him at the Board of Trade at his request. Our talk gave me the impression of daring in combination, and an open mind. On the one hand the reserve and economy of ideas, which is the note of strength, on the other extraordinary fertility and breadth of initiative — a born leader of practical politics — not necessarily opportunist, but rather of a generous resourcefulness of intellect which makes, and can make, its own opportunities — a very remarkable man. He showed me much kindness in those days. With other young aspirants for Parliament at that time I, naturally, became a warm admirer of such a man, and gave him my confidence and support. I helped to organise his great meeting in South London at which he brought out his ' Unauthorised Pro- gramme.' I was also present at Bradford in October 1885, when he first struck a wrong note, in saying we might get Radical reforms, without turning the Tories out. On the Terrace one day he proposed that I should become the Radical Candidate of a two-barreUed con- stituency, and I had interviews with the leaders of the Radical Section, but after inquiry had the prudence to make my bow, and wait further developments else- where. When, after the Redistribution Bill, early in 1885, I had got into communication with several promising seats, two in London and two in the country, and consulted him as to their relative merit as chances, I found his judgment singularly misleading. The London seat he thought best went Tory, the other London seat and a big borough division, which he put next, have been in and out ever since, while my own i885] INTRODUCTORY prize constituency, the steadiest in Great Britain, he had little faith in. Pleasant interviews with Lord Richard Grosvenor, with grim-visaged but warm-hearted Kensington, with big, genial Cotes, Craig-Sellar, and others, a delightful talk with Mundella, by invitation, at the Education Office, about Sheffield — many seats discussed, all happily eschewed. In 1883 and 1884 my activity in the central hfe of Liberalism grew. Then came the agitation for the County Franchise, and the first of the crusades against the Lords of our time. We organised a rush of meet- ings in 1883, and early in 1884, to push the question to the front. The rash arguments of Randolph Churchill and others were our favourite targets. I was one of the organising committee of the Leeds Conference of 1883, where I first heard Henry Fowler's smashing vigour, and listened to a noble speech from John Bright in his grandest spirit of faith in Demo- cracy and popular rights. Then, with 1884, came the rejection of the Franchise Bill by the Lords, and the outburst of passionate protest through the country. Almost at the outset we determined to hold that first organised Demonstration in Hyde Park, which was so magnificent a success, and has had countless repeti- tions — for causes wise and unwise. Four of us met in committee at the N.L.C., myself in the chair, and in a few meetings the whole affair was in splendid swing. It was one of my first attempts to address a vast open-air meeting, but I got through fairly weU. In the late summer and autumn, a family sorrow, the last illness of my father, who had taken a pro- found and ever helpful and sagacious interest in my opening career, kept me almost wholly away from active life. During our winter stay at Brighton, I 6 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 had constant letters as to various seats where candi- dates were sought. Never were so many old members shifted to new seats, or so many new openings in counties and boroughs. My land sympathies drew me to counties, my experiences in Brighton and London to boroughs. It was hard to judge what was good, what bad. Several county divisions approached me, but I thought them too speculative. Then one day I was invited to meet the South Nottingham Liberal Association, and almost by the same post a letter from the Wellingborough, or East Northamptonshire Division. I remember so well how this came while I was talking over local school problems with my old friend, George Gladstone. Half in jest I showed him the letter : ' Here is another of these County Divisions ; I don't believe it wiU be much good. I suppose I must dechne this like the rest.' He took it up and mused a moment. Then came ' I don't know — those furnaces about WeULngborough and Kettering on the Midland look encouraging,' adding, ' there are fine strong people there.' So, instead of an apology, I wired I would meet the deputation in London to discuss matters. Two days after I foimd myself in the National Liberal Club, then in temporary premises in Trafalgar Square. A minute later Mr. Stockburn of Kettering and Mr. Woolston of Wellingborough came in. Both were wholly unknown to me — in fact, I had never seen or heard of any one in the Division. All I knew of Northamptonshire before was a peep at the Weedon and Floore neighbourhood, in the briefest of winter visits, while still at Oxford, and my warm admiration for the great ' Red Earl,' ^ who had long made his mark in pohtical history as a generous and just Liberal, and had won the hearts of men by the sincerity of his every word and deed. ^ Lord Spencer. JOHN TURNER STOCKBURN, J. P. Photo. Frank Broiva, Leicester. 1885] INTRODUCTORY It was one of those moments which determine the issues of life, once for all, even before one realises it. In Mr. Stockburn I found the truest and wisest friend any man ever had, a man for whom my regard has deepened year by year, with whom mutual confidence has remained unbroken all our time. I knew him afterwards in his beautiful home at Kettering, the old ' Mission House ' of many memories, to which he has added the record of a blameless and unselfish and public-spirited life, and the charm of a singiilarly generous, and joyous, and attractive personality. To resume my narrative, the bustle at the Club made such an interview almost unworkable, and we adjourned to the Reform Club, where we could talk freely in that charming Conference Room on the ground floor, with the great worthies of the Corn Law struggle looking down on us from the walls. In our short walk we had got some way in knowing each other. Mr. Stockburn attracted me at once by his frank, kindly ways and by the transparent goodness and strength that have always made him a power among men. Mr. Woolston struck me as a man of excellent judgment and straightforward vigour. They were visibly men of principle, good faith, common sense — Liberals of the best type, clear-sighted, fearless, loyal, wholly free from fanaticism or extrava- gance. On my side, my simple statement of my own creed, loyal and free from extravagance like their own, perhaps won their confidence. I noticed they were specially pleased with my strong views on Free Trade, and my position as member of the Cobden Club. I have learned since — that interview was all but an accident, almost an impromptu. Mr. James Jackson, the assistant to Mr. Heygate, the Secretary of the Association, while stopping at some beautiful resort 8 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 at the Lakes, had made, as an enthusiastic young Liberal, the acquaintance of John Morley. Some months before I sent an article to the Daily News advocating the Second Ballot as the best way to meet the problem of three-cornered fights. The reasoning of this article ^ had given Morley a favourable impres- sion, and, of course, I had, as Hon. Secretary of the London and Counties Liberal Union, been in contact with him, and a frequent hearer of his great speeches. Mr. Jackson had suggested the Deputation might see me, after other suggested candidates. Though delighted with my talk, I was still warmly disposed towards South Nottingham, and not less so after passing the night there with that charming old Liberal, Dr. Ransom, and discussing the position with the Executive Committee — strong and interesting men, full of enthusiasm and courtesy, and encouraging a young aspirant like myself to high hope of success. I promised an answer in a few days, and returned to London. Mr. Stotckburn and Mr. Woolston had given me a bright and hopeful view of East Northants — modest and truthful as such men would always make it. Caine — ever a loyal friend — with whom I had already been in contact about temperance and political issues, with whom I had gone to the Hyde Park demonstra- tion, always keen for my future, and eager to help the party, meeting me at the Reform Club, practically settled matters by strongly recommending me to his friends in East Northants, and urging me to accept their invitation before all others. Next to the kind- ness of Mr. Stockburn and Mr. Woolston, I owe the happiness of a quarter of a century to George Glad- stone of Hove, and Caine, who with sound judgment 1 Circulated as a leaflet for some years by the National Liberal Federation. ^^^H^dk m^m^ ^^^^1 /^,^ J WILLIAM SPROSTON CAINE, Al.P. i885] INTHODUCTORY and tact helped to save me from mistakes, and launch me in the right channel. To each man the great plunge into responsible pubUc life comes in its own way. Impelled by enthusiasm rather than by personal ambition, I enjoyed those first moments with intensity, but with recurring doubt whether I was reaching, could ever reach, my own standard. The most vivid impression was of generous luicritical sympathy coming like the glow of sunshine, sweeping away all misgivings. This stimulus and my old Oxford habit of studying each problem down to the bottom facts, bringing conviction as to principle, and details of proposals or remedies through which prin- ciples must be applied — conviction which became a rule of action, and source of strength — pulled me through. 10 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS ' [1885 CHAPTER II SUMMER CAMPAIGNING. (1885) Invited as Candidate — Kettering Corn Exchange — Wellingborough — Charles Pollard — ^Pinedon and WoUaston — Pytchley and the Villages — Joint Meeting at Northampton. My first visit to Wellingborough comes back vividly — walking witb Charles Woolston through the cattle on their way to the old market on the hill. I met the Executive at the Granville, and talked the plain Liberahsm of the hour from a full heart. My welcome was delightfully kind. The old-world courtesy and shrewd sense of Mr. Pearce Sharman, the thought- ful and earnest face of Mr. Nunneley, whom my Farmers' Alliance creed satisfied, the quick penetration and gentle refinement of Mr. James Heygate, the vigorous individuality of the grand veterans of that time — now friends for a generation — gave me a sense of confident happiness — though one manufacturer, ever since a lifelong friend, ' jibbed ' at my support of Trade Unions, while a big farmer put a question which roused my Free Trade sentiment. Events did not run quite smoothly. One of my best friends was also interviewed. He was a friend of Chamberlain too. We referred our claims to the Radical Chief. Chamberlain natvirally said, ' Let the Constituency decide.' So the appeal went to Caesar. A few weeks after I found myself addressing for more than an hour the Council of Delegates. I gave them all that was in me, without reserve, and seemed to win warm approval. I was in accord with the advanced section of the Liberal Party, but should feel that it was to sacrifice independence if i885] DELEGATES' MEETING 11 I consented to become simply a mouthpiece. I was for peace, and did not believe in a standing army that would menace other nations. To abolish war was one great pmpose of Christianity. A strong navy was different. Our merchant vessels were on every sea and must be protected. . . . What was needed in the new Parliament was thorough representation of the people. The House of Lords, if not aboUshed, should be in harmony with the House of Commons, and representative also. The first great question was the land. The tenant should be secured from being rented on Ms improvements. . . . Primogeniture should be abohshed and land transfer made simple. . . . The children of the country shotdd not be driven into overcrowded cities where the struggle against poverty was keen enough already. . . . Local Government must be recast. The people who paid the taxes should now elect those who had the spending of them. To lighten local burdens no sops from the Treasiuy, but power to County Boards to dis- tribute some locally levied imperial taxes. Licensing should be dealt with by such Boards. For licences taken away there was no legal claim to compensation. On education I thought primary education, if compulsory, should be free. Technical schools to instruct for future caUings — dis- estabhshment with apphcation of endowments to education — tithe payers enabled to redeem on fair terms, Sunday opening of museums, abohtion of compulsory vaccination were other topics. Finally, even if the delegates invited me I must come before the Electors, and if they did not approve I should retire. To Mr. David Dulley whom I met for tlie first time, I replied declining to recognise the claim of licensed holders to compensation — an old-world creed, perhaps novel in claiming the fullest freedom for myself, and for my constituents. I waited in another room till summoned to the Hall to learn that I was, with practical unanimity, invited to be the Liberal Candidate for East Northamp- tonshire. This big step in life was delightful. Doubts faded in the sense of the flowing tide of opportunity, the vast new responsibilities. 12 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 Before our campaign, a business meetiag was held at the deHghtful house of Mr. John Wallis ^ at Kettering, an oasis of quiet amid the bustle of the town — with its library of antiquarian lore of Northamptonshire, of which Mr. Wallis was past master, and a high-waUed garden, full of roses and sweetbriar and peace. It is all gone now, years since, and covered with shops and rushing life. Mr. WaUis was then Chairman of the Local Board, an influential personality, of fine presence, forcible character, and gentle dignity. He came of a notable Quaker family, with some of whom I had already co-operated in Brighton politics. Mrs. John WaUis was a sister of Mr. Stockburn, an earnest Liberal and enthusiastic worker for all noble and generous causes — a natural leader of Kettering women, and some years after founder of the first Women's Liberal Association in the county. It was a centre of idealism. When some eight years later Mr. Wallis passed away, Mrs. Wallis moved to London. We often met at Social Reform gatherings, especially the National Vigilance Society. She delighted to the last of her strenuous life in visits to the House of Commons, where she heard many great debates in the old Glad- stone times. Mr. Stockburn and Mr. Thomas Wallis of Kettering, a younger brother of John, Mr. Pearce Sharman, and Mr. Heygate, from Wellingborough, came to meet me. Kettering Station then v/as old and somewhat dilapidated. On this first visit I was looked after by kindly inspectors and porters, constant friends ever after. I went up in the brougham from the ' George,' with bright-faced ' WiUiam ' on the box, and a white mare in the shafts, who for years after was a familiar friend, a sort of ' mascot ' of victory. That white mare took me to hundreds of meetings. 1 Comer of Montagu Street, Kettering. 1885] KETTERING CORN EXCHANGE 13 The old brougham always looked cheery — sprinkled with rice and other emblems of pleasant functions. Our talk was delightful ; it was soon settled the opening meeting should be at Kettering. The densely crowded meeting in Kettering Corn Exchange^ represented every section of Liberal and Radical opinion. Looking through the long list of names, many now passed away, leaving memories of loyal service, what goes straight to the heart is that not one that I can call to mind — those who have gone, and those still with us — has ever ceased to be a Liberal, or, so far as I know, to be my friend. That is a note of true happiness to cherish to the end. This seems true of nearly every place large and small in the Division. It has been a peculiar privilege to represent for so many years leaders and electors of such staunch and genial consistency — a true democracy too strong to be fickle. Mr. Stockburn, as chairman, quickly got the meet- ing into swing, introducing me, for the first time, as he has many times since, with the dignity, lucidity, tact, and kindliness which have always been his. Enthusiastic cheers welcomed me as I thanked them for a reception which made me ' hope I had not been wrong in accepting their invitation, and that, if I won their confidence, the Party might work with unanimity and success. An invitation from a new political centre, at the threshold of its political life, was a peculiar honour, an honour I felt the more because it was offered to an untried man.' I briefly told the story of the franchise fight. I was chairman of the httle meeting ^ from wliich sprang the great Hyde Park Demonstration, opening the campaign which converted Tory leaders who argued that village artisans and agricultural labourers had not brains or independence 1 May 1885. ^ At the National Liberal Club. 14 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 enough to think and act for themselves, and so won the peaceful revolution of November. The Tories tried to burke Reform with the rusty weapon of the ' Lords,' but failed. There was surrender in November, but not the surrender of Mr. Gladstone. It was the surrender of class ascendancy to democracy. Would the new voters entrust power to those who had been forcibly convinced against their wiU, or to those who had proved their faith that human nature, and motives, and capacity were much the same in aU classes, and that the surest way to spread knowledge, and rouse independence, was to give the right to a real share in making national history. They could judge how far I could represent them if I told them, without partisan bitterness, how I would apply the Liberal creed to the most urgent questions of the day. Liberal- ism meant simply this : — to create freedom and happiness for our fellow creatures. Take Ireland. Was Ireland never to be happy ? — ^never to be rid of Coercion and Crimes Acts ? Were they never to get to the bottom of those Irish problems that had caused misery and hatred in the past 1 Would they never have an Ireland peaceful and friendly in co-operation with England, like Scot- land ? Nowhere had the Lords so strikingly displayed in- capacity as in their resistance to Irish reforms. Take Land Reform. The facts were clearly thrashed out forty years ago by the Devon Commission. Reforms necessary to remedy notorious evils had been eloquently advocated in Parliament by Mr. Sharman Crawford. Why were those reforms delayed tiU 1868 ? Simply because landowners dominated the House of Commons, and the Lords obstructed. In 1870 Mr. Gladstone introduced his first Land Bill for Ireland. He could not go to the root of the matter and settle it once for all, because the measure had to face the Lords. He tried to check evictions by ' compensation for improvements,' and the ' Bright ' purchase Clauses, but this generosity was abused. The landlords confis- cated improvements by enhancements of rent. Men became desperate at injustice. That was what Mr. Gladstone had to face with his triumphant majority in 1880. He attempted to pass a ' Compensation for Disturbance ' BiU. The Whigs in the Commons deserted Mr. Gladstone. The Lords threw it out. i885] KETTERING CORN EXCHANGE 15 and were morally responsible for the orgy of crime, bordering on civil war, which produced the Land League, leading on to that hateful Coercion BiU. We were forced to deal with the outbreak brought about by the rejection of Mr. Gladstone's moderate measure, and on the other hand we passed the Irish Land Act, which, had it been in force eleven years before, would have prevented Mr. Parnell and his friends from gaining ascendancy in Ireland. No measure has done so much for the pacification of Ireland. Mr. Forster's Coercion Act was a grave error. It gave power to take away a man's liberty upon secret information. Arbitrary arrest, wherever pursued, always drives men to desperate courses. The Government must maintain order, put down outrages, and ' Boycotting,' but arbitrary arrest was the very worst method. The terrible crime in the Phoenix Park, and conspiracies which had not yet died out, made exceptional legislation ^ necessary, but I hope the day will soon come when it will be swept away. No step would tend more to bring Ireland into happy relations with the rest of the United Kingdom than the removal of the Castle machinery, governing Ireland, like Scotland, through a Secretary of State, who must be an Irishman. With Mr. Gladstone ' Let us patiently persist in weU-doing, let us trust to the future to bring about peace between the countries.' At home, the spirit of the age demands large measures of social reform. If twitted with interference between man and man, we reply — Contracts are never free unless the weaker party is in a position of equality. Can the crofter in the West Highlands make terms with his landlord ? Can the poor in our large towns make terms as to their tenements ? Can sailors, miners, railwaymen, all em- ployed in dangerous or unhealthy callings, dictate terms to employers ? Legislation alone imposes fair conditions. Trade Unions have made mistakes, but have done more to elevate the masses than almost any other organisation of the present day. They coiild have done nothing without legislation. Laws have to be worked out by human beings with hearts and brains. In practice legislation has produced good results. Take the Employers' Liability Act. Instead of excessive htigation, 1 The Coercion Act of 1881. 16 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 employers have taken precautions for men's safety. Take our sailors, who owe a debt of gratitude to that noble man, Mr. PlunsoU. The Act he obtained has somewhat failed, but Mr. Chamberlain, whose masterly speech I listened to,i proved that the principle was right ; that shipowners should not make a profit out of the hves of their men, that habUity should be the same on water as on land. Does such legislation injure trade ? Have Elites been less productive because the white slavery of forty years ago has ceased ? Are factories less efficient because women and children cannot be ground to death now as formerly ? Are railways bankrupt because of greater safety precautions for their men ? The housing question, in a bright and prosperous Northamp- tonshire town, does not touch you so closely, but it must touch your hearts. We should act boldly on the report of the Housing Commission.^ Lord WUham Compton, in his evidence, proved that there were men who made a profit of 150 per cent, out of unwholesome houses. There must be penal responsibility. The Local Government Board must compel defaulting authorities to act. In some districts the squaUd misery of the outcast poor poured out recruits to the army of decrepitude, disease, and sin, in off- spring, imfit physically and morally for the battle of hfe. To improve the home meant much. Then he would strengthen the law against cruelty to children so as to increase parental responsibility ; extend Industrial Schools : give power to remove the worst cases of children from incorrigible homes to institutions like Dr. Barnardo's beautiful cottages at Ilford. It is a question of vital moment to insure that physically, morally, and intellectually the children of the next generation shall have the very best entry into life. The most urgent question for the next ParMament — ^the repression of intemperance — ^went to the fountainhead of all the misery and wretchedness and poverty in their midst. The movement had sunk deep into the hearts of the people. The evil must be dealt with. If legislation is found defective, I would press my hardest for more adequate solutions. County Government, the Enghsh land question, religious equaUty and a national system of education must be dealt with. ^ On his Merchant Shipping Bill of 1884, when he spoke for three hours. 2 Just issued. 1885] KETTERING CORN EXCHANGE 1? Old abuses were dropping off one by one. The greatest curse of our time and of all times, which had wrought more evil than all else, was the curse of war. The Liberal creed of the future would make war impossible, or limit it to occasions when they need not blush to be at war. The transient gratification of a detestable passion, the temporary expansion of some industries, were dearly bought by putting off reforms and paralysing progress, by the tears of women and children, by cramping national energies for generations. I do not preach a creed which would unman the EngUsh people. We had sympathy and hearty admiration for true bravery Mke that of the lonely figure who stood out so long at Khartoum. Was it because Gordon showed the capacity of a General in fighting the Arabs 1 Their sympathy with Gordon was because he spoke words and did deeds of infinite mercy. He wished those who longed for war could see its horrors, could see it was organised murder, pUlage, and cruelty, its miseries feU more upon women and children than upon strong men. The Tories were angry because they cannot get what they wanted — ^war with Russia. War would have come in 1878 but for the cool head of Lord Derby, who remained long enough in the Cabinet to spoil their game, and is now with us. They would give it us now if the people were fools enough to place power in their hands. Would the electors not prefer a pohcy hke that of Lord Ripon and Lord Hartington, to whom they owed it that we had at our back a loyal and energetic India, and a not unfriendly Afghanistan on our flanks ? Our army and our navy were stronger than ever to guarantee peace and protection to commerce. All these things were owing to the genius and the courage of Mr. Gladstone. He had wisely guarded their Indian Empire, and the greatest of aU blessings for England and India, peace. I sat down amidst prolonged cheers. At WeUingborough/ where Charles Woolston presided, some days later, I felt at once at home in addressing an audience warm-hearted, quick to take up points. ^ At the Corn Exchange. The platform included all the leaders of the old Liberalism of the town with many from outside, men whose names have been household words for generations. B 18 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 Egypt and the Land were dealt with. I defended Liberal Policy in Egypt. |-|The Crimean War, which Cobden and Bright heartily con- demned, let loose the money-lenders on Egypt. The people were taxed mercilessly and despoiled of their encumbered holdings to meet rapacious demands. Then came the ' Dual Control ' to extort the uttermost farthing. When Lord Beaconsfield left office the Egyptians were ripe for revolution. Ml". Gladstone, bound hand and foot by obhgations, said at Edinburgh, ' Honour took me to Egypt.' He did his best to meet the situation in the true Liberal spirit. He endeavoured to reconstruct Egypt's finances and estab- lish stable government. Then came the foUy of the Egyptian Government in plunging into the terrible Soudan disaster. The Tories left us this legacy of trouble. But for these obstacles and the European Powers persistently thwarting reform, Mr. Gladstone would long ago have cleared away the embroglio, and left Egypt a free country. We were proud of the results of EngUsh administration in Egjrpt, in securing justice and economic and social progress, but events had not shaken my conviction of England's duty as traditional guardian of national liberties. An Imperial Mission to reconstruct nations after our own fashion, even against the will of the nation itself, had probably always more against than for it. Turning to the land — Lord Sahsbury, with the sarcasm of which he was master, said ' Mr. Chamberlain had the morals of a Sicihan bandit, the policy of his speeches in the recess was to make the thrifty pay for the thriftless.' What had he done but remind us that property owes a debt to society whose laws protect it, that ' The land has been tied up in few hands by laws which should be swept away.' Is that true ? . . . Why should England remain under feudal laws under present conditions ? The State — ^the embodiment of the popular wiU— should recognise its duty to all classes by insuring that the land shall so be used, and so apportioned to those who can best use it, as to produce the greatest amovmt of happiness to the English people. GEORGE W. MAYCOCK, WELLINGBOROUGH. i885] WELLINGBOROUGH 19 The Agricultural Holdings Act failed to protect tenant farmers from being rented on their improvements ; if full security could be given in no other way, the sitting tenant must be protected by a Land Coiu-t. The custom of the country should not be allowed to override the principle of com- pensation for unexhausted values, sometimes inflicting injustice on outgoing, sometimes on incoming tenants. The law of distress should be abolished. We should consider the moral effect of these reforms, and seek to bring back the spirit of the old yeomen and make farmers free to think and act for them- selves without fear of any man. For labourers, law should do what some generous landlords, hke Lord Tollemache, had done voluntarily. If ever there was cruel oppression and feudal tyranny, it was that of the crofters in the glens and on the coasts of Scot- land. Any man who knew the Banffshire valleys or the west coast of Ross-shire, used his eyes and Hstened to the simple talk of the country people, would see how owners of vast sheep farms were tempted to sweep away the people, and recall, as I did, ruined homesteads in the narrow glens where the people once hved, mutely appeahng to the greater mercy of another age. Local government, rousing men's faculties and expanding their hves in country villages and in towns, would be a potent factor in national education. There was the House of Lords. He was no enemy of the House of Lords, and did not approve the view of some Radicals who would keep the Lords powerless. No part of State machinery should be useless, the butt of contumely ; every part shotdd reflect and carry out the wiU of the people. A Second Chamber was not wanted to overrule decisions of the First, but to carry out those principles which the House of Commons was alone competent to decide. There would be work for a Second Chamber, which might be representative — the best men who have left the Commons, great lawyers, members of County Boards — a convenient bridge from local to Imperial legislation. Kind words followed from Heygate and others. My lifelong friend, Maycock, racily said ' Some thought I would " go the whole hog " too soon. If they waited 20 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 for some people they would get a bristle at a time. He could do with the whole animal at once.' Mr. CoUings, who rendered brilliant and loyal service, referred to the ' Battle fought for liberty in another land by those of my name. They welcomed in Mr. Channing the same desire to promote human freedom, the same endeavour to seek out truth. Mr. Channing would be a good Liberal, one of those Liberals who help to mould Party policy.' Three weeks later to Rushden with our hosts, the Sharmans. The chairman, George Denton, ' felt confi- dent that I would support just measures guided by their noble leader, Mr. Gladstone, who always en- deavoured to make it easy to do right, and difficult to do wrong.' I said :— The Budget defeat brought unmerited humiliation on their great chief. Tory pohcy was hatred of the most generous, loyal statesman England ever had. It was not fair criticism, or rational disagreement, but a creed of moral assassina- tion. It would steel the heart of every Liberal to replace him in power, with a magnificent majority. This consti- tuency would do its duty. To meet evil Tory legacies an honest Budget had been based on the principle that burdens should be proportionate to meet national necessity. The alternative to intoxicating liquors was tea and sugar. Hicks-Beach and Randolph were for taxing one or both. If they had to face the question they would not dare to tax either. The Tory attack was a sham. The feudal spirit hated taxing real property equally with personalty. This victory of the landlords would cost them dear in November. I asked for a strong Temperance poMcy and protested against Lord Salis- bury's ' spirited policy ' — ' Empire must decay if not expanded.' The meeting was enlivened by a characteristic speech from my genial friend, Farquharson,^ and by a brisk rally of good things between Charles Pollard and Mr. 1 M.P. for Aberdeenshire. CHARLES POLLARD. KETTERING. 1 885] CHARLES POLLARD 21 Claridge,! Claridge starting the ball by ' Tell the truth before you begin,' and Pollard driving home each Radical sentiment by the retort, ' And Claridge says it 's true,' amid roars of laughter. Claridge in turn got home on Pollard's favourite story of the fox who, in the stable among the horses, said ' Let 's be friends and nobody kick,' but when he got to the hen-roost said, ' Now let everybody look out for themselves,' on which Claridge put in amid cheers, ' Were you there ? ' Pollard was in magnificent form, making play with the part liquor played in the House, and wished to play in the election. ' Our trade, our policy.' The Tory attitude all round was ' My interest first, my country's second ' ; the Radical creed was, ' The benefit of all, come what may to private interest.' That strong face, now fierce, now kindly, always humorous, keen enthusiasm for right, burning indigna- tion against wrong done to human freedom, meant big work for human redemption ! Pollard rubbed some people the wrong way, his sarcasms sometimes burst into savage phrasing, but he was a grand, in his way an inimitable, natural orator. He made enemies by stubborn self-assertion, but who could equal him for fearless ideals and devotion to humanity ? He had many sides — some speeches full of rollicking fun ; at the Wesleyan Chapel at Pytchley, where I often heard him, the delicate phrasing of prayer tenderly reverent. At Higham with John Heathcote,^ my old Brighton colleague, best of loyal, broad-minded Liberals, best of tennis players in those times, I spoke in the ancient ' Bede house,' attached to Chichele's exquisite church, one of many noble parish churches in my division, a miniature Lincoln Cathedral. Mr. Thomas Sanders, already the ' grand old man ' of Higham, was chair-' * The elder. - Conington Castle, Hunts. 22 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 man, one of the clear-headed, resolute Liberals who made East Northants what it has ever been — men who fit into their surroundings, and give simple telling expression to the spirit of their place and time — fuU of dry, shrewd humour. What would the Tories do with troublesome questions on which they had given divergent opinions ? Lord SaHsbury in the Housing Report put his hand to many good Radical doc- trines on sale and letting of land. When they look into matters Tories come to much the same conclusions as Liberals, but then they recall old prejudices and interests, and turn back Hke the young man who ' went away sorrowing, because he had great possessions.' Arguing Free Trade, in Northamptonshire we had Albert PeU, a Tory of strong common sense, who said, ' Fair Trade was all humbug ' — so it was ! If foreign goods came in, more money, not less, would be spent for British products. Free Trade had raised British shipping to 70 per cent, of the whole world, had won comforts and happiness for the workers, and best gave them moral independence, the basis of their hberties. They should face difficulties Mke men. To deal with the land and improve national education would do more than any- thing to solve trade and commercial problems. The good old Liberal, George Tailby, was there, whose strong, expressive face was seen at innumerable gatherings, and at Federation meetings everywhere. We went to our first meeting at Finedon with the Woolstons, on a deliciously sunny evening. We entered the High Street near the beautifvd old church, a band playing a gay march, the whole population, rows of pretty children with bright, kindly faces giving the sweetest of welcomes to the village, now endeared by many memories — the most glorious scenes of the ' War election of 1900,' and where my daughter Julia wound up her plucky efforts on my behalf in 1910, returning late in the evening of the victory to voice our thanks at two great open-air meetiags after having PRATT WALKER. WOLLASTON. I885J FINEDON— WOLLASTON 23 spoken all day at huge open-air gatherings at Welling- borough, Rushden, and Kettering. Finedon could never be left out.^ Frank Sharp — married to a sister of Mr. Stockburn — a genial, straight-hitting Radical, led off with a breezy- speech. I made play with Randolph, butt of the moment. The Tories had put the extinguisher on their wise man — Northcote — while ' Dual Control,' the Soudan, and perils to India were Tory messes for us to clear off. .... Frederick Cheetham ^ and others helped. Hey- gate made a pointed and eloquent speech, saying of me : ' Mr. Gladstone would find me a follower who would not desert in the hour of need, would not play the candid friend, pouring bitterest criticism on his party. Mr. Channing held the principles they held dear. In the words of Burns : — ' " The rank is but the guinea stamp, The man 's the gowd for a' that." ' At WoUaston with Charles Woolston and Heygate. My chairman was, as for a quarter of a century after, Mr. Pratt Walker, a man who changed less than any one in physical appearance and mental alertness. Humorous, pointed, with microscopic insight and vivid interest in politics and politicians. Mr. Owen Sanders, too, with genial smile and sympathetic voice, a friend whose simple beauty of character strikes at once and grows in its hold. Free Trade meant much for East Northants. The allotment system would give back to the people what enclosures of commons had taken away. Wollaston had solved on a small scale the relations of labour and capital.^ He took a deep interest in the co-operative movement and was glad to find them giving fraternal effect to the opinions of Henry Fawcett 1 See p. 418. ^ M.P. for Derbyshire. ^ In their Productive Society. 24 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 when he said that ' if the working man put his shoulder to the wheel and was thrifty, and if he and other men started in an enterprise of their own, he would save himself and Society.' ... At Earls Barton, the first of many meetings made happy by the broad-minded leadership of Daniel Sheffield, whom warm heart, shrewd judgment, high courage, and gentle courtesy made the natural centre of the village life. With Earls Barton are associated stirring and delightful scenes never forgotten. At this, as at future meetings, the platform was gay with plants and flowers from Mr. Sheffield's gardens. He was the most hospitable of men, with his gentle wife entertaining all comers in his charming house, of which and its special treasures he was proud, or in his billiard-room, looking on the garden, of which he was still prouder, where big summer meetings were held. I replied to Randolph's clever attack on the thirty- seven policies of Mr. Gladstone. ' Was Lord R. quite sure that the Tories had a single policy of their own ? The policy of the Tories was like a soap bubble. It changed colour every instant. It might be peace on one side, war on the other, or Free Trade or Protection by turns ; directly they tried to lay hold of it there was nothing but froth.' I argued out on Liberal lines the case for Disestab- lishment and Disendowment. I found this subject not warmly received. Other occasions have repeated this experience. My infer- ence was that, theoretically accepted, there was much hesitation to think out or take practical steps. Next month, a fortnight in the villages in glorious summer weather. I was the guest of my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Sharman at Swanspool. Their kindness, the peaceful outlook from my room over the gardens, the walks under the trees, thinking out topics for the i885] DODDINGTON— IRCHESTER 25 evening made this a very happy time. I had passed from the anxieties of the political beginner to the sense of confident enjoyment, of deep regard and appreciation of the generous kindness of new friends, who day by day grew more and more into my heart, so that it became no effort but the keenest pleasure to meet or address them. Delightful drives in soft summer evenings, through lovely Midland lanes, one gentle ' Birket Foster ' scene after another — the simple warmth of these village gatherings in sun-bonnets and shirt sleeves, the quick sense of fun, high spirits and enthusiasm were all factors in the pleasantest page of my whole public life. Who could ever think of labourers as dull or unobservant ? I found them often quicker than men in the towns to anticipate arguments, and shrewdly take the measure of men and events. There was Doddington, with the lovely view over the Nene Valley to the woods of Castle Ashby, the grand elms around the Keech farm, the simple school-room, scene of innumerable meetings with a note of joyous earnestness, often full of young people overflowing with merry kindness. There was Irchester, grand, glowing Irchester, where the very temper of the audience and the tremendous heat of the school-room spurred one on to do one's best. It was all full of individual life. The spirit of these meetings seemed to find its physical embodiment in the eager vitality of that heartiest of village Radicals, George Bowen. At Doddington I dealt with the permanent loss to the community of enclosing common lands, the evils of concentration of land in few hands, and gave striking instances of higher production from allotments and small holdings. At Irchester my first speech was made in picturesque surroundings, from a wagon in a farmyard with loads 26 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 of hay coming from the fields. My chairman then, and for many years, was Mr. Stephen Parsons, an excellent friend, whose genial welcome to his hospitable home, and shrewd humour made Irchester doubly attractive. The Tories were on the fence : one set saying ' a tax on com would not raise the price of bread,' another that the Tories would not be mad enough to tax corn because it would increase the price of bread. Mr. Ramsden ^ says our land policy means ruin, but Sir Robert Loyd-Lindsay ^ has started a land company to promote exactly the peasant proprietary and to make to labourers the advances that Mr. Ramsden says will land them in bankruptcy. Our poKcy would injure nobody but benefit the whole community. George Bowen spoke breezily, and thought- ful James Jackson ably exposed Tory inconsistency over Irish problems. The same week there was a farewell meeting to Mr. Spencer, then still member for the old North Northamp- tonshire. He made a characteristic and delightful speech in acknowledgment of the splendid demonstration of affection. Carmichael ^ and I also briefly spoke — I saying, ' I owed Mr. Spencer a deep debt of gratitude. He had stormed the fortress, I had but to keep it.' No town in the division has so much changed and developed in thoughtful grasp of democratic politics as Irthlingborough, in 1885 still simple and old-fashioned, but with deep Radical instincts ready to come out. Mr. Payne, one of a grand stock, presided, and Mr. Samuel Rye, already a veteran — genial, wise, sympa- thetic — looked after Liberal interests. ' Why had Lord Sahsbury gone to Wales of all places to say that all Infidels were Liberals — just the one country where men were Liberals because they were ^ My opponent. ^ Afterwards Lord Wantage. ' Then candidate for the North, ELIZABETH CHANNING, (1885). i885] PYTCHLEY 27 religious ? ' I spoke on land reform and small farming. Mr. CoUings was eloquent on toleration, 'If Tories thought Mr. Channing's views too advanced, they would find his robust Liberahsm had rallied an earnest and united party in November. We need a " Pohtician in earnest" to represent East Northamptonshire — a mem- ber who would be in front and lead the way in the path of progress.' On a delicious summer evening we first visited Pytchley, with which we have such tender and lasting ties. The Sharmans drove us over, charmed then as ever with the winding road through the Harrowdens and the woods surrounding Orlingbury. It was a surprise to find that this was also the first time Mr. Stockburn, who was chairman, had spoken at Pytchley. Mr. Stockburn vividly illustrated the persistent Tory hostility to extending the liberties of the people. I said: — It angered me to hear Liberals spoken of as the irreligious party. We are so described because we defend the rights of others, irrespective of creeds. For Mr. Bradlaugh we have simply kept to the rule of Christianity — ' do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you.' That is the spirit that has added the kind hand to the warm heart. Each great Reform Act led to broad and generous legislation, 1867 bringing in its train Education, the BaUot, and the Irish Land Act, which showed that land could not be handled without consider- ing the people's interests. 1885 will be followed by a bold measure of Local Representative Government for the counties. We want rating reform. We want devolution to set Parliament free, more grants for agricultmal education, the control of the liquor traffic by representatives of the people, who are most deeply affected by it. We want better allotments and better cottages. Compulsory purchase of land for the dweUings of the poor was what Lord Shaftesbury proposed in his Bill thirty-four years ago. Land- lords hke Lord Spencer, the FitzwiUiams, or Lord ToUemache, 28 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 generously provided cottages for labourers ; the State should go and do likewise. Allotments and small holdings would not only increase comfort and prosperity, but would restore the manly independence which characterised the yeomanry three hundred years ago. The spirit of self-reliance and cheery pluck which has been the note of Pytchley men all through these and earlier times seemed to put a glow into the whole meeting. It was the first of many bright scenes in the sweet Midland village which Avas to be our home so long. That evening we first made the acquaintance of those generous spirits, the Grundy family. As the meeting closed, I recall the kindly, humorous face of a labourer coming to me with two pretty little girls of seven or eight, one in each hand. It was that devoted Liberal, Mark LiUey. The pleasure of this summer electioneering was indescribable. The drives through wooded lanes be- tween fields with thick heads of golden wheat every- where swaying in the soft evening breeze, the arrival among kindly, cheering village crowds, instinct with the rushing, glowing enthusiasm of this long-hoped-for emancipation, the departure as dusk settled down amid a little whirlwind of cheers — aU was delightful — full of hope without a shadow of doubt, or disappoint- ment, or anxiety. On just such another summer evening I first ad- dressed the Broughton people, in Mr, Russell's field, after a pungent speech from one of my best helpers in those early years, P. D. M'Gowan, who made genial sport of Randolph's denunciation of this measure, ' Premature, inexpedient, unnatural, therefore highly dangerous,' adding to the electorate ' a million of per- fectly illiterate agricultural labourers,' going on to out- line a vivid programme of sweeping and conclusive Radical reforms. i885] ECTON— LITTLE HARROWDEN 29 I pointed out how ' trade prosperity would be ex- panded by even halving the Drink Bill of 130 millions.' The vote was moved by that rugged old reformer and smallholder, Mr. Bailey, and seconded in one of his witty speeches by Mr. Thompson of Cransley : ' In Mr. Channing they had got the man who had been made on purpose for that division.' Ecton, with its glorious trees making all the roads approaching it stately avenues, gave pleasant welcome, made pleasanter by my chairman, Henry Dunkley, a genial London Reformer of the old school, with recol- lections of grand old fights as far back as Sir Francis Burdett, and recent memories of Fawcett and John Stuart Mill. Mr. Dunkly occupied a charming house, where I paid many visits in early days, and as his guest attended the annual dinner of his Guild in London. Toleration was the important lesson for the Liberal Party to learn. Liberals thought out principles and stuck to them ; Tories had to court popularity by shifting their ground. Separation of England and Ireland would be the worst of calamities. But Home Rule was set in motion by the Irish Tories themselves. In 1873, the Rotunda Meeting in Dubhn was organised by the Tories, and Colonel King-Harman was one of the ringleaders. Liberals stopped the old rack-renting which depressed Ireland. Tories tried to prevent them. Mr. John Field, the sturdy champion of the village Liberahsm, made a characteristic speech. At our first Little Harrowden meeting, Mr. Nunneley made excellent sport of our ' Liberal Con- servative ' opponent, while I said ' Liberal policy encouraged Colonies to govern themselves, and to effect free aUiance with the mother-country and each other. Wellingborough Allotment Farm was an object lesson. They were growing 7 quarters of wheat per 30 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 acre, and winning a sound basis for thrift and manly independence, worth more than all our politics or theories put together.' The Liberal village leader, Benjamin Wooding, also spoke. At Grendon, I met that loyal Liberal, George Brearley, who, tUl infirmity took him awaj^, rendered strenuous service. This delightful summer campaign wound up with a huge rally of all four County Divisions in the Corn Exchange at Northampton. A wise, warm-hearted leader of men, William Walker of Duston, one of the men who have no enemies, and are trusted by all, presided. In an eloquent, delicately phrased speech, Mr. Walker touched us all, beginning with ]\Ir. Spencer, then Sir James Carmichael and Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, ending with a pleasant allusion to my having been born in America — ' There was just that trace of cousin- ship that, when he was young, they said made wooing so pleasant.' ^ This crowded meeting, enthusiastic, buoyant, stirring, was a grand presage of victory. Each of us seemed to come off in his own line, ' Bobby ' being, of course, the prime favourite, while I got a generous welcome. In my spell of the talk, ' I took that meeting to be a pledge that the electors were determined to send an unbroken representation to the House of Commons to 1 His speech was summed up in the lines : — ' Press bravely onward — not in vain Your generous trust in human kind ; The good which bloodshed could not gain, Your peaceful zeal shall find. Press on, the triumph shall be won Of common rights, and equal laws. Blessing the Cottar and the Crown, Sweetening worn Labour's bitter cup. And plucking not the Highest down. Lifting the Lowest up.' i885l NORTHAMPTON 31 support Gladstone, and to recruit the ranks of those who would right the great wrong of Northampton,' at which great cheering. Of East Northants I said : — Its typical feature is that happy alliance between manufac- tures and agriculture, always my dream and hope. That is the lesson of these times. For the evils of rural depopulation, whether in the glens of Scotland, or on the west coast of Ireland, or here in our own countryside, and the overcrowding in our great towns, a constituency Mke East Northants stands like a beacon of the future. It has more than half reahsed the dream we reformers have cherished. Yes, it ought to have a voice not only in perfecting its own happiness, but in shaping and carrying out to the full the happiness of every county in England. Pressed to ' go on,' I referred to the future of educa- tion. ' Knowledge is not only the key of power, it is the key of happiness. Contrast the wretched children in the old " Ragged Schools " with the bright faces of Board School chil- dren of to-day — the Act of 1870 has done noble work. We want more. We want endowments appUed more practically to the needs of the people everywhere ; to bring to the door of every artisan industrial and technical instruction to enable him to start his children best in the battle of life — to improve the industrial schools, to take away the stigma of ihisery from pauper children, to give new equipment to the next generation. These are the true answers to the Tory cry of trade depression and the decay of England.' I wiU simply say — ^it is not only the intellectual side we wish to improve, but moral and physical welfare also. The Liberal programme for the future seeks to give the people of this country strength, and power, and sweetness, and light. In my train from Thrapston I had thought over what I might say in the soft summer sunshine. I was glad that what I said thus, on the spur of the moment, had been — for a new man — so pleasant a welcome to county politics. 32 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 CHAPTER III PYTCHLEY— THE FIRST ELECTION. (1885) Pjrtchley and its People — ^Parish Churches — Confused Election Issues — Sir Lyon Playfair — Henry Broadhurst — Polling Day — Great Majority. The interval before the autumn campaign was given to Scotland and Buxton. We had taken Pytchley House for the election, and found it so deUghtful that we made it our home for six years. On our arrival, as we drove up to the old, grey, creeper-clad front with its mullioned windows and deep bays, the youngest of our party joyously ex- claimed : ' We have come to another Haddon Hall.' ^ We looked out on a pleasant lawn and terraces of flower-beds, and beyond the trees, over an undulating vista of fields, and woods, and far-off spires of ancient churches. Walks through shrubberies led to the big elm with seats around it, giving peeps down the village, a favourite place to sit and read for my mother and sister later on. An old rustic summerhouse with a big tea-table, and beyond the lawns and greenhouses and stables, a large tennis court, shaded by mighty elms, where deep purple and white and blue clematis were trained over the high wire fences, gardens where we planted tea-roses from the South of France, and pleasant orchards, tenanted by too vocal ducks, made up our surroundings. The church, a beautiful twelfth-century structure, like many in the Midlands and Eastern Counties, 1 We had seen the romantic old mansion of Dorothy Vernon while at Buxton. i885] PYTCHLEY— VILLAGE LIFE 33 vastly too large for the population of to-day, was at the other end of the village, near the fine avenue of lofty beeches and elms planted by one of the Dukes of Montagu. There, long ago, stood the Great Hall, the Club of ' the bloods ' of the Pytchley Hunt in the eighteenth century, and till well on in the nineteenth occupied by Masters of hounds, including the cele- brated George Payne, after whose time the Hall was puUed down. There were old men still in the village who remembered the tradition of the huge stables where four hundred horses had stood. The village still retained its romantic beauty un- spoiled. Thatched cottages were dotted about, singly, or in pairs or short rows, their white-washed fronts covered with roses and creepers, the tiny gardens fragrant of sweetbriar, and gay with simple flowers. In the row of cottages near our gates lived Mrs. Summers, caretaker of the church, and maker of dainty laces, and her son Charles Shrives, a cripple, but full of energy, who sang in the choir, and was Secretary to the Friendly and other societies. Here, too, lived a leader of the Wesleyans, John Stanley, whose gentle, saintly face reflected lofty pur- poses, purity of heart, and deep religious spirit. In the hollow in the centre of the village, among the grand elms, Mr. George Mobbs cultivated his nursery, sending flowers and fruit to Kettering, and reared up sons practical, hard-working, reverent hke himself. Further down, the village baker, Mr. Stanley, a self-reliant worker on the land, who rose from labourer to tenant farmer, with whom I had many talks. The big farmer, Mr. Lane, lived at the corner near church and vicarage, was churchwarden, a strong Tory, but good friend. The vicar, the Rev. Edward Gates, was a man of 34 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 fine mind, resolute character and breadth of feeling, a strong Liberal on the Land and some other questions. He and his gentle wife have been lifelong friends, though his dislike of Disestablishment, and still stronger dislike of Home Rule, threw him with the other side in those early years. The tone of village life at Pytchley was very high. From generation to generation the people were simple, independent, and warm-hearted, the children bright and joyous, the young lads manly and self-respecting. The school had the advantage of a master who knew country things, grew the best roses and chrysanthe- mums in the district, after Mr, Gates, and in Evening Classes threw real interest into the study of garden and rural problems. There was little drinking, and the notable cleanliness even in the poorer cottages, the spotless linen of the beds when we went to see the sick, the self-sacrifice in nursing cases of illness for each other, the dignity and refined taste with which they welcomed us to their homes, deeply impressed us. Visiting the cottages of Pytchley was one of the happiest passages of my wife's life, just as village chats and visits to the allotments gave me keenest pleasure, old and new hopes passing from dreamland to concrete realities. The life was full of interest. There were happy plans carried out — a reading-room where, winter after winter we, with our vicar and other friends, organised concerts and lectures and amusements. Lecturers, glee and chorus singers, and reciters came from Kettering and Wellingborough. In the winter nights, finding our way home with lanterns amid the turnings of the lanes to Pytchley House and its old panelled hall was amusing. After a gay supper, cabs or brakes ordered rotmd to the front hall, and off the merry party would start. REV. EDWARD GATES. VICAR OF PVTCHLEY. i885] PAEISH CHURCHES 35 When politics were not to the fore we constantly drove to various towns. Wellingborough, where the Sharmans, Woolstons, and. Heygates formed an attrac- tive group ; Kettering, our nearest town, with hosts of friends — Stockburns, Gotches, Wicksteeds. Ketter- ing has always been a centre of good music as well as of good causes eagerly pressed. There was endless pleasure in the beautiful and in- teresting parish churches making my old Division rich in varied and delicately perfect specimens of church architecture. When we had visitors we took them to see Rushden of the wondrous arches, and Higham Ferrers, stately, delicate, superb ; Irthlingborough with its octagonal campanile, or Earls Barton with its unique Saxon tower, or Brixworth with its ancient church taking you back to Roman times, or Kettering with its incomparable tower, or the churches to the North with striking gargoyles and flying buttresses. Our governess, Miss Freeman, an expert in history and architecture and ancient liturgies, took our girls on expeditions to churches and scenes of history, likeNaseby Field, or the Rothwell Crypt with its piles of skulls and bones, filling their lives and studies with interest. I helped to organise ^ great meetings, among them the Lambeth demonstration addressed by Chamberlain, Charles Russell, and others. At the meeting of the N.L.F. at Bradford, I heard Chamberlain suggest that our Radical creed might be more easily secured through Tories, kept in power by Liberal tolerance, which roused my first doubt as to where his new tactics and ' Unauthorised Programme ' might lead. The final campaign was the most obscure and tangled in my whole experience. The struggle be- tween Radicals and Whigs in the Cabinet over Irish coercion, the partisan attacks of the incoming Tories ^ As honorary secretary of the London and Counties Liberal Unioa. 36 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 on Lord Spencer's administration, the discreditable Maamtrasna debate, the secret manoeuvres with Mr. Parnell to win Irish votes in England — Lord Carnarvon, Lord Randolph Churchill, Lord Salisbury all playing a veiled part — had turned the Irish Question upside down as regards natural tendencies of Liberal policy. My opponent, Mr. Ramsden, ran a blind tilt agaiast the mild ' three acres and a cow ' policy launched by Jesse CoUings under the Chamberlain aegis. Those who looked farther and measured human nature shrewdly shrank from condemning the allotments cry, and sought refuge in musty appeals to sectarian passion by shout- ing ' The Church in danger,' with the equally stale terror of ' robbing the poor man of his beer ' — some old Liberals jibbed at Free Education, but while clear- headed men pressed an intelligible creed of social progress, of wider opportunities for the newly en- franchised country voters, platform talli largely con- sisted of confused and confusing appeals to prejudice and passion without definite coherence or purpose. Looking back now, after long experience, it is mar- vellous that the Liberal Party should have so nearly won decisive victory. The County Franchise, our Leeds Conference, and Hyde Park Campaign, with the enthusiasm of the new voters, Mr. Gladstone's personal prestige, and the heady wine of Mr. Chamberlain's violent but effective speeches, were what pulled us through. In East Northants, with cross fire of taunts that land reform was a curse, small holdings hopeless, and that Liberals like myself, good Churchmen in our way, were resolved to turn churches into music-halls or stables, drinking clubs, possibly piles of smoking ruins, it was not easy to talk cold common sense. My opponent in one vUlage appealed to a woman for her husband's vote, ' because if those Liberals got in JOHN STANLEY, PYTCHLEY. i885] CONFUSED ELECTION ISSUES 37 they would pull down the churches.' Her reply was, ' No, sir, what we want is to fill the churches.' My comment was, ' I welcome any form of religious effort that tends to the elevation of mankind. I have no patience with religious intolerance. The Tories are doing a wicked wrong to the English Church in using it for party warfare.' At Kettering I described my opponent as outdoing Lord Salisbury in writing ' No ' to everything put on the slate. As to Free Trade I said, ' Free Trade filled the hungry with good things, and the Tory complaint is that it has sent some of the rich empty away.' ' The Liberal Party is like a great organ with many pipes and stops and pedals, from which Mr. Gladstone's touch will bring out a great symphony of humanity and hope.' At Wellingborough^ George Maycock opened in his raciest style, while Charles Pollard pulled o£E his over- coat with grand deliberation, as a start to a rushing torrent of wit and burning enthusiastic faith, humor- ously exposing Tory folly and driving home Liberal principles with a passionate eloquence that roused the vast meeting to red-hot fervour. This election was ' a working man's election. Liberals are taunted with preaching cupidity and selfishness, but I challenge any one to say whether I have ever appealed to these motives in any speech in the division. Working men's questions should be brought to the fore, their true solution will contribute to the good of the community.' I dwelt on Mr. Chamberlain's mag- nificent efforts to secure greater safety for the sailors sent out in miseaworthy ships, and said that ' the 1081 fatalities in shunting alone proved that the safety of railway men must be dealt with boldly in the near future.' * November 11, 38 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 At Kettering I made sport of Lord Salisbury's toying with Protection. We were then in the back-wash of the ' Fair Trade ' Agitation which Lord Sahsbury used and despised. I argued the results to employment and national prosperity if we attempted either pro- tection or retaliation. He appealed to pride and hatred and all manner of unchari- tableness. The attempt to identify LiberaUsm with infidelity ignored the passionate love of rehgious freedom seen in the lives of the noblest of men. Christianity holds the people because it is the creed of the weary and heavyladen. Lord Sahsbury appeals to the sectarian intolerance which has persisted in rehgious tests, and refuses to extend the rights of marriage and burial to those who are not members of the Estabhshed Church, and fences off the graves of Churchmen from Dissenters so that even after death, when they had mouldered into dust, they should stUl be separate ! The power of the Church depends, not on connection with the State, but on its moral and spiritual force to spread the principles of peace and righteousness among the people. I protest against this attempt to divorce the ChTirch from the sympathies of the people. In the meetings of these years my wife and my elder daughter constantly went with me, and thus became well known to multitudes of my future con- stituents. The kindness with which they have been remembered in later years, when health and other reasons kept them away, often touched me profomidly. I decUned to canvass personally any voter. Can- vassing by political supporters, and bringing to the poll are evils perpetuated by thoughtless tradition. When wiU voters resent, as personal affronts, attempts to obtain pledges of support ? That is the only cure. The last ten days went off brillianth\ A magnificent welcome was given to my old friend. Sir Lyon Playfair, at Kettering.^ He appealed to them to send me, as a trained politician and local adminis- * November 22. SIR LYON PLAYFAIR. M.P. i885] SIR LYON PLAYFAIR 39 trator, to support our great chief. Sir Lyon urged that 'Liberals, without courting war or complications, had, at every point where the British Empire came into dangerous contact with other powers, warded off peril. They made a friendly bulwark of Afghanistan, which Lord Salisbury had goaded into active hostility. They brought back peace and unity in South Africa by fair recognition of the rights of the Transvaal. To Egypt they gave order, justice, economic stability. Liberals were not disunited. Like trains on a railway, they had pilot engine, driver Joseph Chamberlain, stoker Jesse CoUings ; express, drivers John Morley and Dilke ; then came fast train — steady driver, Hartington, good Liberal hands, Harcourt, others. All Liberals along the road could find seats in fast or slow. No collision, because one grand old super- intendent worked the signals. . . . 'Lord Salisbury gave us Liberal programmes under Tory smoked glass at Newport — Local Government ? when did Tories support decentralisation ? Local Option ? qualified with provision for thirsty souls ! Tory Lord Chancellors offered Land Keform ? Roses will grow on thistles next ! ' He told us of the ' heredi- tary Conservative puppies ' offered to a Primrose Dame^ — offered later as ' real Liberal puppies.' The urchin, challenged with rascality, pleaded : ' True ! but Conservative puppies when still blind ; now their eyes are open.' Sir Lyon brought a storm of cheers. ' Will you have your puppies blind or with open eyes ? ' Mr. Robert Spencer made a brilliant and charming speech, his last as member for that district. Car- michael gave an earnest analysis of the issues before the electors, I closing with byplay on various points. Speaking at Rothwell ^ — ' under a deep debt of grati- tude to Mr. Spencer. His brilliant work stormed the ^ In the Mid Division. 40 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 Tory stronghold ; he (Mr. Charming) was only called to guard one of the ramparts. They must all admire his generosity in giving up safety for stiffer fighting.' Amusing meetings were held at Mears-Ashby (in a tent), Grendon, and other villages. My mother's serious illness forced abandonment of some meetings; from others I went straight to London, passing the night at Kensington, and returned to Northamptonshire next day. Fresh, clear weather kept me weU. My mother's recovery soon made us happy. Sharp frost set in the last week. Our horses had to be driven with care down the slippery inclines, one night, coming back from Isham, literally skating down, helped by brakes. There was a joyous meeting at Pytchley on the 30th, where we exulted in the first victories in the counties — our consolation and our hope after borough disappointment. I appealed to all to go to the ' Mid ' and do Mr. Spencer a kindly turn, remembering how, when his life was hanging by a thread, fever coursing through his veins, ' Bobby ' did not hesitate to risk going to the House to vote for the agricultural labourers. The final meeting was at Wellingborough Corn Ex- change,^ densely packed, with Henry Broadhurst, fresh from his Birmingham victory,^ as champion of the night. The temper of the Tories was highly charged. I spoke, with constant interruption, about increased prosperity and wider distribution of wealth during the Liberal administration, in spite of that unreal Com- mission on Trade Depression, pointing out how the land system contributed to agricultural losses. Broadhurst was in tremendous form. His racy, rugged style, his genial, kindly face won hearts, no- where more than in Northamptonshire. ^ December 1. " Elected for >Bordesley, whence he moved to Leicester, six months later in the split. i885] BROADHURST 41 He backed me because I deserved victory for having long fougKt, and organised the battle, for country voters, stiU more because I was one of the men they could send without pledges as men trusted for sterUng honesty in the right cause. There would be few sounder land reformers in the new Parhament. Fair Trade, the Church in danger, Godless education were all dust to bhnd the eyes of the people, that the monopoly of the land might win another lease of power. Men in boroughs and cities failed to understand the importance of the land. It was not for the village only — ^it was supremely important to towns, to shoemakers, weavers, all engaged in manufactures. . . . How much better it would be if instead of one big farm for one man, they had forty or fifty small cultivators each possessing enough for necessaries and comforts of home fife. That would work a revolution in the trade of the country. If the land of the country were held by five or six mfilions, instead of seven or eight thousand, much produce now imported could be grown here. Famihes who could by their labour thus get 30s. to 40s. a week instead of the miserable pay of labourers now, would take what they grew to seU in the towns, buying articles more freely to take home. He was the youngest boy of a large family in a cottage with a garden three miles from market, all summer wheehng something or other to the city to sell and return with home requirements. They talked of overproduc- tion ! He asked sensible people, if every one had sufficient to keep their bodies warm and dry, would there be too much produced 1 Constant migration from rural districts into huge centres of industry will go on till workmen in towns become Hke starving rats in cages, eating each other's heads off by pressure of labom- supply, unless the people put their foot down and say, ' We wiU have the country for the country, not for a class.' The Tories know this. They have not spent four hundred years in canvassing for interests without leariung tricks. The ' defenders of the Church ' call on the Church to defend them. The Church with all its wisdom and learning has been taken in. He told us how The Church Blue Ribbon Army turned into the Tory Caucus. The ravages of drink, misery, crime, degrada- tion of the people were nothing compared with the duty of de- nouncing the working man candidate ! Church ' Canon ' with 42 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 arms round the neck of Catholic Priest and arms of Cathohc Priest round neck of Tory brewer ! Some of us who care have just cause to denounce the traihng of rehgion in the gutters of breweries. Do not be discouraged because some boroughs have gone over. This country is marching on to liberty and prosperity for her people with strides more rapid, more firm than ever in the world's history. A meeting of railwaymen also : I told them how Brighton was won, by a procession of four hundred railwaymen, argued for reasonable hours, forbidding outrageous spells of work, exposed before the Commis- sion,'- for stringent measures compelling use of safety appliances to reduce fatalities in railway work and lessen the appalling casualties in shunting, with one man in 139 killed, one in 17 injured. Gross profits rose from nineteen to thirty-three millions in sixteen years. Railwaymen and the public could demand some of those vast profits for reducing these risks, not all to increase passengers' comfort. PoUing was fixed for Thursday.^ Workers then will recall those gloriously bright winter days, the en- thusiastic work magnificently organised by Heygate, our consummate general, admirably backed by Jackson, Marriott, and others. My two young daughters and I left Pytchley almost at break of day, gaily beribboned and rosetted with red and white amid the cheers of a number of villagers, eager to vote that first time, through Broughton, where a number had voted, to Kettering, in the winter sunshine, met by processions of ' enfranchised ' men, under the Chartist banner. Vast gatherings, cheering speeches from Stockburn, Wicksteed, and myself, joint trio of so many fights. Thence through Burton Latimer to Finedon, M'Gowan and I speaking amid I Of 1863. a December 3rd. i885] POLLING DAY 43 wild cheering. Througli Isham to Harrowden, ' big and little loaves ' in processions — Mr. Spencer, victori- ous in the Mid Division, arriving in Wellingborough to help at one, both welcomed enthusiastically — Spencer going to Kettering — another glorious welcome from old friends while at Irthlingborough and Higham, we heard of tremendous poUing, thence on to mighty crowds at eager Rushden, ' two to one ' the cry — Irchester, Wollaston, Bozeat — burning hopes and welcomes — scenes growing in passion hour by hour. M'Gowan's eloquence, Wilkinson's wisdom, at WoUaston, Pratt Walker's sturdy vigour, Owen Sanders's cheerful smile come back to memory. At Bozeat some stay with the kind Maxwells, thence to glorious Earls Barton, tremendous polling and tremendous enthusiasm. I spoke at greater length, ' every sentence cheered to the echo.' Supper at the hospitable house of Daniel Sheffield, where his gentle wife made much of my girls after their long, exciting round. We reached Wellingborough again after poUs closed. A workers' meeting ^ wild with triumph, packing the room to the very ceiling with faces on fire, George Maycock in chair. All day I took stock of news picked up, form- ing accurate forecasts of the figures of victory — I knew then they would be tremendous. So, back to Pytchley through Orlingbury, sleepy and happy, welcomed near midnight by enthusiastic villagers, eagerly escorting our carriage up the avenue to the door. Next day, in winter sunshine, leaving early to reach the Corn Exchange for the counting. Radiant faces told me much. At noon it was announced from the window over great door of the Hall that my poU was 5414, my opponent's 3359 — majority 2055. Unforget- table that winter's drive with my wife and girls, proud ' In Obeese Lane School. 44 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1885 and happy, that wonderful scene of rejoicing. Many such occasions since, but except glorious 1900 and our vast 1906 majority,^ nothing so full of hope for all I cared, and worked for, as that first triumph for East Northamptonshire and her member. Off later to help at Thrapston,^ next night at King's Cliffe — stormiest little meeting I remember. Then the return to Pytchley, welcomed with glowing torches by loving friends, who — horses out — dragged us through the village to a gathering on our lawn, speaking from the dining-room steps, a scene of un- equalled enthusiasm. Through the ' North ' on polling day after speaking for Carmichael at Oundle — ' enthusiasm tremendous,' but iU-omened incidents at ' Geddington Cross,' where I assured the labourers of Liberal protection against coercion. A sour-faced farmer interrupted, ' What will you do when turned out ? ' I retorted sharply, but that stab went home to labourers with I2s. Despite of marvellous enthusiasm at Burton and Desborough, Carmichael, earnest, thoughtful, loyal and wise, was out by 171 next day. 1 3603. " In North Northants, December 7. i886] THE SIX MONTHS' PARLIAMENT 45 CHAPTER IV THE SIX MONTHS' PARLIAMENT. (1886) What should be done — The Creed, the Majority, the Leader — Strike now — Victory on the Land Issue — Home Rule — ^Heroic Tactics — Bold Initiatives — Railway Regulation Bill — July Election — ^Demo- cracy the Great Reconciler — Reunion — ' Keep by Gladstone ' — Second Victory. I No decisive victory like 1880 or 1868 — Liberals just half the House. Responsibilities came thick and fast — what should be done ? I took my line forthwith. The rural voters saved us and must be satisfied. Getting Liberal measures from Tories was immoral. New members should not commit themselves on outside pressure. ' The franchise just helped us to stagger through to qualified success instead of sweeping victory. All will melt away like snow in summer, if we do nothing, and the country voter sees measures which we promised passed by Tories. Why should they risk ill-will by voting for us ? A general meeting of the Party should be held promptly to secure unity by a decisive pronounce- ment. The Liberal Party alone has a majority and the constitutional duty. There is grave danger in not forthwith putting a Liberal Ministry in power.' ^• At Rugby ^ celebrating ' the victory of Henry Cobb, whose Radicalism was not prehistoric, nor belonged to centuries ahead, but the practical creed of to-day, the only creed with motive power,' I urged — . . . that we wished not only to be victorious in Warwick- shire and in Northants, but to be victorious at Westminster also. 1 !Prom letters to Mr. Gladstone, Sir George Trevelyan and other leaders of the Party (December, 1885). 2 January 2, 1886. 46 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 It was disastrous to let the Tories in last June, it would be a mistake to leave them in now. He did not beMeve in getting Liberal measures from a Tory ministry with the help of a Tory House of Lords, nor in governing by coalition or conference. Liberals should fight. That fight should place a fighting Government in power. The Liberal creed was the only creed, the Liberal majority was the only majority in Parliament. Their opponents could get nowhere without stealing Liberal plans, shpping on Liberal clothes, aping Liberal gestures. Liberals had a majority of eighty-six in the representation of Great Britain. They could not tolerate longer that demoraHsing masquerade. They had the creed, the majority. They alone had the Leader, whose experience and statesmanship could meet this crisis. . . . The plain duty was to weld the Party into absolute imity — an irresistible instrument to obtain the vital reforms they had fought for. Some might wish to leave the trouble of settling Ireland to the other side. But it was their Constitutional duty to deal with Ireland themselves. By placing a Liberal Govern- ment in power, they would entrust this tremendous problem to the one statesman best fitted by wisdom, knowledge, and sympathy to deal with it. In December the publication of Mr. Gladstone's scheme brought more trials for new members. Astute circulars implored us to pledge ourselves to deal with Ireland in a Local Government Bill for the United Kingdom, thus postponing or killing Home Rule. I promptly ^ protested ' against outside attempts to obtain from members premature decisions on matters of such moment, to be weighed and determined on fullest information and consideration, in Party meet- ing and in Parliament. A member is responsible only to his constituents, to his Party, and to Parliament. It was an intolerable attempt to influence events by outside interference and dictation.' I had many congratulations on the stand thus taken. 1 Letter to the Daily News. i886] THE NOTE OP RUGBY 47 In the lull among other functions — a lecture on Lord Shaftesbury ^ — I dwelt on that life of wisdom and com- passion in rescuing the helpless, of persistent courage in pressing generous reforms. It was his doing that women and children were not sacrificed to a life of slavery, and that what was best in human existence was not destroyed. Experience had demonstrated his wisdom in the Factory Acts. He initiated, thirty years before, the principle just adopted in the new Housing Bill. Referring to the starting of our National Society for guarding children from gross cruelty and moral degradation, I said, ' Lord Shaftesbury's speech, as its President at the first annual meeting, was the last he delivered. His physical weakness was apparent. His words were scarcely audible. But when he touched the theme that was in all hearts, the old moral indigna- tion, the note of humanity, the old eloquence, the old power was poured out in his appeal, his call to duty to stamp out the iniquities that wrecked childhood, a matter more urgent than any foreign policy.' Before the session ^ Kettering gave us the grandest of receptions heralded by rockets and torchlight pro- cession and bright band music. Again the ' note of Rugby ' — ' not the moment for hesitation, but for action. . . . True, we might gain by leaving the enemy to flounder in the ditch. . . . No matter ! We should make our creed a light to guide us through the dark perils of this Constitutional crisis.' Events ripened rapidly. It was useless asking whether joint-party action, once hoped for by Glad- stone, Lord Granville, and others,^ was advisable then ; whether Liberals acting alone could adopt wiser strategy — the temper of the time — the circumstances 1 At which I presided. ^ January 8, 1886. ^ See Morley's Oladsiane, 'vol. iii. 48 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 of an electoral victory at once decisive and iUusory — the spirit of the party animated by enthusiastic faith, by the temper and the spirit of the one great man on whom all depended, settled the policy for the Party. A day or two of temporising by-play in Parliament, prolonged by the appeal of the ' Old Parliamentary hand,' a day or two of eager lobbying and discussions behind the scenes and the plunge was taken, and the Tories turned out, nominally on the issue of readier access to the land. Wellingborough Corn Exchange ^ was gay with plants and flowers from Mr. Woolston's greenhouses ; por- traits of Gladstone, Spencer, and other Liberal leaders — ' Peace, Retrenchment and Reform ' — other mottoes — over the platform on red ground — ' Welcome ' in big white letters. A stirring scene when ' For love of Home and Country ' simg by Wellingborough's trained voices opened the gathering. W. 0. Blott, honoured bearer of an honoured name, spoke from the chair words few and earnest. James Heygate, in happiest vein, told how we won, — ' a candidate in sympathy with the electors, thorough voluntary organisation. That magnificent Committee Meeting, with over one hundred and fifty working men present, had assured him of the enormous majority. The victory, like Inkerman, was won by the men in the ranks.' Charles Wicksteed, in a rousing and witty speech, congratulated me on my first vote turning out the Tory ministry, and the Party on having in Mr. Glad- stone a man in ten millions of men. No other man of his age, in history, had ever lived with the spirit of the times like our own G.O.M. ^ The celebration of our victory, February 5, 1886. CHARLKS J. K. \\()OLSTOi\. JR., C.A. WKL\.l\C,UOUO\JC,ti . i886] WELLINGBOROUGH REJOICINGS 49 After a glorious welcome I said : — The Tories taunt Gladstone with having appealed to the people for a majority over all parties, that he might deal with Ireland from an independent standpoint. Whose fault is it that Gladstone has not this majority 1 We know how they threw aside principle to bribe the Irish to vote down the Enghsh electors in the boroughs. They were ready to apologise for intimidation and boycotting in Ireland, which now they vehemently condemn. They threw out hints about Austria- Hungary and similar expedients for Ireland, they held up Lord Spencer to opprobrium to catch votes ! ^ The electors, having defeated their scheme to regain power, they try to reconcile contradictions. ' They were right in abandoning coercion in June, and will be right in reimposing it in January.' Since ParUament met they have been intriguing to detach leading Liberals from Mr. Gladstone and form a Coahtion Cabinet. Referring to amusing incidents of the debate and the Tory defeat on Mr. CoUings' amendment — Now this greatest of problems is in the hands of the brave old man who, with increasing years, has an ever-youthful heart. Mr. Gladstone will act on the principle that the Irish people are entitled to speak through their ' representatives.' What they claim must be fairly considered. I am glad the victory was won by the agricultural labourer, by Joseph Arch and Jesse CoUings. . . . Listening to Mr. Chaphn's emphatic ' No ' to the labourers reminded me of the perpetual negative inflicted for six months upon East Northants. We do not know when we shall have to fight again, months hence or soon. We must be ready for the fray, and see that the bayonets do not bend when put to the test.^ Dancing was then the order of the night. The session had been interrupted for re-elections of Ministers. Eeturning to 16 Buckingham Gate,^ the ^ See Lord Salisbury at Newport ; Maamtrasna debate in July 1885. " Alluding to recent detection of inferior steel in bayonets supplied to the army. 2 Our residence this first session. D 50 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 rush and strain of that momentous session kept me in London till Easter. The scope of the Irish proposals was in suspense till the resignations of Chamberlain and Trevelyan threw some light. I kept close to the work of the House, full of the eager and multiform hopes and projects of that wonderful Parliament of new men, in deadly earnest. With movements in the constituency I was in constant touch. Compulsory Vaccination was then and, till exemption was conceded in 1898, urgent in our Division. My opinion, formed years before,^ was stated in 1885 for abolition of com- pulsion.^ Mr. Stansf eld's policy on the Contagious Diseases Acts, efforts to improve the Criminal Law Amendment Act ^ for the protection of children, Sunday closing, ' Sale of liquor to children,' * other social reforms — on all my constant support gave satis- faction to constituents as did my votes for Labouchere's motion on the Lords (for which that Radical scion of a noble house, Lord William Compton, voted also) and for equipment grants for Volunteers. The Scottish Crofters, whose condition I knew so well, found me a constant friend. I joined Hunter and Henry Richard, that grand Radical of the best old type, in protesting against India paying for Jingo absorption of Burma. On the moral energy, the devotion, and common sense of the new House of Commons and its resolute purpose to ' independently and freely co-operate with Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Morley in a solution of Irish prob- lems which would not be unjust to Ireland, nor to any class in Ireland, and would not be unjust to British taxpayers ' — I was enabled to insist in replying for the Commons, at the banquet ^ presided over by Lord Ripon. ^ In Brighton and London. 2 I was one of the backers of Mr. Picton's Abolition Bill. 8 Act of 1885. * I joined in introducing a Bill on this subject in this first session. * At the Aquarium, March 1886 — John Morley the principal speaker. 1886] MEN IN EARNEST— HEROIC TACTICS 51 Among pleasant ftmctions was laying stones for a Baptist Sunday School at Burton Latimer. I was glad to go to honour Mr. CoUings, then a leader for good causes. ' The moral and material success of England, of America, and the Colonies was largely due to the Puritan movement, the spirit of going back to the real sources of religion as a vital force. The English Church owed success in active work largely to that spirit among Nonconformists — notably in the Temper- ance movement.' The appearance of the Irish Bills, Home Rule, and Land Purchase, rudely tested the temper of Members and Constituents. They were daring and novel. The withdrawal of the Irish Members brought sweeping criticism. The dread of using British credit for ex- propriation of the landlords stirred distrust. In my own boldly progressive Division, the swing of opinion for Home Rule and resolutions sent up were satisfactory save on these points. The advanced thinker realised what governing through Irishmen and Irish ideas meant, but the sudden completeness of the proposals imperilled the broad approval most Liberals felt for the main idea. It was an hour for strength, for prompt decision. Mr. Gladstone might have approached his tremendous task by resolutions on Irish government, appointing a Com- mission to report Constitutional and Financial con- ditions of the best solution. That would bring line after line of forbidding country into clearer view, giving breathing space instead of rushing all the fences in one gallop, disconcerting to nerves. Glorious heroism to take the nation by storm, stake all on the overpowering force of his own convictions, with sublime faith that, by a sort of inspiration, his 52 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 own reasoned statement might sweep all minds and hearts to the same conclusion. It was one of the boldest and noblest acts of faith in political history. That it placed the problem on a new plane, which meant realisation, ultimate if not imme- diate, was the belief of the braver and truer men then and ever since. Not loyalty to our chief so much as deep conviction that this was right, impelled good Liberals to push through instantly there and then this noble ideal. Prompt action was taken. At the National Liberal Federation, Mr. John Ellis, ^ stepped into the breach and took the Federation by storm for Home Eule and Gladstone, without hesitation, without qualifications. I took the London and Counties Liberal Union by storm in similar fashion, overriding the strong feeling of many influential Liberals, old friends of my own. It was felt a matter of life and death for Liberalism, now the great step was taken, to insist on resolute action, on Party unity, to secure loyalty to our chief. Similar action followed throughout the coxmtry, except in constituencies where the hesitating element got momentary control of the associations. In the Press I made repeated appeals to waverers. Things did not move too well. Estrangement and distrust spread. Lobbying and intrigue everywhere. Tlie Foreign Ofl&ce Meeting was summoned, unhappily only of those who were avowed supporters of the Bill. Dissentients, Whig and Radical, also held restricted meetings. There were those who advised withdrawal of both Bills that session, and a fresh start, some with honesty and goodwill, others with far different intent. Mr. Gladstone's offer at the Foreign Ofl&ce to accept the second reading as a resolution, adjourning the Com- 1 M.P. for RushclifEe. i886] BOLD INITIATIVES— INTRIGUES 53 mittee Stage to the autumn, was misrepresented and perverted. Others were bent on destruction of Ministry and Bill. No amendments, no readjustment. The only question was how many Liberals would follow them, from conviction, or lack of nerve power. There were those who tried to make peace. Those, like myself, friends of Mr. Chamberlain and his group, were sounded and pressed. I offered to attend a meet- ing of that group if I could freely state my views in open discussion. A leading Liberal-Unionist frankly replied if I ' was not in agreement, I should stay away.' That was kind and straight. The situation was better in the country than at Westminster. There was less intrigue, more willing- ness to think things out and arrive at broad conclusions, which, with some reservations, satisfied their minds. For me the strain was lightened, the bitterness of this struggle and its uncertainties neutralised by concentrated work on the scheme for lessening the risks of railway work I had taken in hand. The Railway Regulation Bill of 1886 was a serious venture for an untried politician, and I was resolved it should rest on sure foundations. In its preparation I took up ground Mr. Chamberlain had made familiar in the Shipping Bill of 1884, and his own tentative proposals regarding railway work. My proposal was to give the Board power to order a Company to adopt the Block System, interlocking of points and signals, continuous brakes complying with the Board's conditions for all passenger trains, and efficient brakes for all goods trains, coupling ap- pliances to preclude the need of men going between trucks, adequate and proper spaces for working on railway premises and lines. To check the excessive hours which constantly imperilled both the men and trains, my Bill required a monthly return of men 54 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 employed for more than twelve hours or resuming duty "without nine hours' rest. The Railway Commissioners to be the Court, deter- mine cases and enforce penalties. I finally drafted my Bill, and drew up my case for these proposals, by exhaustive study of evidence and conclusions of the Railway Accidents Commission — as vitally important a mass of material as the Shipping Commission had been for Chamberlain ; by examina- tion of every inquiry held by the Board of Trade In- spectors into railway accidents for the period covering the gravest disasters, illustrating by evidence all the possible causes of fatalities, and giving the conclusions as to remedies and safeguards embodied in the recom- mendations of a whole generation of expert investi- gators appointed by the Board. I would be met by the argument that responsibiUty would be transferred from the Railway Companies to the Board of Trade. I was proposing a novel and decisive principle in Departmental powers. The found- ations of so bold a policy must be securely laid. The eagerness with which my attempt was backed up from every quarter of the United Kingdom, not only by meetings of organised railway servants but by other responsible bodies, societies, and groups of indi- viduals, made it the one Private Member's Bill of that session. The Bill secured by far the largest number of petitions of any Bill that year or for many years. Those old days were worth living in for the Private Member. I had not been specially lucky in the ballot, and had only secured third place on the order paper for May 19th, but the first two Bills were speedily discussed and passed, and I was called on for my first Railway venture at about 2.45 p.m., shortly after the luncheon interval. I spoke from the top corner seat just below the gangway to one of the full ' Houses ' 1 886] RAILWAY REGULATION BILL 55 which marked that momentous session. I spoke about half an hour, having compressed my case into the most concise form, and carried my second reading. This first effort was warmly appreciated by the railwaymen of East Northants and through the whole country, and by friends in Parliament. To me it was some relief from the melancholy strain of that May, when the clouds gathered darker and darker — depressing even to men of the strongest and most enthusiastic faith. n Things went on drearily — the Second Beading debate deliberately protracted in the hope of some settlement. At last the critical week was upon us. I tried to make a final appeal to advanced Liberals.^ If there is not a wiHul misreading of the issue, Mr. Glad- stone had put peaceful settlement within reacfh by reasonable compromise. The Radical dissidents who approve Home Rule but dis- approve of Mr. Gladstone's method hold the key of the situation. They will continue to hold it next October. The champions of democracy, the men whom the eager, warm-hearted Radicals of England have given the right to vote — ^for them, on the first great issue, to refuse to apply the democratic principle to a sister people, for them to use their power to shatter the Party at the outset of a new Era of Reform would be an act of mon- strous and criminal folly. If Mr. Gladstone's proposals are rejected, if the seceders bHndly refuse salvation for Ireland, for the Liberal Party and for themselves, our conscience is clear. We have faith in Mr. G.'s central idea, and believe that if we substitute dispassionate consultation for destructive criticism, that central idea can be worked into a good plan for both countries. . . . We shall foUow Mr. G. to the country confident that justice and reason and the heart of a great and generous people are with us. We 1 Letter to Daily News of June 7. 56 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 know that sooner or later we shaU be able to reconstruct the Liberal Party, and to reconstruct it more strongly and more harmoniously on the sohd rock of the democratic love for truth. This letter, which I know influenced a few advanced votes, was one of many attempts I made to help at this vital moment. As an intimate friend, I made the strongest of personal appeals to Mr. Chamberlain, to which he sent a kindly but uncompromising reply, and to W. S. Caine, to whom I felt gratitude for most frankly and honestly admitting that to attend the Radical meeting with Chamberlain and Trevelyan would commit me, and that open discussion would be impracticable. I would have gone to the meeting if assured of free discussion. ' Then you had better not, come ' ; I knew, therefore, that all was virtually over. We hoped till quite the last that a small majority would save the situation, but at one o'clock that morning ^ I looked, as I promised, into our children's room, and instead of ' Victory ' murmured ' Dis- solution ' ! Rushing events came thick and troubled. At first it looked as if there might be no contest in East Northants, then at last the Tories offered to take any Liberal-Unionist who would eschew ' Disestablish- ment,' finally selecting Mr. Agar-EUis. The people were mad with rage at the challenge, and Mr. Agar- EUis had a far hotter transit than his predecessor, my supporters behaving with truculent impatience. Things were easy for nobody. The crowded meeting of delegates held on a night in leafy June,^ was charged with electricity. I spoke over an hour and a half, dealing with every aspect of the Government of Ireland Bill. On the Land Bill I would keep an open mind if the measure was reached, but I had expressed my repugnance to the Ashbourne Act, and pledging British 1 June 8. 2 ^t the Granville. i886] DISSOLUTION— JULY ELECTION 57 credit to buy out Irish landlords. I could not support a policy of putting back, by the use of British credit, the unjust rents or their capital value in the landlords' pockets. This was absolutely consistent though not popular at Westminster, and was warmly approved by leading supporters, notably Charles Pollard. Into the case for the Home Rule Bill I threw myself with the utmost enthusiasm, and poured out argument after argument drawn from close study of the history of Ireland, its sorrows and its blimders, the embittering past for which the real remedy was the enfranchising and endowing powers of democracy. The meeting was eager and excited, but on the whole unanimous and warmly encouraging. The speeches varied in comment, but the enthusiasm tremendous when it closed with cheer upon cheer for me and our grand old leader. There was one charm in this Election Campaign which it shared with its three successors — 1892, 1895, 1900 — that it was fought, not in bitter winter, but in the full glory of summer. The hay harvest was in full swing, and the corn was getting golden for the sickle, the lanes were lovely, the shade of the great elms welcome. When the campaign fairly started, and the morning papers gave vigorous outpotirings of leader after leader, I would saunter up the hill fields beyond the tennis lawn, and find a bank in delicious shade and read there for half an hour before considering each day what topics I should handle. Clear in memory comes up the morning in which I read John Bright's powerful appeal against Home Rule^ — a speech like Lord Hartington's on the Second Reading — strong, sincere, arguing out with unerring force not prejudices, but fundamental difficulties and objections. Such speeches ^ At Birmingham, 58 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 hit hard, told in every sentence, and meant steady transfer of votes to the Unionists. These speeches were a challenge to loyalty, a spur to the courage and faith of Liberals. How I acquitted myself is not for me to say, but such speeches raised grave misgivings as to the result of the General Elec- tion. Even in so democratic an atmosphere as East Northants there was growing doubt as to how far we could hold our own. This momentous Election was sprung upon a vast electorate only a smaU proportion of whom had ever really thought out these problems. We were handicapped, too, by recent official con- demnations still fresh in recollection, of crime in Ire- land. We had to rely still more on the great concen- trated effort to spread the light on the history of the English connection with Ireland for centiiries. To me, as I look back, it is wonderful that we did even so reasonably well as we did. We had the boldest and most eloquent and persuasive of leaders in Mr. Gladstone, and we had the fresh enthusiasm stiU vuicorrupted of the natural instinct of an enfranchised democracy, to beheve in and apply somehow — anyhow, the root doctrines of its own enfranchisement. In my address to the electors, I asked their votes for sympathy and true union, not for exasperation and reaction. I had done my best to give effect to the views I laid before them in December. The campaign started with an outdoor meeting at Kettering. Mr. Stockburn spoke with ripe common sense. ' Even the old non-representative Irish Parliament had nearly solved the problem in spite of religious differences, when Pitt and Castlereagh pushed the Union through.' I said : — i886] DEMOCRACY THE GREAT RECONCILER 59 Lord Randolph and Mr. Chamberlain had followed the fatal policy of severing Catholic and Protestant ; Randolph preached civil war at Belfast, Chamberlain rehgious bigotry in Scotland and Wales. The Nationalist Movement had its faults, but at least led Catholic and Protestant to act together. Crime and outrage sprang from a horrible fever of revenge. Irish history was a long record of cruelties that made the blood run cold. In Queen Ehzabeth's time, men, women, and children driven into pens for slaughter, little children hung by the roadside ; in the great clearances famihes left starving on the hiUs. The guilt of Irish crime lies at our door — we have our share in the memories that have made Ireland disloyal. Our duty is to meet national sentiment, to do what we can to remove the causes of hatred. Home Rule had not been sprung on the country. In the Midlothian Manifesto of September, they were asked to affirm the principle that the Irish people should manage their own affairs with protection for minorities. I urged that Irish representation at Westminster should be retained for Imperial purposes. The Purchase BiU I opposed as giving unjust compensation to landlords, and because ' sops of pubhc money would sap seK-rehance in Ireland.' But if you give self-government, we should see that an Irish Parhament should deal justly with aU men. Mr. John Bright, who wiU always be regarded with love and affection in every gathering of Englishmen, would deny the right of self-government because he cannot trust the men the Irish would elect. I ask whether the best man in the world, Mr. Gladstone himseM or Mr. Bright, is entitled to choose representatives for people who should choose for themselves. Tory wiseacres think Northampton is not fit to choose its own member. ^ Mr. Chamberlain in his heart feels he has made the great mistake of his hfe. The best way to reconcile all Liberals gone astray is to win a mighty victory in this election. The great democracies stand face to face. They have not bred hatred and xmbeMef. Democracy is said to be a great leveUer— No ! it is the great reconciler. ^ Mr. Bradlaugb. 60 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 Eloquent speeches followed from James Ellis,^^ — bluff, genial, shrewd, ' out and out ' Eadical, and best of loyal friends — a man who never made an enemy in Parliament, but won affection and respect and carried weight in the House ; and from Charles Pollard, who spoke with enthusiasm for Home Rule and against the intolerable persistence in coercion. He ' did not know where in the world they would put him and Wicksteed if suspected men were thrown into prison without judge or jury. He wanted Ireland for the Irish as he wanted England for the EngUsh. The Tory objection is that Irishmen cannot be trusted. Exactly what they always said about the English people ! ' A grand Corn Exchange Meeting at Wellingborough, July 1, 1886, with Pearce Sharman in the chair and splendid platform of old well-known friends. Mary was with me. ' Electors should understand their responsibiHties. The men who defeated Home Rule were hereditary enemies, men who for generations had defeated their own rights. That victory not only meant the success of Mr. Gladstone, but it would reconcile two great democracies and pave the way for those English rights for which they fought and won last December.' Mr. CoUings, George Maycock, and Charles Pollard made effective speeches, the last-named excelling himself. At Irchester I asked a densely crowded meeting whether 'they believed in the principles they fought for last autumn, and whether they believed in me. My opponent commenced his political career by sitting on the fence, and the men of East Northamptonshire will not give him any other seat. Would they let the Government pass into the hands of Salisbury and Churchill, or unite the Liberal Party again for its noble 1 M.P., Bosworth Division. i886] HOME RULE OR COERCION 61 purposes ? He had repeatedly denounced reckless words used by Irishmen, and denounced them now. Such words and the wild deeds of miserable men who, blindly, thought to help their country's cause, had created that sad barrier of prejudice. Liberals wished to sweep that barrier away by kindness and generosity. The Nationalist Leaders had aroused a true national sentiment and love of the country in the Irish people.' Earls Barton gave us royal reception.