Mr randm rPFMFR HOWARD EVAN 565" C•"" %" '' • 7 i 7/ i - v ft //n icy/ ..'//« ijr / /; ,?,->: -^V, ' ' des . ■-» - «- tkai ri:s \«,*»sV r, 2 - - " .',.■■. ■:■'■■ ■■■' ■ ■ ■■.. ■'. : * *, ( ',{ B l- \ ° ' WeshjWj^ *"- . . , V /••7f»""/"/ • '77- .-4 ,-.-"; ;;:: ' 1 IB ■ : fj' - \ '■lA, . J i - -\ Wish-"^-"' I '., j - > l z.J 7 -' " *■ - J / .... . .. — +■/ — r 1 ^.. v — y --.\ ¥x :■ "u. ) \ Vfr«hii>4l ftn ; ; *. t ' ' ' >'.tv^'/'N \ 'Ni ^. -->: — ^ ~"^- - • ' :: ^1* 4 "-. C JI8IIS ' k ) ■ -, .,.-, ~,v. >',--:> > ."./. ""■ / ,' ' ' " "' '' r *• > ! ?' ' *•{ * *''" 'f i y Washington .^M?-'--'"--' \ <..-■ 1 ju'r»i - _. ~^\ ., ' ^-i- ^A— l "~~{j ^TvJ Al:i'^-v :-y V^.. --^ -if^i '.'_- - ■•v. mm '' if -;'v •»"' ^ "pj ; ^'.aC'" %w . •■ *^ * ■ —--'"' .^' ^'* '-& t r - ■-o-"%. . *; ■ ^ ^ "^^ w ',; : ;■■■■■; .;,; PROGRESS OF COMPULSORY ARBITRATION FROM 1903 TO IQ08. Chart issued by the French Foreign Office. To face p. 326.] REPORTING PROGRESS 327 1908. Great Britain leads the way with twelve such treaties, Portugal and Switzerland follow with 10; Spain, France, Italy, and Norway with 9; Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, with 8 ; the United States with 7 ; and eleven other Powers with a smaller number. This document of the French Foreign office goes on to say : "The second conference at the Hague in 1907 sought to extend and unify these results by means of an engagement which would have included all the 44 States there represented. The general formula which was proposed was adopted at a sitting on October 5, 1907, by the delegates of 35 countries, who declared themselves ready to establish amongst themselves, under certain re- serves, a common obligation to have recourse to arbitration." The whole of the arbitration proposal, which contained, in addition to the general formula, pro- visions according to which obligatory arbitration was in certain cases applicable without reserve, was voted by 32 States. Although, owing to a want of unanimity, this vote could not be transformed into a resolution of the conference itself, it constitutes none the less an important fact, and a noteworthy advance on the results of the first conference. It is worthy of mention that at this time no arbitration treaty was in existence between Russia and Great Britain ; nevertheless, the peaceful settlement of the differences between Great Britain 328 SIR RANDAL CREMER and Russia over the unfortunate Dogger Bank incident was a signal triumph for the course adopted by statesmen and diplomatists who assembled at the first Hague Conference. For a week or two in this country a large part of the Press was clamorous for immediate hostilities, and but for the good sense of both Governments and the provision made at The Hague for such con- tingencies the quarrel might easily have led to war. It is true that the dispute was not referred to the Hague Court, but it is also true that it was settled in conformity with Article 9 of the Hague Convention. This Article runs as follows : " In differences of an international nature in- volving neither honour nor vital interests, and arising from a difference of opinion on points of fact, the Signatory Powers recommend that the parties who have not been able to come to an agreement by means of diplomacy should, as far. as circumstances allow, institute an International Commission of Inquiry, to facilitate a solution of these differences by elucidating the facts by means of an impartial and conscientious investigation." Throughout the whole of its history the League has constantly combated the sinister efforts of the military party, who have from time to time en- deavoured to introduce conscription into this country. As far back as 1875 an address on the subject was issued to working men, in which the following passages occur : REPORTING PROGRESS 329 " Conscription means that a large number of young men in the flower of their age shall be taken by force from their occupations to become private soldiers. Think of the loss of wages, the loss of liberty, the loss of higher education, and the loss of home influences. Think of the immo- rality of barrack life, the liability to foreign service in deadly climates, the slavish subordination of the soldier to his officer, the possibility of being called on to fight in quarrels in which you have no interest whatever. Fathers and mothers, do you wish your sons to be torn from you? Young men, do you wish to be dragged from useful occupations at the very time when you are beginning to make your way in the world? "What has conscription done for France? It placed an immense army at the disposal of Napoleon III., which was used to stifle liberty. It crippled industry, it swelled taxation, it fed the vanity of the rulers, it provoked war, it led to a great national catastrophe, and instead of extend- ing the boundaries of France, or even protecting them, it left her at the end of the war despoiled of two of her fairest provinces. At the present hour it burdens her with a crushing weight of taxation, and a constant dread of fresh attack from her old enemy. " What has the more general, and therefore more odious, form of conscription done for Germany? It made Germany the master of France for the moment, but it has also made militarism the 330 SIR RANDAL CREMER master of German liberty for at least a generation. What conquests, however splendid, can compensate the people for the loss of freedom? The conqueror needs pity almost as much as the conquered. To- day the military system of Germany is so grievous in its drain of both men and money that thousands are emigrating to freer lands, and the whole popu- lation groans beneath the burden it has to sustain, both nations looking with dread to a renewal of the bloody strife that is still fresh in our memory." CHAPTER XXXV CHARACTERISTICS, BENEFACTIONS, HONOURS Cremer had a reputation of being the most pug- nacious of all pacificists, and not altogether without reason. His intolerance to those who differed from him increased with advancing years . This tendency was more especially manifested during the South African War, when not a few ministers of religion, like the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, who had hitherto been sincere supporters of the arbitration move- ment, fell out of the ranks and were swept away by the current of popular feeling. For such men Cremer could find no excuse, and he attacked them with language of unmeasured severity. On this account, too, he was estranged from some of his own relatives, though they were quiet people who had never taken any public action in the matter. Some allowance, however, must be made for his bitter disappointment at the formidable obstacle suddenly raised by the outbreak of the war against the great cause which he had at heart. Hitherto this country had taken the lead in the arbitration movement, but our comrades throughout Europe deplored and denounced the action of Great 331 332 SIR RANDAL CREMER Britain, and Cremer himself keenly felt their re- proaches although he had done his utmost in the way of protest . To him the future of the Transvaal was a matter of small importance compared with the vast issues that hung upon the future success of international arbitration. It was said of Cecil Rhodes that he was a man who thought in con- tinents ; Cremer's thought was for the world at large . Though Cremer allied himself with the Liberal- Labour Party his sympathies were largely in a socialistic direction. He was a strenuous advocate of land nationalisation, of old age pensions, and what is generally understood by municipal social- ism. In the great cause to which his