^ L. and May Hammond accompanied me. We entered from Mears-Ashby (after an open-air meeting under the old elm tree).^ The school was gay with plants and flowers. Mr. Sheffield was in splendid form. ' There were two sides to the Irish question and two schemes before the country — that of Lord Salisbury and that of the Grand Old Man. Mr. Gladstone had gone to the Grand Old Book for his scheme, and they should support his effort to free downtrodden Ireland. Their votes should ring out discord and strife, and ring in peace with honour.' At my rising there was a tremendous outburst of joyous cheering and the audience sang with vigour, ' For he 's a jolly good fellow.' I have never seen anything like the enthusiasm at Earls Barton in those days. I spoke with warmth equal to their own. ' The religious objection to Home Rule was unreal; freedom would tend to overthrow bigotry and animosity and bring a better feeling. I ridiculed Mr. Agar-EUis's dread that Home Rule would injuriously affect EngUsh trade. Sir Lyon Playfair proved that Irish industries had never been so flourish- ing as during the Irish Parliament last century. The Irish succeeded in every other country. If allowed to govern themselves in their own country, why should they not succeed there too ? ' 1 July 6. " The regular political tryst in those summer elections. 62 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 At Wollaston : — AH useful legislation was not being postponed for Irish questions ; there had been grand work for the Scottish crofters ; State regulation of vice had been swept away ; Mr. Henry Richard by his motion had made it more difficult for a Govern- ment to engage in war without the consent of Parliament ; the labour of children and yoimg persons in shops had been hght- ened ; more protection had been provided for miners in their work ; while, by his own Bill, a real start had been taken for the welfare of the railway servants. That Bill, momentous in itself, and the County Government Bill which was ready for introduction and which the County members urged the Govern- ment to bring in forthwith, might have been passed, deaHng with Local Government in Ireland too, providing allotments for labourers, the control of the Mquor traffic, and other vital interests. Such a Bill, fairly before the country, would have prevented the foolish and wicked intriguing against Mr. Glad- stone which went on in the lobbies for months past. That broad and wholesome programme had been arrested by the wanton rejection of Mr. Gladstone's Irish policy. At a grand Rushden meeting, on a glorious summer evening, in Mr. Colston's paddocks, with my old friend Haydn Packwood in the chair, I made sport ' of the ardent Liberahsm ' of my opponent, condemned Mr. Chamberlain and his followers, who, if they were strong enough to throw out, were equally able to amend, and referred in touching terms to the breach between the Prime Minister and Mr. Bright. At Bozeat, I insisted that the Liberal Party was labouring to carry out great reforms for the working people. That programme was at stake in this election. That six months' Parliament was one of which they should be proud. It trusted the people, and earnestly strove to overtake arrears. During last session three hundred Bills were brought in, and grand efforts made for public economy. It had also stood up, more than i886] ENGLISH REFORMS— REUNION 63 any previous Parliament, for the moral welfare of the country. At Irthlingborough : — In one sense there was only one issue in this election, but it was not merely Home Rule, but reforms for England. The Liberals were the true Unionists. They had fought to carry out reforms for Ireland for fifty years ; without their help, the Union would long since have disappeared in seas of blood. To Pinedon.i May Hammond went with L. and me ; a grand meeting, Frank Sharp presiding, in Mr. Harlock's paddock. Any one who studied Irish history knew that whenever national sentiment and love of freedom rose highest, rehgious hatred sank to vanishing point. Mr. Agar-EUis had told them that an Irish Parhament would tax Northamptonshire boots. He wondered if he had read Mr. Gladstone's Bill, or whether he had confused him with Lord Carnarvon, who had nibbled at Protection. A corner-stone of Mr. Gladstone's proposal was that the Irish Parhament could not impose duties. Trade was to be absolutely free between the two countries. It was a rushing, almost dreamy election. We drove from place to place in glorious sunshine. The hay was fragrant in the fields, a sort of summer languor in the air. To me the sense of Party disruption struck a blow to the heart, not yet, perhaps never, quite turned to bitterness. Many Liberal-Unionists had been cherished friends, and for years the longing to bring them back was a burning hope within me ! I was rewarded by the continuance of many friend- ships throughout my career. It was partly by my personal influence and appeals that all through Lord Salisbury's Parliament (1886 to 1892), the Liberal County Members Committee — about fifty to seventy strong — somehow kept together. Lord Ebrington ^ and myself acting as joint-secretaries, an old County ^ Monday, July 4. ^ The present Earl Fortesoue. 64 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 Member, Mr. Jasper More, always shrewd and prac- tical, and ready with playful pungent humour, as chairman. Here and there on Railway Rates, or Allotments, or purely agricultural questions, and on the Local Government Bill debates of 1888, we main- tained some unity of action to promote common and non-controversial objects. This led to my persistent effort to put agricultural and rural subjects outside the range of partisan animosities all through my Parlia- mentary career down to the Development Bill of 1910. This may have created the sympathy and confidence I have always found in the agricultural circles in which a large share of my public life has been spent. At this election I had little outside help, though I helped in the country, especially Doncaster, where I spoke again for that interesting young member of pathetic destiny— Walter Shirley. Edward Harford, the leader of the railwaymen, best of friends and trade unionists, wrote a strong appeal on my behalf. The working men ought to know that in you they have a warm friend and consistent advocate of their interests, and of this you furnished abundant proof during last session ; if there is one section more than another to whom this should be a duty it is the railway men. These men have no representative of their own to watch over their interests, but they have foimd in you a valuable and devoted advocate. All through this dreary year of uncertainty, racking disruption of personal ties, and party hopes and dreams — the sympathy, not only of my own family, but of my mother and sister, was an unfailing help. My mother had ever been a friend of Ireland, and she and my sister Blanche were full of enthusiasm — un- questioning, unhesitating for Gladstone's splendid effort to carry Home Rule at once. Early in the great controversy my sister wrote : — i886] 'KEEP BY GLADSTONE' 65 I hope if your conscience is not opposed you will support Mr. Gladstone. If coercion is to be our future policy, it must be a new and severer coercion. If it is now difficult to concede to Ireland even her just claims, because some people will say that intimidation wrung from England what she would else have withheld, how dangerous will be her position if coercion fails. I believe there is a great deal in estimating people at their best, not at their worst. The Irish are upon their honour to prove that they are worthy of the confidence our leading statesmen repose in them. Have they not more to gain by good conduct than by bad ? Keep by Gladstone through thick and thin ! If our dear father left his children one legacy of moral worth beyond another, it was to stick to a principle if all the world went against us. He was brave, brave in the unpopular cause of aboHtion of slavery — brave in the despised cause of woman's suffrage — brave again and again all through his Kfe, with the splendid type of courage which makes defeat glorious. This age cannot rightly estimate a man morally and mentally in advance of it. WiU not Gladstone be the hero of future history and his supporters who gave up present popularity for right be heroes also ? She made contributions to the struggle this year and later, in striking and touching verses, published in the local Press. Thus drew to its end this bewildering election, of passion, of despondency, of sorrow at the break-up of our Party and the postponement of reforms which a few months before were within the grasp of the first People's Parliament, that eager body, two-thirds of them new men full of ideas — the best, the most generous and single-hearted Parliament up to that time, ever returned. The issue in East Northants was only a question of figures. Our tour on the polling day with Charles Pollard and Wicksteed and M'Gowan roused much enthusiasm as in the winter, but for real momentum, real ' go,' elec- tions too soon repeated never come up to the mark. 66 MEMOEIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1886 Some borough seats came back, some weak county seats lapsed to the old Tory domination, but on the whole the counties saved the Party as they did in December. There were the usual rejoicings, and then we settled down to the full enjoyment of our delightful life at Pytchley. My wife and daughter stopped a month, and then went on a visit to Cohasset in America, where I followed them after the short August session. My mother and sister soon after the election came down to breathe the soft but refreshing Midland air, dry and pure and smokeless. During this and other visits they won many hearts and appreciated to the fvill the gentle ways of our village friends : old Mrs. Summers, inde- fatigable producer of fine laces of many patterns and knitter of socks for our family for years, and in the same row of cottages — below our gates, Stanley, a saintly old man with his wife, and many others. In the quaint old Grange close by lived those lovable Grimdys, who for years were kindly and helpful neighbours. 1887] SALISBURY PARLIAMENT 67 CHAPTER V THE SALISBURY PARLIAMENT. (1887) Gladstone's Lifting Force — Untiring Free Lances— The Two Streams — ^Lord Spencer on Ireland — The Allotments Campaign — Liberal Members visit Ireland. Lord Salisbury wanted ' twenty years of resolute government ' as his answer to Ireland. He won de- cisively in the July election. Mr. Gladstone, instead of retiring to Hawarden to meditate, as the Chamberlains hoped, led the stiffest uphill fight ever known in Parliament and in the country for six years, with the dashing spirit of a hot-headed boy and the vigour of the keenest intellect in history, and won. The Tories, recasting their creed, played at giving the Radical programme bit by bit. ' Liberals had com- mitted themselves to revolution.' ' Tories alone could meet the real wants of the new electors.' ' A Liberal vote was unpatriotic, but worse, it was stupid, a vote thrown away ! ' — a paradox too fantastic to outfight the passionate conviction of a Gladstone who, month by month, drew minds and hearts to Home Rule, too shadowy to outwit the guerilla warfare of the most resourceful free lances the Party of Progress has ever had. That six months' session of Hmitless hopes had launched many bright schemes. Liberals went back in 1886 inspired with noble ideals, and spurred by defeat to a bolder policy. In the new Parhament every item of our programme was worked out in practical proposals — visibly going to the root of each question. Criticism was searching, pitiless, pulverising ; blun- ders or shortcomings instantly exposed and punished. 68 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1887 But the real lifting forces were Gladstone's appeal to a generous humanity, and the inexhaustible ingenuity of our Liberal fighters in fitting mainsprings to impotent Tory measures, and in putting before House and country thought-out principles and workable machinery to re- move grievances and widen opportunities. Those were years not of obstruction, but of untiring constructive effort, to men of action the most enjoyable years of a generation. Irish and English Eeform, like two great streams, rvuming side by side, and converging in a furious tidal wave in bye-elections. Each democracy, Irish and British, must and did help the other. For Randolph Churchill's promise of ' similar and simultaneous ' reforms, and the kindly consideration of Hicks-Beach, Mr. Balfour substituted coercion on exasperating lines. Irish Nationalists and English Home Rulers were up in arms. John Dillon, at Wellingborough,^ asked, ' would the first act of the enfranchised masses be to impose on their brothers in Ireland a yoke more degrading than any in the past ? The new Bill turned everything into crime ! — a system absolutely inconsistent with the elementary ideas of liberty and justice. Liberal- Unionists and Conservatives elected for " equal laws," faced round with this odious proposal. Then they helped to throw out Parnell's Bill, to bridge over that ruinous winter, when crops were down by half, stock by one-fourth, when rent reduction had been declared urgent,^ while crime had sunk to its lowest point.' Dillon described BuUer as converted to Home Rule. • If they trusted the Irish people they would find them honourable and just.' 1 At the annual meeting of the E.N.C.L.A. (A crowded and enthusiastic meeting, the whole audience rising to greet him with prolonged cheers.) ' Report of Cowper Commission. EARL SPENCER. K.C. Plioto by Bassano. 1887] LORD SPENCER ON IRELAND 69 Pollard, moving the resolution, said : ' Mr. Glad- stone's Home Rule holds the field. The Irish people asked for bread, the Government have given them the stone waUs of a prison instead.' I said : ' Last summer Tories described as a wicked invention Gladstone's saying the Tory alternative to Home Rule was coercion — Equal laws and equal liberty throughout the Kingdom was their creed. . . . Would Lord Randolph dare apply this Bill to England ? ' In Warwickshire ^ Lord Spencer made one of his clear, honest, decisive speeches. Coming from that Upper Chamber, where breezes of popular feehng never entered, he welcomed a pohtical demonstration. These years had brought exciting pohtics. The first result of the vote was that labourers were getting an enormous number of new allotments. Lord Randolph Churchill had said that Land Purchase and Local Government should be granted to Ireland. Lord SaUsbury was giving instead a Bill of stringent severity when there was httle crime. These times were not like 1881 and 1882, when crime and terrorism prevailed, and exceptional legislation was necessary. The faU in prices made even judicial rents too high. The Government incurred serious responsibOity by refusing Mr. ParneU's BiU. Lord Cowper's Commission declared further reduction absolutely necessary. Some obdurate men would not hsten to reason, and by refusing reductions set whole districts in flames. Pressure on landlords of that type was the true way of meeting the Plan of Campaign, -which he dishked. There should be a remedy for eviction for unjust rents. PubMc opinion in Ireland, represen- tative bodies, the Catholic clergy, professional men were all in opposition. That these feehngs could be dissipated by strong government was a tremendous delusion. I will say boldly this must be met in two ways — settle the land question on a firm basis and give representative govern- ment in a ParUament in Dublin. Responsibility works a wonderful change. The Irish are as patriotic as Canadians, or 1 Rugby Demonstration, June 1. 70 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1887 Hungarians. They Avill rise to the occasion when they have to govern Ireland, and will have a strong government deter- mined to maintain law and order. That is the only way to put down discontent and disloyalty. Lord Spencer's sincerity and force had a profound effect. In seconding the resolution ' I condemned the Liberals who betrayed their leader and sacrificed their prin- ciples. There would be no reunion by surrender to Mr. Chamberlain. The Tories were putting the tenants under the heels of the landlords, the Irish people under the heels of Orangemen.' 'In America^ I found that Irishmen were thrifty, showed capacity for local government, and those who won position and wealth supported Parnell and his movement.' Land was the ruhng topic that year both in Parlia- ment and the country. Speaking in London, ^ I urged ' speakers to drive home the evasion of agricultural pledges by the Tories.' They did nothing for the labourers tiU spurred to belated honesty about allotments by the Liberal victory at Spalding. What had they done about agricultural distress ? Tories ' marked time ' by appointing Commissions, then cast their reports to the winds. Evidence before Lord Iddesleigh's Commission ^ proved farmers needed just tenure to protect capital invested in improvements, while unfair rents were depriving labourers of their employment. The Liberal County Members held a big meeting,* where I moved the resolution protesting against the shelving of Allotments. * On my recent visit. ^ Home Counties Division, formerly London and Counties Liberal Union, of which I had been Hon. Secretary. ^ On Depression in Trade and Agriculture. '' At Westminster Palace Hotel. 1887] ALLOTMENTS CAMPAIGN 71 Ministers had given definite pledges that an Allotments Bill would be introduced in the Lords, and passed. Nothing had been done except to shelve Lord Dunraven's Bill. Lord Salis- bury sneered at every point of their programme. The labourers of Spalding had given the common-sense answer to the challenge that they could depend upon Tories, in or out of the Ministry. Our new champion, Halley Stewart, the Spalding winner, seconded, Henry Cobb ^ and Parson Tuckwell ^ supported. The Government Bill was held back till near the end. Its shortcomings led to searching debates and all-night sittings.^ Cobb, Seale-Hayne,* Halley Stewart, and myself were persistent and active critics. Mr. W. H. Smith, then leader in the Commons, met us with closure, while Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Jesse CoUings, survivors of the Birmingham ' Radical Pro- gramme,' denounced us, to our amusement, for appro- priating their ideas and at the same time trying to kill the Bill ! I pointed out ^ — ' The Bill was so unworkable that it found no favour even on Tory benches — one of their ablest men, Mr. Staveley Hill,^ denounced it as an imposture, and before the Committee stage the Bill was wholly recast, a surrender to our announced scheme of amendments.' We consistently and logically tried to embody our principles in complete form. The Govern- ment tried to take back with one hand what they offered with the other — to claim the merit of our pro- posals, and knock the bottom out of most of them.' We 1 M.P., Rugby. ^ The Warwickshire Radical vicar who let his glebe in allotments, and had so successfully reached the highest level in cultivation and in produce per acre; see pages 111 and 144. ° I was compelled to move the principal amendment on compensation under compulsory purchase at 3 a.m., speaking forty minutes on that topic. Hansard, vol. 319, p. 1953, Aug. 25th. * M.P. for Mid-Devon. ° In a letter to Mr. Stookburn in September, published in the local press. » M.P. for Staffordshire. ' Published in the Timts, August 2, 1887. 72 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1887 could not wholly convert bad into good BiUs, but we did commit Parliament to sound principles, which ulti- mately bore fruit. ^ * Our first object was to give labourers who wanted land an effectual initiative. ^ Mr. Chamberlain himself argued in January, 1886,^ the guardians would be a reluctant authority. Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Colhngs had turned their backs on their own principle of five years ago. Simplified and cheapened procedure, "reasonable rents," land at its real value without extra for compulsory purchase ; allotments up to three acres. Will Mr. Chamberlain help us to embody those prin- ciples in the Bill, or will he abandon bit by bit the creed of 1885 to meet the necessities of his Tory alhes ? Does Mr. Chamberlain want land for labourers, or votes for opponents of Gladstone ? ' At local meetings later, I quoted from a letter to me from Mr. Gladstone referring to the action of the Liberal County Members. ' I own that I was agreeably surprised at the efforts made in the case of the Allotments Bill to work with the shivered remnants of a party, and at the good which they appeared to effect.' Few as we were in the House we could fight, whether it was for England or for Ireland. In November, with Alfred lUingworth,* most resolute of Yorkshire Radicals, as leader, a group of Liberal members visited Ireland to see for ourselves Mitchels- town, peppered with shot, fresh with memories of con- stabulary who ' aimed to kill,' and the tenantry evicted at Coolgreany for the Plan of Campaign, and to voice the English protest against ruthless and un j ustifiable coercion. 1 Our forecast was partly fulfilled by the amending bill the Ministry were forced to bring in in 1890, and of course still further in the Liberal Acts of 1894 and 1907. ^ August 22, in letter to Daily News. ' The debate which turned out the Tory Ministry. * M.P. for Bradford, 1887] LIBERAL MEMBERS IN IRELAND 73 I took part in the great Dublin meeting : ^ Coercion had brought about the fusion of English Liberals and Irish Nationalists. This infamous policy put Ireland back a century, and in England they were asked to go back to Sidmouth and the ' Six Acts.' Lord Sahsbury laid bare the spirit of his Ministry by saying he would not give Local Government to Ireland because Irish- men knew nothing of the Ten Commandments. If the Land Act he had passed was not a sham, it meant that the Irish people had taught Lord Salisbury an eleventh commandment, ' Thou shalt not rob the poor by exacting unfair rents.' Ire- land's victory would be England's victory too. Our visit gave us fresh points to drive home with timely illustrations at later autumn meetings. At Higham, Heygate, as chairman, spoke with great effect, alluding to Tory threats to shoot Mr. Labouchere. ' Liberal policy was said to be a " one man policy ! " Tory policy under Disraeli had been a "one man poUcy." If he had lived long enough he would have educated his party to swallow Home Rule as he had to swallow Household Suffrage.' I dealt with Land Tenure. ' The Tories were using Home Rule to block the way for every reform they disliked. They stole Liberal measures and spoiled them, and withheld opportunities for really useful work.' At Finedon, Cobb made vigorous slashes at the Dis- sentients. ' Lord Hartington had been too wary to join the Ministry, but had pitched Mr. Goschen over the fence.' At Kettering ^ I told them how ' the English Members were welcomed in Tipperary just as he was in Dalkeith Place after the polling at the last election. Let Ireland have just laws and the deposits in the savings banks, and English capital, too, will flow into Ireland, be applied to the land, raise the whole condition of the ^ Leinster Hall. - Liberal Association. 74 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1887 country. Irish land now had its value not from English capital, but from the labour of the Irish themselves. The system was to keep landlords going and Bnable them to rob the men whose patient toil made the land what it was.' Mr. Bradlaugh's address at WelUngborough gave me a welcome chance to say of him that ' he had set an admirable example to Members of ParUament, in busi- ness-like habits of mind and reasonable consideration for their fellows.' Earls Barton celebrated Mr. Gladstone's birthday ^ by an amusing dinner. Snow was on the ground, but we marched gaily down from Sheffield's and kept the fun going to a late hour. Among topics I touched on — Free Trade made food cheap. It was equally important that old England's soil should yield a maximum of produce and afford a maximum of employment. Raising rents on tenants' improvements must be stopped. Rent should bear reasonable proportion to price of produce. Lord ToUemache, on his Suffolk estates, reduced rents by half and agreed that for every shilUng rise or fall in cereals, rents should rise or fall by 5 per cent. In eighteen months produce had fallen and the rents were now 60 per cent, lower. That was a noble poUcy. Was Lord Tollemache giving his tenants that money ? No ! he was simply recognising that equitably that money was theirs, not his. Mr. Campion of Northampton spoke with eloquence, and Mr. Webb, an old Bartonian, gave us an hour of brilUant illustration of why Home Rule was needed, a speech replete with wit and anecdote. At Rushden, I said 'the Cowper Commission had proved many rents in Ireland to be unjust and impos- sible. I referred to the bare rocks of the Aran Islands where the people for ages had created in the hollows, by manure and seaweed and sand, a sort of soil, out of ' His seventy-seventh, December 29. 188;] EQUITABLE RENTS 75 which they got potatoes and oats, and fed their useful httle cows. Such tenants ought not to pay but re- ceive rents, for those centuries of labour, which made both soil and crops.' ^ At Pytchley, pleasant functions, the old Wesleyan Chapel converted into a bright reading-room. To help, a delightful entertainment in the Grundy's barn with songs and recitations and short scenes from plays. At Wellingborough's celebration of the Gladstone birthday, 2 I alluded to ' the brilliant speech at Dover which proved there was more fight in him than all the rest '^capital hits on sacrifice of cherished convictions ! Mr. Goschen's conscience — ' hard as steel in the atmo- sphere of progress, melting like wax among friends of reaction.' Oil the whole a joyous year. Opposition had its lessons, its hopes as well as its disappointments. 1 I visited the Aran Islands in the early summer of 1894, after the evictions. See Chap. X., pp. 154, 155. ^ December 30. 76 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 CHAPTER VI IRELAND AND LIBERALISM. (1888) The Kettering Delegates — Sullivan at Northampton — Charles Wick- steed — ^Liberal Club — ^Local Government Bill — School Boards — Divi- sion of Rates — Village Reforms — Women's Liberal Association. I The aftermath of our Parliamentary pilgrimage to Ireland was the sending of Mr. Miller Wilson, Mr. Samuel Taylor, and Mr. M'Gowan, representing busi- ness, labour, and journalism, to Ireland as delegates from Kettering to study Irish problems and Tory coercion policy on the spot. A grand welcome was given them on their return. I said : — Trust and sympathy would win the Irish people to love and loyalty— the poUcy of the allied parties of coercion meant deliberate pulverisation of society . . . Mr. Taylor knew about house-building ; what would he think of a builder who started his work by passing the bricks through a mill ? Millions of men and women in England had vowed to defeat a pohcy which meant crushing the heart of a generous people. We were not the sentimental party but the common-sense party. Miller Wilson told the story of the tour with shrewd comments and handled the problem from business points of view. Taylor, hard-hitting and racy, applied the lessons of Ireland somewhat ruthlessly to local Northants nota- bilities, while M'Gowan eloquently reasoned pleas for righting Irish wrongs, and exposed abuses of rack- renting landlords and cruelties of the crowbar brigade and emergency men. ' It was not the Nationalist S. W. TAYLOR, T. MILLER WILSON. P. D. MacGOWAN. DELEGATES TO IRIiLAM) 1887-8 i888] THE KETTERING DELEGATES 77 members, as a local magnate averred, who were murderers of the Irish people, but these ruffians. Let the Irish Parliament on College Green settle with them.' Just before Parliament met, at a delightful Barton banquet Daniel Sheffield complimented me as the man for the right sort of Bills. ' There was one Bill the men of Barton wanted him to support, the " Grand Old Bill " ; if he did they would stick to Mr. Channing through thick and thin.' I said : — Mr. Balfour was brilliant but weak. His policy was exasper- ating. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, speaking at Bristol, showed a fair and open mind . . . his point was that Mr. BaMour's poUcy was a mistake. The franchise had been given to Ireland. They could only hope for success by recognising that they must deal with Democracy. Government by coercion was practically impossible . . . prisoners came out as heroes. Coercion in- creased the forces they had to face. Earl Compton followed in a much-applauded speech. This week Taylor delivered a warm-hearted address on Ireland at Rushden. People should go to Ireland and see things for themselves. They would then understand that the Plan of Campaign was never adopted except on estates where rents were far above the Government Valuation. The tenants reclaimed, and im- proved, building their steadings, and often were sent adrift by their landlords without compensation. He had witnessed terrible scenes of destitution. Those in authority were drawn almost entirely from the Protestant and land-owning class. The cost of the army in Ireland, the Constabulary and Secret Service ran the biU for Dubhn Castle and aU, up to four times as much per head as in England. Mr. Balfour was unjust in criticising the intelhgence of Irish school children. The In- spection Reports proved their attainments bore favourable comparison with EngHsh children.^ ^ Samuel W. Taylor came from Great Easton in Leicestershire, and worked as foreman to builders at Kettering. His enthusiastic mind and eloquent advocacy of progressive causes brought him to the front. He owed much to 78 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 At Finedon — It was absurd for Mr. Henry Matthews,^ who had once been a Home Ruler, to taunt Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Morley with encouraging the National League in outrages. The return proved there were in Munster, two, in Leinster, one, and in Connaught, four attacks on the police, seven altogether in fifteen months. What Mr. Morley denounced was the coercion pohcy evicting tenants from holdings made valuable by their own labour, for men hke Lord Clanricarde. Sir Michael Hicks- Beach had given more than one hint that the Balfour poKcy was fooMsh ; they could not persist in the irresponsible Castle autocracy. So the Government was eager to divert attention and have an Enghsh session ! He, for one, would gladly sup- port the Government in deahng with arrears of Home legislation. At Isham, Mr. Nunneley, as chairman, pleaded elo- quently for bold local government reforms, Free Trade, and evicted Irish tenants, old men and Uttle children left to perish on the mountain-side, while the homes they and their fathers had built were smouldering ruins. In February a magnificent welcome was given in Northampton Corn Exchange to T. D. SuUivan. I took a leading part, introducing deputations from our chief towns to present addresses. Northampton in its thousands has shown itself eager to welcome one of BaKour's criminals, one of the heroes and martyrs in the cause of Mberation of a kindred people. I am glad, as holding the responsible position of Knight of the Shire, to express heartfelt sympathy with and warm admiration for the great work you, Mr. Sullivan, have done. Three months ago, you and I stood on the same platform in Leinster Hall, the teaching of that gentlest but keenest of Radicals, the Rev. Abner Brown of Kettering. Taylor was a force in Northants politics and in Leicestershire, and sat in the first Leicestershire County Council. He was an active member of the School Board of Great Easton. It was an amusing incident in his career a Uttle later that he was the only elected member of his School Board, and bad in consequence to nominate the other members on the Board. One of my pleasant expeditions outside was with Mr. Stockburn, himself a warm friend of Taylor, to speak at Great Easton. * Then Home Secretary. i888] SULLIVAN AT NORTHAMPTON 79 where Alfred Illingworth and the other EngHsh members spoke in the cause of true union of two peoples. Since then you have suffered in the cause you love. These sufferings have not gone for nothing. They are one more contribution towards freeing the nation you love as you love your own hfe. Mr. Balfour boasted last night the Coercion BUI had decreased crime. I ask who has put down crimes more than Mr. SuUivan, more than my friend and your friend, WiUiam O'Brien ? Attachment to our great leader, Mr. Gladstone, nerved the Irish people to bear with patience. We congratulate Ireland that it has leaders of courage and magnanimity to face danger and, what is worse, insult and humihation. Mr. Sullivan made a lengthy and eloquent reply. At the close loud cheers were given for Ireland, and hundreds of working men rushed to shake hands with Mr. Sullivan, who good-naturedly responded, accom- panying the grip of the hand with a hearty ' God bless you.' Shortly after, I spoke at a Doncaster bye-election caused by the resignation of Walter Shirley, a man of high ideals and fine ability which would have done much if his career had not been wrecked by misfortimes. This refined and attractive man died not long after, almost without a friend to help, but for the generous kindness of Walter Foster, who learned his situation at the last moment of his pathetic career. At Irthlingborough, I dwelt on the surrender of privi- lege to democracy. Lord Randolph denounced labourers as incapable of the simplest duties of citizenship, and Lord Burghley professed ignorance as to what County Boards could be. Now Liberal principles won in Mr. Ritchie's Bill, that the Government was driven to pass by Liberal victories. Was it the cherished dream of Conservatives to dethrone Quarter Sessions ? The BiU roused their indignation and disgust. Liberals should study the BiU and get men on District and County Councils. The BiU failed to reform vestry and viUage 80 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 government. The guardians were still elected by a plural vote. Home Rule was not dead, but marching on — The Local Government Bill was the vanguard of it.^ Lord Sahsbury denied it was a Radical measure, but a Conservative paper retorted, ' It was the basest treason. A Ministry capable of introducing it was organised hypocrisy.' The BiU was really a wide extension of Radical principles — they were to be governed by elected representatives, and election was to be by ' one man one vote.' Mr. Cobb had brought in a Bill to make parish government real and hving. Lord Beaconsfield had told his party never to have a pro- gramme. Their papers urged good administration and leave dangerous reforms alone. They were driven on by Lord Randolph, who said the Party had been false to the programme he had laid before the House ; when they touched Local Government for England they should deal with Ireland at the same time, on the footing of ' equahty and similarity.' Instead there was nothing but coercion and oppression. The ferocity with which pohtical prisoners were being treated showed its inherent weakness. John Bright said, in dealing with Irish problems, your true pohcy was to choose the generous side. The Tories sent the Duke of Norfolk to get the help of the Pope for coercion. But that would never check the inde- pendent spirit of Ireland. I went on to show how Sir Michael Hicks-Beach at the Board of Trade was carrying out step by step much that I had ^ pressed for in my Bill of 1886 ^ as to safe working and excessive hours on railways. n Charles Wicksteed, with his strong features, often knitted brows, grand eyes, now burning with indigna- tion at injustice, now lit with open-hearted generosity, a man whose nature was summed up in independence, energy, and devotion to high ideals, had long taken the measure and gauged the spirit of our forces at Kettering. 1 At Wollaston. " At Irchester. 2 The Railway Regulation BiU, 1886 read a second time, but stopped by dissolution. ^^^■^ ^ii i J 1 ^^9 ^^^^^^^V / Pjj^Kl ^^^^^Ir^^i^B ^F\ HB^~^^^^ r CHARLES WICKSTEED. J. P., C.A. BRVN HAFOD. KETTERING. i888] THE LIBERAL CLUB 81 He shared in the enthusiasm of our best men, in their tenacious grasp on the vital principles of a fearless Liberalism, in their determination to win and keep their own Liberal stronghold, and to spread their in- spiration beyond Kettering all through the county. To him it was natural to create, as the outward expression of his own masterful faith, and of the temper and aspirations of the Liberahsm of the town, a centre where the strong men, and women too, of Kettering could disciphne and direct these powers of progress. This was the origin of the great Liberal Club which has been a mainspring of Liberal energy in the county for so many years. All Kettering had earnestly contri- buted, but the Club was the outcome of Mr. Wicksteed's persistent initiative, A day of glorious May sunshine — happy omen of its future — ^welcomed Mr. Spencer, Mr. Brunner, and myself for the stone-laying. Stockburn, from the chair, dwelt on the growth of Kettering, the need of an educational centre, to spread a knowledge of political economy and of political his- tory. ' The Club was to be carried on without the sale of intoxicants. Drinking clubs elsewhere had proved a curse.' ' In opening the library of the National Liberal Club, Mr. Gladstone had said " Their ' imports ' would be the knowledge acquired by reading ; their ' exports ' public speaking." That was why he wanted a Club library to be proud of in Kettering.' The Club has given splendid help in speaking, and organising in all parts of the county, in many general elections, and far beyond the borders of the county too. Spencer made one of his humorous and genial speeches. He hoped ' to carry away a good deal of Kettering mortar on his hands as a memento. Their new club hke the sun would warm the weak, and stimulatb the 82 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 strong, and radiate beams of true Liberalism, the love of freedom and liberty.' Brunner dwelt on the sorrow of Dillon's imprison- ment, ' tbe purest-minded patriot in the kingdom, with the heart of a lion, and the tenderness of a child.' I said :— It was an outward and visible symbol of the faith that was in them, that the principles of Liberalism would regenerate England and make each generation better than the last. Those who had listened to Mr. Gladstone's matchless elo- quence would know that the convictions and principles he pro- fessed had entered his very soul and body, and it was this that had given an old man's frame the strength of a youthful giant. Let it be a temple of liberty, a temple of sincerity, a temple of truth and justice from which strong men should be sent forth to right the people's wrongs. At the instance of the School Board of Birmingham ^ and other great School Boards, I put down an amend- ment to Clause 8,^ which gave power to extinguish School Boards by a stroke of the pen, without power of reinstatement, if there was a bare majority of the existing boatd in favour of that step. Suggested by ' leading reactionaries ' ^ before the Commission, and smuggled into the Bill, this scheme might slip through unless its purpose was exposed. Wherever there was a scratch denominational majority, the rights of the people to control the educa- tion of their children through directly elected repre- sentatives might be stealthily done to death. The vigorous support given by School Boards throughout the country to my amendment made the failure of the conspiracy inevitable. Years later Mr. Balfour succeeded in destroying the most effective of all the democratic instruments of Local Government. My * Dr. Crosskcy's and Mr. M'Carthy's Board. • Looal Government Bill. ^ Lord Lingen and Mr. Cumin. i888] LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL 83 protest against emasculation of County Councils, by leaving to the Government of the day to give or withhold by Order in Council the powers County Councils were to exercise, was extremely popular in the Constituency. I had saved School Boards, and though my protest against whittling down the powers of County Councils was less successful, it had its effect on the course of the Bill in other details. In July a brilliant meeting at Wellingborough ^ to protest against John Dillon's imprisonment. Charles Pollard in superb form about the treatment of Irish patriots, and the wholesome fury of the bye-elections.^ ' He challenged the Government to come out. Where, then, would they be in six months' time ? In East Northants the Conservatives might bring whom they liked, barristers, policemen, Irish landlords or distillers — it mattered not — so long as Mr. C. desired it East Northants would send him again and again to the House of Commons. If they did not believe him, let them wait and see.' Mr. Woodhead ^ said : — Englishmen sympathised with the sufferings of men like John Dillon, but those sufferings would bring good to Ireland. It was no new thing for the prison to be the cradle of freedom. John Bunyan was put in prison by the friends of law and order, but Bunyan' s prison had brightened England to-day and the whole civihsed world. From the prisons of martyrs for poUtical freedom flowed streams of light which all the efliorts of Tories and reactionary Liberals could not quench. Tories had not imprisoned the sympathising hearts of the EngUsh people. I said : — Earnest citizens should protest when the executive used power unjustly. 1 Mr. William Brown in the chair. 2 Which were favourable to us. ' M.P. for Spen Valley. 84 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 When he spoke there with John Dillon, some months before, he said that coercion was dehberately brought in, not to check crime, but to paralyse poUtical opponents. They had trapped John Dillon by proclaiming a district where he had delivered a speech not half so inflammatory as the recent language of a Trades Union leader in the North of England. John DiUon is in prison, but he^has the future with him. The Tories had tried to get the Pope to help them, not to protect the victims of boycotting, but to crush the Nationahst movement in Ireland, and they had failed. Irish priests were of one flesh and blood with Irish peasants. Within the last few days the Archbishops and Bishops had given the full approval by the CathoHc Church of the land pohcy of the Nationalists. Balaam had been called in to curse, and had blessed altogether. It was a glorious meeting of the old times and the old temper. At a stone-laying of a Wesleyan Sunday School at WoUaston,^ I said : — One of my earhest recollections was the gentle face of a lady who had found peace and consolation in the teaching of John Wesley and the practical work of their Communion. Educa- tional reform had left the Sunday School free for its true function of developing the spiritual Mfe of children . . . The danger of modern education was that there was too little contemplation. The Sunday School should develop thinking power to help the child to form its own standard of conduct, its own discipline of conscience by meditation and seK-examina- tion. That had been a feature in the hves of the two Wesleys at Oxford. Sunday Schools could create a pure taste in the young and rouse their repugnance to demorahsing hterature. Their work was making gardens for God. Flowers fade and so do our mortal frames, but if we develop the garden of humanity and the bloom of spiritual beauty, it will live on when we and they are dust.^ At Pytchley, when many Kettering friends came up to the Flower Show in glorious August weather, the 1 July 9. ^ The little trowel of that day is still one of my treasures. i888] DIVISION OP RATES 85 Broughton band played all the afternoon and in the evening for dancing on the lawn. The Local Government Bill gave me useful oppor- tunities. My clause to divide the new county rates between owner and occupier led to prolonged debate. Mr. Goschen was pledged in 1870 to this proposal. Justice to farmers could not throw the whole burden of new charges on them. Autumn campaigning began with a grand meeting in Kettering Corn Exchange. ' We welcomed Mr. Rowlands,^ one of the victors of labour representation in 1886. Mr. Rowlands was a land reformer, wielding the axe sturdily at the roots of the great monopoly.' * Mr. James Toseland had an axe, Mr. Charles Wick- steed had an axe, and a keen one too.' ' He and Mr. Rowlands had been working on the Town Holdings Committee, whose report, though not all Liberals might wish, would go far to curtail abuses by ground landlords.' 'Fair-minded Mr. Evelyn^ described the Irish policy of the Government "as meanness, mendacity, and murder." ' Mr. Balfour had got his gunnery experts to say that the fatal buUets at Mitchelstown glanced off the stones. But the constables at the inquests said, ' I aimed to kill.' The growing sense of power would give democracy insight into nobler aspects of the future and power to win it. Charles Pollard said : — If WiUie Redmond had been hurled into prison for encourag- ing resistance to evictions, they in Kettering would say, ' Bravo, men of Wexford ! ' gifFree speech, a free platform, and free Press were always sacred in England. SuDivan had been imprisoned for reporting a meeting at which no treasonable language was used. ^ M.P., East Pinsbury; myself in chair. ^ Conservative M.P. for Deptford. 86 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 The gravest injustice was the tyranny of forcing the letter of the law against equity. Let those words find an echo in the hearts of Tories and Unionists, then there would be fair play, distrust and fear would fly away. Rowlands gave one of his characteristic, rousing harangues : — ' This Ministry was only in power because some professed Liberals had forgotten their political faith.' Stanwick gave stirring welcome to Handel Cossham and myself. Stanwick people were pleasant to talk to — direct, intuitive, quick to respond. Securing tenant farmers' capital and the chance of getting fair rents, railway safety proposals were some topics. The Board of Trade now promised haK my points. Mr. Ritchie could not name a single authority which had bought land ! Mr. Jesse CoUings introduced an Allotments Amending Bill, which actually included seven Liberal amend- ments rejected last year. The Local Government Bill was a new Charter of Liberty. Widen and strengthen it. Secure real powers for the villages. The Bin began at the wrong end with county areas. The Government told the people they should have the right to decide upon Mcensed houses. If they used this power, they would have to pay a sum which might equal one-third the National Debt, thus creating a property illegally, a bribe to the drink interest and threat to Temperance. It was a victory to knock these clauses out. Mr. Chamberlain at Bradford, referring to evictions, dis- ingenuously ignored arrears of rent — the whole pith of the matter. Irish tenants were being evicted for rents the Land Courts had pronounced unjust. Liberals should read Lord Randolph's speech on breaches of faith by Tories and Unionists. Handel Cossham dealt with Local Government ques- tions and control of charities. 'With £70,000,000 of food from abroad, drastic land reforms must come. The land was tilled under the worst conditions. The i888] VILLAGE DEMANDS 87 tenant, if he spent money, piled up his rent ; the labourer toiled out his life for a few shillings and went to the workhouse. Four times as many men should be employed.' The coming County Councils, the demand of the villagers to share in local government, the people's claim to the land, roused keen interest. A cheery round of village meetings. Doddington, with Sheffield as chairman, Ecton with Henry Dunkley, and a home meeting in the Pytchley reading-room with Stockburn, crammed with pleasant, practical politics, innocent ' platform ' ferocities. As likable as the long drives through the crisp, frosty air, the joyous welcomes, the sense of confidence, and loyalty, and good will. It aU comes back full of delightful associations, one over- lying another, deepening, not rubbing away, the senti- ment of attachment to kind friends. Just now the struggle for land was fresh and keen, the refusal of practical amendments to the Allotments Bill a real grievance. Labourers were pushed aside by the guardians, and had to hire land at double farmer's rent from owners, instead of getting it on fair terms through elective authorities. My farmer friends and the village shopkeepers were vexed at the rejection of division of rates between owner and occupier. Mr. Goschen,! was doubly pledged to this reform, and the Richmond Commission had demanded it. They warmly approved my repeated efforts to enlarge the powers of the County Councils. Let them fearlessly support the very best men and demand the best oirtput of work from the new local bodies. Mr. BaKour's substitute for drmnhead courts-martial would have caused seas of blood in Ireland, but for Gladstone and men like Dillon who inspired hope and preached peace. The Plan of Campaign was difficult to defend, but the demands under it were practically just, at Mitchelstown less than the Land Court afterward gave. Evictions were pressed on by the thousand before the people coidd get into the Land Court at ^ Then Chancellor of the Exchequer, 88 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 all, and were based on the accumulated arrears which the Acts did not touch. Mr. Balfour wished the Irish people to forget their leaders, aU they had done for them, a futile policy that cast dishonour on England.^ At Ecton Mr. Dunkley took us back to the ' thirties,' ^ when he played a strenuous part. Reasonable men, who doubted Gladstone's pohcy in 1886, would rather cut off their right hands than vote for Balfour's poHcy. To convert actions and words hitherto innocent into crimes, so as to beat their opponents, by clapping them into prison was despicable tyrarmy. This was to be an English session. But every Liberal Bill that secured English reforms was obstructed. Lord Hartington said at Inverness that their point was to permanently defeat Home Rule. The interests of the English people were sacrificed that coercion, the Balfour pohcy, may go on. Liberal-Unionists were pledged to Sir Charles Dilke's proposals, the comer-stone of which was to begin with village institutions, and go on to the County. All this had been thrown over with Poor Law Administration, and County Council powers for Sunday Closing. At Pytchley : — The Conservatives, to keep in office, had to pass measures for the benefit of the masses. The whole credit did not belong to them. The chief points had been worked out by Liberals. They should send the best men they could to County Councils, but not contest the seats in a party spirit. No Liberal should oppose Albert PeU. He would make an excellent business man on any County Council. No Conservative should go against Lord Spencer, who had done so much for the county. The Irish, too, should have power to manage their own affairs. Coercion was unjust, wholesale evictions involved terrible cruelties. Only two days ago a man of over eighty was forced out of his humble dweUing in a dying condition and passed away a few hours later in a barn where his friends offered him shelter. ' Poddington, ^ The times of Sir Francis Burdett. Rt. Hon. a. J. MUNDELLA, M.P. i888] LAND REFORMS 89 M'Gowan, with burning eloquence, demanded demo- cratic reforms and new marching music — Little to choose between official Liberals and official Con- servatives. The toiling artisan and the agricultural labourer must have their tvirn at the legislative mill Privilege must make way for the pubMc good. To awaken genuine enthusiasm proposals must strike to the very roots of deep-seated evils. Lord Hartington had spoken of the compact between Tories and the ' apostates.' It was just like a Conservative preacher at the last Election who prayed, ' Let all Unionists hang together.' A Radical in the congregation shouting ' Amen,' the minister qualified, ' I mean, Lord, in the bonds of concord.' The Radical interpolated, ' No matter, Lord, so long as they hang.' At Grendon I dwelt on — the sui-render, inch by inch, of their principles by Liberal- Unionists. England demanded land. These men helped the Tories pass an Allotment Act which was a watch without a mainspring. The people demanded real Local Government, and got what was designed to keep Quarter Sessions, white- washed with a pubhc vote. Liberals wanted real power for villages to acquire land for allotments and pubhc purposes, with fixity of tenure for small holdings and dweUings too, to develop village fife and give independence to the workers. Tory pohcy in Ireland was hke a gadfly. He was proud to represent a Division so resolved to see right prevail and justice done. The autumn meeting of delegates, and crowded evening gathering at Wellingborough, hearty as ever, brought a rousing oration from my old friend MundeUa, who said he had heard an hour of the best speaking in the provinces of his whole life. He exposed ' the one-sided aspect of Tory legislation. Liberals must try to give it reality. He then dissected the Education policy, dictated by denominationahsm, and withholding opportimities for real advance, especi- ally in technical education,' 90 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [i Moving thanks : ' There was hardly an industry or a man or woman in any factory who had not good reasons to thank Mr. Mundella. He had stimulated popular education to marvellous advances, and had checked cruel child employment in the streets.' A grand field-day in Kettering to welcome that great- hearted woman, Lady Sandhurst, friend of many causes, gentle helper of cripples, strenuous advocate of woman's share in public Hfe, who came to give her inspiring aid to Mrs. John Walhs and a powerful Kettering Com- mittee, in starting a Women's Liberal Association, which has had ever since a noble history. Mrs. Wallis voiced the welcome of Kettering from the chair, to which I added warm recognition of the splendid work she and many generous-minded, sympathetic, and deter- mined women had rendered to that great cause. Lady Sandhurst had helped in many bye-elections and especially at this moment — ^in Earl Compton's attempt to win ' Holbom.' In that election, justice to Ireland and social regeneration, the housing of the workers in our great towns, were brought vividly before those who had been working for Lord Compton. The kind hearts of women would strengthen action as to the horrors of infant insurance, the errors in reformatories and industrial schools, the miseries of intemperance. The sympathy of women of the working classes should be enlisted. Lady Sandhurst, who had a great ovation, 'hoped there would be strong associations with branches every- where to carry out their main object, education. Politics meant much more than party fights and elec- tions ; they were the science of national wellbeing. ' They sought the spirit of help in national life. Edu- cation in those things was the right and bounden duty of women.' At the evening meeting I said : — In Holborn apathy and ignorance were appaUing, and in- creased their admiration of Earl Compton's self-sacrifice in Mrs JOHN WALLIS. KETTERING. i888] WOMEN'S LIBERAL ASSOCIATION 91 identifying himself with the active creed of the Party, with Home Rule, land reform, and the measures which meant happiness to dwellers in cities. He, the heir to a great London estate, was demonstrating that duties of property come first and rights come after. To the miseries of the Seven Dials district was added wholesale eviction. The people were cleared out to make room for great improvements, and forced away from where they earned precarious liveMhood. Lady Sandhurst 'wished to convince women that Liberal politics had a loftier meaning; they were the pohtics of the Gospel, to do for others as much as for themselves. Home duties were the most sacred of all, but she wished women to intelligently enter into their husbands' lives and bring up their children in that spirit.' . . . 'Such a society should clear up questions of right and wrong, support justice, purity, truth, and loving- kindness. A friend on being asked how he could be a Home Ruler replied, "Did you not know I was a Christian ? " Father M'Fadden, for all that had been said against him, helped his people to pay their rents. If laws they could respect were given to the Irish they would obey them.' A pleasant meeting at Rushden, with Haydn Pack- wood in the chair, and my old friend and almost first pupil at University College, T. P. Price,i to speak of Welsh politics, wound up the year. Price took high honours, and combined an acute and just mind with cheery, hearty ways. Like other excellent members, full of capacity but indifferent to self-advertisement, modest as he was strong, he remained in the background, and in a few years retired rather weary of House of Commons ways. Price tersely stated ' the claims of Wales to free her- ' M.P., Monmouthshire. 92 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1888 self from establishment and end the long innings of the parson and the squire and give the people real power. For education the Welsh were willing to pay rates, and the State should meet them by equal payment. Give the people good land at fair rents and stop depopulation. The villages were deserted because agriculture was hopeless and unattractive. The Irish Question they must settle with justice. That would be a first step for English regeneration.' I referred to my voting against Coercion. ' A pamphlet the other day gave the number of votes re- corded in 1887. His name was in 117 divisions, none of them wovild condemn him for having stood 117 times between Ireland and this miserable coercive policy.' 1889] COUNTY COUNCILS 93 CHAPTEE VII GREAT MEN AND GREAT ISSUES. (1889) County Councils — Passing of John Bright — Stansfeld and Sullivan at Kettering — Bye-Eleotions — Wilfrid Lawson — Bright on Freedom. At Kettering a torchlight procession of opponents of vaccination, and demonstration in the Corn Exchange. Presiding, I told them science itself was spreading dis- trust. Smallpox, like other plagues, disappeared before sanitation. Vaccination could transmit terrible diseases. Conscientious scruples of parents should be con- sidered. He had exposed in the House a case at the Manchester Industrial School, where sixty-seven vacci- nated and revaccinated persons were infected with smallpox by a child of twelve who, though vaccinated, had taken smallpox and brought it into the school. ^ I spoke at Daventry Liberal Club ^ this winter. We rejoiced in Lord Spencer's election as Chairman of the County Council, taut some Radicals had been hoodwinked into returning friends of reaction. Men in Parliament in higher position had gone astray too. But for this the powers given to Councils would have been greater, and contests a real test of feehng. At Westminster the Liberal County members should have more influence in the Party. ^ He had fought the battle of 1885 largely on the question of better housing in villages as well as in towns. Guardians by the Act of 1885 had power to build good cottages and add garden ground. They had not done so, nor had they bought land under the Allotments Act. The people had the lever in their own hands to return Pro- ^ Parliamentary Debates, vol. 330, pp. 83-86. 2 On the invitation of Ashworth Briggs. ' I was then one of the secretaries, and afterwards chairman, of the county members for many years. 94 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1889 gressives at local elections, instead of, with sUpshod good- nature, being blind to their own interests. . . . The democracy of England had a hving sympathy with the sufferings of Ireland. Conservatives and Unionists had sinned against the noblest instincts of the EngHsh race. Heixry Cobb held forth in his fiery and trenchant style. This year was full of pleasant doings for our Liberal Club. The felicitous hands of Alfred Gotch had made it one of the finest political clubs in the provinces. Lady Robinson/ a stalwart of stalwarts, opened the Bazaar to complete funds in February. ' Such a club excited her envy, coming from the county town where there was nothing like it. Kettering had more need, batthng to win the North.' At Leicester Liberal Club ^ I spoke on making ' the land the most potent instrument of human happiness and elevation. Monopolists must be taught to put humanity first and gains afterwards. Single owner- ship of vast areas, in London and elsewhere, ground down the workers. The capitahsed value of London ground rents, over £4,000,000,000, escaped fair contri- bution to local expenditure, while the £212,000,000 of the buildings on them had borne the cost of making London what it was.' At the spring meeting ^ congratulations on the grand education victories at Wellingborough and at Rushden. They had vindicated the right of the people to control the education of their children. Referring to the death of John Bright — A great page of political history, and the history of humanity had closed at Rochdale. In John Bright moral rectitude of purpose was reflected in the simplicity of his words, and the directness of his thoughts. They had in him the example of disinterested purity, of that freedom from the political taint which marred politics so much, that men at times feared even to be described as ' politicians.' What he (the speaker) wanted 1 Of Kingsthorpe. ^ March 7. ' At Wellingborough, April 15. Rt. Hon. JOHN BRIGHT, M.P. i889] JOHN BRIGHT— JAMES STANSFELD 95 every man, woman, and child to drink in, was Mr. Bright's loyalty to truth. 1 dwelt ' on his supreme services to humanity in his work for Free Trade, and for peace, and his noble attitude in the American Civil War.^ Throughout England, without regard to party, there was but one feehng on the departure of this great Englishman. As I listened to the music in Westminster Abbey — ^that historic shrine of the Established Church — in the beau- tiful Memorial Service to the man who had uttered the most severe and scathing criticism on the Church, it seemed as though his moral greatness had brought about a real fulfilment of the message, " Peace and goodwill towards men." ' At the evening meeting Halley Stewart ^ and I both dwelt on extravagant Naval Programmes, and the in- felicitous initiation of that stupid ' Sugar Convention.' I urged : ' They could prove by the words of Lord George Hamilton ^ in 1887, repeated in 1888, that the relative superiority of the fleet over those of other countries was satisfactory and increasing.' May 3, 1889, will always be a red-letter day in the history of Kettering. Mr. James Stansfeld had done us the kindness to open our Club, an ideal representa- tive of noble and generous causes with which the men and Vv^omen of such a town had long been identified. As first President, I introduced Mr. Stansfeld at the opening ceremony, and afterwards took the chair at the mass meeting in the Victoria Hall. The warmest con- gratulations were offered to Mr. Wicksteed, whose energy and enthusiasm had won this triumph, and to ^ In 1913 John Albert Bright, eldest son of John Bright, who succeeded his father as M.P. for Central Birmingham, and the present writer, whose father, William Henry Channing, helped in the hospitals at Washington, and among the wounded in the great campaigns of Virginia, were elected honorary members of the ' Union Society of the Civil War,' in memory of the services rendered by the fathers of both. 2 M.P. for Spalding. ^ First Lord of the Admiralty. 96 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1889 Mr. Gotch, whose artistic skill had created for the Club so beautiful and complete a home. ' They should start with the motto that they did not tatend to make an enemy of any man. Theirs was to shape noble and generous manhood.' After a tribute to the pohtical spirit and reasoned enthusiasm of Kettering, Mr. Stansfeld struck with force the note of the ideals of such a Club, what it could achieve from the centre point of three great constitu- encies from which Liberal principles ought to radiate. The Liberal Party had been subjected to severe trial in taking up a cause new to most of them, and following the great leader who had not only held up the flag, but led the van. He had forestalled pubhc opinion and roused the whole nation to act. The Liberal Party were not blind followers of Mr. Gladstone. They were convinced of the justice and safety of Home Rule. Let not Mr. Chamberlain imagine that if they lost Mr. G. to-morrow, they would go back to him like whipped hounds. They would carry out their programme : that was their settled resolve. It was fortunate when some vast issue arose and threw them back on their beam ends. Thus were great forces accumulated to sweep through mighty reforms. With an appeal to associate women in their noble work, he declared the Club open. The Victoria Hall at night crammed to every corner fitly crowned this glorious day. From the chair, in extending a hearty Northampton- shire welcome to the guests of honour, I referred to Mr. Stansfeld as the victorious champion of more than one noble cause, the old and tried friend of the ideals of Kettering. His generous sympathy with Itahan liberty, and the patriot Mazzini had led to generous sacrifice of high office. In 1886, he had been one of the first to join Mr. Gladstone in extending the right hand of EngHsh democracy to win hberty for Ireland. Mr. Sullivan, by his human sympathy with England, Wales, and Scotland, had shown how the nations can be knitted together. Rt. Hon. JAMES STANSFELD, M.P 1889] STANSFELD AT KETTERING 97 Mr. Stansfeld, splendidly welcomed, held us over an hour by an eloquent and closely reasoned address. With the Irish poet and patriot beside him, he wondered if there was any hmit to the powers of hbel and misrepresentation of those who now ruled the State. He was a hving guarantee that there would be no injustice or oppression of a Protestant minority. The remnant of the old British garrison, the Orange- men of Ulster, had been kept aloof from the national senti- ment, which as Irishmen they ought to have shared. That was England's crime. These men now cried to England, ' Cover us with thy shield, so that we need not cHmb down from the height of power,' where the old evil poKcy had placed them. Lord Sahsbury spoke of ' embezzlement and fraud.' ^ That was the pretension of the Party of Pigottism and Crime. What the Irish and the Liberals asked for was fair rents. That principle was now the principle of both parties. Liberals de- manded it should be apphed to arrears of unfair rents. They asked that the starving tenant, who had no other home than that which he had built for himself, should not be evicted on the roadside with his children. Was that fraud ? The fraud of centuries had been the appropriation by the rich of land reclaimed and houses built by the labour of the peasants. That was their notion of right and wrong, and the battering-ram was their instrument of conciliation ! Yes, and a yoimg Oxford graduate had been thrown into prison for taking bread to relieve the poor tenants confined by armed force in their own homes. ^ That was not law, it was not honesty — ^it was civil war in the disguise of ' civil process.' It was not law or obedience to law they were attacking, but a bad and infamous law, which denied the first principles of law, introduced by fraud, supported by arguments of fraud, and administered by fraud. It was their duty to expose and denounce and repeal that law — as it was to denounce and expel from office its authors. They were the men whose law was a mere party weapon, to pitch out their victims and paralyse their opponents. These glowing words of the veteran Radical — his passionate plea for human hberty and denunciation of 1 The ' Plan of Campaign.' ^ Mr. Harrison. G 98 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1889 what was false and unjust — ^were cheered with equal passion by that great audience. How did Lord Salisbury make himself believe aU the mon- strous falsehoods about separation and surrender of harbours to foreign foes ? The Irish seemed to have adopted these tactics only since he left off intriguing with the Irish Party. They denied the right of Irishmen to National aspiration or those God-implanted instincts for the land of their birth. They wanted a vast increase of the Navy ! A pohtical im- posture for a pohtical purpose ! No conceivable addition to their naval armaments could be so great an increase to their power as a reconciled Ireland. The genius and courage of one great man had brought reconciliation, and in the same grand spirit opened a noble vista of future great reforms. They were making many sacrifices, but must remember that questions of vital magnitude inevitably carried others in their train. T. D. SulUvan spoke delightfully of the Northampton addresses he was lovingly preserving, and of the splendid manifesto from Hyde Park which he and his colleague, Mr. Harrington, wished to see hanging in the Council Chamber of the DubUn Corporation till it was placed on the walls of the Irish Parliament House. He argued the case for Home Rule persuasively and temperately : Once the Irish Parhament was restored, the quarrel with England would be over for ever. Break the links of the old chain, give up the old coercive system with its bitter memories, and Irish would meet EngUsh with forgiveness and gratitude. Mr. Balfour was not pacifying Ireland, but was maddening the hearts of hundreds of thousands. They would be driven to desperation, but for the knowledge that they possessed the sympathy, and would have the help of the Enghsh democracy. Englishmen and EngUshwomen, with words of kindness and love, had gone where the worst scenes had been perpetrated, where homes were wrecked and utter ruin brought to men, broken down under the long endeavour to pay extortionate rents. These were the things which were teaching patience and hope to the Irish people. The Irish had as much respect for law and order, peace, morality as any other men. Every 1889] T. D. SULLIVAN 99 wrong done to Ireland had ' law ' to sanction it, but such laws did not deserve respect and did not get it. It was a noble and profoundly touching speech. He spoke throughout in his gentlest tone, but at one moment said, ' he felt almost inclined to use stronger words,' at which a voice said, ' Do, you are not in Ireland.' In those grand old times the Gladstonian spirit had fired the hearts of all true men. There were many glorious scenes of enthusiasm over the cause of Ireland, but I remember no other so striking as that night at Kettering. Those meetings, inaugurating Kettering's great Club, thus struck the happiest notes of the joint democracies — truly a United Kingdom. Later, another great Home Rule demonstration ^ at Northampton, where T spoke again with T. D. Sullivan, with the released Mr. Harrison, Mr. Labouchere, Mr. Bradlaugh, Lord Monkswell, and others. I had just been to the Inter-Parliamentary gathering in Paris to promote universal arbitration. That was the text in Paris. Here Mr. Balfour refused, even from Archbishop Walsh, arbitration between landlords and tenants in Ireland. His argument was the battering-ram ! T. D. Sullivan spoke under deep feeling of the hateful things being done in the South of Ireland. The reports thrilled his heart, almost unfitting him for speaking calmly. Men on Sunday were shot down ; his friend Mr. O'Brien — who had hved a life of labour and sacrifice — was to be im- prisoned after the farce of trial. Suffering and death would be welcome to that brave man in the cause of Ireland. Patrick O'Brien was struck down, sorely wounded by the rifles of the Irish Constabulary. They were patient under these desperate things because miarmed and unorganised. A still more power- ful reason was that miUions of Englishmen had pledged their faith to them. On you falls the duty to help us soon, to reheve us from cruel oppression and insure that justice shall be done. ^ In the Gardens in July. 100 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1889 Mr. Labouchere with caustic humour : — ' A good many years ago there Hved a sort of BaKour in Judea ; his name was King Ahab. There Hved in the world too, at that time, a respectable Home Ruler called Elijah. That Home Ruler rebelled against Ahab, and went into a cave, and heaven sent ravens to feed him and give him bread,' and so on in the best Laboucherian vein, always amusing, but always also full of love for human justice and freedom. Thrapston was fond of Sir Wilfrid Lawson and gave him grand welcome, when he went to support Cold- stream.^ I presided. ' In coming there I felt like an allotment tenant, who had got a nice bit of rich old pasture to turn up in North Northamptonshire, which had lain too long asleep, but from which a grand crop of progress and reform would eventually spring.' I made sport of the Tory Democratic creed Lord Ran- dolph had been airing in Birmingham as Conservative Party spokesman. 'When Lord Burghley came next let them ask what he thought of municipalising the land in great towns, and the other Randolphian proposals. . . . ' Lord Randolph was a weather-cock which tested the strength of the breeze — a sort of political barometer for the day after to-morrow.' Sir Wilfrid Lawson, received with prolonged cheering and waving of hats, said : — The chairman had alluded to him as a champion. WeU, he had to be on his guard wherever he went. Just now he could see, from his seat through the open door at the back, in huge letters, the words ' Wines and Spirits.' Behind those words was the stronghold of the enemy, ready to sally forth to the attack. He was glad to be there because it seemed a good sound Radical meeting, and because they had a good sound Radical chairman. Their chairman was a hard worker, 1 Then candidate for North Northants. SIR WILFRED LAWSON, BART. M.P. 1889] SIR WILFRID LAWSON 101 not a feather-bed politician. He would give them an instance. Two years ago there was a contested election in Huntingdon- shire. He went down from London to take his share in the fighting. He began with a meeting in Huntingdon, a meeting of ' fanatics.' He drove on to a viUage, where they had a capital meeting in a large school, and from there to another large village, and another capital meeting. He thought the battle well over for that night, but no ! they put him in a trap and drove him away to another place. When he got there he found a very large assemblage drawn up on the village common, presided over by Mr. Channing, who was making a capital speech. Their chairman worked day and night, for it was moonlight at the time. Mr. Channing called on him to make a speech. Under the bright moonlight they held a splendid meeting, though some people said they were no better than a couple of ' moonlighters.' Why did the chairman and himself, with Mr. Coldstream and others, go about hke that ? To carry out a sound and good pohcy they beheved in, and the Liberal Party believed in — ^todo unto others as they would others should do unto them — a pohcy he beheved on his conscience calculated to promote the welfare of man and the glory of God. They had no hostihty to Tories. Their only fault was, they were wrong and Liberals were right. There were only two parties — the party of progress and the party of obstruction. The Tory party is the party of obstruction. (A voice, ' No ! No ! ') ' Now look here,' broke in Sir Wilfrid, ' I say it is, for directly I made that remark, somebody over there tries to obstruct me.' In the old times a farmer, asked how he would vote, replied, ' I don't know tUl I have seen the steward.' An advocate of slavery was once on the platform with an emanci- pated slave, who admitted he had been well cared for, but as to freedom or slavery, he said, ' Well, Massa, the place is open if you hke to take it.' As for coercion and more coercion, they had tried it for generations in vain. It was hke bringing a drunken man round by giving him another glass of whisky ! As for peace, the Queen's Speech said that England was friends with all the world, but straightway down came the Ministry and asked for seventy ships and twenty mUHons of money to fight the good friends of the Queen, 102 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1889 Concluding, he voiced a psean of triumph over Ran- dolph's Licensing BiU — ' The voice is the voice of Randolph, but the words are the words of Lawson. They had got the Tory Democracy and their Leader with them. Face to face with brewers and distillers he would say : Let go at them, and God defend the right.' Brimful of enthusiasm and of gay humour, and pungent sarcasm, this was probably as telling a speech as our old friend ever delivered in our county. In Birmingham ^ I claimed a special right to pay reverential tribute to his memory. Born across the Atlantic, my family name was bomid up in the long struggle to free America from the curse of slavery.^ Mr. Bright had done a noble work in preventing two kindred peoples, severed only by the sea, from coming to blows during the Civil War and in preventing, as Mr. Bright did, more than any Enghshman, the hand of England being soiled by joining the slaveholders' side, and helping to spread the cursed principle of slavery over the great prairies of the West. I quoted Bright : ' You wish the freedom of your own country. You wish it for yourselves. Do not then give the hand of fellowship to the worst foes of freedom the world has ever seen ; do not, I beseech you, bring down a curse upon your cause which no after-penitence can hft from it. You wiE not do this, I have faith in you. Impartial history wiU teU you that when your statesmen were hostile or coldly neutral, when many of your rich men were corrupt, when your press, which ought to have instructed and defended, was mainly written to betray, the fate of a continent and its population being in perU, you clung to freedom with unfaltering trust that God in His infinite mercy would yet make it the heritage of all His children.' Let them apply, I went on, those words to the Irish Question as well as to America. True Liberals coiild rightly claim to be loyal followers of John Bright when they asked for justice for Ireland. 1 Speaking £or Phipson Beale, candidate for John Blight's old seat. 2 I was first introduced to Mr. Bright by my father at the meeting to honour William Lloyd Garrison, the Anti-slavery leader, when I was still at Oxford. At the great Birmingham celebrations to honour Bright I pre- sented to him the Brighton and East Sussex resolutions. THOMAS SANDERS, HICHAM FERRESS. (Photo. Powell) 1889] BRIGHT ON FREEDOM 103 Pytchley had a gay Bank Holiday demonstration on our tennis lawn under the grand elms, with that splendid old Quaker Radical, James Ellis,^ whose fearless common sense had continually helped the Party in the House of Commons and made him one of the towers of strength of the ' loyal hundred Radicals,' who, in the words of George Trevelyan, made ' the solid core of the party,' in those days of uphill fighting — men who never swerved to right or left from the path of clear principle and fearless purpose. The autumn politics began with a charming dinner offered me in the Club, as their first President. The ' Grand old Chieftain,' ' The Queen,' and myself were honoured with songs and toasts, Mr. Stockburn presiding. The proceedings were the most enthusiastic I can ever remember in that room. After an allusion to Mr. Bradlaugh's apparent rescue from the very jaws of death ^ and his splendid services, ' no man in the House had won greater respect even from those opposed to him. All appreciated the manli- ness and generosity of his nature, and the breadth of his judgment.' These joyous autumns at Pytchley were enlivened by a rush of village meetings. At Higham ^ : — Liberal triumphs in England brought peace in Ireland. The Tories won in. 1886 largely by denouncing Mr. Gladstone for buying out the Irish landlords. Now they were boasting of doing exactly the same thing. On the Cathoho University, my creed was absolute toleration, but I thought Irish Cathohcs and EngUsh Churchmen should pay for their own denomi- nationaUsm out of denominational pockets. The history of the Tithe BiU was amusing, so cut about with amendments that only a Hne and a half of it were left, and the Speaker ruled they must tear it up and start afresh. Liberals had beaten them there just as they ' knocked on the head ' the Sugar Convention ! 1 M.P., Bosworth. ^ He died a little later. ' Shrewd, genial Thomas Sanders, presiding. 104 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1890 CHAPTER VIII POLICIES AND PERSONALITIES— LAND AND LABOUR. (1890, 1891) Lord Salisbury surrenders Heligoland — Irish Measures — Allot- ments Conference — Fall of Parnell — Labour Problems — Three Vital Proposals by Liberals — Railway Hours — Conspiracy Law — Fair Wage Clause — Agriculture and LiberaHsm — Sir Edward Grey — Shaw-Lefevre. I Interest fades in the third year of a stale Parhament. The issues and the epigrams are worn out. This was notable in 1890 and 1891, till new possi- bilities arose for flank turning and mining and counter- mining by ' Tadpoles and Tapers ' of the day. At Manchester, in December 1889, the Federa- tion passed resolutions ^ embodying in crisp, telling phrases ' the best statement of the Liberal creed ever put forward — " one man one vote," access to the land, taxing the right man, a free breakfast-table, wholesome housing for the poor, parish self-government, free un- sectarian education, popular control of liquor, the golden rule for Ireland ' — all ' the direct, logical, reasonable offspring of the Liberalism which had made England what it was.' ^ ' Tories admitted the failure of the Allotments Act ; eight Unionists backed an amending Bill coolly appro- priating the amendments Liberals tried to carry,^ though these gentlemen then voted fifty-two times against these identical proposals.' * ' " Free " was dis- guised as "Assisted" Education, and the sails trimmed to take denomtnationalism, not education, into port ! ' ^ One of ■which — as to land and taxation — I moved. 2 Extract from speech at Bozeat, January 17, 1890. » Ibid. « In 1887. iSgo] SURRENDER OF HELIGOLAND 105 ' Lord Salisbury dismissed Dissenters' claims to burial in consecrated ground.^ A belated StrafEord — tbe phylactery "Church and State" round his brows with "Church" first, "State" second — ^wanted no religious equality in distributing new grants.' ^ 'Mr. Goschen wished dissolution. He would cut down Liberal reforms, perhaps thought sham Tory substitutes might win, with the wave of prosperity, lightening of interest, and accumulation of capital by English energy and enterprise, making his conversion scheme possible. Why not take his offer and secure shorter Parliaments at once ? ' ^ ' Was this Government to adopt and spoil more Liberal principles ? Free Education was perverted into a weapon to endow sectarian control ! Twenty-three years ago he joined the Birmingham Education League to free the schools, not to twist the proposals thus.' The Sugar Convention imperilled Imperial independ- ence. Now even greater peril, an understanding be- tween Lord Salisbury and the German Emperor ' which endangered this country if hostihties broke out between Germany and France.' * Whatever the truth about understandings, the outcome, some months later, was perilous concessions to Germany in Africa, and worst of all the surrender of Heligoland.^ This surrender, which I did my utmost to oppose and defeat in the House, ^ was denounced by me in a letter to the Times ^ as Needlessly disturbing the balance of power in Europe by giving in some sense an earnest that, when the big fight does come off, England will have taken sides. In 1870, HeHgoland in neutral hands meant safe anchorage and supphes for the ^ Debate in House of Lords on Burials Bill. ^ Speech at Doddington, January 1890. ^ See speech at Rushden, January 27, 1890. * Rushden. » Hansard, vol. 347, pp. 976, 1079. 8 June 23, 1890. 106 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [189O French fleet, while its hghthouse protected their movements among the treacherous sandbanks of the great estuaries. Hehgoland, in German hands, fortified as it will be, means that the whole of the waters into which converge the Elbe, Weser, Eider, and the Jahde, and the canal between the Baltic and the North Sea for a radius of forty miles from shore, are to become a German harbour. The cession makes a French blockade impracticable and gives Germany enormous facilities for rapid concentration of naval forces and sudden enterprises. Whether England herself might some time or other be the object of such enterprises may be worth considering. But my point is that we are materially altering the conditions of the big fight in favour of one of the parties. The surrender cripples EngUsh fishing interests in the North Sea, deprives her of the best stock of pilots for the Baltic and German and Dutch coasts. If carried out against the express wish of the inhabitants strikes a blow at the loyalty of similar populations elsewhere, among whom intrigues against us may be more easily fomented than in Hehgoland. The transfer of mihtary and naval advan- tages has a perilous and sinister signification. Hostile to Bismarckism from the first, from the attack on Denmark in 1866, doubly hostile since the dishonesty and cruelty of the war of 1870, my desire was at once to stop German encroachments, artlessly welcomed by Lord Salisbury as felicitous strokes of Tory diplomacy. All my life friendly to peace and to settling in time outstanding grievances which may lead to war, I am not sorry, in view of the events of the past two years, to have done at the instant all I could to prevent so intolerable a blunder. Imagine what Winston ChurchiU and Admiral Beatty might have accomplished in the attack on Cuxhaven in 1914 if Lord Salisbury had not bartered for next to nothing the key of the position in 1890! Wellingborough Liberals started their Club this July, thanks to Charles Woolston's generosity and initiative. ' Difficulties evaporated when Mr. Woolston started iSgo] IRISH MEASURES 107 things ! Everybody in highest spirits ! Wires worn out with Liberal triumphs and Ministerial collapses ! ' Years amusing, joyous these ! Telling work at West- minster ! In Northants bands, torchlight processions, eager welcomes ! A united Party ! Eising hopes ! Gladstone, at eighty-two, sweeping the country with magnificent speeches — going back to find relaxation among the stout old oaks of Hawarden ! Balfour driven by disasters to study Irish misery in Connaught mud hovels ! Would he give Local Government ? His Land Pur- chase bribed tenants to buy at landlord prices ! Land- lords reinforced by bayonets and battering rams ! The Irish tenant, like the man who went down to Jericho, and fell among thieves ! Tory Ministers not even passing by on the other side like ' Priest and Levite ' ! No, they held him down while his pockets were rifled ! In the North, Stockburn forging ahead ! In our division the Tory candidate preaching from the pin- nacles of every Primrose habitation the perfection of this Ministry to which every bye-election gives notice to quit ! The man who says it is fine when it rains cats and dogs ! Excellent candidate ! Suits Lord Palmer- ston's ' I don't care for the man who sticks to me when I am right — give me the man who sticks to me when I am Avrong.' Crime was visibly less in Ireland. Let its last vestige disappear. It was dying out not because legislation had made crimes of what was not a crime before, but because the Plan of Campaign reduced rents, checked evictions, and forced this Tory Ministry to introduce a measure for further revision of rents. The year had been lonely for me, my wife and daughters leaving early in the spring on a visit to America, taking with them my sister, who had wintered 108 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1890 with us at Pytchley after my mother's death. I joined them in September, bringing them back in October to Pytchley. II The vigorous four years' campaign through the countryside to secure access to the land, and a real economic hope for labourers and village artisans cul- minated in a Conference, and Welhngborough was the centre chosen.^ I did my best with the National Allot- ments Association, whose moving spirit was Mr. Frederic Impey,^ to effectively organise the gathering. Wellingborough had started the first Permanent Allot- ments Association in the country. Their Committee carried out the arrangements. Mr. Rennie Wilkinson spoke with insight and sympathy as chairman, Mr. Gibbons, then secretary, read a terse, forcible story of their venture. First desultory toying with Charity Commissioners ! — facing chaff ! — cards depicting Jesse CoUings astride a cow ! ' Puzzle ? How to find ' three acres ' ! with mocking lines — ' The cow will first three acres eat, Then Hodge wiU eat the cow ; They '11 have to promise Hodge next time, Six acres and a bull.' The Association took a farm in shocking condition, water-logged, untilled, buried in mountains of twitch. Resolute purpose, stern work pulled things through. The old tenant had grown nearly as much wild oats as wheat. Now the whole farm averaged 5 quarters, and on many portions yielded 7 quarters and more, besides splendid crops of potatoes, in smaller plots, grand vegetable crops. Small holdings should be large enough 1 November 1, 1890. * Author of the pamphlet Three Acres and a Cow, and secretary of the National Allotment and Small Holdings Association. iSgo] ALLOTMENTS CONFERENCE 109 for a man and his family to make a living — 14 acres arable, and 6 acres grass. His balance-sheet for such a holding gave expenditure for rent, extra labour, manure, seeds, hire of horses and implements at £105, and income — 40 quarters of wheat at 30s. from 10 acres, with 16 tons of straw, 4 acres of roots, 9 tons of hay and aftermath — at £213 — a living profit of £108 per annum. The Rev. W. Tuckwell spoke with deep feeling of ' benighted villages in the South and West where labourers had been crushed for centuries to accept their dismal lot as inevitable — like bad seasons and sickness, starvation wages, and foul homes — quarter-acre allot- ments at four times farm rents, and other drawbacks. They wanted righteous allotments provided by labourers' own elected parish councils. Farmers grew for sales and were hit by faUing prices, but labourers grew for consumption, and got bread and vegetables and pig food off their allotments.^ Interesting discussion followed, illustrating the posi- tion of allotment tenants, their rents and disabilities throughout the county. I said : ' Lord Wantage had proved by experience that the cheapest way to equip small holdings was to put building in the hands of the tenants themselves. Liberals would enable the poorest villagers to share in local government and the provision of land.' Mr. Impey wound up : ' the most successful Confer- ence he had yet attended — Liberals must do their duty as to land.' A crowded and enthusiastic evening meeting in the Corn Exchange. As chairman I said : — Bad laws and worse customs had divorced the people from the land. They were met to strike a heavy blow in a noble ^ This was in the worst of the depression. 110 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1890 cause. A giant monopoly, political and social power based on that monopoly, and the iaterest of the lawyers had to be dealt with. WeUingborough had shown them how to get land and win success through combination. They wanted real machinery. The Allotments Acts were clocks without works — a silent hint to landowners. If they did not do their duty, somebody might come and put the works in and wake the landlords up. No vital difference distinguished an allotment from a small holding. Plenty of people would let them land enough to swing a cat, and grow vegetables for their famHies and the pig ! Allotments were nurseries for small holdings. Begin with allotments to earn money, and add Mttle by Mttle. The limit of the size of an allotment must be swept away ; they must give real property right in what the tenant put into the land. Lifeowners should be enabled to sell. Just now the pick of farms, thrown up everywhere, gave unique opportunities to obtain land without inflicting losses. Let them strike while land is cheap. Land must be obtained through elected repre- sentatives, at its market value and no more. This was not a problem merely of the crowded dens of big towns. In the villages old people and children were underfed, the race deteriorating. They had to carry out a poHcy dimly yearned after by multitudes of men and women, who cannot see why their Uves should be Umited to twelve shillings a week, generation after generation, with the workhouse coflfin in the end, though they have not the genius to see how to rid themselves of that miserable incubus. There was no more wholesome, more ennobHng sentiment in the breast of an EngUshman than the love of the land, the wish to do his duty by the land, and to make the land do its best for human needs. There was no surer road to manly self-reliance and true independence than to give that sentiment fair play. They looked in the brave, patient, hopeful face of a man who has won his opportunity and used it well, thrown his best energies into his bit of land, and begim to build up for himself and those that come after a future. They saw there the salvation of the race. He, and such as he, held the key. It was for them to nerve his arm to turn that key boldly in the lock, and open to his brethren the path to redemption. SIR WALTER FOSTER, AID. M.P. iSgo] FOSTER AND TUCKWELL 111 Sir Walter Foster ^ said : — Laws had too long been made to protect property and en- courage accumulation of wealth. That accumulation in few hands was not good. Parliament should look more to distri- bution among the many. Too many spent their hves in un- ceasing toil, on wages too narrow to give the decencies and comforts of a home, and in the end drifted to the workhouse and a pauper's grave, the last resting-place of honest and industrious men. That should be altered in the interests of the whole nation. The workers were disinherited of their birthright by privileged monopoly. That disinheritance should be annulled. Eight mihion acres had been taken from the poor to widen the broad acres of the rich. How had village greens disappeared 1 What had become of common lands ? Where had those eight million acres gone ? When a Parliament of the right sort was elected, they would probe these matters to the bottom. They wanted free access to the land, allotments through Parish Councils, one man one vote, property qualifica- tion for guardians removed. The words ' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of one of these, ye have done it unto Me ' had fallen on deaf ears tiU now, but the ParUament elected by the people would remember and act on those words, and would have their ears attuned to tenderer sympathy with the sufferings of the poor. Then statesmen would have their hearts turned to joy in a holy crusade to end unjust laws and arrest perpetuation of poverty that should never have existed. Mr. Tuckwell, enthusiastically welcomed, made a slashing speech. The Conference was splendid, but the parsons caught it hot. By allotments they did not want a tiny field, in tiny plots, hke a patchwork quilt. The unit should be three acres grass, and two arable, but a man should have what he could manage, according to quahty of soU and capabihty of his family, at agricultural rent, under life tenure, with full compensation for unexhausted improvements. His cottage should be near at hand, or better, on the allotment itself. Terrible was the condition of the labourer on starvation wages with a family ^ M.P., nkeston. Chairman of the National Allotment and Small Hold- ings Associations. 112 MEMOKIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1890 who had to exist on 9s. a week. The smallest sum for decency and comfort was 21s. a week. How were they to raise it ? The farmers coxild not. The farmer was screwing the money out of the labourer, not for himself but his landlord. In his parish ^ were one hundred and forty allotment holders, about eighty families. They had the land free for two years, to clear out the twitch, and now had the land on a fourteen years' lease with compensation for improvements when they went out. Last year the average yield for the whole country was 28 bushels per acre, but on his farm it was 42 bushels. That meant a saving of 7s. weekly in every house throughout the year. The same might be done aU over the country. He wanted the land bought out, not by a lump sum, but by State bonds. Land reform should be nothing short of nation- ahsation. Mr. Maycock, moving vote of thanks, said they had heard a sermon worth hearing. Such men in their pulpits would mean more Christianity. Mr. Wicksteed said the people had been robbed of their birthright ; the question was, how to regain it. Land nationalisation was the only real remedy. Our Conference met with warm approval from the Liberal Leaders and Press. ' We must emancipate rural England.' ' Story after story of coercion was unfolded at the WeUingborough Conference. In one case a parson had evicted every allotment holder who preferred Chapel to Church, or sent his children to the Chapel Sunday School.' ' The Tories had argued ^ that if allotments paid, they would be granted ; if not, they ought to be with- held. The duty of Parliament is to see that the wants of the community are not sacrificed to the selfish interests of individuals.' That was the temper of the autumn of 1890. What might we not have accomplished, to what height might not the tidal wave of Liberalism, the social and economic 1 Stockton, Warwickshire. ^ In the 1886 debates. 1891] THE FALL 01* PARNELL 113 resurrection of a free and happy rural England have reached, but for the fall of Parnell, the split in the Irish camp, and the disintegrating and distracting re- percussion of these disheartening incidents in the fol- lowing year. In those three years, we really touched the hearts and hopes of the English people. Sincere and generous sympathy roused for the grievances of the Irish democracy, only helped to make our land move- ment for England more potent as a new political force. m (1891) The fall of Parnell in the autumn was a tremendous blow to Irish and Liberal hopes. During the debates of 1886 and 1887, his studied moderation, his almost icy indifference to exasperating, sometimes insolent, provocation, had dispelled lingering prejudices. Such an attitude wins the respect of Englishmen. He had welded his Party into a disciphned fighting unit, officered by trained Parliamentarians, resourceful, resolute, some of them brilliant. Parnell was a real leader, sagacious, imperturbable. • To the Liberal Chiefs he was gravely sympathetic, silently loyal. He spoke rarely. His words, never effusive, carried weight. In Ireland his will was law. He selected or displaced candidates. He dictated policy. With the magic eloquence and driving power of Gladstone to convert the predominant partner, and the tidal wave of Radical enthusiasm for an unselfish ideal, triumph seemed assured. And when passionate debates, and reckless over- statement of Tories who saw red, culminated in the extravagances of ' Pamellism and Crime,' the Special Commission, the perilous unwisdom of the Times, and H 114 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1891 the Pigott forgeries, and the whole castle- of cards came tumbling down, and Parnell was set free, and, in the minds of men of cool judgment, was pronounced worthy of respect and admiration ^ — he was welcomed with open arms by all that was best in Liberalism. Lord Spencer feted him at the Eighty Club, Edinburgh gave him the freedom of the city ! Then came rumours followed by the Divorce Case, with its squalid details. The charm was broken, re- action complete. Liberals could not fight for Home Rule with Parnell as chief. He was deposed by the majority of the Nationahsts. Majority and minority fought with intense bitterness. Irish members no longer spoke at Enghsh meetings. All would have been over but for Gladstone's inspira- tion, the loyalty of the Irish Party to that wise emer- gency leader, Justin M'Carthy, and the stubborn conviction of the best of the Liberal Party, who have rarely had brain and will so set as on Home Rule in those years. ' Tories who wanted to postpone for generations re- forms which meant death to privilege, life to the aspirations of the people, clutched frantically, as their last hope, at the mantle of the discredited leader ^ who had laid a spectre, and now, in his despair, tried to raise it again by stirring the embers of old hatred.^ The mass of the Party would remain true to their principles.' The bye-election in Kilkenny showed that the Irish wished to be done with the one-man power of ParneU. And now the full stream of British Reform swept over the banks and carried us on to safety. East Northants opened the ball in the great labour * See letter from Chief -Justice Coleridge to Charles Russell, March 3, 1889, quoted in Barry O'Brien's Life of BusseU. » Speech at Finedon, January 1891. 3 Sir Charles RuaselL 1891] LABOUR PROBLEMS 115 movement by my motion to check excessive hours on railways/ giving power to the Board of Trade to insist that the human machine must be safe as well as the mechanical appliances. ' The principle then asserted was wholly novel, and though raised as to railway work, might be applied to every industry. Railway managers tried to persuade the men that shortening hours lowered wages. No man should let himself be fooled into cheapening his own labour, by eking out a bad wage by overtime ! ' ^ Edmund Robertson's Bill to amend the Law of Con- spiracy,^ the basis of the Trade Disputes Act,* fol- lowed. Third came Sydney Buxton with his proposal of the Fair Wage Clause in Government Contracts,^ which has been the Charter of Government workers ever since. It was not a bad little battery of ' soixante-quinze ' guns to start the fight for Labour emancipation. Lord Salisbury's idea of ' freedom ' was to block labour legislation and paralyse industrial combination. At meeting after meeting I advised the workers to call on the State only for emergencies, and to rely on self-help — standing as brothers, side by side, in pressing on — above all to learn with precision the real con- ditions and economic limits of their industry. Then their demands would become effective.^ ' Every sane man would desire to cut down the area of a labour war to narrowest limits. Combinations of employers and employed conduced to industrial peace.' ^ The Labour Commission, which Lord Salisbury him- self appointed, refuted his view and confirmed my view 1 January 23, 1891. " Speeches at Irchester and elsewhere. The principle of my motion became law in the Railways Hours Acts, 1893. , 3 Second reading, January 28, 1891. * Of 1906. 5 February 13, 1891. ' Irchester. ' Speech at Ruahden, March 20, 1891. 116 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1891 of the rational part labour combination could take as a factor of industrial settlement. ' The author of a German history of EngUsh labour said that England was the only country which had learned to tread in the path toward social peace.' ^ ' This farce of leaving a multitude of good things undone, and spoiling a few good things in doing them, was played out. The coimtry needed a new ParUa- ment, new men, and reahty in measures.' ^ - Above aU, the country was weary of Mr. Goschen's dodgy finance, charging naval expenditure on the future ^ instead of paying as he went, parading fictitious surpluses stolen from the Sinking Fimd, and using taxpayers' money as ' palm oil ' for Irish landowners and brewers.* ' The Liberal Party had this year lost Lord GranvUle, a man of singular charm and unmatched loyalty, and that vigorous Parliamentarian, Charles Bradlaugh, who had sprimg to the front by reason of magnificent natural faculties.' ^ ^The Labour campaign which I had shared in starting and pushing this year was followed by my railway friends and by Trade Unionists with keen interest. I addressed vast gatherings at St. James's HaU, Man- chester, at Bermondsey, and elsewhere on railway hours, and a joint Irish and Labour demonstration of splendid enthusiasm at St. Helens, where I spoke with that warm-hearted patriot, and democrat of democrats, Michael Davitt, giving my creed for the emancipation of the workers through self-help, fearless combination, and the striking off of one fetter after another by the State. 1 Speech to Boot and Shoe Union, Kettermg, February 20, 1891. 2 Speeches at Irthlingborough, Wollaston and Eoton. Summary. 3 By the Naval Works Act, 1889. « Wollaston, April 1891. » Irthlingborough. iSgi] RAILWAY HOURS MOVEMENT 117 The great meetings to be held at Newcastle which would frame the programme for the victory which, Parnell or no Parnell, we were resolved to win, led to some interesting correspondence between Mr. Schnad- horst ^ and myself. He thought, and with reason, that my railway hours' motion, bold but not socialistic, struck a note that would rally the forces of labour, and invited me to draft words to form part of a resolution which he wished me to move and Sydney Buxton to second, identified as he was with the Fair Wage principle in contract labour. Somehow this frank acceptance of a ' Labour Plank ' was shelved by timid counsels at Headquarters. I have always regretted it, because I know from letters received from those who fought in the election of 1892, that many seats were won by my motion, and by Buxton's probably also. I am confident that a bold acceptance of a definite labour programme in addition to the proposals as to Rural Reforms, and the stereotyped but rather hackneyed list of disestab- lishment, local option, registration and taxation, each appealing only to special groups, would have made all the difference. A big generous policy would seem wiser for a great Party, than the log-roUing which faddists like. At the Railwaymen's Congress at Birmingham I was presented with an Address,^ warmly appreciating my untiring efforts to make their lives safer and brighter by urging the need of more effective supervision over railways. By your vigilance you have quickened the pubhc conscience to reduce the overwork which has existed for years and is still far too prevalent. ^ Then secretary of the National Liberal Federation. * Signed by Mr. Harford, secretary, and the leading members of the A.S.R.S., and subscribed for by many thousands of railwaymen all over the country. The main passages are given with a few abbreviations. 118 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1891 These efforts culminated in the debate of January 23rd, an event which will ever be memorable to raUwaymen, and with which your name will always be associated in their minds. For the first time in the history of railways, the House of Commons was occupied for a whole sitting in discussing the hours of labour of the employees. . . . This our tribute springs spontaneously from grateful hearts, and is a democratic recognition of the disinterested labours of a pubhc man for the workers of a great national industry. At Wellingborough a brisk rally to restart the Local Association : — ' Our note was hope — to sweep away or reconstruct the shams and to initiate realities. Never had their creed been more definite, their proposals so firmly based on practical common sense.' The autumn meetings at Rushden ^ were brightened by a visit from Mr. William Summers,^ a constant ally in early years, a splendid worker for the party, especi- ally in Ireland, and one of the Party Whips since 1886. Mr. Stockburn ^ led off with a witty speech, making sport of the Tory position, 'longing for the old Con- servatism, but compelled to take fighting orders from Liberal-Unionists ! ' Congratulating them on the fighting form of the future member for North Northants, I proceeded : — Rushden with its fresh blood, its crowds of young voters, would not back reaction. One good result of 1886 was to get rid of the old Whigs who monopohsed Liberal Ministries, blocked Liberal reforms, and drew thousands a year for that service. If they wanted to come back, they must stand on their own legs, and not on the claim of having got rid of the Stuarts two hundred years ago. Why was Lord Spencer be- loved ? Because he had given his abilities, his courage, his loyal enthusiasm to the causes of to-day. Liberal proposals were denounced by Tories. Their fear 1 November 8, 2 jj.p. for Huddersfiold. ^ Mr. Stockburn was then candidate for the North, 1891] THE NEW SPIRIT 119 could be measured by their fury. They knew that in the next Parhament the people of this country would really become its rulers. Liberals wanted popular control of the drink traffic. The Tories were against the diminution of drink facihties. Was it good for the people to elect authorities with power to acquire land for allotments and small holdings 1 Liberals were eager to get these reforms, Tories to postpone them. Mr. Summers, warmly received, said : — Victory after victory in bye-elections were presages of greater things. What would Mr. Gladstone do 1 Even opponents admitted he was a great financier. They might well contrast his budgets with the ' Micawber ' finance of Mr. Goschen and his make-beheve surpluses — this year a surplus of £1,700,000 to manufacture which he had borrowed £1,726,000 from the Sinking Fund ! They wanted honest finance and just taxation. They wanted one man one vote, quickened and cheapened registration. If the Tories wanted redistribution, so much the better ; Liberals had everything to gain by it. Land monopoly must be broken up. The French Revolution sprang from land tyranny, and smashed it. It had cruel features, but no country had made such progress as France since then. The drink tj^anny was as bad. There was spent on drink each year more than the national revenue and the rents of farms and houses put together. The people should have power to determine whether and to what extent the drink traffic should be carried on. They demanded rehgious equality. Disestabhshment had done good in Ireland. It was unjust to force Irish CathoMcs to support a Church from which they dissented, and it was un- just to compel Nonconformist farmers in Wales to pay £500,000 a year to support a Church from which they dissented. First and foremost they wanted self-government for Ireland. Let them strengthen the hands of Mr. Gladstone to bring about a lasting union. At a meeting presided over by Mandell Creigliton, my old Oxford contemporary, just made Bishop of Peterborough, to raise funds for the new Church of 120 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1891 St. Barnabas, I spoke on the duty of providing for a rapidly growing population. Those who loved the beautiful services of the Church and thought of the Prayer-Book as the simplest and truest expres- sion of religious feeling must long to extend those privileges to others. Their battle to-day was not against aggressive secular- ism, but mental indifference, the blind animahsm of human nature. Their battle was being won because the Church to-day no longer kept human nature at a distance. Loving hands were stretched to help men and women out of their troubles. , At village meetings : — The labourer, artisan, shopkeepers, manufacturers, profes- sional men, aU who earned their incomes, bore the burden of local and Imperial taxation, while richer men escaped their share. Liberals had a Mving programme, not of a century hence, but of to-morrow for England as well as Ireland.^ To the labourers of Orlingbury : — ^ A man could be a thorough-going Radical, and stiU be ready to defend his country even with his Hfe. Their motto should be that of the Volunteers — ' Defence, not defiance.' Bozeat loudly cheered the Devonshire ^ victory and welcomed the Liberal policy of shortened hours, the security of life and hmb in dangerous work, and the ehmination of unhealthy processes and conditions in industry. For the ' right to the workhouse,' must be given the better right to an old-age pension. Mr. Goschen had refused to accept, when moved by me, on the Tory County Councils Bill in 1888, the division of new county rates between owner and occu- pier. I challenged his consistency in this. He had embodied it in his own ' Rating and Local Government Bill ' in 1871. Replying to me, he boasted ' he was 1 Doddington, November 11. '^ In Mr. Nunneley's barn. * When George Lambert won South Molton and a Conservative majority of 1700 was replaced by a Liberal majority of 1200, 1891] AGRICULTURE AND LIBERALISM 121 Pioneer in this reform, but when he proposed it, the Liberal Party would not put their back into it.' ^ 1 sent the correspondence to Mr. Gladstone, who characteristically rephed : — Mr. Goschen says he was transferred to another department, and the Bill was lost. . . . He knows very well the Bill was lost and the plan postponed because of the persistent opposition to local government reform offered by the men with whom he now acts. ... It is a rash and mischievous proceeding for one who proposes a particular measure to boast afterwards that he has been the pioneer of that proposal. He is not entitled to caU himself its pioneer more than any other member of the Cabinet. But it would not have suited Mr. Goschen to say the Liberal Cabinet were the pioneers of the division of the rate. The pioneer doctrine will not always suit the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was in 1890 the pioneer of compensating the owners of public-houses out of State Funds for withdrawal of hcenses.^ The great victories of Mr. Logan in Market Har- borough and Mr. Lambert in South Molton immensely raised Liberal hopes,* and brought to the House two of the most vigorous exponents of our bolder Rural pohcy. In the House and in the country it has been easy to prove how vastly more good has been done for agricul- ture, for the farmer and the labourer, by Liberals than by Tories. And still it is found that farmers generally stand by the Tories. One reason is obvious. The farmers are singularly open-hearted to their ' pals,' the men who enter cordially into their everyday ideas and wants. Liberals do this less. Liberals who think and work and sympathise, and accomphsh something to meet actual wants of agriculturists, do win their friend- ship and confidence even when politically opposed to * This correspondence was published in the local psess. 2 Which was defeated and the money handed over to Technical Instruction. ' Meetings at Grendon, WoUaston, etc, 122 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1891 Liberalism. For me perhaps this kindly feeling was all the stronger, because it was plain that what I did was not to win votes, but because I studied and cared about these subjects. Work for its own sake and oppor- tunities for service are the only real satisfaction. In November we welcomed Sir Edward Grey at the Kettering Club. As chairman of the evening meeting,^ I congratulated them on securing Sir Edward as president. Young in years stiU, he had already made his mark. They were proud of their Club when Mr. Stansfeld came down two years ago to open it, and each year they felt prouder of it. The Club had used up aU its flag-ropes. The Union Jack had heralded so many victories that the ropes gave way at the critical moment when wanted for the glorious news of South Molton.2 If Liberals were exultant, Tories were despondent. My opponent was a good prophet. Mr. Chamberlain said the present Government would give Parish Councils, but my opponent said they would not. Parish Cotmcils were out of it ; aU they wanted was the annual vestry and a chance of voting for the Way Warden. Even the ' circus ' ^ was not in it ! I did not know whether Lord Sahsbury had an acrobatic training, but if he tried to ride six primrose horses abreast over the aspirations of Rural England, he would find he was not equal to the task. Mr. Stockburn moved a resolution in support of the Newcastle Programme and Home Rule. ' That programme was denounced as impossible. That meeting knew it was not. They were all measures the Liberal Party was pledged to carry out. No one pro- posal was so enthusiastically welcomed as " one man one vote." Their chairman represented that division as no other man represented any division in the land.' 1 Victoria Hall. ^ George Lambert's first election. ' Lord Salisbury's prescription. SIR EDWARD GREY, BART. M.P. iSgi] GREY AT KETTEEING 123 Mr. James Toseland, seconding, said ' Radicals wished to settle Ireland first. Those years out in the cold had educated the English nation to give to Ireland her demands.' Mr. Spencer, warmly cheered, said : — Sir Edward Grey would find the spirit of Liberalism burning as brightly amongst ' us bootmakers ' as among his own pitmen in the North. The name of Grey was revered in Northants because in that county they fought their hardest to support Lord Grey and the great Reform Bill. The County then returned two members for reform — a relation of his own, and Lord John RusseU. They welcomed Sir Edward for his conspicuous abihties, and unflinching adherence to the prin- ciples that had ever added lustre to the name of Grey. The delightful burlesque at Birmingham had disclosed Lord Sahsbury's ineptitude.^ He went the wrong way about winning elections when he said the people in the villages wanted parish councils for amusement ! Could Sanger's circus or Sequah's gorgeous turn-out be a remedy for the wants of the rural population 1 Sir Edward Grey said : — He felt the honour of being President of their Club, the best he had seen in any county constituency. In the present ParKament Liberals had won several triumphs, but the very first was secured by Mr. Channing in the Com- mittee to inquire into the hours of railway servants. In the London fogs, people drew the bhnds and stirred the fire, and tried to make themselves happy. So the Tories, driven out of every spot they had contested, ^ in the fog of despair, had retired to the one spot left, permeated not by Toryism, nor Liberal-Unionism, but Chamberlainism, to get consolation from each other. Victories in the rural districts were won because labourers said that Liberals reaUy wanted to befriend them. The vote in 1885 had made them better citizens. But, to make men of them, they must have power ^ The speech in which the Prime Minister had said that all that the villagers needed was a ' circus.' 2 The long list of bye-elections. 124 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1891 and responsibility for the conduct of affairs around their homes* Parish Councils would bring again that independence which made the countiy what it is. The wage-earners were entitled to first attention because they were the class the country most needed. Liberals were not setting class against class. That could only be done if the classes who monopohsed power refused to other classes their fair share. If Lord SaHsbury thought labourers only cared to be amused, he was libelling the rm-al population. Lord SaHsbury was witty but often unwise. They remembered his referring to the Irish as ' Hottentots,' and his unfortunate sneer at ' black men.' ^ The Newcastle Programme had excited Unionists so much that they lost their reasoning power. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach said it would take a generation to accomphsh. True enough, if they returned Tories. The more Liberals, the sooner the programme. Tories had talked of plunder in the Welsh Church proposals. The tithes were national property, and should be devoted to national purposes. The Tory proposal of Com- pensation, in their Licensing Bill, was much more Hke plunder. They created vested interests — a value not given by law — that would pass from the taxpayers to more prosperous sections of the community. The Tories said they were doing this in the Temperance interest, but found themselves in the rapturous embraces of Ucensed victuallers ! The Tories were ' to save Ireland from Coercion,' and have ' no land purchase.' But they had done both. They said now they could have no pedantic regard for promises. They got votes by their pledge to give Local Govermnent, and then threw it aside. There were Unionists who apologised for Toryism, .with Lord Hartington as leader. Their Liberalism reminded him of dwarf trees. Then the Chamberlain type, in such a hurry to get ahead of every one else, that they lost their way, and were captured by the enemy. So long as Ireland returned eighty members in favour of Home Rule, Unionist poHcy was proclaimed a failure. At Cork election ^ even with the dissensions among Nationalists, the Unionist poU had been the lowest for many years. 1 An unlucky sneer at a distinguished Hindu M.P, 2 A few weeks before, iSgi] WELLINGBOROUGH CELEBRATION 125 If the union of hearts was not possible they should no longer have Irish representatives at Westminster, give up nulk-and- water poUcies, deal with Irishmen as enemies, govern it as a Crown Colony. Liberals beheved the union of hearts possible, and resolved to bring it about by passing Home Rule. In London, land worth £300 an acre forty years ago was now worth £5000. That increased value, due to increase of population, went into the pocket of the landowner. That was legahsed plunder. The future was under their own control. Let the municipalities buy land on their outskirts at its present value, so that the increased value should be theirs. Did that question affect villages ? He knew one landowner who let land valued at 20s. an acre for allotments at an addition of 5s. an acre, not charging £2 or £3, the monopoly value in that village, but merely his out-of-pocket expenses. Why not do the same everywhere 1 Parish Councils should have power to buy land at agricultural value. Tory proposals were half measures as useful as an engine without a boiler to a railway. The Tories said they were the party of performance, but the only thing they did thoroughly was to break promises. When they passed their County Councils BiU they sat Hke mutes at a funeral. The Irish Question must come first. Reasons for Home Rule in 1885 were now even stronger. The anniversary of the Wellingborough Liberal Asso- ciation and of my first election six years before,^ was celebrated by a tremendous meeting in the Corn Exchange. The meeting was wildly enthusiastic, but rather tempestuous. I was in the chair, and the blood of the Tories was up because my opponent had been roughly heckled a few days before. Shaw-Lefevre,^ then my guest at Pytchley, was principal speaker. I stopped the tempest at last by inviting them to challenge me to debate any subject. I ' would not leave that platform till I had answered every question, and dealt with every 1 December, 1885, ^ M.P. for Central Bradford. 126 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [189I argument. But let them give fair play to my friend first. Mr. Shaw-Lefevre^ had held many ofi&ces and made his mark in each. He had done more than most to defeat wrong and injustice. He had exposed Mr. Goschen's singular finance and the imposture of Mr. Bahour's coercion pohcy. Mr. Shaw-Lefevre said : — The House of Commons should be in closer touch with the people. Liberals, when they came in, should shorten Parlia- ments. Tories were holding on to outstay Mr. Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone was quite equal to his task and would outstay them. No great cause depended on any one man. There were not two programmes, but only one. Tories only criticised their proposals and praised each other. They were downhearted though breathing defiance. He felt inclined to bid them be of good cheer — ^in the words of Shakespeare, ' Wherefore be of good cheer, my friend, for truly I know you wUl be damned ! ' Tories obstructed Liberal measures, and when they came in carried the bills they had blocked. Liberals were glad of good measures from whatever quarter. The Tories carried Free Education, because Liberals might carry it with greater educational reforms and with securities against sectarianism. Every item of the Newcastle Programme had been covered by Liberal Bills and motions in this ParUament, and defeated by the Tories. If the dissentient Liberals had voted according to conscience and pledges in 1886, every one of those measures or motions could have been carried. All their principles em- bodied in the Newcastle Programme from Home Rule to Parish Coiuicils were based on the belief that people are the best judges of their own affairs. Then they wanted religious equahty in Wales and Scotland, and equahty in voting rights. As to land, the Tories had passed an Act which would not work, much less allow the people to manage their allotments. The sale of glebes was. handled so that his object, to enable labourers to buy, was defeated. The landowner bought the glebes. Dealing with his special subject, finance, in masterly fashion, he ended with Gladstone's definition — ' Tory- ism is distrust of the people tempered by fear. Liberal- KT HO\. JOHN GEORGE SH AW-LHFEVRE. M.P.' iSgi] SHAW-LEPEVRE 127 ism is trust in the people qualified by prudence. He wanted a majority big enough for great purposes.' Striking features of December were Sir William Har- court's briUiant speech at Derby, one of his very best, and Mr. Gladstone's magnificent address to the dele- gates attending the Rural Reform Conference at the Holborn Restaurant. The Conference, composed of selected representatives of the very pith of the labourers, small farmers, and political workers in the agricultural counties, produced about the best series of pointed and often eloquent five-minute speeches I ever heard, on resolutions grouped to cover the whole programme. Mr. Cobb, Sir Walter Foster, myself, and several of the active County Members, including George Lambert, Halley Stewart, and Logan took part. 128 ilEMORIES OF :MrDLAXD POLITICS [189^ CHAPTER IX THE NEW ELECTIONEERING. (1892) Chamberlain and Allotments — Democracy and Home Rule — Free Education — Our Third Victory — Stockbum's Grand Fight. I WROTE to a Wellingborough. Conference: — ^ Strike the note of freedom and equality for children. The people, having aboHshed fees, will not forgo their birthright, representative control over education. Liberal victory must bring bold and consistent policy. Rural education is paralysed by isolation and denominationalism. Where are the agricul- tural schools with free places turning out as in France thou- sands of scientifically trained lads, or the parish schools which could prepare a boy for such agricultural schools ? We talk of small holdings, but what can we do till we have such training, till education becomes the people's business, not a futile battle of the sects 1 We were again at Pytchley. Election was in the air. The invitation was again unanimous. ' A general and decided approval of the course you are taking on behalf of this constituency.' ^ In accepting I said : — No shadow of doubt had chilled the harmony between member and constituents these seven years. Their generous appreciation proved they understood that he had tried con- sistently to live up to his ideal. To him pubHc life meant that a representative should speak the truth to those he represented, and fully and effectively use the power placed in his hands. He had done his best to use his 670th share of the most powerful machinery in the world for the purposes they had sent him to the House of Commons. Never had such a body been able to 1 Erom Biarritz, where we were wintering. 2 Mr. Stookburn in announcing the decision of the delegates. 1892] ENGLISH REFORMS 129 confer so substantial a gift as to-day. The outgoing Parlia- ment had been ' marking time.' All the great questions were before them, not behind. Principles had been affirmed, the real work left undone. County Councils had been created, the Allotments Act admitted the right of the people to share in the soil. But the land question, real local government, temperance reform, popular control of education, rehgious equahty — all that went to the root of LiberaHsm was left for the new Parlia- ment. There was no danger of a one-session Parliament, and a Parliament of one idea. At bye-elections the Liberal Party had declared they would carry the whole group of vital re- forms in addition to the one great reform in the forefront. Every Liberal would rejoice to return their grand leader in the fulness of his moral and intellectual vigour with a triumphant majority, to give freedom to the sister country and the great reforms which meant equahty and social justice here.^ The session would not be prolonged. It would deal with administration and minor measures and the Small Holdings Bill. Electioneering set in shortly after a glorious Whit- suntide. The Tories had been making tremendous efforts for three years with a really able candidate, Mr. WilKam Potter, Q.C., who despised no expedients. He would have done better by concentrating on broad issues. Trivial party thrusts are, in my experience, evanescent, easily ' written ofE,' and in the end react. At an opening rally ^ — ' the men of Ringstead had given an object lesson in winning fair play for Non- conformist children in their school, without one hard word.' ^ ' The brewers' fund might be legitimate, but if used to debauch the electors, should be heavily ^ In an important debate in the House I had insisted ' Home Rule or no Home Rule, we are going to have our English reforms ! ' ^ Salem School. " The children had been penalised for being withdrawn from the Church religious teaching. Sir W. Hart Dyke on my appeal at once overruled the manager. 130 MEMORIES OF MIDLAKD POLITICS [1892 punished. If electors lost self-respect and were bought, they made democracy the bitterest of curses.' Bozeat, with its new Radical vicar, welcomed me royally. That election would be a bright page in history. A grand cause, a grand leader, instinct with mental and moral power, with faith in the truth and the army he leads. Not one year, one month even, of that great Hfe and noble spirit should be left unspent for the country. Tories had got in by saying one thing and doing the other. They persisted in those tactics throughout. Mr. Potter said the Tory Government made no mistakes, but Lord Randolph said the Special Commission was unconstitutional and brought them dishonovu:, and denounced their evasion of pledges to give Ireland equal laws and self-government. Their ' Licensing clauses ' in the Bill of 1888 had been killed by their own fol- lowers. In 1890 the beer and whisky duties which were, by a side wind, to endow the hcensed house-owners failed too. The fund thus raised had to be given over to Technical Education.^ I exposed at many meetings the assertion made in Mr. Chamberlain's ' Address ' that under the provisions of the Allotments Acts, 130,000 labourers had received allotments. The fact was the guardians would not act, the land was got by volmitary agreement with land- owners. The assertion was untrue. At Irthhngborough, Allotments Acts which would not work, sham temperance proposals to give illegal compensation to brewers, Irish County Councils, con- trolled by nominated majorities and hable to dis- missal by two magistrates, the Sugar Convention, and Lord Salisbury's dalliance with Protection were laughed out of Court. 2 Wellingborough Com Exchange, crammed with buoyant enthusiasm, outrunning even WeUingborough 1 The ' Whisky Money,' which was diverted to a noble purpose by Liberal amendments. 2 Mr. Ceilings and Mr. Pollard also spoke. 1892] CHAMBERLAIN AND ALLOTMENTS 131 heartiness,^ gave me the sort of affectionate apprecia- tion which fills the cup of happiness for a public man. Wellingborough is quite ready for the fight. (' We are.') On that platform two men of high honour, intellectual power, loyal principles, six years ago were against them, but now with them heart and soul on the great issue. ^ That was an omen of victory. In 1885 they pledged East Northants to progress — in 1886, to Mr. Gladstone's generous pohcy for Ireland. Now the issues were the same, widened, deepened, strengthened. They would meet and beat an enemy this time better organised, in earnest to win by any and every means. Mr. Potter was helped by the Duke of Norfolk. No man so visibly illustrated the Radical contention that Home Rule did not mean Rome Rule. Lord Sahsbury had sent the Duke to the Pope to crush the Nationalists and the ' Plan of Campaign.' The Pope's Legate had come, but the Irish turned their backs on the Cathohc Hierarchy and pursued their own course. He had vindicated the rights of minorities here in Education ; for Ireland, he could not be a party to proposals that would deprive Protestants of similar rights. A Cathohc priest ad- mitted to him in Ireland that the Romish Church was dependent on the National movement and could not dictate. If they did, they would lose their hold. No man in Ireland had been iU- treated because he was a Protestant, crimes and outrages sprang from inequitable land laws, not from sectarian bigotry. Next week ^ Rushden in grand form. Mr. Parkin spoke from the chair with eloquence and enthusiasm,* Mr. Tomkins with an appeal deep-toned and weighty, Mr. Harper with his touch of poetic Radicalism, W. H. Wilkins with exact reasoning and pointed business-hke style, Bradfield with transparent loyalty to ideals. 1 June 20. 2 Mr. Rubbra, in the chair, abstained in 1886. Mr. Logan, who woii a mighty victory the year before for Home Rule, had voted against it. 3 June 29. * The Rev. M. E. Parkin, whose memory still Ungers in many hearts. 132 MEMORIES OF MIDLAKD POLITICS [1892 Arriving a bit late, with Heygate and Pollard, there was tremendous and continued cheering, the call for one more for Pollard rapturously taken up. Rushden had its chance. They had the weapons, and would use them. At Westminster the work reminded him of a Pytchley labourer digging twitch out of his allotment. He hoped the New ParUament would win ' one man one vote,' do away with religious disabihties, and deal with the land. Mr. Potter was against all these things. Mr. Potter challenged his statement as to Mr. Chamberlain and the Allotments Act. He could not withdraw one word. The official return proved that the land acqmred by lease or purchase 'under the Allotments Act' was only 1100 acres, and this divided among 2700 tenants. There was a wide interval between Mr. Chamberlain's 130,000 and 2700 ! The Bills passed by the Tory Parhament were but a bare- boned regiment, which the Liberals would have to clothe with flesh and blood. In 1885 Mr. Chamberlaiu and the Duke of Devonshire were Home Rulers, and Lord Carnarvon, when the intrigues with ParneU were in progress, had said ' he hoped it might be so.' He had challenged his opponent to produce instances of Cathohc tyranny. At Bozeat Mr. Potter admitted he could not. Earls Barton was in aU its glory on the Tuesday. ^ The bands and a grand procession escorted us from the Poplars to the school, where hundreds failed to get admittance. The storm of cheers subsiding at last — In the next fortnight Liberahsm would rush forward and secure one of the greatest triumphs of progress. I denounced the vile cartoons holding up Mr. Gladstone to execration. They were living in times when they must make a determined stand against this spirit of moral assassination. As in 1886 they had to vote on a great Irish issue. To return Mr. Gladstone now by a great majority would carry Home Rule and the vital reforms of the Newcastle Programme. The Tories posed as the protectors of the Protestants of Ireland. What 1 June 28. JOHN PARKER. JOSEPH HARLOCK, TWO I-INEDON CHAIRMEN. 1892] DEMOCRACY AND HOME RULE 133 protection had they ever given Nonconformists in English villages 1 It was the Liberals who vindicated the rights of their children. They knew how the ' conscience clause ' victory had been won at Ringstead. Liberals would act in Ireland as they acted in England. Protestants had fair play just where the Cathohcs were strongest ! Home Rule sprang from the education of democracy. Irishmen loved freedom as Enghsh- men did. He asked their confidence not on personal grounds, but be- cause, if they overlooked his shortcomings and added him as one more of that majority of three weeks hence, they would return to Parhament not a half-hearted traitor but a man who had loyally supported and would loyally support the Radical creed. The living force, with the glowing inspiration of such scenes, comes back with a far-off whisper of the old spirit. Wollaston ^ was enthusiastic, thoughtful, responsive next night. ' The Liberals were the true Constitutionalists. The Tories opposed Home Rule now, but the Unionist leaders coquetted with it seven years before.' John Parker — tower of strength for Liberahsm and Nonconformity and Temperance — ^was my chairman at Finedon ^ next night. My opponent had vigour, eloquence, and argument, and had brought down a battery of big and Uttle guns, to win our keen electors to the stale and weary creed, which they rejected in 1885 and would crush a fortnight hence. There was Mr. Chaphn and Lord Cross, and the Solicitor- General who staked his reputation on the right of Mcence- holders to compensation,^ and the Attorney- General who had staked his on the castle of cards built up by the Times on the back of Pigott ! * Eor Protestant Kettering they had re- served the biggest CathoUc in the land, the ' ultramontane ' 1 June 30. ^ j^jy i. ^ The Courts had just held the contrary. * Who forged the Parnell letters. 134 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1892 Duke of Norfolk ! Yet Radicals were denoimced for wishing to put the Irish under the absolute supremacy of the Pope ! Mr. Gladstone had done and could do nothing ! Lord Salis- bury had done and would go on doing everything ! The people knew that Mr. Gladstone had given them the vote which had opened out paths to a nobler and more generous hfe, and that Liberal policy now was not only for Ireland but for England, Scotland, and Wales, for parish councils, a revised Poor Law, Licensing Reform, and a real chance for Labour ! A bold and practical creed. At Doddington — on Free Education ^ ' what he had tried to get was popular control of the schools ; if schools received fee grants they were to be free from top to bottom and permanently.' To Mr. Potter's challenge, I declined ' to withdraw my charge. Mr. Chamberlain had abandoned the words ' under the provisions of this legislation ' and substi- tuted ' increase in the number of allotments since the Allotment Act was passed.' Nobody knew better than Mr. Chamberlain that only a minute fraction of allot- ments had been provided under that Act ! ' To a cheery meeting at Isham in the bam of Mr. Wells — a ' Friend ' with the quiet strength of his creed, and Air. George RandaU, kindly, shrewd, with his vein of dry humour, in the chair. I went with L. and Mary. Home Rule did not block Enghsh reforms. It was the sham proposals of the Tories and their thwarting of Liberal efforts to make them effective ! A rousing turn-out at Little Harrowden gave Mr. Nunneley another chance to denounce pluralist voters and demand democratic District Councils, while I chaffed Mr. Potter's plea that ' Tories made no mis- takes.' Their biggest was the attempt to saddle the taxpayers with a new National Debt to endow the 1 The Tory Bill of last session, 1892] FREE EDUCATION 135 brewers — that blunder was surely big enough to see ! ' At red-hot Irchester : — If this is Irchester apathy, I wonder what it is when the steam is up ! Railway hours and railway safety, which the Tories tried to claim, would have been law six years before ^ if Liberal- Unionists had not betrayed them and wrecked his first Parha- ment. Liberals had tried to make the Small Holdings BiQ workable by power to hire as well as buy land ! Labourers should be helped to save and eventually become owners. His own Bill, securing compensation for improvements to farmers of mortgaged holdings where the mortgagee foreclosed, had led to legislation in that sense. The chief agricultural paper * had made adhesion to his ' Agricultural Holdings BiU ' a test for rural candidates. On July 6th I visited Raunds, my welcome warmer than ever. How many happy afternoons and evenings have I passed in that genial atmosphere as the years roUed by ! Lord Burghley ^ opposed in 1885 the proposals the Tories now boasted of having carried. The Tories added to pubMc burdens by Free Education and Small Holdings, but refused to revise Imperial and Local Taxation. They opposed Home Rule because it emancipated Irish Democracy and would lead to ' Rome Rule.' But Tories under Mr. BaKour would endow a Catholic University, and give grants to Jesuit schools without pubUc control. Mr. Gladstone had proposed rehgious equahty * both of the Churches and the schools. Equahty would keep rehgious bodies to work for objects common to all. I had not thwarted Tory measures, but by my own proposals had broken a way for many of them.^ 1 In 1886, when I carried my Railway Regulation Bill — second reading. 2 The Mark Lane Express. 3 Again the Tory candidate in North Northants. * Both in, disestablishing the Church of Ireland in 1869, and in the pro- visions of the Government of Ireland Bill, 1886. ' At Higham, Chelveston, Grendon. 136 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1892 At a crowded meeting at Stanwick, with Thomas Wilmott ^ of Rushden in the chair, Mr. Harper and the Maycocks. Home Rule was a puzzle ! The Tories said it was as dead as Queen Anne, but the ghost was too lively, and Tories had to conjure up all the old terrors ! Lord Salisbury denounced the Irish as ' Hottentots,' and his followers spoke of them as the worst of criminals. It was a grave scandal. Lord Randolph Churchill had promised them Local Government on the same lines and at the same time as England, but their only policy was coercion to keep landowners and Orangemen on top ! Crimes and speeches inciting to crime were detestable, but Irish crimes were provoked by bad land laws and the injustice of generations. Electioneering wound up less pleasantly than usual. Ill-feehng and rowdyism wrecked our last meetings. At WeUingborough Mr. Heygate took precautions to secure order, but the enemy gained entrance in force. I drove over with my sister Blanche, who had attended several meetings, and Mary. Speakers in- cluded Picton 2 and Harford, leader of the Railway- men's Union. They and other well-known speakers tried, as I did, to overcome the uproar and get a hearing, but inter- ruptions were furious and incessant, clearly organised to stop discussion altogether. The meeting had to be abandoned. Charges and counter-charges seeking to eject the offenders led to general fighting. Order was secured, and the crowd got rid of, by turning down the Ughts. To Kettering, where Sydney Buxton, fresh from re- election at Peterborough, and Mrs. Bamford Slack, came to help, we took down a large party from Pytchley. But with the exception of our lady speaker, every one 1 A grand champion of Radicalism and Temperance. ' M.P. for Leicester. BLANCHE M. CHANNING. 1892] OUR THIRD VICTORY 137 was howled down. A large bill came in afterwards for smashed chairs. At Rushden our people effectively retorted on the Tories. But the votes, when counted next day, made us happy and the Tories downhearted. Our majority had risen from 1416 to 1484. Liberals swept the county except in the north, where Mr. Stockburn's splendid fight puUed down the majority. A wave of Sociahst ill-feeling shghtly lowered Mr. Spencer's vote in the ' Mid.' But it was the best record for the county except the marvellous victory of 1906. Speaking from the Club balcony in that scene of triumph : — They had once more pledged that great constituency to stand firm for justice to Ireland and Home Rule for England too — to shorten the hours of railwaymen, give parish councils and control of the schools, for the regeneration of rural England, and to hghten public burdens. We have won with clean hands and by the strength of our principles. After the gayest of luncheons with the hospitable Heygates, the carriage was drawn, in triumphal pro- cession, down to the station amid unexampled enthusi- asm and to the stirring strains of the Congregational Band. This was the first of these brilliant functions. Kettering, gay with red and white, met us in thou- sands with cheers of triumph. Horses taken out, bands playing. Chartist flag leading to the Club. The Square densely packed. The whole heart of Kettering was thrown into this splendid effort which won this victory. We have not had real fighting before. We have fought fairly and won nobly. The only drawback to our joy is that, though Northants sends six Liberals to one Conservative, it does not send our seventh man, our friend John Stockbum. ... I bear a mandate which cannot be misimderstood, the message of your hearts to cheer our great leader. Ireland is no longer under Mr. Balfour, and 138 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1892 England is no longer under Lord Salisbury. England with its parish councils, free land for the people, schools under popular control, new labour laws — England is passing into a new era, which I commend to the eager enthusiasm and the splendid courage of great gatherings hke this. At later rejoicings, unexampled in numbers and enthusiasm, the election tactics of the Tories were severely handled. If they had fought on useful work and wise administration, we had our comments ready. But they fought with very different weapons. It was not a fight of argument, but an organised scheme for demorahsing the electorate, thousands of pounds in bribery, votes bought wholesale by drink. There ought to be a Special Commission to examine on oath and call for the accounts to show how that £100,000 had been expended. The majority might be small, but Mr. Gladstone had behind him men who had passed through the fire. Between the stages of Home Rule they could deal with Bills for Registration, Plural Voting, Parish Councils, power to buy land at its fair value — the whole programme of making the world better for the workers. . . . They had won because they beheved in their principles and because they beheved in each other, forgetting differences in fighting for noble causes, under the inspiration of one great man who had brought them aU together. . . . Our friend and leader, Mr. Stockburn, had thrown aU his devoted strength into the campaign for the ' North.' He had put the true Liberal case, based on its inherent reasonableness, in meeting the problems of to-day. He added the special charm of a cheery and indomitable pluck all his own. It was arranged that we should make at Kettering some recognition of his splendid fight. I spoke of him as ' my political godfather, to whom I owed seven years of happy work. If North Northants were now represented by Mr. Stockburn, no division could be better represented by business capacity, sound judgment, sterling loyalty and good sense — a man whose advice all would seek on critical issues. They ought to have won.' 1892] STOCKBURN'S FIGHT 139 Mr. Stockburn modestly welcomed our appreciation of his efforts to win. At the Central meetings three months later: — ^ They would hear little of me next session ; vigilance and silence were our watchwords. They wanted maximum output in shortest time. There should be more constituencies where men thought for themselves. Mr. Gladstone could have formed two or three Ministries out of materials available. The Ministry might have been stronger, more effective for their purposes, if more democratic. But they commanded confidence, and would do their best to pass sound Radical measures. Liberals were determined to have thorough-going electoral reforms — Registration, one man one vote, aU elections on one day, and as cheap as local elections ; shorter Parhaments, democratic parish councils with real power as to land and charities, control of schools, cheap land transfer, bold tenure and labour reforms, and local option — a big programme, but they were resolved to have it from this Ministry.^ At the crowded evening meeting : — Lord Sahsbury thought 765 votes might annihilate the Liberal majority, it was equally true that half that number transferred elsewhere would have doubled it. Enghsh opinion now accepted Home Rule. They should push the Bill vigor- ously through the Commons, and fight the Lords upon it. Rural England and its greatest industry — farmers losing their all, labourers hurrying into the towns — that was what Liberal Ministries must remedy. They might not accomplish every- thing, but they might make Allotments and Small Holdings Acts workably effective, and give security of tenure to farmers big and small. Mr. Leon,^ winner of striking victories, also spoke. 1 The B.N.C.L.A. met that autumn at Earls Barton. '^ This was my view then, but my hope of the possible democratic vigour and dash of that Liberal Ministry was disappointed. Much of my old programme of the nineties remains now (twenty-four years later !) still to be done. The remissness of party leaders and the expedients of our enemies are to blame. 3 M.P., North Bucks. 140 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1892 This was the first complete year of severance from the pleasant Northamptonshire life. It had so grown into our hearts that it always seemed as if it had gone on continuously. The dread that the first feehng of being friends and neighbours, a part of themselves, would wear away, ties grow looser, the sympathies less warm, came to nothing. There was increasing gener- osity of interpretation making each year and election happier, till the election of 1900, the hour of trial, crowned all with higher mutual faith, deeper mutual respect as member and constituents. My own dis- appointment in 1892 was perhaps a kind stroke of destiny, which concentrated aU my purposes on the effort to live a ' life of service,' gradually helping to put right matters where my insight and interest were deepest. Thinking it over now, years after, when some I respected and loved have passed away, gratitude grows even deeper for friends so helpful, so stimulating as my old constituents. 1893] GLADSTONE'S SUPREME EFFORT 141 CHAPTEE X GLADSTONE AND THE LORDS. (1893, 1894) Gladstone's Supreme Efiort — Tory Obstruction to Liberal Bills — Tuckwell's Harvest Home — Home Rule thrown out by the Lords — Gladstone Retires — ^Visit to Aran Islands — Harcourt Budget — Rosebery declares War on the Lords — Rural and Labour Reforms — Agriculture Commission. Traders and agriculturists rose in arms. The Act of 1888 -to cheapen railway charges made it easier to raise them. The companies got the better of the Board of Trade. By misuse of reclassification powers, settling maximum rates, terminals, and preferential rates, old standing grievances were made worse. Prompt restraint of this perversion of Parhamentary intention was demanded by Chambers of Commerce and of Agriculture, and the Mansion House Association.^ As prospective chairman of the Central Chamber of Agriculture, and on the Mansion House Executive, I joined Sir Albert RoUit ^ and Sir James Whitehead ^ in demanding a new Bill. Replying to Mr. J. H. Beam : * ' The Board of Trade should have powers to settle rates equitably. There should be an authoritative Council of Traders to defend their interests as the Railway Companies defend theirs. This Council should act as Assessors to the Board of Trade, a kind of permanent committee for concihation or arbitration.' Early in February I went to speak at Walsall for ^ For railway and canal traffic. 2 Then Chairman of the Chambers of Commerce. 3 Chairman of the Mansion House Association. ' Of Wellingborough. 142 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1893 Sir Arthur Hayter, who won a brilUant victory, towards which Lady Hayter contributed bright and charming speeches. I had drafted a concise Bill to carry out my sugges- tions on the Railway Hours Committee. This Bill was unanimously adopted by the Railway- men's Congress in October as their own demand. The BiU introduced by Mr. Mundella was defective in many points. Calling a meeting ^ of members interested, with the leaders of the Railway men's Union, I was able to amend the Government Bill as suggested, especially giving the men power to initiate action. At the inauguration of the ' Central Hall ' of the WelUngborough Club, I spoke of the ' disappointment at deferring the Home Rule Bill, and the contrast be- tween loyalty which sought to deal with vast arrears of legislation, and the obstruction thrown in their way.' ' When Tories were in, they produced phantom Liberal BUls, and Liberals struggled to put life and breath into them. Liberals had done this to help to carry such measures. Fathered by a Tory Govern- ment, they somehow passed the Tory trade union in the Lords, and became law. When Liberals were in power and started flesh and blood proposals, they were met by opponents out to destroy, not help ! ' ' The Registration Bill should have been bolder — Liberals would not be content with less than " one man one vote " and manhood suffrage. The Liquor Control Bill was a step forward, though he preferred the three alternatives of the Welsh Local Veto Bill.' ' Talk about boycotting and intimidation in Ireland ! Tories were bent on defeating Home Rule and the Newcastle Programme by brute force. They started with attempting to paralyse the new Chairman^ the moment he took the chair ! Mr. Gladstone wanted the ^ At the H0US8 of Commons. - The Right Hon. J. W. Mellor. 1893] PURITAN ANCESTORS 143 second reading of Home Rule before Easter, to clear the track for Registration, Employers' Liability, and Parish Councils. The Government should take the whole time of Parliament for the people's work.' Opening a bazaar at Wellingborough for the Congre- gational Church, ' I congratulated the Free Churches on their inheritance of the spirit and ideals which, three hundred years ago, made men and women sacrifice everything to vindicate the principle that rehgion was not meant to stifle human reason, but to secure its highest and noblest development. That was the debt the great RepubHc across the seas owed the Puritans of England and Scotland. He could trace descent from two of the men who suffered in those times — Francis Higginson, vicar of Claybrooke, Leicestershire, nearly three centuries ago, who sacrificed everything, passed over to the wilderness of New England, becoming first minister of Salem ; the other, a Scottish Presby- terian minister, dispossessed of his living at Lennel ^ for refusing to submit to the Stuart persecutions. Such principles united the branches of the Anglo- Saxon race, whose life was rooted, beyond the seas, as here, from one age to another, in those principles of Hberty.' The agitation on Railway Rates culminated in a rather ineffective BiU to remedy arbitrary increases. I tried my best to tune up the timid Bill on Fertihsers to the logical and practical standards recommended by me on the Departmental Committee. ^ I had the satis- faction, thirteen years later, to see nearly aU these points embodied in the Liberal Act of 1906. The Commission on Agricultural Depression, on which I sat the next four years, was due largely to my efforts. My long connection with leaders of farming opinion ^ William Johnston, of Coldstream. ^ Appointed by Mr. Chaplin to report on Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs. 144 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1893 enabled me to help in getting the best body of evidence ever collected. The economic results of the inquiry I analysed and published in book form ^ after we re- ported. The Liberal County Members balloted for the motion on Agricultural Holdings, moved by J. W. Logan and seconded by myself. When the Parish Councils Bill came up, we were able to remedy defects in the first draft of the Lords BiU, and, in January 1894, to reqonstruct the amendments. Local interest in these matters was keen and widespread and brought inces- sant correspondence. Tn August I attended the huge demonstration in Althorp Park addressed by Mr. Asquith, and spoke briefly but with confident enthusiasm of the splendid fight for Home Rule and our rural programme. Henry Cobb and I were guests of that grand Radical parson, WiUiam TuckweU, at the Harvest Home of the allotment tenants on his glebe land at Stockton. ^ The awards of the farmer judges were read and prizes dis- tributed in the rectory gardens. Many of those allot- ments had exceeded 56 bushels an acre — a magnificent record of spade labour. TuckweU spoke eloquently of their success and what was possible with a free hand, security, and organisation. I told them 'I had been appointed to find out what was the matter with agri- culture. Their success that day showed that they knew already. Land had been starved of labour, bad laws had paralysed obvious remedies. They should elect men pledged to the emancipation of the labourer. Credit Associations, as in Germany, to provide capital, and cheap rates and organisation of railway service, would help.' Cobb spoke in his racy, stirring way which went straight to their hearts — altogether a dehghtful function. 1 The Truth about Agricultural Depression. Longmans. 2 In Warwickshire, August 1893. HEN'RY P, COBB. .M.P. {Russell. Photo.) 1893] WILLIAM TUCiCWELL US Mr. Tuckwell's Social Service could hardly be exaggerated — ^brilliant ability, bold initiative, broad sympathy — the devoted parish priest, the fearless prac- tical reformer — the good Liberal all in one ! I have often wondered why a Liberal Government, with a Rural Programme, did not reward such work with high pre- ferment. There have been deans less cultured, bishops less broad-minded, than this friend and guide of the agricultural labourer. My own vicar at Pytchley, Edward Gates, rendered similar splendid service ; his close friend Stubbs ^ from Buckinghamshire did work as ennobling in his old parish; and his successor, A. J. Newton, J. Frome Wilkinson, W. D. Sargeaunt of Bozeat, and W. P. Soames of Lavendon — all generous Liberals of imagina- tion, insight, and hopeful sympathy, a richly endowed and open-hearted group — ^laboured to raise the standards of rural wellbeing. Brisk and stimulating campaigning in the autumn. Tories said we had done little. ^ Why did they expect a harvest when they trampled down the corn ? No Ministry so loyally supported had been so unscrupulously obstructed. The Lords defied the judgment of the coimtry in rejecting Home Rule. Their unanimity was their strongest condemna- tion. Unionists had exhausted eloquence and ingenuity over it for seven years, and their plea now was ' it has not been dis- cussed ' ! Such tactics were manifestly dishonest. If the Lords wanted more rope, let them have it, in Parish CouncUs, Employers' Liability, a vigorous Radical Budget. ^ A London Government Bill might rouse the Dukes to clear out slums. If these were not enough, let them have ' Manhood Suffrage.' Then it would be ' Up Guards, and at them ! ' At Higham : — ' Tommy ' Bowles had frankly confessed ' his party blocked 1 Subsequently Bishop of Truro. 2 From speech at Rushden, October 17. They got our Radical Budget from Sir W. Harcourt in 1894. K 146 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1893 Home Rule because they disliked it, and more, to block Bills behind. It looked as if Tory obstructors had taken a solemn oath, like St. Paul's enemies of old, that ' they would neither eat nor drink till they had slain the G.O.M. ! ' Mr. Chamberlain was now the chief offender. The real object was to kill ' Parish Councils.' ^ They remembered Lord Sahsbury said ' a circus was good enough.' In 1888 he took away the slender parish powers still left, and kiUed his own undemocratic District Councils ! Tories had tried to fasten bad trade on Liberals, but Sir Michael Hicks-Beach ^ had demonstrated that trade depression did not depend on any government, but on economic causes. At Kettering,^ Aubrey's robust reasoning, Phillips's burning eloquence, and Soames's broad sympathy — all went home to an enthusiastic and packed Victoria HaU. I said : — They had not forgotten their chairman's gallant fight in that dim, silent wilderness of feudaMsm — the ' North pole of the county.' * Mr. Chamberlain had urged Unionists to turn their backs on principles to which their whole hves were pledged — the reforms which had brought Mr. Chamberlain and his friends to the fore. Nothing mattered but beating Mr. Gladstone ! He instigated the whole obstruction — spinning out debates to extort STurrender or postponement of Parish Councils and Em- ployers' Liability. The Government had decided to fight to a finish. The House of Commons did not belong to Mr. Cham- berlain or to Mr. Tommy Bowles, but to the majority of British and Irish electors and the members returned to do their will. Mr. Chamberlain had given them, in the ' time hmit,' the weapon to defeat himself. Mr. Asquith's resolute speech at Althorp, and Lord Rosebery's condemnation of the Lords ^ showed that war was to be declared. It was a mere question of time when that pohtical nuisance would be abated. These were days not of flintlocks and ramrods, but of repeating rifles 1 Which they got in 1894. ^ Always a clear and honest reasoner. » October 24. * So described by Dr. Shipman. 6 ' To bring in any matter before this House is a mere waste of time and breath.' 1893] TORY OBSTRUCTION 147 and maxim guns. They were not temporising Whigs, but men with whole-hearted faitli. Let the constituencies give them more and more reforms to grind out of the Party machine. Let them select grand, strong Bills, and ram them home. He had passed too many years in the wilderness and was famishing for what he could not get. . . . That Parhament could not close with dry bones of old discussions ; in the new era they wotdd reahse what a State really was — the collective wisdom and energy of miUions of people. There were two vast channels into which to direct that col- lective force — the land and labour. The meeting went with grand swing and zest from start to finish. At WoUaston, bands and torches met us. We ran over the whole scale of living pohtical issues pleasantly enough. ' The Tories wanted to keep them to Home Rule, and were furious that they had so many strings to their bow.' WoUaston was always charming. Old friends came up to talk after the meetings, and saw us off with delightful geniahty. We often took back representa- tives of the local press, Mx. Valentine,^ or Mr. Holton,^ sometimes Mr. Peeple ^ of the Tory paper. Often I chatted with members of the co-operative bootmakers, among them an inventor who hoped big results from some mechanical idea. There is no air so keen and fresh after a hot meeting as one finds in Northants. The drive home made one sleep like a top ! With Henry Lack,* Charles Wicksteed, and Burley WaUis we turned the searchlight on rural life — ' the key to success — ^land to be got easily and held with security, stimulating thorough cultivation, and assuring a real return for labour, skill, and enterprise. Compulsory hiring of land, and reletting by local authorities at cheaper rates should be substituted for the clumsy » WelUnghorotigh News. ^ Northampton Mercury. ' Wellinghorough Post. * One of the family of social workers in Wellingborough. 148 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1893 blunders of the Tory Allotments Bill. There should be Land Societies of men of thrift, who knew and could trust each other, to enable good men to borrow money on easy terms, to equip and work small farms. The strongest urban powers as to pure water supply and healthy housing should be extended to rural districts.' I had strongly supported the Government in resisting the amendment ^ on Employers' Liability to allow con- tracting out in cases where insurance funds were jointly supported by the companies and the men. There was little difficulty in showing, as John Burns did, that the contribution from the employers was not so much an insurance against accidents as against Trade Unionism. Such a scheme lessened the inde- pendence of the men and must tend to reduce pay.^ In November dogged obstruction was killing Parish Councils ; one afternoon I moved the closure— imusual for a private member. It was accepted and carried by a large majority. These two points gave local satisfaction. At the autumn meetings^ I moved a resolution of warm sympathy with Mr. Frank Sharp on his grave illness and of recognition of his many services as a loyal supporter of Liberal principles.* I had seen him earher in the day, and mourned over the sufferings he was so patiently enduring. I told the delegates how the pressure of our tea-room group — Cobb, Logan, Luttrell, and myself as chairman of the County Members — had obtained from Mr. Fowler amendments to simplify and strengthen the Parish Councils Bill. Where land was wanted, the Parish Council would escape the cost and delay of obtaining a Provisional Order in Parliament, and only need apply to the Local Government Board for the single arbitrator, 1 Moved by Walter M'Laren, M.P. a I wrote from Scotland to the North- Western Railwajrmen in this sense. " Finedon, Dec. 4. * This valued friend died shortly after. 1893] A LIVING WAGE 149 who would hold inquiry and send down valuer, so that the Council could get the land at its agrictdtural value, without having to pay extra compensation for com- pulsorily taking the land desired, by the simple order of the L.G.B. We had also increased popular control of charities, even those partly ecclesiastical, and powers to secure cohdenuiation of unhealthy cottages. At the evening meeting,^ crowded, perfervid in every sense, I said : — Sessions of eleven months ^ would ruin the efficiency of Parliament. An unscrupulous chque should no longer be allowed to defeat the will of the people. Procedure should be recast, reforms not squeezed out in driblets, but secured in solid and vital instalments year by year. The biggest event of the year was the effort of Mr. Glad- stone and Lord Rosebery to end the struggle between the coal- owners and the miners. The men were fighting for a ' Hving wage ' — to decide the fair shares of capital and labour in gross profit. Both sides had been brought together. They knew in the shoe trade how that led to exact weighing of the economic facts and conditions and to fair adjustment between the parties. If proper relations between labour and capital had existed before, the coal-owners might never have entered into contracts so cut down that they had to draw on the wages of the men, and there would have been no coal war at aU. A wage that would give a home, in which human Mfe could be decently, honestly, and morally Hved, which covered first necessities, and which did not drive the mother and the child to toil, that was a living wage to aim at. They could not raise prices and wages by a wave of a wand. But if prosperity sus- tained any serious check, they might at least insist that when prices feU, and profits were lessened, this wage fund should be the last, not the first, to be drawn upon. That was his creed of a ' Living Wage.' ^ He behoved it was a creed in which East Northamptonshire would wish him hearty Godspeed. ^ Mr. Joseph Harlook, chairman. ^ This session lasted for over fourteen months ! ' My article, one of a series, in the Leeds Mercury that year, was reissued with the whole series. 150 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1893 Touching on tlie Labour and Old- Age Pension Com- missions, and the Unemployed — It would be a disgrace if Parliament did not try in the next two sessions to solve these vast Labour struggles, and the periodic recurrence of distress. He would be ready for an Eight Hours BiU, or anything else that could save the people. Labour questions should be judged temperately and mode- rately, but they should not fear to do justice and mitigate grave evils. Such constituencies should think these problems out, and bring their views before the country at large and thus take their part in carrying reforms. In asking this Parhament to deal with these questions they were knocking at an open door. In the present Government they had a wilHng instru- ment. They should use it well, and use it forcibly. Mr. William Smith, M.P. for Lancaster, followed with an effective speech on the Land Reforms he had done much to promote. My Finedon speech is given here more fully because it not only voices the faith I then felt in the democratic future we hoped to build up for the countryside, but struck thus early the clear note of the Social and Labour reforms which marked the grand Parliament of 1906, just as my similar speech at Irchester, in September 1905, struck the note of the true relation of Liberalism to Labour, and of Labour to Liberalism. Some ground has been won since then, but the wheels of progress grind slowly, too slowly for my fervid hopes of those days. Parliament adjourned only three days over Christmas. Obstruction persistent, inexhaustible, might keep us at Westminster twelve months. The Lords killed Home Rule, ' to which we gave eighty-two days, maimed Parish Councils, which took forty-one days. Other Bills mutilated or rejected. They had destroyed the work of the House of Commons.' ^ Mr. Gladstone ^ 1 Mr. Gladstone's last speech in the House of Commons, March 1. 2 Then at Biarritz. 1894] LORDS REJECT HOME RULE 151 held the case against the Lords to be complete and wanted instant dissolution. His Cabinet refused. Fail- ing sight impelled, rooted objection to increased naval estimates precipitated, his decision, which no appeals could alter, though it was kept secret tiU March. ^ Few now can doubt that Gladstone was right. A Christmas dissolution, fighting instant, eager, furious, led by the old leader still, might have meant victory, or have led to a deadlock that a year or two could set right, but it would assuredly not have ended in a debacle like 1895. He was overruled, and we had to face fifteen months of conflicting ambitions, intrigue, and illwill. The blunder of December 1893 saddled us with ten years of Tory misrule, the South African War, and that crowning mischief ' Tariff Reform,' which at last turned the scales in our favour again in January 1906. I can claim no wisdom myself at that crisis, I was so intent on getting a solid outcome of our Rural Programme and of Labour legislation, that I strongly pressed our Chief Whip, Mr. Marjoribanks, to secure aU he could. Sir WiUiam Harcourt came back after the brief recess evidently inchned to reject the Lords' amend- ments en hloc. My reply then was that he could not safely risk going to the country empty-handed, with a "blank statute book. Many men and many motives pointed that way. The result was unsatisfactory compromise with the enemy on the land clauses of the Parish Councils Bill. Compromises with people who have the whip hand of you are never compromises, but ' squeezes.' In this case we lost oxir vantage ground, as Gladstone foresaw, by not challenging the Lords on the arbitrary rejection of Home Rule, when the electorate had sanctioned Gladstone's Bill in the election eighteen months before, after six whole years of concentrated discussion. If ^ Morley's Gladstone, vol. iii. pp. 504-7, 152 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1894 Mr. Asquith was right in not hesitating one moment in 1909 on the rejection of the Budget, and on the rejection of the Resolutions in 1910, Mr. Gladstone was right in his view of things at Christmas, 1893. The vigorous efforts of the Liberal County Members who dechned to accept the compromise on the Land Hiring Clause of the Bill, extorted as it was by intoler- able obstruction, were warmly approved. I divided the House on restoring the four-acre maximum for arable allotments, and to secure compensation to the Parish Council for increased value of land hired. Logan divided against the cutting down of compulsory hiring of pasture land. I compelled the Tories to yield as to breaking up pasture for arable allotments with land- lords' consent. The wretched compromise abandoned even such obviously just points as this. Herbert Paul, as President of the Club, gave us a brilliant speech on the Party position at Welhngborough. I congratulated them on starting a Women's Liberal Association with Mrs. Sharman as leader, and on ad- mitting women to their Club. Touching on the Lords' performances — That ' palace of distrust,' by its composition, its traditions, its unlimited power, had worked intolerable mischief. The people had declared by a majority of over 300,000 that certain measures should be passed, but that popvdar decision was only supported by some thirty Peers, for the Nation, voted down by anything from one hundred to four hundred Peers, against the Nation. They did not wish to speak with disrespect of the Lords, but this arbitrary power was an anachronism the people should sweep away. He disHked intimidation, but there should be such an expression of pubhc opinion as would make it impos- sible for great BUls to be wrecked. The land clauses of the Parish Councils BlU gave the people power to rationally control the use of the land, so as to promote the greatest human happiness. If the people did not use that J. ALFRBi:) GOTCH. J, P. KETTERING. 1894] GLADSTONE'S LAST SPEECH 153 great weapon they would make members who had fought for them despair of the future. As to Employers' Liability, the Lords had defeated the prin- ciple of the Bill by insisting on ' Contracting out.' At Broughton, where Alfred Gotch was effective, tempering, as always, sound Liberalism with con- vincing common sense, I said : — It was pleasant to have as my new opponent ^ a man who stood for fair play and courtesy, and was dead against everything I supported : Home Eule, of course — ^parson not Parish Council to manage Charities — ^Protection not Free Trade — ^let the babies off vaccination and vaccinate adults ! Mr. Lush Wilson would not Mke his job if he started as Medical Officer in Kettering ! He had been in the House the day he should remember as long as blood coursed in his veins, when their revered leader, Mr. Gladstone, made his last speech.^ From his usual seat,^ when Mr. Gladstone turned round to face his followers and looked straight towards him, he could watch the splendid expression of his face — the thoughts, the emotions of that mighty soul were plain to read. He had listened to that supreme protest, as dignified as it was passion- ate, delivered by that wonderful voice, musical, deep, thriUing, heard for the last time — the gravest, wisest indictment of the Lords. Mr. Balfour followed with the shallow plea : 'Our interests are not safe in the hands of a Party majority unless that majority was controlled by another assembly.' With a Tory majority, right or wrong, the Lords always sided. When a Liberal Government was in power, this self-constituted Tory Committee thwarted every decision. Tories talked of the Constitution, Liberals had built it up. AU the greatest measures had been wrecked or postponed by Tories till Liberals got them through, and then were admitted to be wise and good. At Earls Barton:—* This was the first Labour Ministry this country ever had. They passed my proposals to shorten railway hours. The eight 1 Mr. Lush WUson, K.C. ^ March 1. ' At the corner of the third bench. * Genial John Abbott, then still a Liberal, in the chair. 154 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1894 hours' principle ruled in Government workshops and dockyards. More money was made, better work turned out, dangerous and unhealthy industries levelled up, practical sub -inspectors ^ more effectively checked minor accidents in railway working. More had been done for the vital needs of agriculture ^ and to tune up rural life than ever before. As vividly illustrating Irish grievances, I described my romantic visit to the Aran Islands off Galway Bay — the night journey across the Irish Sea to Dubhn, over Central Ireland to Galway, twenty-four miles' drive down the wild coast of the bay, tempestuous crossing in a ' hooker ' ^ from the Coastguard Station to ' Wild Aranmore ' of Tom Moore's sweet verses. Two devoted priests told me much of the twenty-nine families just evicted. I learned more of the pitiful story by talking with the people and using my own eyes. The rents and arrears were for holdings created entirely by the tenants and their forebears, who, with enormous labour, have spread layers of sand, decomposed seaweed, mould scraped from crevices, over the hollows among the bare hmestone rocks, and in some cases, earth brought in boats from the mainland. There was also a foreshore rent for the right of wading breast-deep in the sea to rake in the red weed, which they burned into kelp. The only property landlords had to let was the barren rock ; the rest and the products obtained were contributions of the tenants alone. Rents were appreciably higher than for many districts on the mainland where landlords had more than bare rocks. The drought of 1893 parching the thin artificial soil — only 6 to 9 inches deep — potatoes withered to one-fourth their usual size, seed potatoes had to be eaten. Many famihes were subsisting on a bowl of Indian meal a day. Destitution was appalhng, small cattle, which sometimes sold well at Galway, were starving. The evictors were upon them without a chance of retrieving their position. It was a weird, pathetic scene. The strips and patches of artificial soil, guarded by rock walls from the furious Atlantic gales, here and there actually held down by coverings — old sails and what not, on which heavy ^ This was a proposal of my Railway Hours Report. I obtained this reform from Mr. Mundella just before he resigned the Board of Trade. 2 Cattle diseases and swine fever had been boldly and practically met. A Fertiliser and Feeding Stuffs Act had been passed, the Commission on Agricultural Depression appointed. ' Fishing-boat, 1894] VISIT TO AEAN ISLANDS 155 stones were roUed ! Slippery pathways over sheets of glacier poUshed shelves of rock, difficult to cross safely without the skin mocassins worn by the islanders, the dreary desolation made human only by the ocular demonstration of the ceaseless battle for bare hfe. These poor men were rented solely on their own improvements. Were such rents equitable ? Was it economically sane to try to squeeze a pound or two, not earned by nature or industry, but levied on charitable funds supphed by priests, or on help sent by children in America, or from some tiny remnant of family savings with which a man might try to pull through ? Some evicted families were huddled in utter misery with neighbours even more destitute, in one case twelve persons in a hut smaller than a railway carriage. In hut after hut I saw no furniture but a patched grocery box for a seat, no beds but canvas sacks brown with time, stuffed with ancient straw or fern thrown on the bare, hard earth — a small iron pot to boU the Indian meal hanging over a tiny fire, not of peat, but smouldering cow-dung dried and kept for this purpose — three or four children thinly clad, with dehcate, pinched, Mttle, chestnut- shaped faces, Avith the charm of gentle patience, and the fine Irish eyes — ^in some huts poor wretches in the last stages of crushed misery, waiting for the end, helpless, bewildered. There were brave, strong men, too, in the island, fighting their way, bringing in fish to fill the boxes neatly piled on the wharf at Aranmore, waiting for the small steamers of the Con- gested Districts Board, in one of which I went back to Galway on the second day. In favourable seasons Mfe may be as full of tranquil peace as Tom Moore pictured it.^ But it was a tremendous lesson in the economic wrongs of 1 Irish Melodies, vol. iv. p. 95. Edition 1841. Oh ! Aranmore, loved Aranmore, How oft I dream of thee. How blithe upon thy breezy cliffs At sunny mom I 've stood. Or, when the western wave grew bright ., With daylight's parting wing, Have sought that Eden in its light Which dreaming poets sing ; That Eden where th' immortal brave Dwell in a land serene. {The traditional Paradise of the Pagan Irish.) 156 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1894 Ireland, and in 1894 it was a moment for rescue work. I could take back with me facts and figures and experiences which enabled me, by the generosity of many Parliamentary friends, to raise a small fund to provide seed for the islands. Mr Fox.^ connected with the potato trade, gave us one hundred sacks of ' Bruce,' which the railways kindly despatched at lowered rate, with utmost speed, and with the help of the Irish Office and the good priests of the islands effected, in time for new season planting, a distribution of seed through necessitous parts of these marvellous islands. I brought back helpful suggestions for relief works, sUps and landing-places which might lessen risks in those stormy channels and give better chances of a livelihood to the people.^ My brilliant friend, George Russell,^ made a witty, telling address — alluding with deep feeHng to the severance of the Party from Mx. Gladstone, with whom he had ties of intimacy and reverent affection. ' Politi- cal life to many would always be different since the hour their great leader said his last word in the House of Commons.' I playfully pricked a few bubbles about Protection and bad trade, and Liberal finance. My opponent * turned with enthusiasm to Mr. Goschen, but might have learned from Sir Thomas Farrer that in the top year of commercial prosperity, when any man could make a good budget, Mr. Goschen could only manufacture a surplus by under-estimating revenue, taking three millions from Sinking Fund, and leaving his debts to his successor. Swanspool was at its best.^ Mr. Edward Blake, the eloquent Irish-Canadian, who sacrificed his career to help his country at Westminster,^ and Countess Alice ^ Of Lincoln. " Any reader interested in the Aran Islands might well read the story of Grania by the Hon. Emily Lawless — a striking picture of the island life. ' Under-Secretary of the Home Office, at the Annual Spring Meeting. * Mr. Lush Wilson. = July 20. ' He had been for years one of the Liberal leaders in the Dominion Parliament. 1894] HARCOURT'S BUDGET 157 Kearney, travelled down with us. Blake deeply im- pressed all with his reasoned appeal for Ireland, justifi- cation of Home Rule and Evicted Tenants Bills, and Liberal Policy. Countess Kearney, who had paid our Division cheery visits before, voiced a bright and effec- tive plea for her country. Touching on the Democratic Budget meaning so much for national life — I was surprised more Unionists had not at least abstained. Class interests stood in the way of enormous benefits which patriotic men should welcome. Liberal members had received assurances from Conservative constituents recognising that this Budget would provide enormous additional resources while reheving small incomes, and deploring obstruction to this great measure.^ At a meeting to elect delegates ^ I stated my views on the ethics of loyal representation : — No long tenure of a seat gave claim to continue. They must always feel absolutely free to choose whom they would. He had been fortunate enough to find friends among those who had among themselves differences of opinion. If they divided a sunbeam through a prism they would see seven distinct colours in that single ray. The shades might be beautiful, but if each man stuck to his own shade they would come to grief. The true solution of pohtics, as of fight, was to merge all those colours in one bright, clear sunbeam which would iUumine the paths of all. A practical pofitician, in real sympathy with his age, must recognise that aU through the country new ideals were taking shape — ^new thoughts and aspirations, sometimes fantastic, sometimes dreams that could not be reahsed, but in all of them germs of real truths, which men had a right to advocate and fight for. Practical poKtics existed to enable these groups to work together, and not by cutting each other's throats to play into the astute hands of the wire-pullers of reaction. I urged 1 I had received such letters myself. It was a new and most interesting experience. ^ At Wellingborough. 158 MEMORIES OP MIDLAOTD POLITICS [1894 the selection of working-men delegates and evening meetings of the Council. Lord Rosebery had shown himself a great leader in his challenge to the Lords. His position appealed for sympathy — deadly enemies in front of him, and nobody behind him. A Peer Prime Minister should be given an option of sitting on the green benches of the Commons. The franchise had brought the House of Commons nearer to the hearts and Hves of the people, and made it a better instru- ment for removing grievances. But the chasm between the people and the Lords had deepened and widened. That House had become the blind weapon of one party to wreck the policy of the other. Lord Rosebery wished to deal with this evil by resolution defining the position of the two Houses and restricting the Lords' power to reject measures. Such ' Resolutions ' had had enormous effect in former times.^ At no town in the Division had political thought and enthusiasm so deepened as at Irthlingborough, that year chosen for the autumnal meetings. That session we could rejoice in one great democratic victory which the Lords could not snatch from us — the placing of taxation on a sound and just basis, in Sir WiUiam Harcourt's Finance Act. Factory ^ and ConcOiation * Bills were per- sistently obstructed. If traders and agriculturists worked for themselves half as hard as the members who worked to strengthen the weak Bill on railway charges, more might have been achieved. On tenant right for farmers, big and small, we had unanswerably argued for a just and strong measure.* At a ' rousing meeting ' in the evening vigorous hand- ling of topics of the hour. 1 The Resolution of 1662, though at times theoretically challenged, had, in practice, barred interference by the Lords with the provision of revenue by taxation. After Lord Palmerston's resolution on the Paper Duties Repeal BiU up to 1909 the Lords had not challenged any money Bill. 2 Mr. Asquith's. ^ Mr. Mundella's. * Largely my own work as Chairman of the Central Chamber, and as Chairman of the County Members. GEORGE TAILBY. STANWICK. SAMUEL RYE. IRTHLINGBOROUGH. 1894] RURAL AND LABOUR REFORMS 159 Chamberlain asked how many pence Liberal measures would put in the pockets of the workers. The hard-headed men of Northants could judge what it was worth to get land through parish councils or to elect without property quahfication, and with ' one man one vote,' guardians not nominees of large rate- payers, but men with generous sympathies who knew the wants and miseries of the poor. Tories were foaming with rage because Liberals had accepted from Mr. Gladstone ^ that supreme heritage of the duty to free themselves from the obstacle which had paralysed them so long. That heritage had been loyally taken up by Lord Rosebery, and if his own experience in addressing meetings in many districts was a guide, the coimtry was ready to support that pohcy. Nothing could be accomphshed for Liberahsm or Labour imtil they had settled with the Lords. This Liberal Government had a great record on Labour questions. The whole conditions of life were better. That was due to the alliance between Liberahsm and Labour. Ought they to rest content ? A thousand times no ! In London one-third of the population were below the hne where poverty became a horror. There was a growing evil in \mem- ployment, while one in three persons over seventy were in receipt of poor rehef . There were plenty of things waiting — the recommendations of the Minority of the Labour Commission — Old-Age Pensions to be dealt with on wise and generous hnes. Then strikes in one year lost four millions sterling of wages, twenty millions of capital were earning nothing. Few strikes were successful, haK of them were settled in the end by con- cihation. Why not start with concihation, and keep those four miUions in the pockets of the workers instead of throwing them into the Dead Sea 1 They had the best type of working Sociahsm in Productive Co-operative Societies, and they had effective Boards of Concihation. A singularly convincing meeting. *■ In his speech on the House of Lords, March 1, 1894. 160 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1894-5 CHAPTER XI DISSENSIONS AND DISASTER. (1896) The Brotherhood of Democracy — ^Pointed Discussions — Joseph Wilford — ^A Liberal Vicar — Armenian Horrors — The Shoe War — PoUoy of ' Thorough ' — Our Fourth Victory — ^New PoUtical Era — Lady Henry Somerset — Co-operative Production — ^Thomas Burt on Ideals — Disintegration and Intrigue. Tory astuteness and Liberal divisions played a dis- astrous part in the winter of 1895. The great thrust of Liberalism for Labour and Social Reforms was ingeniously parried by the plea that men who sought votes by wrecking constitutions, smashing churches, and restricting freedom to get drunk, could care nothing for the real, deep miseries of the people. And the crusade against the Peers, loyally started by Lord Rosebery, never got the chance that has since been freely given to the later efforts of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and Mr. Asquith. Lukewarmness, latent hostihty, lack of good faith were plain enough. East Northants had been continuously trained in practical poUtics on intelhgible and firmly grasped principles. ' Justice for all,' ^ by practical reforms which did not mean revolution, but the quickest path to sure and permanent good, was our beacon light. Fearless, generous, considerate, this policy kept in touch diverging lines of thought, and maintained col- lective action. There was no serious movement for separate Labour organisation. The poison came when 1 The motto of our old Chartist flag. 1895] THE BROTHERHOOD OF DEMOCRACY 161 the multiplication of local elections gave a new stiaiulus and direction to local jealousies and personal ambitions. Just as County Council Elections had led to Conserva- tive reaction, because the majority of obviously qualified candidates were Conservatives who glided into and kept power under the sanction of representative elec- tion, so the new local elections fomented class and personal prejudices. The baser motives had a new field for mischief — grudges and disappointments, the unpopularity of individual employers, all began to grow — noxious weeds to choke pure democratic in- stincts. The inevitable outcome was the splitting up of a sane and solid Progressive army into groups. One of the worst evils of this fissiparous tendency was not infrequent bargaining for votes behind the scenes to win seats on local bodies, gradually spreading to the greater evil of buying votes for local elections by bar- gaining for Imperial elections also. The dangers threatening our Radical ideal of pure democracy — a brotherhood, which knew no class, and aimed at the good of all — gave ground for thought. Lord Rosebery's campaign, which I had supported at a series of meetings all over the country that autumn, was fought to open the door for reforms demanded by the people. I had invited meetings of the delegates in our three great towns, for three successive evenings, for the con- venience of working men, to freely discuss vital issues. The discussions were animated and full of point ; the topics, ' One man one vote,' payment of members, the land, and its administration by Parish Councils, the unemployed, old-age pensions, compulsory or voluntary arbitration for industrial disputes — questions touching all sides of the life of a country constituency. Of many telling speeches — ^pithy because short — one that lingers in memory was the plea for old-age pensions, put 162 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 forward with keen humour, manly independence, and simple sincerity, by a champion of the best type of agricultural labourer — Joseph Wilford of Pjrtchley. Such evenings were fuU of human nature, full of the finer instincts of democracy, and of happiness and in- spiration to the member who was so backed and helped. The Liberal Vicar of Bozeat ^ gave an uncompromising speech at Broughton. He was content to be governed by the Commons. Nobody quite knew yet what Liberal pohey precisely was, so Liberal? were not feared. As soon as the Liberal Party went boldly in for a ' one House ' poMcy, the power of the Lords would pass.^ He supported Welsh Disestabhshment. The tithes ought not to be paid to a Church in such a minority. Concurrent en- dowment might have been just if they coiild have spHt up the money. The only alternative was that the nation should take back the money it gave the clergy, and that those who wanted the clergy of the Church of England should pay for them. The people of Ireland should govern themselves as a sister to England, considering one another's good by just and righteous deahng. In May, a splendid meeting in Northampton to pro- test against the massacres in Armenia addressed by Francis Stevenson, myseh, and others. The horrors of the rule of Abdul Hamid were rising to a climax. The conscience of England was aroused. Lord Salisbury at last spoke out. ' We had put our money on the wrong horse ' in shielding Turkey. 'The recent infamies were not isolated outbreaks of fanaticism, but chronic incidents of a deUberate poUcy. The Armenians were to be crushed with appalling cruelty. The massacres were worse than St. Bartholo- mew's. British Consuls who reported the facts could get no redress. Our Government at home shrank from publishing the reports. They could have the active help of Russia. The duty of mitigating these horrors was as urgent as our duty in sweeping away African ^ Rev. W. D. Sargeaunt. ^ ^ mog^ excellent prophecy ! 1895] THE SNAP DIVISION 163 slavery. It rested with us to have done with this pandemonium of lust and fiendish massacre. Let us strike our blow.' ^ At the Annual Meeting ^ I lamented ' that a settle- ment had not been arrived at without the great and needless losses to both sides in the recent Shoe War. The suggestion he had made, before the struggle began, was practically what was accepted from the Board of Trade two months afterwards. In this age of demo- cracy, it was monstrous that a speedy adjustment of conflicting interests was not possible without suspension of work in their staple industry.' Charles Schwann ^ spoke with me at the evening meeting, dealing with eloquence and force on labour issues and factory legislation. I referred to recent School Board victories, for 'principles which every Liberal should watch and defend. All principles were challenged and assailed just now. The Duke of Devonshire, who had once laid doAvn that Church Establishment must go when the people so decided, because they ought to go, now declared that the Welsh Church Bill was a constitu- tional wrong. The Tories had their one weapon, the Loi-ds, and used it ever3rwhere. The Ministry had carried out its pledges and had maintained Free Trade, which had made such a community as East Northants and its industries possible, and had vindicated the ideals of a democracy as fearless and self-respecting as it was gentle and tolerant.' This was a time of ' Five Line Whips ' and incessant ' tight corners.' There was one too many on a glorious summer afternoon in June.* Men did not turn up in time — there was no talking ofi the snap division, which ^ Extract from speech at Northampton. ^ Wellingborough. » M.P. for North Manchester. * June 7. 164 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 would have been quite easy, and Ministers were beaten on a sham issue of ' insufficient cordite.' The election was rushed upon us. I stopped a few days in London to help Mr. Asquith's Factory Bill. The Delegates' Meeting was held in the evening on Saturday, June 29. My welcome was more than enthusiastic. That the session had been broken up and the Party balked of carrying their cargo into port — Religious Equality, Liquor Traffic Control, and the rest, was a profound disappointment. Above all, they had wanted to lay down in decisive fashion that the Lords must no longer dictate pohcy. They would face that election with confidence, resolute to win victory, and deprive their opponents of what they had sought by that snap vote. Ten years before he had come to them with convinced opinions, and he adhered to them now. If they cared for a representative who sticks to the pohtical faith within Mm, and is ready to give practical effect to that faith, he would loyally place himself at their disposal. His course had been indepen- dent. He had at times voted against the Government, recently against them on the Opium Traffic motion. Briefly reviewing his contributions to Labour and Land legislation, to bring about a National system of education, to give a hving chance to farmers, to housing the people, and other causes, he hoped he had been of some service in initiating new principles, and in pressing everjrwhere for clear and prompt action on thought-out hues. For the coming time they must have a pohcy of ' thorough ' carried out by men who beheved, and were without fear. Thus would they triumph m that great fight. That was the creed, the spirit of the hour, that spread like wildfire. Despite difficulty and doubt, disappoint- ment and perplexity from many causes, and affecting many interests and sentiments, there was as big a rally as ever of the men and women who won ovir victories, in election after election, by enthusiastic organisation to bring out our forces at fullest strength. DANIEL SHEFFIELD, earl's barton. 1895] POLICY OF ' THOROUGH ' 165 ' Swanspool ' inaugurated our campaign as gloriously as five years after in the memorable election of 1900. The Sharmans were more than delightful as hosts of the Liberal Party — the weather splendid. Mrs. Sharman, in a graceful speech, presented to Mrs. Channing, as president, a magnificent bouquet of red and white fiowers ^ on behalf of the Association. They must strike aside the weapon that frustrated every- thing. Political life was purer for those three years of honest effort — for Temperance, Religious Equality, for the right of Irishmen to have their democratic future too. Village meetings were a round of cheery snapshots. Power to think and act for themselves might cure some evils ; farmers were more Hghtly taxed, the aged poor had at last a chance.^ They did not want to see the hberties won for them by Liberals betrayed by an irresponsible hereditary body.^ Earls Barton's welcome was delightful, coming from Doddington at the bright close of a brilliant July day. The bands played a lively march up to the ' Poplars,' where Mr. Sheffield presided over a great gathering behind the billiard-room. It was a glorious evening. The warm glow of soft light lingered to the very end. My opponent challenged Free Trade, but how could competi- tion with the foreigner be made easier if food and raw materials were made dearer '? England was the greater for the expansion of her trade and the cheapness of her goods ; they would thank Lord Spencer for their invincible Navy to protect the waterways of the world. England was strong, as well as peaceful, abroad. Let the Tories go through the measxires and administrative reforms of the three years, for the benefit of the workers, and dare to repeat the charge that Liberals neglected social reform and went in solely for revolutions. Three great industrial wars had been settled by Liberal Ministers.^ Pleasant talks at Kettering with Co-operative Shoe ^ The Party Colours. ^ Chelveston and Stan wick. ^ Doddington. * Eark Barton. 166 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 Workers, where I was amused to catch an undercurrent of SociaUst challenge, which added spice, but melted under a genial conviction that we all meant the same thing. At Ecton, we chaffed Mr. Chamberlain for squeezing in his httle batch of Unionists for whom able Conser- vatives had to be left out, and for at once starting a new ' unauthorised programme,' thus early trying to trip up his new friends. The Tories wanted no pohcy at aU, but he knew better. Mr. Labouchere had said ' Mr. Chamberlain was a born intriguer. If he were cast on a desert island, he would start an intrigue against himself.' Harrowden had its crowded schoolroom meeting with Nunneley, Colhngs, and John Maycock, and that kind- liest of local leaders, Benjamm Wooding. On another bright evening Higham welcomed me on the Market Hill. Mr. Coleman, the Mayor, presided ; Mr. Parkin, Mr. Lloyd Pratt, and John Maycock spoke. ' Home Rule had not become law, but its outcome was seen in a crimeless Ireland and increased Savings Banks deposits.' I defended the Speaker's pension. ' Where a man had accepted and admirably discharged duties which had always been so rewarded, it would be unjust to deal with it otherwise.' As to the Cromwell Statue — ' As a descendant of Puritans I could never fail to honour the foremost man in the cause of rehgious and republican liberty.' Sir WiUiam Harcourt was beaten at Derby, in the first round of boroughs. John Morley at Newcastle, Shaw-Lefevre in Central Bradford, Arnold Morley at Nottingham, had aU fallen in the fray. PoUticians cursed with nerves feared a landslide. On the Sunday I walked down to Kettering to see Stockburn. I was ready to give up the nomination^ in East Northants * Fixed for early that week. 1895] HARCOURT AND MORLEY OUT 167 to Harcourt, for whom I had warm admiration, besides sympathy for him in the great disappointment of not succeeding Gladstone. But my old friend and mentor would not hear of it for a moment, assuring me that no one would consent to it. At Finedon, to a red-hot meeting crammed to suffo- cation, I said : — They all regretted that torrents of beer ^ and showers of Bibles should have driven the greatest of Parliamentary leaders from Derby. Misrepresentation on the Indian cotton duties had lost seats in Lancashire. The record of the Ministry was of unparalleled service to the nation. Splendid social work had been done by four great departments — the Home Office, Board of Trade, War Office, and Admiralty. Next Tuesday every vote should be given to vindicate the principles of that great constituency, and to win that noble future the people of England had within their grasp, if they did not allow the enemy to blind and baffle them, and sweep them away as men had been swept away elsewhere. Seven seats had been presented to the Tories by a collective majority of only 619 votes. That was a stroke of luck which would not be repeated.^ Nothing ever like the crush and enthusiasm at Rushden.^ Mr. Parkin spoke briUiantly and with fire. ' Liberals were attacked because they championed the cause of the people, challenged because they dared to touch vested interests, and rescue the nation from the de- moralising tyranny of monopolies. They were not fighting for Liberal or Tory, but for freedom, purity, justice, and humanity.' Round after round of cheering welcomed me, re- doubled when their democrat hero, Henry Broadhurst, followed. ^ Stories were current of large numbers of voters being nobbled and fuddled with beer, practically locked up, in the good old-fashioned way, tiU it was too late to vote. ^ Irthhngborough, the same night. ' July 16. 168 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 Their hearts were true to the principles which had won three mighty victories in that Division, and would win a still mightier victory next week. Ten years before he came before them as a convinced Radical. Ten years of the House of Commons, fighting the stubborn obstruction of privilege, had made him ten times more Radical than ever. Liberals had tried to carry out every pledge. Conservatives had obstructed every generous proposal, reversed every cherished hope, sown dissension in the forces which worked for the aspirations of the future. What had been going on at Derby, Bradford, and elsewhere was the Devil's work. The country would not surrender to the Tory Party. The people would resent this plot to destroy the future of democracy by putting them under the heels of peers and brewers, under the dictation of the priesthood. If they thought he had lived up to their and his own ideal, he hoped they would add one more vote and voice to the cause of Progress in the House of Commons. Broadhiirst was in grand form. He was there to ask them to stand by their old friend, in this historic contest, in which aU the forces of privilege and birth were marshalled against the interests of the people. They had lost some notable men. Twenty years ago, when the hand of every public man and newspaper was against Labour, their great leader. Sir WiUiam Harcourt, was their champion in the Commons, who knocked off the shackles of the old Conspiracy Laws, and gave them freedom for the organisation of Trade Unionism. To him Labour owed everlasting gratitude. Such losses made it necessary to sink all differences in that constitu- ency and to stand firm, true and united for one of the most fearless representatives he had ever known. The meeting was roused to the highest pitch of enthusiasm as Broadhurst went on to deal eloquently and trenchantly with Tory wrecking of Employers' Liability, Factories, and the rest. Rushing out into the fresh air, Broadhurst and I drove top speed to Welling- borough. The grand old town outdid even itself. The fall of seat after seat only added to their unflinching courage and resolute determination to take their gallant HENRY BROADHURST. ^\.P (Photo. A. J. Rogers) 1895] OLD PRINCIPLES TO WIN 169 share in stemming the tide of adversity. The old prin- ciples should win gloriously in East Northants. Tre- mendous.cheering for many minutes, the whole audience and gallery standing and waving hats in wild en- thusiasm. Broadhurst at his best. During the uphiU struggle, the six years of Tory rule/ Mr. Charming was one of the most vigilant Radical Members of the House, exposing every Tory abuse, fighting persistently for every popular cause. Now that they had again a Tory Govern- ment in office, it was of the first importance that the Radical minority should be strong and capable. East Northants would be able on Tuesday next to do its part in making an important addition to their fighting strength in the House. Wellingborough always defended the true principle of National Education.^ The Tories had made endowment of denominational schools out of the rates a vital issue. Wellingborough would never surrender to the demand that two milhons were to be handed to denominational managers, without popular local control. His opponent, vague on most topics, was in earnest on one. He was a Protectionist and beheved in a 5s. duty on corn. Where would profits in the shoe trade go, if they had one duty on imported hides, and another on machinery imported from America ? It might be a good thing if aU the hides used in England could be produced in England, but if they had aU the Enghsh hides and all the American hides too, they would make more boots and more profits. It would be the same with machinery. Protection would raise the cost of production, and increase the chances of their competitors. They would export fewer boots, and pay more for food. Meetings were closing in. If the Tories did win, and the people had to submit their future to the Lords, Liberal principles, which were the very conscience of humanity, would never fall to earth, or sink into obHvion. They were the real hfe of the people.' 1 1886 to 1892. ~ 2 They had just won another School Board Election. ^ At Grendon. 170 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 If Tories said Local Option was an infringement of working men's liberties, they forgot that Mr. Ritchie's Comity Govern- ment BiU gave the people power to elect representatives upon Licensing Boards, with the same rights as magistrates now. We had been at Pytchley House once more for this election, renewing many pleasant associations. Shortly before the end I drove with Wicksteed to Welling- borough, and drew up a final poster at the Elms with Heygate. Drives in the leafy lanes of Northamptonshire on midsummer evenings are dehciously refreshing, strategic confabulations with trusted friends in pleasant gardens are piquant and inspiring. On my way back through Kettering, I was struck by the great increase in Tory colours compared with previous elections. My two daughters went the round of the constituency with me from early morn tiU the sultry harvest moon saw us triumphantly escorted up the drive to Pytchley House after a long day, by cheering friends of old times. Charles Wicksteed and PoUard went with us, and took their share in the winged words of pohtics in villages and towns. I was in by 1215 majority, my lowest figure in my seven elections.^ Carried shoulder high to the Qub, I said : — You have beaten the whole country. Most places have gone wrong, but East Northants has proved its constancy and courage. You were told Liberals promised everything and did nothing, that Liberals had destroyed the trade of the country. You knew better, and we have won. In standing by me when the whole country was going wrong, you have done me the highest honour in my hfe. You have been true to your principles, and I thank you from 1 Channing 6176, Lush-Wilson 4961, a reduction of 269 from the 1892 figures. REV. M. E. PARKIN, RUSHDEN. GEORGE DENTON, RUSHDEN. 1895] OUR FOURTH VICTORY 171 my heart. I only wish I cotild think myself quite worthy of the splendid work that has been done by many men and women, with matchless enthusiasm and self-sacrifice, to secure this victory. Mr. Hey gate added : — ' In no election had volunteers done so much — the ladies had done splendid work.' At Kettering I spoke from the box-seat of our car- riage. ' They had not lost their heads, but stood firm in the true faith. Old Liberals and new Sociahsts working hand-in-hand for the common cause. It was a magnifi- cent victory over a tidal wave of madness.' I drove off amid a tempest of cheers, to speak for Ashton at his last meeting at Leighton Buzzard.^ Our victory had roused intense feeling. Never had Liberal men and women worked harder. My Kettering friends arranged a tour of rejoicing on the Saturday — a four-in-hand brake and stream of following wagonettes decked with the colours, and buglers to announce our coming. We joined the great procession, and thence to a grand welcome at Finedon, where veteran Isaac Yorke, CoUings, Toseland, and John Newman spoke. At Irthlingborough, Wicksteed spoke with great effect : ' Seats were falling all around— the more they fell, the more resolutely loyal were the men of East Northants ; the fiercer the storm, the more they ralhed round the old cause, to which they owed their political and religi- ous liberties.' As we left more gaily rosetted carriages, and a whole squadron of bicycles joined our bodyguard. Rushden streets were almost impassable. The trio of eloquent ministers, Parkin, Harper, and Tompkins, and a host of ardent Liberals said joyous things. A lovely bouquet was presented by the ' Radical young ladies of Rushden.' Irchester, with Stephen Parsons, gave us a grand welcome on this third visit in one week ! 1 In South Bedfordshire. A close fight, but a victory too. 172 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 Wollaston met us with a band, the whole population eagerly leading us to Pratt Walker's Factory, where I addressed them from an upper door. Mr. Walker said I ' was now the only County Member they had left,^ but would make my presence felt in Parhament.' Mr. Sargeaunt and staunch Bozeat gave us a royal reception. ' They had now finally decided that no Tory should sit for that constituency.' Then home- wards through Wellingborough and Harrowden, reach- ing Pytchley about half-past nine. The Kettering United Bands met us at the end of the village, and all the people turned out to see us home ; the horses were taken out, and we were drawn to the centre of the village, where an enthusiastic rejoicing took place, and then up to Pytchley House, where there was a final meeting on the lawn. I spoke from my heart of their affectionate devotion, and of the wonderful loyalty and pluck of all in upholding the Liberal faith to the end of that great fight. Many speeches were delivered, among them one from my valued railway friend, W. Steele. I complimented the band, who, before we broke up, gave a tenderly beautiful rendering of ' Lead, Kindly Light.' Then the cheering gathering dispersed, and so ended a tiring but delightful day, ' that will long be remembered in the political history of East Northants.' 2 This had been an election of intense feeling, of eager effort roused by an unvoiced dread of defeat which I never shared. It marked a new era of political development. In 1885, ideals were only half thought out, aspirations stiU vague and dreamy. The delight of the new voting power was the main factor. 1886 meant Uttle or no- thing but a puzzled pause, operating far less in our ' Mr. Spencer was unexpectedly beaten by a Socialist defection in Northampton. " Local press comment. 1895] NEW POLITICAL ERA 173 Division than elsewhere. In 1892, after six years of enfranchised democracy trying its strength on novel problems, we had the ding-dong give-and-take of Party controversy, lifted to a higher plane mainly by the unselfish desire to give the sister country a freedom and happiness as great as our own — partly, too, by the as yet unorganised and desultory beginnings of a creed of social reform. In 1895 dreams and ideals were crystallising into positive proposals and thought-out schemes. The spirit now was deeper, more earnest, more insistent, among advanced Liberals, whose sheet anchor was individual freedom of initiative aided by the State, and working through local self-government, or among Socialists of all shades who would merge individualism in collective action. The purpose and hope was the same, the machinery different. Co-opera- tion, even stronger, played an intermediate role. During the short August session, I opened at the Crystal Palace the Annual Exhibition of Co-operative Production, specially welcoming ' the International Sec- tion, a new branch of their work, a sign of brotherhood ;^nd symbol of conciliation. Their principle tiia^t the worker should directly share in the wealth he was pro- ducing, and in the control of the industry in which he worked, was no longer an experiment, but a vast and growing factor — created the highest range of motive, gave security for industrial peace, and was the surest guarantee for economic advancement. The money lost to wage-earners by strikes and lock-outs in 1893 alone would have provided ample capital for a multitude of co-operative societies of ideal tj^e.' In December I presided at Kettering for that brilliant and sympathetic worker for the rescue of victims of drink, Lady Henry Somerset. Lady Henry held her great audience in an eloquent, 174 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 closely reasoned address, vividly illustrated from her own experiences, and insight into human weakness, and glimpses of hope and self-respect out of which one might begin to rebuild self-control. She was intensely human and intensely practical. Her words won their way to the hearts of all, as the tender, silvery tones of her voice lingered in their ears, and gave to her speaking its matchless charm. Victory would come, though all might not live to see it. The mass of the people would be with them in the end ; they would see that on them lay the responsibihty of allowing the drink ctirse to wreck their lives and homes. Disappointments and delays were a wholesome stimulus to efforts which would in the end triumph. Lady Henry described the working of her farm colony for women in Surrey, and gave intensely interesting reminiscences. Co-operative boot-making had won so grand an economic triumph that a Co-operative Clothing Society was started in 1893. The new factory, admirably de- signed and equipped, was now ready. Invited to open it myself, I urged the promoters to associate this event with the one Labour Member whose career and per- sonality made him their ideal champion — fearless, generous, and wise, a man among men of great heart, fine brain, tenderly chivalrous instincts, Thomas Burt.^ It was aU Co-operative enterprise. The Wholesale Society had provided the site, the Building Society the construction. All the temples of Co-operation, as well as the new factory, were lavishly decorated. Banners and streamers everywhere with Co-operative mottoes. ' The Labour Problem Solved.' ' Peace between Labour and Capital.' ' Co-operation the hope of the workers.' A procession, presenting in artistic grouping a complete 1 M.P. Morpeth, now, 1916, ' Father of the House of Commons.' Rt, Hon. THOMAS BURT, M.P. 1895] BURT ON CO-OPERATIVE IDEALS 175 exhibition of all the products and commodities of local Co-operation, was a triumph of tasteful organisation. IVIr. Jessop and the Committee of the Clothing Society and delegates of many County Societies led the way. Char-a-bancs, brakes, decorated bicycles, children in fancy costumes, emblems of thrift, palms and flowering plants — all the societies joined with excellent displays — the Co-operative Builders with splendid banner, and models of tile, brick, and woodwork of aU kinds. Two carriages, Burt and myself, and Holyoake, the veteran co-operator, and others joined the procession in Dalkeith Place. Frank Ballard, a thoughtful son of my old Chartist friend, whose inspiring memory lingered in Kettering hearts,^ as chairman of the new society, welcomed Mr. Burt, who opened the door with a silver key. The top floor of the factory was brightly decorated with names of past Presidents of the Congress and friends of Co- operation — ' Rosebery,' ' Holyoake,' ' Neale,' ' Ripon,' ' Hughes,' ' Owen.' Ballard, from the chair, gave the striking record of ' this effort of self-help — site, building outlay, working capital, all from within — working men helping working men, and one society helping another. That was true Co-operation. In their flrst half year their trade was £10,532, with profit of £840, of which 36 per cent, went in added wages to the workers, £282 to customers, £52 to management, £26 to educational work, £52 to Provi- dent Fund, and £150 to share capital.' Burt spoke in his simple, impressive style. He coTild not say ' No ' to their member, a colleague of many years. He was never sponsor for a bad cause, nor for a better cause than this. Mr. Ballard's speech showed that Kettering Co-operation was not merely aij artificial faith but a Hving ideal and a solid reahty. He rejoiced in the presence of Mr. 1 Mr. Ballard, senior, died in 1892. 176 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1895 Holyoake, the graphic historian, who had told them aU from ' Rochdale Pioneers ' with their 2d. a week, to the Co-operation of to-day with its million and a half members, its fifty milhons trade, and £470,000 profit. It was in productive co-operation that they would find the solution of capital and labour. There were failures, but co-operators were a race of heroes. Their fidehty to principle — that, when they got hold of a good cause, they would make it succeed, was the key of their great success. They believed, with Emerson, that ' the best way to mend a bad world was to create a better world.' In the raging of industrial conflicts, the co-operators kept working steadily on in an atmosphere of peace. He saw around him many who had rendered splendid service to the movement ; to them he said, ' Keep your ideal aloft, don't let it be smothered by dust, even gold dust.' Do not let them look to dividend and bonus alone. They were engaged in a great educational movement, and the labour problem was a moral problem. Without character and seK-control they could accomplish nothing. Ruskin had de- fined wealth as the possession of the valuable by the vaUant. They talked of men being worth so many thousands, but if they lacked character and seH-control and wisdom, however vast their possessions, they were not worth a brass farthing. There were many powerful agencies at work to amehorate the conditions of labour. Let every one do his part — the man of genius who gave his lofty thoughts to the world was doing much. There was the work of the schoolmaster, of the press, yes, and of the working man's wife at her own fireside, teaching her children true principles. These were forces more powerful than fleets and armies, to help some statesman of the future to build up a great industrial commonwealth in which character would teU, and under whose kindly shelter a great free nation would prosper and flourish for endless generations. Following, I said : ' In its grand presentment of the realities of this greatest of industrial movements and in the simple wisdom of this noble philosophy, Burt's address was a real service.' At the Autumn Meeting of the Council ' the Liberal Party had to face an immense majority, but facts were stronger than big majorities. Much they had tried to 1895] DISINTEGRATION AND INTRIGUE 177 do would have to be carried out by the Tories. Tories said httle now about the aged poor, but Liberals would not let that question rest. Education was not a fight between the sects, but the right to seH-government as affecting their children.' The evening meeting was illumined by a vigorous address from Ryland Adkins on similar lines. ' A minute proportion of the electorate had given the Tories their majority. It was an object-lesson for vigilance and vigour. You could never count on re- pealing bad measures. You must meet and beat them by striking the first blow. One man one vote and redistribution would have reversed the whole position.' Thus ended a momentous year. With the passing of Gladstone from politics, the old inspirations and the old enthusiasms, the glowing devotion to ideals passed too. In their place disintegrating forces of distrust, jealousy, animosity spread the poisonous atmosphere of mis- representation and intrigue. The masterful spirit of Liberal Imperialism sprang to the fore, noble in some of its aspirations and sympathies, but perilous to the Party because its attitude was largely personal, and led directly to more or less actual hostility towards the old followers of the Gladstone creed, thus making the hearty co-operation of all in the policy of the Party impossible. Tory aggression kept us together on many immediate issues, but then came Lord Rosebery's withdrawal, and ceaseless recrimination, and intrigue, and bitterness up to the unhappy hour when Mr. Chamberlain brought about the South African War. M 178 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 CHAPTER XII EDUCATION AND RATING. (1896) The Education Ideals — We defeat Tory Education Bill — Agricultural Rates — Relieving the Wrong Man — Gladstone's Last Appeal for Armenia — Lord Rosebery's Resignation — Philip Stanhope — Necessitous School Boards — ' A Fighting Radical.' The Unionists had largely won by the specious plea that Liberals were for revolutions, and had neither time nor incUnation to meet everyday miseries and urgent needs of the poor. When won, it was used mainly, in the words of one candid Unionist Minister ' to reward their friends.' Unionists themselves plunged into re- volutions — in education, to reheve the friends of volun- tary schools, and in rating, to hghten the burdens on the landowners and clergy. Old-Age Pensions and Unemployment, and all the baits Mr. Chamberlain had hung out from Birmingham, went to the shelf or the dust heap. Unionists said the election was a decisive national pronouncement against Home Rule, to endorse its rejection by the Lords. In my opinion Home Rule was ignored, except in a few constituencies. When pushed and argued by sincere Liberals, Home Rule helped Liberals, not Unionists. It had lost its fictitious terrors to most electors. Where argued, it was accepted, not rejected, by thoughtful voters. The point, con- stantly pressed, that Home Rule was sponged off the slate by 1895, is one of the champion impostures of that time. This session meant ceaseless vigilance at Westminster, stubborn resistance to the two big Unionist efforts — to destroy School Boards and endow Sectarianism with 1896] EDUCATION IDEALS 179 funds and full control of elementary instruction — by the Education Bill and by the Rates Bill to ingeniously play off the enormous losses of the farmers in the long depression, as a pretext for generous relief, not to them, but to the landowners, whose losses were not comparable with those of their tenants.^ I was invited, in the absence of Sir John Gorst, to open the splendid new Victoria Schools at Welling- borough.^ Admirably designed and equipped, light and airy class-rooms surrounded a central haU, from which every room was visible. I contrasted it with my ' experience on the Hove Board, a few years before, where one of the wretched old schools im- paired the eyesight of the boys, while the girls risked dangerous falls, chmbing steep and crooked stairs ! He wished he could put that school in some corner of their playground as an object- lesson. Those days were gone for ever ! ' Mr. Forster and Parhament had decided, twenty-five years before, that education was the supreme duty of the State and, as the most vital of all pubhc affairs, must be part of local self- government, the people themselves sharing in providing, main- taining, and controUing the schools. A few years back men reahsed the danger of stereotyped mediocrity, out of which no strong thing could come, which imprisoned child hfe instead of setting it free. ' Payment by results ' no longer froze up elasticity. Children were encouraged to observe and think for themselves, to reason out everyday matters. Only hve methods would turn out Uve men and women. Cramming and forcing had had their day. Education must now be suited to the nature and surroundings of the children, a vitalising force to caU forth innate energies and capacities, to stimulate them to grasp concrete facts — the objects and processes, the natural laws and conditions, under which the child's hfe would be passed. Under the old system the mind of a child was treated as some 1 See ' Truth about Agricultural Depression ' by the present writer — an economic analysis of the evidence of the Royal Commission, published by Longmans. ' Jan. 17. 180 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 hard substance — like an oak-table — all you had to do was to take the heaviest of hammers, and drive in nail after nail, till they would stick fast, inert, and useless. The new principle was like scientific farming, rousing the chemical properties latent in the soU, which proper ciiltivation could develop, and if the true seed were planted, and treated with sympathetic knowledge, would bring forth, not by mechanical rules, but by a loving touch, rich and plentiful crops. Again, no chUd was really educated unless higher emotions, the powers of imagination, the generous instincts of life, were stirred in its heart during school life. The smart, quick-witted child turned loose into life too early might be an evil. They must keep children long enough at school for noble and elevating ideas to stimulate a richer growth of character. He hoped the Bible would remain an essential part of training. It was of infinite importance to the nation that children should be reverently brought in contact with- the source from which all their denominations drew inspiration — the most perfect form of English hterature for the minds of children ; its subhme poetry, its words and phrases would cling in their minds and hearts in after years, would instil purity of taste, and lead them to form generous and inspiring views of their future lives. Three weeks later, the great Queen's Hall meeting. Mr. Asquith, as chairman, splendidly voiced the Liberal demand for educational freedom. Dr. Clififord moved, as only he could move, the resolution of protest. I was the seconder. Six years before a small band of Liberals, fighting a majority of 116, had cut out of Mr. Ritchie's Local Government Bill an insidious proposal to destroy School Boards. ^ Now came this demand for public money for Sectarian Schools. It was not anxiety for rehgion, but lust of domination. Still more serious was the demand to admit sectarian teachers into Board Schools. Englishmen should fight that to the death. Speeches, articles, and letters in the press, constant activity in Parhament, up to the final smash of the BUI in Jime, kept me in touch with constituents. Interest ^ By my amendment to Clause S, see Chapter VI. p. 82. 1896] DEFEAT OP TORY BILL 181 was intense, visits of leading men freqtient during those momentous weeks. Never had I felt so charged with a mandate from my supporters as now — even more than in 1902.1 This first all-round fight for the Liberal principle of National Education was a life or death struggle, ending in the supreme joy of victory for the defenders, and defeat for the wreckers. At the spring meeting,^ ' to my comrades in arms ' I pointed out : — Agriculture had borne more than its share of local burdens, but to allocate Harcourt surpluses * to landowners was to mock farmers' wants. We should consider other claims also — urban with rural. By pressure we compelled the Government to inquire into aU local bm^dens.* The real reason farm rates were so heavy was that landlords maintained fictitious values by excessive rents. Why give miUions more without guarantees of relief to the real sufferers, the working agriculturists ? ^ Mr. Price Hughes had rightly characterised as infamous this BiU for sectarianising Education and abohshing pubhc for private management. Liberals who formerly hesitated, went thoroughly into this fight which East Northants had taken up. Organisation was never so thorough. More members would actively share in this struggle on the floor of the House, with more knowledge and better fighting spirit than on any Bill within his recollection. They would not tolerate local hberties being brushed aside by intolerance and reaction. Let them strengthen his hands with suggestions, send, and send quickly, facts and illustrations from their districts.* Let ■* Article on the situation. Daily News, March 30. 2 April 29, at Wellingborough. ^ Created by the Finance Act of 1894. * The Rating Conimission, presided over by Lord Balfour. ^ My amendment to divide the rates was rejected by Government. * I collected for these debates in the House every pertinent extract and fact and illustration, and arranged the arguments and illustrations for each point we were to raise in Committee — the whole, grouped under heads, in separate portfolios, in my locker. They were of some use to Members, but much less than expected, owing to the early collapse of the Bill. 182 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 every man with brains help. That question would not be settled that summer, but fought steadily on, with the manly persistence of Englishmen fighting for freedom, and their right to discharge the highest of functions — ^the control of the educa- tion of their children. The battle was only begun, not ended — they should buckle on their armour, and resolve it should not end till they had won the day. Rarely was any appeal met with such prolonged enthusiasm. That was the sort of meeting which puUed us aU together in East Northants, and made a spiritual enthusiasm the mainspring of our organisation. On the Second Reading of the Bill, after a half- hearted defence by Sir John Gorst, Mr. Asquith moved the rejection in one of the weightiest and most bril- liantly argumentative speeches of his whole career. Its destructive analysis, its unanswerable and unanswered challenges, logically killed the Bill ten times over at the very start. I seconded the motion. Following such a speech, my contribution to the battle was a simple plea based on the actual work of elementary education, as aU knew it, and cared for it. It was not the BiU of the Royal Commission nor the Arch- bishops' Memorial. It was an ingenious device to divorce democracy from its heritage, and to put a strait waistcoat on the development of education. The only fault with School Boards was that they had done their work too well. They had given the country splendid schools, and new methods of teach- ing. Perhaps their highest claim to the support of EngUsh men and women was that they had developed a type of educa- tion enthusiast, who knew, by direct local contact and experi- ence, the real wants of the people and of the children. Such men and women would not remain when deprived of aU power to initiate new reforms, or carry out a generous policy. I have rarely had such warm and unquestioning support as on the two great Bills of this session. 1896] AGRICULTURAL RATES 183 I had demonstrated ^ from the ' Farm Accounts ' of the Commission that tenants had been paying most of the rates and taxes on the land, and that these burdens ought not to fall on them when the landlords were stiU drawing large rents which the tenants could only pay out of capital, making a loss each year. Relief should go where it was due, to the tenant farmer. This could be done by dividing the rates between landlord and tenant as recommended by the Richmond Commission.^ The debate on my amendment for this object took two days, and led to some of the most important speeches on the principle of the Bill. At an open-air demonstration in June, Mr. William Woodall,^ an expert in Technical Instruction abroad, made a powerful protest against the restricting tendency of the Bill. I pointed out that No serious arguments were advanced for the Bill. Each Government speaker in turn repudiated some clause of it. The. Tory representative of the Union of Teachers, Mr. Gray,* sent to bless the Bill, in every word did the other thing, sitting down amid Liberal cheers. No wonder Mr. BaKour sought to closure the debates. It was not an Education Bill, but a scheme to enable Anglicans and Roman Catholics to capture elementary education without putting their hands in their own pockets. The great Harcourt surplus had been foohshly handed over to the spoilers ; most of it had gone to the land- owners. Enough was hardly left to meet the ' intolerable strain ' on the voluntary schools. The Government could not level education up, and, to make ends meet, decided to level education down. Schools would be inspected by a Committee of the County Council, neither elected nor qualified for that duty. That would be a lenient court for voluntary schools inadequately ^ In my analysis in the Second Report of the Agricultural Commission. ^ Appointed by a Conservative Government. 3 M,P. for Stoke-on-Trent. * M,P. for West 5am, 184 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 equipped and worked. The rural ratepayers would have to pay for inefficient inspection and inefficient working of schools now under the Education Department. Tories hated School Boards because they feared their influence, and wanted Educa- tion placed in the hands of irresponsible clerical managers and their friends (on County Councils) and to destroy this odious popular control altogether. Universal School Boards in Northants would cost much the same as the County Council scheme of this pernicious BOl. The money argument, that for years had been used to defeat pubHc control, fell to the ground. There was a new danger in grouping schools under associations, mainly ecclesiastical, with control of parish schools in large areas, bodies in no sense responsible to or connected with the locahty itself. If he were thought too fierce against these associations they might look into the facts which Mr. Mundella placed before the House six years before, showing how the KUburn Sisters and the Church Extension Association, whatever their intentions, crippled education in Sahsbury and York for years.^ Our speeches in those days only voiced the intense feeling of those we represented, who were even keener in their defence of the democratic education creed of 1870, which they wanted developed, not destroyed. In the memorable scene when Mr. Balfour, beaten at every point, had to surrender the BlII,^ in the debate arising, I ' rejoiced that discussion had killed the mis- chievous proposal that County Councils should be educational authorities. Liberals desired to see Educa- tion reorganised so as to provide the most effective education for the three milhon children in voluntary schools. Let the Government consider the welfare of those children, and not merely old party pledges.' Later that session I had the fun of cornering Sir John Gorst ^ on the claims of ' necessitous School Boards ' imder Section 97 of the Act of 1870. From a return 1 March 25, 1890, Hansard, vol. 342, p. 1825. I spoke in support of the motion, ib. p. 1843. 2 June 26, 1896. ' July 17. 1896] UNIVERSAL SCHOOL BOARDS 185 just obtained, I showed that the unclaimed grants of 276 such School Boards were three times more than he had estimated, and would have to be met by a supple- mentary estimate. Further, I established the fact that the arrears of claims to these grants were not barred, as Sir John imagined, by a circular of 1881, but could be legally claimed. ' The Swanspool meeting was a birthday party ^ — an annual of progress. Let them appreciate what Mrs. Bain and her friends had done for the Liberal cause. Their last victory was largely won by the enthusiastic devotion of women. Women could justly claim the privileges as well as the duties of citizens. ' The present session demonstrates that Liberals must live up to their faith, tolerate no trimming and time serving, face any majority, however great, confident that men and women around them, when issues were weighed, would stand by truth, justice, reason.' Lord Rosebery at Scarborough had spoken in a sense to make Liberals despair. It was a speech of despond- ency and disintegration. Later on, at Edinburgh, seizing upon the unreal pre- text of peril from Mr. Gladstone's appeal for the massacred and outraged Armenians, with which Lord Salisbury had openly shown sympathy, he suddenly, without the slightest warning to his former colleagues, resigned his post as Leader. Challenged by the press, I held that no effort should be made to urge him to return. The Edinburgh speech had demonstrated that his leadership was unworkable, both in and out of office. ' We want no more jealousies or personal issues.' There were not inefiEective ' alarums and excursions ' in the autumn. Kettering was en fite to meet Philip Stanhope, new 1 July 29. 186 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 President of the Club.^ BrigM speeches, with the pith and point and warmth of Kettering, at the dinner. Frank Ballard,^ presiding in Victoria Hall, made a strong and wise speech. Stanhope touched trenchantly in his address on Peer Prime Ministers. There was no Liberal who did not recognise Lord Eosebery's great ability, and thank him for the services he had rendered. But the Party must always be led by the Liberal Leader in the Commons, and no one else. The constitutional duty of the Sovereign when a Ministry resigned was to send for that Leader, and only on his inability to form a Government call any one else. The Leader was Sir WiUiam Harcourt. This was a question of constitutional principle. Sir WiUiam had given twenty-eight years' devoted service as a brilliant lieutenant of Mr. Gladstone, and was as good as ever — there was no vacancy in the leadership — the Party knew its Leader and was pre- pared to follow him. Mr. Gladstone had roused them to their duty.* They could not sit with folded arms and make themselves partners in the Sultan's crime. The doctrine of the integrity of the Turkish Empire was dead. They must make every sacrifice and take every step to free Armenians and other races from the barbarous misgovernment of the Turk. The Tories were furious with the democratic budget of 1894, but when they won there was not a Tory ready to undo the Death Duties. They misused that enormous surplus to relieve their friends — not the farmer or the labourer, but the land- owners and brewers. Those classes had found the money and the beer, and when victory was won, said — ' Be kind enough to pay the biU.' They had lost the glorious stimulus of Mr. Gladstone's leader- ship, but had faith in justice and reason, and would march on to a triumph not of haphazard compromise, but of supreme principles. I said : — Never had the party worked with more unanimity, loyalty, 1 November 2. M.P. for Burnley. ^ Then President of the K.L.A. ' In his brilliant and touching appeal at Liverpool on Armenia. Hon. PHILIP STANHOPE, M.P. 1896. [PJloio. Russell) 1896] LORD ROSEBERY'S RESIGNATION 187 and determination. These qualities were as strong during Lord Rosebery's leadership. His brilliant ability and eloquence had rendered conspicuous service. No section of the Party gave him more earnest and loyal support than those who had backed his attempt to curb the power of the Lords.^ Lord Rosebery had shown plainly ^ that his position had been unworkable. He agreed with Mr. Stanhope — they had no vacancy in the leadership. After the sessions of 1894 and 1895, they could find no leader equal to Sir Wilham Harcourt in resource, sagacity, and courage. The whole Party would rally to him and carry forward the same vigorous fighting pohcy in coming sessions. There was regret that Lord Rosebery abandoned his former utterances as to Armenia.* England was under solemn obliga- tions to right the wrongs of Armenia. Other nations seemed insensible to what went on in Turkey. That accursed spirit which demanded enormous armaments silenced in these nations the instincts of humanity. When Professor Thoumaian * was denied a hearing in Germany, the land Luther set free from tyrannical superstition, our democratic England had the advantage over the despotic and soldier-ridden nations of Europe.^ Alluding to Education — ' last year giant policies were stalking the land like hungry lions seeking whom to devour. They were now as dead as door nails.' Sir John Gorst,^ in the North American Review, had written a contemptuous epitaph. Next day at Stanwick a bright meeting with veteran Tailby, Marchant (of the bees),' Pettit, Corby from Kaunds, Mr. Parkin in the chair. ^ I had attended over twenty meetings in the autumn of 1894 to press that question, sacrificing a large portion of my holidays. ^ In his Edinburgh speech. ' At the Eighty Club, and in the House of Lords. ^ Who had visited Kettering. ° How prophetic of 1914-16 ! " Always at heart a Radical ! ' His garden of roses and sweetbriar, with its row of beehives, I remembered of old. 188 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 ' Liberals dispirited 1 ' That was ' bluff ' to conceal the fact that the Tories had been smitten hip and thigh. Never so ignominious an overthrow as the surrender on the BiU. Now they tried to use Lord Rosebery as a screen, Lord Rosebery had acted wisely in mthdrawing from a position he frankly said he could not fiU. Where were aU the Tory promises of social reforms 1 They would not and they could not find the money for them. They had poured it out for their friends.^ At Finedon,2 thoughtful words from Sargeaunt of Bozeat and Kennie Wilkinson, and a glorious welcome. Mr. Sargeaunt was a hving proof that loyalty to Church went hand in hand with loyalty to country. Mr. Wilkinson felt exhilaration in visiting Finedon. East Northants knew no depression. Liberahsm had been reawakened to the consciousness of duty by that noblest of appeals England's greatest leader made at Liverpool to EngHsh thought and love of freedom.^ Liberal faith was rooted in human nature, in the sound instinct to cHng to justice and mercy, and help the oppressed. Was England to take her standard of morahty from nations sluggish and iU- disposed ? Could she discharge solemn obhgations imless she asserted principles which made her leader, not follower ? Her policy would be disgraceful if she were content with nursing her vast possessions, intent only on squeezing out financial profits for English speculators. At the autumn meeting,* Burley WalHs opened in his clear, argumentative way a discussion on Education. That was the Rod of Aaron, which swallowed all else. Special interest was shown in my successful ' squeeze ' of Government on the financial claims of ' necessitous School Boards in parishes ' where a 3d. rate failed to produce 7s. 6d. per child on the register.^ Many School Boards all over the country, no less than nine in Northamptonshire, had failed to claim grants under thisprovision. ' Stanwick, November 3. ^ November 8. ^ Mr. Gladstone's magnificent speech in favour of action in Armenia. * Earls Barton, November 20. ^ Under Section 97 of the Act of 1870. 1896] NECESSITOUS SCHOOLS 189 I had thus been able to secure £21 for Earls Barton, £40 for Wollaston, £53 for Bozeat, £41 for Desborough, £54 for Higham, and £121 for Rushden. That allowance had only been made for the last two years, but I held that the Boards were entitled to the arrears, and if these were paid for the last eight years, it would need a further grant of £105,000, over and above the special aid grant now given to voluntary schools. On the broad question ' I was not for merely defen- sive measures, but for a complete policy to provide the best education in Voluntary and Board Schools for all children now receiving inferior education, fair treatment for teachers, who should be freed from religious tests, fair play for the single school parishes, and for Non- conformist children.' I sometimes wonder how far it is reahsed from what grave dangers those of us who fought, and helped to kill, the Juggernaut Bill of 1896 saved the nation by our victory. Mr. Balfour's Bill of 1902, bad as it was, was a marvel of wisdom and equity compared with the Bill of six years before. It accepted many of our criticisms, though it perverted the principles of National Education to sectarian ends ; and it gives openings for the wiser and freer system which is certain to replace it. From platform, gay with plants from Mr. Sheffield's greenhouses — a pleasant scene to which his warm- hearted chairmanship added a genial touch — I said what was more than true, ' I never felt quite so happy unless I had Mr. Sheffield at my side. To-night it seemed like old times, and 1885.' Welcoming Mr. Logan, who came over from Market- Harborough, I referred to him, amid laughter and cheers, as ' a fighting Radical.' ^ ^ The stand-up fight of 1893, the last night of the Home Rule Bill, in which Mr. Logan had most unwiUSngly but resolutely held his own, was stiU fresh in memory. 190 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1896 Nothing personal ! but all approved of a man who could take care of himself and his friends. He was one of the true sort. He had rescued a Tory seat and made it a Radical stronghold, which returned him at the last election by a four- figure majority, and was going to return him as long as he hved. Mr. Balfour gave his friends cold comfort at Rochdale.^ He wanted no big programmes or ' window dressing.' He was unkind even to the Church and to their persistent allies, the brewers. The Bishops and Clergy did their best last year, and they knew what became of it. Now Mr. Balfour wanted them to be content with minute instalments of their Education schemes. It was Hke prescribing a judicious course of Little Liver Pills. Last session's scheme was to destroy School Boards, cut down the standard of Education, and sever it from popular control. That levelling down was rejected by the whole nation. The House of Commons had done noble work by saving popular control and the people's schools. No power on earth could ever shake them, or divorce the people from their rights.^ As to the iniquitous Rating BiU, they were told now that abatements of rent would be cut down, in proportion to relief to the rates. Sir William Harcourt had put the real point unanswerably when he asked ' how it was that if the farmers were making no profits, they were paying rents ; if there were no profits, there should be no rents.' The estate accounts of the Commission proved that over half a miUion acres' rents actually received in 1892 exceeded 24s. an acre. But the farm accounts of the Commission proved that farmers' * profits averaged just over Is. an acre all round on a number of farms aU over the country. The landlords left most of the losses on the tenants' shoulders, and were making shoemakers and other workers find them their two milMons so as to keep up their rents. That was a fitting wind-up to a year of enormous strain, of intense effort, and of more than one victory which had put heart once more in the Liberal Party. 1 In a recent speech on the situation. 2 Despite 1902, the timidity and hesitation of some Liberal leaders, and the not unnatural failure of Mr. Birrell's Bill of 1906, the present writer is firm in the faith and in the confidence expressed in these last words. ^ Whose accounts were given. 1897] CLERICAL ASSOCIATIONS 191 CHAPTER XIII LIBERTY ABROAD, POPULAR CONTROL AT HOME (1897, 1898) Aid Grants and Associations — Secret Service Fund for Sectarian- ism — Greece and Crete — Sir Robert Reid's Forecast of Parliament Act — Canning and Gladstone on Concert of Europe — Lloyd George on Tory Policy — Conference on Agricultural Holdings — Technical Institute — Spirit of Progress — The Czar for Peace — The Kaiser for the Turks — One Policy and One Leader — Lord Spencer on Education — ^The Volunteers. There was a Wellingborough ^ demonstration against the new Education Bill. Mr. Sharman presided. Mr. Charles Morley ^ helped with a clear, sympathetic speech. Welcoming him as the son of a great Liberal,^ re- vered for his life-work for rehgious liberty and aU noble causes, I said : — The new Bill — on a single sheet of paper — was novel and unjust. People who subscribed, often unwillingly, to privately managed schools would receive an immense subvention, while men and women who dehberately rated themselves to provide the best education in publicly managed schools were to get no help. The injustice was intolerable. Thus, at Rushden, voluntary subscriptions were 2s. 6d. per child, the School Board rate about 27s. a child. Voluntary Schools got £155, Board Schools nothing ! On the principle of equahty of treatment * Board Schools should receive £250. At Wellingborough the Volimtary Schools got £157, Board Schools should receive £405, but got nothing ! Pubhc money would go to irresponsible hierarchies of the Enghsh and Roman CathoUc Churches. Liberals could not ^ Corn Exchange. ^ M.P. for Radnorshire. 3 Samuel Morley, M.P. ' The principle laid down by the Duke of Devonshire, President of the CounoU. 192 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1897 sprinkle rose-water over such breaches of principle. The Voluntary Schools, as such, ought not to be continued. Was it the parents' desire ? The parent was allowed no share in management. Liberals would urge that parents should be really represented. Liberal leaders should insist on no pubhc money going with- out pubhc control. Ground was lost by Liberals not speaking out on essential questions. Liberal leaders were tempted by the Irish vote, and the CathoMc vote in Lancashire, to speak in soft-toned words. In 1887 he insisted that in supporting Irish democracy they would not sacrifice their ideals to please any Irishman or Catholic. As Canon Bury said, ' the Voluntary system had starved education and lowered its standard. The hands of the clock should not be turned back. Let them defend the ideals of National Education — the system which maintained rehgious hberty and secured the highest education for their children. Earnest and enthusiastic speeches were deUvered by Mr. Rubbra, Ryland Adkins, and Jackson. The controversy raged with deepening intensity at Westminster and in East Northants. The all-round attack of the ' blunderbuss ' of 1896, defying every Liberal principle at once, hardly aroused such fury as this tricky scheme of ' secret service ' money for the ecclesiastics — this ' fighting fund ' to beat down Board Schools, and give AngUcans and Roman Cathohcs free hand without conditions or control, to reorganise edu- cation under self-appointed bodies, with indefinitely wide areas of authority — the whole thing to be carried out by private individuals in the dark ! without even the intervention of the Education Department, except to ' whip in ' recalcitrant schools into an ' association ' by withholding the new grant ! Feeling ran high — meetings and resolutions of protest fell like hailstones with a sting all over the coiuxtry. Sir Robert Reid at the spring meeting spoke bril- liantly in defence of Gladstone's ideals, on the Cretan 1897] FORECAST OF PARLIAMENT ACT 193 crisis, which culminated in expelling the Turk and reunion with Greece. Sir Robert proceeding, made a momentous statement, in pursuance of Mr. Gladstone's last words in the Commons,^ and Lord Rosebery's policy. 'The Lords question must be dealt with effectually by the Liberal Party resolving that, whatever its victory at a general election, the Party should dechne to take office, except with assurances from the Crown, that the Lords would be compelled to assent to Liberal measures by a creation of Peers.' So far as I know this was the first specific forecast of the Parhament Act of 1910. Sir Robert Reid's speech struck the one note which meant victory. They must have truth in pohtics, reality in pohcy, in programme, in action. He had fought this Government with a full heart, just be- cause it was the negation of Sir Robert Reid's principle. Their plea for power was that they would help the workers, but they had only given two miUions to the landlord aristocracy to meet agricultural distress, which that pension did not touch — an Education Bill on pretext of parents' wishes, really enabling the clergy to force down the throats of the people instruction they did not want. Their own supporters protested, and the Government were compelled to give relief to the highly rated and poorer School Board districts. They had what Mr. Balfour wittily styled, a ' fluid measure.' It simply placed on the table a sack of gold for Anghcans and Roman CathoUcs to draw from, with no check on the appKca- tion of this money. Its distribution was absolutely at the disposal of one man,^ who did know about education, but whose opinion was rejected by his leaders. The whole thing was pre- posterous. It was a transparent plot to sectarianise education and to divorce it from local control. This BiU inaugurated the educational fight instead of ending it. He was second to no man in wanting rehgion in education, but the truths of ^ March 1, 1894, on the rejection of the Lords' amendments to the Employers' Liability Bill. " Sir John Gorst. N 194 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1897 religion could be brought home to children's minds as keenly and closely, and with as direct influence on their lives, better than by cut-and-dried questions and answers. They needed one National System of schools all over the country. He would not prohibit denominational teaching — outside school hours — to meet the wants of those who had provided denominational schools. But to maintain rival armies of rate-paid and state- paid schools, fighting each other with public money, was madness, and the people would reject it with scorn. Touching the crisis in the East — Many Tories would join them in boldly refusing to tie England to the chariot wheels of the Emperors ! Our Foreign Minister ^ might imitate the courage of the greatest Tory Foreign Minister England ever had, George Carming, who got his way against the Emperors — as short- sighted then as they were to-day ! The retort in the press that Canning did that by means of the Concert of Europe was brushed aside by Mr. Gladstone.^ ' The Greek kingdom was not, and could not have been, set up by the Concert of Europe, but by a separate combination of three Powers — Prussia holding aloof, and Austria detesting, but incapable of opposing. Combination of the willing is one thing, driving together those who want to go in opposite direc- tion is another. — ^Yours faithfully, W. E. Gladstone. Cannes, March 25, 1897.' What Canning did in 1827, and Mr. Gladstone in 1881, could be done now, and the honour of England demanded it. A meeting with a real touch of history — a touch that, hke Sir Robert Reid, faced the facts and told the truth. Henry Broadhurst at Rushden ^ struck a similar note to Sir Robert Reid. The meeting was full of ' go ' and cheered us to the echo when we both pledged ourselves and the Party to win the most sweeping of victories and to insist that the new Liberal Ministry should thus secure for the Commons full power to discharge their duty to the electorate. 1 Lord Salisbury. ^ In & letter to myself. ^ March 25. 1897] GREECE AND ARMENIA 195 I said : — All honour to gaUant little Greece for trying to work out salvation in the East. Lord Salisbury felt largely as they felt. He might have stopped Armenian massacres before, hberated Crete, and the Greek race throughout the islands ; he might have prevented this cruel war.^ He had his Parhamentary majority and the most powerful fleet ever laimched. What would Nelson have thought of England's powerlessness now ? Englishmen should feel a stinging sense of shame, that, knowing the right, they assisted in the wrong. The races of Eastern Europe longed for emancipation. But the Powers played with Armenia and Greece as a cat with a mouse. They acquiesced in these horrors of the worst of tyrannies. Greece in her weakness had dared the full power of Turkey, to win freedom in the East. Bulgaria and Servia were throttled by Germany — the most dangerous foe to freedom and to England. The German Emperor suppressed freedom in Germany, and used the Turks to destroy Greece. Greece would not be dishonoured. The dishonour was that Western Europe should have found a leader in England not to save, but to betray the East, and allow Greece to be crushed ! Lord SaMsbury spoke of ' National sympathy with Greece,' ' Europe could not leave Christian races to the mercies of the Turk,' but now he said ' Greece hke other conquered countries must pay the price.' Yes ! one more surrender of the freedom for which Gladstone and Canning won such gigantic victories ! Thessaly was to be handed over at the bidding of the despotic powers. National indignation might bring Lord Sahsbury to his senses and revive the courage he so sadly lacked. At the garden meeting ^ I touched on the position of women as symboKsed in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee — ' the noble lesson of wholesome hving, strong common sense, and human sympathy of those sixty years.' ' The South African Committee, appointed to inquire into a poUtical crime, should have probed that matter to the bottom. All civiHsed Europe wanted the rule of the Turk to cease, but Lord Sahsbury allowed the * The war of Turkey against Greece. ^ July 15, 196 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1897 Turk to extend his sway. Mr. Gladstone, whose fear- less action in 1876 had saved the Bulgarians, had expressed his amazement that Liberals did nothing now. If Lord Rosebery had not held back and split the Party ^ a solution would be nearer.' These summer meetings had a special charm. The gardens were thrown open from 3 p.m., long tables under the trees for tea in the first field beyond, and in that the big platform. Coming down from London it was a delight to meet old friends — at times not seen for years — eager for a minute's talk, retouching old chords. Mrs. Sharman had her own tea-party in the shade in front of the house, and each year we met leaders of the Women's Association — Mrs. Bain, and Mrs. Laycock and Miss James, and the Heygates and Nunneleys — sometimes the Woolstons, and Wicksteeds and other friends from Kettering. This year reminds me specially of Mrs. Lloyd Pratt, one of the women successes of the Boards of Guardians. Her eloquence, deep interest in social questions, and kindness to the poor won warm regard in Wellingborough. She had a bright smile and fine eyes, and spoke with deep feeling. Mrs. Sharman's enthusiasm and faith were the best of political tonics. After sea breezes at North Berwick, joyous skirmish- ings in the autumn. My old friend, James Jackson, was winning back Northampton to Progressive ideals. 2 In the country the biggest Tory majority of recent time was melting away at each bye-election.^ The nation was sick of ' fighting funds ' for schools, and stUl more of a wishy- washy foreign pohcy, which left Greece for the Turks I In 1895-6. ^ -^ great municipal victory in November. 3 Five seats had been won, and in twenty-three bye-elections a Tory majority of 7000 votes had been changed to a Liberal majority of 6000. MRS. 15A1N MRS, LLOYD PRATT i897] LAND LAW PROGRAMME 197 to crush, and turned unhappy Crete into ' a hell upon earth.' The glory of the Empire had been to set free oppressed nations. A few days ago an Austrian Vice-Consul helped Armenians fleeing from the Tm'kish butchers ! The Turks tore down the Austrian flag. Austria, who had no navy, sent ships and got reparation and other concessions. Lord Sahsbury in face of the most ghastly deed recorded in history ,i which we were pledged to prevent, with a fleet that could sweep the Mediterranean, would not send ships to stop these horrors.^ The Autumn Meetings, Club dinner, Victoria HaU demonstration at Kettering this year to hear Lloyd George (his first visit) and Francis Stevenson,^ Club President for the year. Mr. Stevenson and I had worked for Armenia and Crete. The delegates were cordial over our stubborn fighting to give parents a share in managing the freshly endowed Voluntary Schools (Lloyd George's proposal) and my own proposal to limit the ' Associations ' to Local Government areas, and to give equal treatment to all schools. The Liberal Party must throw heart and soul into these social questions, win an enormous majority, and overcome the veto. Above aU — ^industrial peace ! We could not allow tyrannical American methods of ' bleeding the Trade Unions to the white ! ' If political economy proved that machinery tended to interchange of demand for labour, and so to absorb the unemployed, justice and human nature were equally clear for fair play to combination. Strong Trade Unions helped industrial peace — an equilibrium for Labour and CapitaL Touching on my Land Law Programme,* ' I wanted ^ The killing of over 100,000 Armeniana. The world has outbid this accursed record in 1915 under the instigation of the Kaiser. 2 Extracts from my speech at Earls Barton. ' M.P. for SuSolk. * As President of the Land Law Reform Association — the provision of Small Holdings, and Tenant Kight for the farmers, for whom I had convened the largest Ctonferenoe held for years that autumn. 198 MEMOEIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1897 Liberalism|to go right down to the real conditions of human Ufe, the opportunities the land could give. They must have a practical Social and Labour pro- gramme to win.' At the Victoria Hall, the young bloods, Lloyd George, champion of rehgious liberty, and Stevenson, champion of mercy in the East. Lloyd George was in his best vein of slashing humour. The Government's foreign policy was amiability, tempered with discretion — meek to the strong, firm to the weak ! Take Venezuela. England claimed the goldfields. Venezuela de- manded arbitration, Lord Salisbury said ' No.' But when America said you must, Lord Salisbury said ' If I must, I must.' Take Armenia. When the Sultan rephed, ' I wiU not forgo murdering Christians,' Lord SaMsbury gave in. Take Crete. The men and gunboats would have set the Cretans free, but Russia said ' No,' and with the usual amiabUity Lord SaUsbury said ' It shall not be done.' Liberals left a legacy of five millions. Legacies led to riotous living. The Tories dissipated the money among distressed friends. When it came to the workmen, they tried to pay them by promising universal com- pensation. Their ' employer ' friends would not ' pay the electioneering bills,' so they gave compensation in principle, withholding it by stipulations and conditions. He would rather have the payment of the landlords in hard cash than the pay- ment of the workmen in promises. France said England had a rich valley in Siam. France wanted it. Lord Sahsbury said ' Certainly,' and gave the valley. He only hoped France would not ask for Wales ! If Lord Sahsbury remained Prime Minister Mr. Phillips^ and he might find themselves French subjects. The Rating BiU was a landlord subsidy. Produce fetched less money, and rents had consequently tumbled down. Why not ? In Ireland, Mr. Gladstone had not subsidised Irish land- lords, but by his Land Commission had cut down unjust rents by a million and a half a year ! In Education they subsidised the sects and shut out Non- conformists. It was unjust that dogmas should be tajUght at 1 The Rev. Mr. Phillips, a Welsh minister at Kettering. 1897] LLOYD GEORGE AT KETTERING 199 State expense. The Nonconformist child is forced to give up his faith to quahfy as pupil-teacher — reUgious convictions a matter of sale ! He would be hard to convince that the Church which produced Laud, Strafford, and Charles the First was a finer spiritual agency than the Church which produced Bunyan, Milton, or OHver Cromwell. Creeds cannot be bought and sold. You gain a proselyte, but you lose a man for ever ! It was odious to apply State money for such purposes. Non- conformists assisted to support these schools. The more arrogant the claims of the priests, the more absolute their control of the schools, on the plea of rehgious instruction ! The Welsh child taught in the Sunday School could face an examination in scriptural knowledge with any Dean or Canon in the land. Why teach theology at all ? The doctrines and rehgious ideas which developed the finest moral quahties were common to all sects. The catechism to teach was that it was as wrong to rob a black man in Africa, or a red man in India as it was to rob their own kith and kin. Let them prepare such a catechism, and he would support them. They had freed their country from priest dominion before, and, please God, were not going back to its thraldom. The most telling speaker in the whole country on such topics ! My Kettering friends welcomed him with enthusiasm, Francis Stevenson, following, spoke with generous sympathy and exact knowledge of the Near East. I briefly touched on the passing of that ' gentle spirit,' Abner Brown, ' one of those rare Liberal clergy- men, wilUngly sacrificing anything for truth and duty.' The vast army of reactionaries who for two years had weighed on their spirits was melting away like the hosts of Sennacherib. The masses were Liberal, if assured what the Liberal fighting creed was. They wanted from their leaders a watchword, an assurance that national honour would not be sulhed in foreign and colonial affairs, that truth should not be suppressed, nor pohtical criminals screened ... a clear state- ment on education, not one man saying one thing and the 200 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1897 next man another. They wanted a definite creed on land and labour. Then the united forces would sweep the country. At Irchester ^ Stephen Parsons still ' going weU ' — racy and playful — with George Bowen, the Labour Democrat. I touched on my part in obtaining the Rating Com- mission. ^ On 'Jingoism' — 'The Germans were en- slaved by their mihtarism ; liberty was destroyed ' — on education — people's schools — ^pubUc control — the best education — ' end this ridiculous struggle ' — on fair hours and conditions of labour, the right to combine, and Union recognition. At rinedon,^ the happy note of confidence. The Diamond Jubilee of progress in liberty, reMgious freedom, industrial hfe. Tories appropriated Queen and Colonies, but Liberals loved best that pur^ family life, and wise handling of affairs — the outcome of early Liberal training. A Tory lost the American Colonies. Liberal concession of self-government had made sympathy, loyalty, and brotherhood links of Empire. Bye-elections condemned Lord Salisbury's pohcy ' to capture School Boards.' Progressive victories had crushed the attempt to turn the Board Schools into hotbeds of Sectarianism. The most potent cause of this premature paralysis was dis- trust of Mr. Chamberlain — the wrecker of one Ministry after another ! Losses dm-ing the long depression had run to about two-thirds of the capital value of agricultural land. The Commission evidence showed this loss had fallen mainly on the working agriculturists. Both parties lost heavily by delay in adequate reductions of rent. That led to starving the soil. The tenant who improved his farm had the least chance of saving his capital. We must have better Land Tenure. The farmers tried to do their duty by the land and the labourers. But the estate and farm accounts showed that landlords did not base rents on twice farmer's profit, but, in ^ November 24. ' By my second report to the Agriculture Commission. " November 29, 1898] RENTS AND PROFITS 201 some cases, had taken up to fifty-five times the return the farmers obtained.^ My analysis, at the Conference,^ showed that for the years given in the accounts the average return to the owner was 20s. per acre ; the average profit to the tenant in the years of depression did not exceed 6d. per acre. Liberal Ministries had cared better for agriculture than the Tory Ministries of 1886 and 1895. The people should have power to obtain and use the land. There were two millions of acres of glebe. Crown, and semi-pubhc land for small holdings which local councils and co-operative land societies should be enabled to utilise. Sir WiUiam Harcourt had given a grand lead at Dundee — ' LiberaUsm must take up those great principles one after the other, always going forward and never turning back.' I was detained at Mentone till spring. At Mentone we heard mucli of Mr. Gladstone's illness. Nothing could be more touching than his patience and cheerful resignation, the efforts of friends to brighten these last days. At WeUingborough ^ I moved a resolution of respect- ful sympathy with Mr. Gladstone, and of admiration of the courage with which his long sufferings had been borne. Our guest, Mr. Edmund Kobertson,* spoke with briUiancy and force, dealing largely with the future of Labour. I dwelt warmly on Robertson's own services at the Admiralty. ' His moral earnestness and vigorous mind were vital assets of the House of Commons. He befriended Trade Unions and improved hours and conditions of labour in dockyard towns.' 'No Ministry in history, starting in such a glow of triumph, had so soon been tottering to destruction. Winning power on the plea that Liberals neglected ^ See Wilson Fox's Report on Lincolnshire. ^ The Conference on the Agricultural Holdings Act, in which many of our best Commission -witnesses took part, Mr. Nunneley being a prominent speaker. ^ Annual Spring Meeting. * M.P. Dundee, 202 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1898 everyday wants of the poor, they betrayed the people on every issue caUing for wise and patriotic action. Faithless at home, their foreign policy was vaciUatiag and undignified.' ' Lord Rosebery ^ in his profoundly interesting speech of resignation argued that expansion brought us sus- picion and enmity aU over the world. But the Empire and its duties could not be thrown over to shake off enmity. Was the Empire better administered by weak men, who made concessions at one moment and flourished their fists the next, or by men who persisted considerately in one consistent policy ? The Tories were found out even by their friends. ' They had not made Education efficient, but added complications with these absurd "Associations." ' Mr. Gray ^ riddled their whole pohcy at the N.U.T. and in Parhament. Though a Tory, he demanded a national system. ' The Tory treatment of the progressive London County Council, of Vaccination, of the labour struggle between Lord Penrhjrn and his quarrymen, and the ruinous engineering dispute, was aU to match. Liberal aspira- tions were rising higher, the dawn of a new day was close at hand.' My action as to Education finance and Vaccination met with approval, as did Sir Walter Foster's vital clause making exemption optional for parents. We had hoped to welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Shar- man from their long travels ^ in their own beautiful home. They almost rivalled Ulysses of old in world- wanderings. Deluges of rain made gardens impossible. I came south from Scotland * to attend the opening of 1 In September 1896. 2 xhen President of the N.U.T. and Member for West Ham. 3 In the Holy Land and Syria. * North Berwick, where we went after the session for two months. 1898] THE SPIRIT OF PROGRESS 203 the new Technical Institute by Sir PhiHp Magnus. He dealt admirably with the usefulness of such schools. In moving ' Success to the Institute,' I dwelt on the splendid resources in these Midland towns. The unbounded store of energy, and the spirit of carrying ideas out in practical realisation seemed to be in the air. In America, every town over 25,000 inhabitants had to pro- vide a High School. At WeUingborough, with barely 20,000, they had no less than three Secondary Schools. He was glad they were not to mark off Technical from Secondary Education. It was to be a real branch of mental training. In Apphed Sciences they found equal opportunities of quickening mental powers as in older branches of learning, and more, because they went from ideas and words and abstract ligures into real Mving things, finding out how they were made, and learning to reconstruct them. It would not be a glorified workshop to turn out manual skiU, but educational machinery for evolving active and inventive minds, to help in local industries. Indirectly it would stimulate and guide the ghm- merings of scientific teaching in elementary schools. This function marked one more joyous step ia the intellectual equipment of our Division and county. When I came in 1885 it was still a simple community, living among inspiring types of church architecture, with instinctive love of ideals of freedom and progress, and innumerable organisations to turn ideals into realities, but vaguely fettered by class traditions and almost unconscious dictation on questions of oppor- tunity and conduct ; the one visible milestone of pro- gress, the splendid rally of the new spirit in the School Boards after 1870, the appearance of bright, new Board Schools in the progressive towns and villages. Now schools and grand pubhc hbraries, and splendid buildings of all kinds have grown up everywhere. This grand evolution of new ideas and new faciUties, of clearer thinking, and of a new spirit, was not a mere triumph of class or of politics. All classes shared in 204 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1898 the new order of life — great families, whose estates gave them special influence in Northamptonshire in our Division, took a generous and a guiding part. The victory of Mr. Robert Spencer ^ did much, and the unselfish patriotism of Lord Spencer, a great Englishman, whose personal strength helped the more because of gentle consideration in using it. Lord Northampton, too, was a tower of strength, a man Avho had mastered the practical side of great social reforms, and himself worked out their realisation. He would have made an ideal member for East Northants. Autumn campaigning began at Kettering with a genial and effective speech from the sturdy Yorkshire Radical, Batty Langley.^ I touched on the appeal of the Czar to the nations in the interests of peace. ^ Liberals should welcome proposals so sincere and wise with generous response. Russia was too gigantic to be developed on agriculture alone. She needed to build up industries and expand trade, and this hope meant a call for peace. As a contrast, they had the visit of the German Emperor to the Holy Land, where he went ostensibly to defend Christian traditions, but really to befriend Abdul Hamid, and link himself with the worst cruelties of history. That was a contemptible masquerade ! Germany was seeth- ing with Sociahsm just because nobler aspirations were crushed by mihtarism. The Czar's suggestion was no idle dream. Men who cared for humanity would help. In foreign pohcy Liberals were firm and fearless. They would not surrender everything for peace, but said that every English right should be matched by generous and just interpretation of the rights of others. That was the spirit in which the Liberals were meeting the French crisis. 1 In the election of 1880, when he won North Northants. 2 President of the Club that year. 3 The ' Rescript ' led directly to the Hague Conferences and their splendid record. 1898] ONE LINE AND ONE LEADER 205 They wished no humiliation of France. They said right- minded Frenchmen had the same sense of justice and generosity, and wished to draw to their side what was best in the French Ijeople. But France was in the Avrong. England was the trustee of Egypt. They should show no hesitation. England was right. Her just and pure administration had done wonders for Egypt, giving her prosperity. If ' evacuation ' were sug- gested he could not now support it in the Soudan. If EngUsh administration could bring similar prosperity he would have no share in checking that result. He had always voted against such expeditiqns. The cruelty and tyranny of the Khahfa and the Mahdi were the justifica- tion. But it was appaUing that Enghsh and Egj^tian troops should inflict in five hours ^ as much human suffering as the Khalifa and Mahdi in fifteen years. The Party leadership had become an acute question in Parhament, and in our county also by the notable utterance of Lord Northampton : ^ ' The men at the head of the Party should affirm a definite policy, and a definite leader.' At Rushden ^ I referred to this question again. Mr. Gladstone had been the greatest leader and interpreter of Parhament England had ever known. Those who served under him felt that the task bravely assumed by Lord Rosebery in 1894 was almost impossible. The time had now arrived at which Liberals had a right to say something as to the leadership. In 1894 Sir WiUiam Harcourt led the party in the Commons in a way he admired more than anything since Mr. Gladstone. In 1896 he led them with admirable vigour on the Rating Bill. But there was not the cohesion and organisation they could rightly expect from the combined leaders of a great historic party. It was time earnest men should speak out. Personal jealousies and ambitions must be subordinated to the general interests of the Party. Intrigues should be stamped out. The spirit of Liberahsm demanded that they should all take a com- mon line, and act under the same leader. If so, instead of ^ At Omdurman. 2 Mid Northants meeting at Northampton, this year. ^ Autumnal Meetings, November 3. 206 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1898 sectional action such as that disastrously taken by the Welsh Members ^ in 1895, there would be closer attendance, and abso- lute loyalty and consistent support to the programme of the Party. The time had come for these issues to be met frankly and fearlessly. At the evening meeting, Mr. T. P. Whittaker ^ (his first visit there) gave us a splendid speech. At Wollaston :— ^ They rejoiced that Crete was at last set free. Crete was free to-day because Turks were Tmrks and an Enghsh sailor was an English sailor. Lord SaMsbury had bound himseK in coils of diplomacy for two years, but now the blood of EngUshmen was shed. Admiral Noel instantly pointed his guns on the murderous Turks ; within twelve horn's not a Turkish soldier remained at Candia. He would have Hked the same poKcy for Armenia. France and Russia would join England in reaUy doing something. When Lord SaMsbury came in he had sympathy in abundance, but what had he done to save one Armenian life and wind up that chapter of massacre ? Our sailors would gladly have blown the Sultan's palace to ruins. That was the pohcy to have ended those atrocities. The Tories shifted burdens from the rich to the poor. Farmers paid more than their share of rates, but the Tory Rating Act,* instead of putting half the rates on the owner of the land,^ put them on Trade, Industry, and Labour. Democracy would fail if the people would not think out questions. Human nature would not back down. Human instincts, if Mstened to, would bring out their manhood and make them living instruments for the brighter future. Lord Spencer and Mr. Birrell spoke at enthusiastic gatherings of the County Education League at WeUing- borough. ^ Over the Disestablishment in Wales Bill. ^ Now the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Whittaker, M.P. 2 November 14. * 1897. ' The amendment to divide the rates was my own. 1898] LORD SPENCER ON EDUCATION 207 In the afternoon I said, from the chair : — It was exhilarating to find the world moving with them, and not against them. They must get one National System. ' The unity of Educa- tion had become a living thought.' They could not sever secondary and technical from elementary. They must not have the avenues to higher education cut off, but an open door from one grade to the next. In the evening Lord Spencer, in a speech warmly assented to at every point, said :^ Our desire was to estabhsh a system of efficient National Education — ^not offending the conscience and rehgion of any man in the country. Education had advanced by leaps and bounds. Serious defects were found in Mr. Forster's Act. The average attend- ance had increased from 1,150,000 to 4,489,000. But the system then introduced was not whoUy suited to the present day, and the cost and the sources from which the money was drawn strengthened that argument. In those early days voluntary contributions amounted to five-eighths of the cost, while now the voluntary contributions were about one-tenth, while the Government paid nearly nine-tenths. Nearly three- fourths of the cost of Voluntary Schools was paid by the Government, only one-tenth by the subscribers. This great change in proportions between volimtary sources and Government grants and local rates showed that the machinery for Education should be recast and remodelled. Taxation went with representation, and these enormous sums were paid over without representative men being on the boards of management. That was essentially wrong. Wherever there was Government contribution, there should be elected representative management by those elected by the people. Eight thousand parishes had only one school under voluntary management. Everybody was compelled to send his chUd to such a school. Some Church clergy carried out this fairly, others in a way to which Nonconformists objected. They should get popular representation wherever grants were made. The taxes came from aU classes, from Nonconformists as weU as 208 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1898 Churchmen, and the Nonconformists could rightly demand that education should be conducted as they desired. Clever Non- conformist children in some cases could become teachers, but in many cases were excluded. There should be no such religious disability. They might turn every school into a Board School. The numbers of Voluntary Schools made a grave difficulty. Again, they might put elected persons on every board of managers. That, too, was difficult. The third plan had more to recommend it — to establish in every county district a School Board, to distribute those sums under regulations. That would secure efficiency, and Mberty of conscience and rehgion to all teachers and children in every school. Further, there should be a pubhc school under popular management within reach of every child. We had in the past been hving in an age of toleration. We had now arrived at an age of equality. In Education we had not yet obtained equality. There were still indulgences and preferences to Voluntary Schools. People in Parhament were anxious to capture the Board Schools and deeply anxious to favour Voluntary Schools. Those who wished to promote sound education should see that just and proper principles should be carried out. Mr. Birrell talked in his light, fantastic way, flicking the 'PhUistine' Nonconformists with their dread of 'Catechisms.' 'He had been a "Noncon.," and in his early days thought they might shower catechisms on him with as little peril as water could be sprinkled on a duck's back ! ' There is much to be said for the playful, mocking, ironic style favoured by speakers like BirreU and Lord Eosebery, but this did not go down well with our serious, and logi.-\il, and somewhat stubborn thinkers. Those who know the Enghsh mind find practical difficulties in encouraging this style on strongly felt questions, even where stories and jokes are eagerly welcomed. 1898] KETTERING VOLUNTEERS 209 My speech : — The object of the Government has been to maintain the Voluntary School system as it is. Lord Sahsbury's dream was to have strong Church schools flourishing everjrwhere Mke green bay trees, and round them, hke dwarf rose-bushes, Httle Bethel Schools, also confining themselves to dogmatic teaching — every one teaching the children of his denomination that the horizon within which they were confijied covered the whole range of human thought — they were to regard aU outside children as religious enemies ! The pohcy of 1896 was to keep up denominationahsm — that BUI went down amid scenes rarely witnessed in Parhament. ' Ministers did not understand their own Bill, nor each other's pohcy, nor the needs of education ! ' ^ The second pohcy of temporary outdoor rehef to Voluntary Schools, administered by ecclesiastics behind the scenes, was doomed to failure. When the BiU was before the House we proposed that it should be confined to Local Government areas. In that way the ' Asso- ciations ' might have been easily merged into the sort of School Boards Lord Spencer has indicated. There is no rehgious question in the schools. The trouble of the sects should no longer clog the educational machine. Under popular control we shall have a national system which any one win be proud to have furthered. A delightful wind-up of the campaign in the Pytchley reading-room, where Joseph Warren talked in his wise, gentle temper of parish life, and how a parish knew its own business best. Warren and Wilford were my two ideal labourers, full of dignity, crisp, direct common sense, and a fine perception of what was just and true between man and man. Such men are the salt of the earth, and their good wiU was one of my greatest privi- leges in my quarter of a century of membership. I lightly ran over the whole gamut of rural reforms — ' the happiest month of his Parliamentary career and the brightest series of meetings had their happiest con- 1 The Ovardian. O SlO MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1898 elusion in coming back to talk to his old friends at Pytchley.' A few days after, I attended the dinner of the Ketter- ing Company of the Volunteers, and presented the prizes. They were fine, bright, young fellows, the forerunners — ^brave, loyal, true — of the splendid force which has rallied with patriotic enthusiasm in such glorious numbers ^ to make up battalion after battalion of indomitable ' Steelbacks,' and win imperishable honour in the great war. The standard of shooting of the Kettering Company had been remarkable for years. I could speak with fellow feeling. In the receding past, I had been an inglorious private in the Oxford University Corps, but did not win any prizes, and was therefore as qualified to address them as the biggest layman present. The State had not been liberal enough. Where men by seK-sacrifice and in patriotic spirit, had made themselves efficient, their difficulties ought to be met out of the pubMc purse more freely. Kettering got everything, and they somehow would soon have their own first- class range. It was a grand thing that the first outburst of patriotic feeling which greeted the Volunteer movement had not faded away, but grown stronger. ^ As high a proportion as any county division in England, and all the more remarkable, because the claims of the Army bootwork, of vital importance in the war, were so imperative. • It is also noteworthy from the casualty lists how many of our young men have enlisted in other regiments besides the battalions of the Northampton- shire Regiment. The record of service by young men bom and bred in our county is wonderful. 1899] MIDLAND LIBERALISM 211 CHAPTER XIV SOUTH AFRICA. (1899) The War Cloud — Morley at Manchester — Chamberlain on his own Policy— Last Appeal to Common Sense — Autumn Conference — Liberal Traditions — Asquith at Dundee — Sargeaunt at Bozeat — The South African Despatches — Provoking War — Lord Spencer in Cumberland — The Golden Rule — Higham — An Empire of Tolera- tion — Earls Barton ^ — Reasonable Arbitration — Kettering — The Two Races — Rhodes the Statesman, or Rhodes the Conspirator — Militarism the Foe of Democracy — Peace the Stronghold of Liberty. This year of war started tamely, almost parochially. There was a catechism from a Trade Council — the old planks of Newcastle and Labour — simple, whole- some, in the main sane enough, which I answered to general satisfaction, with such quahfications as made the newer proposals reasonable and workable. There was, at St. James's End School at Northamp- ton, a sort of ' Ringstead ' boycott of children with- drawn from denominational teaching. I argued the case in the House, and in the local press, as a violation of the Conscience Clause, and also of the Code. These children were penahsed for wearing a medal, with no more justice than a Catholic child would be for a cross, or a Band of Hope child for a blue ribbon ! Replying for ' Midland Liberalism ' at a dinner to Sir Henry Fowler,^ I said : — The Midlands are proud of our guest, as one of their thinned but dauntless band. They honoured his great administration of India, his prompt rescue of the garrison at Chitral. He might tell them about one successful Midland constitu- ency. In East Northants, Liberal victories by four figures had become habitual. One reason was that they would not quarrel among themselves. In 1892 the Tories, with an excellent 1 At National Liberal Club. 212 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 candidate, hoped to wipe them off the face of the earth. He found, when he went down to the fight, that some association had tried to warn off the course a leading spokesman of an important section. He said they were not to drive good men out, but to call them in and keep them ! They did keep them, and increased the majority. Generous fair play to every side of Liberalism was their path to success. He was glad to hear the references of Sir Henry Fowler to Sir William Harcourt, and to Mr. John Morley. East Northants would tolerate no attempts to drive out a good Liberal man, or a good Liberal idea. Another reason was Liberahsm rested on thought-out prin- ciples. They had no morbid dread that ' the old Liberahsm was played out.' They were not ready to barter old lamps for new. Old lamps threw light on new problems — Justice to all, civil and rehgious hberty, equahty of opportunity, national seff -restraint, apphed everywhere. They were not carried away by the Jingoism that ran over the coimtry like influenza, laying strongest hold upon the weakest constitutions. He had seen the wave of enthusiasm for peace roused at the Federation 1 by the protest of Mr. Jowett^ against the Imperial- ism of the hom:. The Liberal spirit in the Midlands condemned the aggressive temper of men Mke Chamberlaia and Rhodes, who were ready to press forward through oceans of blood, to enrich speculators with miUions out of human misery. At our annual meeting : ' Sir William Harcourt ought to have succeeded Mr. Gladstone in 1894, but his leadership in the Commons had become difficult — almost unvi^orkable.' 'They had selected the best man in the Party to remove suspicion and dissension. Last session had shown the enormous difference the leadership of Sir Henry CampbeU-Bannerman had made.' 'Activity and confidence were growing.' At the evening meeting Henry Broadhurst, still full of go, made one of his hard-hitting Radical speeches. I said : — ^ N.L.F. Meeting. ^ The eloquent successor to Dr. Dale at Birminghain. 1899] DISTRICT PROTESTANT LEAGUE 213 In the opinion of some Conservatives, their Government was the weakest ever seen — they could not stick to any position. It was going to pieces, round its neck the heaviest of millstones in this disastrous Budget. They had got to the bottom of the taxpayers' pocket, they had not the courage to tax themselves and their friends, and so robbed posterity. He welcomed Mr. Broadhurst's noble aspirations. A liberaMsm that lived on criticism of the blunders of opponents was not worth fighting for. Their LiberaHsm meant the resolve to use the resources and the wealth of the community, the brains and wiU-power of all, high or low, rich or poor, for the elevation of the people. In July, I presided at a demonstration of the District Protestant League.^ It was in no sense a party meeting. Liberals and Conserva- tives who had this question at heart stood shoulder to shoulder. They met in deepest sympathy with what was purest and noblest in Church history. Their opponents seemed to cherish and observe as historical traditions the ideas and practices which marked the decadence of the Church, when reUgion was an instrument for blackmail and tyranny, the age which was swept away by the enthusiasm of men like Luther in Germany, and our own Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer. The people of England looked for inspiration to the purer evolution of the Christian idea as restored by the Reformation. They were faced by a conspiracy to bring back the worst, and to expel the best elements in the growth of the Church. The Prayer Book enshrined prayers, which came down to them from the earhest ages of the Christian Church, stiU pure and free from evil, when it was struggling with cruelty and oppression — words of wonderful beauty, words of reverence, words almost inspired ; in simple Enghsh which had gone straight to the hearts of men and women for generations, and had contributed to the beauty, holiness, and strength of their hves, as members of the Church in this covmtry. ^This was a struggle to emancipate the laity, who should have a statutory right to have the only authorised services of the Chiu-ch in their churches. * At the ' Poplars,' Wellingborough. 214 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 n The war cloud crept over the land hour by hour in that summer of Liberal victories — a singular contrast. High hope and confidence in Liberal destiny was poisoned by misgiving. The South African Committee failed to expose and punish what notoriously deserved punishment, and so. to arrest the conspiracy to crush, in the interests of the capitalists of the Rand, liberties solemnly guaranteed by us. Settlement was visibly within reach. The wisest of the Dutch in the Transvaal, and the Orange Free State, and Cape Colony were eager for peace. What the conspirators wanted was any plausible excuse to refuse compromise, to force on open rupture, their only opportunity. Liberals who cherished honourable traditions were reluctant to beheve the worst, and till that last afternoon when Chamberlain voiced the menace of deadly mischief,^ went on dreaming that British statesmen and officials could not scheme so great a wrong, when it was plain that generous and sympathetic statesmanship would lead up to a South African Union, such as Campbell-Bannerman so bravely and wisely initiated seven years later. Conferences in South Africa followed, professedly for peace, really slamming the door — concessions which the Transvaal and Orange State hoped might satisfy in- ordinate pressiire — and the ' inevitable war,' which, in the opinion of earnest Liberals, was decreed behind the scenes by Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Rhodes, and Lord Milner, and was being dehberately engineered and put through, with almost automatic machinery. The shifting from open discussion and rational hope, to grim barring out of alternatives suggested by moder- ate men, sadly wrecked the high hope of Liberalism in the summer of 1899. ^ On the Whitsuntide adjournment. 1899] MORLEY AT MANCHESTER 215 Was the war the dexterous strategy of Mr. Chamber- lain himself to stem the tide of Liberal victories, and save the Tory Party at the polls ? Were Mr. Rhodes and the Rand leviathans to seize Johannesburg gold- fields as they had seized Kimberley diamond fields ? To old supporters of Mr. Gladstone, believing Eng- land's duty was to foster, not extinguish, national liberties, there was but one view of this conspiracy, from Colonial Office manoeuvres helping the Raid, down to the final refusal, when Mr. Chamberlain let loose the dogs of war. Blue Books showed negotiation was hope- less. On the British side war only was contemplated. Never did an issue present itself with such clearness and precision. Like tens of thousands of keen Liberals, I would have welcomed any compromise which would give British settlers the franchise on fair terms, while preserving the Dutch rights we had guaranteed. But as despatch after despatch argued every compromise out of existence, on transparently uncandid pretexts, deep indignation possessed us more and more — ^profound disgust for the policy, the men who were working for this appalling result with unjust and inexorable purpose. I could not expect that aU my constituents would see eye to eye with me on these problems. But from the first there was a disposition to agree, and to put a generous interpretation on opinions they knew were sincere. At Wellingborough, the Liberal and the Women's Liberal Associations at a joint meeting ^ resolved — ' There was no just ground for war. We iirge upon Her Majesty's Government to avoid war, by the exercise of magnanimity worthy of a great nation.' Replying from North Berwick : ' Your admirably worded resolution has given me inexpressible happi- ness.' . . . Then describing ' the glorious meeting ' at Manchester : ' Nothing like it for years, The chairman ^ In September, 216 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 and Mr. Morley for a few minutes were drowned in organised uproar. But a vast majority were with us, all idea of an amendment was abandoned ; only two hundred out of those packed thousands voted against the resolution. Morley' s speech was very fine — the last few passages so noble, so beautiful that they took the whole audience by storm. He has had no such personal triumph for years. I was glad I went to see such a demonstration from the true heart of England.' To the Transvaal demonstration ^ I wrote : — I wish I could be with you on Sunday. Thoughtful men can see no ground for threats of fire and sword, and stamping out the free self-government this comitry has solemnly bound itself to respect. Sir Alfred Milner virtually says,^ ' The franchise is nothing after all ; give us that, and we shall want fifty other things settled here and now, and no arbitration.' This is not negotiation. It reminds me rather of the morality of a bull fight. A few days before the final plimge I made a last appeal to common sense. ^ Is there a sane man who thinks the vast expenditure and waste of brave fives of such a war worth while, when all that is wished can be obtained on easier terms ? Is there a sane man who doubts, after reading the despatches that represen- tative men sitting down dispassionately and with good will, could settle this business on the footing of a five years' retro- spective franchise, a renewed recognition of internal independ- ence on the lines of 1884, and some form of arbitration for other points ? Is there no man big-hearted and sensible enough in either party, or of no party, to render this supreme service to the British Empire 1 ^ ^ In Hyde Park. '^ In his despatches. ^ In the Times. * I hoped this appeal might suggest, perhaps to Lord Rosebery, or others an opportunity for happy intervention while there was still time. There was no response. 1899] CHAMBERLAIN ON HIS OWN POLICY 217 The Autumnal Conference at Wellingborough was critical and crowded. Wallis ^ regretted the issue of peace or war had gone beyond the stage when their opinion could affect it. I touched briefly on Campbell-Bannerman's success as leader, and the special opportunities for reaffirming definite principles. This session began the real struggle between democracy and the wanton spirit of Imperialism, the mihtarism of the aristo- cracy and the capitaHsts. The real national want was industrial legislation for the benefit of the people.^ Some of them, he believed, respected a man who fearlessly declared his sincere convictions more than the smooth-tongued apologist for the topmost craze. The suicidal act of the Transvaal Government precipitated war. . . . The heart of the nation went out in sympathy for the brave men who were giving their lives for their country. Soldiers had not to reason or challenge policy, they had to do and suffer. War could not be avoided after that ultimatum. But was it not madness to drive those men to face rxiin and stake their all for freedom ? The hour for controversy might be past. But if an odious war had been imposed on them, no one should shrink from examining whether the poKcy of the Government had led up to it. Liberalism could live only by truth, and loyalty to the moral law. Mr. Chamberlain had condemned root and branch the very pohcy he had been carrying out. He had denied their right to interfere with internal affairs of the Transvaal, and de- nounced as wicked and immoral the poHcy of threatening war — ' a policy he would never be responsible for ' ! To deny the wrongs of the Outlanders, because they had been made instruments for his own designs by CecU Rhodes, wotdd be foUy. Equal rights should be extended through the Trans- ^ The chairman. 2 Mr. Asquith three years ago, at Dewsbury, had said : — ' I would far rather Liberals were remembered, not as those who have extended the Empire, which is already large enough to tax aU our energies, but as those who have done something to raise the level of human happiness at home,' 218 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 vaal, to enable men who claimed a share in local and national government to help in working out the salvation of that country. That was the only hope. It was the foUy of placing one race above the other that caused bitterness, prevented fusion of the white races, and had brought on the war. What were the wrongs ? They had the gold tax — ^Ughter than in Cape Colony ! — ^railway rates just as they had in England, where they had industries choked by railway extor- tions. They had the denial of representative control of educa- tion, an injustice Mr. Chamberlain had just helped to impose on Nonconformists in England — Enghsh children should have the same rights as Dutch. But had they the moral right to order the Dutch to do these things or be shot ? Then, was the Raid right or wrong 1 If it was wrong, it was only natural that the Transvaal should take precautions against further raids. Mr. Chamberlain repHed to Ashmead-Bartlett in March, ' the grievances were not breaches of the Convention.' r!;|; There was a marvellous contradiction between the despatches of last March and the recent pohcy which had been consum- mated in the war. Whether sudden pressure had been put on Sir Alfred MUner, or the Government found themselves weaker in the bye- elections, they had this change to the ' excited ' style of later despatches, to the inflammatory speech at Highbury, menacing the Dutch Government ! ^^jThe question of the franchise was legitimate to press, but only in friendly negotiation. Some Conservatives, to console themselves, said Kruger never intended to do justice. The Blue Books proved the desire of the Boers to meet EngMsh demands. They amended their proposals and offered the fuU terms demanded at Bloem- fontein — the five years' residential franchise — and only asked in return that independence, as guaranteed in 1884, should be respected. Mr. Chamberlain rephed — ' We will take your five years' franchise, but we will not grant your conditions, and many other questions must be settled concurrently.' With those interminable claims, and the conspiracy of Cecil Rhodes before them, what wonder if they doubted the justice and sincerity of England ? 1899] OUR AUTXJMN CONFERENCE 219 Mr. Hofmeyr had said — ' Many desired peace and would concede much, but many believed that the Outlanders would not be satisfied with less than war, or the possession of their country. To risk Ufe and property would be better than like cowards to hand over their independence.' Demands had been followed by more exacting demands, and, when these very despatches were being considered, Milner now sent that impassioned telegram. Men of conscience, who loved to feel that their country was guided by strict honour, generosity, and mercy, ought to condemn such a policy. That was a moment which tested a party which beheved in national conscience, and cherished noble traditions as to the humane treatment of weaker nations. Those Liberal tradi- tions were the wisest for the development and salvation of all that was best in the British Empire. Even now the future was not lost, there might yet be friendly fusion. In his manly speech,^ Mr. Asquith had said : ' We must not admit for one moment that the word of England was to be forsworn, and that they were not going to give fair play to Transvaal independence in the future as they did in the past.' My reception was warm and sympathetic, and pos- sibly a majority took my view. But, in these weeks at the opening of the war, strong reaction was aroused by the struggle in Natal, The glorious bravery of British officers and men, and the grave danger to British arms, increased my difficulty in arranging meetings. Sir Walter Poster would visit Kettering later on as Presi- dent of the Club. But the usual campaign of meetings threatened to fall through, from reluctance of local committees. The situation was saved by Mr. Sargeaunt, vicar of Bozeat, who shared my view of the war. By his efforts a nieeting was arranged for November 13th, and was followed up at Higham on the 14th, and the week after by a gathering at Earls Barton. Kettering came fourth — the greatest of aU, a meeting ever to be remembered — on November 22nd. 1 At;Dundee. 220 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 At Bozeat, Mr. - Sargeaunt, eloquent and judicious, presided.^ I began by moving a resolution of profound sym- pathy with, the famihes of those who had fallen, and went on : — No British Government could have met the ultimatum but in one way. Natal had been invaded. British troops were hard pressed at Ladysmith. Sympathy and support were the duty of every one in the land. Every man who had mercy in his heart for the Boers, mercy for our own soldiers and regard for the future of the Empire, wished that war to be concluded promptly and decisively with the least bloodshed, or bitter memories. They were all agreed on that. But there was another aspect — how did the war come about ? — the pohcy, the negotiations, were they wise or unwise ? Those questions demanded consideration, and would receive it. Chatham, Burke, Fox — in our own time Lord Derby and the Duke of Devonshire, each challenged the pohcy of a war when it was in progress. Criticism was in the general interest — ^if mistakes were made, they should not wait until wars ended to rectify them. The spirit of war was an appaUing evil, the greatest curse of national life. f": That wise man, Sydney Smith, on the Queen's accession, said : — ' All the crimes of years of peace are trifles compared with the gigantic evils of a state of war. God is forgotten, human charity trampled upon — ^labour and industry extinguished. You see son, husband, brother dying miserably in foreign lands — human affection wasted, human hearts broken ; you hear the shrieks of women and children, you walk over the mangled bodies of the wounded, calling for death. I would say to that Royal Child — worship God by loving peace ! ' Yes ! and they knew that the Queen had always sought for peace, and had done so in this case. Blue Books had just been distributed as to the Hague Con- ference, which was to open the door to universal peace. And then these South African despatches, week by week, drew them away from those ideals, and led on to this ghastly horror. 1 Mr. Soames of Lavepdon came to help. t w REV. \V. D. SARGEAUNT. VICAR OF BOZEAT, 1899] SPEECH AT BOZEAT 221 Had the Boers been conspiring to overturn British rule 1 If any man had provoked such an insane enterprise, it was Mr. Chamberlain. He had joined the bitterest foes of the Trans- vaal, and given the Dutch extremists their chance of over- coming those wise Boer leaders who had pressed every argument to prevent war. Lord Spencer had admirably said ^ : — ' This was the strangest nightmare that had ever afflicted the imagination of Imperiahsts. In 1895, before the Raid, a British officer, sent to inspect, reported that there were no armaments in the Transvaal. Even now they had no bayonets, no swords — they had httle more than marksmanship and great physical endurance. It was plain that the moment the Boers despaired of peace, the wilder spirits cried, " This is our chance, let us strike, and gain advantages that wiU help to mitigate the terms thrust upon us." ' Any war that could be avoided is a blunder : a war led up to by insincere negotiations was a crime against civihsation. This war had been described as impohtic by Mr. Chamberlain, both as Conservative Minister and as Liberal Minister, in his eloquent apology for Mr. Gladstone's pohcy in 1881. At the recent meeting of the Africander Bond the chairman had read a letter from his son, a Transvaal burgher, that he ' must be loyal to the land of his adoption and go on active service.' The chairman's comment : ' This boy of mine teaches all of us a lesson. We, too, come what may, must be loyal to our country as British subjects.' All present assented. Common sense demanded they should make friends, not enemies, of men like these. The final offer in August of a five years' franchise ought to have been accepted. Mr. Chamberlain's reply was interpreted everywhere as an absolute refusal. • If these negotiations had been in the hands of anybody else, and the House of Commons had been sitting through August and September, we should never have had war. There should be close examination of Mr. Chamberlain's intentions. Evidence before the South African Committee gave reason to regard Mr. Chamberlain and those who worked under him with the utmost suspicion. 1 In Cumberland. 222 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 Lord Salisbury ^ who had often shown himself fairer than his colleagues, had said : ' We want no territory, we want no gold- fields.' His desire for peace the Liberal Party would do its utmost to strengthen. England would be ready at the earhest moment, on satisfactory terms, to close this chapter of blood, and hatred and chaos. After all, mihtarism, and the spirit of the classes behind it, were the worst foes of democracy and social reform. A few years ago some in that room were ' Outlanders ' and ' helots ' too. They got scant sympathy then from the Tory landlords and capitaKsts who were supporting this war. Liberals beheved in democracy and fought to get the vote — the weapon to work out the people's salvation by the people's will. That people's ParUameait of 1885 was the noblest House ever sent to Westminster. If some of the democracy had not let themselves be bam- boozled about Mr. Gladstone's democratic solution for Irish troubles into handing back power twice - to the Tories, this country would have had a chapter of reform such as they could scarcely dream of. That was the spirit in which democracy had been played with for fifteen years. He was there as a democrat. Were they satisfied with the policy which had brought war and trouble, with these repeated betrayals of the interest of the people ? Why not revert to the creed of treating others as they would be treated themselves, and while ready manfully to maintain the rights of this country, remember that their greatest duty was to stand together as an army to rescue their brethren at home who were suffering in poverty, crushed under disabilities, deprived of their noblest opportunities ? Social reform should be the one note that brought them together. He beheved the happiest day for England would be when the poorest would realise what England could do, and would reahse that in elevating themselves and those about them, they were not tramphng upon others, but bringing the whole com- munity up to a higher and nobler standard, and making England a country in which it was noble to live and noble to die. 1 November 9, at the Mansion House. 2 In the Elections of July 1886 and JiUy 1895. 1899] MEETING AT HIGHAM 223 I spoke with feeling, anxious not to overstate, not to needlessly offend those who could not see eye to eye with me, but determined to state the truth whatever the result. That was the keynote of my speeches in these memorable years, and though there were deep differ- ences of opinion, I cannot think that I made enemies among people so thoughtful and so generous as the men and women of my old Division. And when we went out into the keen night air, I felt a happiness I had not known for weeks, which was brighter still in the peaceful and beautiful home of the Sargeaunts — a home of gentle ways, instinct with the spirit of poetry and faith, and the tender beauty of the old Church music, which they both loved so well and played so sympathetically. Next day in the soft autumn sunshine to Wellingborough, glad in heart and hopeful. Later on to Higham Ferrers — an earnest and rousing meeting. I said : — It was the duty of a Member of Parliament to open his heart, without reserve, at the earhest moment on this war. There would be searching of hearts before they made them- selves responsible. -It was not unpatriotic nor wasting time to challenge pohcy during war. Let each man in his own way do what he had tried to do himself — get at the bottom facts, and form his own opinion. Mr. Selous, a strong friend of Mr. Rhodes, who thoroughly understood South Africa, declared that before the first attempt to annex the Transvaal ^ there was close friendship. Again before 1895, the Transvaal Progressives wished the British to share in the pohtical, as well as in the industrial future, and to sweep away the obstacles Kruger had imposed, after the discovery of gold. The Dutch were wrong in trying to restrict the franchise, but here in England they must look at the question as they would in this country. If there were a 1 By Sir Bartle Freie in 1877. 224 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 vast incursion of Germans aU over England, who demanded the franchise, and wanted to control everything in England, what would be the position 1 Would not Conservatives, like Presi- dent Kruger, say, ' By no means let these men get control of our affairs ' ? Judge others as they would judge themselves. He heartily agreed with Lord Spencer's noble words,^ ' He dreaded trying to crush the Dutch population by force. We might crush out disease, but it was impossible to stamp out the vivid, eager, laudable spirit of nationahty. We had har- monised the two nationaUties at the Cape and goodwill had been growing.' If this Transvaal question had been left alone, it would have taken care of itself. ' It is not necessary to kill thousands of Boers,' wrote Mr. Selous, ' to make the Dutch respect us.' Again, in Mr. Asquith's words,^ ' The vast majority do not take their opinions from the fire-eaters, the professional breeders of mischief, the bravoes and bullies who at times make them- selves heard in the back slums of journalism.' Sir Alfred Milner chose the franchise as the key to other re- forms. ' Enable them to fight their own battles within the State. You have no right to complain, you must fight yoiu: own battle.' That was the only solution. They wanted active-minded Enghshmen, working side by side with the Dutch on their local bodies. Let strong men prove how wise administration would benefit the Dutch as well as the Out- landers. In August, the Boers offered what Milner had asked in June, and more. Why was not that offer clearly closed with, then and there 1 England could surely enforce a bargain. Mr. James Lowther, a most thorough-going and straight- forward Tory, said : ' The war was a great mistake — we rnider- estimated the Boers' strength and determination. As a matter of fact, we saw it was a wealthy country, and we were deter mined to have it. The Government don't like to be told it is a capitaHsts' job, but that is what it amounts to.' * The success of British arms had enormously increased the value of securities, in two cases as much as six millions.* ^ Lord Spencer in Cumberland. * Asquith at Dundee. ^ Statement to an interviewer. * Letter of Mr. George Cawston in Times. 1899] AN EMPIRE OF TOLERATION 225 The war meant that to its instigators, but what it meant to the working men was, that they had been pitchforked out with misery and suffering, losing wages of £30 to £50 a month. That is what this war meant for Capital and for Labour. For that the cry of the widow and orphan goes up to heaven, and brave soldiers are shedding their blood hke water. What did Imperiahsm mean for democracy 1 Imperiahsm ministered to class interests. Class rapacity abroad meant class rapacity at home. Imperiahsm meant overwhelming taxation, which the poor paid in higher proportion than the rich, and they would want more and more men, till conscription ended their hberties. These were the perils of Umitless growth of MiUtarism. The Empire could be maintained on hues of sympathy and tolera- tion for different nationahties, customs, laws, and by the spread of the commercial spirit. That would be the Liberal solution ; that would be the wiser pohcy for England and for the Empire. An enthusiastic and glorious meeting ended in a unanimous vote of confidence. Next week Earls Barton, with Daniel Sheffield, was better than ever. Rennie Wilkinson gave a closely reasoned and intensely felt address. He was ever to the fore for all true and just causes. I said : — I was confident I should have not only forbearance, but re- sponsive sympathy. Mr. Wilkinson had struck two notes — the sympathy aU Liberals had with men anywhere fighting for hberty and staking their hfe-blood ; and, a note they heard too rarely now, that Christianity must mean something for supreme pohtical issues, as well as for the wants of everyday life. They were weary. Why should gallant Enghshmen fall needlessly in South Africa, and bring bitter sorrow to those who loved them ? Sympathy for the troops, and for the British Colony that was being overrun was an issue on which aU Enghshmen were absolutely agreed, but as to the cause and justification of the war, they were not at one. There would be a heavy reckoning for those who had brought on the war. If the war was inevitable, why were the franchise proposals advanced 1 Were they merely meant to gain time until they could place an irresistible force in South Africa ? p 226 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 Sir Henry Campbell-Baimerman saw ' nothing in the negotia- tions which justined either war or preparations ior war.' They should not have been accompanied by menaces. The Duke of Devonshire held that if we removed suspicion of intention on our part to take their territory and suppress their liberty, war would never have been within reach. Lord Charles Beresf ord, in manly and honest words, declared ' the blame of this war should be attached to that lamentable and contemptible Raid. Many of his friends were in that Raid, but the honour of this country was much bigger than personal friendship. No one who had had anything to do with it ought to have anything to do with the futvire administration of the Transvaal.' The Boers had been unjust to natives, unjust to Enghshmen, but the Boers were pretty much what we had made them. The Orange Free State were robbed of their diamond fields — an ' infamous transaction.' ^ Had not the Boers reason for sus- pecting the same pohcy would rob them of their goldfields ? True statesmanship on both sides was plain enough. The wise pohcy for the Boers was the ' open door ' — to welcome English labour on fair terms, while for us the wise pohcy was to remove every ground of suspicion. But, instead, there had been terror in the minds of the Boers, and, with Mr. Rhodes and his friends, unscrupulous greed and relentless ambition. The Boers beheved there was connivance with the Raid on the part of the Colonial Office ; that suspicion was intensified by the suppression of those telegrams which shoidd have been produced in the interests of truth and justice. He had felt it his duty to go fully into the record of those negotiations. The Boers had asked for arbitration throughout. In inter- national or industrial disputes, where there was a dispute, it ought to be brought within some form of reasonable arbitration. Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Alfred Milner refused, because Great Britain was a suzerain state. The Transvaal made fresh sug- gestions, and at last offered to accept arbitration with an Enghsh judge, or anybody England might select. Surely a great Power, standing at the head of the inteUigence of the whole world, should have found means to bring these differ- ences to some form of arbitration. 1 Froude. i899l REASONABLE ARBITRATION 227 Ought we not to have tried ? Was it not our duty to say, ' You have offered practically what we demanded. If it turns out that you are trying to evade your pledges, we shall know how to deal with you, but let us have a peacefid solution now.' But Mr. Chamberlain broke off negotiations and withheld the new proposals he had announced until war was actually pre- cipitated, and those proposals have not yet been disclosed. Sir WiUiam Harcourt challenged Mr. Chamberlain to produce them, but he rephed : ' You will never see them now ; they are buried for ever.' That meant that we, a great nation with a re- putation for the highest standards of morahty, left these people stewing in their own juice of embittered suspicion, left them in the hands of violent and designing men, their worst advisers. He had been their member a long time. That deepened his sense of duty to them and made him speak frankly. He had to ask himself whether he should support the poUcy which led up to this war. He could give but one answer. He could not draw a pen through the principles of Chris- tianity, of national honour, and good faith. The truest statesmanship was to rule with the consent of the ruled, to encourage different types of nationalities, each with their own sentiments, their own hopes, their own laws, side by side. That had been the key to the triumph of the British Empire, the noble lesson of Liberahsm aU over the world. He was proud last year as a Liberal Member to have the honour of seconding the nomination of Sir Henry CampbeU- Bannerman as leader of the Party. He had shown that he loved the true old principles of Liberal- ism, and that he had insight and capacity for dealing with great problems. He was glad to be on his side in this matter. Lord Spencer was the soul of honour, a man of supreme sagacity and of absolute loyalty to Liberal ideals. He was glad to be on Lord Spencer's side. And in the lobby he had found himself side by side with every representative of Labour. The Kettering meeting two days later was preceded, as usual, by the dinner at the Club to the President for the year, my old friend, Sir Walter Foster, who made excellent speeches at the dinner, and also at the crowded Victoria Hall. He dealt largely with the 228 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 Housing and Local Government questions, which he had made his own. That grand Radical, Frank Ballard, progressive, idealist, leader of co-operation, made a splendid chairman, and touched with feehng and incisive insight on the great issue of the hour. Following Sir Walter Foster, I had a fine welcome from the densely packed hall, which contained a fair proportion of Conservatives and others who dissented from my view. I, I referred at first to the Kettering Resolution — expressing the deep concern with which the Association viewed the attitude of the Colonial Office in the negotiations — the almost open threat of war — that war waged on the ground alleged would be unjust and dishonouring to the Empire, would tend to inflame racial differences and entail lamentable consequences.^ His reply had been : ' Even now the Cabinet may recognise that this shifty procedure is open to the hateful interpretation that what is aimed at is not the removal of franchise grievances, but the provocation of war as a pretext for annihilating a little State, whose independence England dehberately restored, which stands in the way of the schemes of Mr. Rhodes and his capitaUst aUies in Africa and in England. Such an act would be not only imstatesmanhke folly, but a national crime. It was a deep gratification that both the Wellingborough and Kettering Associations had thus spontaneously put into their resolutions the views which he had been compelled to form, from which he could never withdi-aw. He beheved that the men and women of Kettering, with the noble ideals they had of human brotherhood, of industrial self- government — Kettering with its behef in the solution of in- dustrial troubles by arbitration — could not quarrel with its member for having his ideals too. At The Hague, a note was struck in harmony with the vast majority of EngHsh hearts and souls — the new era when quarrels between nations should be settled without these hideous scenes of bloodshed. He had seen nothing in the course of events to alter any of See page 215. FRANK BALLARD, 1vi:tti-;ring. 1899I MEETING AT KETTERING 229 his views as to the war. Further study had only deepened his convictions. He had done his best to arrive at the truth, and he could not withdraw one word that he had said, or one action he had taken in Parhament. If it was unpatriotic to utter criticism on the war policy now that war had been entered upon, he would sooner face that charge with Lord Chatham, with Burke, with Fox, with Bright, and Gladstone, with John Morley, Lord Spencer, Leonard Courtney, and that brilUant Conservative lawyer, Sir Edward Clarke, than try to win popularity by affecting to agree with the passionate outburst of feeling on the other side. The feel- ings of those who supported this war might be as sincere as his own, and arrived at by the same reasoning. He did not con- demn them, though he could not court favour by assenting to views which he in his heart did not beheve. No one would hesitate to wish success for our arms in order to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. That was not the whole question. They had to consider the question of policy also. War had its degrading and debasing side, but it had its noble side too, in the generous sympathy which went out from the whole people to the wounded and the slain, and to men who had shown the noblest quahties of British courage in their gallant deeds. They were all proud that those trained in local ambulance brigades were going out to help. What aU hoped, whatever their views, was that a peaceful solution might be reached at the earhest moment. If this war could have been avoided, a tremendous responsibility rested on the Government for in- volving them in war with utterly inadequate preparations. There might be some Liberals smitten with the views of Cecil Rhodes. He would not quarrel with them, but would ask them to remember that Mr. Rhodes himself was on the right track once, when he held that the true solution was to merge the sympathies and sentiments of the two races — to fuse their interests together so as to form one nation. That was the key to his winning the confidence of the Dutch, and obtaining the enormous personal power in South Africa that he once had. He would ask whether it was wise to forget the Rhodes who was a statesman, and to follow blindly the Rhodes who had sunk to the role of an unscrupulous conspirator ? 230 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 That was a question not to approach in partisan spirit — a question to which they should apply the highest standard of political thought, of poHtical honour, and poUtical generosity. What Liberals really believed in for the future of South Africa was a volimtary federation of free self-governing com- munities in union with, and, if they hked, in subordination to, and forming part of the general development of the British Empire. 1 A distinguished Liberal Unionist,^ who took the same view, argued that it ' was bad to build a constitution on the ruins left by a racial war.' Why should there not be that unity ? Did not the character of the despised Boers give reason for thinking even Englishmen might find some sym- pathy with them ? What had been said of them 1 ' They are animated by deep and even stern religious senti- ment, and they inherit from their ancestors — ^the men who won the independence of HoUand from the oppressive rule of Phihp II. — they inherited from them their unconquerable love of freedom and liberty. Are not these quaUties, which commend themselves to men of the English race, virtues which we are proud to beheve form the best characteristics of the English people ? Is it against such a nation that we are to exercise the dread arbitrament of arms ? ' Those were the words of Mi'. Chamberlain in 1881. What was the situation in South Africa 1 They had two masterful, liberty loving races, who loved to have their own way, hving side by side. How could they get on except by showing mutual respect one for the other ? There was no solution in the wild and reckless cry of the music halls, to avenge Majuba HiU. That accidental victory, in an insignificant skirmish, brought about by a blunder of a British commander, who unhappily lost his life, ought to have been buried in oblivion long ago. If they were to have a poHcy of revenge Hke that between nations, what would they arrive at ? The policy of Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Chamberlain was to put the Boer under the heel of the EngHshman, but the true poHcy in South Africa was to put neither race under the heel of the other, and to treat them as brothers. 1 This is an accurate forecast of the Constitution granted eight years later. " Mr. Arthur Elliot. 1899] EDWARD CLARKE— LORD SPENCER 231 What were the true principles to apply ? They would find them in the noble words of Sir Edward Clarke. ' Their wealth and strength and splendid range of Imperial sway brought to them responsibihties as well as privileges. They were in the van of civilisation. Let them rise to their great ambition. Let them show they were capable of a calm and patient and manly spirit in deaUng with international affairs. Prompt to resent an insult, steadfast in protecting national interests, ready to protect their fellow-countrymen, but also manly enough to acknowledge mistakes, to remember that it was easier and nobler for the strong to be generous than for the weak to be submissive. So should they show the world the poUcy and pattern of a Christian State.' He would also read to them the inspiring words of Lord Spencer : ' We ran the risk of doing away with the advantages we had gained in our attempts to harmonise into good fellowship the two separate nationahties. Year by year this union and good feehng had been increasing. Might we not destroy that entirely, and make it extremely difficult to perfect that good work 1 ' As to the pitiful story of the negotiations, was it not enough to condemn them that they were at war ? Sir Edward Clarke, in his briUiant cross-examination in the House of Commons, eHcited from Mr. Chamberlain that, when the Boers offered to come to terms with Sir Alfred Milner, subject to the one condition that the Convention of 1884 should be maintained, and their hberties guaranteed, Mr. Chamberlain intended his reply to be acceptance, but the Boers and nearly everybody in this country had taken if for refusal. Mr. Morley pointed out that, when Mr. Chamberlain had in his box that offer of an entire surrender of the Boer Government, he went to Birmingham and denounced the Boers, saying ' it was impossible to get anything out of them,' and ' the sands in the hour-glass had nearly run out.' They knew what followed. The English Ministry would no longer entertain the franchise proposals — their new proposals were deliberately withheld. In spite of the appeals of the Cape Ministry, troops were rushed to South Africa and threats uttered by the press to every corner of the land. That was a renewal of the policy of Lord North, which lost 232 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1899 them the American Colonies. Such a policy was laying up a heavy investment of hatred — was placing before the Transvaal a terrible temptation to intrigue with foreign powers. His criticism of this war had been a democratic criticism. The democracy had no more dangerous foe than this Imperial- ism, Jingoism, Mihtarism- — what you will. What was happening with regard to capital and labour in South Africa ? The capitahsts ^ were to coin their millions, while the workers who had got the gold for them, and wished to go on working loyally and earning their wages, were being hurled out of the Transvaal without compensation. And what did it mean here in England ? Why, the workers at home, the men who had been building up and keeping up wealth, the very corner-stones of the prosperity and happiness of the nation, were being made mere hewers of wood and drawers of water for others. They were being made the catspaw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for the capitahsts. And then ghttering mihtary pageants, with tales of glory, were being made to divert the attention of the masses from the true function of democracy of winning for themselves that inheritance which the patient toil of the workers for ages and ages had deserved to win at last. With the increase of Mihtarism and Imperial- ism, the country was threatened with an enormous increase of their burdens, and if it was carried further it would mean the narrowing of their hberties, which always went with mihtary expansion. Let them look at the decay of France, let them look at the grinding poverty of Italy, let them look at the seething discontent of the masses in Germany and in Russia, and let them take warning in time. The highest interest of England was peace. Peace was the stronghold of liberty. Peace was the key to social elevation. A vote of confidence was ' carried with a few dis- sentients amidst great enthusiasm.' ^ This Kettering meeting was to me the most pro- foundly interesting gathering of a long public life. Sharp division of opinion, keen, though not embittered criticism, were doubtless there. No man can quite gauge the real sentiments of those he addresses on a 1 See Report of South Africa Goldfields Company. " Report of local press. 1899] PEACE— LIBERTY— SOCIAL REFORMS 233 supreme issue which stirs the hearts of men to their depths. But, looking back at it all, that meeting, crowning the short but strenuous campaign of the autumn, seemed like the great triumph of the election of 1900, eleven months afterwards, to mark a moment on which it. is impossible to look back without a sense of happiness few things can bring to any man. I tried my best to state with absolute frankness the deepest conviction I have almost ever felt, and to put the argu- ment for my case unanswerably, as it seemed to me, but with studious consideration for the views con- scientiously held by others. And when I sat down in that prolonged and intensely expressive burst of cheer- ing, without a single jarring note, I could feel that I had not wholly failed. Sir Walter Foster and I passed that night with Mr. and Mrs. William Meadows, tj^pical Kettering Liberals, clear-sighted, loyal, open-minded, generous. I hardly know how far Mr. Meadows accepted my views of the war. Perhaps he may have thought with Foster, who, ever an Imperialist, had not much sympathy with men like myself, and Wilfrid Lawson, and John Burns on this great issue, and told me frankly afterwards his im- pression was that my audience were largely against my view, but well disposed to me personally. I cannot share that opinion. This was a year of supreme trial and difficulty, the uncertainty as to how men and things would move extraordinary. But, after many years, my own verdict is that, in these gravest crises of political life, it is always the wisest, as well as the most honest, policy to strike from the first the fearless note which may 'stop the rot,' and where that note is in real harmony with the underlying prin- ciples of sane and just pohcy, it always does sto'p the rot What I said that autumn perhaps did help to mould local opinion and lay the foundation of the splendid steadfastness in the time to come of the constituency. 234 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 CHAPTER XV THE WAR ELECTION. (1900) Spence Watson at Nottingham — ' Lust of Gold was throttling this Land' — Lawrence Lowell — Annual Meeting — Free Self-Govem- ment, not the Raid Policy — Women's Summer Meeting — ' The Paths of Peace ' — Impending Election — The Delegates — Democracy or Financial Imperialism — A Supreme Moment — The Capitalist Conspiracy — John Burns and Rushden — Rhodes and the Committee — Old Silsbee — Tory Chivalry — Finedon Enthusiasm — An Increased Majority — Lord Northampton. I On escaping from Pretoria, Mr. Churchill told England the Boers were the best of rough country irregulars — ' like Cromwell's Ironsides ' : to beat them we must send 250,000 men. ' Yes, but is it worth while ? ^ Is it not better for the Empire to have such men Avith us, than against us ? Better have mutual confidence — a federation of self- governing commiuiities won by unity of sentiment and trade. Why squander Hves and millions ? ' This creed Campbell-Bannerman realised eight years later. Statesmanship would easily have solved it but for the Rand capitalists, the Raid, and the ' hide and seek ' policy of Mr. Cliamberlain's ' new diplomacy,' provoking war, misery, and exasperation. What won and kept the British Empire — for white races in Canada, for mixed races in India — was not ' blood and iron,' but fair play to the sentiments of races, living side by side. Reforms were necessary. ^ English initiative, capital, and labour, could have had legitimate evolution. Everything was possible with confidence. The enemies were men who sought extravagant profits by cheap cooUes instead of weU-paid ^ Letter to Morning Post, January 1, 1900. ' See speech on Fitzmaurioe's amendment, February 1900, igoo] SPENCE WATSON 235 British miners. ' That was why the miners would not support the Raid and declared the war needless. The Transvaalers took arms for liberty just as Englishmen would. Colonial Office poUcy since 1895 aggravated distrust, instead of removing alarm. My letters and speeches were generously reproduced in local papers. These, with pamphlets and leaflets/ were widely distributed. Many approved, bvit among opponents this fusillade of documents provoked resentment. At first the Liberal branches distributed. Then my own messengers. Finally, an old supporter wrote that my messenger was asked to leave ' no more literature,' perhaps not too politely. Meetings were not held, but staunch friends helped. Among those who vigorously worked, Charles Wicksteed took a leading part with splendid force. Mastering official papers, he advanced, in speeches and pamphlets, closely reasoned arguments with ability and eloquence, and an enthusiasm and sympathy all his own. Btirley Wallis spoke with incisive power, driving home principles of Justice and mercy. Local ministers, notably Mr. Harper of Rushden, Mr. Davis of Kettering, and Sargeaunt of Bozeat, gave earnest help in this time of stress. The Federation meetings at Nottingham ^ were opened by Spence Watson, striking the noblest note of Liberalism, in Mr. Gladstone's famous words : * ' Let us recognise with frankness the equaUty of the weak with the strong, the principles of brotherhood among nations, and of their sacred independence ' — adding with intense feehng : ' Oh ! that he could once again to freedom's cause return ! ' 1 Several of whicli I wrote. ^ March 27. Dr. Spence Watson, chairman. 3 From the ' Don Pacifico ' Debate — beginning with the words : ' England will stand shorn of her glory if she separates herself, through her poHcy abroad, from the moral support which the convictions of mankind afford — when she may excite wonder and fear, but has lost afiection and regard.' 236 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 Spence Watson argued that No war was inevitable — least of all this war. The capitalists described the British flag as ' the greatest commercial asset.' Men must die, homes be ruined, slavery be reintroduced, free speech destroyed, that dividends might be bigger. That was abominable and abhorrent to aU right-thinking men. Were we in old England, the sanctuary of the oppressed, the safe- guard of weak peoples, were we deMberately to destroy two free and independent nationalities ? Surely we were not fallen so low as that. Were they to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the Tories ? If they could only succeed by swallowing principles and trampling on watchwords, then God give them failure. The lust of gold was throttling this land. LiberaUsm could only triumph, if leal and true to the eternal bedrock principles of justice and freedom — the very breath of their Uves. The glowing eloquence of this, the finest speech he perhaps ever delivered, fired the hall vs^ith passionate enthusiasm. The official resolution was tame. The speeches in support jarred on the intense feeling left by my old friend's noble words. Rising after the seconder, and speaking in terms of courteous dissent from the weak and wavering note struck by both speakers, I seemed to carry the vast majority with me.^ Lloyd George arrived late, and spoke forcibly on similar lines. Charles Wicksteed was there and Burley WalUs. I 1 The Boer Government offered the same terms that were asked for by Sir Alfred Milner, and said they would count upon acceptance by England of the principle of Transvaal independence under the Convention of 1884, and also of arbitration between the two countries. Were we to rule by military despotism ? That was the test question for the future of Liberalism. If they stood true to the principles insisted on by their President that day. Liberalism would triumph ; but if they broke away from them on any sham plea, they would be betra3ring the noble traditions that had been handed down to them by generations of men who breathed the same spirit. — Extract from report of my speech in Nottingham Express, March 28. igoo] AT NOTTINGHAM 237 noted too the patriarchal face of Mr, Taiiby, and other constituents. The gathering represented the whole country, and indicated the rally of Liberal sentiment. It seemed the moment to strike. I was eager for an election forthwith in East Northants, resigning my seat, and standing on the principles Spence Watson had laid down. I pressed this suggestion on Wicksteed and Wallis at Nottingham, and on Mr. Stockburn by letter. But it was opposed by local friends, to whom after discussion I yielded. Twelve years afterwards when I met Mr. Lawrence Lowell, President of Harvard, in Boston, his first words were to refer to that meeting, and congratulate me on my speech. He attended it as a visitor in preparing his great book on British Government, and so happened to hear Spence Watson and myself. The meeting vividly impressed him with the vitality and freedom of our party gatherings. The Annual Meeting at Wellingborough in May,^ my first f uU talk since Kettering in November, was crowded. My welcome was generous, my words received in kindest spirit. A resolution moved by Walhs — heartily with me — and seconded by Ladds of Rushden, who ' entirely disagreed with me on the war ' — was carried by acclamation. Wallis said : ' Mr. Channing felt terrible responsibihty in taking the action he had. It was easy to shout for war with the crowd. It was courageous to stand against the world in support of what they thought was right. . . . Were they prepared to weigh South African policy against the social and economic reforms their member had given fifteen years of strenuous work to promote ? ' ^ Held in the evening to enable working men to attend. 238 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 Briefly dealing with issues of the session, I said : But for war they would have nine millions surplus for old- age pensions and to fully equip our people to beat commercial competition. Why should American engineers build the Atbara Bridge in the Soudan and supply appliances for Belgian electric railways ? Thorough scientific training means new hfe for our people. Trade does not foUow the flag, it follows brains. On the war, no member is worthy of his trust if he wiU not state his opinion, without reserve, to his constituents and listen, with the same concihatory spirit I hope to meet from you, to different opinions expressed by those whom he repre- sents. I respect the sincerity of others, and I claim their respect for my own. This war is a tremendous object-lesson of readiness to do and endure all for country.^ The unity of the Empire was glorious. Such loyalty springs from the free self-government which Liberals had made the hfe-blood of the Colonies. That surely is the clue to solve our difficulties — the recognition of the freedom of those bound to us — the only principle to keep an Empire together, and win the respect of those who hve beside it. This war has its terrible lessons too — the deadly peril of turning these very ideals into weapons of plutocratic tyranny — leaving men Uke Rhodes and Chamberlain to play the fool over powder barrels — peril to pohtical and to moral hfe, to the honour of this country. Earher excuses vanished hke smoke. Mr. Balfour ^ waved away the franchise as a mere farce to gain time. Lord Sahsbmy's ^ words, ' We want no territory, no goldfields,' had been forgotten. This war was waged to extin- guish two free communities who dared to beheve it a duty to defend their freedom. When independence, repeatedly guaranteed, was assaUed by the Raid and the Raid was condoned, and the Raid pohcy made the pohcy of the British Government, they had the right to arm. Why not tell them we would keep faith and guarantee their liberties ? Then we could say, ' Discontinue your armaments ; they are a menace to South Africa, which we must by force prevent.' "■ Incidentally I congratulated the Conservatives on having as their candidate Captain Denham Parker, who was now serving in South Africa. * At Manchester. ' At the Mansion House. igoo] WELLINGBOROUGH MEETING 239 If there had been one pohcy throughout, we should have had no armaments and no war, but peace in South Africa instead of scenes of carnage. They had Tories in the Trans ^ aal just as we have selfish and grasping and tyrannical Tories occasionally in this country. But was any wrong done to Enghshmen which deserved war 1 Mr. Chamberlain had stated that the whole of these grievances and charges were not worthy of intervention, were not even breaches of the Convention ! ^ Why did that mischievous Outlander Council get up heated meetings and seize upon Milner, a wilMng convert, telhng him it was not the franchise only, but a clean sweep of aU Boer institutions ? Peace did not suit these gentlemen, or Cham- berlain, or Milner, or Rhodes. They were resolved to defeat any settlement. The man responsible for war is not he who strikes the first blow, but he whose poHcy makes bloodshed inevitable. Mihtary experts have said that the only pohcy the Boers could adopt was to throw their troops forward into Natal. They had passionately appealed for arbitration and desired peace to the last. Unwise things were said as to stopping the war. Much has to be done before you can ' stop the war.' You have to clear colonies, to rescue garrisons, and assert the position of England to secure future peace in South Africa. When Ladysmith was reheved, and Lord Roberts had occu- pied Bloemfontein, there was an opportunity for indicating terms of peace. But the unreasonable proposals of the Presi- dents were met by Lord Sahsbury's unreasonable reply that we could not in any case recognise independence. Such a reply made them fight to the last. When all the men and all the women of these Uttle peoples stand shoulder to shoulder, and fight for freedom to the last drop of their blood, that means real loyalty to ideals, true democratic brotherhood. I say this is a wicked war, and if Russia or Germany or France were waging it, the old Enghsh sympathy with nationahty and freedom would denounce the war as inconsistent with the spirit of the century which has recognised and sanctioned in Italy, Germany, and elsewhere the principle of nationahty. The best solution would be disarmament, reasonable reforms, 1 March 20, 1899. 240 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 and frank recognition of the right of these people to govern themselves in their own country in their own way. Get back to the days when Joubert and other Dutch leaders did their utmost to sweep away the system of exclusion, and were only defeated by a narrow majority. Then you can protect the interests and discharge the duties which rest upon you, and get peace and safety. My address was generously heard and unchallenged by those who dissented. There was no wiUingness to hold pubUc meetings. But constant activity on questions vital to my con- stituents kept me in pleasant touch with my friends. Personal attacks were best met by indifference. It gave me real happiness when the Women's Liberal Association of Wellingborough, with their leader, Mrs. Pearce Sharman, determined to break the constraint that had paralysed Liberal action ever since the Kettering meeting in November. As soon as this, the brightest of all our amiual functions, was assured, I invited Lloyd George and got his assent. During those three years we were constant comrades in efforts to stem the tide of Jingoism, and bring before the country the true meaning of the war. It was glorious summer weather. The platform in the paddock of Swanspool was gaily decorated with bunting, the attendance unparalleled, including nearly every leading Liberal of the Division. Mrs. Sharman opened the meeting with stirring and sympathetic words full of the note of enthusiasm. Lloyd George forthwith plunged into the heart of the matter. There was no member with a better record. He was the right type who told them God's truth, whether they agreed with it or not, who upheld his convictions and stood to his points, without regard to the passing dehrium. We were apt to forget om" own concerns in watching a great MRS. N. PEARCE SHARMAN, SWANSPOOL, WELLINGBOROUGH. igoo] WOMEN'S SUMMER MEETING 241 spectacle 6000 miles away. That was an old Tory trick. Millions were being given to landlords, pensions for the aged poor forgotten, the priestly hold over the conscience of the country tightened out of pubhc funds — all these things for- gotten in the war fever. No man played this game better than Chamberlain. He was against the war because he was a Pro-Briton. It was not that they preferred Kruger to Chamberlain ! There was not much to choose between them ! What they objected to was squandering miUions and countless hves to make a pande- monium in a land of smihng peace five years ago. There have been grievances and injustice. But they never punished the right people in war ! Who was to be punished ? Not Kruger and Leyds, who had blundered in diplomacy, but the peasants of the Transvaal, the men who were hunted from kopje to kopje and sent as prisoners to St. Helena. Their houses were burned, the women and children turned adrift homeless on the veldt. That was war. War was the stupidest of all human institutions. It righted no wrongs, it punished the innocent and exalted the guilty. As to grievances, had Chamberlain ever protested against the treatment of the natives ? Why, the natives had better wages at Johannesbiirg under Boer rule than in Kimberley under British. The Bill for the five years' franchise was only defeated by four votes. Kruger was a kind of Boer ' Lord Sahsbury,' but Botha, Joubert, and other Boer leaders were fighting for the ' Uitlanders ' before Chamberlain put his finger in the pie. I said : — WelUngborough was glad to welcome Mr. Lloyd George's stirring words. We welcomed the generous kindness of our hosts, and the noble work of women, as symboUsed by Mrs. Sharman. Let them reahse what they owed to women — Temperance, Education, the cleansing of the slams, the housing of our people, the rehef of the sick and needy, help for the aged poor, the ehmination of risk and disease from industrial life Every- where the hand of women had done great work. This Govern- ment had wronged women in shutting the door on things the women of such a constituency as ours were eager to do. The Q 242 MEMOEIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 Government would give no time to three Temperance BiUs passed by enormous majorities. The Local Government Act of 1894 extended the rights of women. In Northamptonshire, women were elected to local authorities. But the Government shut them out of their Borough Councils Bill, though a majority of seventy-eight wished to right this wrong.^ Women had friends in this House of Commons who wished to foUow New Zealand in giving them practical power to work out the destinies of their country. The women of England did themselves honour, and rendered service to the nation and the Empire, by championing peace and justice at that magnificent Queen's Hall meeting of women addressed by women, to protest against this war. He thanked them for it. The genius and resourcefulness of men like Roberts, and White, and Baden-Powell and the bravery of the rank and file had saved the country a catastrophe they could hardly measure. This Division was proud of their contribution of ambulance men — true heroes who had not shared the fury of battle, but faced deadher danger in the fever dens of Bloem- fontein. CapitaHsm, masquerading under Imperial traditions, had thrown aside conciHatory suggestions which might bring solu- tions like Lord Durham's in Canada. Mr. Chamberlain sup- pressed the Schreiner Minute, and wished absolute disfranchise- ment of aU Dutch sympathisers with rebellion. Kossuth once said : ' I have always looked on England as the Book of Life which would teach all the nations of Europe how to hve ! ' Was England to be made the Book of Death for personal rights ? God forbid ! Let them learn to love freedom themselves, and grasp the hand of those who were ready to face death for their own Uberties. Thei'e were differences about the war, but if Liberals abandoned the principle that they were not to rule without the consent of the ruled, he had done with Liberalism. There would be the grandest of rallies to that love of human- ity, of right, of freedom, which every Liberal worth his salt had in every fibre of his being. Love of liberty and justice in East Northants would never die. Mrs. Laycock, in brief eloquent vi^ords, thanked me for what ' I had done for Social Reforms, for my cham- pionship of woman's claims in Local Government, and ^ The Bill was shelved. igoo] THE IMPENDING ELECTION 243 unswerving devotion to Liberal principles ; consistency and courage had won and would keep their confidence.' Wallis urged that ' they would find my course on the war even more deserving of support and praise than my services on questions all were agreed upon.' Mrs. Johnson supported, in one of her racy and pointed speeches. Compliments to Mrs. Sharman closed the meeting. That glorious summer evening, with its intense feeling, its burning reality, its focusing of the vital issues, will ever live in memory. It was the happiest of all the happy evenings with my old friends of Swanspool. In the last debate of the session, in view of the impending election, I put my whole heart into a plea for prompt and generous settlement. I meant it then as my farewell.^ I wished to be rid of even indirect responsibility for the war, proud though I was of being member for such a constituency. n Early in August, a meeting of the Executive was called to meet me — as usual in private. I deliberately spoke in words so extreme and uncompromising, that all would see that I would not care to stop on as candi- date if there was the least hesitation among any of my friends as to my standing absolutely on my own terms. During a sad, though delightful, holiday, fishing in Sutherlandshire, amid the glorious hills and purple heather, much thought led to correspondence with Mr. Stockburn, wise as ever. The pressure of many friends and of my own family helped to settle matters, and in September we found ourselves in dehghtful quarters for the election in Wellingborough. 2 A crowded meeting in the Salem 1 Reprinted as The Paths of Peace. 2 St. Helier's, the residence of Mr. Peter James. 244 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 School was opened by Mr. Stockbum wisely on the point that ' it was not Mr, Channing who declined to have meetings, but his supporters who urged him to wait till a more opportune time.' Thanking the delegates for their splendid welcome : — The tremendous issues of the election must be dealt with later. At that moment the issue was personal. They knew he had acted on deep conviction. The honour and privilege of representing them was great, but as nothing compared to the fulfilment of a man's own conscience. He knew many friends conscientiously came to different conclusions. He would not wilhngly say one word, or do one act, which could give pain to those who differed. He felt strong personal regard for those who had shown him such generous confidence. Goodwill be- tween member and constituents had marked those fifteen years. If he had helped to create it, he should be glad indeed. When he found a number of most valued friends took an opposite view, he had felt incHned to say : ' You have given me fifteen years of happy pubUc life. I would rather end that than make enemies of those for whom I have the strongest regard.' That was met by generous assurances from many who differed from him. Then there was the growing conviction that their differences were more superficial than fundamental. A third point weighed with him more than either, that this election meant the fight of democracy against insidious destruction by international capitalism — democracy unorganised, and helpless to restrain financial rings, backed by privileged classes. This war was the acute stage of a fife or death struggle. Transvaal administra- tion was faulty — the ultimatum was reckless. But the war was to defend the sacred right of independence. It was just no further than this, that, after the ultimatum and the invasion of British territory, it was the duty of England to repel it, and rescue the garrisons. When they went further, and ignored the origin and purpose of the war in the minds of those who hounded it on, that was an unjust conclusion. In the mind of every honest man there was but one thought — they wanted in South Africa a federation of self-governing communities with equal igoo] EAST NORTHANTS DELEGATES 245 rights for both races — ^voluntarily in combination with the British Empire. Would the wiUing assent of those men be obtained by courts- martial, the burning of farms, the point of the bayonet 1 That was not the pohcy to consolidate South Africa. What he was wiUing to put in his address was a frank recognition of the national instinct and desire for internal seK-government within those states, on conditions which would remove the danger of such a war occurring again. He could not ask them to accept him as candidate on any other terms. George Bayes of Rushden and my old friend Samuel Rye moved and seconded the invitation to stand, supported by George Maycock, who said, ' They wanted a man who dared to exercise his own judgment. A dead fish would go with the stream. It took a live one to swim against it. He dehghted in the man who would sacrifice even friendship for what he believed to be just.' W. 0, Sanders said he honestly differed about the war, but his opinion of Mr. Charming had never been so high as at this moment. A warm guarantee from Kettering voiced by Wick- steed— a gentle note from Mr. Harper — John Spencer gave expression to the backing of Rushden labour. Taylor, in rushing style, put the creed of the workers of Kettering, that the root of it all was the struggle to oust white labour. The vote was unanimous. A scene of intense enthusiasm followed, the delegates rising and cheering for many minutes. It was a supreme moment, warmly, deeply lived — of generous response of heart and brain to a unifying, sympathetic force which swept away aU barriers. It was hard to reply, but truer words never came than when I said, in accepting their call once more — This is one of the greatest privileges and honours of my life. I feel profoundly the kindness of those manly words from Mr. 246 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 Owen Sanders, just as I glory in that note of the future, the frank alliance between Liberahsm and Labour — the real Unk of action — the loyal, persistent desire to push forward the noblest ideals ever cherished, the ideals of a self-respecting and resolute democracy. It was a special happiness that this was the first delegates' meeting in which women had voted, a new alliance he welcomed with all his heart. It would be a victory not of an individual or a party, but of great principles. Our campaign started that evening with a densely packed meeting in the Corn Exchange, the atmosphere electric and tempestuous. Passionate cheering, chal- lenged by uproar, made consecutive argument difficult, order impossible. Stockburn was at his best — kindly, direct, bluff, imperturbable. ' What was Mr. Channing a traitor to ? — ^Not to his own conscience ! ' George Russell had failed us through iUness. When I rose, men and women stood and waved and cheered till I could break in with thanks for that glorious ' send off.' Asking fair play for my gallant opponent at the front in South Africa,^ I proceeded : The issues were too vast, too momentous, for personal ques- tions to be weighed. They were not to ask how he had served them, but what was the vital interest of the nation ? ' I ask to be judged solely on that, and on that wiU I stand or fall.' Were they to shut the door on the noblest aspirations of England, which had made her the champion of nationahty — the flag of England to fly only over free men and wiUing subjects. Was that ideal banished and the new century to be opened to the call of Rhodes and Kipling ? Whether it be on Imperial- ism, or the war alone, I was ready to fight them on either. In bye-elections up to July 1899, the country had gone against the Tories twice as fast as it ever went against Mr. Gladstone. They wanted to shut out social reforms just as they would inquuy into the mismanagement which landed the 1 Captain Denham Parker. igoo] A CAPITALIST WAR 247 country in war and peril and disaster, and led on to the ghastly fever tents at Bloemfontein. They hurried this election before the war was over, and before the truth was known. They were sheltering themselves behind Lord Roberts and Sir George White and Baden-PoweU. They were asking for a ' Khaki vote.' I agreed that ' Nations do not Uve by war alone.' ^ I was fighting because this was a fight of democracy against the greatest curse of the age, financial Imperiahsm ! This South African War meant the churning up of the whole world to make butter for the rich. The war, say what Mr. Chamberlain might, was the direct outcome of the capitahsts' conspiracy to seize the mines. The Transvaal Government blocked the way of schemes to lower wages of EngUsh miners, and employ Kaffirs and Chinese at a tenth of what they paid under Kjuger. The war was unjust. Mr. Chamberlain's pohcy had provoked the Transvaal to invade Natal as an act of self-defence. We have to repel that invasion, and rescue the garrisons, and place Great Britain in a position to say what the settlement should be. Mr. Chamberlain said, ' the Transvaal had piled up arms and ammunition to drive England out of South Africa, and therefore this war was just,' but Dr. Jameson, when elected for Kimberley in 1899, said that before the Raid individual burghers had rifles, but the whole armoury of the Transvaal was guarded by three artillery men in a so-caUed fort, pro- tected by a broken-down iron fence. I asked their votes in the interests of labour and of humane and just treatment of weaker races, whom they should not crush and enslave, but enlist as friends, and grow stronger in their strength and good will. I asked their votes at that momentous election, not for an old friend, but for one who, whatever his demerits, had been and would always be a fearless champion of what he conscienti- ously believed the highest interests and noblest aspirations of democracy. The tremendous cheering of friends was half-drowned by singing and shouting at the rear of the hall. To questions courteously put by Mr. Goodman, I replied that I had voted, and should vote, that this was ^ Sir William Harcourt. 248 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 an unjust war, and that I had voted and should vote against the annexation of the two repubhcs, and should not care to go to the House of Commons unless I did. Eloquent speeches followed from WaUis and W. O. Sanders, who made himself heard through the tremen- dous din. ' I don't want my member to be a machine. I want him to be a man. He has been a man all through, and he is going to be our man.' My old friend. Rev. Thomas Phillips, woimd up with a brilliant appeal for freedom and righteousness — ^for peace, not militarism. George RusseU had written : ' Threats, insults, pro- vocations heaped upon the Transvaal, troops massed on their frontier, negotiations resolutely broken off ! Chamberlain was the real author of the war ! ' Equally glorious was the overwhelming muster at Kettering.^ Early signs of storm dispelled by references to fair play shown to the Tories the previous night. Mr. Stockburn challenged the Tory claim that the election was on the war alone. It was on the whole policy and record of the Government. They promised much, but dealt with little. Matters they touched they had crippled. My welcome was ' tremendous.' I was sure that, as at Wellingborough, those Liberals who differed on the war would rally round me in Kettering also. All over the country Liberals were in high spirits and burning hope. Their banner was ' Justice for all.' There were a miUion and one questions which needed settlement and would get it. They would give the widest suffrage in South Africa, and they claimed it here for great social reforms. The Tories were sure in 1880 that Beaconsfield Imperiahsm would be reinstated by an enormous vote, but Gladstone got back with one hundred majority. Why not as grand a victory now when the bubbles of Rhodesia and Birmingham were burst ? The ^ Victoria Hall, September 26. W. 0\VI-:N SANDERS, VVOLLASTON. igoo] TRUE IMPERIALISM 249 country would not stand postponing beneficial reforms to the ' Greek Kalends ' ! while enormous revenues were surrendered to class interests, and handed over to the rapacity of Financial Imperiahsm, clamouring to rvde the world. There was true Imperialism as well as false. The Imperiahsm of annexation and slaughter was detestable, the Imperiahsm which meant love and attachment to their Colonies and the British who had gone out from home and looked back to it with passionate devotion, ready for any sacrifice to help England — that was the noblest Imperiahsm the world had ever seen.^ The Australian Commonwealth Bill was boasted as a triumph for Mr. Chamberlain. It was reaUy the BiU of Mr. Barton, first Prime Minister in the Commonwealth. Mr. Barton de- feated the manoeuvres of Mr. Chamberlain to elbow the Aus- tralians out of their claim to have absolute independence in aU internal matters. The passing of that BUI was one of the mightiest things in the history of the Anglo-Saxon race. In giving Austraha freedom in internal matters, they were making Austraha not an enemy but their most loyal friend. They wanted a Barton for South Africa ^ — a man who stood for peace, and struck the balance of conflicting forces. Such a man was Schreiner, who had kept the loyal Dutch for England, and whose wise advice,* to foUow the example of Lord Durham in Canada, would have saved us from this calamitous war. The national sentiment of the Boers should be recognised. They had proved by their bravery that their determination and their patriotism was an honour to any race. No generous man, who had beaten such foes, would ignore their passionate love of freedom. They did not want a victory of exasperation and distrust, but a victory of what was noblest in the Anglo-Saxon race, free itself and caring for the freedom of others — to hand down not tyranny inspired by greed, but the touch of generosity which drew out what was more God-hke in humanity. Mr. Lehmann * spoke of the unity of all Liberals for Social Reform, and referred to the coming over of Lord ^ And that is the Imperialism of 1914-17. 2 South Africa has since got him in Gteneral Botha. 3 Contemptuously rejected. * M.P. for Market Harborough. 250 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 Durham and Mr. Lionel Holland, the Tory champion of Old Age Pensions. Mr. Philip Wicksteed made an eloquent appeal ' to support the nobler creed of England's destiny, and the men who had fought and could fight for conscience and the honour of their country. Mr. Gladstone's action in restoring independence to the Transvaal had given them twenty years of peace and put things in train for the true solution — the federation of the country.' Next night, ^ my old friend. Dr. Chfford, took his burning faith and stirring rhetoric over with me to 'good old fighting Rushden' — a scene of glorious enthusiasm ! John Burns wrote : ' On foreign policy he has taken the well-informed, the permanently safe, because the long-sighted view. This South African war is really a struggle between capital and labour, and Mr. Channing has taken labour's part.' In beginning, I moved that a telegram be sent to Burns, thanking him for his splendid services to democracy, wishing him next week the most decisive victory of his Ufe for progress and reform. Their bands, broken and discredited, as Tories thought, had no sooner gone forth to battle than they found their enemies appealing to the universe to come to their aid, with every sign of dismay and despair. There had been nothing like it since the time of Gideon. Bad diplomacy, lack of common sense, of foresight, and pre- paration. They shrank before the deep indignation felt by Enghshmen. Sir Walter Foster had offered to go out, to organise medical provision against disease, and the Government had refused. Their own ambulance men had seen at Bloem- fontein the fatal results of criminal negligence. They would not forgive the incapacity which had brought the terrible scenes described by Mr. Burdett Coutts.^ They had their own heroes in their volunteers, and ambulance 1 September 27. ^ Hansard, vol. 85, p. 104. W, H, WILKINS, J. P. RUSHDH.N. igoo] JOHN BURNS AND RUSHDEN 251 men, and the women who nursed the sick and wounded. But their votes were asked not for them, nor for the generals who pulled the Government out of the mire, but to give fresh charters of unlimited power to Joseph Chamberlain ! Agricultural distress had been the pretext for enormous endowments for landlords ! Money was wanted to meet famine in India. It was being poured out by the million in destrojdng hfe and extinguishing hberty in South Africa. The laws of human nature and of history must be observed if they were to hve in peace and reconcile the two brave races that had to live side by side. He cared Uttle about himself, but he did care that the honour of this constituency as a stronghold of progress should be maintained. He appealed to all to win the mightiest of all their long string of victories. Dr. Clifford poured an hour's torrent of glowing eloquence into eager ears of cheering Rushdenites. ' Englishmen admired pluck whether in a De Wet, or in a Roberts, and watching the career of Mr. Channmg — most of all these last twelve months — would say one of the pluckiest men in the House of Commons was their representative. His majority must not be lessened.' ' Labour and the old Liberal creed were never more united, more democratic, a broad outlook, a conquering policy. With the rising wave of enthusiasm they might smash the Tory majority altogether. This Government had not earned the right to live another day.' ' Where were Old Age Pensions ? The landlords and parsons had got them ; Mr. Chamberlain had provoked this war, and, unless they had straightforward and honest men, their day of doom was near.' The local speakers were full of point and fire — a record meeting. Another minister mihtant. Rev. Hirst HoUowell, and our Liberal vicar, Sargeaunt, helped me at Wol- laston.^ I spoke of ' the grand revival of freedom of 1 September 28. 252 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 thought and freedom of speech — the secret of the strength of Liberahsm. There was a tidal wave — a note of melancholy in Tory appeals. They wanted a Jonah, and too many of them have been found out ! They should join the Liberals and pitch the whole lot overboard ! ' The Boers were but human. Treat them as men. Send out the best brains and hearts of England to see how to reconcile British paramountcy in South Africa with such self-government that the Boers would feel they were still men, not slaves.' W. Owen Sanders said the Liberal Party must. have a voice in the settlement. Let them send their best men to the House of Commons. Hirst Hollowell held his hearers, with a passionate exposure of ' the Tory betrayal of all their democratic pledges, of the "new diplomacy" which had set South Africa in flames, and all but brought on war with France.' ^ Pratt Walker was, as ever, excellent, and Sargeaunt spoke with sympathy and generous directness. At Higham,^ with Samuel Pack in the chair, I said : I had never shrunk from going to the root of each vital question. Liberals lived by faithful declaration of what was in their hearts. The future of the Transvaal lay in frank amalgamation of the interests and claims of the two races. The war arose because the great financial ring controUing diamonds and gold were determined to smash the Dutch Government so as to get full economic and pohtical control, to hmit the number of EngUsh miners, cut down white wages, and reap miUions of dividends. Why had they war at all ? Milner's first programme of bringing the two races into one political commimity would have worked out its own salvation. The progressives, headed by ^ J. C.'a outrageous speeches that ' France must mend its manners,' and that ' to sup with Russia a man must have a long spoon.' 2 September 29. igoo] RHODES AND THE COMMITTEE 253 Joubert, all but carried in the Transvaal Parliament the very scheme that was afterwards demanded.^ This great empire of freedom and truth had been made the instrument of financial conspirators. City speculators in 1895 knew, within three months after Mr. Chamberlain came into office, that the Raid was organised, and turned their knowledge into money to the tune of three milHons on the Stock Exchange. How was it that Mr. Chamberlain did not punish those who were responsible to clear the honour of the country 1 Why were telegrams and letters suppressed ? If Mr. Rhodes had been punished, instead of a Minister one day signing documents condemning him,^ and another day coming to Parliament, and saying ' there was no stain on his honour,' the result would have been far different ! There was the real reason of so much misery to EngHsh homes. The day following,^ Sheffield presided over a glorious gathering at Earls Barton, Councillor Judge of Brackley opened the ball with scathing indictment of Government policy. Charles Wicksteed spoke with great force. The Government had appealed to the country at a moment of excitement, disfranchising half a million of voters, when every Enghshman wanted to know the truth as to the hospitals and the soldiers and the conduct of the war — what it was to cost, and in what state South Africa would be left when it ended. The Tories were afraid to face the music. The war had put coal to famine prices, depressing industries, had raised the price of money, thrown back building and lessened em- ployment. Rising amid tremendous enthusiasm, I said : That was the most wonderful election, and that meeting beat the rest — dehghtful to feel he still retained their warm support and generous consideration. He did not regret one word he spoke there eleven months before.* His conscience endorsed them now as it did then. There would be a heavy ■^ Lost only by four votes. ^ Mr. Chamberlain signed the Committee Beport condemning Mr. Rhodes. » October 1. " See pp. 225, 226. 254 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 reckoning. The country was making up its miad that this war had better not have been. Mr. Chamberlain had declared ^ war on the Labour leaders of this country. They — with some right to speak for demo- cracy — were all brushed aside — ^good for nothing but ' voting machines.' John Burns a voting machine ! A man who, by sheer force of will and loyalty to truth, held the ear of the whole House, and had shaped dozens of questions. If they had a hundred men like John Burns they would have pressing social reforms put through. Instead, they had Ministers who cased their consciences with triple Birmingham brass — men who would be appraised at their true value. As for social reforms, the money had been simk, as for education — the priests and not the people had been considered. Mr. AUebone, in a glowing speech, said : ' Their member had stuck to the old flag of peace, retrenchment, and reform. This Government was a government of doles and contracts for its friends. What would they think of their School Board if they did the same ? They had been letting oflf the rich at the expense of the poor — Old Age Pensions would never come till a Liberal Government was returned. Never was Barton so strong for Channing as to-day.' Pratt Walker, welcoming me to a bright little gathering at Grendon, said, ' He had never and would never forfeit their confidence.' ' They were proud of him for the stand he made for what he believed right.' An aged labourer in the front row rose : ' I never voted for him before, but will now, for he 's the poor man's friend ! ' This was old Silsbee who met us on polling day, in a smock frock, an ideal specimen of the old regime. ' No greater compliment has been paid me in my life.' As the campaign closed, hopes rose higher. Both sides fought eagerly, but with good temper. Mrs. Denham Parker, graceful and attractive, won the hearts I The day before. 2 October 3. igoo] TORY CHIVALRY 265 of opponents by charm of manner, and courage in plead- ing for her husband, far away fighting on the veldt. Personal attacks lost their sting, hard words ceased to be hurled. There was a chivalry in my Tory opponents in this election which I recall with special pleasure. This was a feature of our fights through my long representation of the Division up to the end. My critics, whether Conservatives, or Liberals, or Socialists, showed generous forbearance when they might have indulged in venomous invective. If I contributed in any way to this truce, observed with increasing courtesy, year by year, it would be a happy recollection. Two special charms of this fight were brilliant sun- shine, and little armies of enthusiastic friends on bicycles who escorted us. Our quarters were delightful — the garden and billiard- room gave rest and change, visits of friends were welcome and frequent. A midsummer polling day for our start round, Julia and I, with Wicksteed and Wallis, both in highest spirits, and speaking all day with force, wit, and enthusiasm. We had a pair of ' Wedding ' greys, gay with red and white favours. To Barton, first, to find a record early poll. To Wallis saying, ' You know what to do in Earls Barton,' the instant shout, ' We have done it,' and tremendous cheers. At Grendon I caught sight of old Silsbee in long smock frock, wearing a tall hat in honour of the occasion. We shook hands and exchanged greetings amid an outburst of cheers. On to Bozeat, where gay crowds streamed in from lanes and houses to the square. Sargeaunt, Bradshaw, and my old friend Thomas Wallis, after brisk words from Wicksteed and Wallis and myself, gave us a splendid ovation. The Sargeaunts' children gaily waved, and here the procession of cyclist friends began escorting us to WoUaston, and Irchester — many of them young girls 256 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 decked in red and white, radiant with bright welcome. All the way, men in the allotment fields, and shoe- hands from workshops waved handkerchiefs. At each place cheering words from our party were met with cheering reports. What struck me most on this, the most glorious of all our polling days, was the great display of Liberal colours at windows, doors, and garden gates. At Irchester we met Mrs. Denham Parker, Mr. Orlebar, and others — a pleasant talk. Stephen Parsons stood ready for our gathering, after they left. I touched on the chivalrous regard I was sure aU felt for Mrs. Parker fighting the contest for her absent husband. Back to lunch at Wellingborough, thence to Rushden, Higham, Irthhngborough, Finedon, Harrowden, Isham, and Kettering. At Rushden thou- sands of eager men and women gave us a magnificent welcome.^ ' Glorious Radical Rushden once more will send one member more whose heart beats true. I hold the portrait of a candidate. Conservative, tiU he read the South African Blue Books, began to doubt, went to South Africa, found out, then cabled home he could not stand as Conservative. He is fighting Oxfordshire as a Liberal to-day. ' ^ The great square of Higham gave splendid welcome — our carriage heading a smaU army of cychsts up Rushden Hill. At Stanwick, joyous response. Irth- hngborough grandly enthusiastic.^ ' I never saw such a splendid display throughout the Division. Irthhngborough was outdoing itself. They were for peace and goodwill towards men, for fair play, for industry, for purity and straightforwardness. The people were betrayed for the few. They would win the most tremendous victory.' 1 Speaking from the Vestry Hall steps. 2 Eustace Kennes, M.P. 5 Speaking from the old worn steps of the cherished Eleanor Cross. SPEAKING FROM CROSS. IRTHLINGBOROUGH. ELECTION SCENE— FINEDON. (1900) iQoo] PINEDON ENTHUSIASM 257 Collings, Wallis, and Wicksteed gave stirring words. Then to Finedon — all red and white — thousands waiting in the sunshine — a brilliant scene, the most glorious welcome ever known in that village of many memories. The shoe-hands were in great force. When I spoke warmly and decisively my creed upon the war, they broke out into a tempest of cheers — some men shouting vehemently, ' He is consistent ! ' The scene in the square below the Temperance Hah will ever hnger in memory, the true answer to rumours that a fearless attitude on the war would lose the seat ! As we left, the ringing voices of a thousand friends sang 'He's a jolly good fellow' with tremendous energy. On through Isham to Kettering, speaking at four meetings and reaching the Liberal Club at 5,30. ' He had fought that election to the best of his abihty with a heart full of hope. They would score one more of those tremendous victories which pledged that Division to the cause of Progress.' I called for three cheers for ' Liberalism and Labour,' amid which we drove off to pay brief dehghtful visits to old friends in Broughton, loyal Pytchley, beautiful Orlingbury, and Harrowden, Wooding ever to the fore. Thence, in the gentle evening glow, home to St. Helier's. Cheering crowds escorted us from Broad Green to our pleasant quarters, tired with the emotions of the most heart-stirring of all our election days. Beginning in clouds of doubt, ending in that glorious autumn sunshine and goodwill and inspiration, we seemed to touch higher planes of pohtics, revealing the supreme truth that man is not groveUing or selfish ; his heart opens naturally to the cry of justice and mercy, as the flower opens to the sun. At a grand wind-up evening meeting,^ Juha and I were received with indescribable enthusiasm — the 1 At the Central Hall. 258 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 audience standing on their chairs and cheering for many minutes. Mr. Lloyd Pratt, who had done splendid work aU through, was chairman, the platform crowded with Liberal leaders. ' Never have I seen Wellingborough and East Northants in better temper and spirits than to-day. Never, even in those days of 1885, such splendid enthusiasm.' I lightly struck the note of each place, perhaps with a touch more than ever loving — ' everywhere received with a warmth of personal regard I shaU always cherish as a dehghtful recollection.' ' I come to this wonderful meeting, full of devotion and noble ideals — of generous sympathy and considera- tion for a man who has tried to fight your battle in this momentous election — in this constituency aHve with intellectual force and energy, with varied in- dustrial interests. In such communities, diversities of opinion on critical issues are inevitable. Who could conceive of such splendid obhvion of differences, such glorious rally of mind and heart to the noblest instincts of poUtical action ? ' I wish my wife could have been here to-night. Her health now is not good enough to stand the strain of heated rooms and exciting meetings — but you are intimate friends. I may perhaps tell you that in hours of doubt and darkness, when things seemed to go whoUy against ideas I felt bound to sup- port, I had no wiser counsellor than my wife. She has been my greatest help, and has secured me the joy of being your candidate in this glorious election. Speeches bright and pleasant from Mrs. Laycock, with gentle earnestness from witty, pithy Mrs. Johnson — from many friends including Wicksteed's burning eloquence, wound up by charming and teUing words from Heygate, full of fire, and dehght at the good temper igoo] AN INCREASED MAJORITY 259 of the contest, and the splendid work of Mr. Prentice and the Committees. No stone was left unturned to secure a Tory victory — the election was fought on the war. Captain Denham Parker — an attractive candidate — gained by being on active service at the front. The issue, in spite of signs of Liberal rally, was thought doubtful ; many prepared for at least substantial reduction. The counting next day ^ roused intense excitement outside. My people watched the scene from the Congregational Church wall. Rumours of success started, then tremendous cheering when the High Sheriff announced victory by 1440.^ With the vote of thanks I associated expressions of goodwill towards our opponents — ' especially to Mrs. Parker — who has conducted this contest in the fairest spirit.' Speaking from the Club balcony, ' This is a splendid victory — good enough for us all. East Northants stands a stronghold for ever of pure and wholesome politics. We fought against reckless Imperialism — against un- just dealing with other races — we fought for the rights of labour, for just finance. I fought with strong convictions, and have never flinched from expressing them. There were English wrongs to redress, but they were as thistle-down compared with the injustice of taking away guaranteed independence from these republics. We fought against Capitalism, we have won. My hope for the future of democracy is stronger after this splendid result.' Mr. Stockburn followed with eloquent and heartfelt words. We are glad that he has five times carried our flag to victory. We congratulate one another on sending a man Hke that to the House of Commons. We beheve in him, and trust him. . This is one of the days of my life. For fifteen years I have sup- 1 In St. Helier's Hall. ^ A majority increased by 225 votea. MO MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1900 ported him. I am approaching old age, but I trust I shall hve to see him stDl our representative. . . . He is no traitor, he would have been had he not acted up to the dictates of his conscience. Heygate, welcomed by three hearty cheers, another for Mrs. Heygate, was enthusiastic over the magnificent victory. ' Grand to fight for a good cause — grander to fight and win against odds.' A gay luncheon — then, bands playing, thousands cheering and singing through densely crowded streets, to the station — hillside embankments hidden by sohd masses of swaying humanity — tremendous rush to shake hands and to storm the train. Nothing ever like it before ! At Kettering huge crowds, five bands, carriages, a chair for me, Julia in the Heygates' carriage, pelted with flowers, through streets to the Club, enthusiastic welcome : — ' The pleasantest half-hour in my hf e. They had stood firm in their biggest fight, one law only for the conduct of nations and individuals.' I called for cheers for Mrs. Denham Parker's courageous fight. I trusted their victory would cause no sore feelings. Spirited addresses from leading Liberals, glowing words from Sammy Taylor. Rushden glorious with cheering thousands. Thanking the B.W.T.A. for a splendid bouquet : ' My wife is with you, and with me in this momentous victory. East Northants is safe for ever ! Victory for reason over passion — ^for justice all over the world. I shall go to the new House inspired by your mandate. You — men, women, the very children have taken their part — ^you have noble ideals — this scene is not the end, but the beginning of organisa- tion for noble causes.' A scene of glorious fervour ended in tremendous cheers for Wilkins, who organised Rushden. On Thursday we went round the South ; on Saturday the North. At Finedon, brakes and carriages mar- shalled round the square — eager friends everywhere! THE .MARQUESS OF NORTHAMPTON, igoo] LORD NORTHAMPTON 261 To their stirring welcome I replied, ' Chamberlain wanted to pass the sponge over Liberahsm. East Northants said, "Liberahsm shall live." ' To Irthhngborough a triumphal procession a mile long, scores of cyclists joining the march to the Cross. Grand meetings there, and elsewhere aU our way — so home, tired but happy. At the Wellingborough rejoicings. Liberals' devotion in this historic fight received warm recognition. We left for Scotland a few days later, eager crowds giving the heartiest of send-ofEs. In November, Lord Northampton, as new President of the Club, gave us a brilliant and sagacious speech at Kettering, with all his earnest enthusiasm and his balanced judgment. ' He prayed for peace, and was not ashamed to own it.' ' If he knew anything of the spirit of the old Liberalism, the prayer that mankind should dwell together in the spirit of brotherhood was one that should come from the heart of every Liberal. Their duty was to protest against the " new diplomacy " and to advocate peace, save where national danger or a slight on national honour compelled them to go to war. With good diplomacy and patience this war might have been avoided.' He wound up with a striking appeal for a broad conception of Imperial Duty ' in the best sense in which it was used by the great Liberal Party of the past, so that they might cement all parts of the Empire together — an Empire destined in God's good guidance to bring prosperity, civilisation, and peace, and set an example which would be successfully followed by all nations.' I said ' extirpation of National life in South Africa was against the noblest of Liberal traditions, the very contradiction of the Liberal policy which had made Canada and Australia loyal and helpful.' So ended a momentous year of strain and rejoicing. 262 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1901 CHAPTER XVI EDUCATIONAL REACTION— FARM-BURNING— FOOD TAXES. (1901, 1902) Crippling Higher Education — Unconditional Surrender or Equal Rights — Kitchener or Chamberlain — The Concentration Camps — Asquith and Party Unity — CampbeU-Bannerman and Gladstone — Respite for Kritzinger — The School Boards — Revival of Com Duty — The Workers' Income Tax. Like the War itself, this ' khaki ' Election was a smart Birmingham stroke. The plea that the war was over, and only national assent needed for a settlement, was false. The war went on for two years more. The settlement never came till a Ministry was in power which understood South Africa, and understood Eng- land, and the principles of local freedom and self- government which alone have made the Empire possible, and given it Uving strength and loyal unity. Liberals did not win, as at that moment we half hoped we might. The plea was specious enough to secure a new lease of office, and to send to Westminster ' the worst House of Commons of our times.' ^ In- directly and ultimately it helped us. Without this temporary encouragement, Mr. Chamberlain might not have launched ' Tariff Reform ' in 1903, which gave us the enormous majority of 1906, and might not have insisted on the destruction of the Budget of 1909, and so wrecked the power of the House of Lords. These two years were desultory and disheartening. Unionists had given an almost explicit pledge not to press controversial measures. But their first step at home was to restart their conspiracy to abolish popular control of Education, while in South Africa, instead of ^ Extract from address to delegates, November 20, 1901. igoi] CRIPPLING HIGHER EDUCATION 263 the peaceful settlement which, but for Chamberlain and Milner, was within reach after Lord Roberts's great victories, they persisted in extinguishing liberty and enforcing unconditional surrender by what Campbell- Bannerman characterised as ' methods of barbarism.' One redeeming feature was the success of the group, of which Lloyd George and I were active members, in bringing the official (Party) pronouncements more in harmony with Campbell-Bannerman's views, while less satisfactory was the starting of organised reaction in the ' Liberal League.' After a delightful visit to Fairlie,^ we wuitered again at Mentone. I was twice called back, in November for a short session, and in January by the sad death of our beloved Queen Victoria. I was unable to attend meetings till late in the year. But I did what I could by letter. To Lord Spencer : ^ English Education is being outpaced, with disaster to our industrial future. Trained workers are needed, and scientific experts, who will not wait for, but themselves anticipate, new inventions and processes.^ The urgency of the need is made a pretext for revolution, withdrawing all branches of Education from directly elected bodies, and depriving the great School Boards of rights they have exercised for thirty years of giving higher education. England is threatened in the commercial race by the United States. The secret of the mental training of industrial classes there has been the working of aU schools, from the lowest to the highest grade, under one single and directly elected Board, which controls and directs in each town the whole machine, from the infant school to the University. 1 In Ayrshire, the residence of Charles Stuart Parker. ^ Regretting inability to attend the Northants Education League. ^ This reads like the Report the Privy Council have just issued in September, 1916, on Scientific and Industrial Research. Perhaps this great war may free us, once for all, of the narrow war of the sects which has paralysed Educa- tion so long. 264 MEMOEIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [190 1 Similarly, to a protest from the Boot Operatives' Union, against withholding from School Boards rate aid for higher grade, science, or evening schools, thus threatening educational facilities hitherto within reach of poor children — ' a grave disaster to the higher interests of the country ' — I rephed : Working-men throughout the country should think what it means to control the schools themselves by direct election, and what it would mean for their children to have the secondary and technical instruction, to which their children ought to have access, also under direct popular control, instead of being walled off from elementary education, and handed over to nominated ' cabin-window ' bodies, in the interest of privileged classes and sects. The safe future of the worker's child Mes in the continuous education ladder, with real access to every part, and in one democratic, elective authority chosen for educational merit. The reactionary poHcy was clearly to effect, piece- meal, some purposes of the 1896 Bill which we defeated as a whole. The School Board was a lever, automatically forcing up standards of mental training, and brmging with it the educational future indispensable to national efficiency. The reactionaries were resolved to thwart this wholesome evolution, in the Cockerton Judgment, to cut ofE the powers of the Boards, and in Parhament through legislation to kill the Boards altogether. My chief effort this year in Parliament was to vindicate the honour of poUtics by bringing in a Bill to create the simplest and most workable machinery for Old Age Pensions, on the lines of Charles Booth's scheme. I embodied in this Bill the best points from the New Zealand and Australian Acts, inserting adequate checks against fraud. No such Bill had been till then attempted. I consulted upon it Mr. Booth himseK, and leading Labour and other advisers in JOHN WILSON. M.P. niD-DURHAH. igoi] EQUAL RIGHTS FOR BOTH RACES 265 Parliament. The Bill was backed by Sir Walter Foster/ Thomas Burt, H, Broadhurst, John Burns, and John Wilson of Mid-Durham,^ the four Labour Members whose aid I specially sought. The Bill went further than Lloyd George's Act of 1908, making the age sixty-five and requiring no income test. It was well to print such a BiU, but it never got a place, except once, the first day after the Address, in 1903, when the debates were visibly prolonged by Mr. Chamberlain's friends, to prevent discussion of so vital a proposal. On the Address,^ condemning the policy of farm burning as unwise and cruel, I urged that 'the pro- clamations had been inconsistent and confusing. The Boers could not tell what would happen if they gave up fighting. Let their treatment be make known to them. No one could wish their extermination.' The National Liberal Federation at Rugby, next day, made the concession of adding to the official resolution words suggested by our group, and by my own and other Associations, that war was being pro- longed by ' the demand for unconditional surrender,' and ' urging the Government to carry out, on the cessation of hostilities, a policy which would secure equal rights to the white races, just and humane treatment of the natives, and such a measure of seK- govemment as can honourably be accepted by a brave and high-spirited people.' ' Such a resolution might both help to shorten the war and to reunite the Liberal Party.' ^ Late Secretary to the Local Government Board. 2 John Wilson had been my helper in aU my Railway Bills and Motions — one of the wisest and weightiest Labour Members ever sent to Parliament. In a preceding year he delivered a noble address at the Primitive Methodist Commemoration, Wellingborough. 3 February 26. 266 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1901 To our Annual Meeting I wrote from Mentone : Our Division, at Rugby, and in the House, had shared in good and generous work. The growing influence of mercy and reason could be seen in Lord Kitchener's own intimation of possible terms. Liberals should strain every nerve to sweep away the relentless folly of Milner and Chamberlain. Men without insight into human nature, or sympathy with the love of hberty, had no claim to guide so noble an instrument of human happiness as the British Empire. On Education — the Voluntary Schools aid grant, the exemp- tion of such schools from rates, the block grants which fined Board Schools to give denominational managers money their own teaching could not fairly earn, were devices which col- lectively gave an endowment of £1,100,000 a year, without soUd equivalent to the nation or the parents. The people's schools, paid for by local patriotism, had been cheated, by the aid grant to poor Boards being one shiUing against five shillings given to denominationahsts, by the block grant, and by the minute which destroyed the power to give higher education. Let the people foUow the wise lead of the Labour and Co- operative Societies, for direct control, and the freest access to higher education for the largest number of children and young people. Among pleasant functions was another visit ^ from Thomas Burt (to open the new factory of the Union Co-operative Boot Society). He gave a genial and inspiring speech on what Productive Societies might do for industrial Ufe, bringing peace and turning beautiful ideas into realities — much on the lines of his speech six years before. ^ ' He never looked on Trade Unionism as an ideal. He aspired to something on a higher plane. Kettering was finding a golden key for labour problems.' His words were as joyous as they were kindly. His first ' reason for being there was " Channing " — his second was " Kettermg." Both were big, but the object was bigger than both together.' ^ May 6, 1901. ^ In opening the Clothing Factory, 1895. igoi] NATIONAL MORALITY IN POLITICS 267 At Northampton ^ a crowded meeting to welcome two South Africa peacemakers, John Xavier Merriman, who had been in Cape Ministries, and Mr. Saner, who had also served more than once. They had come over hopuig they might be heard at the Bar of the House, but the difficulties were insuperable. They were ' men who had laboured for years to rid South Africa of race animosity.' They presented the case for taking steps towards peaceful settlement with moderation and dignity, but unanswerable force. From the chair, I pointed out that Lord Kitchener and Sir Redvers Buller, within the last month or two, had been wilhng to offer terms, but this course had been interrupted by Chamberlain and Milner. John Ellis spoke at a crowded summer meeting at Welhngborough,^ making an eloquent appeal for practical apphcation of national morality to the working creed of politics, and bringing out with clearness and weight the true voice of England, the England that had hved and would live in history. I pointed out how women had helped to pass the Children's Bill which protected children and young people from the dangers of drink. ^ It was bracing to come among sane men and women who thought clearly, and had unshakable loyalty to truths and principles once assented to. The new Parhament, born of falsehood and bewildered passion, would do worse things than the Parhament of 1895. The ceaseless war against popular rights in education now threatened destruction of the people's schools. In South Africa we were fighting men of hke passions as ourselves, with the same love of country as every Enghsh- 1 June 14, in Assembly Room of Town Hall. 2 At Swanspool, July 13. 2 In support of this Bill I presented seventeen petitions, from every church and mission in Kettering. 268 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1901 man or Scotchman — men who, in Lawson's words, ' preferred extermination to subjugation.' The exigencies of a policy which demanded uncon- ditional surrender were not readily discerned at the outset. In some cases the burning of farms may have seemed a military necessity. But it was profoundly repugnant to kindly and generous British officers and men.^ Then the wretched women and children, whose houses had been burned, had to be removed to some sort of quarters and shelter elsewhere. All that followed was doubtless not anticipated. Those respon- sible did not, perhaps had not the chance to think. Certainly the miseries thus brought about gave keen sorrow and grave anxiety to the officials concerned in this pitiful business. The camps were mostly on the high veldt — the tem- perature much colder, sanitary preparations and equip- ment non-existent, and difficult to extemporise. Miss EmUy Hobhouse, and other generous and de- voted women, did what they could to help. But it soon became known that, under these conditions, adequate supphes of food and medical stores were unobtainable, disease was rapidly spreading, and mortality was reaching abnormal figures, especially among young children. Politically unsatisfactory too, for ' every burned farm meant recruits for de Wet.' ^ At home disgust at the lack of precaution which had caused the sufferings of British soldiers, in the fever tents of Bloemfontein the year before, was reawakened by the sufferings in the Concentration Camps. In both cases it was plain that the fuU results of what was done, or left undone, were never contemplated. But to allow 1 See Captain March PMUips's brilliant book, With Bimington. 2 House of Commons, December 12, 1901. 1902] CONCENTRATION CAMPS 269 such things to go on was intolerable to Enghsh senti- ment. The mere appearance of extorting surrender by the sufierings of weak and defenceless women and children roused intense indignation. To save this country from the disgrace of letting these horrors go on a moment longer is the first duty not only of every Liberal, but of every sane Englishman. The women and children in camps near the coast show no exceptional mortality. It was in the camps on the ' high veldt ' that women and children, taken from warm vaUey homes, often without clothes or bedding, to icy nights in tents, with lack of proper food, or fuel, and overcrowding without sanitary arrangements. It is as easy to move five thousand women and children to the coast as to bring a regiment up to the front.^ In the autumn I made detailed suggestions on these lines to Mr. Brodrick, then War Secretary. The men, and part of the women, in the Orange River and Transvaal camps, might be left there, in camps selected for health and economic working, and, if impossible to remove all, at least the children and mothers should be brought down to the coast in batches, so soon as camps or shelters can be pro- vided. The orphans might be placed in Dutch homes. In the September report. Sir John Maxwell stated he was ' taking precautions against an epidemic of enteric fever expected when the rains begin.' ' What must be the fate of children and adults weakened by measles and resultant pneumonia if now they become victims of enteric ? ' ^ I received sympathetic rephes from Mr. Brodrick, and steps in this direction were ultimately taken. In 1902 Humphreys-Owen ^ brought the matter before the House in a motion which I seconded. 1 Extract from address to Council. ^ My own comment. 3 March 3, 1902. M.P. Montgomeryshire. 270 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1902 We had taken a whole people captive, and inflicted on them risks which had terrible consequences. Whatever the autho- rities do, and they are doing their best with little means, is only a patch on a great ill. By more judicious management, they could do more, but do what you wiU, you cannot xmdo the thing itself. The complaints of the officials and the Ladies' Commission showed that these well-meaning men could not overcome their difficulties. At the Kimberley Camp the people were too thick on the ground — the death-rate for August ran up to 535 per thousand. Mr. Chamberlain's reply seemed unsatisfactory. He rightly eulogised the labour and sacrifices of the officials concerned, and insisted that defects were being remedied as fast as transport permitted. But he gravely misrepresented the origin of the ' camps policy.' These efforts on our part doubtless accelerated the ultimate improvement. Sir Edward Clarke had manfully said that ' no more terrible blunder could have been made than the refusal to use the triumph over Bloemfontein and Pretoria as the best chance of a settlement.' For that blunder Milner and his advisers were doubtless responsible. The poUcy of enforcing submission without suggesting terms had its logical outcome. This summer had comic and tragic sides, melo- dramatic excursions and alarums, of those who took too seriously the apparent divisions of opinion in the Liberal Party. These divisions were only skin deep. There was a general desire for unity. Those who would have preferred Sir William Harcourt in 1894, eagerly supported Lord Rosebery's campaign to restrict the Lords' Veto that autumn.^ When Lord Rosebery re- signed the Leadership in 1896, with insufficient reason, they did their best to back up the Harcourt lead, and when that lead was weakened by unhappy intrigues, ^ The present writer addressed over twenty meetings in support. 1902] LIBERAL PARTY UNITY 271 rallied as one man to Campbell-Bannerman, the most sagacious leader the Party had had for years. With gentle consideration he had done his best to bring and keep together all shades of opinion. He had helped his followers to reason coolly, and to remember that the moral law holds for nations as for individuals. The movement for whole-hearted unity as to the war, happily initiated at Rugby,^ was visibly becoming the living factor of present and future. The Liberal creed was plain. There would be differences as to the origin of the war, but none as to hastening peace by making known reasonable and generous terms. The future of South Africa was seen to logically and morally demand the amnesty policy of Lord Durham in Canada, and the application of the invariable principles of British Colonial self-government at the earliest moment after social reorganisation. That was precisely the sane pro- gramme carried out seven years later by the Liberal Government — ^the programme which has given us the loyal support of General Botha and all that is best in South Africa in the tremendous struggle of to-day. Mischief-makers, keener about their own prejudices than about the Party and the vital reforms which it stood for, unhappily chose the starting of the Liberal League, and a most appropriate comphmentary dinner to Mr. Asquith, for a last effort to stir up old differ- ences which wiser men wished to see silently disappear. Many will recall the dehghtful banter of Sir Henry Lucy's clever skit, ' War to the Knife and Fork ! ' The mischief-makers may have meant well, or have been bent on upsetting the coach, indifferent to the consequences, to get rid of Campbell-Bannerman, and get Lord Rosebery back in the post he abandoned. They only succeeded in placing Mr. Asquith in a 1 See p. 265. 272 MEMORIES OF MIDLAKD POLITICS [1902 momentary difficulty, from which he extricated himself with great tact and good sense. Just as, at the begin- ning of the war, he boldly dissented from annexation, so he used the dinner immortaUsed by Sir Henry Lucy's satire, to make it perfectly clear that he regarded the Jameson Raid as a piratical folly which deserved con- dign punishment, that the precipitancy of the Govern- ment had wrecked their negotiations, that, while he retained his own view of the origin of the war, the wish of every sane Liberal was that upon the scene of aU this desolation might arise a free, federated, self-govern- ing South Africa — ^that he condemned farm-burning as a grave blunder, and that he was frankly eager to secure party unity. Of course the Tory swashbucklers pounced with de- Ught on the chance of capital out of the situation, and tried to stir up strife. The movement of sane opinion towards unity was demonstrated later in the notable speech of Lord Rose- bery at Chesterfield. His eloquent plea for negotiation and conciliation was welcomed in the press by Lloyd George and myself. It seemed to me practically an acceptance of the platform unanimously adopted by the Party at Rugby in the spring — the poHcy which Campbell-Bannerman had urged on the country from the first. It was a blow against ' unconditional sur- render ' from an apologist of the war. The weak point of the Chesterfield speech was, of course, the sponging off the slate of reforms the Liberal Party had been pledged to for many years. It inspired one veteran Parhamentary wit to dub the extremists the ' Slates off ' party. No real Liberal wanted to abandon these reforms. The one blunder of Chester- field died a natural death. The hving contribution has helped to give us a loyal and free South Africa. The solid fact was that the meeting at the Reform 1902] RESPITE FOR KRITZINGER 273 Club in July had settled once for all the question of full and undivided loyalty of the Party to Campbell-Banner- man, and of the unity of the Party round the broad lines of his policy. Intrigue had driven out Harcourt, had beset Campbell-Bannerman ; but the Party wanted no more trouble, it had made up its mind. One reason for strongly supporting Campbell-Banner- man was his ' resemblance to Gladstone in generosity to others, and his firm courage in defending the higher standards of justice and right. ^ The Chesterfield speech had helped the cause of peace, but it would be the shabbiest of all intrigues to use that speech as an ex- cuse to betray their leader, just when it proved that Campbell-Bannerman had been right all through.' Earls Barton 'was congratulated on starting a Women's Liberal Association. The Federation Meet- ing at Derby had crowned the efforts of Campbell- Bannerman. Hateful as the war had been, it was going to have a purifying effect on Liberal thought and action. The old sound principles were gaining a hold that had not been seen since Gladstone passed away.' At Kettering Club,^ Thomas Shaw,^ president for the year, said — ' love of freedom and love of education are watchwords alike of Scotland and of Kettering ' — and in a splendid address in the evening exposed in logical sequence the mistakes of the Government and the resultant miseries. ' Loving liberty, and detesting injustice,' he reminded us of Conan Doyle's words, ' to win the loyal friendship of South Africa was worth more than all the mines of that country.' I said : — ' The mandate from Derby was for unity — apply the golden rule and end the war, clear away the 1 Extract from speech at Burton Latimer, January 10, 1902. Gladstone League Meeting. 2 December 9. * Later Lord Advocate, now Lord Shaw of Dunfermline. S 274 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1902 Milner and Chamberlain scheme, get rid of the Govern- ment by straight fighting on definite principle, under a leader who knew how to rule by consent, not by force, and would give us an empire of justice, not an empire to fiU pockets.' At the Peace-Day Meeting,^ over which I presided, Shaw and I took the unusual step of drawing up a petition to King Edward to respite Ejdtzinger, who was sentenced to immediate execution. This Boer General ' was captured while performing acts of self-sacrifice and heroism which might win for him a Victoria Cross. He was chivalrous and sympathetic to his opponent.' ^ This petition, eloquently supported by Canon Barker, and Henry Wilson ^ was drawn up forthwith by Shaw and myself and sent direct to the King, ignoring the official rule of petitioning only through the Home Secretary. This irregularity was pointed out, but Kritzinger's life was saved. At the Annual Meeting * touching on tkeir record in keeping up their majority through five elections, I said ' Gladstone's strength lay in his loyalty to the central principles of Liberahsm, not fossihsed, but hving and growing. CampbeU-Bannerman's pohcy was precisely what had given them success. Seek unity — ostracise nobody, '- welcome all. I had spoken and written against intrigue because I saw intrigue starting as soon as Campbell-Bannerman had shown himself in sympathy with the ideals of Bright and Gladstone. I had no wish to see rival Liberal Associations started everywhere to thwart those ideals.' A grand evening meeting welcomed my old friend Caine. He dealt moderately but justly with the Irish issues on which he had once differed from us, and gave 1 Essex Hall, February 22, 1902. 2 Extract from Mr. Shaw's speech. 3 M.P. Holmfirth. * March 23, 1902. 1902] ADVENT OF PEACE 275 whole-hearted support to our creed on Education, Social Reform, and South Africa. 1 expressed a fervent hope that ' the dove of peace which almost seemed that day to be again hovering over South Africa ^ meant that renewed negotiations might bear fruit.' On Mr. Raymond Greene's Bill I was able to state my case for universal pensions — 'endowment of old age getting rid of the taint of pauperism, as against schemes for, after aU, ' a quahfied outdoor rehef ' with the cost and demoralisation and impracticability of tests of poverty and merit. Mr. Rowntree's analysis of the condition of the poor in York showed that 43 per cent, of the workers were below the ' poverty line.' These people were obviously unable to make provision for old age. To ask them to contribute to give pensions to a selection of people over sixty-five, would make the lives of those on the border line stiU more miserable, and tend to further physical deterioration. Better sweep away all difficulties by universal pensions.' ^ In July ^ it was a supreme happiness to refer to the advent of peace. Last year in South Africa bright lives were being cut short, httle children perishing in the camps — fire and sword sweeping the land. That dark chapter was past. Peace on broad and generous terms, in the spirit which was the best augury of the future. If Liberal principles could have been applied through- out, as John Morley demanded in September 1899,* there would have been no war at all. Peace might have been attained when Lord Roberts won his first victories, and again, when Lord Kitchener, with his manly, humane instinct, tried to arrange terms fifteen months ago. The ideals of Morley and Campbell- Bannerman aU those months had won their way to other minds ^ The news of General Delarey's magnanimity in setting Lord Methuen — wounded and a prisoner — free to return to the British lines had just arrived. 2 From my speech in House of Commons. ^ July 29. Swanspool meeting. ^ At Manchester, see p. 216. 276 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1902 and other hearts. They had Lord Rosebery on the side of conciUation last December,^ and they had the most potent instrument for peace, the humanity of the King. Let them honour the King for that, just as they deUghted that he was recovering and would in a few days be crowned at Westminster. They owed this peace largely to the King. They owed it also to the straightforward character of Lord Kitchener. Thej^ owed it to the sound sense of the Boers when they won that victory over Lord Methuen, and had him at their mercy ; thej' nursed him with tenderness, and sent him back a free man to the British hnes. There was peace because the Boers were men with warm hearts and generous sympathies. Touching lightly on the Ministerial changes — It was a serious matter to lose the two men of trained intellect and responsible experience — Lord SaUsbury and Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. They had a tough battle for the vitality and efficiency of the House, a tougher battle against unjust taxa- tion, which was steadily transferring burdens from the rich to the poor, and now in the corn tax, small though it was, raised a mighty question which should stir the blood of every man who cherished freedom. They were told the Income Tax should first come oflf. If the people did not speak out, it meant lightening Income Tax by taxes on food. It was the most tremendous session known in his time. They were fighting night by night the iniquitous Education BiU. The Bill violated the principles of Local Government and rehgious hberty. The Bill annihilated School Boards because they had done their work, had educated the people nobly. Why not rather build upon that corner-stone ? They were depriving the electors of their right to select men or women to deal with the education of their children. They were forcing on the rates schools where they could teach their own dogmas at the pubhc expense — a flagrant injustice, against which the people ought to rise. Women and working men would be excluded in practice from the new committees, except where a town hke Kettering had its own Education Committee. They had tried to save the freedom of Welhngborough too, but in vain. The only success 1 At Chesterfield. 1902] NATIONAL EDUCATION— FOOD TAXES 277 they could get was to kiU that Bill. He would use every means in his power. It was not a battle of the sects. The issue was — Eair play to the child. It was a battle worthy of the efforts of every man and every woman in the country. The constitu- encies should take their part. This sumniary gives the pohtical and moral meaning of this memorable year in Parliament, the final struggle for National Education, in which, for the moment, we were beaten, and the first bugle-call of the mighty fight for the freedom of the people's food, in which we won the overwhelming victory of 1906. On both issues I fought in the House the hardest fight of my whole public life. ' Few things gave me such satisfaction as my success in stopping the adroit scheme of the reactionaries, in the eighth clause of the Local Government Bill of 1888, to extinguish those hated instruments of democracy one by one by Orders in Council — easy to slip through, and my persistent efforts on the Education Bill of 1902 to save the School Board principle, of direct election of the best men and women, for the one definite purpose of giving the young the best intellectual training possible. My object and my hope was the same as Lord Spencer's ; to use the democratic ad hoc authority to rouse the keenest interest in fitting the young intellectually for their future duties to the State and to themselves, to create, as the School Boards had created and would go on creating, the best body of experts for this work, and to use the School Boards as natural corner-stones to build the superstructure of a co-ordinated and adequate national system rising to the university at the top. In my case for the rejection of clause 6, and throughout the debates, I did my best for this generous ideal. On the other wing of battle, I used figures given by leading co-operators in our principal towns to demon- 278 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1902 strate what the food taxes meant as percentages on workers' actual incomes and earnings. The Chancellor argued in 1899, 1900, and 1901 that he was equahsing the contribution of direct and indirect taxation. In my opinion he has put unfair burdens on the poor by taxes on tea, sugar, and coal. But assuming his own argument, does this new duty on corn impose equal burdens on poor and rich 1 The figures for my own county show the increase has been 4s. on the sack, and 2d. retail on the stone of flour — an increase to the poor consumer of 3s. 4d. on the sack. Taking family incomes — A family at Wellingborough with 27s. a week spends 5s. 2|d. a week on bread, flour, etc. That means an income tax of 1.85d. in the pound on the poor man, and Id. on the rich. A family with 22s. and dutiable expenditure of 4s. wiU have an income tax of 2d. A third family with 27s. and dutiable expenditure of 5s. 9d. will have a 2id. tax. But the bare proportionate amount of duty is not aU. The consumer will have to pay two or three times in retail purchases. The real burden borne by such people will be added outgoing equivalent to an income tax from 6d. to 8d. in the pound, as against the rich man's penny. In another town a boot opera- tive with 27s. a week — eleven in family — consumes thirty half loaves and a stone of flour. The baker charges the |d. extra on the quartern loaf and they pay 2d. extra on the stone of flour. That gives an outgoing of more than 7d. in the pound. For an agricultural labourer earning £36 a year, the |d. extra on the loaf worked out at Is. 3d. in the pound : ' you are im- posing only a Id. on the richest, and as these figures demonstrate an income tax six, eight, ten times that amount on the working people. For women in East London garrets earning perhaps 2|d. on a pair of trousers, and maintaining two or three children on a fraction of average wages, such a tax is an intolerable wrong. It is a protective tax, not even helping farmers who lose on feeding stuffs. Sir Wilfrid Laurier had welcomed it : ' England's new poUcy is protection.' A Berlin paper : ^ ' the Enghsh Government has once more introduced these detested duties. England, to escape financial embarrassment, will go back from economic ^ The Vossissche Zeitung. 1902] THE WORKERS' INCOME TAX 279 principles which have guided her to wealth and power. This is the most eventful consequence of the South African War.' Again, the corn duty would mean an addition of 3s. an acre on farm rentals — a new endowment of £1,350,000 a year to landowners. It unjustly helped the rich by burdening the poor. This Government, ever since 1895, have extended taxation, shifting biirdens from the rich to the poor. They have been waging a ' Seven Years' War ' against the fair taxation of the poor. In a later debate ^ I analysed family expenditures of workers with incomes from 32s. to 50s. a week, on bread stuffs, tea, sugar, and tobacco, prepared by a leading co-operator of great experience in the Midlands. The table worked out as an income tax ad valorem of no less than 19d. in the pound, none of these items including expenditure on intoxicants. No answer was, or could be, attempted to these figures. The working classes were contributing a larger proportion to public expenditure. The poorer they were the more disproportionate the contribution became. The facts were admitted next year by Mr. Balfour himself when the Corn Duty was taken off. The Education struggle running right up to Christmas made meetings impracticable. I was unable to attend the autumnal gathering at Kettering, and my record of the session was deferred to early in 1903. It was the most exhausting session within memory. 1 June 13. 280 MEMOEIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1903 CHAPTER XVII TAEIPF REFORM. (1903, 1904) Repeal of Com Duty— Tarifi Reform Plunge — Weekly Batch of Inaccuracies — Chamberlain the Worst of Commercial Travellers — Coleridge — Unionist Free Traders — Evading Decisions — Land Reform Answer — Face neither Country nor Commons — ' The Heathen Chinee ' — James Tomkinson — ' Unsettled Convictions.' At a special Delegates' Meeting I made my postponed annual report on the session. ^ I said : — When you sent me to Westminster eighteen years ago, nobody dreamed that the Tory of those days who masqueraded in Liberal clothes, and got his pohtical living by passing sham Liberal measures,^ would have grown into the out-and-out reactionary and revolutionist of the present day. You have to go back to Queen Anne to find a parallel. In a single session these men have robbed democracy of its precious trust, control over Education ; have reversed the policy on which National weU-being has grown up for two generations — two great pohtical crimes made easier by paralysing and gagging Parliament. There is more to come, if men and women hke you aU over the country do not rouse once more the national spirit which won the liberties now being stolen from you one by one. The Education Act has been forced through unconstitution- ally, in defiance of the obvious will of the majority of the people. . . . We hear the exultant cry of Cardinal Vaughan that the Government have crushed Nonconformity, and the dehberate reply of the Free Churches, ever champions of liberty and rehgious equahty — ' We shaU not submit.' These are things strange and ominous, to be handled with courage and with caution. . . . Men and women who think, and lead, have duties as weU as privileges. Northamptonshire has force enough to grind some good out of even the worst machinery. You can save your own hberties if you choose. Rouse faith, 1 Wellingborough, 13th February 1903. * Under the shrewd counsels of Lord Randolph Churchill. 1903] HOLD IDEALS FAST 281 and hope, and daring in weaker districts too. . . . Do not be tempted to forget great purposes for small immediate advan- tages. Stick to broad principles. Look to the end, how what you do now will tell on the destinies of the nation. You have your ideals. Hold them fast. They are the truest safeguards of the moral strength and spirit of your race. You have read Dr. Chfford's words of fire : ' If reaction is tamely left to com- plete its work, then farewell to honour, to seK-respect, to freedom. We have only to watch the slow but sure decay through savagery to death.' It is well to have the greatest issue for generations raised to that level. At the Annual Meeting ^ I said : — The Education Bill had brought vividly before the people what was at stake ; the spirit of Hberty had touched even the most Conservative circles of ParHament ; there was a revulsion against this policy, a quickening of brain and con- science in favour of ideals for which Liberals had fought for generations. Just now they had in South Africa the pleasant surprise of their own principles being taken up by the very men who had been denouncing them. The terms of peace were more generous than the settlement Mr. Chamberlain would not allow Lord Kitchener to come to twelve months before. Mr. Chamberlain had just returned from South Africa. His going there was a plain duty. May the result be a pacified South Africa. I then went on to show how the cost of the war and the increased burden of taxation had been placed mainly on the shoulders of the poor. Dr. Shipman, M.P., made a vigorous speech. At Higham : — The bye-elections disclosed how the lessons of the last three years had been learned. The supporters of the Ministry had found them out ; he was not sure that the Government was not beginning to find itself out. The elections were a continuous 1 Wellingborough, 18th March, addressed by Dr. Shipman, M.P., and myself. 282 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1903 protest against military adventure, mismanagement of national affairs, the handing over to a dominant sect of power to control and pervert Education, and the enrichment and endowment of favoured classes. The last bye-election ^ was the most effective protest of all. ' It restored to the House his friend Sir Wilfrid Lawson — a triumph for justice and pure pohtics at home — a direct blow in the face to the Government pohcy in the drink interest, and to Mr. Chamberlain over the South African War. ' Sir Michael Hicks-Beach had made the first use of his freedom to condemn the extravagance of the Government. They were trying to rally their followers by taking fourpence off the Income Tax, when they had only threepence to spare, and were so conscious of their economic crimes that they were throwing over the Corn Duty, which last year was to be a " permanent corner-stone for widening the basis of taxation," and, while professing to increase the Sinking Fund, had robbed it of half a milhon.' ' The surrender of the Corn Tax was a great Liberal victory. One reason for its withdrawal was that it had been misrepresented ; but, in reply to Mr. Chaplin, Mr. Wyndham^ repeated the precise arguments which Liberals advanced last year, and were denounced for misrepresentation. " It harassed trade, taxed smaU articles, made feeding stuffs dearer, increased the price of flour and bread far more than the actual tax, even where bread had not risen, a loss to the consumer." ' 'The Corn Tax was one of the folhes concocted at Highbury,^ and offered as bribes to the Colonies, to tax themselves for Imperial defence, and, on their refusal, the ground for it was gone.' The Rev. David Pughe also spoke. Mr. Thomas PatenaU presided. This was the dissolving view of Ministerial poHcies ^ Camborne, where the death of Mr. Caine created a vacancy. ^ War Secretary. ^ Mr. Chamberlain's residence near Birmingham. 1903] TARIFF REFORM PLUNGE 283 to which the astute Birmingham leader returned after his not inspiriting inspection of South African wreckage. He had controlled Colonial affairs for seven years, and that melancholy chapter of bliinderings stared him in the face. The Raid made easy — anyhow not pre- vented, the persistent exasperation of racial suspicion, the mission of Sir Alfred Mihier, the negotiations that failed, apparently because not intended to succeed, the repeated refusals of concessions, the enormous cost and economic exhaustion of a war needlessly prolonged two years after it could have been ended on precisely the same terms as now — ^without further loss and misery. It was a record unpleasant to recall, almost impos- sible to make palatable to British electors, who had now learned their tremendous lesson. In such positions, big manipulators of national destinies often seek safety in diverting thought and sentiment into some novel channel. For Mr. Chamberlain the peril of his Party was a compelling motive, the possibihty of Colonial Federa- tion a plausible pretext. So we had the big plunge into the whirlpool of Tariff Reform at Whitsuntide 1903. None of us will ever forget Mr. Chamberlain's studied indifference in tossing the bombshell in our midst. He had chosen precisely the same moment of languid, almost sleepy, holiday temper to launch his first veiled threat of the South African War in 1899. As Mr. T. P. O'Connor countered the menace of 1899, so Sir Charles Dilke forthwith stepped into the breach in 1903, with a vigorous and closely reasoned protest. On both occasions the lines of coming battle were at once set out, and the great struggle begun which has already seen us over three General Elections. The inner history of those events may or may not be made fuUy known in our times. Whether Mr. Chamberlain was acting with, or to 284 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1903 force the hands of others, whether his wish was to help, or supplant — are speculations not without interest, but premature, just like the singular contradiction between the hurhng aside of the ' corner-stone of widened taxa- tion ' in the repeal of the Corn Duty,^ and the sudden initiation of the great scheme to tax not only corn, but meat, and everything else ! What is known to all is that Mr. Chamberlain's sug- gestions were at first dazzling rather than definite, that they took shape gradually, with not a few kaleidoscopic changes, both of form and argument, and that before long they took refuge, as unthought-out suggestions often do, in a sort of ' Commission ' — self-appointed — to inquire and report on the methods to give effect to these dreams. The whole affair had its amusing side, seriously as Mr. Chamberlain and his friends took themselves and their objects. Still more amusing, and more amazing, was Mr. Balfour's dialectical ingenuity in escaping from any decisive pronouncement, while professing benevolence to Mr. Chamberlain's main idea. Except that so much was in stem reahty at stake, it was far and away the most diverting intellectual entertainment of our times. The whole situation for those two years offered a para- dise to the caricaturist. And although, in the end, before the election, Mr. Balfour felt compelled to com- mit himself to some startling statements, which did not help his own Party, we hardly know yet whether he was really ' cornered,' or what his final opinion is. These two years of marking time were the two best wasted years I can remember. There was a good deal of useful work attempted in the House which came to nothing, and regularly recurring sport when our men balloted for and obtained nights, when they initiated ^ By Arthur Balfour. 1903] EVADING DECISIONS 285 animated discussions on Free Trade and TariS Reform. The speeches were smart and resourceful, and showed much unsuspected abihty in Liberal back benches. But, as the Tories ran away and Balfour was neither drawn nor cornered, it was more amusing than pro- fitable to the House. In the country doubtless it helped to make the scheme a laughing-stock. Early in this quaint phantasmagoria, the ever-active Kettering ' Trades Council ' sent me an excellent resolu- tion against reverting to Protection. My reply : — This, like all Protectionist schemes, is an ingenious plan to make the rich richer at the expense of the poor. The poor are to be tempted into the trap by the promise of old-age pen- sions, to be paid out of their own earnings and the restriction of their children's food. The whole business is theatrical clap- trap to puzzle the unwary, and make them forget Education BiUs and other wrongs. Preferential Tariffs will do good to nobody, without doing bigger mischiefs to everybody else. To raise the price of food is a dastardly crime against a rapidly increasing population, and the heaviest of handicaps on British industries. This humbug deserves crushing defeat from a thoughtful democracy, determined to be free. Regretting I could not attend the Summer Meeting, I wrote : — I had hoped for this pubHc opportunity to denounce the wicked policy Mr. Chamberlain is trying to force on his party and the country. His excuse is talk of ' Trusts ' — He is not defeating Trusts abroad, but inaugurating absolute despotism of Trusts at home, based on a lowered standard of hfe. It is the greatest insanity in EngHsh poUtical history. Unionists of high character and intellect in both Houses condemn as strongly as we do. Thousands of Unionists throughout the country wiU join us in defending the well-being of the EngHsh people.^ Mr. Chamberlain states that employment at fair wages will be better for ' the twelve miUions on the verge of starvation,' even if they pay more for food. ^ Condensed extracts from my letter to local press. 286 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1903 He thus admits his proposals involve taxing food, and in- creased cost of living. His own letters to The Economist of 1885 answer his present argument. Those letters demonstrated that in taxes of all kinds the rich in 1885 were paying about 6 per cent, on their incomes, while the working classes were paying 13| per cent, on theirs. A similar calculation appMed to the taxes of 1902-3 shows about 9 per cent, payment by the rich and 17| per cent, by the workers. This, of coiurse, includes the new Death Duties in the contributions of the rich, and the three ' war duties ' on sugar, corn, and addition to tea duty. These figures should stagger advocates of increasing indirect taxation. Applying Mr. Chamberlain's method to seventy working-class family budgets supphed me by leading co-operators, I find these extra war duties — apart from indirect taxes payable before the war — meant an income tax of 7d., and the total indirect taxation payable last year by such families runs to about 2s. 6d. in the pound. On Mr. Chamberlain's plan, what would they pay three years hence ? Supposing the Corn Duty ^ reappears at 5s., meat is taxed at 4s., and the Sugar Convention doubles the sugar duty, as the experts state, taking my seventy budgets, and family budgets from Mr. Rowntree's Poverty in York, I find that Mr. Chamberlain's scheme and the Sugar Convention would pro- bably raise the income tax on the workers to about 3s. 9d. or 4s. in the pound — a total taxation exactly double what Mr. Chamberlain in 1885 pronounced intolerably unjust. He now promises a new balance-sheet, with higher wages to balance increased food prices. What chance is there of wages rising enough to even keep the workers on their present level, when Mr. Rowntree says half the workers have too httle for bare physical efficiency 1 Even if raw materials are not taxed, the food taxes will increase the cost of production. Where are the employers who could raise wages enough to put back into the workers' pockets all these new food duties, with a substantial bonus in addition ? ^ Just repealed. 1903] CHEAP RAW MATERIALS 287 We shall sweep away the extravagant nonsense that has got into Mr. Chamberlain's head, and stirred him to this mad enterprise of getting imtold wealth, by making it harder to hve, and more costly to produce ! The man of plain sense thinks that the road to ruin, and there are more men of plain sense than madcaps in this country. Mr. Chamberlain having said at Glasgow ' that it is all over with the British iron trade because ten mil- hon tons of American steel may be " dumped " in England below cost price,' I replied, in the press, that such a vast accession of cheap raw material would be an enormous stimulus to just the British industries most threatened with competition — shipbuilding, the most important of aU, engineering, heavy and fine machinery for textiles, the whole range of tools and cutlery. It would strengthen our power to beat com- petitors, and expand both export and home trade. American shipbuilding, iron and steel manufactures, have been held back for a generation by American protective duties. Why should we weaken our position by repeating here that economic unwisdom ? Why take the mischief and lose the profits of American folly ? ' At Irthhngborough,^ hght chaff of ' the weekly batch of inaccuracies.' Chamberlain said agriculture was doomed without his tax, but BaKour showed that even the tiny shiUing duty put on, and now taken off, had meant a loss to the farmers of half a million over feeding stuffs ! ' Every trade was perishing ! ' Northamptonshire was scarcely a county to find Rip Van Winkles. But if there was one, and he came back after his long sleep, he would find dozens of new factories, street after street of new houses, everywhere. Chamberlain started from 1872 his ' golden age.' The average wealth then was £230 for every man, woman, and child. Now it was £350. Again, were exports ' perishing ' ? Ten months gave nine millions increase over the same months of last year, and if they took the goods 1 November 27. 288 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1903 at the 1872 prices, they had the enormous increase of 60 to 70 per cent, in the export of British-made goods to markets ' closed against us.' ^ Mr. C. was the worst commercial traveller in the world, shouting through his megaphone that no one would take British goods unless bulhed or bribed ! Instead of Protection, they wanted nationaUsation of rail- ways, encouragement to invention, a knock-out blow to paralys- ing drink. At Irchester ^ : — I wished that was the first meeting of a general election. There was brisk and decisive criticism of Education Bills and strategy, exposure of stupendous blunders. The remedies offered for imaginary woes were more taxes here to frighten the foreigner into taking British goods, and enormous bounties to the Colonies to make them trade with us ! In either case we were to pay ! At Wollaston ^ : — The white population of the Transvaal was bankrupt. South Africa, the ' white man's land ' was to be the dumping ground of the Chinese. Liberals wasted to keep the Boers on their wrecked farms — they wanted to develop free institutions, but instead they had this scheme for a slave empire. At Finedon * : — If we had succeeded in South Africa, we should never hear of ' trade ruin ' and ' disruption of the empire.' All this meant that the Chamberlain poHcy had failed. The great speech of the Duke of Devonshire was like a breath of honest air in a polluted atmosphere. I referred to Miss Harlock's ^ admirable work in obtaining Mr. Kowntree's returns in York : — It would be a crime to increase the cost of food to the poor. Protection was the deadliest weapon of militant capitaUsts. The advantage of sjmdicates meant the oppression of the whole country. Indirect taxation was the adroit pohcy of those who 1 November 26. ^ On December 8th. 3 December 10. * November, 1903. = Miss Giulia Harlock (of Finedon), after winning many distinctions in London, had become Mr. Rowntree's secretary. LORD COLERIDGE. 1903] COLERIDGE 289 wanted to make the rich richer. If Conservatives joined the Protectionists it would be a national misfortune, though it would mean a great Liberal victory. That year the autumn meetings were held at Welling- borough. My old contemporary, Lord Coleridge, and I paid a delightful visit to our friends at Swanspool. I reviewed the session with the delegates, alluding specially to the revolt of young Tory reformers — Seely, Guest, and Beckett against Brodrick's Army Corps. They would reorganise the Volunteers on the lines I and other Liberals had urged for years, and which Haldane boldly carried out when War Secretary — also to my help to Keir Hardie on the Unemployed, and to Shackleton over the first Trades Disputes Bill, and to pressing the Government as to ' coupUngs,' ' more sub- inspectors ' and more effective working of the Railway Hours Act. Referring to agricultural reforms, I warmly praised Mr. Hanbury ^ for encouraging organisation on the lines successful in Denmark and in Ireland. I was specially glad to have been able to pay this compUment to Mr. Hanbury only a few days before he passed away. He was the most stimulating and sensible man we had ever had at the Board. The Irish Land Bill was financially unjust to the British taxpayer, and to the Irish purchaser. I had fought throughout to give the Irish tenant the chance of free bargaining, and to give better opportunities for evicted tenants. In the evening a brilUant meeting and a brilHant speech from that finished master of epigram and sar- castic thrusts, Bernard Coleridge, whose loss to the Commons debates ^ had been regretted by all good Liberals. If he were asked how it was they had a Conservative Govern- 1 Then President of Board of Agriculture. 2 On his passing to the Lords by the death of his father, Lord Coleridge, the Chief Justice, in 1894. T 290 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1903 ment, his answer was that the Conservatives did what they promised. They had ' looked after their friends.' The English and Scotch landlords had been reheved of half their rates ; £160,000 a year, then £727,000 had gone to the Irish landlords, and by the Irish Land Act twelve milMons of our money had gone to Irish landlords again. That was a pretty good start. The parsons got reUef on their tithes. Church schools got vast sums, and finally, by the Education Act, were quartered entirely on the rates. Now the brewers got their turn. Licences were made freeholds, with compensation if taken away. Turning to the vast expenditure and the mismanaged war, and the suppressed reports of the Inquiries — Where was the dream now ? Nothing remained except the debt they had to pay — except the memory of the gallant lives lost — -the hostility of opponents who would never be content till they gave their colony self- government, and made them loyal, because free. This Government were fettering everything. Many powerful governments had done things in the day of their strength, and those things had been imdone. David was a little man, with a Uttle sling, and a httle stone, yet he slew Gohath. Education might go as Church Rates had gone. Chamberlain was throwing the hounds off the scent to save his Party. The Empire was perishing, and he alone could save it. It was odd aU these terrible things had come about since he and his friends came into power. Why should they trust him 1 Had he inflexible principles ? They had changed more often than the moon. Was he a man of foresight ? (Cry of ' Yes,' and loud laughter.) Well, he was once a Republican, now a Monarchist ; once a Home Ruler, now a Unionist ; once a Radical, now a Tory ; Free Trader once, now Protectionist. And the worst was, he was always cocksure he was right ! ' Stiff in opinion, always in the wrong : Was everything by turn and nothing long.' He went on to argue the commonplaces of Free Trade. They had to pay more for everything, somebody would receive more for everything. The favoured few would be the agricultural landlords and selected groups of manufacturers. It would mean bringing Tammany Halt to England — the corruption of 1903] UNIONIST FREE TRADERS 291 their political Mfe. Their business men should not fence them- selves in with man-traps and spring guns. Let them meet their rivals in the open. (' How ? ') Educate yourselves. How ? Work hard ! and drink less ! If only a fraction of those 180 millions wasted on drink went to industry, what might not this country do ? Carry your honesty into your industry. This dashing speech won tremendous applause. The whole meeting went with immense spirit, a joyous wind up of this year. Unreahty deepened as months ran by. The Duke of Devonshire, Mr. Ritchie, Lord George Hamilton, Mr. Arthur Elliot and other Free Traders resigned. Mr. Chamberlain quitted office with a free hand to push his crusade. Unionist Free Traders formed a League whose pamphlets and leaflets were of the best. Mr. Balfour, as ' friendly neutral,' kept his balance on the tight rope, split hairs with delicate casuistry, even got so far as condensing his own interpretation, which nobody understood, on half sheets of notepaper, assuring the country there would be two elections to clear the air before a final decision. Mr. Chamberlain's speeches were striking but uncon- vincing, except to ' whole-hoggers ' — his arguments specious rather than sound, his facts daring, too often in contradiction with practical experience and official figures. Some said his meetings were a success ; others a fiasco redeemed by his personality alone. But, sound or unsound, the new proposals obviously had behind them gigantic financial interests, pushed by men resolved to win their objects, some with sincere faith, aU convinced of big gains for their class, the whole business thoroughly organised and financed. Plat- form and press, Tariff Reform pamphlets and leaflets were aU going full steam, promising everything good, keeping out of sight everything unpleasant. Besides, to win the electors, there were the subtler influences of 292 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1904 dinners, smoking concerts, and the flowing bowl, these attractions offered mostly free of cost. My forecast in 1895 was precisely realised. The tremendous struggle of organised Capitahsm to master democracy by every expedient, the evil dream I had discussed in earlier years with that staunch democrat, Charles Wicksteed. I had been more of an optimist, but the sudden assault of 1903, like the threat to Serbia and Belgium in 1914, made it clear that we were in for a death grapple. A scheme, so backed, led by so astute a tactician, meant grave peril to principles whose operation for generations had made Great Britain prosperous, strong, the commercial centre of the world. The peril must be met with equal determination to win, our counter-attack of equal intensity. The old Liberahsm, the Liberalism of the Reform BiU, of the Corn Laws, of the Gladstone age, contained all that was necessary to salvation. Its principles were, to us, the bedrock of sane pohtics. But it must prove its right to survive by direct and convincing apphcation to present problems. The economic answer to Chamberlain was conclusive. But that answer must be linked up with a bold, constructive policy which would visibly root out ancient mischiefs that thwarted national development, face present and future with open mind and strong hand, justly appraise resources, adjust conflicting claims, determine lines of progress, and thus armed would fearlessly create effec- tive machinery to get the very best out of the whole thing, for the whole of the people. Such a creed could not be misrepresented as out-of- date crystallising of sectarian and class hatreds and consecrated prejudices. ' Let ^ us treat the State as the big, hving, human 1 See letter to the Daily Chronicle, August 1892. 1904] A RUEAL PROGRAMME 293 centre, not setting aside individual freedom and initia- tive, but helping each, man to do his best, for himself and other men, with the full force of the common thought, the common energy, the common resources of the whole community.' These had been our working ideas ever since the ' Allotments ' campaign of the eighties, and the Rural Conference of 1891. They took definite shape in the nineties, and gave the keynote to the Campbell- Bannerman watchword at the Albert Hall Meeting in December, 1905. Motions in the House, ' Land Tenure,' ' Small Hold- ings,' and other Bills, unceasing efforts to turn in our direction agricultural and educational legislation or administration had done much. Mr. Ailwyn Pellowes, after an abortive discussion on my own ' Small Holdings BiU,' appointed a Departmental Committee, of which Lord Carrington, Mr. Munro Ferguson, and myself were members with Mr. Jesse CoUings and Mr. Robert Yerburgh. The evidence and reports were helpful. Some of these hopes were modestly pushed in the great Parliament of 1906-10, but largely choked off by the Education and Licensing fights. At the last, in 1909, the Development Bill, the Agricultural Education Conferences, and the joint action of the Education and Agriculture Boards, gave a real lift. Had it not been for the Lords rejecting the Budget, and so forcing on the Parliament Bill controversy, with its two General Elections, and opening the Pan- dora's box of other acute controversies — we might have seen big things well started then for the economic future of rural England. The war has put everything in the melting-pot. Our best hope is in the imperative necessity of bold national reconstruction after the war — our dreams may win their way through. The right to live and thrive must be made a reality, in the happiest 294 MEMORIES OF MIDLAJSTD POLITICS [1904 and brightest England any of us have known, or imagined. At the moment, in 1904, this creed was one of the best forms of ' counter attack ' against the assailants of Free Trade. The Land Law Reform Association, of which I had been president, took early action. A committee, with myself as chairman, drew up and issued a ' Rural Programme.' ^ Extracts from expert opinions, facts and figures showing results of Protection in Germany, France, Russia, America, Sweden, Denmark, and other coiintries, from our Agriculture Commission evidence, and from earher inquiries, were grouped. We thus demonstrated how Protection would defeat, not promote, the interests of rural England. We advised concentration on workable methods to secure economic well-being for the rural population, building up a Uving self-support- ing and expanding future for agriciilture. Duties on feeding stuffs and. linseed meant heavy losses to stock and dairy farming. Increased cost of implements, repairs, and fertihsers wovild make balances stiU worse. We suggested Danish examples for Land Tenure and Co-operation. We must stop over-renting by real security for capital outlays, encourage small holdings by enabling local authorities to buy, or hire with right to purchase, and to let to approved tenants, with right themselves to buy, under Irish Land Act machinery, and by voluntary agreements with landowners, earmark Crown and Ecclesiastical lands, give pre-emption for bankrupt estates. Then have bold rural housing schemes, adequately financed; specialised agriculture shotdd be developed, co-operation stimulated every- where. 1 Pamphlet still obtainable from the Secretary, 21 John Street, Adelphi. 1904] LIBERALS MUST SAVE THE COUNTRY 295 I asked the Annual Meeting ^ To speak out against the proposal ^ to create, illegally,' a new vested interest for the drink monopoly and to deprive the people of their remedy, the powers of magistrates. The Fam- ham case had confirmed their right to enforce schemes of local reduction of pubUc-houses. Where magistrates had taken action, drunkenness had diminished. This attack on the con- troUing authority is unconstitutional. Compensation, even out of trade profits, means interception of vast revenues which the State itself ought to apply to national objects. On the Fiscal question, Balfour's pronouncement on the amendment excluding taxes on food was uninteUigible. He surrendered to the ' whole-hoggers ' a fraction of the Unionist Party. In bye-elections, thousands of Conservatives had voted Liberal. A majority of Unionist Members distrust and wish to escape from Mr. Chamberlain. We Liberals have to save the country — to win a victory as tremendous as the responsibfiities to be faced — to cut down extravagance, to adjust taxation of the poor on whom the burdens of the rich have been piled, to provide new revenue for social reforms. Instead of Chinese Ordinances and miUion- aire oHgarchy, we must give South Africa self-government on AustraMan Mnes. We want a Ministry clear-sighted, united, with a majority like 1880.* We shall get it. The people are weary of wrong- doing. Millions of men and women reahse the meaning of nine years stolen by false pretences from British progress. We are led with courage and sagacity by CampbeU-Bannerman. Unity and good wiU mark Party action. Labour and Liberahsm never have been so closely in touch. Best of aU, there is — partly springing from this union of Liberalism and Labour — a riper, wiser temper of constructive reform. The supreme duty will be to make the fives of the people, in town and country, more human, more worthy of the instincts of a free and patriotic nation. Austen Chamberlain's Budget set aside the sagacious 1 April 13. 2 In the Licensing BiU. ' So declared by the Courts in recent decisions. ^ We had one in 1906, double that of 1880. 296 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1904 restraints of Hicks-Beach and. Ritchie, and seemed to point to tactics famiUar in America, spending too much, to make pretexts for Protection. I protested, quoting Lord Salisbury ^ : ' The real cause of Protective duties is the establishment of gigantic miUtary forces which mean a permanent drain on the resources of industry, a permanent danger to commerce, and compel govern- ments to find money in some way not too irritating to the susceptibihties of their peoples.' In July — No resolutions would have any effect on Mr. Balfour. There was no chance of driving these gentlemen from power until they translated Dr. Clifford's crusade for righteous politics into flesh- and-blood arguments. Who, ruled the Empire 1 The Rand owners, the Bishops, just now the Brewers. Then Mr. Chamberlain with his ' Tariff Reform ' — from which Conservative candidates shrank — sought to rule for capitahsts with American Trust methods ! The bye-elections had passed unanimous votes of ' no confi- dence ' in the Ministry, but stiU they went on session after session destroying one democratic power after another.^ On the Finance Bill, moving the repeal of the Sugar Tax— The bare duty meant (as income tax) to a labourer with 18s. 6d. a week, nearly 3d. in the pomid, to an artisan with 30s. a week about 2Jd., to the weU-to-do a minute fraction. I showed that a labourer was pajdng in the sugar duty thirteen times what a man with £1500 a year, twenty times what a man with £3600 a year, and eighty times as much as a man ■«dth £20,000 a year.3 The Sugar Convention had doubled the burden. It was an absurdly unjust tax on the poor, and on the great and growing industries, of which sugar was a raw material. At the Autumn Meeting at Irthhngborough I touched on the loss to the country of Sir WilUam Harcourt's 1 1876. ^ Wellingborough summer meeting. ' I had obtained exact figures of sugar consumed by such families, and the average consumption of the working class family budgets given me by co- operators, see pp. 278, 286. 1904] FACE NEITHER COUNTRY NOR COMMONS 297 splendid loyalty and courage/ and on the brilliant and able speeches of their born leader, Campbell-Bannerman. On the other side Mr. Chamberlain was a ' spent force.' ' There had been two striking scenes — ^when Sir Henry forced Mr. Chamberlain to admit that he had stated to the Liberal leaders in 1899 : " These men won't fight, you can trust us. We are really playing a game of bluff." That bluff had cost us much. The other was when Lord Hugh Cecil, who supported Tree Trade, taunted him bluntly with avoiding every chance of defending his proposals in the House. In that session, the House of Lords, with all its faults, had been the only Chamber which had ventilated the grievances and mischiefs under which the nation was groaning. They had seen the spectacle of strong, manly talk in the Lords, and it roused a kindly f eehng towards that House.' At the evening meeting I said : — The Government would face neither the country nor the House of Commons. Mr. Balfour was a 'vibrating echo ' of the big imposture, and would not trust his own supporters. ' Pro- tection was essential to the weU-being of the country,' yet opportunity to frankly and fully thresh out the question was refused. Many of Mr. Balfour's supporters were, to his know- ledge, as firmly convinced of Mr. Chamberlain's folly as any Liberal. Legislation was forced through at the point of the bayonet, discussion balked. At the great Conservative meet- ings, old, respected men were now absent. Mr. Churchill and a group of earnest Conservatives had come over to them. Lord Hugh Cecil wrote : ' They were sick of this policy, " Let us pretend." ' Men of force and character, strong business men hke Hicks-Beach, were lost. They promised South Africa as a paradise for British labour. It was a paradise for German millionaires, with the dumb and cheap labour of the ' heathen Chinee.' No Trade Unions need apply ! They had ignored the admitted debt of the Chartered Company due to the Transvaal Government now due to ourselves. The voters would find the Government a penny-in-the-slot machine gone wrong. 1 I mentioned that I had originated the proposal for the great banquet in 1894, in honour of the Harcourt Budget. 298 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1904 My old friend, James Tomkinson, who lost his life so tragically in a ' Parliamentary Point to Point ' a few years later, gave us a breezy and stirring speech illus- trated by his practical knowledge of small holdings and other rural topics. The position was astounding. Mr. Chamberlain, an expert in wire-pulhng, was capturing local associations for Tariff Reform, and elbowing out independent Con- servative or Unionist Free Traders. Loyal and sagaci- ous men like Mr. Ritchie, Lord George Hamilton, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Mr. Elliot, and others without doubt were putting friendly pressure on Mr. Balfour. Mr. Greene, K.C., the strongest of Conservatives, a man of judgment and conspicuous ability, whose per- sonal popularity and influence had given him the safest of seats, declared ' a coalition of Conservatives and Unionists undesirable ; the presence in the Ministry of avowed Tariff Reformers, a source of weakness to the Conservative Party, and of danger to Mr. Balfour as its leader. I want to see the revival of a powerful progres- sive Conservative Party resolutely determined to resist Protection.' ^ What would Balfour do ? Would he have the daring sagacity to give Mr. Chamberlain just rope enough to hang himself comfortably, and rid his own career and the fortunes of his Party from ruinous embarrass- ment ? Or would he go on bewildering and paralysing men of sense with ' patter ' about ' unsettled convic- tions,' would he go on trying his luck in a sporting match against time, or would he ride for a faU, which would give a decent outlet from an impossible position, and then reconstruct the Conservative Party on the solid foundation demanded by Mr. Greene and Lord George Hamilton ? 1 He declined to stand again. 1905] RECONSTRUCTION OR CO-OPERATION 299 CHAPTER XVIII LIBERALISM, LABOUR, AND FREE TRADE. (1905) Reconstruction or Co-operation — Crush Chamberlain — Rural Pohoy Amendment — Record Exports — Mrs. Spencer and the Social Council — Raunds Strike Settlement — Mars and Mammon Rule — The Poorest Hit Hardest — Does the Foreigner Pay ?— Labour Reforms the Corner Stone — ^Reasonable Hours, Combination Rights, Eair Wage backed by Liberals, Labour Men, and Sooiahsts — ^All the Angels for our Pool of Bethesda — America and Protection — ^Pure Air and Men like Burt and Burns. Loyal Conservatives stiU tried to imagine that Bal- four's formulas might help them to escape. But why trust a man who dug pitfalls for loyal supporters, and connived at Unionist Free Traders being gagged and pinioned, where not despatched forthwith ? Cool-headed men recognised that safety only lay in the complete crushing of the forces Chamberlain had let loose. There must be a frank merging of differences and hearty co-operation of Liberal and Labour and Free Trade opinion. The second condition of safety lay in reconstruction of a Conservative Party to resist Protection. Liberals should help this reconstruction in the interests of the nation. Amalgamation of parties was improbable, perhaps undesirable — forbearance and co-operation for so great an object, easy and patriotic. It would be a dupUcation of national insurance. Mr. Chamberlain's plunge had given Liberals a supreme opportimity. Their strength in the Commons should be equal to the vast trust placed in their hands. Then only could the nation breathe freely and set itself to work out big social reforms, to secure efl&ciency on every side of national development, by rational organisation of all that makes strong, and ehmination of all that makes weak. Big difficulties will be met in a spirit of practical 300 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 concentration on what is essential and immediately attainable. It should be a time of peace and concilia- tion at home, and such a poUcy of practical good-wiU and helpfulness would be not the policy of a party, but of the nation itself. These were the glowing hopes of many. The fallacies were logically pulverised. The great victory was won in 1906. But dangerous passions let loose, selfish motives reawakened, were not easily banished. The least wise section of Conservatism got their way, con- troversies were more embittered, useful work in ParUa- ment more hampered in these years. On the Address, I was asked to move an amendment embodying our Rural pohcy.^ Agriculture had lost continuously and heavily. Depopula- tion lowered physique and aggravated social miseries. Free Trade was not the cause, Protection was not a cure. Free Trade helped as much as it hindered farmers, and had benefited labourers. Tariff Reform meant heavy loss to progressive farming, and put a tax of 4d. in the pornid on the labourer. Agriculture was slowly recovering, but the land produced less than it might, and could carry a far larger population. Security and organisation would bring prosperity. Deimiark, with thin soil and poor stock, by security of tenure and com- bination, improved both soil and stock, and achieved miracles. Her exports had quadrupled in twenty years. Great Britain had a soil twice as rich, milhons of consumers at hand, the widest knowledge of co-operation. Why not apply this know- ledge to thorough organisation, in collecting, grading, packing and distributing products, in levelling up quahties of stock and products, and in cheapening both production and distribution 1 With conciliation and good-will between all classes on the land, * February 24, 1905. Hansard, vol. 141, pp. 1216-26. Its terms were : — In view of the depopulation of rural dietricts, of overcrowding and unemploy- ment in large towns, it is expedient to promote thorough cultivation of the land, and to extend agricultural employment by legislative and adminis- trative measures to give more security and freedom to agricultural tenants, and to encourage combination in effective and economical working of the agricultural industry. igos] RECORD EXPORTS 301 better tenure would grow out of the reasoned instincts of the people. On some estates a tenant was as safe as a freeholder, but the ablest farmer witnesses ^ complained of lack of security, too often transferring tenant's capital to the owner, not from ill-will, but from inherent defects of an unworkable system. When the terms of a tenancy were changed, the tenant should be repaid what he had put into the joint ' going concern.' Then only should the landlord have the right to charge a full market price. Above aU there should be no interference with a tenant's continued enjoyment of his holding, on political or rehgious grounds. There should be no obhgation imported into an agricultural contract, for a tenant to hold his tongue on ques- tions on which he had his own opinions.^ A Women's Liberal Association had taken firm hold at Earls Barton, under the sympathetic guidance of Miss Hart. A joint garden party was held in July, in the gardens of ' The Poplars.' Joyous recollections of old triumphs and joyous forecasts of the greatest of triumphs already in view. ' Even Mr. Chamberlain could not talk down the figures. For three years, month by month gave crushing answer. 1900 had been a " record year," 1903 was better still, 1904 topped that ; the first six months of 1905 yielded the highest record ever known of British manufactured exports. Still further manufactured imports from abroad, and ex- ported again to other countries in vast amount, mostly came and went in British ships. These six months that carrying trade reached the highest point in commercial history. The enormous expansion of British shipping answered everything. It meant access to cheap food and raw materials, and it meant immense annual additions to the wealth of the country. ' They wanted no American lobbying in ParHament, no millionaire dividend-hunting in South Africa.' Heygate, as always at Earls Barton, was as pointed as he was popular. ^ Before the Agriculture Commission. 2 There had recently been two or three cases. 302 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 In reply to a resolution from Kettering on ' Un- employment,' I wrote : — On Monday I supported the demand made forcibly by Keir Hardie, and with passionate eloquence by Mr. Crooks. I urged that powers should be given to provide land. Machinery is displacing older men. We have to save them from sinking, as well as rescue those actually unemployed. An enabling Bill may be passed by consent. That would recognise State duty, and prepare for action next winter. The real cure is to make land available for men to save themselves. Small holdings developed by State aid will do more good than any Unemployed Bill. That pohcy must be associated with Farm Colonies on Enghsh lines , to give a fresh start to men temporarily thrown out — ^honourably without pauperising — and a chance of social and industrial recovery to social wrecks who may be saved. I look rather to these methods than to temporary expedients. At Raunds/ the Liberal Social Council and the Raunds Liberal Association held a delightful outdoor fete, presided over by Mrs. Robert Spencer. ' It was a real pleasure to share in that first Council gathering and welcome her genial and graceful lead and effective aid to return Mr. NichoUs. They wanted his eloquent voice in Parliament, to open many doors of happiness to keen and eager artisans like those of Raunds.' I touched on the stern industrial struggle Raunds had recently gone through. With that struggle and its result it had been his privilege to be associated. It had cost much self-sacrificing endurance, and they were all satisfied that it had ended not in war, but in peace, with hopes of a sohd future for both employers and employed. He had never felt a clearer sense of where truth and justice lay than in this affair. Speaking ^ of the rights of workers and employers, at WoUaston : — In the nineties he shared in the struggle for reducing hours 1 August 20. 8 September 11. N. PEARCE SHARMAN, J. P. SWANSPOOL, WELLINGBOROUGH. 1905] RAUNDS STRIKE SETTLEMENT 303 of labour, and securing recognition of the right of the worker to take part in determining his fair share of the wealth his labour and skiU helped to create. He was a firm believer in the right of combination, and in sound economic reasoning on the relation between profits and wages. There was no use in flying in the face of economic laws. He was in favour of combination of employers, too, and of setthng disputes as to profits and wages by arbitration. They could not avoid all economic struggles. His creed was that fair conditions of labour and fair wages should rank first in the cost of production, as a first charge on gross earnings. It was not wise that any industry should be carried out by crushing down the workers to the lowest wage. I illustrated this by my experiences in 1904 and the origin of the Raunds strike. ' The War Office had blundered. After discussions and conferences between the employers and the men, a new statement had been agreed to by both sides settling the piecework rates for the several grades of boots, and the processes of making up and finishing these articles for the Army. I introduced the joint deputation at which this statement was submitted and received the assent of the War Office. An influential section of employers took exception to some of the terms and set them aside. The statement had been a fair and equitable settlement between the parties and was fair also to the taxpayer. The War Office was wrong in allowing any deviation from that statement. The pro- longed strike followed. In my opinion the men were right all through. I made repeated appeals that winter to the War Office,^ met by promises of inquiry and finally by virtual acceptance of the men's demands, which I had formulated, in co-operation with Mr. Sydney Buxton and Mr. Shackleton. The people at Raunds became impatient at the delay, and decided to ^ Mr. Arnold Forster then being War Secretary, and Mr. Bromley-Daven- port his subordinate. 304 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 force the hands of the War Office by marching tip to London. The local Trade Union leaders, joined by Mr. Gribble of Northampton, headed this demonstra- tion, rightly heralded in the press as an important step in the history of democracy and without doubt helped the War Office to come to a decision.' At Raunds^ I described it ' as a romance, a sort of poem in labour poHtics, which he hoped many of them would cherish in their memories.' At the House of Commons I wel- comed them, with Mr. Shackleton and others, to the gallery and terrace and tea-room, and, as their wishes were met, there was general satisfaction. Nothing in aU these years gave me more pleasure than the recurrent deputations which I introduced to the War Office and other offices, both before and after 1906. The village meetings were more and more joyous as the political barometer mounted and the end was visibly near. Was there ever a Prime Minister who had so many notices to quit at bye-elections ? He discussed ' Redistribution ' and wished to rush these belated expedients through. But with a working majority of eighty, this Government ran away, five times in succession, when members had put down for discussion and decision, ' aye ' or ' no,' the very proposals Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain had laid before the country. They did not dare to meet a straight vote. That was reducing the House to the level of a music-hall farce ! ^ I 3 deprecated the snubbing of the Volunteers and their decreased votes : — He honoured the Volunteer force. Every young man who had the advantage of drill and discipline and physical training was a gain to the community. It was worth while to have a citizen soldiery to stand ready for the defence of the country. 1 At the Social Council Meeting in August. 2 Isham, September 11. ^ Same meeting. 1905] LIBERAL AND TORY FREE TRADERS 305 The extraordinary increase in exports of those very- industries Chamberlain had declared to be 'gone or going ' ; South Africa, a mill to grind out dividends with Chinese labour ; the failure of the mineowners to pay the thirty millions they had promised as a set-off when they secured the loan of thirty-five millions to meet some of the ruin caused by the war ; the pretence that the life and death of the nation was hanging on fiscal changes which Parliament was not allowed to debate, were everyivhere topics to make merry over. I insisted the real danger was that men had staked their money, behind the scenes, to ' secure the right to tax the pubhc for their private benefit. That battle was not won yet.' At Stanwick,^ replying to a compliment from the chairman, Mr. Peck : — When starting public life he was deeply impressed by two men differing in many things, but ahke in their aim to get things done — Mr. Gladstone and the late member for Northamp- ton, Mr. Bradlaugh. That had been my own effort all through. Wise and generous men on both sides were trjdng to humanise poMtics, to find grounds for agreement instead of conflict. On agriculture, apart from ' Protection,' there was practically a common pohcy. Many Unionists agreed with Liberals that Balfour should go to the country. The Duke of Devonshire, Lord Goschen, Sir M. Hicks-Beach, were in agreement with Liberals. The fatal mistake in pohcy wotdd destroy their Party and injure the country. Party Government was ia suspense. Many Unionists want to work back to Free Trade as an essential plank for both parties. The exports of the ' decaying industries ' had galloped up. Home Trade suffered from over-expenditure and over-taxation. Mr. George Parkin made one of his bright speeches. The next night at Finedon, Mr. George Knight pre- sided over an enthusiastic meeting. ^ September 18. U S06 MEMORIES OE MlDLAKD POLITICS [1905 The last ten years, principles had been at a discount. What did it mean to betray principles 1 Month by month, year by year, they had all their ideas brought out to be burned at the stake. Mars and Mammon riiled unchallenged. Eleven years ago the greatest of Enghshmen, in words which went to every heart, in closing his great life, had pointed to the supreme peril that wealth and privilege and caste could stiU thwart demo- cratic development and defeat every reform on which the people's heart was set. The fatal answer of democracy had been to hand over the future to just these enemies. Harcourt laid the corner-stones of democratic finance in 1894. Only a few months later, the feather-heads all over the country ran after Lord Sahsbury, who talked about the unemployed without intention to stir a finger for them, and after Mr. Balfour and Mr. Chamberlain, who promised old-age pensions, and, the moment they had fooled enough electors, turned their backs slap on the whole thing. Instead, we had the rich made richer out of the pockets of the poor. Look at dividend hunting in South Africa. The denial of hberty was the corner-stone. Look at the horrors of the Congo — ^india-rubber which cost the blood and misery of countless thousands. Mammon every- where had grasped power. The spirit of East Northants in 1900, the determination that the flag of progress should not be dragged down, had spread throughout the land. The Radical plough was going to drive a clean furrow. They had a whole generation of work to be done patiently, steadily, standing shoulder to shoulder. At Irchester ^ I summed up the case for frank alliance between Liberalism and Labour. After contrasting the Prime Minister and his ' un- settled convictions ' with Lord Eandolph ChurchiU who habitually ' looked facts in the face with common sense and sympathy, the real man whose initiative had given the Conservatives twenty years of power,' I proceeded : — Popular disgust, as much as great issues raised by Liberals, would bring a tremendous swing of the pendulum. The Liberal 1 September 13. This speech was reprinted and widely distributed in many constituencies by the N.L.F. L. E. BRADLEY, J. P. KETTERING. W.M BAZELEY. J. P. RUSHDEN. LABOUR LEADERS. 1905] LIBERALISM AND LABOUR 307 Ministry woxild have first to put national finance on a sound footing. They wanted retrenchment hke Sir James Graham after the Reform Act, they wanted the spirit of Sir Robert Peel in the ' forties ' and of Mr. Gladstone in the ' sixties ' — there was ample scope for retrenchments, for searching inquiries and extirpation of abuses, perhaps of corruption. Small Income Tax payers had suffered. Increased taxation should lead to revision and to further exemption. Increased expenditure fell in heavier proportion on the poor, both for Imperial and local purposes. That meant less money to buy home products, home industries less able to give employment at high wages. Wages had fallen £938,000 in the year, and 20s. went no further now than 16s. ten years before. The poorer the man, the harder he was hit. That was bad, but what did Ministers not deserve for this last pohcy of making their hves stiU harder by Protection ? The cost of production would be raised, and just in proportion as that diminished the power of home manufacturers to com- pete with the whole world, their exports would decrease. The manufacturer would have to employ fewer men or giver lower wages. Mr. Chamberlain tried to bamboozle one class after another, but he only succeeded with the class directly interested in Pro- tection — the rich men who wanted to be richer by taxing their neighbours. On food taxation, Mr. Chamberlain had been driven from piUar to post, and beaten at every point. At Glasgow, at the outset, he had tried to show that even if the consumer paid the whole food tax, the cost of hving would not increase. But official figures based on actual expenditure of working men, proved the labourer with 18s. 6d. a week ^ would be paying 4d. extra on every poimd, and the artisan with 30s. a week about 3d. extra. He feU back, at Gains- borough, on the contention that the foreigner pays haK the tax — an absurd plea, because France and Germany demonstrate that wheat prices have risen far above duties, so that consumers pay the whole duty, and much more. The more they restricted supply and interfered with trade, the increase in cost of living would go much further. The whole thing was a gigantic fraud : 1 Mr. Wilson Fox's return. 308 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 90 per cent, of necessaries of life were imported. It meant life or death to kUl Protection. After finance, a Liberal Ministry must take down the rusty key hung up too long — the key which opened the door to the land. The land must be set free for the people, the one effective instrument for weU-being and happiness. The corner-stone of Liberal pohcy should be the long-neglected group of Labour questions, which had been contemptuously pushed aside by this Government. They had to assert the right to live, and to live happily, the right to combine, the right of the worker to share in determining the equitable dis- tribution of gross profits as between Capital and Labour. They must have faith in their principles and faith in one another, a spirit of brotherly confidence, and hearty co-operation between every regiment and every section of the great army of progress. It was the hope of their enemies to spht them into sections. They heard it said that it was impossible for LiberaHsm and Labour to work together. He had been twenty years in the Commons, and had taken a fair share in the work of the House with regard to Land and Labour. On every issue he could remember, where the rights of Labour were concerned, he had found Liberals and Labour men fighting side by side. Where was the real difference of view between Sociahsts and thorough- going Liberals like himself ? If it was Sociahsm for a State to insist that adult men should have reasonable hours of labour, then they were aU Sociahsts. He had his share on the very first occasion that Parhament ever determined the issue of interfering with excessive hours of adult labour, in the case of the railwaymen. That principle was asserted for the first time by a Liberal, in the motion as to Railway Hours he moved in 1891 1 and carried through the House of Commons by a Liberal Ministry, after a Liberal had fought that question for two years in a Select Committee of the House, and convinced that Committee of the justice of his proposals. That motion, which a Conservative majority had refused to accept before, was, as soon as the Liberal Ministry of Mr. Gladstone came into power, made the law of the land. Take ' Graduated Taxation.' Where was the difference on that ? Liberals wanted a graduated Income Tax to reheve the January 23, 1891. 1905] LIBERALISM AND LABOUR 309 poor man, absolutely fair adjustment of taxation as between one man and another. Then Liberals, just as Socialists, wanted taxation of land values. If Socialism meant that they should check physical deterioration by getting children fed properly before school, then they were aU Socialists. In that wonderful session of 1891,i first came that Liberal motion, moved by himself, to check excessive hours on railways, defeated by only seventeen votes, two years later made law. Then came Mr. Robertson's ^ amendment of the Conspiracy Laws, which would have prevented the Taff Vale decision and established what nearly everybody supposed was the legal status of Trade Unions. Another Liberal motion to secure the rights of Labour. Then came third, Mr. Sydney Buxton's resolution accepted in a modified form by the House of Commons, to secure the standard or ' Fair Wage ' in Government contracts. That was a great Liberal contribution to the cause of Labour. Those three great Liberal principles had been moved by members of the Liberal Party, two of them were already the law and practice of the land, and the third, if it had become law,^ would have saved Labour much trouble and money. He asked if it was generous or just, or whether there was a shadow of truth in any one saying that the Liberal Party, after such work, was not in absolute sympathy with Labour, or fair to say that both parties were equally bad, and that they had no resource but to turn their backs on both of them ? He had often heard Sociahsts speak with hostUity to the ImperiaUst wing of the Liberal Party, and, as they knew, he had little sym- pathy with some views of that section. But the Trades Dis- putes BiU, which had roused intense interest, had been four times before the House of Commons, once in the hands of Mr. Shackleton, who had worked with him loyally when they were pressing last winter for settlement of the Raunds dispute.* They were at one in word and action all through that, and it was monstrous to say that Liberal and Labour could not work together. John Burns was one of his best friends. On his ' Old Age Pensions BUI ' — ^introduced again that year — to prove that question was a living issue — he had the name of Mr. Keir ^ See page 115. ^ M.P. for Dundee. 3 It was passed into law in the Trades Disputes Act of 1907. * See page 304. 310 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 Hardie. On aU the three other occasions the Trades Disputes BiU was balloted for by many Liberals, and on those three other occasions the Bill was brought in by prominent Liberal Imperialists — last session by Mr. Whittaker, who made the very best fight of aU for the principle. So they had on the side of Labour not only men Hke himseK, but strong representatives of the Imperiahst wing also. Was it fair, then, to say that the one party was as bad as the other 1 He ventured to say, as a hard worker for the cause of Labour, as well as Liberalism, during the last twenty years, that such statements stung him with a sense of indignation. There was another side, too. He resented quite as warmly the harsh and narrow tone of some Liberals towards SociaUsts. He welcomed the SociaUsts and extreme Labour men, and any men who sought to rouse the pubMc conscience as to great social evUs, and tried to hghten the miseries of those who were beaten down in life's battle. They had a Pool of Bethesda there, too, its porches crowded with the maimed and the halt, the lame and impotent. They wanted all the angels they could get to come down and trouble the waters, so that the sorrowful, and the wretched, and the broken could plunge in the stream and be healed. He cared not whether a man called himseK Sociahst, or Independent Labour, or Social Democrat, or any other name under heaven. If he was working for the benefit of his fellow-men, he was with him, and with him with all his heart. Irchester was one of the warmest-hearted of our villages. On this occasion this appeal perhaps won a reception warmer than ever before. Assured by the Whips that there was ' nothing doing,' after that cheery campaign, I crossed the Atlantic to bring my wife and daughter home. The curtain fell on the dreary farce just as we got home ; BaKour did not dare to dissolve any more than to discuss. He ' ran away ' once more. Writing to my chairman, Mr. Stockburn : — Mr. BaKour thus admits that his Party is broken — its ablest men regard both Chamberlain's scheme and his own half sheet 1905] LIBERALS WILL MAKE GOOD 311 of note-paper as unworkable. These men are not disloyal, but want to stop the plunge to ruin of their party and their country. I have never disguised my own view. Nothing could serve party ends better than for the whole Unionist Party to be com- mitted to Chamberlainism. But any man who understands the noblest working of a party system must wish, as an alter- native, a sane and honest combination representing the tradi- tions of Peel and Salisbtiry — at one with us in excluding the peril of Protection. Whether reconstruction comes on High Tory lines under briUiant young leaders like Lord Curzon and Lord Hugh Cecil, or rallies round sagacious men hke the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Goschen, and Lord BaKour of Burleigh, either solution is better to Liberals who take the wider patriotic fore- cast than to see Conservatism hurried down the paths of short- sighted corruption. Our assured victory will mean national confidence in Liberal leaders as the men to set right the blunders and wrongs of these years, and open up on rational lines urgently needed social reforms . It will be a great party victory, but also a great opportunity for all good and wise men to combine to clear away a vast peril. It will be not merely a party but a national victory. I have just returned from a country where Protection has wrought deadly mischief. America is enormously and in- creasingly rich. That wealth comes from rapid development of boundless natural resources in an area as large as Europe, wherein there is absolute internal freedom of trade, and labour is in so great demand, and land is so accessible, that wages have economically risen above European standards. Protec- tion has neither created nor expanded this wealth. Its function has been to divert it from the nation to the millionaire syndi- cates, and in order to enable those syndicates to levy an in- creasing toll on worker and consumer alike, to bind the country under the most corrupt t3T?anny ever known. Wise men, from the President down, are beheved to detest this system, but financial interests and poKtica] corruption are hard to break. In one manufacturing State, both political parties recognise that a scientific tariff, such as Chamberlain wishes to saddle on oxa industries, means not big gains, but that full profits cannot be obtained, and exports of American manufacturers are crushingly handicapped. 312 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 AH good men must join in saving our industrial future from such a fate, and our national life from such enslavement. The delegates welcomed me warmly and invited me to stand for the sixth time. Referring briefly to the Prime Minister,^ I said : — He had stood by him in the hours of darkness when men opposite, and even some Liberals, aimed scorn at the man who stood by noble and just traditions. He gloried in the triumph those very quahties had won him now. He was supremely right in going straight into the breach when Balfour resigned. He would win the greatest victory in political history. ^ They were all sorry that Lord Spencer, the man whom Gladstone had wished to succeed him,^ who raised politics to so lofty a plane, was unable to take office.* He rejoiced that Campbell-Bannerman would start on Ireland, where Mr. Wyndham and Sir Anthony MacdonneU left off. There was the education fight to extend public control to all State-paid schools, remove the fetters of rehgious liberty. They had to right the wrong done to the nation in the endow- ment of the hquor trade with money which was an asset of the whole community. Chinese labour should be uprooted from South Africa, and the rule of the mine-owners ended by nationalising the mines. Unjust taxation of the poor, financial extravagance which shut out social reform, all the sins of commission and omission of the past ten years, sprang from the root evil, the robbing of the people of their birthright. Govern- ment machinery had been handed to the wealthy and privileged who combined to secure class interests to make the State the instrument. All these things and more — but this was a one- question election. They had to concentrate on one tremendous issue — whether they were to part with Free Trade as the corner-stone of England. Of aU these evils, this was the greatest they ever had to face. Let them forgive no man who preached that doctrine, but do their best to beat the deadly thing once for all absolutely out of public fife. ^ Campbell-Bannerman, who had just taken office after Balfour's resignation. ^ True to the letter. ' See Morley's Life of Oladstone, vol. iii. p. 512. * Lord Spencer had been struck down by a seizure after his return from J^auheim in October, 1905, 1905] ADDRESS TO DELEGATES 313 As one -watch-dog in the Commons, he never ceased to con- demn the growth of indirect taxation. He had been the first to point out that the Com Duty was meant to lead up to Chamberlain's proposals. In 1900 he had insisted the real battle would be between democracy, and financial syndicates who claimed to rule England and South Africa. They could judge by the tactics of their strong opponent. Chamberlain. He never attempted to answer his own un- answerable arguments of twenty-four years before. His object now was to annihilate the Free-Trade Unionists, and capture the party machinery throughout the country. Mr. Balfour had to fiU the part of the old farmer's wife, who chanted ' DiUy, diUy ' to the ducks in the pond.^ The Liberal Party were defending and carr3dng out Liberal principles and ideals, but more, they were defenders of the life of the country, of the hope that there might be a rational Conservative Party, too, in future. They were the best friends to Conservatives like Lord Hugh Cecil, who had nailed Free Trade to the mast. Liberals should concentrate on the one issue. If they killed Protection, aU the rest would follow that decisive victory. On each visit to America, he was more con- vinced that the evil was vaster and more deadly. The system was Hke a cancerous growth eating out the moral fibre of the people ; grave dishonesty in high positions of trust— defended without shame in Courts of Justice ; objects attained by open bribery and corruption. There were brave good men there who longed to free their country ; but tainted men, tainted causes, and tainted interests were too strong. When he came to the fresh air of England, and saw the workers led by such men as Thomas Bm^ and John Burns, men unptirchasable, of high purpose and moral courage, he asked. Should they not fight with heart and soul, to keep all that was pure and true in England free from such a system of knavery and corruption ? It was grand to see the efforts made by Labour and Co-operative Associations to pass measures hke the Prevention of Corruption Bill. That was the true creed of the democracy. ^' When he found his Labour friends in the House were the bravest, truest supporters of all generous causes, he asked whether they represented Labour only — whether they did not * In ' Mother Goose.' 314 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1905 represent, in the truest sense, the whole nation ? When he knew, too, that some of the greatest work to meet the crying needs of Labom", the safety of life and limb, the right to combine, to vindicate what was vital to them in their daily work ; when he knew that Sir Charles Dilke, Mr. Asquith, and he hoped he might, without arrogance, add the member for East Northants, and others like them, content with the name of Liberal, had carried through Parliament the hon's share of these proposals, he would ask where there was any rational difference or dis- tinction between those parties. Democracy should mean that labourer or miUionaire should each have an equal chance to serve his country. That was why he favoured payment of election expenses and of members, and the second ballot. Let that doctrine of democratic brother- hood go to all constituencies which were not in their happy position in East Northants, where there was practical unity of Labour and Liberahsm. He had always held that no amount of service created claims — a constituency must be free to use its own judgment as to present and future. They knew his record and could judge. He had served them twenty years whether for well or ill. He had taken his share. Seventeen years he had been in opposition, with many opportimities of trying to prevent bad things being done. He had tried to smooth paths for good things. Four or five important Bills which he had introduced had been passed, some by the Liberal Ministry of 1893, some by Conservative Ministries. Some things he tried to do were generously remem- bered, but most services, big or small, had a way of sHpping out of poHtical recollection, hke raindrops instantly disappearing in desert sands. It was some satisfaction to know one had tried to do good things and not whoUy failed. The invitation to stand was moved in feeling and weighty words by Mr. Sharman, supported by many speakers including the chairman, and carried with great enthusiasm. This greatest of elections was thus joyously launched. The Heygates had secured us a charming house on the outskirts of Welhngborough, Wilbye Grange, and we moved down shortly after Christmas, I906] THE FREE TRADE TRIUMPH 315 CHAPTER XIX THE GREAT FREE TRADE TRIUMPH. (1906) Pytchley Starts — Debt of Liberals and Free Trade to Sir Robert Peel and Great Conservative Knanciers — Conciliating Ireland — Cruelty of Food Taxation — A Majority to beat the Lords — Mrs. Sharman at Women's Meeting — Landslide of Free Trade Tories — Immense Victory and Rejoicings — ■' No Good Thing this Parlia- ment Cannot and WiU not do ' — Martin Sutton — ^Passing of Lawson — Band of Hope. Pytchley started the campaign. Joseph Warren ^ welcomed me with kindly words ; Charles Wicksteed, in trenchant style, condemned the ' rich man's Govern- ment.' ' Three quarters of the American people were Free Traders. But Protection had firm hold of the political machinery of bribery and corruption.' I said : — The difference was that England had a Parliament of honest men, the purest assembly in the whole world. He hoped the Liberal Ministry would have an irresistible majority. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's speech at the Albert Hall revealed not to old friends, but now to the whole country, how strong and wise a leader they had. At last they had the opportunity to deal with social reforms, ' cruelly kept back for twenty years, in the spirit of that gospel of democracy which went to the roots of national hfe.' Conservatives might well say — ' Liberals are wrong in nine points out of ten, but in our hearts we believe they are right in this. Let the election go, and rid ourselves of this mill- stone round our necks. Let us start fresh from a real Con- servative standpoint.' Congratulating local Conservatives on their respected and obviously sincere candidate, Sir Arthur Brooke, I proceeded : — He was sure Conservatives would not think him discourteous 1 In the chair. I wish I had a portrait of that brave, gentle, humorous face. 316 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 in regretting that their candidate and party should commit themselves to that deplorable crusade. Students of history knew that Liberals and Free Traders owed a tremendous debt to some of the greatest Conservative statesmen who had sought to strengthen the influence of Con- servative principles. They knew what the economic reasoning, the business instincts, the splendid enthusiasm of Cobden and Bright had done to make that cause triumph. But they could not forget that they owed that enormous boon of Free Trade to the most capable Conservative that ever ruled this country, Sir Robert Peel, associated with that wise administrator, Sir James Graham, and with Mr. Gladstone, then coming to his prime, as well as to the genius and passionate enthusiasm of Cobden, and Bright, and the Corn-Law League. When the battle was over the wisest Conservatives joined in making Free Trade the common basis for both parties. Mr. Disraeh, in his dramatic way, said ' Protection ! Protection is not only dead, but damned ! ' Lord Salisbviry through his whole career opposed Protection, and is stated to have strongly condemned Mr. Chamberlain's views ; Sir Edgar Vincent, who managed Egyptian finance and helped Lord Cromer to over- come its difficulties ; Lord Curzon, the great Indian adminis- trator ; that brilHant debater. Lord Hugh Cecil, three great Chancellors of the Exchequer, Lord Goschen, Sir Michael Hicks- Beach, and Mr. Ritchie, an administrator like Lord George Hamilton, and clever young Conservatives in the House of Lords were as strong Free Traders as any Liberal. Why should Conservatives prefer to such men the chameleon pohtician of Birmingham, committed in turn to contradictory propositions, or the apostle of philosophic doubt, Mr. Balfour, with his ' unsettled convictions ' and chronic incapacity to explain his convictions whether unsettled or settled ? Why should they prefer men of unstable equihbrium, of uncertain antecedents and still more uncertain forecasts ? Why should they prefer the hirelings of financial rings, Americanised, Ger- manised, South Africanised rings, whose idea was to turn the Empire into a miU to grind down gold-dust to fill their own pockets ? That sinister agitation had not started in any insight into commercial dangers — not in patriotic love of the Empire, and the desire to make it stronger and nobler. It was a long procession of muttering giants of despair. Their trades i9o6] THE NOTE OF PYTCHLEY 317 had been ' going, going ' until every one of them had gone, not down, but up to such a record of prosperity as British trade had never seen. Mr. Chamberlain did not ' hedge ' hke ' Old Moore.' He had been caught out, far worse than any purveyor of penny almanacks since the time of Adam. If they put duties on articles from abroad, nuie-tenths of which were used by some industry as raw material, or half- manufactured material for the finished articles they were pro- ducing and exporting with such splendid results, they would make the position of manufacturer and worker more difficult. Powerful men wished to get the chance to tax their fellow- countrymen for their own benefit. It would be a desperate struggle. Let every man use his vote to keep England free from that curse. This meeting struck the keynote of the whole campaign. Two days later the Victoria Hall at Kettermg, densely packed, gave us enthusiastic welcome, Mr. Stockburn ^ declaring the fight was on the issue sprung on the country by Mr. Chamberlain. They would have no red herrings drawn in the path. I said : — Kettering was rooted in its loyalty to ideals, its capacity to think and to act, its fitness to survive, to lead in the mightiest struggle citizens ever had to face. They were always in the forefront of battle. Mr. Balfour and his friends asked for a renewal of the greatest of trusts when their conduct proved they had no faith in them- selves. They had run out of the back door, with the cry, ' The State, the Church, everything is in danger ' — and themselves dehberately handed the machine of government over to con- spirators and enemies of their country, crowning a long chapter of wrong-doing and failure with an act of culpable suicide, at the moment when they should have passionately resolved to do their duty at all costs. Was there ever such an impotent farce ? If Home Rule was a danger, why did he place the allies and supporters of Home Rule in power ? That answered itself. Every sane man knew that Castle government must be ended. 1 In chair. 318 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 The question was how and by what method. His experience made him affirm that, in their hearts, the statesmen who had opposed them for twenty years were as convinced of those facts, as much Home Rulers as they were. In 1885, the Tories sent Lord Carnarvon to settle with Parnell. Three years ago the Tories sent Lord Dudley over to tell the Irish that Ireland was to be governed by Irish ideas. For two years, Mr. Wynd- ham and Mr. BaKour had dehberately encouraged sections of Irishmen to take steps to obtain an amicable settlement. Lord Dunraven and his friends in the Concihation Pohcy had got Land Purchase, tried to push through a Cathohc University, and to obtain devolution in financial and administrative control. To his honour Mr. Wyndham was responsible for appointing Sir Anthony Macdormell ^ to the highest post in Irish Govern- ment, a man specially selected for abihty and experience, to carry out this group of reforms. Mr. BaKour and Lord Lans- downe assented. They knew perfectly well he was one of the strongest Home Rulers in the Empire. To raise this phantom now was a mockery. Follow this further. To Mr. Gladstone's Bill in 1885, the main obstacle was fear of injustice to Irish landlords. The Tories had swept away that obstacle, and had given the landlord aU that Mr. Gladstone had offered, adding a bonus out of the pockets of the taxpayers to make things smooth. When under the encouragement of Mr. Wjmdham and Mr. Balfour, the obstacles to peaceful settlement were re- moved one by one, were they not nearer a calm and reasonable settlement by agreement between aU men and aU parties ? It was an amazing feature of that election that they were not only fighting for Liberal ideals, and as champions and defenders of national life as now imperilled, but were defenders of the only hope of usefulness for the Tory party. Leading Conservatives agreed that the only future of their Party was to revert to the traditions of Peel and Beaconsfield and SaUsbury. In crushing Mr. Chamberlain, they would give a fresh chance to a rational Tory creed. Referring to the brilliant ability and admirable economic reasoning of Lord Hugh Cecil and Lord George Hamilton i- — ^ Now Lord Maodonnell. l9o6] IRISH CONCILIATION POLICY 319 The Tories were the victims of the determined will of one man, whose pernicious ideas were the ideas of the chque of Germanised Americanised financial monopohsts. The whole museum of antiquities— of blunders which economists years ago had discarded — were furbished up once more. The object was to capture the machinery of government to give power to these financiers to levy taxes to enrich themselves. They knew that ill-omened scheme would be defeated in that Division by an overwhelming majority, including hundreds of thoughtful Con- servatives who in their hearts beheved it was their duty to support them on that issue. I illustrated the absurdity of the plea that the foreigner would pay, and the absolute failure of pro- tection in Massachusetts — the American Northampton- shire. ' There food and raw materials, as here, came from without. There was a scientific tariff protecting every industry. Massachusetts had the advantage of the run of the whole Free Trade area of the States — as large as Europe. They had a 25 per cent, duty to protect them from Kettering boots competing. What was the result of ten years' working ? The whole of the operatives, and nine-tenths of the employers were demanding complete Free Trade. There had been a rise of 80 to 90 per cent, in boot trade profits up to the Dingley Tariff. Now they could not get coal, steel, timber, hides, or leather, except at prices which killed profits and stopped exporting. *No toad under a harrow was as badly off as an exporting American manufacturer whose profits had to pay toll to those merciless trusts.' It was a magnificent meeting, full of keen interest from start to finish, with bright and cordial wind-up words from eloquent and forcible men. At Ecton — These proposals were forced on them by the passionate de- termination of one man alone — the man who held the record 320 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 in boxing the compass, and in being found out ! The Tories came in on false pretences, and of many wrongs their greatest was the destruction of popular control of Education. In that struggle more than one friend had fallen — among them the late Mr. Caine.^ Liberals should be grateful to such men and to men hke Lloyd George, who had fought that fight with despera- tion and tenacity. One object of Mr. Chamberlain had been to divert pubhc indignation from the Education Act. The most glorious triumph of Free Trade had been the splendid merchant shipping iieet, which in 1840 carried about a fom-th, and now more than half the whole trade of the world. From that source alone there was an income of over one hundred miUions, which came back in goods imported from every quarter of the world. Under Free Trade they could build steamships 40 per cent, cheaper here than in Germany, and 60 per cent, cheaper than in America. On at once to Earls Barton. ^ The responsibihty of their vote was tremendous. Were they to rid the country once for aU of the worst of all delusions ? He had fought and would fight with aU the heart and brains God had given him, and let all earnest men and women work as they had never worked before. In the secret room of conscience, in every hoiu" of their fives, let them remember that responsibihty. Mr. Balfour had misused the power given in a moment of passionate excitement, to do what three-fourths of the nation wished him not to do, in destroying the greatest instrument of democratic self-government, representative control of Educa- tion. He had said that the country approved his poficy. How coxild they befieve that when he had not the courage to go to the country and ask a verdict, instead of surrendering office ? It was a crime to tax the food of the weU-paid artisan, but when they came to the casual labom'er earning a few shifiings, or the women in East London eariung 2|d. for finishing a pair of trousers, and working fifteen hours in a dismal garret, such a tax was another word for murder. AU would suffer, but the poorest the worst. Mr. Chamberlain's scheme of duties for ^ Who died from overstrain. ^ Mr. Allebone in chair. R. BURLEY WALLIS. J. P. KETTERING 1906] AWAY WITH DELUSIONS 321 meat, dairy produce, and corn — allowing the reduction of three-fourths on tea, and haK on sugar, worked out as an income tax of the eighteen-hundredth part of a penny on the man with £20,000 a year, but rose to an income tax of 4d. out of every pound on the labourer with eighteen-and-six a week.^ He had been in Canada. To suggest that patriotic regard and loving affection for this country was a purchasable article, and could be bought only by imposing greater sufferings on the homes of England, was an insult to Colonial sentiment. Protection meant sending the hat round for every industry, and making the whole community pay, thereby artificially raising prices. If the cost of production was raised too high, the manufacturer would save himself from loss by diminishing employment or wages. Massachusetts was, as regards boots, the Northamptonshire of America. They had a protective duty of 25 per cent, on imported boots. Were they content ? No. An election was going on when he was there, and the one question on which it turned was which of the two parties was more earnest about getting rid of Protection. The meetings of the week were more stirring than ever. Our speakers were welcomed by enthusiastic crowds, and seemed to leave behind them an even greater enthusiasm. It looked like the coming of the tidal wave — ^which indeed it proved to be. At Irthlingborough, where Wallis spoke with bril- liant force, I regretted that Such a skilled advocate of national education, so admirably equipped to defend their principles, had not been with them in Parhament, to aid their cause. He hoped Mr. WaUis might soon find his way to Westminster. Few men could render better service. Protection, it was urged, would increase employment and raise wages. But imports were the gold and silver paid for British goods. The vaster the inrush of imports the more demand there was for British exports which were bought and paid for by those imports. The more the imports, the higher ^ Based on family budgets supplied to me, see p. 286. X 322 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 their prosperity ; the greater the employment, the greater chance of higher wages for our workers. His courteous opponent was bitten with the terror of dumping. The best instance of dump- ing was the result of Sugar Bounties — a tax foohshly imposed by foreign countries on their own countrymen. They resulted in presenting to England £15,000,000 in cheap sugar, which had helped to start new industries and to develop them to high prosperity. The Sugar Convention, a result of Mr. Chamber- lain's pohcy, in prohibiting bounty-fed sugar, had meant a loss to England of £750,000 a year in wages, with 20,000 people thrown out of work. Iron and steel were dumped here — so far from being an evil, that had provided cheap raw material for shipbuilding and helped to give us our glorious merchant fleet. That fleet earned us 100 millions a year, which came here in cheap food and cheap raw material. If they compared wages and food prices of England and Germany, they would flnd that one hour of British work pur- chased just three times as much bread as similar labour could purchase in Germany. My repeated demand for nationalisation of the mines ^ was warmly welcomed. At Finedon — Finedon had sent her most briUiant son, Mr. Herbert Paul, to win a seat in the county town. The worst of governments had ceased to exist, by Japanese ' happy despatch,' without death-bed repentance. The country could not afford another ten years of ruinous finance and unjust taxation. If trade at home was bad, no one was more respon- sible than Mr. Chamberlain with his South African War. But if he made people at home too poor to buy, om' ' open door ' made things easier by creating immense foreign demand for British manufactures. Never had there been such record years, which meant profit and employment. Why should this mighty lever of recovery be arrested by the new taxation which would take the cream off our best market, and make life harder for the poorest ? Our Division led off at Stanwick — A short, sharp, magnificent fight which would carry heart ^ In South Africa. 1906] JOHN BURNS IN OFFICE 323 and hope to the rest. In September they had been dreaming their dreams and seeing their visions. It was insupportable to go through this dreary masquerade — to whip once more a dead horse and deal with Mr. Chamberlain's idle imaginings and ridiculous figures night after night. They wanted to deal with great chapters of real reforms — the restoration and expan- sion of popular control in Education, to set teachers free from denominational tests — a time-hmit for Hcences and restore full magisterial discretion — a sweeping retrenchment in expendi- ture, while concentrating on efficiency — hghten the burdens of the poor and carry further the Harcourt principles. Above all, let their majority be big enough irresistibly to push aside like a wand the powers of the hereditary House of Lords. Flitting over the border to Raunds — I trusted that George NichoUs with his courage and eloquence would win a decisive victory. There was compassion for the old Tory Party in the hands of the ' champion wrecker.' Like an Atlantic derehct it would be blown up by dynamite, or break up on the rocks. Mr. ChurchiU was right in saying that a majority of Tories in the House were against the taxa- tion of food. The red herring of Home Rule was useless. Their party had been paving the way for Home Rule. Irish- men were least bitten with economic heresies. Indirect taxation bore with crushing weight on so poor a people. Some people thought John Burns wrong to sacrifice independence in taking office. But it was grand to get a direct representative of Labour into the one post where he could deal with the life he had lived, with the men and women whose woes and aspira- tions, whose whole fives he understood best. That was the begirming of the aUiance of Liberafism and Labour — a free hand to deal with pauperism and the unemployed. On the Monday to Chelveston and grand old Rushden, where I found WaUis ably pulverising the Tariff pro- posals, and genial Poulton ^ demonstrating with great force the absolute identity of interests of Liberals, Radicals, and Socialists. The supreme duty was to defeat a dangerous poficy. The ^ General Secretary to the Boot and Shoe Union. 324 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 best Conservative intellects — three great Chancellors of the Exchequer/ the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Curzon, Lord Hugh Cecil, and many others were with them. The scheme was to ' benefit agriculture and check depopula- tion,' but at the same time ' the duty would not raise the price of corn.' How, then, could the farmer benefit ? It was esti- mated that a duty of 12s. a quarter was the lowest sum that could increase prices enough to give more work. But the farmer would be taxed £3 on other things to get £2 for himseK ! Mr. Ritchie, when he took off the Corn Duty,^ said that flour had increased 2s. 3d. a sack, and where bread prices had not risen quahty had deteriorated. This was a workers' battle for the home. There were Sociahsts, and he was glad of it, but they aU wanted to forget labels and join in the battle for justice and humanity. In Germany the ironworkers get only 20s. for a sixty-hours' week, in England from 27s. to 34s. for fifty-four hours. And yet Germany had the advantage of Free Trade within their own empire, peasant proprietors and credit banks, scientific discoveries and technical education. Protection had made raw material dearer for the German iron- workers, as it had for the American shoemaker. In South Africa there was no need for Chinese labour. With proper machinery and drills the whole of the work might be done by white men. At Grendon — ^ Two hundred and fifty millions had been expended on the South African War. If invested at 3^ per cent, the interest would pay half the cost of old-age pensions for everybody over fifty-five. It would have provided one million famihes with houses and an acre of land as a free gift ; or, if they had charged a moderate rent of 2^ per cent., they could have abolished the sugar tax, and provided Northampton and all the big towns with an equipped and endowed Technical University — one of the real causes of German advance in these fifty years. That was the measure of Tory extravagance, and the cost of it had been put mainly on the shoulders of poor men. In South Africa the door had been slammed against British working men, and Chinese introduced by unscrupulous speculators. 1 Goschen, Hicks-Beach, and Ritcliie. ^ In 1904. = January 6. i9o6] FREE TRADE CHANCELLORS 325 Even the promises made to give the Chinese human Hberty, freedom from the lash, and as to pay, had been broken. At Bozeat, the same night — Was there to ask every Liberal, and Radical, and SociaMst, and every sane Conservative for support. Mr. Chamberlain was but a more ingenious deviser of 'unemployment.' Imports had saved, not ruined, the country. Let the electors sweep away the demoraUsing influence of Capitahsts and Protection- ists — vote for the purity of English Kfe, and save the nation from this greatest danger. Irchester, packed, enthusiastic, wild for the fray, gave me a tremendous greeting next night. Some gay person had chalked all the blackboards in the school with 'Loaves big and cheap ' and 'No Chinese slaves.' The meeting sang furiously for several minutes. A gigantic conspiracy against the humblest homes and the commercial supremacy of the country, engineered by a wrong- headed man, working on ignorance and self-interest, had to be beaten down. He had tried to drive out of a great party men of brains who would not bow the knee to Baal. Mr. Cham- berlain himself had given the best answers.^ He had been proved to be wrong in his facts and figures. His colossal blunder in saying there were one miUion able-bodied men in the workhouse had been demohshed by John Burns ! Such inaccurate evidence would be rejected in any County Court. His promises were broken, his theories burst hke bubbles. . . . His poHcy had put heavy burdens on the country, but, thank Heaven, they were now out of the dark forest of Tory rule, with a splendid Government and a splendid programme. Thence to Higham with all speed — the most packed and enthusiastic meeting ever held in the schools — ^ The same spirit was behind Chinese labour and Tariff Reform as had at home put back the clock in Education, and put power in hands of the rich and shut out the poor, and was at the root of the unemployment of the hour. They had now a Ministry ^ I proceeded to quote striking passages from his speeches in the eighties, 2 S. Pack in chair. 326 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 pledged to make the land minister to the happiness of the whole people. They wanted no syndicates to capture the machinery of government to increase their own wealth. I dwelt on the proved possibility of white labour in the Mines, on Education, Licensing, Land, Poor Law administration, and other problems, and appealed for whole-hearted support to Liberal poKcy on these poiats. Such meetings pointed to big things in victory. The Conservatives at Kettering, on the 10th, had met stormy interruption. Wellingborough retorted on the 11th. Our reception amid wild cheering, singing of Auld Lang Sjme,' and all the rest, exceeded all records, but the enemy made speaking dijQS.cult, at times im- possible. Opening with regret at the death of Lord Ritchie, whom they should thank for the Railway Accidents Bill, carrying out finally the remaining provisions of my own BiU of 1886.^ Mr. Ritchie, to his honour, had given up office and career sooner than assent to the policy of Mr. Chamberlain. Tens and hundreds of thousands of honest Conservatives would vote with them, in the coming week, for Free Trade and national safety. They were told ' industries were perishing, and the only way to save British labour was to tax foreign imports. Free imports were the enemy of Trade Unionism and this country's com- merce, and deprived the British workman of his wage.' Since 1902, when this crusade began, foreign imports had increased by 43| millions, but home exports had increased by 64| millions, of which 42| millions were British manufactures. What had been the increase in foreign manufactured imports in that time ? Only 4| millions. The balance of increases was no less than 36| mUKons to the good under glorious Free Trade. Tories were exasperated at Campbell-Bannerman's deter- mination to stop Chinese labom'. ' Would that mean a loss to trade ? ' Tremendous uproar ! to which I rephed : ' My good friends, select one of yourselves to take up my arguments, and come here and answer them. When I have done, you can all come, and ask as many questions as you like. I am game to 1 See pages 53, 54. I906] AN ADEQUATE MAJORITY 327 stay till morning. Answer this if you can — if 50,000 English- men were working in the mines, would you not have more demand for boots and everything else, than you have from Kaffirs and Chinamen ? ' His opponent wanted to tax leather, but the Lancashire ^ Tanners' Association had not one member supporting Chamberlain. If manufacturers had to pay 20 per cent, more for leather, timber, and steel, they would export fewer boots, employ fewer men, pay less in wages. The Colonies were bound to us by blood, by a common pride in national history, a common love of Mberty. Amid, continual singing and uproar, I stuck it out, and wound up witli the appeal to all ' to do their part in the most emancipating election ever fought. He be- lieved the Cheap Jack of Birmingham, the Shuffler of Manchester, and the whole gang would be swept away.' I answered questions for a long while, amid terrific din, with, I hope, reasonable coherence. That mattered nothing. They wanted to get the mastery, and they failed. The vote against our resolution was trifling. The campaign wound up with pleasant meetings at the smaller places, where land, and capital for smaU holdings, and housing the workers,^ and the whole social programme got excellent hearing. Miss Channing was constantly with me, and shared in the cordial greetings. 'Let them give the Prime Minister a majority strong enough to overcome obstruction in the Commons and in the Lords.' ^ At Broughton, where Mr. Thompson presided, and Stockburn and the two Wilsons * all spoke with force, we had a grand gathering. Tariff Reform had no popular backing. It was the artificial product of one brain, and of a group of men who hoped to line their pockets at the cost of others. Organisation was what won. New Zealand was adopting Danish methods and beg inni ng in five years to elbow out Danish ^ Manchester, Liverpool and District Tanners' Association. ^ Doddington. ^ Wollaston. * Mr. Christopher Wilson and Mr, T. Miller Wilsort. 328 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 butter.^ In Canada brains and science were winning triumphs in cheap production of cheese. On all sides they manufactured and sent out more. Never in the time had there been such development. If there was depression, it was because they spent too much. Hicks-Beach, a reaUy g eat Chancellor, said, after resigna- tion, ' He was too economical, they would not listen to him ! ' A Women's Meeting before the poll at Wellingborough gave a grand fillip. Mrs. Sharman hoped for over- whelming majority. She hoped the Prime Minister would educate his Party to right the claims of women. I spoke of my efforts to secure women power on local authorities, and trusted the Ministry would take a forward step. ' The magnificent women's meeting of July 1900 had been followed by the splendid victory of justice, purity, and sanity in politics won three months later. They had timed their meeting now so as to be the first to record their satisfaction at the magnificent events of Saturday. ^ The women were the first to celebrate the biggest event in pohtical history. The majority would exceed any since 1832.^ They could reverse many wrongs. He agreed with Mr. Churchill,* that they should use their vast victory with modera- tion. But they had the greatest opportunity for up- lifting the condition of the people. They were met to celebrate the crushing defeat of the worst conspiracy against the social life of the country. Chamberlain's appeal had led them to examine the real foundations of greatness. They realised now, as generations had before them, that freedom everyTvhere meant the triumph of England.' ^ At Harrowden we dwelt on the tidal wave of Liberal ^ Anyhow to get a foothold in our markets beside the Danes. 2 When the great victories in the boroughs were announced. ^ It exceeded even that of 1832. * Speaking after his victory in N.W. Manchester, ^ Just as it does in the Great War, i9o6] FREE TRADE TORY LANDSLIDE 329 triumph. Organised wealth and privilege must end their sway. Mr. Chamberlain was hopelessly rejected, Mr. Balfour suffered for playing with this toy balloon. George Parkin made one of his fresh and charming speeches. Nobody who was present at the Liberal Clubs at WelUngborough and Kettering will ever forget the scene on that Saturday night, when telegrams came in one by one annoimcing almost unbelievable defeats. At the Wellingborough Club, I quite lost my voice in the tremendous cheering which followed the grand sweep of Manchester and Salf ord, and the huge maj orities by which, in quick succession, ex-Cabinet ministers disappeared. The poUing day tour with my two daughters and Wicksteed, with our greys, was to sample, except that the intense passion and suspense of 1900 was replaced by the wild intoxication of stupendous victory. We made special excursions into the North to help George NichoUs. The counting of the votes next day was of special interest. Starting nearly equal, the piles of ' fifties ' on our side of the table gradually went ahead till at one point they began to stream on, pile after pile without end. I had pleasant talks with Sir Arthur and Lady Brooke as well as with many supporters, but at last grew weary and sat apart watching the majority reach 2000, 2500, 3000, finally 3500, and stiU on. It was quite dazing — 3603, vastly in excess of what any estimate from the canvassing had suggested. It was plain to me that my forecast was sound, that there would be a landslide of Free Trade Tories who would make no other sign than that silent vote. This was one of the earliest of the county elections, and was followed by dozens of others which demonstrated this striking revolution. For this time, on an issue where they felt the same responsibility, they were determined to make 330 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 sure of decisive victory for Free Trade, which they would not surrender. About 87 per cent. ■ of the register voted, a tremendous poll, the heaviest pro- portion since 1886. The majority had risen since 1900 by 2163. Enthusiastic young Liberals pulled the carriage to the station through cheering crowds. The Heygates and Mary Kennard went with me. 'I thanked the gallant boys of Wellingborough for that splendid send- off. East Northants had given the grandest lead to all the counties in England. Six seats already to-day, and to-morrow George NichoUs. Keep your hair on ! and be ready ! ' The welcome all along the line, and at Kettering, was magnificent. At the Club immense enthusiasm. ' Their majority was equal to 1885 and 1900 together, with 508 votes ctdded ! Birmingham ? It was left in a big snowdrift ! We shall clear the county. Liberahsm and Labour had been united as never before. Their opponents had a good thrashing — and should meet with nothing but kindness. He would serve all loyally in Parhament.' Mr. Bradley spoke eloquently. ' Working men knew how to vote when their bread was in danger. Labour and Liberahsm would sweep the country.' Mr. Stockburn and Mr. WaUis spoke also. My opponent, Sir Arthur Brooke, fought his first fight with spirit and ability, poUing the same number, 5414, with which I won in 1885. At Kettering, that evening, ' he went into the contest to keep the party together, and had done so. If they had had the Birmingham figures earlier they might have done even better than they did.' He went on to say ' he fought on Fiscal Reform, but Chinese Slavery, Education, and other subjects decided. Fiscal Reform would win eventually.' MARY CLEVELAND CHAiNNING. (mRS CHARLES KENNARD.) Photo by Lafayeiie, i9o6] WELLINGBOROUGH REJOICINGS 331 At Rushden ' signal marks of honour and affection ' — streets packed with thousands — Mr. Walker presided. I said : — The healthiest sign of political vitaHty was the silent way Democracy had won with courtesy and toleration. Everywhere champions of labom", or men of thought and Ught and leading, men whose tongues and pens would win and guide the people. They would have a good Parliament, with a great purpose. In these meetings, Mr. Prentice, who had rendered splendid service, spoke with happy effect. He and Mr. Frank Toseland of Kettering were towers of strength in those days. The Wellingborough demonstration ^ was specially brilliant. Mr. Sharman presided with tact and charm. Mrs. Chaiming and my daughter, the Heygates, and ' a splendid platform of party leaders — amid palms and gay decorations, mottoes in red all roimid the haU — "Twenty-one Years" facing us from the gallery — speeches interspersed with bright music and songs.' ^ In reply : — It was happiness to feel — all those years — absolute unity of ideals and action. They had never asked him to do a thing from which he shrank or disliked. He was proud of their long confidence and of having been their champion on this, the most solemn issue of all. Mr. Chamberlain ^ beheved he had scored where the Fiscal question had been raised. Elsewhere it had not been voted on. That reminded him of ' Brer Eox.' The supreme issue to every elector, the real link of their fighting force, from Land's End to John o' Groats, was Free Trade. The real decision was the nation's determination to have done once for all with this great danger. They were all glad at the enormous strength of the Labour vote. The Labour leaders had been loyal to the highest ideals of national Hfe. That force ranged at their side was the most powerful lever for reform. I touched on urgent ^ In Com Exchange, January 23. ''■ From local press. * Who had just spoken on the elections at Birmingham. 332 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 questions of the future, finance and education, which should no longer be wrecked by religious animosity, and the gallant effort of Wilfrid Lawson to win back his old seat, where I had just been helping. Delightful speeches followed from Heygate and others. Kettering gave a glorious reception of triumph to George NichoUs and myself a few days later, when similar notes were struck. CooUy reviewed, this was an unreal election, a false start, never fought with the enthusiasm, and ' forlorn hope ' spirit, which means a living ideal, that men are resolved to put through. It was an anticHmax to the spirit of Gladstone's magnificent fights of July 1886, and July 1892, where a deep conviction, passionately felt and voiced, took men by storm, and swept through all obstacles. Tariff Reform was never a national demand, never commanded the brains and hearts of the people. No one more brilliantly demonstrated this truth than Lord George Hamilton in his remarkable address,^ where he vividly indicated the true cause of the great and persistent Tory debacle. It was a great blunder, and had wrecked a great party. This was the rooted conviction of men like the Cecils, and the finest minds in the Tory Party. If only BaHour had been strong enough to set Chamberlain aside in 1903 ! Our enormous majority was due largely to the sweeping-in of Tory votes to settle this' issue. In this wonderful Parliament our men held together with magnificent spirit and energy, inspired by the vast power which they wished to use for good. But the weakness of the position, that we could not rely on the mass of voters who had put us in, could not even exactly measure what might result from another General Election, was the secret of the Lords' defiance, and of 1 At Uxbridge, December 1910. i9o6] NEW MEN AND NEW SPIRIT 333 the belief towards the end that Conservatism might then win, hands down. Otherwise the rashness of Mr. BaHour and his friends is almost unintelligible. The marvellous meetmg of that marvellous Parlia- ment is an imperishable memory — the spirit of that immense majority even nobler than we enthusiasts expected. ' This Parliament is magnificent in introduction of men of marked ability, who have studied social and economic questions, and representatives of labour, who seem as strong in moral tone as they are vigorous reasoners. The .moderation, good sense, and unselfish patriotism of speeches of the new Labour men have been the striking feature of debates. I only trust first impressions may not be brushed aside hke other happy dreams by some cynical reversal.' ^ My daily comrade. Sir Wilfrid Lawson, said one afternoon : ' There is no good thing which this Parha- ment cannot and will not do.' We had early proof that great social problems would be decisively taken up. Early in the session we had Sir Edward Grey warmly assenting to the Prime Minister's views on peace and retrenchment. But we were soon aware that some departments needed driving, others needed guiding. The treatment of the Chinese Labour and the Natal Disorders problems gave deep dissatisfaction to many, and the Education Bill of Mr. Birrell disclosed weakness on the issues fought with intense passion for years everywhere except in Lancashire, where the Irish Cathohc vote weighed too much with Party wire-pullers. It was manifest, too, that my forecast that capitalist combination behind the scenes — doubly organised, financially equipped and stripped of scruples by Tariff Reform — ^would use every expedient to obstruct and defeat Liberal ideals. The heart of all of us was with CampbeU-Bannerman in his smashing retort : ' Have ^ Extract from letter to one of my oldest and best friends, Goldwin Smith, at Toronto. 334 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 done with this foolery and get to business ' — as it was when a year later he grandly consummated his hope of a self-governing Union for South Africa. But the weaknesses of the situation were manifest from the first, and utilised to the full by Mr. Balfour and his friends. In the end they overshot the mark, and were swept to destruction, with the Lords' veto, a logical retribution. Unremitting work at Westminster, with increased responsibilities, made campaigning impossible. Again this summer at Overstone Rectory — a delightful retreat near old friends. Early this session, Mr. Martin Sutton invited those actively interested in agriculture to a great gathering at Reading to meet Lord Carrington. Mr. Sutton proposed ' The Minister of Agriculture ' : No one had done more to meet rural depopulation on his own estates — and could feel for farmers in anxieties he shared. He wished to carry wise and judicious legislation for landlord, tenant, and labourer — of equal service to town and country. Their wants were — ^readjustment of Imperial and Local Taxa- tion, the Sale of Butter Bill, transfer of Tuberculosis from local to Imperial authorities, with Exchequer compensation, amended Adulteration and Sale of Meat Laws — ^prohibition of prefer- ential railway rates, revision of building regulations, education made an Imperial charge, and instruction adapted to rural needs. Lord Carrington first expressed the sorrow of all in the premature death of Mr. Jeffreys, M.P. — He was encouraged by the chairman's words to rely more than ever on the hearty co-operation of aU engaged in farming, whatever their class, politics, or creed. The old landlord doctrine that ' aU that is on the earth, or in the earth, or under the earth is mine ' would not be tolerated to-day. But there were ' cranks,' and people who looked on changes as slurs on their judgment. He felt least trepidation in referring to small holdings, which he believed helped the tenant farmer by keeping labourers on the land. After giving illus- trations of success in his own and other districts, he asked i9o6] RURAL AND LAND PROGRAMMES 335 whether that practical assembly of farmers assented to the proposals of the Welsh Land Commission ^ : A tenant to retain his farm for three years on death, or sale of estate ; on change of rent, by a new tenancy, there should be compensation for improvements ; a tenant ttu'ned out for any reason except non- payment of rent, or breach of covenant should be compensated for distmrbance. What was wanted was certainty and security. On his estates the farmer could farm as he liked, and as long as he hked, pray where he liked, shoot what he hked, and vote as he liked. On an estate of 23,000 acres, for twenty-eight years, there had only been eighteen changes of tenants. All his tenants had stuck to him. If it were not for his copartners in the estate, he certainly should not be there now. Proposing the Central Chamber, I joined in the tribute to Mr. Jeffreys, for whom every agriculturist felt affec- tion as well as admiration. The spirit of this gathering gave real hope of earnest and friendly work for aU rural causes. On Education I voted against Mr. Birrell's puzzling, and probably puzzled, attempt to square circles on clause 4, as the worst thing in that complicated Bill. So did Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Herbert Paul, and all who applied definite principles to education. Too unweU to attend the Kettering garden party, ^ but at Wellingborough shortly after : — I referred to 'two great losses. The passing of Sir Wilfrid Lawson had closed one of the noblest and purest and most strenuous lives ever hved for the good of the people. In Lady Althorp they had recognised some of the most beautiful and helpful quaUties women could show. Their Women's Association could never forget the generous and kindly work of Lady Althorp on the Social Council.' 'The Government was meeting its difficulties in a ^ Of whioh lie had been chairman. » July 12. At Bryn Hafod. 336 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1906 spirit which gave confidence and hope. The Govern- ment had not swept Chinese labour away forthwith. But, in giving free seK-govemment to the Transvaal and the Orange Free Colony, he hoped that and other difficulties would be most wisely removed. There was every indication of the Enghsh population, and the strongest elements of the Dutch joining to form a national and truly patriotic party. That would be the salvation of South Africa.' Dealing in detail with fears and hopes as to the Education Bill he had wanted, 'he should have preferred a simpler and bolder measure to bring nearer at one stroke a complete national system. Medical inspection of school children showed the spirit moving in Parlia- ment. More work had been done in six months than ever before. Land Tenure and other agricultural measures — Workmen's Compensation, Trades Disputes and other BiUs including '' Prevention of Corruption," Merchant Shipping, etc., were all passed or ready to pass.' In September, the Temperance and Band of Hope Union held its Jubilee Celebration.^ Mr. Lord, now in his hundredth year, spoke at both afternoon and evening meetings. He gave, in striking and touching words, his long experience as temperance advocate. His recollections ran back to seventy, eighty, and even ninety years before, and were admirably told. Mr. Thomas Kuston,^ whose own hfe-story was crowded with efforts and successes, had been secretary of the Union for twenty-five years. The Bishop of Peterborough^ took the chair in the 1 It was founded in 1856 by Mr. T])omas Lord, then minister at Brigstock, presiding at Wellingborough, after meetings at Mr. John Parker's, Finedon. ' Congregational minister of Long Buokby for many years, who has recently passed away. He had laboured for Temperance for fifty years, and wound up his notable career by having six brave sons at the war. ' The Right Rev. Edward Carr Glyn, formerly vicar of Kensington. 1906] BAND OF HOPE 337 evening. He and Canon Horsley spoke with enthusi- asm and eloquence, as men who had their hearts in the work of winning the nation to Temperance. Mr. Lusty, the earnest organiser of Kettering, gave its long record. George NichoUs spoke with even more than his usual force. I said : — The work of the Band of Hope was to make the children Saviours of Society. National conscience had been roused to secure the right of children to pure, wholesome, and noble hves. What were the standards of opinion in those times Mr. Lord remembered, and of to-day ? In his first session he joined in bringing in the first Child Messenger Bill.^ That Bill met hostility from working men. Was there a man now who would blame the last ParHament for passing the BiU which saved the children from the pubUc-house ? The child would play a great part in the emancipation of the people. They must banish the remnant of drunken motherhood. There were many ways in which children could be ' ministering angels.' For years it had been his happiness to be a daily companion of the best loved of all Temperance leaders, Sir Wilfrid Lawson. Courageous, clear-sighted, devoted, unflinching, he had many of man's noblest quaUties. The note of his whole Hfe, of the delightful flow of his daily talk, was an increasing joyousness. He was full of sunshine, and Mved to put others in the sunshine too. He had grave anxieties, bitter disappointments, post- poned ideals. But it only made his heart a fountain of good- will, an overrunning well of cheering help to others. None would ever sorrow for walking in his steps. ^ Introduced by Mr. Conybeare. 338 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 CHAPTER XX AN AGRARIAN POLICY. (1907) Small Holdings Report — Lord Onslow — Lord Reay and Agri- cultural Education — Organised Small Farming — Rural Education Conferences — St. Anne de BeUevue and James Robertson — Pre- sentations — A Way would be Found — Small Holdings Act — Young Liberals' League — Honours to Stookburn. These years were welcome to our group of land re- formers. Conservative Rural Members were keen for agricultural organisation. Horace Plunkett inspired joint action. Instead of embittered controversy, realisation for dreams of twenty years seemed near. On other sides exasperating delay. Three able Ministers failed to right Education wrongs we had fought to prevent. Logical demand for a national system might win. Attempts at compromise were disastrous. There was no difficulty in meeting denominationahsts who wanted fair play, not sectarian domination. Our leaders shrank from standing up to Irish Cathohcs. The great war, quickening brains, will smash obstacles, and let reason come by her own, here as elsewhere. May it give us a nation intellectually trained, and efficient, as well as disciplined. Labour was doing well. The Trades Disputes Bill, thanks to Campbell-Bannerman,^ was won. Its critics recognised it was ' unfavourable ground ' whereon to try a fall with democracy. Mr. Asquith's masterly economy, and Mr. Lloyd George's inexhaustible ingenuity in meeting difficulties, guaranteed us Old Age Pensions at last. Immense arrears of necessary legislation were being overtaken. Inquiries were ripening others. My own work covered many points. In 1907, grand steps for safe and efficient British trading were taken 1 Who said the decisive word. 1907] SMALL HOLDINGS REPORT 339 in Mr. Lloyd George's clever and decisive Patents Bill. Monopolies were strangling free British initiative. Chosen as chairman for the Manufacturers' Committee to emancipate the boot and shoe trade from restrictive covenants of American machinery triists, and in charge of amendments, I was in constant contact with Lloyd George.^ The Old Age Pensions Bill next year gave me similar opportunities. On the Patents Bill, I first grasped his extraordinary quickness and versatiHty. He would consider our amendments, and more than once gave British manufacturers more than their amendments asked. Deputations were incessant as to comphcated ques- tions on railway rates, administration of railway hours, and safety legislation. There was plenty of hard, often wearisome, work involving incessant strain. But in the congenial field of agriculture, where I hope I had some share in banishing Party feehng and distrust, all was cheering. Small Holdings, Tenant Security, Housing, all got through with the nearest approach to cordial unanimity. The only questions were about methods. The Small Holdings Committee ^ reported. Lord Onslow, himself a practical enthusiast, showed breadth and sagacity, and we all tried to attain common-sense conclusions. My contributions were, to help land- owners by State advances for equipment — essential to working success — on condition that such advances re- mained earmarked for their pubhc object, and to create an independent Commission, responsible to Parhament, similar to the Charity Commission, and the Congested Districts Boards, to supervise evolution of the new order with compulsory powers to buy or hire land, but, in practice, to amicably arrange between land- owners, local authorities, co-operative societies, and 1 Then at Board of Trade. 1 Appointed by Mr. Pellowes in la05. 340 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 would-be small holders. This idea was on similar lines to the machinery of the Small Landowners Scotland BiU, and also based on the analogy of Danish land ad- ministration, and State encouragement of co-operation. I wanted specially selected capable men — not merged in departments, nor subject to ofl&cial interference, but concentrated on the single duty of helping the right men to work out, on economic lines, by self-help and co-operation, these efforts to regenerate and re- people depleted districts, intensifying food production, multiplying opportunities of employment, and accom- plishing all with a minimum of friction and maximum of good-will, among those concerned. Lord Onslow's Small Holdings Laquiry logically sug- gested Lord Reay's Agricultural Education Committee, whose main recommendations Lloyd George pushed effectively in the Development Act, two years later. In conjunction with Mr. Henry Hobhouse, I helped to organise the Conferences which formulated resolu- tions embodying the most practical suggestions on agricultural education. Some of these points were included in our Small Holdings Report. This led to the joint action of the Boards of Agriculture and Educa- tion constituting a Rural Education Conference, on which Mr. Frederick Verney, M.P., myself, and other representatives of the Midlands served for several years. My own Agricultural creed was substantially this : — ' The English land system is not safe except in the wisest hands, its inherent weaknesses operate with intensified mischief just in proportion as things go badly, involving intolerable waste, excluding skiU, dis- placing labour, denjdng to the land of the nation its natural and continuous development, and only reaching equihbrium again after years of wreckage, crushing out thousands of farmers, and depleting capital of owner and occupier alike by hundreds of millions.' 1907] ORGANISED SMALL FARMING 341 In Ireland this had. ended, after savage struggles, in transferring ownership to the working partner. This transfer has brought the new spirit of organisation and business efficiency. Sir Horace Plunkett's success has been the outcome of the legislation of Mr. Gladstone, Lord Ashbourne, and Mr. Wjmdham. Addressing the Pytchley Allotments Association on these topics : — Allotments had helped to build up manly citizens, and train men for larger ventmes in land. They wanted some guarantee that men could go on to 15 or 20 acres and work up — that the natural love of the land might be a Uving force in the hearts of young men, who, if they had a chance, would not drift to the towns. It was vital to have a vigorous population on the land. Yet the disheartening record was that, between 1881 and 1891, agricultural labourers were less by 117,000, and be- tween 1891 and 1901 by 177,000. Farmers were neither cruel nor unpatriotic, but changes in economic working ^ and labour- saving machinery had lessened the number of young men. The State should so divide and aUot land as to give a real chance to win success. Imports of butter, cheese, bacon, eggs, poultry had doubled in fifteen years. If Enghsh farmers, smaU or large, had inter- cepted that increase, that would distribute twenty to twenty- five millions among British workers, or taking a ' hving wage ' at £75 a year, for which a man would prefer the land to the factory, that would have provided for between 100,000 and 170,000 workers. Referring to Onslow Committee evidence : In Hampshhe, 450 acres divided into eighty small Jioldings. A thrifty labourer, earning 16s. a week some years ago, took 2J acres at 50s. rent per acre, and grew strawberries. His net profit was £40 per acre, and in ten years he had bought his house, had greenhouses, and was a man of substance. A splendid co-operative fruit farm in Perthshire, which they visited, produced three tons of strawberries to the acre, at £20 to £24 per ton — £4000 expended on buildings for pickers, and equipment for packing. In nine years nearly £500 was made ^ Such as laying down, or lengthening courses. 342 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 off^one acre, and additional land bought.^ In Staffordshire and Gloucestershire, small holders, paying 70s. per acre, made a good living off 10 acres. Lord Carrington, in Lincolnshire and Bucks, proved that real prospects of getting bigger allotments, and then small holdings, created continuous demand by suit- able men. These could succeed with energy, capital, and com- bination on aU types of farm and soil. Buildings and equip- ments were provided jointly by Lord Carrington and the Small Holdings Associations. In Sussex, poultry farms made big profits — ' a hundred head properly looked after yield a larger return than a hundred breeding ewes.' ^ They had cows, oats, and chickens. One labourer, rearing six hundred chickens and collecting more for fattening, kept five Jersey cows, sold butter, and used rich skim milk for fattening. The Danes had learned our co-operative methods, and turned them to grand profit. Their small creameries cost £1200, the banks advancing every penny, and the small farmers selling milk to the creamery, and taking joint Hability. Bacon factories were started cheaply, using up dairy refuse and making splendid profits. There were five hundred egg societies federated, eggs graded, packed, and sent off. Hens, cows, and bulls were selected on egg, and milk, and butter fat records. All was science and co-operation. The httle farmers had each his cheap telephone. It was all business organised, triumphant. He could see no reason why such schemes could not be worked just as well in Northampton- shire. He knew the struggle of the small man here with httle capital, poor stock, bad buildings, no business combination, unhappy men working three times as hard, and earning a third of the profit they might, with proper equipment and business combination. Denmark hved by sending produce by sea. Northamptonshire was close to big towns. Why not ? The coimty had few school gardens. Nothing would be better than to follow up the splendid results in Staffordshire and Hampshire. He would help at any time to send roimd lecturers and organise conferences.^ All through these years I tried to spread, by Review ^ By one of these co-operators. 2 Sir Henry Reid. Report. ' I arranged three great Conferences and several visits by lecturers in the next two years. 1907] RURAL EDUCATION 343 articles and addresses, the knowledge of the splendid organisation of agricultural education in Canada and the United States, from the village school up to the Training College, and the University. I helped to get Mr. Robertson, chief organiser of these developments in Canada, to address the County Council Association, and to interview leading Members of Parhament. The magnificent CoUege at St. Anne de Bellevue, near Montreal, I visited next year. The results of all these inquiries were vigorously appHed to the problems of Great Britain by the Rural Education Conferences later. All these schemes of wholesome and reproduc- tive efforts at efficient organisation, and training of bram and hand, for the regeneration of rural England have been rudely interrupted by the war, but the supreme urgency of vast problems after peace will bring them back sharpened and vitalised to their highest level, and make a new life for the old agricultural popula- tion, recruited as it will be with war-worn soldiers, and munition workers eager for employment. At the Annual Meetings, presentations were made to my friend and helper, James Heygate, and to myseK, on the pleasant plea that we had both completed twenty-one years' service of the constituency. At the Delegates' Meeting : — They were grateful to their opponents for laying their case so fully before the constituency. Nothing stimulated militant Liberalism so well as militant Conservatism. The price of liberty was eternal vigilance. Young men should master ques- tions, and strike their own paths to pubhc work. The feverish activity of the other side might spring from the impression that he was about to snap the pleasant chain which had connected them so long. Their compact had always been that at any time they thought well they could make any change they hked. Apart from that he ought to say at once that he had no intention of taking that step till time with its relentless scythe should sweep him away. There had never been so 344 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 tremendous a strain on the energy of Members, but he had no wish to relinquish pubhc life at a moment when month by month, question after question, which had been a mere hope, an ideal, was being translated by a powerful Ministry into pro- posals of reform, some of them based on comer-stones he had tried to lay himself. Dealing briefly with Mr. Asquith's Budget, and the arrears of unredressed wrongs this Ministry of business was overtaking, I proceeded : — All proposals, however reasonable and just, were at the absolute mercy of their anomalous Second Chamber. There was a long record of Bills destroyed or mutilated. The ex- pressed will of the people was being set aside on subjects like Education and Plural Voting. The Second Chamber had for- gotten its constitutional traditions and become the instrument of one party in the State, thwarting the will of the nation expressed at the General Election. No secret had been better kept than what thek shrewd Prime Minister was going to do. He had said ' a way must be found, and a way would be found.' And this question was put forward in the King's Speech. King Edward was a spreader of oil on storm-tossed waters. They stood where they did largely because of his tact, good judgment, and friendly feeKng. Schemes to pacify Ireland, by practical solutions of the land question, were largely due to his pressure and broad sympathies. The words in the Speech did not appear without grave significance for the future of the country. Practical men were agreed. They must give ascendency to the voice of the people. A great Ministry must be enabled to carry its measures. At the dinner ^ Mr. Stockburn made the presentation to me of a silver dessert service of beautiful design in most generous words. Greeted on rising with enthusiasm, I said : — You have honoured me and made me happy by this token of your regard and generous appreciation of what I have tried 1 In the Central Hall. JAMES HEYGATE. E.N.C.L.A. THE ELMS, WELLlN(;HOBOUGH. 1907] ' A WAY WOULD BE FOUND ' 345 to do with the trust you placed in my hands twenty-two years ago. It is deUghtful to see so many of the old faces, of those who welcomed me years ago. I cannot express my gratitude to Mr. Stockburn for his share in shaping my pubhc life, and enabhng me to serve you. I hope he may for many years yet rejoice in glorious victories for Liberal principles in East Northants, where he has been for almost two generations a foremost champion. The day I first met him and Mr. Woolston was a red-letter day. In this pleasant gathering the honour you are doing me is associated with the honour to be paid to another valued friend, Mr. Heygate, who has smoothed the pathway for you and me, year after year, through a long series of mag- nificent triumphs, with splendid skill ; has helped me over many difiiculties and contributed to whatever small success I may have had in serving you. A free opportunity to carry ideals to reahty is a great privi- lege. Few remonstrances, few criticisms have been addressed to me since I first became your member in 1885. Few men have in public Mfe that experience so fully. I may be wrong, but have felt in all these years, in the duties of public Ufe, that most of you have been heartily with me in what I feel. I am grateful, too, to those who I knew dissented from what I said and did, but with generous forbearance accorded their member fuU independence of action. Mr. Sharman in graceful terms made the presenta- tion of a silver rose-bowl to Mr. Heygate, who made a charming reply, dwelliag not inappropriately on the fact that he had never been beaten at an election, and had never had a point decided against him in the Registration Courts. The day closed with a crowded gathering in the Corn Exchange — George MchoUs, who had won North Northants, spoke brilhantly, with eloquence and know- ledge of viUage life and the wants of the labourer. Frederick Verney, M.P. for North Bucks, whose counsels had great weight with the Party all through that Parliament, spoke with enthusiasm on several points of our policy of rural regeneration and higher 346 MEMORIES OF MIDLA1<[D POLITICS [1907 mental trainiag for progressive farming, small and large. I followed with pleasant compliments to both. ' George NichoUs had made his name a household word as the champion of every humble fireside through the Midlands and Eastern Counties. Mr. Verney was a tower of strength ta the House on agricultural, com- mercial, and educational questions.' I referred to Sir Robert Reid's ^ speech in 1897, and his forecast of ' what would be done to check the exces- sive power of the Lords. Their Prime Minister was a man who did not make bricks without straw, he kept his own counsel.' They had been wandering twenty years in the barren, starving, howling wilderness of opposition, and could under- stand what he felt, now that a full and plenteous meal of bold and strong Liberal legislation was laid before him. He rejoiced in the splendid relations between Liberahsm and Labour. A LiberaUsm which preached hberty, and enforced economic servitude, would be unimaginable and detestable. He had gloried in the LiberaUsm which stood for setting the workers free, individually and collectively, to work out their own salva- tion, to obtain a fair wage for themselves — a ' hving wage ' in the truest sense. They knew what Liberal land poUcy would bring, from their allotment farm at Wellingborough and co- operative success at Desborough under Mr. Jesse Marlow — the results of combined action ia hiring land and co-operation. Co-operation as to the profitable working of land would naturally move on to provision of houses, and they would have garden cities and villages, and organised colonies of small holdings round villages. Forth from the howling wilderness to the smiling future. The Government Bill was not drawn on the bolder lines of the Scotch Small Landholders Bill. The single Commission, with full powers and unhampered action, to determine all questions as to land and small ''■ Then Lord Loreburn, Lord Chancellor, 1907] SMALL HOLDINGS ACT 347 holders, and facilitate reasonable agreements, seemed the best method for the men and the nation. The Bill cheapened compulsion, but its complicated procedure and protracted inquiries provoked needless obstruction. There were Special Commissioners to hold inquiries, and, where necessary, apply ' ginger ' to reluctant authorities and, in case of default, to take over their duties. It was all clogs and checks — quite different from the concentrated, sympathetic body with a free hand ! ^ The Bill was improved during Com- mittee, especially by inserting provisions ^ to encourage co-operation by facilities, special powers, and funds. My own BiU on the lines of the Scotch BiU, modified to meet English conditions, was introduced by Mr. George Hardy, M.P. for Stowmarket. If the same principle had been adopted for both English and Scottish Bills — each would have helped the other, and possibly both Bills been carried. The advanced Conservative land reformers would have been with us. A branch of the ' Young Liberals' League ' was formed at Finedon in July, a ' Young Liberal,' Mr. A. J. Yorke, presiding. Alluding to the ' great sorrow felt that a familiar figure had passed out of Finedon life, Mr. Joseph Harlock, who had lived a noble and loyal life in their midst,' I touched briefly on the record of principles vindicated, of great reforms carried and attempted. Finance was a weapon beyond the reach of the Lords, and could be used with sledge-hammer effect. The way would be found ' to hmit the excessive claims of the hereditary Chamber.' Mr. Hemmerde spoke with his accustomed vigour and acceptance. 1 We had wished to create, and I had recommended, on the Onslow Com- mittee. 2 Suggested by the A.O.S. and Plunkett. These provisions have been largely left unused by the English County Councils. 348 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 At Rushden : — ^ The Ministry had, by dogged work, won support from reason- able and patriotic citizens, irrespective of party. Their poUcy was dehberately planned year by year to overtake arrears and break new ground in social reform. ' Licensing ' for next year. ' Housing ' would come well, after the Land Bill. It was bound up with jValuation and Local Taxation reforms — ^fixed for 1908. I had supported the Irish Coimcils Bill, but Irish impatience was not surprising at such trivial changes, leaving Dublin Castle iatact. End, once for aU, a demorahsing situa- tion tempting Irishmen to extort reforms by obstruction, to their own hmt and ours. I had opposed a sectarian University endowed with national funds. We stiU hope for a decisive Education Bill next year.^ Meanwhile Mr. M'Kenna had done his best to achieve religious equahty, by administrative orders, in Training Colleges and Secondary Schools. Self-government is creating in South Africa a self-respecting and loyal community, as in Canada and in Australia. Chinese Labom* was swept away by the dehberate decision of the Transvaal legislature itself. This chapter of events was a glorious achievement. The Unionist machinery, of which Mr. Balfour was the instrument, had been captured for Protection. This assured Liberal power for years. Our men were the only safeguard. As chairman of the committee to guard the interests of the boot trade, the Patents Bill gave me much responsible work. The boot trade had been set free from intolerable fetters. Mr. Asquith's honest finance had opened up the reform of Local Taxation, the tapping of new sources of Imperial revenue, and at last carried out that diEEerential taxing of ' earned incomes ' I had suggested.^ On Campbell-Bannerman's policy for limiting the powers of the Lords : — Sir Robert Peel after 1832 admitted that ' the Commons had become the express organ of the people ; no other authority 1 October 14, 1907. 2 Mr. Birrell's Bill was withdrawn in 1906, and Mr. M'Kenna's this year. ' At my first meeting in 1885. 1907] YOUNG LIBERALS' LEAGUE 349 could, nor ought to control its wiU, and reject its decisions. The representative character of the Commons had been twice extended. Further, the wisest men in the Lords admitted, in the present session, that they ' must be reconstructed so as to be in closer touch with the Commons, and the people — ^its unrepresentative character, its identification with one interest, the land, and its one party predominance made differences hard to settle.' 1 I strongly urged that the final struggle be not pre- cipitated till after two more such sessions, I urged also : ' discard " time limits " and " compart- ment closure" in favour of my own suggestion of arranging amendments in Committee and on Report, ^ so as to secure that all vital issues should be dis- cussed. This removed the last pretext to reject measures.' This autumn we took a charming house at Welling- borough 3 opposite ' Swanspool,' and arranged a full programme of meetings to consohdate the Liberal position. It was the most delightful of visits — ^no election passion, but simple, joyous access to the homes of old friends, delightful talks, old chords retouched, new notes struck in the harmony of the future. All were more than kind, the forces of new generations doubhng the interest. The Sharmans, our nearest neighbours, were constantly with us. Two features were starting branches of the Young Liberals' League, and discussions of co-operative methods for working the new Small Holdings Act. At Rushden,* discussing the Grey pohcy : ^ ' A Euro- pean Conference should insist on the original terms on which Belgium was allowed to control the Congo.' The evening meeting was full of enthusiasm. Re- 1 From speech of Duke of Devonshire and others. ^ By the Speaker or Chairman. ' ' Rosehill,' formerly the residence of Mr. W. A. Rubbra. * Autumn meetings of E.N.C.L.A., October 21. ^ As regards the' Congo. 350 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 ferring to tlie tension between tlie railwaymen and the companies — He had argued for emancipation of labour at St. Helens with that splendid democrat, Michael Davitt.^ They assumed, as a matter of course, that working-men should combine, be heard through their representatives, and that collective bar- gaining would be the corner-stone. The Tory-Labour Com- mission, a few years later, reported strongly in this sense. The directors were a generation behind the times. Mr. Bell's demand was reasonable and moderater.- The House had its contrasts. On one side, straightforward, single-hearted tactics, on the other a chaos of submerged faiths, a symphony of dis- cords. The Tory bogy was SociaHsm. The Sociahsts of the hour were Radicals in desperate earnest. He was not a Sociahst. SociaHsm was not appMcable to present human con- ditions. But the world might get so crowded that Socialism might become reahsable and a duty. Liberals vindicated the right of the individual to control his own labour, with a voice as to terms. The best side of Club Mfe was illustrated by an exhibition of children's work — drawings, needlework, woodwork, flowerwork, and bright products of the elementary science teaching now given in the schools. Sir Arthur Brooke and I took part under that able and open-minded Socialist, Mr. Haynes. At Higham,^ George Parkin, in all the new Eighty Club enthusiasm and as an official of the Young Liberals' League, was a stimulating chairman. The rebellion of last year was glorious. No clearer mandate was ever given. The Lords had a chequered history. They had stood out against the tyranny of monarchs, and defended Nonconformists against injustice. Now they had become tools of one party. They claimed supernatural instinct to say what the people were thinking and would think. Their brave, straightforward Prime Minister was going to brush aU that aside. In two years, more good work had been done for the nation than in many great administrations. 1 See page 116. 2 October 23. GEORGE LAWRENCE, C.C. J. P. 1907. JAMES PAGE. WI^LI-INGHOROUGH. 1907] LABOUR PROBLEMS 351 In the Exchange Hall,i Maddison held forth with me. I called him ' a foremost representative of miUtant Liberahsm ' ; I might have added ' a rational promoter of peace with justice, and ardent worker for co-opera- tive production and the organisation of Labour.' Mr. Maddison would remember the closing day of the session of 1900,2 how three members went to hear the King's Speech proroguing Parliament. They came back, arm in arm, through the lobbies, Mr. Maddison and himself on either side, and in the middle, with his arms passed through theirS, their comrade and dearest friend. Sir Wilfrid Lawson.^ They had all voted to condemn a needless and unjust war. As they came back, they counted their chances of returning once more. They felt happy at heart for having voted as they beheved. Sir WiKrid and Mr. Maddison lost. He came back. But when, in January last year, that mighty host came to Westminster, almost tumbling over each other, there were the three again. The ideas they had fought for were Mving forces in that great Parliament. The heart and purpose of the nation were with them. They came back to work for the noblest ideals. He liked his pohtics hot, practical, striking down into the daily lives of men and women. Out of concrete realities sane politics were evolved. I proceeded to discuss the grave labour problems on the railways. One director had said that for ten places vacant they would have ten thousand applicants. That touched the root of the matter — was this an age of hberty, or had they gone back ? The men should have the right to combine, and have their Union recognised, to negotiate. The Tory-Labour Commission endorsed that principle — 'collective bargaining was best for stable industrial peace.' Maddison spoke with conviction, energy, and en- thusiasm on the principles and efforts which had made his Hfe its long story of service. 1 October 28. 2 Just after I had made my farewell speech, ' The Paths of Peace.' ' Now no more. Sir Wilfrid died in May 1906. 352 MEMORIES OF MIIiLAND POLITICS [1907 These marvellous sessions of useful work were ' full of intense interest and glorious opportunities. If a land- owner unjustly turned his tenant out, he should pay smart-money ; pheasants as well as hares and rabbits should be held to account for depredations. The Lords postponed the date of that Act and showered notices to quit. A case was given ^ where rent of £300 was raised to £350, to secvire a set-off for the pheasants.' ' The Small Holdings Act would be an immense boon. It was a recognition of the right of the citizen who could work well on the land, to get it. Energy, force of character, and practical knowledge could start that great engine. Once started, it would work almost automatically by voluntary arrangements everywhere.' 'The County Council, or the Board of Agriculture, could make grants to Co-operative Societies to organise every branch of the work. With their teeming miUions they might repeat Denmark's triumph.' ^ As so often, Mr. Lloyd Pratt added zest to the pro- ceedings by his shrewd and witty comments on cvirrent topics. At Irchester,^ after aUudtng to the diamond wedding of their grand old man, Mr. Stephen Parsons, and Mrs. Parsons, I said : — The victory of 1906 was a declaration that the people intended to rule, and would fight all comers. Their Second Chamber embodied claims never before pressed by any Second Chamber. They arrogated to themselves powers greater than the Crown itself. The tradition of centuries denied power to the Lords over finance. They could not make or unmake Ministries. They claimed to interpret the mind of the people, to overrule the Commons and Crown and force dis- solutions — a sort of ' Jack-in-the-box despotism ' which common sense could not tolerate. They had destroyed the Education and Scotch Land Bills, ' One man one vote,' and other vital proposals. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's moderate and 1 By Mr. Fred. Home. " Grendon, September 25. ^ October 30. 1907] SIXTY YEARS' SERVICE 353 constitutional scheme ^ gave final decision to the representatives of the people, while reserving the right to act as a Second Chamber. If the Lords refused and appeal went to the country, he believed the people would adopt that rational and just proposal. This delightful autumn visit closed with a signal honour to Mr. Stockburn, on completing sixty years' service to Liberal ideals. The luncheon at Kettering ^ drew together the largest gathering on record of repre- sentative Liberals. Mr. Sharman — his oldest friend in the county — ^pre- sided, giving pleasant memories of ' seventy years ago, when they first met as boys going to the same school at Leicester, as vivid to his mind as if only yesterday. For seventy years they had met again and again, in hunting field and at political meetings. We are here to-day to honour an old and trusted friend to whom we have looked as a man sound in judgment, wise in counsel, judicious in action.' Unveiling the address, which had been signed by Earl Spencer, Lord Althorp, myself, Mr. Sharman, and ten other Liberal leaders in the county — I was glad to be associated with Lord Althorp in making this presentation. They wanted to honour a man they respected and loved, to recognise a long career, great in its simple dignity, greater in unselfish devotion to pubhc duty, greater still in un- swerving loyalty to noble ideals, greatest of all in the sagacity, the broad-mindedness, the generous toleration which had made him the leader and cementer of union between men. East Northants held its proud rank by the grand steadfastness, the open-minded and open-hearted spirit of unity, which had won such sweeping triumphs. They could judge how far environ- ment made a man, or how far a man's finer spirit breathed around him an atmosphere of bright ideas and kindly deeds, but they aU knew that the qualities they admired in John Stockburn were just the qualities that had made that constitu- * Recently adumbrated in Parliament. ^ At Liberal Club, November 23. Z 354 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 ency great. Summing up what he felt in a few imperfect words, he would say to his friend, ' deeply-rooted was the hereditary faith in Liberal principles which had been a lantern to his path He had trodden that path fearlessly, with a warm hope, an unfailing sunniness and joyousness of good-wiU, that had made for the happiness and strength of those about him. In watching his long public life, in hstening to his wise, and kindly, and well-weighed words, they had aU reahsed more clearly that the creed of human progress, though it had to surmomit and brush away many obstacles, to right many gigantic wrongs, need never degenerate to an embittered spirit of destruction.' His law of movement was rather gentle, hopeful, moving on to wider, more tolerant, more generous conditions of human brotherhood. That was the spirit of Mr. Stockburn's hfe. It was in a spirit of deepest gratitude for many years of personal kindness, in warmest regard and admiration — one of the truest men whom he had been privi- leged to know on earth- — that he joined with his old colleague. Lord Althorp, in offering to Mr. Stockburn those tokens, simple and inadequate though they might be, of what they felt for him, and the splendid services he had rendered. Lord Althorp dwelt on his ' deep satisfaction at being enabled to take part in so charming a ceremony.' He could not recall memories of 1838 like the chairman. His acquaintance with ' his old friend John Stockburn ' began in the memorable spring of 1880, when he was glad that his friend Stockburn undertook the education of a Liberal — an absolutely unknown youth, flung into the middle of a political contest, untried, ignorant of pohtical life. He had great courage then, as he had now, and always would have. Mr. Stockburn, for one month, took fatherly care of the young man, making the very best possible of fathers, helping him through the intricacies of urgent questions, looking after him morally, and, he might say, sustaining him physically very often. Did his old friend remember one gorgeous day when they had a picnic on the roadside, not one hundred miles from RothweU, at which they discussed every political question of the day, and most things under heaven and earth. He should never forget that picnic, the pleasure of the companionship, the Rt. Hon. CHARLES ROBERT SPENCER, Jl.P. 1907] STOCKBURN REVIEWS OLD TIMES 355 excellence of the sustenance, and the whirling of the bioycMsts who had just burst into Hfe all over the coimtry. That picnic was ended, sooner than they intended, by a mass of people descending on the scene to see a young poHtical candidate being fed by the mentor sitting with him ! Mr. Stockburn had cour- age, and he and his friends were determined there should be a Liberal victory in the old Northern Division, and won it by faith and hard work. Those were days of brightness and hope. He had the courage to say to the young man, ' Strive on ! Advance in your Liberal policy, and don't believe that the future, shimmering with the iridescent glories of its possibiHties, has not behind it, great and noble work for you to do.' Mr. Stockburn's faith had weathered many storms ; if they looked back to the times he had lived through, they would see how powerful, how Hving was the faith which had actuated his political life. He, for one, should keep as an imperishable memory the lessons he learned at his friend's knee. After deMghtful words as to Mr. Stockburn's beautiful and happy home in the ' Mission House ' — a home life of sympathy and love, which aU might aim at, but not aU attain, he joined me in asking him to accept those tokens of regard. Long might he enjoy the pleasure of turning over the book with its signa- tures of 560 old friends. Mr. Rennie Wilkinson and Mr. Wicksteed followed with charming speeches, bearing testimony to the noble record of brave, cheerful, devoted service. ' Then the hero of the occasion rose ; eighty-two summers and winters had flecked the dark hair with white, while the summer sun had given warmth and colour and a wealth of kindly expression. The years had told their tale, but he stood there a younger man than many who had only seen half his span of years, and the gathering cheered and cheered again.' ^ Speaking with deep emotion : It would be impossible for any of you to know what are my feelings at this moment. Never could I have supposed that the Httle I may have done would have met such a response. 1 ^ From Kettering Leader, November 29, 1907. 356 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1907 feel there is that coming from you to-day which comes from the heart of Liberalism. I have every reason now to be thankful that I took the course I did, during the emerging from that old Torjdsm of years gone by, into that brighter light which Ulumines our country at the present moment. He was not a young man. He had distinct recollection of the election follow- ing the Reform BiU of 1832. They returned a Liberal at the head of the poU, Lord Milton, afterwards Earl FitzwiUiam. They put up Lord Milton and Mr. Hanbury of Kelmarsh, and on the Tory side Lord BrudeneU, afterwards Lord Cardigan, of Balaclava fame, and Mr. Tryon of Bulwick. Lord Milton and Lord Brudenell were returned. Ever since then they had been defeated. After the defeat of Captain Wyatt Edgell in 1877, Mr. Heygate accepted the post of agent, and after forty- five years they won with Mr. Robert Spencer. Then, because the only hope of winning Mid Northants was for a Spencer to fight it, they had to choose another candidate. Sir Francis was selected, and no other constituency in the land had been so admirably represented during the last twenty years. I can only say : What I have done is done — would it were done more worthily. I have devoted time and have been amply repaid by being represented ultimately by my friend, Lord Althorp, and my friend. Sir Francis Channing. May we go on adhering to the principles which have inspired us in the past. I accept your token, as a treasure to be valued far above gold or silver, which I shall hope to hand down to my sons and daughters as a memento of the work I have done, and of the work which I hope to see them and others who shall follow us do, in further- ing the great principles which have inspired us in years gone by. Mr. John Newman, another veteran of old times, Mr. Heygate, Mr. Gotch, Mr. Adams,^ Mr. Toller, and Mr. Nunneley all contributed tributes to our old friend, who in a few words wound up the proceedings. ' The evil that men do is said to live after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.' If I am to beheve all I have heard to-day I can only say I hope I may hve for ever. I cannot aspire to half of what has been said of me. I trust you ^ Then chairman of U.D.C. 1907] THE ADDRESS 357 will go forth, the younger men, and take your part in the great work before us. My wife and Julia were at the luncheon. ^ ^ The Address was framed in oak and gold, the lettering in red with initials in gold. It was the work of Mr. Eustace Wallis — the whole in a floral border with dehcately painted medaUions of ' The Jlission House,' ' The Eleanor Cross at Geddington,' ' RothweU Market House,' and the favourite view of Kettering from the Pytohley fields, with the dates of the eleven great elections in which Mr. Stockburn had taken a leading part. The Address ran thus : — ' To John Turner Stockburn, J.P., President of the East Northamptonshire Liberal Association. — We, Liberals of East Northamptonshire and friends, wish to commemorate the sixty years of earnest and untiring work you have given to the Liberal cause, and to tender to you with warm personal regard this expression of grateful appreciation of your great services. Your enthusiastic faith, unflinching courage, and wise moderation have made you a potent force in our county in vindicating the principles of civil and religious hberty and social reform. Your energy, sound judgment, and tactful consideration have conspicuously helped to organise, encourage, and guide Liberalism both in the North and in the East. With your honoured name wiU always be associated the striking victory of 1880, and the many triumphs in the Eastern Division, over whose Association you have now presided for nearly a quarter of a century. Wishing you many years more to enjoy the respect, the gratitude, and the afiection of those for whom and with whom you have worked, we are your attached friends^— Spencer, Althorp, E. A. Channino, N. Pbarcb Sharman, E. M. Nttnnbley, Charles Wioksteed, Charles J. K. Woolstom-, J. Rennie Wilkinson, Jambs Heygate, R. B. Wallis, D. Shefbield, George Denton, T. Alfred GoTCH, George Smith.' These signatures surround a small shield on which is inscribed : ' Presented on November 23, 1907, together with an album containing 660 signatures.' 358 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 CHAPTEE XXI LICENSING, SMALL HOLDINGS, ASQUITH. (1908) Licensing Bill and the Clubs — Address to Club Men — Conference on Small Holdings and Co-operative Organisation — Lord Carrington — Asquith, Prime Minister — Sbarman Presentation — Social Adjust- ment — Unemployment. Mr. Asquith' s Licensing Bill was bold and effective. The Bill dealt witli clubs as well as licensed houses. The Licensing Commission recommended stringent regulation to prevent clubs being made drinking dens. Complaints in seaport and industrial centres of Scotland, in congested districts of Yorkshire, in London and else- where, were alarming. The worst clubs were ' the resorts of vice and crime,' ' promoted gambling and immorality.' Lavish outlay on concerts and entertainments increased membership, and was met by encouraging drinking, and keeping open long after pubhc-houses closed. Such clubs were practically outside the law. The Club Union, formed to protect club interests and maintain standards of conduct, had cordially assented to the Licensing Act of 1902 ^ giving effect to some recommendations of the Commission. That Act registered clubs, with power to strike off bogus, or badly conducted clubs. The evils restarted in worse forms. The new proposals were ' natural and logical extensions of Mr. Ritchie's Act, as supported by the Club Union in 1902, were in harmony with both Re- ports, and with views repeatedly expressed by the best friends of well-conducted clubs.' ^ 1 Mr. Ritchie's Act. " Extract from letter to Mr. J. C. Mobbs, President of the Northants Branch of the CSlub Union. i9o8] LICENSING BILL AND CLUBS 359 The secretary of the Union had issued a manifesto denouncing Mr. Asquith's proposals in violent terms. In my letter, I showed that the manifesto was based on misconception and misleading. ' Police entry ' had been endorsed before the Commission by the secretary himself. ' Striking o£E ' would now be done by licensing justices — that is, by men selected for special know- ledge of law and practice. ' Sales off ' were prohibited by both Reports. Such prohibition was general in large London clubs. The Bill did not destroy clubs. I knew Mr. Solly and Mr. Hodgson Pratt intimately. In starting clubs those pioneers wished to emancipate working men, by opportunities to enjoy hfe mentally and morally with- out being compelled to drink. Clubs used badly do deadly mischief. Three hundred and two clubs were struck off under Ritchie's Act, proving grave abuses which both clubs and people should suppress. Every man and woman would be stronger in body and mind, more efficient, happier without alcohol except for medical reasons. Right-minded men should make any personal sacrifice to check the chronic intemperance which is the peril of clubs as well as public-houses. Strong self-restrained characters need no restrictions. Should not the strong help the weak by guarding them from needless temptations ? The best friends of clubs surely might go further than these moderate proposals. Licensing justices should refuse to register new clubs where licensed houses are reduced, and hours of sale in clubs should be those of pubhc-houses. Clubs might recast financial arrange- ments so as not to be kept up by seUing liquor. I trust you and your friends will understand my good-will and respect my sincerity. This reply to the Union was not ill received, but the agitation, diligently fomented by violent and unreason- able statements in club journals, became worse. Sheaves of postcards came from certain clubs and towns warning me that the writers would never vote for me again. 360 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 Deputations came up, representing strong groups of Working Men's Clubs in industrial towns, with whom I frankly discussed the situation. Seven months after the first outcry, I met ^ delegates representing nine out of the ten clubs in the Kettering district (total membership, 4220) to discuss fully the objections. Addressing them, I said : — They were, I hoped, nearer agreement. Each man had his own standpoint. He believed indulgence in intoxicating liquor was a grave danger to national Ufe, and was glad this was felt by the Club Union. That was the touchstone of his own action. He stood with Mr. Shackleton,^ whose speech at the Trade Union Congress did him and the Congress honour. He also stood with Arthur Henderson and Philip Snowden. He was with them absolutely, that excessive use of alcohol was the most deadly foe to progressive democracy. The Licensing Bill was a vigorous blow for national life. He would be unworthy of his career if he did not do his utmost on that Bill to strengthen the forces which would lessen intem- perance. He said that emphatically at the outset of their discussion. Clubs were a natural outgrowth of civilisation a.nd social expansion. They met rational demand for intercourse and recreation, most of aU in towns where men were engaged in close factory work. Clubs can fulfil noble purposes. Kettering was a progressive town, and in its social evolution clubs bore their part. He had sympathised with many of their efforts, and had suggested other fields. The Club Union had done good work in shaping Mr. Ritchie's BUI. They had recognised a higher standard of club life, and, through self-government by the members themselves, had guarded clubs from evils which might arise. Before 1902 the real danger came from inside the clubs. Unregulated and unorganised clubs did great harm. Now danger came from without. Where public-houses were reduced, profits on drink were imperilled. Brewers and dis- * On October 23. I had arranged to meet them in Jiily, but it had been unavoidably postponed. ^ President of the T.U.O. I908J ADDRESS TO CLUB MEN 361 tillers would try to capture clubs, and use their privileges under the law, or start new clubs to replace the tied houses that were struck off. The minor points raised did not come to much. Warmth was shown over ' pohce entry ' as an ' infringement of hberty,' and prohibition of ' sales off ' as a 'class proposal.' In my reply, the ' central points ' were ' Licensing Magistrates' as the authority, and police entry. He believed the authority was the best, but evidence should be given on oath, and costs given against unreasonable com- plaints. As to pohce entry, his feeling, after that discussion, was that, if suitable and adequate inspection proved possible, he had some sympathy with their case, always remembering that pohce entry by warrant would remain. He beheved in letting ' any person ' object if on oath. As to ' sales off,' he strongly dissented from their view. A club was not a co- operative store for sale of hquor to members. Mr. HaU had stated in evidence that 50 per cent, of the clubs did not want ' sales off.' 1 To his own proposal that club hours should be the same as hcensed houses, he attached utmost importance. In spite of their request, he should vote for any amendment to that effect. He was strongly in favotir of Sunday closing- — three hours open was reasonable, though many there, he knew, thought otherwise. From what he heard of Sunday mornings spent in smoking concerts and entertainments in London, it would be no loss to some members if Sunday drinking was restricted. He felt very strongly on the hours question. It was a fair test whether a club ' was used mainly as a drinking club.' He hoped they would not think him wrong in telling them that, for himself, he preferred going to Westminster Abbey, a most beautiful musical service, at ten o'clock one Sunday, and having a good long walk afterwards, and another Sunday going to a service elsewhere equally beautiful, at twelve, having time for a brisk bicycle ride after breakfast. That seemed to him better than sitting smoking in a hot room. 1 Mr. Mobbs, interrupting said, ' Mr. Hall bad since then found nine clubs out of ten wanted it.' 362 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [I908 The meeting was delightfully courteous and cordial to me throughout, and defined our mutual positions. It was well known that no less than seven thousand voters in the Division were members of clubs. When I found, in January 1910, that I had been returned a seventh time by a majority close on two thousand, it seemed clear that some club members must have thought I was not quite wrong, while others showed the broad-minded toleration which for years had been the wholesome creed of the men of East Northants. Many must have taken strong exception to my views, though without a shade of bitterness. A Conference on Small Holdings and Co-operation, perhaps the best and most practical gathering ever held in the Midlands, met at Wellingborough in April. ^ In its discussions all our hopes for rapid development and economic success were concentrated. 'We wished to get more people on the land, to rebuild rural prosperity, to mitigate unemployment, reheve overcrowded towns, and check race deterioration. To get and keep the right men on the land we must bring real and increasing profits within reach.' ' ' Denmark and our own British Colonies had captured British markets for their own farm products, by scientific and commercial organisation, and by those very co-operative methods which in the United King- dom had achieved matchless success in every other branch of co-operative work. Why not apply the fiiU force of co-operative energy to similar problems here, win back our inexhaustible markets for our OAvn pro- ducts, by organising profitable work for thousands upon thousands of small holders ? ' As Member of the Agricultural Organisation Society, of the Central Chamber of Agriculture, of the Land Law Reform Association, and of the recent Small 1 April 17, 1908. igoS] SMALL HOLDINGS AND CO-OPERATION 363 Holdings Committee, and the- representative of a noted centre of productive and distributive Co-operation, I had special opportunities to bring together the forces which should be set in motion. The Conference might have been stiU better, but it was very good, and had great potentialities, if its creed and purposes had been worked out afterwards with the energy I hoped to arouse and keep going. An afternoon's talk, by the ' men who knew,' covered the experimental outhnes of a complete scheme of prac- tical and workable machinery — to get land cheaply and under favourable conditions — to organise small farming co-operatively to increase and cheapen production, im- prove quahty and quantity of products and secure regular and profitable sales, to work collectively in groups of small holdings, at the speciahsed branch which would pay best in the district, and lastly to so link up the local Small Holdings Societies with the Central Co-operative Societies, and their accumulated capital, as to spread over the whole country the financial credit and supervision which are essential to success, and to provide vastly expanded markets for produce. Opening the Conference, I said : — It had been organised by leading co-operators in conjunction with himself, and with the hearty support of Mr. Gray, General Secretary of the Co-operative Union, who was ill, and had deputed Mr. Langley to represent the Midland Board. This was not a Party Conference. It represented every political and economic point of view. In WelUngborough they had the first society formed for co-operative hiring of land to sublet to members. Their object was to make Co-operation the instru- ment to save the land, and to make the land the best outlet for co-operative effort — how to get the utmost for the nation out of machinery in which the State, the local authorities, and the Co-operative Movement each played an important part. Eco- nomic success would minimise overcrowding, open new hopes 364 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 for older men displaced by machinery. But they wanted much bigger things, and for multitudes of men over large areas, and they wanted them with certainty. They must regenerate rural life, biuld up rural prosperity, open wider ranges of profitable work and happiness, strike out new lines of social expansion, new sources of national wealth — a vast addition to moral and material assets. These things could only be got by scientific and practical organisation of the whole venture. Small Hold- ings could only thus be made an irresistible lever for national progress by expert knowledge, businesshke concentration, up- to-date methods, and frank and full combination. Such a triumph was worth any effort, any sacrifice. It must be thought out and worked out, with every fibre of brain and wiU power — no hothouse fostering by the State or rich men. It was an economic triumph to win by self-help, and co-opera- tion. Small Holdings and their working must be made an organic part of the co-operative movement. They must have a new spirit of co-operative soHdarity. Mr. Willan Jackson, having extended a hearty wel- come to Lord Carrington in graceful and felicitous terms, Lord Carrington, thanking them, said : — Small holdings were going hke wild-fire. County Council reports were encouraging. In three months, over two hundred thousand acres had been apphed for. The majority of the men were just the class the Act was meant to help. AppKcants could guarantee capital to stock and work their holdings, at least £5 per acre, and £90 per man. Landlords and agents were workuig well. He hoped, when farms feU vacant, they would give their County Council the first refusal. There were many farmers who held several farms, and they might well give up some of these voluntarily to help that great work. They might thus start without depriving any farmer of his livelihood or his home. Then, on Crown Lands, he hoped the 3900 acres now let in small holdings, might be increased next year to 5500 acres at least. Mr. Tod ^ told us of the ' tremendous success in the forma- tion of co-operative societies to take land from a landowner to subdivide in holdings. That suited many owners. Taking 1 Chief organiser of the A.O.S. i9o8] AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION 365 land under the Act, societies could make no profit out of letting. After the 5 per cent, on capital invested, anything received as surplus above what was paid to the County Council must go to the improvement of the land, the promotion of proper cultivation, and to recoup any capital expenditure incurred. The Act gave power to County Councils to help societies whose objects were to promote profitable working — in purchase of requirements, sale of produce, credit banking, etc. By com- bining through the Agricultural Organisation Society, they could reduce the carriage on potatoes from Scotland from 3s. 6d. per cwt. to Is. 3d. Other illustrations were — the first order for seeds would save them the cost of joining the A.O.S. As for fruit and eggs, the knowledge that every co-operative package was guaranteed would gain new markets. Bottled milk could be sent at the rate of 9s. per ton, which was formerly 16s. Mr. George, chairman of the Cominittee,i said Con- servatives were just as anxious to get people back on the land. The County Council would see fair play given to the Act. Charles Wicksteed regarded the Act as The recognition of principles he had long held, the beginning of a revolution in the land system. He was confident that land- owners on their County Committee, with tact and patience, could secure the land necessary without irritation or injury to existing holders. Select suitable tenants and suitable land, and with caution and consideration. Twelve men on one farm, working co- operatively, would mean failure. Farming was not hke factory work. On some estates that had been disastrous. But give twelve men independent small holdings to farm in their own way, but combining to have horses, carts, implements, and dairy, was co-operation which would succeed. They should pay their few shilhngs a week till they got funds enough to justify credit banks advancing capital. There was plenty of land for all classes. All men should have the opportunity to make a living on the land. 1 Of the CO. on SmaU Holdings. 366 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 Mr. Orlebar said : — The foundation of success would be good-wiU aU round. They would all work to make the Act successful. Lord Winchil- sea ^ used exactly the arguments used that day. There was much to do yet to make co-operation really effective. If profits were secured in bulk by co-operating, they would be able to improve prices for good things. He hoped Lord Carrington would help landowners in the development of roads and houses and thus push their main objects.^ Admirable expositions followed how poultry-keeping and egg-production could be raised to the highest standard, and bring the highest scale of profits, by Mr. Edward Brown,^ and how Denmark had thriven, and we could thrive in Great Britain, on the combination of dairying and butter-making, through the creamery system, with the grading up and co-operative develop- ment of poultry and eggs. All these worked together to cumulative profits, if you combined scientific skill with the energies and mutual help of men working for the common good. Mr. Winfrey gave illustrations of similar triumphs already obtained, and ready for further co-operative development, to even higher standards of quality and profits, in the fruit industry of Wisbech, and in South Lincolnshire. In the evening plenty of enthusiasm at the Exchange Hall. Lord Carrington gave us one of his dehghtfully fresh and playful handUngs of the problems of the hour, demonstrating eager interest in the rural schemes we had discussed that afternoon, and analysing pohtics with incisive humour, and that spirit of contented 1 Who started the Agricultural Union in 1892. ^ In other words he asked for what Lloyd George gave him next year in the Development Act. ' The expert of Lady Sahsbury's National Poultry Organisation Society, on the Committee of which I served for several years. igoS] MR. ASQUITH PRIME MINISTER 367 loyalty with Liberal policy, which he spread round his way, wherever he went, and which made him so effec- tive in the big Liberal team. I referred to ' Lord Carrington as the heart and soul of the practical campaign they were initiating for Land Reform.' On Education, he had just heard from the Archbishop ^ words fuU of sympathy, of the gospel for differing standpoints ; a duty rested on prudent men to find common ground on which to put the little child, the symbol of the future before them, and say, ' We will sacrifice this, if you will sacrifice that ' to have peace in the schools. That afternoon they had got together Tories, Liberals, Tariff Reformers, Sociahsts to help to get the people on the land. Let them banish hostility from land questions, as they were invited to banish it from education. What two measures could do as much for unemployment as the Land Bill ^ and the Licensing Bill ? Lord Carrington hoped increased agricultural production might add anything up to seventy-five millions to the wage fund. Supposing they could reduce drinking by one half, that might mean sixty milhons more poured over the counters of other industries and trades. The Licensing Bill was a loyal effort to discharge a supreme national duty. ' The monopoly value of Hcensed houses should never have been allowed to grow up.' ^ As to new licences, Mr. Balfour had insisted that the State should appropriate the whole value. There was no confiscation. As to taxation, licensed houses at that time paid £1,287,000 in duties to the State. If they were taxed on the same scale as in New York, the amount would be £15,532,000. If Mr. Asquith had insisted on that scale, he might have pocketed fourteen milHons and cleared the cost of Old Age Pensions. At the Annual Meeting ^ I moved a resolution : ' Congratulating Mr. Asquith on becoming Prime Minister, expressing our confidence that he would carry 1 Of Canterbury. 2 xhe Small Holdings Act. ' ^ Mr. Balfour, in 1904, on his own BUI. * May 8. Central Hall, Wellingborough. 368 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 great measures of social, education, and temperance reform, with Old Age Pensions.' ' Mr. Asquith's speech at the Reform Club ^ demon- strated the strength, sagacity, and self-control of the new leader. There would be no change of policy, no going back from the Liberal creed. There was business capacity, driving power, balanced moderation for troubled times. They thanked Mr. Prentice for long and able service, and wished him success in the North,' ^ Referring 'with profound sympathy to Mrs. Sharman's serious illness, and wishing her restoration once more to the great place she held in the life of WeUingborough,' I proceeded : — Fighting and victorious Liberalism might be summed up — ' Stick to Free Trade as the one issue, the first, the last, the centre, the corner-stone of the whole thing.' To the Young Liberals' League * he would say, the next election would depend on that question. The keen, active members of the League should thoroughly master that question and lay the real arguments before those who had not time to study it. Mr. Churchill had not lost North- West Manchester on Tariff Reform but by the CathoUc Education vote. Mr. Churchill had genius and real power for constructive work. He and Lloyd George were two magnificent assets of the Liberal future. Mr. Edmund Robertson, his predecessor at Dundee, for twenty-two years had rendered conspicuous services to Labour reforms, by the side of which the services of many Labour members were as thistledown, yet now we had Labour challeng- ing the right of Liberals to the seat. That was suicidal. Long ago an article he had written on the ' Second Ballot ' to prevent the loss of seats, had pleased Mr. Morley. It was partly through that I had come to East Northants. Mr. Morley had been transferred to a serene sphere,* and, in reply to con- 1 At the Party Meeting a few days before. ^ Mr. Prentice had just been appointed agent in North Northants. ^ Just formed that year, with Mr. Green as its leader. * He had just been put in the House of Lords as Viscount Morley of Black- bum. igoS] SHARMAN PRESENTATION 360 gratulations, had written him the most delightful of letters — which he should keep as a talisman — to the effect that ' he retained an unextinguishable hope of all the causes he had cared for.' ^ The Labour Party were plajdng the game of reaction, of placing power in the hands of bitter foes, who would saddle them with Protection ! Mr. Keir Hardie and others were trying to get Dundee to defeat Mr. Churchill, and pin their faith to ' the Unemployed Workmen Bill ' — a Bill which he had voted against, because it would multiply unemployed Uke leaves on a tree, would break up Trade Unions, and impose heavier taxation on the workers. It appeared that a section of the Labour Party wished to use that Bill, one of the worst drawn and most perilous Bills ever seen, to wreck the Liberal Party. They were more hkely to wreck themselves. If they wanted Socialism, let them have sane and practical Socialism, as they had in factories in Kettering and Leicester and Wellingborough in co-operative production. The Socialism of that Bill would compel municipalities to start workships in every industry and impose enormous burdens on the rates, which fell most heavily on the poorest, who paid by compound- ing. Kettering ^ workers earning 30s. a week, were in that way, paying a larger proportion of their income than he on a fairly large house in London. SwanspooP was the joyous scene of a joint demonstra- tion of Young Liberals and the Women's Association. The gathering was memorable for the addresses pre- sented to our honoured friends in their own lovely grounds. The one sorrow to all was that Mrs. Sharman was unable to bear the fatigue of publicly receiving the presentation. I was in the chair : ' To him fell a duty which gave him keenest pleasure, and was one of the highest honours of his Hfe. He was confident that the hearts of all of ^ Short quotation from Lord Morley's letter. 2 Mr. William BaUard, CO., gave the figures demonstrating this, 3 July 25. 2a g70 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 them were in fiillest sympathy.' Turning to Mr. Sharman : — As you are aware, we wish to offer to you, and through you to your dear wife, a small token which I trust you and Mrs. Sharman may find not without beauty and tender associations with this place in which you spend your daily lives, It is ' an expression as simple as it is sincere, of widely-felt love and personal regard entertained towards you and Mrs. Sharman, who, each in your own way, have in your daily Hves tried to make things better around you.^ It is a real sorrow that she is not here, but we trust that this expression of good-will con- veyed by you to her may carry with it the respect and the love which your lives have won for you. The address, with its floral border and water-colour medaUions, gave views of the front and garden front of Swanspool, the valley westward near the Cottage Hospital from the grounds, and portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Sharman.^ The signatures included Lord Spencer, Lord Althorp, Mr. Stockburn, myself, Lady Channing, Mrs. Heygate, Mrs. Laycock, and other leading Liberals. I congratulated Mr. Parkin on his grand success in starting the ' Young Liberals' League.' I wished Mrs. Sharman could have been in the chair. Never were her ideals so near realisation as Uving factors of the life of the country. The votes of women would give new impulse to temperance, peace, social purity, wise development of child life, and all the noble causes women naturally worked for. In support of the Licensing Bill, he had presented a memorial to Mr. Asquith urging immediate pressing of the Committee stage, as a guarantee that the BiU would be forced through. A strong Committee to deal with some difficulties of Old Age Pensions, especially disqualification through outdoor rehef , were helping Mr. Lloyd George to complete his great work. Other points of interest were efforts to obtain from Mr. Burns ^ Quotations from the Address. * It was the delicate and beautiful work of Miss Chettle. MRS. LAYCOCK. MISS N. JAMES. WOMEN S l-IBERAL ASSOCIATION, Wi£LlJNGBOROU(JH igoS] SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT 371 revised regulations as to the unemployed, giving Distress Com- mittees more freedom in providing suitable work. I also pressed the repeated and universal demand of factory workers in East Northants for compulsory notification of phthisis. Shoemaking work specially spread infection. Stringent measures were called for. When demanded, not by well-to-do people with homes where isolation was easy, but by humble workers, ready to face the hardship of severe regulations, to protect their famUies and others from this scourge, the Local Government Board should meet them. In October, to resolutions from workers of Welling- borough that ' Unemployment is an inevitable result of production for profit, and can only be entirely removed by a Socialistic Commonwealth, and local authorities should be compelled to use their existing powers to mitigate the worst efEects of the present system,' I replied : — ' It was perfectly possible to meet nearly aU cases by elasticity in choice of work and drafting to it, and by so organising labour that the unemployed should be sent on where suitable employment, temporary or permanent, could be provided. Bold administrative steps to meet emergencies by organisa- tion are imperative. I dissent from the view that the only permanent remedy is Socialism, as I beheve that the best economic and social results depend on each man having full property right in the wealth created by his own skill and labour, whether he is a labourer producing eggs or vegetables from a small holding, or a man who, having by his own skill and enterprise accumulated more than he can use for personal needs, employs this surplus to create and expand industries affording employment to his fellow-men. The undoubted evils under the competitive system arising from individual, or class injustice in the distribution of the wealth created, or from faulty laws as to land or labour, can 372 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1908 always, by many methods of adjustment, be reduced to a minimum.^ At the Autumn Meeting,^ I said : — That had been a session of incessant and vigilant work. He had missed no discussion nor division on Licensing or Old Age Pensions. As Chairman of Standing Committees he had been able to help the great BUI on Housing and Town Planning. That Bill, when it emerged from the Committee where he had presided for twenty-three sittings, would be stronger and more workable.^ As before, he had voted that pubHc money should not go to sectarian purposes on Mr. Birrell's Cathohc University Bill. On Old Age Pensions, he had voted to exclude Friendly Societies' superannuation pay, in calculating income of claim- ants to pensions, and for the removal of the disquaUfication of paupers. A time-Umit for disquaUfication had been secured. Mr. Wicksteed had pushed the resolution of the Kettering Guardians, and it had been supported by many Boards aU over the country. Mr. Lloyd George was working out a solution. He had voted without hesitation, against the ' Right to Work ' Bill — ^it would produce more evil than good, and might lower and ruin the position of skilled labour. The Licensing Bill was a noble effort at social reform, it was a real privilege to support. The fate of such great measures lay at the mercy of the House of Lords. This was the question of the hour, and they could not leave it where it was. They might bring about some of the great results hoped for by fresh licensing taxation. But he wanted the Bill. Vast masses of thoughtful working men had claimed, through their representatives, the right to oppose their worst foe, intemper- ance. He wanted to see the actual machinery put in their hands to enable them, by their own free will and organised 1 Letter addressed to the Conveners, October 12, 1908. 2 Kettering, December 4, combmed with the meeting to welcome Colonel Seely, M.P., as President of the Liberal Club. 3 At the close of this Committee, Mr. Bums sent up to me a pencilled note : ' I never enjoyed a Committee so much as this under your genial despotism.' 1 had more than once overruled Mr. Bums and the Government draftsman. i9o8] ASQUITH'S LICENSING BILL 373 energy, to lift the veil of despair, and the dark spirit of de- gradation, which had come out of that gigantic evil. They could no longer allow the fate of England, the fate of such social reforms, to remain where it was. At the Victoria Hall, I said : — It was a monstrous thing when all the old Members in the House of Commons were honouring Mr. Asquith for that great measure and for his splendid leadership and loyalty, ^ the chief wire-pullers of liquor finance, who cared only for dividends, should compass the destruction of this great measure at Lansdowne House. Colonel Seely, who had charmed all our friends at the Club dinner, gave us a lively and vigorous speech with immense effect at the evening meeting. ^ I had been one of the first to initiate the movement to give Mr. Asquith a magnificent recognition at the National Liberal Club of his supreme ser- vice in driving this great BUI through the House of Commons. 374 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 CHAPTER XXII THE DEMOCRATIC BUDGET— AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. (1909) Campbell-Bannerman's Great Programme realised — Readjustment of Local Expenditure — Old Age Pensioners — Samuel Taylor — Grey on Dreadnoughts — Working of Holdings Act— ShefiSeld's Garden Party — Budget League Meeting at Kettering — The Parting of the Ways — The Grand Development Policy. 'Two great reforms, for which I had worked many- years, Old Age Pensions and Small Holdings, had now become law. An effective start, as I hoped, had been given to co-operative working out of economic pros- perity for small farmers.' ^ The opening year saw consummated two other vital reforms which I had urged, session after session. Fair taxation of the poor, by readjustment of Imperial and local burdens, and endowment of agriculture by State aid for its equipment and development, and for the technical training of its workers in College, Farm Insti- tute, and School. It was a year fuU of hope that stirred brain and heart. And these reforms came from my old comrade of ten years before, Lloyd George, whose resourceful- ness and resolution had shown itself so strikingly in the Patents BiU. It had all been foreshadowed in Campbell-Banner- man's great speech at the Albert HaU : ^ ' We wish to ^ Speech at WoUaston, January 22, 1909. * ' We want rehef from the pressure of excessive taxation, and we want money to meet our own domestic needs at home. ' We have to develop our undeveloped estates, to colonise our own country, to give the farmer freedom and security in his business, to secure a home and a career for the labourer — in too many cases out off from the soU. ' The stamina of the nation demands a large class of workers on the soil. A redundant town population, a country population decimated, is a subversion of national life.' December 21, 1906. 1909] READJUSTMENT OF EXPENDITURE 375 make the land less of a pleasure-ground for the rich, and more of a treasure-house for the nation.' Those words of our old leader struck the note of that crowning year of the ' Great ParUament of 1906.' That year was to complete our all-round programme decisively. To me personally, with South Africa loyal and happy in self-government, with all the central ideas I had worked for realised, it might not be unwise that my public life should also find its happy close. Replying to a resolution of our County Council as to increased grants from the Exchequer, commensiirate with increased expenditure caused by additional ad- ministrative duties of a national character being im- posed by Parliament on County Councils,^ I expressed my hearty concurrence ^ : — Your principle might be supplemented by pressing the Government to examine the total expenditure imposed weigh- ing the relative importance of the several objects on which money has to be expended, as weU as the general total any county ought to expend, having regard to its resources. Some objects of national character require heavy expenditure, such as adequate provision of fuUy equipped and efficient schools of rural t3rpe, farm institutes, and continuation schools for boys and girls between thirteen and eighteen. This provision for training the rural population cannot be met out of rates. The Government ought to provide Imperial grants to start this policy on a proper scale. Such grants should be supplemented from rates in some fair proportion. In the interests of the whole country the Government should consider all the duties and classes of expenditure, so that the expenditure — Imperial or local — may be rationally adjusted to the relative importance of the objects, and the total kept within reasonable bounds. Great waste, and needless increase of burdens on the rates, 1 Letter of H. A. Millington, Clerk to Northants County Council, January 15 1909. " January^l?. 376 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 arise also from the independent action of different departments, and the impossibility of the relations of one class of expenditure to another being fuUy discussed in Parliament.^ These subjects might weU be dealt with on business lines between the County Councils Association and the Treasury. I argued these suggestions fully in the House ^ on Lord Helmsley's amendment to the Address asking for ' equitable adjustment between local and Imperial obligations.' The Development BiU and some provisions of the Budget generally covered my points. The session lasted from February 16th till December 3rd, with incessant debates on issues of vital import- ance and no less than 919 divisions ! ' I had been absent only ten days throughout.' * My oavti pro- longed work as Chairman of Standing Committees * left little time to visit East Northants. At Welhngborough the whole of the Old Age Pen- sioners were entertained ^ — a scene of touching interest. In 1908 his own BiU to carry out Charles Booth's scheme got a place in the ballot in the name of Mr. Lever. When divided on, the Ayes were 257, and the Noes only 19. Mr. Lloyd George's BiU last year carried out his principle, raising the age to seventy, from exigencies of finance. It would be soon extended to cover those disquahfied by poor rehef from the guardians. This noblest of reforms went to the root of ancient evils^ — it was not a demoralising bribe, but a new force to awake the finer instincts of human characters, nor would it imperil insurance, but provide an oasis, round which aU the agencies of thrift could be buUt up. His view was that Old Age 1 This was out of the question under the procedure of discussion of Votes in Supply. ^ February 25. Parliamentary Debates, vol. i. p. 923, etc. In this speech I argued against the Henry George idea of putting a tax of Id. in the £ on the capital value of land. = See speech at Kettering, September 13. ' The Parting of the Ways.' * At one time I was chairman of two at once, sitting alternate days. ' Wednesday, January 28, C. L, BRADFJELD, KLMHAIVI. FRED. KMIGHT, J. P. RUSH DEN. 1909] OLD AGE PENSIONERS 377 Pensions were only an inadequate restitution of what the poor had overpaid to national revenues, apart from drink duties, a deferred annuity to which the poor had contributed all their lives. Liberals were sick of malevolent misrepresentation.^ What were the bad things this Ministry had done ? To clear off over fifty miUions of debt in three years ? To have a clean balance- sheet and pay as they went ? The Tory ' Unemployed Bill ' ^ was a motor-car which would not move. Was it wrong for Mr. Asquith and Mr. Burns to supply the petrol ? Was it wrong to protect children ^ from ill-health and debasement, to rescue the child at the outset of evil courses — to feed half-starved children, to have medical inspection in schools ? Were noble Lords with pensions more fitted by Providence to use pensions wisely than the simple, manly people he had known at Pytchley, who had lived patient lives of loyal toil ? At a grand Rushden gathering : — * They should welcome different points of view ! They were glad to have old Tories and modern Tories too. Liberals thought them wrong, but believed them sincere. There were keen and eager Socialists, to whose methods Liberals did not assent, whose occasional bitterness they deprecated, but sym- pathy with suffering, and determination to heal social wounds, were ideals Socialists shared with Liberals. They should make use of the ideals of other men — by generous appreciation of what was common to all, they would help progress far more than by contemptuous repudiation. Never was it more neces- sary for true-hearted men to look facts in the face, grasping principles firmly, trying to solve wisely difficulties before them. Take Peace ! They were proud of the King and Sir Edward Grey. Through them , England was the key to peaceful solutions of international problems. By rash comments sections of the Press provoked animosity. He had felt contempt for panics, and believed common sense would steer them clear. They should arrest this tendency to enormous armaments. Old 1 WoUaston, January 22. = 1905. 3 By the Children Bill, * January 29, 378 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 Toryism of sixty years ago ^ was prudent and self -restrained. They checked that tendency then. Mr. Balfour left unhappy legacies, war debt, permits to bring in more Chinese labourers, worst of all — this ' hornet's nest ' of Dreadnoughts. Every Dreadnought bred a Dreadnought. Much had been done by the Peace Society, still more by the Trade Union deputation. Visits were exchanged between representatives of muni- cipalities and ministers of reUgion in both countries. We have learned much since those days, not so long back. Most of us will never regret that we held out the olive branch so long, and sincerely believed we might, by generosity and good-wiU, keep those friendly elements which doubtless existed then, perhaps even now, in Germany, and so ward off the greatest of world calamities. But we forgot the true key to a future then deliberately concealed. Under a mihtary despotism there is no public opinion, no liberty to think and act — no power whatever to determine poHcy, no representative government. AU is planned and carried out in secret by the ring of military autocrats, working with, and through, and imder the War Lord himseK, to whom every German is one small wheel in the vast machine set in motion only by the pressure of the ' mailed fist ' on a single electric button. A few years ago 200,000 Sociahsts met near Berhn to pass resolutions protesting against a policy of war and adventure. MiUions of Sociahst votes have been cast, hundreds of thoughtful Socialists been sent to the Reichstag. It all meant nothing. It could mean nothing. At Wellingborough ^ I referred to ' the recent death 1 At the time of Peel, who kept a curb on the Duke of Wellington when he wanted vast preparations against panics, * Annual Meeting, April 30, igog] GREY ON DREATfNOUGHTS 379 of a gallant comrade of old fighting days,' Samuel Taylor : — They knew his warmth of heart, his earnestness and loyalty. His joyousness in working for ideals, his determination to persevere until he won, should be a lesson to aU in such times. Everything they cared for, every principle, every hope, would be at stake these next few years. It was the gravest situation he remembered in his Parhamentary career, and should appeal to the manhood of every thoughtful man. In big towns and country villages money was poured out Hke water. Voters who had not time, perhaps not education, to read and think for themselves were marked as easy prey for the insidious and unscrupulous strategy, which would sweep them away with drink, and smoke, and perennial fountains of falsehood. The whole land was being ploughed, drilled, and sown with it — ' Tariff Reform would cure unemployment, and would not raise the cost of living ! The rise in the price of bread was caused by the Liberals ! ' The manipulation of the wheat market in America by designing Trust leaders vividly illustrates how Protection would place in the hands of syndicates weapons to drive up food prices. The naval scare debates were a deUberate provocation of national hatred, discreditable to the dignity of Parhament, but were closed by the speech of Sir Edward Grey, full of wise statesmanship. The starting of Dreadnoughts meant, as he pointed out, a new navy, a higher standard of ship, which wrote off the British predominance which had been their safe- guard for a generation. They wanted their navy to be a match for two or three other navies, and by the Dreadnought scheme they gave other nations a new start on equal footing. That was supreme folly. To keep pace with other powers would mean mUlions. They could not allow themselves to be outplayed by Germany. That was enough to break the hearts of those who had cared for great social reforms — a rational, humane, democratic poHcy for the Empire. Hope lay only in the principles of arbitration, in the alUed democracies of Germany and England building a bridge of mutual confidence and re- spect between the two great nations. Following this aim loyally might break down autocracy, and the determination to 380 MEMORIES OP MIDX.AND POLITICS [1909 carry out these vast and wicked schemes, the cruel policy which, as Sir Edward Grey had said, ' would mean the ultimate and final destruction of the civilisation they had hoped they were buildiag up.' The Lords would hardly throw out the Budget. They would find Protection too heavy a weight to carry. But if they challenged the right of the Commons to decide finance. Liberals would smite them hip and thigh, and renew their victory once more. If the Lords were so mad, the plan he believed their great leader Mr. Asquith had formed to bring the dominant issue to settlement, would be accelerated by a single year. Mr. Asquith had put the Licensing Bill through the Commons with a logical and masculine power, for which he would always be grateful, and had shown, in the conduct of the Party, resolute determination to work in the best spirit to achieve victory.^ Presiding over the Fishing and Trawling Bill for many hours, I listened all the rest of the day to Lloyd George's momentous Budget speech, the longest within recollection. There had been three great Budgets in fiity years. Glad- stone's famous five hours' Budget of 1853, Harcourt's Death Duties in 1894.^ Lloyd George's Budget first struck the balance between rich and poor. Hitherto the poor man had always paid most. By equitable readjustment on all classes and aU sources of revenue it provided for social reforms and national defence, carrying all these burdens on its broad. Liberal, Free Trade back — a com- plete endowment of social and industrial reorganisation and national efficiency all round. They had at last machinery and funds to deal generously with social misery and bring happiness among the people. It was a glorious demonstration of the power of Free Trade. One Tory friend of his complained of a War Budget in time of peace. Whose fault was that ? The Tory Ministry of 1905 began building Dreadnoughts — the new 1 Irthlingborough, May 7. * Incidentally gave them mountains of money, which they scattered to the winds all over the world ! igog] WORKING OF SMALL HOLDINGS ACT 381 competition in gigantic warships initiating a new scale of expenditure. It would have been wiser to adhere to the old policy gradually improving types of ships so as to keep ahead/ instead of this new standard giving foreign nations an even start, and involving us in peril and enormous outlays. Lloyd George's speech opened a new Radical Programme — new regions of industrial and social reforms which Liberals had been asking for and dreaming of for generations. He had set flowing new sources of revenue which would grow and meet the natural wants of a great nation in many ways and for many generations. Then County ratepayers should remember that in the new tax on motor-cars, in the machinery for road improvement, and in the new subventions the burdens of Highway and Poor Law Expenditure would be immensely Ughtened, while money would flow to agricultural and secondary education. Fair taxation of all, for the benefit of all, was the Liberal pohcy. Tory Tariff Reform meant machinery to grind out dividends for ' bosses ' like Mr. Rockefeller. Such dividends came in largest proportions from the savings and the homes of the poor. The assured success of our champion county for co-operation and allotments ^ was strangled by un- believable ignorance, and doctrinaire red tape. An energetic County Council sought to work the Act in a generous and practical spirit. But its clumsy machin- ery provoked delay, encouraging hostile landowners and farmers to press unjust demands, and impose prohibitive conditions. The Act worked slowly and imperfectly enough, even in such a county as ours. It was wise to appoint Commissioners to quicken its operations, and to stiffen the action of many County Coimcils. But it was an inexcusable blimder to give this duty to ofiScials to whom the methods quite 1 Sir Robert Peel's old policy. 2 Kgures of Official Returns proved that Northants stood first in Produc- tive Co-operation and in Allotments. 382 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 familiar to all students of Danish and German and Italian small farming and its credit basis, and even the very methods of Irish and EngUsh co-operation at our doors, were a sealed book. On the Board of Agriculture estimates ^ I strongly condemned the ' serious error ' of these Commissioners' Order of November 21, insisting that ' a Co-operative Society taking land for small holdings must (1) pay six months' rent in advance, and fxirther have (2) extra share capital equal to eighteen months' rent, or (3) find share capital equal to three years' rent.' 'This Order gravely discouraged the formation or suc- cessful working of Co-operative Land Societies, the very instrument on which experts relied to organise small holdings effectively, to which we looked more than to anything else for the evolution of strongly organised groups of small holdings for common objects by full co-operative methods — vastly more likely to succeed than any form of isolated small holdings.' 'Rents for small holdings near Northamptonshire towns ranged from 30s. to 50s. an acre. The Board asked these men to have a good working capital to start on the land (which was reasonable), but also insisted on a second capital by this extraordinary circular. That was altogether imreasonable. The County Council ought to be in the position of a good landlord, dealing with tenant farmers of substance and character, but these men, who had, by co-operating, proved themselves in method and capacity exceptionally fit, were to be forced to put down double capital. By the Act, the Board could meet losses caused by faulty schemes. Though the loss might arise from a blunder of the County Council in selecting the land, or a blunder of the Commissioners, this circular asked these poor 1 March 15, 1909. 1909] THE DEMOCRATIC BUDGET 383 men to subscribe extra capital to cover risks for which they were not responsible ! ' ^ A glorious July afternoon and evening of sunshine and rejoicing at Earls Barton in the gardens of ' The Poplars.' 2 We spoke from the steps of the biUiard-room looking out on the bright scene. Mr. Sheffield, with emotion, said ' he was thankful that God had spared him to see again one of those holidays with his friend, Sir Francis Channing. He had been his chairman for twenty-four years. On the first occasion he told them Mr. Channing was a good sort, and the other party said the other thing. Had not Sir Francis been aU that he said ? ' The Rev. R, A. Selby moved a resolution supporting the ' Great Democratic Budget — the vindication of Free Trade, the instrument of social reform, and the guarantee of the liberties of the people. It behoved every Liberal to be up and doing to pass this Budget into law.' In supporting, I said : — He well remembered that other summer evening long ago, and rejoiced with them that they had again with them in their midst their chairman, with all his charm and his generous heart, which had been such a force for good in their town. That would be a great historic year — in which they should be glad to have done their part manfully. That Budget would stand with the great proposals of Mr. Gladstone in 1853, and with the great Budget of Sir Robert Peel in 1846. In 1900, he insisted that the fight was between the people of England and the monopohes and syndicates. That was still their position to-day. This was the first vindication of the right of the poor man to ^ Local press : ' Conditions should not be imposed upon men who seek to work the land, which no one would think of imposing on those possessed of capital. Least of all should there be any discouragement of the principle of co-operation from which so much has been hoped in the working of the Act.' 2 This outdoor meeting was called by the Women Liberals. 384 MEMORIES OP MIDLAJH) POLITICS [1909 be taxed fairly, on measure of capacity to pay and equality of sacrifice. Again, the Budget righted the tremendous wrong of urban populations, where vast sums had been expended creating untold wealth for owners of land in and adjoining the towns. The Budget was denounced as Sociahstic. When they thought of the real value of the bare, unimproved land, and how that value had grown out of the efforts and expenditure of the popu- lation, it was reasonable that one-fifth of those added values should go to the community. Further, the Budget did not place taxation on agricultural land that was being used, or on improvements by the owner or the occupier. Some great men had written letters that all this Sociahsm would compel them to readjust matters by dismissing men who worked on their estates ! Such letters were pitiful. There could not be a more crushing indictment of landlordism. Why, when Dreadnoughts had to be paid for, should men hke that Duke and his friends shirk responsibihty ? Whether it were for Dreadnoughts, or to meet the wants of the aged poor, some of whom in their time had helped them, was it not ignoble that men with thousands and hundreds of thousands coming in to their pockets should pass those taxes on to humble labourers and dependents ? The passions of hereditary legislators were being whipped up by incitements to throw out, or spht the Budget into separate Bills. They were told the Budget was a bundle of sticks and the Lords could select ! Gladstone had settled aU that by embodjdng his proposal of 1860 to abohsh Paper Duties, as part of the general Budget of 1861. Even that high priest of Toryism, the Quarterly Review, said that ' the Lords' veto on finance was hke the veto of the Crown on legislation. What better cry could Radicals desire than that the Lords are clamouring to control taxation and are shielding the rich at the expense of the poor ? ' Some might say, ' Let them encourage the Lords to go on.' He was a man of peace, and befieved the Lords would acquiesce. Mr. Lloyd Pratt thanked me for ' my strenuous dis- charge of duty. They had the finest Liberal Govern- ment ever known. They were dehghted with the < 0, o w g I s t- - z „ M 3 z M Q OS <: o 1909] BEST OF MINISTRIES AND BUDGETS 385 Budget, for it rang the knell of Tariff Reform and demonstrated that Free Trade could provide the money for great social reforms.' Mr. AUebone reminded the meeting that ' the Budget provided also for the Dreadnoughts their opponents demanded.' In September, the most crowded and enthusiastic meeting ever held in the Victoria Hall at Kettering. Francis Hirst, at one time secretary to Mr. Morley and then editor of the Economist, came to speak on Budget Pohcy, our brilliant young Liberal, George Parkin, now candidate for the Stamford Division, took his pre- hminary canter with us. All the local speakers were at their best. The meeting was full of go and sting from start to finish. Mr. E. P. ToUer, in the chair, made witty havoc of ' ducal letters and of lack of humour in big men. These men had asked for lavish outlays. We want eight, and we won't wait. Now they were asked to pay their share. Did they set an example of fortitude and self-sacrifice ? No ! The idol turned to clay. Lord Rosebery might tell them the country was going wrong, and reel off selfish platitudes, but in Mr. Gladstone's words, " Following in the path of justice they could not err. Guided by that light each step brought them nearer to the goal." ' Mr. Timpson moved the resolution. ' They were proud to back the best of Ministries and best of Budgets. The veracious Daily Mail told them the Budget was dead. Lord Rosebery had driven the last nail at Glasgow. It might receive formal interment in another place, but he should not be surprised if it had a glorious resurrection. Lord Rosebery said the future of Great Britain would be in the melting-pot. The only people hkely to be there were those poor but honest dukes ! ' 2b 386 MEMOEIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 Mr. Parkin : — With this democratic Budget, they and he were living in glorious times. Mr. Lioyd George was making the history of the next twenty years. Their opponents were in sorry pMght, trying to persuade working men who earned a pound a week to shed tears of sorrow for the men who were getting nothing less than £500 a week. When the Budget Protest League started in the Stamford Division, they objected to the money going to anything but the Navy. Then they found they must add Old Age Pensions. They objected to the motor taxes, tiU they found the money was to help the unemployed. Then came the land tax, and they wanted to turn oif their gardeners till the papers told them ' there was too much fuss about the Dukes and it was not catching on.' Asked to come and ' weep,' they only laughed ! What did ' catch on ' was that the Budget was for great social reforms. So the Daily Mail collared the whole Liberal social policy, all the arguments mixed, and labelled 'Tariff Reform! ' — a cure for everything. Patient to be weU shaken before taking. If these men ever got power, they would tax not wealth but poverty, not luxuries but necessities. Parkin was a bright and attractive speaker, and might have done well in ParUament. All his old friends lamented when he passed away, in his early manhood, a few years later. Mr. Hirst followed with a closely reasoned address : — Lord Rothschild, at a great City meeting, led the demand for more Dreadnoughts. The Government brought in this Budget taxing these extremely rich merchants. Six weeks after his appeal, Lord Rothschild presided over another City meeting, to complain of the taxes imposed to meet the very expenditure for which they had asked. Lord Rosebery called the Budget revolutionary. Lord Rose- bery admired Pitt. He also claimed to be a disciple of Mr. Gladstone. They might ask what Lord Rosebery, had he Uved then, would have said about Pitt's proposal to graduate Income Tax then standing at 2s. in the pound. When he wrote about Pitt he never condemned that ' fiscal revolution.' Why not GEORGE H. PARKIN, RUSHDEN. LIBERAL CANDIDATE— STAMFORD DIVISION, 1910. JAMES JACKSON, NORTHAMPTON. 1909] BUDGET LEAGUE MEETING 387 condemn Mr. Gladstone's Succession Duties, or Sir William Harcourt's Death Duties ? If this Budget asked that a few should contribute and everybody else vote away the money, he would condemn it. But it told the rich man, living in five houses, with five hundred servants, ' You ought to pay more than the poor man living in five rooms, with no servant.' That was not revolution, but bare justice. Supporting the resolution, I said : — He would carry their hearts with him from that glorious meeting when he went next Friday, to back up Mr. Asquith at the meeting in historic Bingley Hall. It seemed only the other night that he sat behind Mr. Gladstone and Sir WiUiam Harcourt, in the glorious meeting of 1888, the harbinger of the victory of 1892. What would the Lords do ? The EngMsh people were tolerant and generous. They detested revolutions. The Lords had waxed wanton with too much licence. They were ready almost for anything. They had rejected the will of the people on education and plural voting. Those were political crimes. But he thought the Lords would hesitate to attempt a revolu- tion that would shake the constitution to its very depths. That constitution was not written, not based on laws. It was in the very life-blood, the moral growth of the Enghsh people, won by endless sacrifices and fearless courage — the very corner- stone of hberty, for the kingdom and for all the nations of the English race. It was the stronger for its elasticity. It was an instrument which true patriots must handle with reverent loyalty, as the guarantee of the future. A revolution carried out by a privileged class for its own interests, would be detested with more intense bitterness. Lord Rosebery had passionately denounced the Budget. That was unintelligible from one who had himself been respon- sible for many of these proposals. ' The Budget was rank, reckless, predatory Sociahsm ' ? But what did it all come to ? Did he teU the Lords it was their supreme duty to destroy it because it would bring ruin, desolation, and despair ? No, he hung back at the last, and said : ' Beware what you are about. Throwing out this Budget may be just what Lloyd George 388 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 wants. Take care not to faU into the trap of a Macchiavellian Ministry.' What was the House of Lords ? Mr. Balfour, in October 1906,1 said public opinion recognised that the House of Lords must be subordinate to the Lower House, did not interfere in finance, had long ceased to claim a determining voice as to how the country should be governed. The Duke of Devonshire, ^ the most sagacious of Unionist Peers, said the Lords were always at loggerheads with the Elective Chamber, and failed to discharge the duties of a revising chamber, because it represented one interest, the land, and one party, the Conservative Party, and contained many men without practical experience of affairs to justify their share in national decisions. Lord Rosebery's own Committee ^ had recommended complete reconstruction. This House of Lords, so characterised by two great repre- sentatives of the Conservative Party, claim to throw out Educa- tion and ' one man one vote.' * That was bad enough. But it was outrageous that a body, thus condemned by its own Com- mittee, should claim to alter the vital basis of the constitution, and assert that financial control shall no longer remain with the elected representatives of the nation. Ought the money to be found by the rich in fair proportion to the rest ? Was it just that some fair contribution should be paid from the one asset, which had hitherto escaped fair taxa- tion ? That was what stung the Dukes, and Lord Rosebery himself. That was not Sociahsm. They did not ask that land should be appropriated by the State through taxation, but that increments of value created, not by the outlay of the owners, but by the energy and outlay of the whole community, should bear a trifling contribution to the general expenses. He waited in vain for any economic reply, proving that these taxes took an unfair percentage. Among leading co-operators, Mr. WUham Ballard ^ had helped him, by inquiries demonstrating that working men, earning from 12s. to 30s. a week, were papng much higher 1 At Manchester. ^ In House of Lords, May 7, 1907. ^ Appointed as the outcome of that debate, in 1907. * I should have added—' the great Licensing BiU of last session too.' ° On the platform. igog] THE PARTING OP THE WAYS S8d proportions of earnings to national expenditure than rich men with £1500, £5000, £10,000 to £20,000 a year. Several rich friends had given him figures of household expenditure which demonstrated the facts he laid before the House of Commons. It would be easy for rich men, who thought the Budget unjust, to give their own estimates of the incidence of taxes on their own incomes. But they did not challenge the economic basis. The Budget struck an equal balance — asked from the poor man what was fair — no more and no less, and asked from the rich aU that was fair — no more and no less. They were at the parting of the ways. The new gospel of wealth was that the poor must pay. They had Lord Rosebery, entering on the primrose path of daUiance with Protection, saying in effect : ' If the poor are not made to pay, how can you expect us to stand by Free Trade ? We rich men have no alternative.' Yes, the rich must join in forcing the poor to pay, by the accursed system of taxing food, by the detestable system of Protection, to enable men already wealthy, banded together in control of industries, to turn themselves into private tax-gatherers, and levy their taxes, in addition to the taxes of the State, on the necessities of consumers throughout the land. On the one hand, the scales equal and fair between man and man, cheap food, cheap raw material, all the advantages of Free Trade ; on the other, the country handed over to the private tax-gatherers of Protection. They were told they were pleading for Sociahsm. The Socialist rightly welcomed the Budget. Sociahsm sprang from the human protest against the crushing down of the masses, against everything that was unjust and intolerant. Though he had warm sympathy with that impulse, he did not admit the Budget was Sociahstic. To hold the scales equal between man and man, to insist on fair incidence of taxes, to extend equal opportunities to aU was not Sociahsm but justice, and he believed that Sociahst and Liberal ahke Uved by justice and lived for justice, and would struggle to the end for justice. All taxes might be misrepresented as steps to Sociahsm. It was as absurd to say that these small toUs on increments and undeveloped land are Sociahsm as to say the Income Tax means Sociahsm. Parhament could raise the Income Tax to 20s. in the pound and transfer every factory and shop to the State. 390 MEMORIES OE MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 So we might raise Schedule A to 20s. in the pound, and transfer all land to the State, without compensation. But it was monstrous to suppose that any Ministry or any Parliament would do so. He distrusted many of the ideas and much of the machinery of Socialism. But if Socialism was a danger, who was stirring up that spirit ? Was it not men like Lord Rose- bery and the Dukes, who resented paying their fair share of national expenditure out of their vast wealth, and said that the poor must pay out of their bitter poverty ? What as to Social Reform ? Lord Rosebery said, ' We must cease to discourage thrift.' Did he think pensions received by humble people with happiness and pride had discouraged thrift ? It was to himself a matter of deep happiness to be assured that in their constituency, so far from doing harm, they had done infinite good. Lord Rosebery said Old Age Pensions created the deficit. The deficit was caused by continuous development of expenditure on armaments. He had fought the battle of economy, and wished to cut down this enormous expenditure. Lord Rosebery contended that the ' party of social reform promised blessings, and produced ruin.' The new gospel was to be not only to make the poor pay, but to whoUy banish from public life the temper of the Good Samaritan. He was proud of the work done in the last few years — old age pensions, feeding of children, labour exchanges, insurance against sickness and unemployment. Those vast engines of social reform were placed within reach by the Budget, and he said, ' Thank God for it.' At the end of nearly a quarter of a century of service it gave him deep satisfaction to see a noble and glorious future of social reform. In conclusion, I referred to the grand Development Bill. England was behind in endowment of agricultural education, in facilities for improving agriculture, increasing opportunities for rural regeneration, and building up of that future which was associated with their lifelong hopes. To provide the sinews of war for this generous purpose was again denounced as Socialism. Where was the Socialism in creating the rural secondary schools, he had long hoped to see, but could not because the Treasury would not supply funds ? When 106 agricultural co-operative societies were started in two years, 1909] SINGLE-HEARTED HUMANITY 391 why should not the State provide demonstration models of profitable methods of smaU farming, and so win rich rewards for human effort ? Why should not the Board of Agriculture initiate such an oasis of triumphant co-operative success as that? Lloyd George had now provided the means. They were entering on a new era of progressive, hopeful social reform in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, which was the text neither of the demagogue, nor of the anarchist, nor of the revolutionary, but rather breathed the truth, the reality, and the purity of a single-hearted humanity, the spirit of infinite mercy, the loyal duty of human brotherhood. He was glad to think that the men of Kettering, who had stood by him so long, were ready now to take their share in the noblest page of pohtical history. This speech was received throughout, and in its closing passages, with a warmth of approval only equalled by the splendid memory of the great meeting of November 1899. Mr. Stockburn moved, and Mr. Walhs seconded in happy terms, a motion of thanks to the speakers in this most decisive of all Kettering's great demonstrations. 392 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 CHAPTER XXIII THE MADNESS OF THE LORDS. (1909) ' That Way Revolution Lies ' — Reconsider my Resignation — The Constitution a Sacred Instrument to evolve England's Liberties — Lords reject the Finance BiU — Protest Meeting — Campaign from Wicksteeds'. Four days after to the Bingley Hall Meeting at Bir- mingliam in the dining train, with seventy Members of ParUament and Party leaders, aU guests of Sir Charles M'Laren.^ The Prime Minister was in highest spirits. It was a brilhant scene from start to finish — the gay train, the enthusiasm of that stupendous gathering, those epoch-making words, ' That way revolution Hes,' uttered in deepest tones by our leader, the passionate outburst of cheering, which recalled Gladstone's won- derful reception in 1888. Mr. Asquith was wise as well as iincompromisiag. He would shrink from no supreme act of duty. If a blow was struck at the constitution, the very life of England, he would strike instantly and would strike home. But his words were not of provocation, nor menace, but reasoned protest, almost icy warning. The country should know what the constitution is and how it has been interpreted, not by partisans, by Socialists and demagogues, but by leading Tory statesmen. Here is a prin- ciple, resting upon precedents already ancient in the time of Pym and Selden, reasserted with energy even in the servile atmosphere of the Restoration, acknowledged generation after generation, by the most illustrious spokesmen of both parties of the State. The principle is this : In matters of finance the Lords are impotent, the Commons are supreme ! Amendment, or rejection by the Lords are equally out of the question. It would mean bringing the whole executive ' M.P Bosworth, now Lord Aberconway. 1909] • THAT WAY REVOLUTION LIES ' 393 machinery to a standstill — financial and administrative chaos. Is this issue going to be raised ? If it is, it carries in its train consequences which he would be a bold man to forecast. If it is seriously threatened, I say for you and for me, I say for the Liberal Party, that we are ready, not only ready but anxious, not only anxious but eager to take up the challenge. The argument of this great speech was unanswerable. Its moral force crushing, decisive. Its very strength made it even more difl&cult to believe that the Lords would take this mad plunge. Sometime the inside history of these reckless acts will be written, the inner motives brought to light. It would seem certain that what decided was the vast money interest the Tariff Reformers had in the triumph of the Tory Party. They imagined that to force an election would at once restore the Tories to power. They counted on reaping the fruits of innumerable lectures, of ceaseless drinking concerts and dinners in great industrial communities ; when they won, the ' peccadillo ' of the Lords would be clean forgotten. They knew the Enghsh people as imperfectly as the Kaiser did in 1914. After all, the one thing certain is — it was the push from ' Highbury ' that drove the Lords over the preci- pice to destruction. Mr. Chamberlain had the fatal destiny to wreck parties and institutions. To him, more than ,to any one, was due the ultimate triumph of the Parhament BiU, to destroy the veto. I continued working in the House till the last moment for the decision which was now taking definite shape in my mind. The work was of intensest interest. I de- clined to sit as chairman on the Development Bill, to retain a free hand in criticising and helping to improve the Bill. On the second reading, I followed Lord Robert^ Cecil, and rebutted his charge of Socialism. The Bill was analogous to the bold Unionist policy in reorganising Ireland and Irish agriculture, under Mr. S94 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 Gerald Balfour.^ It followed out the example of Sir Horace Plunkett and his ' Recess Committee.' For England, too, I wanted a strong Central Board, repre- sentative of County CouncUs, great agricultural bodies, railways, canals, and other interests. I still think this Development Policy would be more effective if less centralised, and in representative hands. The BiU ended as a compromise between these policies. I obtained in Committee, and on Report, that ' scientific as well as practical instruction in agriculture ' and ' the provision of farm institutes ' should be included. The Road Board was empowered to contribute to main- tenance as well as construction of new roads. On the final stages of the Finance BiU, I tried to secure that, in determining increment value, fuU allow- ance should be made for ' recovery value ' of land sold within twenty years, at prices below average value, and to Hmit duty on site value of undeveloped land, to land which was ' capable of being sold or let with a covenant to build thereon.' Earher in the year, working with other agricultural members of both parties specially interested in agricul- ture, I had helped to get these duties modified in the interests of ordinary farming and market gardening. It would be unfair,^ when it was urgent that agricultural land should recover, that increment duty should operate to discourage revival. Where they had purely agricultural land, it should be exempt from increment duty. The Chancellor should remember that purely agricultural land was the foundation of the hopes of his Liberal supporters. Set agricultural land free from duties which lessen enterprise. Amid general ruin relative success had been achieved, where lia- bilities were light, and left freedom to apply capital to the land. It was now ^ becoming more probable that the Lords would reject the Budget, and it became more certain to experienced Parliamentarians that, if they did, Mr. ^ 1903. ^ I had argued in the House. ^ October. 1909] RECONSIDER RESIGNATION 395 Asquith would forthwith dissolve, though some argued for immediate prorogation — and a new session starting with the Budget once more, and the foreshadowed Parliament Bill, thus challenging the Lords to reject both Bills together. I had little doubt myself. It seemed fair to my friends to decide immediately. I therefore placed my resignation, based on private grounds, in the hands of my old friend, Mr. Stockburn. This would give the Association time to select a successor. The Executive Committee pressed me to discuss the matter with a deputation, and I did so in London. Though I was aware of the kindness and generosity of my friends, I had never so fully realised the warmth of personal regard, as in that delightful talk with East Northamptonshire's strongest and wisest men, and their earnest appeal to me to withdraw my resignation. It was with deep regret that I felt unable to alter my decision. Arguments of old friends, protests of my chief ad- visers in the Party, and the wishes of my own family cabled from America jBnaUy prevailed. It was my duty to don my armour once more. Writing to Mr. Stockburn : — Under these circumstances, though I can readily imagine your Association might find reasons for choosing another cham- pion to fight in the battle visibly imminent, I cannot but tell you that, if I were again thought worthy of doing what I can for East Northants in the greatest constitutional struggle we are ever likely to take part in, I shall gladly and with a fuU heart hold myself at your disposal. The delegates were summoned on 13th November. ^ The resolution of invitation was moved by Charles Wicksteed — ' They were going to try conclusions with the House of Lords. They had a Government that would go to the root of evils that brought poverty and 1 At Ceutral Hall, Wellingborough. 396 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 misery in a country of vast wealth. England was itseK again, and leading the whole world in social reform.' Mr. Page seconded : ' That was the freest constitu- ency in old England ; let them keep it so.' Frank Ballard : ' Sir Francis had been their cham- pion all along, even during that terrible war in South Africa. Those friends who dissented then, now saw he was right.' The invitation was unanimous — the whole Council rose and received me with great cheering when called on. They all felt their responsibihty to guard that great con- stituency which had held aloft so many years the highest, purest, noblest standard of political Hfe. He could hardly express his gratitude for the uninterrupted confidence, the generous brotherhood of that quarter of a century. It might have been wiser for them if that trust could be handed over to some younger champion. ' But if you want me, here I am.' He unwittingly incurred similar experiences to Lord Brougham, who was said to have circulated a report of his own death, in order to read his obituary notices. He wanted to express his own gratitude for the kindly and generous words of his opponent. Sir Arthur Brooke. They were in keeping with the uniform courtesy and fair play he had for many years received from opponents. He could hardly believe even now that the Lords would wreck the Budget, and throw national finance into confusion. Sir John Kennaway, the Father of the Commons, had expressed in the Times strong repugnance to that reckless course. America's greatest historian and jurist, Mr. Lawrence LoweU, in his book on English government, which would be a ' classic ' like Mr. Bryce's book on the American constitution, said : ' The English constitution is like a living organism. It has grown up out of adaptations to existing needs, and therefore is more consistent with itself, and has brought each part more into harmony with all the rest, than any other Government.' The Lords would arrest the natural growth of this instrument which had made English history. It was a sacred instrument, resting on unwritten consent of wise men for generations, destined, loyally and patiently, to evolve peacefully, and not through scenes of blood and misery, the liberties of England to 1909] LORDS REJECT FINANCE BILL 397 higher and higher planes. It meant usurpation by the Lords of the supreme function of the Commons. It meant also usurpa- tion of the supreme function of the Crown itself. For the Lords to stop supplies meant the destruction of the Ministry the King had appointed, and the House of Commons had approved — administrative as well as financial chaos, the most tremendous revolution ever contemplated by an unrepresentative body of men. The principles of the Budget were neither novel nor revolu- tionary. They were logical extensions of principles of taxation recognised by both parties. On the third reading, quotations from the official manual of ^he Unionists showed that the policy of the taxation of land values was therein approved. It was an insult to the intelligence of the workers, who wanted homes on the outskirts of our large towns, to resist such reasonable reforms. The Second Chamber ought to represent aU classes and inter- ests, and work for the whole country, in touch with everyday life. He trusted in Mr. Asquith. The House of Lords could not stop as it was. I returned to work steadily on the luiending tread- mill of that tremendous year of over 900 divisions.^ The Finance Bill had gone to the Lords with a majority of 230 on the third reading. ^ Two days after my return, Lord Lansdowne put down his fateful notice to reject : ' This House is not justified in giving its con- sent to this Bill until it has been submitted to the judgment of the country.' The second reading debate in the Lords occupied six full days. Speeches of extraordinary perversity, and of extraordinarily open-minded justness of reason- ing, were sandwiched all through, the Bill being thrown out by 350 to 75.^ There were many acute, and not ill-judged criticisms of the principles and methods adopted. Where the opponents wholly failed was in challenging the real point, the constitutional argument. That admirably clear reasoner. Lord Balfour of Bur- leigh, put it in a nutshell. ' If it is said the motion to 1 919. 2 379 to 149. ^ November 30. 398 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 reject is a referendum upon FinancCj I say with confi- dence that, whatever may be the advantages of a referendum, it is impossible in Finance. A referendum in Finance destroys the control of the other House over the Government, and would make the most momentous change in the whole history of the consti- tution.' Lord Eiosebery gave a weaker repetition of his Glasgow speech. Lord James of Hereford argued the Constitutional position unanswerably. Lord Morley summed up with precision five vital points of usurpation. You claim to control the taxing power, to force a penal dissolution, to change a Parha- ment you do not Hke to a Parhament you approve, to substitute oHgarchic for representative supremacy, and to throw out of gear the whole financial machinery of the year. Next day I wired to Kettering to hold an indignation meeting, and we held a rouser at the Liberal Club. They were faced with the old temper of 1832, when the landed aristocracy controlled a majority in the Commons by nominee members. Hour after hour, he had hstened to that spirit that momentous week. A conspiracy sweeping forward one en- croachment after another, to the deMberate assertion of the claim to control the Commons, to control the Crown itself. He had just come from another scene. They had got through a dreary forty minutes of questions, when Mr. Asquith came in. By an irresistible impulse every Liberal in the House leapt to his feet, cheering as in the grand days of Gladstone, when members stood on the benches cheering his noble words. Thus welcomed, Mr. Asquith announced that he would to-morrow move ' That the rejection by the House of Lords of the provision made by this House for the service of the year is a breach of the constitution, and a usurpation of the rights of the House of Commons.' Those straightforward, manly words went to the heart of the question, a bugle call to every man who loved freedom in the land. That was the right spirit for a great leader. While the iron was white hot, they should strike with igog] CAMPAIGN AGAINST LORDS 399 all their might. Lord Crewe, wise, cool, concentrated, said, ' For fifteen years he had brought forward, but had been powerless to carry out, his cherished ideas.' There were men in the Lords who served the country nobly and well. Could they leave such men manacled, handcufffed in such a chamber, or were they at last to set them free ? Let them have at least a Second Chamber whose heart beat true to national impulses, was not paralysed by class interests, but responded to national needs. If the country condoned this great constitutional crime, no House of Commons could ever again consider or carry through the estimates for the year, without first submitting their financial proposals to these noble lords to countersign and agree to beforehand. That was a claim the country would indignantly reject. That was the temper of the moment in the constitu- ency as at Westminster. I had taken at Kettering a dehghtful house near the Wicksteeds.^ We were to go there at the beginning of January till the end of the election. For a short preliminary campaign, before Christmas, the Wicksteeds most kindly welcomed me to their beautiful home. It was a special pleasure to be a guest of Mrs. Wicksteed. Her gentle manner, thought- ful kindness, and generous sympathies gave her a charm for her friends which was indescribable, and which will always linger in their hearts. Each night I went spinning off in the motor to some meeting — the earhest at Chelveston and Addington- — all encouraging. Then came a ' rousing gathering ' at WeUingborough, the first important fixture. Dr. Aubrey, always a favourite speaker in our county, came to give his eloquent support. Wicksteed went over with me. George May cock was quite in his old form : — It was a real pleasure to hear his familiar tones and broad- minded sentiments once more. It was one proof that he himself had never shrunk from the imperative duties imposed 1 ' Hall Close,' occupied by Mr. Berrill and his wife, daughter of our old riend, Dr. Dryland. 400 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1909 on him by the principles he had fought to uphold for twenty- four years. The Lords were seeking fame, like Charles the First, by grasp- ing the power of the purse. ' You know what happened to Charles the First.' The people would never surrender their right to elect their own representative government, to decide who should be the King's Ministers, and what should be their policy. Out of the ' melting-pot ' would arise a living instru- ment to carry out the will of the democracy— generous, tolerant, far-seeing — which would help to great decisions. Never again should the nation depend on the crumbs that fell from the table of an hereditary chamber. Any Second Chamber they might have must be elective, and have restricted powers. There were admirable men in the Lords — men like Lord Spencer, Lord Northampton, true as steel, and their old friend who was now Lord Althorp.^ In working for agriculture, small holdings, rural education, security for the tenant farmer for twelve years past, he had been associated with distinguished members of that House, who rendered conspicuous service to agriculture and to the country. They were not criticising men like the late Lord ToUemache, men beyond praise, but objected to the Lords as an institution which represented one party, and one group of financial interests. Tariff Reformers thought exporting capital ruins the country. Would Protection cure that ? The United Kingdom had ex- ported capital to every corner of the world longer than any other country, and had investments abroad amounting to 3000 millions. Highly protected France had 1600 millions, and Germany, also protected, had been going the- ' road to ruin ' to the tune of 1500 miUions. Protection would not stop the outward flow of capital ! Where had the money gone ? Half of ours went to provide railways in our Colonies, which sent us food and raw materials. It did not go in gold, but in boots and steel products and other things, which brought back in- creasing volumes of food and helped and stimulated home industries. They had at last a just Budget fairly taxing the poor, and not unfairly exempting the rich. At a bright meeting at Higham presided over by genial Thomas Patenall, where Ryland Adkins ^ made a brilliant fighting speech, I added a few points. 1 The ' Bobby ' Spencer of old days. ^ M.P. for Middleton. igog] CAMPAIGNING BY PROXY 401 A vote had never counted more for good or evil in political history — more than ever it would count in the hfe of the youngest man present. The Lords could not stop everything. The enormous moral driving power of democracy had forced through, over the heads of the Lords, a mass of useful legislation wholly unparalleled by any Parhament. What the Lords sought was to override the Commons and the Crown, and take away the rights the Commons had won long ago, in their bloody struggle with the Stuarts. To condone this greatest wrong of our times would be to forfeit their liberties, and hand the key of the future to those who had neither constitutional nor moral claim to demand it. The men of Northants were not going to barter away that centre of all their liberties, the House of Commons. At this election we should have thousands of Conservatives saying the liberties of the country were theirs as well as ours, the constitu- tion was theirs too. If the Budget were worse than its greatest enemies made out, the constitutional importance of keeping representative Government untouched and untrammelled was vital. It would be a deadly wrong for any elector to use his vote to condone this great crime. Our belongings stood ready to go to Kettering and begin our campaign, wben I found myself in high fever and condemned to doctor, nurse, and bed. My wife and daughter went without me to do what they could. I hoped to shake off this sudden attack of influenza in a week, and join them. Unhappily it clung to me with vicious tenacity, perhaps more fully developed by the letters and telegrams I sent off from my bed to each meeting. I had rarely been better than at election times — on the six former occasions. I was splendidly supported by friends from all quarters, in a brisk and brilliant campaign. One happy feature of this election was the help given by my daughter. She had never spoken in public before. 2c 402 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 CHAPTER XXIV .SEVENTH VICTORY. (1910) The January Election — Sir Chandos Leigh at Irohester — Earls Barton — Rushden — Wellingborough — Women's Free Trade Meet- ing — Dr. Clifford's Great Speech — Irthhngborough Cross — Polling Day and Rejoicings — Last Meeting at Kettering — Mr. Gladstone'* Prayer for England. At Irchester ^ Sir Chandos Leigh and his brother, the Dean of Hereford, gave strLking addresses. After kind words about Oxford distinctions and services in ParUament, Sir Chandos referred to my answer to Lord Rosebery's charge that the Budget was Sociahstic ^ : — The difference between England and foreign countries was the difference between reform and revolution. That disHke of revolution here was what Sir Francis insisted on at Kettering. As an old official of the Commons, he said the rejection of the Budget was unconstitutional, reference to the people a flimsy pretext. If Liberals brought in a distasteful Budget, the Lords would refer it to the people. If Conservatives were in power, the Budget, whatever it might be, would not be referred. Finance had been sacred to the Commons, but now a Liberal Budget was thrown out exactly like Education, Licensing, and other BiUs. As counsel to the Speaker his duty was to see that BUls which altered the incidence of taxation should not begin in the Lords, but always in the Commons. When Mr. Gladstone embodied in his Budget of 1860 the 1 In the fine new Council Schools. 2 At the Budget League Meeting, September 13. M. NUNNELEY, J. P., C.A. ORLINGBL RV. igio] THE FIGHT WITH THE LORDS 403 repeal of the Paper Duties/ the Lords did not dare reject. In 1894, when Sir WilUam Harcourt's Death Duties were carried by a small maj ority, the Lords did not dare reject. The present Budget was carried by 249 majority, and yet the Lords re- jected it. He honestly beUeved that, if the Duke of Devonshire had been ahve, the Lords would never have rejected the Budget. Sir Algernon West, Mr. Gladstone's old secretary, said that Mr. Gladstone would have set his face like a flint, and Sir Algernon was right. Mr. Nunneley asked ^ : — Were six hundred men sitting in the Lords, most of them by birth alone, to rule forty miUions of people, and claim to dis- solve the elected House ? Would they have Lloyd George's Free Trade Budget, or Protection ? Would the foreigner pay ? Last year Lincolnshire potatoes sold at 35s. to 40s., and in London and Liverpool at 50s. to £3 per ton. Freight to America was 12s., the duty £2. Those same potatoes sold in America at £9 per ton. Who paid the tax, the British exporter or the buying consumer in America 1 At Earls Barton,^ election songs sung with Bartonian ' go ' started a grand meeting. My daughter Juha was warmly welcomed.^ She expressed my deep disap- pointment. ' He hoped still to come that week or the next.' Mr. Hunt made an animated speech. ' There would be no hope for Liberalism, for Nonconformity, for temperance, or social reform while the Lords retained their veto.' Mr. Hammond ^ asked : — What was the alternative to Lloyd George ? Only a man waving a Tariff Reform flag, not knowing what it meant. All he could say was, ' Try it, because our trade is leaving us.' Mr. Chamberlain said so,^ but in those six years our foreign 1 Rejected by the Lords in 1859. ^ At Wilby. ^ Mr. AUebone presided, January 10. * Her first meeting representing me. ' Eighty dub. • In 1903. 404 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 trade had risen from 870 to 1070 millions. Population had gone up 6, foreign trade 23 per cent. ' Why was England the only Free Trade country 1 ' They had forty-four millions on an acreage capable of supplying twenty-two millions. Half must starve unless food came in abundantly. Last year they imported many miUions' worth of food, and of raw materials for manufacturers. Their imports were paid for by their exports. Stick to Free Trade. At Rushden,^ the hall packed and enthusiastic, and crowded to overflow.^ Election songs for an hour. Mr. Bradfield ^ read my telegram : — No room for splitting over ultimate problems. Stand to- gether as one man to set free our generation from vast perils. You are invited, in this twentieth century, to surrender self- government arid the national purse to the Lords, an outrageous breach of the constitution. Hurl these men in the dust, have done with this colossal absurdity. The other insolent demand is that you are to satisfy the rapacity of landowners, and capitaUsts, and trusts by handing over your staple industries, your homes, and your lives to the plunderers of Tariff Reform. This is backed by falsehoods — ' taxing food will not raise the cost of living,' ' Tariff Reform means work for aU,' ' foreigners can be made to pay ! ' Those who repeat these gigantic lies are bigger fools than knaves, but when national existence is at stake, such hes are atrocious crimes. A Birmingham speaker * defended Free Trade and the Budget. Greeted with ' Good Old Joe,' he retorted : ' Mr. Chamberlain was feeling bad now, and would feel worse after the election.' Mr. Waldron ^ said : — When taunted with being a Radical, his reply was : ' I am a Radical because I have worked amongst the poor of London.' Were the Peers to control the country ? They had there some of the finest brains of the Empire. What did those clever men dread ? Some had perpetual pensions, yet were against soldiers of labour getting 5s. a week at seventy. They 1 January 11. "At Co-operative Hall. ^ Jq ^he chair. * Mr. Lewis. ' Vicar of Brixton. MISS HILDA VVICKSTKED. niiVN-HAI-OD. KETTERING. igio] RUSHDEN AND WELLINGBOROUGH 405 claimed prescriptive right to throw out ^ the Reform Bill, the Ballot, and every Bill that made conditions fairer, Education Bills, Licensing Bills. They stood for ever in the way of pro- gress. Look at poverty, sweating, all the evils that had gone on for centuries. Then ask if they want the Lords to stop hasty legislation ! They did not want huge fortunes on one side, bitter poverty on the other. The people must control drink. Tariff Reformers and Trusts wished to turn the Lobby into a cockpit for corruption. They wanted no crushed manhoods. Think of Hampden, Pym, Cromwell, Gladstone, and Bright — the traditions of a great race — should they hand that heritage on to their children, or aUow an unrepresentative Chamber to block the way ? Mr. W. Clark was witty, Mr. Corby loyal, Mr. F. Knight full of earnest enthusiasm. The fighting spirit was ready to achieve big things. A stirring meeting in Wellingborough Exchange next night. Julia motored with Mr. Sargeaunt. Mr. Poulton, of the Boot and Shoe Union, made a strong speech in our favour. The Socialists, exasperated by the withdrawal of Mr. Tillett,^ and disappearance of other extremist candidates, interrupted noisily and tried to silence Poulton, most loyal of Trade Unionists. Julia's arrival, with Miss Wicksteed, was welcomed with prolonged cheering. My brief telegram thanked hundreds of friends work- ing for that greatest of causes. ' Let all men of sane, loyal, generous views strike the tremendous blow necessary.' Mr. Morgan, chairman, spoke vigorously on the Liberal record since 1906, reduction of debt, rescue of the aged poor, equahsation of burdens on poor and rich. Tariff Reform would prove a device for shifting burdens back from rich to poor. 1 The BiU of 1832. 2 Mr. TiUett, first invited, began his campaign, and withdrew when the support of the Trade Union was withheld. 406 MEMORIES OF MTDLAND POLITICS [1910 Mr. Powell ^ spoke with eloquence of the responsi- bilities and principles of Free Churchmen. 'People talked of a Nonconformist conscience. Theirs was but the conscience of upright men — they desired fair play — the opportunity for all to fulfil the purposes in life for which they were bom — to apply the highest possible ideals to poUtical problems,' and dwelt on the splendid boons this Government had given — the Children's Charter, and other Acts. The Wellingborough and Rushden Socialists had pro- tested against Poulton appearing on our platform. He came because the Trade Union Congress and the Parlia- mentary Committee had appealed to him and two million other Trade Unionists to support the People's Budget, and to work zealously for the maintenance of thePeople'sHouse of Commons, and for the abolition of the House of Lords, and only to sup- port candidates pledged to maintain the independence of the Commons in finance, and to strenuously support the social reforms endorsed by the Congress. This was a straight fight between a Commons' man and a Lords' man. He came to speak for a man who would fight for the people, and would resist in the future, as he had in the past, tariffs on the foodstuffs of this country. This was a constitutional struggle. He had hoped for years to get to grips with the Lords. That time had come. The Lords wanted to know the people's opinion ! He hoped they would ! Mr. Sargeaunt 'rejoiced to come from the dim and distant West to a glorious East Northamptonshire Radical scene like that. He was told, as a Church clergyman, he ought to support the Lords. What had the Lords done for the sake of the Church ? Was it for the sake of the Church that they postponed abolition of church rates ? Every Churchman now Mving be- lieved that church rates were justly abohshed.' He wittily exposed the fallacies and contradictions of ^ Then minister of the Congregatipnal Chiircti. igio] WOMEN'S FREE TRADE MEETING 407 Tariff Reform, which was ' to raise prices to the man who sells and lower them to the man who buys.' ' The new system was at once to keep out imports, and to bring larger revenues from more imports. When a man offered contradictory things, could they trust him ? ' ' The Liberal remedy was the Budget, and the Lords stopped it. The Lords had chosen bad ground, and would have a bad fall. They had been governed by the Lords long enough, and the people would now rise and say, " Never again ! " ' Mr. Heygate, loudly cheered — They were delighted with Mr. Poulton's powerful speech. Every working man who did not record his vote on Wednesday next, did not deserve to have one. As an old campaigner he knew that the bigger the poll, the bigger their majority. They were delighted that the chilly atmosphere of West Dorset had not destroyed Mr. Sargeaunt's Radical enthusiasm. He honoured him for his courage in standing as a clergyman on Liberal platforms. Tories always played the game of ' Heads I win, tails you lose.' With a Conservative majority, they ruled the country as they pleased. The Lords never checked them. With a Liberal majority, Tories still ruled through the House of Lords. Mr. James Page seconded. Kettering women crammed the Temperance HaU on Thursday ^ to discuss Free Trade and Tariff Reform, as affecting women and the home. Miss Walsh, an eloquent speaker, came down. Miss Charming presided, and read my telegram. Strike a strong blow to crush the cruel fraud of Tariff Reform. It is a woman's battle to save the homes of the people. We are initiating a glorious crusade to build up the physical and moral vigour of coming generations. Is it a time to make it harder for the poor to get cheap bread and meat ? ■I January 13, 408 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [191O Julia proceeded : — The Tories were trying to convince them that the price of food would not be raised by a tax. She did not believe it, and was sure the women there did not believe it. If that were so, how was it that in Belgium, where there was no tax on corn, the price was about the same as in England ? In Germany, however, with an lis. 6d. tax, the price was the same as in England plus the tax. In other countries corn was dearer in proportion to duties. She was reading a big German newspaper recently which stated that, owing to the high prices of food, this Christmas had been one of the worst festivals Germany had ever had. Again, they had lived in America several times, and she knew that in the last few years the price of all food- stuffs had increased immensely. The trusts and combines, which were the result of Tariff Reform, were the cause of that. The Tories wanted to start with a small tax on corn, but they would soon want it increased, and they in England would soon be in the position of the American and have to pay more for everything. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach had admitted his shilling duty sent up the price of corn. Emphasising the fact that the consumer paid. Miss Channing urged aU the women present to work hard for Sir Francis and Free Trade. Miss Walsh, in an able address, replying to the argu- ment that Tariff Reform meant ' work for all,' showed conclusively that unemployment would result. Miss Channing, in reply, said that she would convey the message to her father. Cheers for Sir Francis and Miss Channing concluded the meeting. II KETTERING AND DR. CLIFFORD Next night all Kettering rallied to hear ' our grand old friend ' of 1900, and of the Education struggle. Dr. Clifford ; the Victoria Hall crammed to utmost capa- city. Enthusiasm at high-water point ; doors closed promptly ; multitudes sent to the ' overflow ' ; people iQio] CLIFFORD AT KETTERING 409 perched or standing at every possible point ; tier over tier of faces in galleries. When Dr. Qifford came in with Miss Channing and Mr. Toller, the whole audience rose and cheered for many minutes. Mr. Toller, baffled by my atrocious hand-writing, handed my letter to JuUa, who could decipher the puzzle. I wish I could welcome Dr. Clifford to tell him how grateful we are to him, as we were ten years ago in the South African War, for coming to give once more his trumpet call to fulfil the highest ideals of national destiny, the prof oundest instincts of civic duty. We are going to win the most glorious fight in EngHsh history. Balfour's speech i is the speech of despair. He knows he is wrong historically, politically, economically, all along the line. Forced by the Tariff Reformers to tear up his convictions, he now says he wiU tax wheat and meat. With cynical audacity he ventures to state, ' there is no evidence that duties must increase prices by the amount of the duty and probably more.' Mr. Balfour has burned his John Stuart Mill (from whom that proposition comes), and ignores its daily demonstration by market prices in Berlin, Paris, and New York, compared with our own. He ignores the words he and every one of his Ministers used in 1903, when they repealed the Is. duty on corn, imposed as a war tax in 1902. Dr. Clifford said he was glad to speak for his friend, Sir Francis Channing. No one stood higher in his estimation in integrity of char- acter, soundness of conviction, loyalty to high ideals, complete sacrifice to the pubhc good. ' Supremacy of the Commons ' was the one issue. Were they to be serfs deprived of the franchise, slaves not masters in their own land ? Strip off all misleading disguises, get to the heart of the situation. There was never a more momentous issue. Were they to be a pro- gressive and conquering people, or to sink back, and further 1 At York two nights before, 410 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 back, before the despotism of the House of Lords 1 In his long career — for, although he was a young man,^ he had Uved long — never had he seen such intense enthusiasm, such deter- mined work, north, south, east, and west. It was to be not only victory, but glorious victory. Mr. Gladstone said the period of emancipation was past, the times when they had to fight for liberty had gone by, and now they might begin on constructive social reform. Once more they said the price of liberty was eternal vigilance ; they were summoned to fight for liberty again. The Grand Old Champion who, to the end, stood forth like a glorious war-horse, would have roused the whole country against the first stage in reaction, the attack on popular control of Education and Board Schools. The second stage was Mr Chamberlain's attack on Economic Freedom — the threatened tyranny of trusts over their commerce, with the economic evUs which crushed America. That tyranny meant millionaires at one end, paupers at the other. The third stage had been this attack of the Lords upon the Commons, the attack on the rights of the people to rule themselves. The Lords' plea was ' they were trusting the people.' That was infinite nonsense, but worse, it was barefaced hypocrisy. When did the Lords ever trust the people 1 They always trampled on them, put obstacles in the path of progress, locked the doors of knowledge, took the key and flung it in the river ; they locked up their Universities against Free Churchmen, even the national graveyards as long as they could. Then they threw out the Budget, to appeal to the people ! Why not have thrown out the Education Bill of 1902 ? What was worst was their bare- faced hypocrisy. The Duke of Westminster said he rejected the Budget because it was a bad and a mad Budget. That was frank and straightforward, compared with the wretched plea that this was being done in deference to the wishes of the people. It was an attack on the voters. It disfranchised them, and put the Commons, the chosen representatives of the entire community, under the Lords. Citizens of fuU age and powers had the right, the capacity, the duty to rule themselves. It took centuries to make them the men they were to-day, capable of managing the affairs of 1 Said with intense irony, but even intenser truth. CHfford never seemed to grow old ! igio] THE ONLY DIVINE RIGHT 411 their country, determined that that should be the law of the land. It was a great heritage. This power of self-government had not come by accident. It was the result of centuries of toil. Great and glorious men had gone in front of them, and fought for those liberties they now enj oyed. In the seventeenth century men preached the divine right of kings. They asserted they had the control of this land, and might impose taxes. John Pym, and John Hampden, and Oliver Cromwell rose up and said there was no divine right in kings to tax the people. They fought out that principle at Newbury, at Naseby, and at Marston Moor. They won so gloriously that Charles ii. did not dream of following his father's example. Not till James ir. did that enter the mind of the King, when the people rose and dismissed him, and got the Bill of Rights. The heroic courage of their forefathers had won government by and for the people, whence sprang the education of the citizen and liberties of the whole Commonwealth. What was asserted to-day was the divine right of the House of Lords. They were going to deal with that precisely as their predecessors dealt with the divine right of kings. They would fight with the same grit and determination, the same conscious- ness of the infinite issue of the battle, with the same solemn resolve that they would not be beaten back in the encounter. The only divine right was the divine right of the sovereign people to rule themselves. To Conservative friends he said : ' To you the constitution is sacred. To preserve it you should vote Liberal this time.' The House of Lords poured down contempt on Commons and people. He met their scorn with deeper scorn, and resented their action with all the strength of his nature. While he had power left in him he would defend the rights of the British people. That election of 1906 was not a freak, it sprang from years of training — that vast majority meant that the people knew what were their powers, and were determined those powers should not be wrested from them. The Budget was rejected, not because Mr. Chamberlain loved the Lords, but to foist his nostrum Protection into the business life of the country. The two questions seemed separate, but were really one. Consti- tutional revolution had been forced to secure fiscal revolution. Mr. Chamberlain believed that was their last opportunity fof 412 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 securing Tariff Reform. That was why the Lords rejected the Budget. ' We opposed the Budget on its own account, and also because we did not want the country to be switched off Tariff Reform, and switched on to another policy which we believed to be suicidal.' Labour Exchanges were already estabhshed, and somebody must work them. Yet Conservatives put on their posters ' not a line in the Budget that would get a man a job.' Nine milUons were provided for Old Age Pensions. Follow the crown pieces into the homes of the aged poor, see the joy brought into those lives. MiUions were provided for sickness and infirmity insurances. Eighteen miUions in aU for the aged, the unemployed, and the protection of the soldiers of industry. ' Those things are in the Budget, not in aeroplanes,' said Dr. Chfford to the meeting's great dehght. ' They would have been law but for the Lords. Mr. Balfour said he could only offer " hope of promise." Oh ! ' said Dr. Clifford, ' when John Bull accepts that " hope of promise" instead of the Budget actualities, he must change his name and go through the world as " Simple Simon." ' Lloyd George taxed superfluities, not necessaries. He fitted the tax to the back that had to bear it. In every fine from first to last the Budget was a Christian Budget. The Budget was the best guarantee of British predominance. If they voted Tory, they voted for making him and themselves slaves. If they voted Liberal, they voted to maintain the right of the people to govern themselves, against the tyranny of the Peers, for justice in education, to free the Welsh from EstabMshment, to restrict the drink traffic, and finally for peace. I missed much in this great election, but I regretted most of all missing this, perhaps the most impressive speech my old friend ever delivered — ^probably one of the best speeches deUvered during that election. At the conclusion of this great oration, a scene of wild enthusiasm — enthusiasm that one felt lying just igio] IRTHLINGBOROUGH CROSS 413 beneath the surface all through that meeting. All sitting in the body of the hall rose as one, flourishing hats and handkerchiefs, singing frantically 'He's a jolly good fellow,' and giving ringing cheers for Chan- ning, Lloyd George, and Clifford.' i Nothing ever seen like it at Kettering, perhaps nothing ever wiU be. Such a speech was an event— summing up with matchless precision and emotion, the inner meaning of that page of history, the beating down of that great conspiracy of evil. in I had hoped to visit the constituency before or on poUing day, but my doctor thought the risk too great, and reluctantly I substituted a final appeal to the electors. There were bright, cheery meetings in the smaller villages. Monday was cold but fine. JuUa motored with Dr. Aubrey to Stanwick, stopping to address an open-air meeting at Irthhngborough Cross. Dr. Aubrey had been suffering from bronchitis. It seemed unwise to speak in the keen, frosty night air, so my daughter took the meeting ^ herself. At the Cross, she was enthusiastically received. She expressed her father's regret at not being able to come. He hoped he might be returned by the largest majority possible, because that was the most important election he had ever fought. It was absurd to consider the fearful cartoons posted up by the Tariff Reformers, or their statements that other countries were better off under Protection than England under Free Trade. She knew by experience how expensive every- thing was in America. She was confident that, in the election, they would give a good answer to the Lords, and that the House of Commons should still rule their land. ^ Extract from local press. ' Mr. Langley presided. 414 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 Mr. Barker following, said : — The greatest, most humane, and just Government of modern times had been brought to an abrupt end by an irresponsible chamber, because it had put the burden of taxation on those best able to bear it. The Lords were trying to take away the rights of the people secured by generations of sacrifice. The Civil War, provoked by the attempt of King Charles to levy taxes without the consent of the Commons, settled the right of the people to say, through elected representatives, what taxa- tion should be levied. At Stanwick, a densely crowded meeting gave our party a splendid welcome, the Raunds choir leading off with popular election music. Dr. Aubrey spoke with his usual force and eloquence on the usurpation of the Lords, their record of stubborn opposition to reforms, and the fallacies and misrepre- sentations of Tariff Reformers. Miss Channing briefly pleaded her father's cause. Election day — Wednesday, January 19th — was bril- liant, fresh, and cold, the whole division roused to keenest effort, an enormous poU recorded. Of 17,470 electors on the register, 15,573 voted, a percentage of eighty-nine. Rushden actually polled 2402 out of 2585 on register, or nearly ninety-three per cent. In the wonderful election of 1906, 14,431 voted. Mr. Stockburn with Mrs. Charles Kennard and Miss Channing made the tour of the polHng stations by motor. The party were welcomed enthusiastically everywhere, at Kettering and Finedon early, at Rushden ' with flying colours ' at 12.30 outside the Vestry HaU — the usual election rendezvous. Mr. Bradfield was glad they had not lost their Liberal enthusiasm — marred only by the absence of their past and future member. They had, however, the presence of his two daughters, and he asked them to send a igio] OUR SEVENTH VICTORY 415 message of thankfulness to Sir Francis Channing for his long years of service. Mr. F. Knight affirmed ' Rushden was going to send Sir Francis back with as big a majority as ever.' Mr. Colson said they were sending a member devoted to Free Trade and Liberal ideals. Miss Channing, speaking with more than usual vigour, ' thanked them heartily on her father's behalf. Wher- ever they had gone it had been the same. She beUeved that everything was going extremely weU. They were going to give a crushing answer to Tariff Reformers, who would not be heard from again for a long time to come.' She was warmly cheered. Mr. Stockburn, speaking on my behalf, expressed ' delight at the enthusiasm of Rushden, urging them to continue their work to the last.' Next day Lady Channing and Miss Channing went with Mrs. and Miss Wicksteed to the WeUingborough Liberal Club for the declaration, waiting at the Club to hear the figures. An enormous crowd received our party with enthusi- astic cheers when they appeared on the balcony. Mr. Page announced the figures^ amid cheers, and Mr. Stockburn, receiving a great ovation, ' congratulated the constituency on my seventh return to Parlia- ment.' Mr. Nunneley, Mr. Toller, Mr. Pearce Sharman, and Mr. Ekins also spoke. At the chairman's request. Miss Channing stepped forward amid great applause. When the cheers had subsided, she said — each sentence punctuated with loud cheers — ' We have won a great victory. I want to thank you very much from my father for the splendid work you have done to help to get him in. The result is a very good answer. We could not expect quite so 1 Channing 7291, Brooke 5414. 416 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 big a majority as last time, and have reason to be very thankful.' Mr. Page wound up with — 'Peterborough started, Northampton put on No. 2 and No, 3. We have put on No. 4. They wanted 5, 6, and 7 to follow.' As it happened, we won only one more seat, Mr. Mansfield's, in Mid Northants. Lady and Miss Channing returned at once to Ketter- ing. Later, Miss Channing motored with Miss Wick- steed to Rushden, where there was an eager caU to a rejoicing meeting. After a long rest at the hospit- able house of Mr. and Mrs. Knight, Julia addressed a gathering — the second in two days — of exultant Rushdenites. Then slowly back towards Kettering, where they arrived about 6.30. Going through Finedon enthusiastic supporters made signals, which were unluckily not understood. A vast meeting had been waiting in the Square to welcome our party. 'Kettering Liberal Club gave the daughter of the Hon. Member a real Kettering reception ^ — a huge crowd, densely packed as far as the eye could reach. Inside the Club were hundreds of Liberals from all parts. The proceedings began with a display of fireworks. A band played from the Club to Hawthorn Road to meet the motor upon its entrance from Rushden. Multitudes escorted the car, the band playing a Hvely march.' 'Tremendous cheers and a flight of red rockets an- nounced the arrival of Miss Channing, accompanied by Miss Wicksteed, Mr. Stockbum, and Mr. Toseland. Miss Channing, cordially greeted in the Club, was con- ducted at once to the balcony. Thousands of faces, lit up by the glare, presented a remarkable spectacle, and cheer after cheer rang out.' Mr. ToUer expressed ' appreciation of the admirable work she had done in the division on behalf of her ^ Extracts from reports in local papers. ^^ ^axt-vo-v*-'^ igio] OVATION AT KETTERING 417 father. They could congratulate themselves on a magnificent victory. The majority — highest but two in the seven elections — ^was a most effective answer from the Division. Every attempt to wrest from the Commons their inahenable right to impose taxation, had recoiled with terrific force on the perpetrators.' Mrs. Millard, on behalf of the Kettering Women's Liberal Association, then presented a lovely bouquet of red and white flowers to Miss Channing, who grace- fully received it, amid much enthusiasm, paying a tribute to Miss Channing for aU she had accomplished. Leaning over the balcony, with the bouquet in her hand, Julia, who met with a rousing ovation, spoke very distinctly, amid remarkable stiUness, and could be heard by aU. She said, ' I want to thank you, Mrs. Millard, very much for this most beautif\il bouquet, which you have presented to me. I am glad to have done what httle I could to help my father get in. He wishes me to thank you for all the splendid work you have done. We are extremely pleased with the majority. We could not expect it to be quite so great as on the last occasion. Northamptonshire is going very well, we hope the other seats in the county will foUow suit.' Each point was loudly cheered, and at the close ' For She 's a Jolly Good Fellow ' was sung. Mr. Frank Toseland, received with great cheering, suppHed with a red-and-white button-hole in apprecia- tion of his work as organiser of the fight, ' thanked all for the strenuous help given to win that victory. He hoped the Progressives of East Northants would always show a decided and united front.' Mr. Stockburn, greeted as the veteran of Liberalism, spoke with his usual warmth and f ehcity. Mr. Joyce, for the ' Young Liberals,' made a teUing speech. ' They had been handicapped by the illness of their candidate, but his record was well known. They 2d 418 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [igio had given their verdict whether they desired to be ruled by the Commons or the Lords, and would do so again.' Julia conversed a few minutes with friends in the Club, and left with Miss Wicksteed for Finedon, amid great enthusiasm, and a blaze of coloured hghts and rockets. The band played pohtical songs and selec- tions. The Club was thronged to a late hour, with dancing in the assembly rooms. A message had arrived from Finedon of their dis- appointment. Late as it was, they at once sped furi- ously back, Mr. Joyce going with them. Julia described the scene of their arrival as hke the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Boys rushed everjnvhere shouting that they had come back, and forthwith the people of Finedon tumbled out of their houses, cheering, and escorted them to the cross roads, where she thanked the eager and enthusiastic meeting in words of warm appreciation for their splendid help in winning victory. Mr. Joyce and others spoke also. This meeting was not enough. At the far end of the town another crowd of cheering Liberals had gathered, and won their share of the rejoicings. Never had there been an election so passionately celebrated, on the instant, as this. Even 1900 could hardly be compared with it. Rejoicings then followed some days after. I was almost glad that iUness had banished me, and that the joyous exhilaration of these brilliant scenes had come to one who had shown such courage and high spirit, in her unexpected share in political battle and political victory. Through aU these moments of excitement and con- stant strain, the companionship of Miss Wicksteed was deUghtful and inspiring. As in our memorable campaign of 1907, the constant presence and help of Mr. Sharman and Mrs. Sharman, iQio] FINAL SPEECH AT KETTERING 419 strongest and gentlest of friends, then our near neigh- bours, had been everything to us, so this winter the Wicksteeds, in their beautiful home, ' Bryn Hafod,' almost next door, made this fortnight of tremendous effort possible to my wife and JuHa and Mary Kennard. The stimulus of the grand enthusiasm and untiring energy of Charles Wicksteed, and the restful sym- pathy of Mrs. Wicksteed made all go ofE joyously and happily. IV When my people left Kettering we all went to Worthing. Too unwell to attend the Kushden re- joicings, I wrote : — 'With his decisive majority, and unchallengeable mandate, our Prime Minister will be able to deal once for all with the Lords.' Though barely fit, I went to Kettering (16th). My welcome was most hearty and the enthusiasm tre- mendous, with any amount of musical honours and cheers for those of my family who had worked in that election. Profoundly touched by your kindness after many weary days. That condemnation to weeks of illness was exasperating. My thanks are due for the magnificent work, eloquent words, and patient devotion which have won this great victory. You have nobly kept this historic constituency intact amid attacks rarely faced before, the one division in all England, south of Trent, which had seven times consecutively returned its first member in contested elections by four-figure majorities. Let young Liberals remember this seA^enth victory of progress, and vow that, come what might, they would, to the end, guard that citadel of pure and lofty traditions. If his life work had helped to strengthen that noble independence and love of generous ideals in East Northants, he would, when the time came, die happy. That was largely a woman's battle. Women had done splendid work there and throughout the land. He 420 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 thanked the women of the constituency warmly for all they had done to win that victory. As Mrs. Millard referred to it, he wished to associate with their thanks his own daughter, who had, to his delight, a sort of baptism of fire in his own constituency. He thanked his opponent, and his supporters, for consideration and courtesy. Their majority represented more than the Liberal average. Conservative Free Traders who supported him in 1906 had withdrawn. If Tories came in, they might see bitter fruits from the policy that party had now adopted. Some of his views these last years might have oif ended some electors in the Division. He recognised the way in which they accepted views which they had in common, and turned a blind eye to views they did not share. That attitude of some Labour men, and some Club men, showed a manly, open-hearted spirit. He trusted Mr. Asquith as a strong, clear-headed man. The Budget would be passed again in the quickest time. Tories raised the composition of the House of Lords. No red herrings for him, or for East Northants. The vital issue was to get rid of the veto, whatever the Second Chamber was. Their weapon was the Royal Prerogative. Would that Prerogative be used to carry the Veto Bill in this Parliament without a second election ? That was what he demanded. What was the lesson of the crisis in 1832 ? The Duke of Wellington resigned in 1 830. Lord Grey introduced the Reform Bill and went to the country. The country gave him a mag- nificent majority. The Bill was reintroduced in 1831, and, when rejected, was reintroduced in 1832. Lord Grey put off getting guarantees. They would never have got the Bill had not Sir James Graham, and Lord Al thorp, ^ and other Cabinet Ministers ^ insisted on coercing the Lords by the Prerogative without another election. That was the point. The genius and courage of Graham won. The Bill was carried with one election. There was no second election. 1910 should follow 1832. He spoke warmly, thinking the .press and leading men missed the point. His leader's words were plain and should be upheld. He wanted every Radical throughout the country to insist on 1 The ancestor of Lord Spencer. 2 Including Lord Durham, afterwards Governor-General of Canada^ STOCKBURN, and SIR F. CHANN1\(.;, THF STUDY, MISSION HOUSE, KETTKRINC, AFTER FINAL AlEETING, FEB. 1910. I9IO] NO SECOND ELECTION 421 carrying the Veto in this Parliament without further elec- tion. To come among you has done me good — old times again, a glorious recollection to cherish. Delightful speeches from the chairman, Mrs. Millard, Mr. Davis, Mr. Stockbum, and Mr. Adams, represent- ing Labour, who ' approved breadth and sincerity of view, and trusted Liberal and Labour Members in Parliament would work in harmony.' The direct course ' no second election, strike now,' was right. The country had judged and condemned the Lords. No second election was constitutionally necessary. ' Budget and Parliament Bill together ' was the true mandate. The inner history remains unre- vealed. But bold action on that straightforward line would have saved the Party and Parliament from needless complications. Why waste time over confer- ences which led to graver perils ? Time is everything. Settle the simple issue which the January election determined, get to the constitutional bedrock. Open the new era. That opportunity was lost. Hesitation tied us down to interminable attempts to bargain, how the emanci- pated constitution should work out this or that ques- tion, the most perilous of tactical errors. Ulster de- velopments, and Colonel Seely's ultimate retirement followed. Mr. Asquith was right in forcing the December elec- tion, after these mistakes had borne fruit. But Graham and Althorp were safer guides than Lord Grey, after that January victory. Happier, too, for me, as I should have stopped in the Commons. Anyhow we might have avoided perils not even now fuUy exorcised. This meeting in Kettering ended my long career. To pass the night under Mr. Stockburn's roof, in the 422 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS [1910 old way, to have that photograph of ourselves together in the old study, chatting in the old way, was as perfect a close as man could wish. Next day southward. The election and this last meeting meant a sharp relapse lasting many weeks. This book has sought to reproduce in living form what Liberahsm has stood for and accomplished in this quarter of a century. I can hardly point its moral better than in closing it with these inspiring and characteristic words of Mr. Gladstone, in reply to a letter written to him after his resignation in March 1894. ' March 11, 1894. ' Dear Mk. Gladstone, — ' I wish to thank you with all my heart, as a Liberal, for what you have done to give a noble and religious spirit to your party, and in the personal sense for the great privilege it has been to serve these eight years of public life under you, years in which even more than at any other period you have led Liberals on to great, generous, and wise reforms. — Yours most truly, 'F. A. Channing.' ' Ma/rch 14, '94. * Dear Mb. Channing, — 'I cannot allow your letter to pass without my cordial thanks. Li it you touch upon the highest points of political life. If these be secured, we may rely upon it, that everything else that is worth having will be secure also. I9I0] GLADSTONE'S PRAYER FOR ENGLAND 423 ' Of the enormous power, and powers, of this nation, no rational man, in my opinion, can doubt. But on the towering eminence which it has attained it requires a steady head. May God grant to it in all its parts, orders, and degrees, and most of all as the nation which they make up, that inestimable gift. — Very faithfully yours, W. E. Gladstone.' INDEX Abbott, John, Earls Barton, 153. Adams, Thomas, Kettering, 356, 421. Adkins, W. Ryland D., 177, 192, 400. Agar-EUis, Leopold, 56, 61. Agricultural Education in Canada and United States, 343. Agricultural Holdings Act Conference, 201. Agricultural Holdings Bill, my own, 135. Agricultural Rates, 181, 183. Agriculture Commission, 143, 183. Agriculture and Liberalism, 121. AUebone, Mr., 254, 385. Allotments, 27, 34, 109, 130. Allotments, protest against shelving, Allotments Bill, 71, 72, 87, 89, 148. Allotments, provision of, 130. Allotments Association, Pytohley, ad- dress to, 341. Allotments Associations, Welling- borovigh, 108. Allotments Conference, 108-113. Althorp, Lord, 354, 356. Althorp, Lady, 385. Aran Islands, 74 ; visit described, 154, 155. Arbitration, Interparliamentary meet- ing in Paris, 99. Arch, Joseph, M.P., 49. Armenia, Northampton protest against massacres, 162, 195, 197. Ashton, T. G., M.P. Asquith, Right Hon. H. H., M.P., 144, 158, 160, 164, 180, 182, 217, 219, 224, 271, 344, 348, 367, 368, 370, 373, 377, 380, 392, 397, 398, 421. Aubrey, Dr. W. H., 146, 399, 413. Australian Commonwealth Bill, 249. Baden-Powell, 242, 246. Bailey, smallholder, Broughton, 29. Balfour of Burleigh, Lord, 311, 397. Balfour, Right Hon. Arthur J., M.P., 68, 78, 82, 107, 298, 320 ; on Lords, 387; ' neither drawn nor cornered,' 284 ; incomprehensible on food- taxes, 295. Ballard, Frank, Kettering, 175, 228, 396. Ballard, William, CO., 269, 388. Baptist Sunday School, Burton Latimer, 51. Barker, Canon, 274. Barton, Australian Commonwealth Bill, 249. Bayes, George, Rushden, 245. Beam, J. H., letter to, on railway rates, 141. Beatty, Admiral, 106. Beckett, Mr., 289. Beresf ord. Lord Charles, 226. Birrell, Right Hon. Augustine, M.P., 208, 335, 372. Blake, Edward, M.P., 156. Blott, W. 0., 48. Booth, Right Hon. Charles, pension scheme carried out in my bill, 264, 376. Botha, General Louis, 249. Bowen, George, Irohester, 25, etc. Bradlaugh, Charles, M.P., 27, 74, 99, 103, 305. Bradshaw, W., Bozeat, 255. Brearley, George, Grendon, 30. Bright, Right Hon. John, M.P., at Leeds Conference, 5 ; on Home Rule, 57 ; on true Irish policy, 80 ; intro- duced to, at Garrison reception, 102 ; tributes to, at Birmingham, 102. Broadhurst, Henry, M.P., 41, 42, 167, 168, 169, 194, 212. Brodriok, Right Hon. W. St. J., M.P., War Secretary, 269. Brooke, Sir Arthur de Capell, Bart., 315, 329, 330, 350, 396. Brown, Rev. Abner, Kettering, 73, 199. Brown, Prof. Edward, on poultry work, 366. Brunner, Right Hon. Sir John, M.P., on Dillon, 80. Bryee, Right Hon. James, M.P., 396. Budgets, three decisive, 380. BuUer, General Sir Redvers, 68, 267. Burghley, Lord, M.P., 79, 135. Bums, Right Hon. John, M.P., 148, 250, 251, 254, 313 ; on Distress Com- mittees administration, 370 ; note on Housing Bill Committee, 372. 426 426 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS Burt, Right Hon. Thomas, M.P., on co-operative ideals, 175, 266, 313. Buxton, Right Hon. Sydney, M.P., 136, 309. Caine, W. S., M.P., 8, 56, 274. Campbell-Bannerman, Right Hon. Sir Henry, M.P., 160, 212, 227, 263, 270, 271, 272 ; intrigues against, 273 ; success in leadership, 274, 275, 295 ; watchword at Albert Hall, 293 ; on Chamberlain, 297 ; on becoming Prime Minister, 312 ; smashing re- tort, 334 ; self-government for South Africa, 214, 334; on Trades Dis- putes Bill, 338 ; on Lords, 344, 348, 350 ; constitutional scheme, 353. Campion, Mr., Northampton, 74. Canvassing voters, 38. Carmiohael, Sir James, 26, 30, 44. Carrington, Lord, 334, 342, 364-366, 367. Castlereagh, Lord, 58. Catholic University, 103, 372. Cecil, Lord Hugh, M.P., 297, 316, 318. Cecil, Lord Robert, 393. Chamberlain, Right Hon. Austen, M.P., 295. Chamberlain, Right Hon. Joseph, M. P. , 3, 4, 10, 18, 39, 59, 71, 86, 130, 131, 132, 146 ; menace to South Africa, 214-215 ; on his own South African policy, 217, 218, 221-231, 239, 247 ; on Tariff Reform, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287 ; ' worst of commercial travellers, ' 288 ; 290, 291, 292, 295, 297, 298, 301, 305, 306, 307, 310, 313, 317, 320, 322, 325, 326, 331 ; destiny to wreck parties and institutions, 393. Ghanning, Francis AUston, M.P. ; — Hyde Park demonstration, 6. Address Council, invited to be candidate, 11. First speech, Kettering (1885), 13- 17. First speech, Wellingborough (1885), 18-19. Election incidents (1885), 43 ; (1886), 56-66; (1892), 128-137; (1895), 163-170 ; (1900), 243-259 ; (1906), 312-330 ; (1910), 399-415. Home Rvle and Ireland : — 'Note of Rugby,' 46, 47. Capture L. C. U. for Home Rule, 52. Appeal to advanced Liberals, 65. First Home Rule Bill rejected by Commons, 56. ' Democracy the great reconciler,' At Leinster Hall, 72, 73. Visit Aran Islands, 154-156. Railway and Labour questiont ; — On railway rates increases, 141, 143. Railway Regulation Bill (1886), 53, 55. Railway hours motion and move- ment (1891), 115-117. Railway Hours Bills, Government and my own, 142. Railway sub-inspectors, 154. Railway reform, R. Bell's pro- gramme, 350. Railwaymen, address from, 117. ' Labour Plank ' suggested for Newcastle, 117. On Liberalism and Labour, 159, 246, 307-310, 351, 369. ' A Living Wage,' 149. Agriculture and Rural questions : — Agriculture Commission, 143, 183, 293. Agricultural Holdings Bill, 135. Fertilisers Bill, 143. Organise Conferences : — On Allotments (1890), 108-112. On Agricultural Holdings Act Amendment (1897), 197. On Small Holdings and Co-opera- tion (1908), 363-367. On Agricultural Organisation and Agricultural Education, 340- 343. Serve on Rural Education Con- ference, 340, 343. Rural programme (1904), 293. Rural Reform Amendment to Address (1905), 300, 301. On development policy, 390, 391. On ' recovery value ' of laud, 394. Constant effort to banish 'Party' from Agriculture, 64. Agriculture and Liberalism, 121, 122. On Finance : — Fair taxation of the poor, 277, 278, 279, 296, 307, 320. Fair taxation and ' Socialism,' 371, 388, 389. ' The poor must pay,' 390. Old Age Pensions, 274, 275, 339. Old Age Pensions Bill, on Charles Booth's lines, 264. On Tariff Reform, 282, 283, 285, 287, 300, 301, 307, 312, 313, 315, 319, 321, 326, 331, 332, 389, 390. INDEX 427 Channing, Franoia AUston, M.P. [cont.) A sudden assault by Capitalism on Democracy like the assaults of 1914 on Serbia and Belgium, 292. On American protection, 319. American Trust methods, 296. At Budget League Meeting, 387- 391. On local expenditure, 375. Division of rates, 85, 183. On Education :— Save the School Boards (1888), 82. Must become the people's business, not a battle of the sects, 128, 177, 192. On education ideals, 179 ; ' like scientific farming,' 180. Action on Education Bill of 1896, 180-184 ; our victory, 183, 200, 207, 209. Universal School Boards, 184. Vindicate the ' necessitous School Boards,' 188-189. Unjust 'Aid Grants,' 191. A fighting fund for Sectarianism, 193, 266. Oneducation struggle (1901, 1902), 277, 280, 281. On conscience clause, 211. Letter to Lord Spencer, 263. Crippling higher education, 264. South Africa : — Replies to local resolixtions as to, to Hyde Park Demonstration, 216. Letter to Times, 216. Speech to Autumn Meeting, 217- 219. Speeches at Bozeat, 220-222; Higham Ferrers, 223-225 ; Earls Barton, 225-227 ; Kettering, 228- 232 ; ' peace the stronghold of liberty,' 232 ; at Nottingham (March 1900), 236; at Welling- borough, 238 ; at Swanspool, 241, 242 ; ' Paths of Peace,' 243 ; to delegates, 244, 245 ; at Corn Exchange, 246, 247 ; Kettering, 248, 249; Rushden, 250; at Central Hall, 258 ; sum up meaning of election, 260, 261, 262, 267; Rugby Resolution, 265 ; ' farm burning ' and the ' camps,' 265, 269 ; suggestions to Mr. Brodriek, 269 ; saving Kritzinger, 274 ; peace, 275. On women's place and veork in politics, 90, 91, 152, 196, 241, 243, 267, 273, 301, 302, 419. On temperance legislation, 16. On Licensing Bill, 358, 372, 373. On clubs and liquor, 358-362. Bands of Hope, 337. Sunday Schools, 84. On House of Lords, 11, 19, 384, 387, 388, 390, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400. 401. On John Bright, 94, 95, 102. On Campbell-Bannerman, 212, 227, 263, 274, 293, 297, 312. On Sir William Haroourt, 205, 297. On Sir Wilfrid Lawaon, 337. On Mr. Gladstone, 1, 3, and passim. On Mr. Gladstone's last speech in House, 153. On Lord Rosebery and the Lords, 158. On Mr. Asquith, 368. On Mr. Chamberlain, 3, 4, 299. On party leadership, 205, 270, 271. On the Czar and the Kaiser, 204. Effort to save Heligoland, 106. Puritan ancestors, 143. On loyal representation, 157. On unity and toleration, 212, 271. Help unity of action on agriculture, 339. How Liberals could save Conserva- tism, 299. On Tory chivalry, Sir Arthur Brooke, 255, 289, 296, 420. Channing, Mrs. Elizabeth, 27, 165, 258. Charming, Miss Blanche M., 65, 66, 136. Channing, Julia A., 403, 405, 407, 408, 409, 413, 414, 415, 417, 418, 422. Chaplin, Right Hon. Henry, M.P., 49, 133, 143, 282. Chatham, Lord, 229. Cheetham, Right Hon. Frederick, M.P., 23. Children's Bill, 267. Chinese labour, 305. Churchill, Right Hon. Lord Randolph, M.P., 5, 20, 23, 28, 59, 69, 79 ; on Tory breaches of faith, 86 ; his Licensing Bill, 102. Churchill, Right Hon. Winston, M.P., 234, 297, 323, 368. Clarke, Sir Edward, Q.C., M.P., 231, 270. Clififord, Dr. John, 250, 251 ; speech at Kettering, 408-412. Cobb, Henry Peyton, M.P., 45, 71, 73, 80, 94, 145, 148. Cockerton Judgment, 264. Coleridge, Lord, at Wellingborough, 289-291. 428 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS Coldstream, Wm., 100. OoUings, Right Hon. Jesse, M.P., 36, 49, 71, 86. Ceilings, Thomas, 27, 51, 171, 257. Compton, Lord William, afterwards Earl Compton, Bee ' Northampton,' 16, 50, 77, 90, 91. Concentration camps, 268, 269. Congo policy, 349. Conscience Clause, breaches of, at Ringstead, 129 ; at St. James's End, 211. Constitution a saored instrument to evolve liberties, 387, 396. Co-operative production, 173, 174, 175. Com duty, 277, 282, 286 ; repeal of, 282. Cotes, Mr., M.P., 5. Cossham, Handel, M.P., 86. Oowper Commission, 74. Craig-Sellar, Mr., 5. Cra-wford, Sharman, M.P., 16. Crewe, Lord, 399. Creighton, Bishop of Peterborough, 119. Cromer, Lord, 316. Crooks, Wm., M.P., 302. Crosskey, Dr., Chairman, Birmingham School Board, 2. Curzon, Lord, 316. Daventey Libbbal Club, 93. Davis, Rev. Mr., Kettering, 235. Davitt, Michael, M.P., 116, 350. De Wet, 251. Denton, George, Rushden, 20. ' Democracy the great reconciler,' 59. Development Bill, 390, 394. Devon Commission, 3, 14. Devonshire, Duke of, 226, 288, 291, 311, 388, 403. See Hartington. Dilke, Sir Charles, Bart., M.P., 39, 283. Dillon, John, M.P., at Wellingborough, 68. Dillon, John, imprisonment, 82, 84. Disraeli, 73, 80 ; on Protection, 316. Doyle, Conan, 273. Dreadnought policy, 378, 379. DuUey, David, 11. Dimkley, Henry, of Eton, 29, 88. Dunraven, Loird, 71. Durham, Lord, 249, 271. Ebeinoton, Lokd, M.P., joint secre- tary. Liberal county members (1886-92). Education Bill of 1896, 179, 180, 181 ; our victory, 181 ; school inspection by County Council Committee criti- cised, 183, 184. Education Bill of 1897 (Aid Grants and Associations), 191. Education Bill of 1902, 277. Education, free, 134, etc. Education, higher, crippling, 263. Education, higher, letter to Lord Spencer, 266. Education League, Northants, 206, 266 ; meeting at Wellingborough, 206-8. Edward vii. , the friend of Peace, 275 ; oil on stormy waters, 344. Egypt and Liberal policy, 18. Ellis, James, M.P., 103. Ellis, Right Hon. John E., M.P., 52, 103, 267. Emrployera' Liability Act, 15. Evelyn, Mr., M.P., open-minded Tory, 85. Pair Trade, 38. Farm Accounts of Commission, 183. Farmers' Alliance, 2, 3, 10. Farquharson, Right Hon. Robert, M.D., M.P.,20. Fellowes, Right Hon. Ailwyn, Presi- dent Board of Agriculture, 293, 339. Ferguson, Ronald C. Munro, M.P., 293. Fertilisers Committee and Bill, 143. Field, John, Eton, 29. Fiennes, Hon. Eustace, M.P., 256. Fitzgerald, Sir Maurice, Bart. , 30. Foreign Office meeting on Home Rule Bill, 52. Forster, Right Hon. W. E., M.P., 179, 207. Foster, Right Hon. Sir Walter, M.D., M.P., 79, 111, 202, 227, 233. Fowler, Riglit Hon. Sir Henry, M.P., 5, 211. Freeman, Miss, 35. Free Trade, 7 ; ' the corner-stone,' 368. Frere, Sir Bartle, 223. George, Mr. , Chairman County Coun- cil Small Holdings Committee, 365. Gladstone, George, of Hove, 2, 6, 8. Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E., 1, 3, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 75, 78, 79, 81, 82, 88, 97, 114, 127, 131, 134, 135, 138, 139, 143, 146, 150, 151 ; last speech of, 153 ; appeal on Armenia, 157 ; letters from, on allotments fight, 72 ; on Goschen as pioneer of rating reform, 121 ; on Greece and the INDEX 429 Concert of Europe, 194 ; his prayer for England, 423. Gordon, General, 17. Gorst, Sir John, 179, 184, 187; 'at heart a Radical,' 187. Gosohen, Right Hon. J., 75, 85, 116, 156 ; correspondence with, on divi- sion of rates, 120. Gotoh, J. AUred, J. P., 94, 9B, 143. Graham, Sir James, 307, 316. Granville, Earl, 47, 116. Gray, Mr., M.P., National Union of Teachers, 183, 202. Gray, General Secretary, Co-operative Union, 363. Greene, Raymond, M.P., Aged Pen- sioners Bill, 275. Grey, Right Hon. Sir Edward, 122, 123, 124 ; on Dreadnoughts, 379. Gribble, Mr., Northampton, 304. Grosvenor, Lord Richard, 5. Grundy, Mr. and Mrs., Pytchley Grange, 28, 66. Hague Contbkenoe, 220. Hanbury, Mr., M.P., 280, 289. Hamilton, Lord George, 95, 316, 318, 382. Hammond, Hon. Mary, 61, 63. Harcourt, Right Hon. Sir W. V., 151, 157, 158, 166, 186, 205, 212, 227, 270, 306. Hardy, George, M.P., 347. Harford, Edward, General Secretary Raihvaymen's Union, 136. Harlook, Joseph, Finedon, 149, etc. Harlock, Miss Giulia, 285-288. Harper, Rev. Mr., Rushden, 131, 136. Harrington, Timothy, M.P., 98. Harrison, Mr., 99. Hart-Dyke, Riglit Hon. Sir W., M.P., 129. Hartington, Lord, 57, 88. Haynes, J., Kettering, 350. Hayter, Right Hon. Sir Arthur, and Lady, 142. Heathcote, John, of Conington, 21. Heligoland, surrender of, 105. Helmsley, Lord, 376, Henderson, Arthur, M.P., 360. Heygate, James, 7, 10, 12, 19, 23, 73, 137, 171, 258, 260, 343-5. Hioks-Beaoh, Right Hon. Sir Michael, 80, 124, 276. Hill, Staveley, Q.C., M.P., 71. Hirst, F. W., 386. Hobhouse, Right Hon. Henry, M.P., 340. Holland, Lionel, M.P., 250. HoUowell, Rev. Hirst, 251, 252. Holton, W., Northampton Mercury, 147. Holyoake, George, oo-operator, 175. Horsley, Canon, 337. Howard, James, M.P., 2. Hughes, Rev. Price, 181. Humphreys -Owen, Arthur, M.P., 269. Hyde Park Demonstration, the first, 5, 13. Ilungwoeth, Alfred, M.P., 72. Impey, Frederick, 108. Imperialism, 249. Ireland : — Conciliation policy. Lord Carnarvon and Parnell, 29, 318. George Wyndham and Lord Dudley, 138. Sir Anthony MaoDonnell, 313. Land Question : — Devon Commission, 3, 14. Land Bill of 1870, 3, 14. Land Bill of 1881, 3, 14. Land Bill of 1886, 57. Land Bill of 1887, 73. Land Bill of 1903, 290. Land Purchase Acts, 3, 56, 57. Arrears Bill, 3. Boycotting, 15. Compensation for Disturbance Bill, 14. Coercion and Crimes Acts, 14, 15. Land League, 16. Visit of Liberal M.P.'s to, 72, 73. Leinster Hall meeting, 73. Kettering delegates to, 76. Lord Salisbury's answer to, 67. ' No arbitration except the battering- ram,' 99. Lord Spencer on Ireland, 69. Home Rule Bill (1886), 51. Gladstone might have opened by Resolutions, or a Commission, 51 ; preferred heroic tactics, 51-2. N. L. F. and L. C. U. carried for Home Rule, 52, Foreign Office meeting, 16. Second reading debate, 55. Dissolution upon, 57. Irish representation, 59. Nationalist movement and Irish history, 59. Home Rule and English reforms, 129. Second Home Rule Bill (1893), 142; rejected by Loi-ds, 151. Jackson, James, 7, 26, 196. Jackson, Willan, C.C, 364. Jameson, Dr., 247. 430 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS Jameaon Raid, Lord Charles Beresford's opinion of, 286. James of Hereford, Lord, 398. Jeffreys, Arthur, M.P., 334-5. Johnson, Mrs., Wellingborough, 243, 250. Joubert, General, 240, 253. Jowett, Rev. Dr. , successor to Dr. Dale at Birmingham, 212. Judge, Mr. , of Brackley, 253. Kbaenby, Countess, 157. Keir Hardie, Mr., M.P., 369. Kennaway, Right Hon. Sir John, M.P., 396. Kensington, Lord, 5. ' Khaki vote,' 247. Kipling, 246. Kitchener, Lord, merciful policy in South Africa, 266, 275. Knight, George, Finedon, 305. Kossuth, ' England the Book of Life,' 242. Kritzinger, General, how his life was saved, 273. Kriiger, Paul, 224, 247. Labouchbee, Henry, JI.P., 50, 73, 100, 166. Labour Commission recognise ' col- lective bargaining,' 351. Labourers and Farmers' Coercion, 44. Lack, Henry, Wellingborough, 147. Ladds, Rushden, 237. Land TTenure and Co-operation v. Tariff Reform, 293. Lane, Richard, Pytohley, 33. Lansdowne, Marquess of, 318, 397. Lansdowne House, meeting at, 373. Lawson, Sir Wilfrid, Bart., 51. P., speech at Thrapston, 100-102, 282, 335 ; passing of Lawson, his charac- teristics, 337. Layoook, Mrs., 242, 288. Leeds Conference, 5, 14, 36. Lehmann, R. 0., M.P., 249. Leigh, Sir Chandos, at Irohester, 402. Leigh, Dean of Hereford, 402. Leon, Herbert, M.P., 139. Lever, W. H., M.P., 376. Liberal Club at Kettering, 81 ; ' not to make enemies, but shape generous manhood,' 96. Liberal clergymen unrewarded, 145. Liberal county members, 63, 70, 93 ; oppose compromise on Land Clauses of Parish Councils Bill, 152. Liberal League, 263. Liberalism and Labour, a frank alliance (1900), 246 ; its true mean- ing, 346. Liberalism and Labour — (speech at Irohester, 13th September 1905), 306-310. Liberalism, the old, must prove its claim to survive, 292. Liberals ' have the only creed, the only majority, the only leader,' Rugby, 6th January 1886, 46. Liberals must save the country, 295. Licences, compensation for illegal, 11, 86, 295. Licensing Bill (1908), 358, 357; me- morial to Asquith, 370; 372, 373, 380; and working-men's clubs, 358- 362. Lilly, Mark, Pytohley, 28. Liquor traffic control, 11, 16, 27, 86, 295. Lloyd-George, Rt. Hon. David, M.P., slashing humour at Kettering, 198 ; on South African War (Swanspool), 240 ; 263, 265 ; Patents Bill, 339 ; Old Age Pensions, 338, 370, 372 ; great Budget speech, 380, 381. Local Government, 11. Local Government Bill (1888), 80-82, 85, 86. Logan, Mr., M.P., 131, 148 ; 'a fighting Radical,' 189, 190. Lord, Rev. Thomas, centenarian, I Band of Hope, 336. ! Lords, House of, 6, 19, 145, 150, 152, i 158, 193, 323, 344, 349, 385, 387, 388, I 392, 393, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407 ; Dr. Clifford's great speech upon, 409-412, 413, 419, 420. Lowell, Lawrence, President of Har- vard, 237, 296. Lowther, Right Hon. James, M.P. , 224. Lucy, Sir Henry, 271. Lusty, Mr., Kettering, Temperance organiser, 337. Luttrell, Hugh C. F., M.P., 148. M'Cabthy, Rev. E. F. M., Birming- ham, 2. M'Carthy, Justin, M.P., 114. M'Fadden, Father, 91. M'Gowan, P. D., 28, 65, 76. MacDonnell, Sir Anthony, 318 (now Lord MacDonnell of Swinford). M'Kenna, Right Hon. Reginald, M.P., 348. MaoLaren, Sir Charles, M.P. (now Lord Aberoonway), 392. INDEX 431 Maddison, Frederick, M.P., 351. Magnus, Sir Philip, M.P., 203. Marlow, Jesse, oo-operator, Des borough, 346. Marjoribanks, Edward, Liberal Whip, 151. Massachusetts, ' the American North amptonshire,' 319, 321. Matthews, Right Hon. Henry, M.P. 78. Maycook, George W., Wellingborough 19, 37, 43, 245, 399. Maxwells, the, Bozeat, 43. Mazzini, 96. Meadows, Mr. and Mrs. William, Kettering, 233. Mellor, Right Hon. J. W. (Chairman of Committees), 142. Merriman and Sauer, Cape Colony Ministers, peacemakers, at North- ampton, 266. Members responsible to constituents only, no outside dictation, 46. Methuen, Lord, set free by Boers, 275. Militarism, the worst foe to de- mocracy, 222, 225, 232. Military expenditure leads to Proteo- tion. Lord Salisbury's opinion, 296. Millard, Mrs., 416, 417. Milner, Sir Alfred, 216, 218, 226, 231, 239, 267. Mobbs, George, Pytchley, 33. Mobbs, J. C, Kettering, Club Union, 358. Monkswell, Lord, 99. More, Jasper, M.P., 64. Morley, Charles, M.P., 191. Morley, Right Hon. John, M.P. (after- wards Lord Morley of Blackburn), 8, 166, 212, 231 ;_his Manchester speech, 216 ; 275 ; my 'talisman ' letter from, on his peerage, 369 ; on the Budget Bill of 1909— his 'five vital points of usurpation,' 398. Mundella, Right Hon. Anthony John, M.P., 5, 89,.90, 142, 184. Naval Progbammes, 95. Newman, John, Kettering, 171, 356. ' New men and new spirit ' — of 1906, 383. Newton, Rev. A. J. , successor to Dr. Stubbs, 145. NichoUs, George, M.P., 337, 346. Norfolk, Duke of, 134. Northampton, Mai-quess of, at Ketter- ing on ' True Imperialism,' 261 ; 400. See 'Compton, Lord William.' Nunneley, Edward Miall, C.A., J. P., 10, 29, 134, 403. O'Ebien-, Pateiok, M.P., Irish Whip, 99. O'Connor, T. P., M.P., 283. Old Age Pensioners, at Welling- borough, 376, 377. Old Age Pensions, 251. Onslow, Earl of, 339, 340. Orlebar, R., of Hinwick, 256 ; on small holdings, 366. Overstone Rectory (1906), 334. Pack, S. , Higham Ferrers, 252. Packwood, Haydn, Rushden, 62, 91. Page, James, Wellingborough, 396. Parker, Captain Denham, 246, 259. Parker, Mrs. Denham, 256, 260. Parker, Charles Stuart, of Fairlie, Ayr- shire, 263. Parker, John, Finedon, 133. Parkin, George H., Rushden, 305, 350, 370, 385, 386. Parkin, Rev. M. E., Rushden, 131, 167. Parnell, Charles Stewart, his Bill (1887) for reduction of rent in pro- portion to prices, 68 ; his skill as party leader, 113 ; his fall, 114. Parsons, Stephen, Irchester, his witty speeches, 26 ; diamond wedding, 352. Paul, Herbert W., M.P., 152, 323. Patenall, Thomas, Higham Ferrers, 282. Payne, Robert, Irthlingborough, 26. Peace — the work of King Edward and Sir Edward Grey, 377. Peck, Mr., at Stan wick, 305. Peel, Sir Robert, on House of Lords, 307, 348. People, of Wellingborough Post, 147. Peterborough, Bishop of (Right Rev. E. Carr Glyn), Bind of Hope meet- ing, 336. Picton, James Allanson, M.P., 136. Pigott, the letter forger, 114, 133. Phillips, Captain March, 268. Phillips, Rev. Thomas, Kettering, 146, 248. Playfair, Right Hon. Sir Lyon, M.P., 38, 39. Plunkett, Right Hon. Sir Horace C. , 338, 341, 347. Pratt, H. Lloyd, Wellingborough, 166, 258, 352, 384. Pratt, Hodgson, pioneer of working- men's clubs, 359. Prayer Book, the, 213. Prentice, John, Wellingborough, 331, 368. 432 MEMORIES OF MIDLAND POLITICS Price, T. P., M.P., on olaims of Wales, 91, 92. Protestant League, 213. Pollard, Charles, Kettering, 21, 37, 57, 65, 83, 85, 170. Potter, William, Q.C., Tory candidate (1892), 129. Poulton, General Secretary, Boot and Shoe Union, 323. Pughe, Rev. David, 282. Pytchley Allotments Association, 341. Pytchley House, 32, 34. Pytchley starts Free Trade campaign (1905), 315. Raid (Jameson), 214. Railway rates increases, 141. Railway Regulation Bill, 53-55. Railway hours movement, 117. Railway sub-inspeotors, 154. Ransom, Dr., South Nottingham, 8. Randall, George, Isham, 134. Raixnds strike and settlement, 303, 304. Raunds workers' march, 304. Raunds, meetings at, 302. Reay, Lord, Agricultural Education Committee, 340. Reid, Sir Robert, M.P., on Liberal poUoy, 193, 346. Rew, Henry, Heathfield Poultry Re- port, 342. Richards, Henry, JI.P., 50. Richmond Commission, division of rates, 183. Ritchie, Right Hon. C. T., M.P., 86, 291, 316, 324, 326; his Licensing Act, 358. Roberts, Lord, 242, 247, 275. Robertson, Edmund, M.P., 115, 201, 368. Robertson, James W., Canadian educa- tion organiser, 343. Rosebery (Earl of), challenge to Peers, 158, 159; 'Never given a chance,' 160; resignation, 185, 186, 187, 202, 216; on Democratic Budget (1909), 'Predatory Socialism,' 385, 387. Rosehill, Wellingborough (1907), 349. Rowlands, James, M.P., 85, 86. Rowntree, S. , analysis of York poverty, 275. Rubbra, W. T., 131. 192. Ruston, Rev. Thomas, Long Buckby, 336. R'Ugl^y> meetings at, 45, 69, 265 ; note of, 47. Rural Programme v. Tariff Reform, 293. Rural Reform Conference, 127. Russell, Right Hon. George W. E. , 156, 246. Rye, Samuel, Irthlingborough, 26. St. Anne db Bbllbvub Collbgb, visit- ed, 343. Salisbury, Marquess of, surrenders Heligoland, 105 ; South Africa, 222, 239 ; military expenditure leads to Protection, 296. Salisbury, Marchioness of, National Poultry Organisation Society, 366. Sanders, Thomas, Higham Ferrers, 121. Sanders, W. Owen, WoUaston, 23, 43, 245, 248, 252. Sandhurst, Lady, starts Women's Lib- eral Association at Kettering, 91. Sargeaunt, Rev. W. D., Vicar of Bozeat, 145, 162, 172, 188, 219, 220, 223, 245, 251, 252, 406. Schnadhorst, Mr., 117. School Boards saved by amendment to Clause 8 Local Government Bill (1888), 82. Schreiner, Mr. , South Africa, 242. Schwann, Charles, M.P., 163. Seely, Col., M.P., at Kettering, 373. Selby, Rev. R. A., Earls Barton, 360. Selous, Mr., South Africa, 223, 224. Shackleton, on Raunds dispute, 303-5, 360. Shaftesbury, Lord, 47. Shaw-Lefevre, Right Hon. G. J., M.P., 126. Shaw, Right Hon. Thomas, M.P., at Kettering, 273 ; Peace day meeting, 273. Sharman, Mr. and Mrs., presentation to (July 25, 1908), 369, 370. Sharman, N. Pearoe, J.P., 10, 12, 20, 26, 27, 353, 369. Sharman, Mrs., 240, 243, 328, 368. Sharp, Frank, Finedon, 23. Sharp, Mrs. F., Finedon, 23. Sheffield, Daniel, Earls Barton, 24, 43, 61, 74, 77, 87, 165, 189, 225, 253, 383. Silsbee, labourer at Grendon, 254, 255. Shirley, Walter, M.P., 64, 79. Shoe War (1895), 163. Slack, Mrs. Bamford, 136. ' Slates off' Party, 272. Small Holdings Conference, 362-367. Small Holdings Bill, 347. Small Holdings Commissioners, their blunder, 381, 382. Small Holdings Committee, 339 ; inde- pendent commission i-eoommended, 339. INDEX 433 Small Landholders (Scotland) Bill, 340. Smith, Profeasor Goldwin, letter to ; on the New Labour Men of 1906, 333. Smith, Sydney, 220. Smith, William, M.P., 150. Soames, Rev. Mr., of Lavendon, 146, 220. Solly, Henry, pioneer of working-men's clubs, 359. Somerset, Lady Henry, at Ketterine, 173. Snowden, Philip, M.P., 360. Spencer, Earl, K.G., 6; on Ireland, 69 ; on Education, 207 ; on South Africa, 221, 224, 227, 231. Spencer, Right Hon. C. Robert, M.P., 26, 39, 40, 43, 81, 354, 355. See Althorp. Spencer, John, Rushden, 245. Stanhope, Hon. Philip, M.P., 186. Stanley, John, of Pytohley, 33. Stanley, J., village baker, Pytchley, 33. Stansfeld, Right Hon. James, M.P., opens Liberal Club ; speech at Ket- tering, 97. Stevenson, Francis, M.P., 162, 197. Stewart, Halley, M.P., 71, 95. Stookbum, John Turner, CO., J. P., Kettering, 7, 8, 9, 13, 27, 58, 81, 122, 137, 132, 139, 244, 246, 248, 259, 317, 344 ; presentation of ad- dress, 353-357. Stubbs, Rev. Canon, afterwards Bishop of Truro, 145. Sullivan, T. D., M.P., at Kettering, 99 ; at Northampton, 78. Summers, William, M.P., 118, 119. Sunday schools, function of, 84. Sutton, Mark, 334. South Africa, 214, 215, 218, 219, 221, 225, 226, 229, 230, 232, 238, 239, 240, 272, 273. Tailby, Geoboe, of Higham and Stan- wick, 22, 236. Tariff Reformsrs knew Englishmen as little as the Kaiser did, 393. Taylor, Samuel W., Kettering, 76, 77, 78, 245, 260, 379. Thompson, Mr., of Cransley, 29. Thoumaian, Professor, 187. Timpson, William, Kettering, 385. Tod, Mr., A.O.S. organiser, 364. ToUemache, Lord, 74, 430. Toller, E. P., Kettering, 356, 385, 407. Tomkins, Rev. W., Rushden, 131. Tomkinson, James, M.P., 298. Toaeland, Frank, Kettering, 317, 331, 407. Toseland, James, 85, 171. Trevelyan, Right Hon. Sir George, 45, 103. Tuckwell, Rev. W., of Stockton, 71, 111; Allotments harvest home, 144, 145. ' Unemployment ' Bill would injure Labour, 369. ' Unemployment,' administration of Distress Committees, 371. Vaccination, 50. Valentine, of Wellingborough News, 147. Verney, Frederick, M.P., 340, 345, 346. Vincent, Sir Edgar, M.P,, 316. Victoria, Queen, 220 ; Jubilee, 241 ; death, 263. Volunteers, 120, 304. Waldbon, Rev. A., 404. Walker, Pratt, WoUaston, 23. Walker, William, of Duston, 30. Walker, Mr., of Rushden, 331. Wallis, John, Kettering, 12. Wallis, Mrs. John, Kettering, 12, 90. Wallis, Thomas, Kettering, 12. Wallis, Thomas, Bozeat, 255. Wallis, R. Burley, J. P., 235, 236, 237, 243, 255, 257, 321, 323. Walsh, Archbishop, 99. Walsh, Miss, 408. Warren, Joseph, of Pytohley, 209, 315. Watson, Dr. Spence, great speech at Nottingham, 235. Webb, Mr., at Earls Barton, 74. Wells, W., Isham, 134. Wesleyans, their practical work, the two Wesleys, 84. Wiokateed, Charles, C.A., J.P., 48, 65, 80, 81 ; originator and chairman of Kettering Liberal Club, 85 ; 95, 170, 171, 235, 236, 251, 253, 255, 258, 292, 315, 319, 355, 365, 372, 395, 418. Wioksteed, Mrs. Charles, 399, 418. Wioksteed, Miss Hilda, 405, 415, 416, 417. Wioksteed, Philip, 250. Whitaker, Right Hon. T. P., 206. White, Sir George, 242, 247. ' Wilbye Grange, 314. Wilford, Joseph, Pytchley, 162. Wilkins, W. H., J. P., C.C, Rushden, 131, 260. 434 MEMORIES OP MIDLAND POLITICS Wilkinson, Rev. J., Frome, 145. ' Wombn's Liberal Association, Ketter- Wilkinson, J. Rennie, J.P., O.C, 43, i ing, 90, 91; WelUngborough, 152; 225, 249, 355. Earls Barton, 273. 'William' of the George Hotel, with j Woodall, William, M.P., 183. his white mare, 12. ; Woodhead, Mr., M.P., 83. Wilson, Henry J. , M. P. , Peace meet- Wooding, Benjamin, Harrowden, 33, ing, 274. 257. Wilson, John, M.P., Durham, 265. : Woolston, Charles J. K., J. P., C.A., Wilson, Lush, Q.C., Tory candidate ' 6, 7, 8, 17, 22, 106. (1895), 156. ■ Workers' Income Tax, 277-279 ; under Wilson, Christopher, Kettering, 327. ! Tariff Reform, 286. Wilson, T. Miller, Kettering, 76, 327. j Wilmott, Thomas, Rushden, temper- Yeeburgh, Robert, M.P., 293. anoe leader, 136. I Yorke, A. J., Y.L.L., Finedou, 347. Winfrey, Richard, M.P., 366. [ Young Liberals' League, 347-350. Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty, at the Edinburgli Uiiiyersity Press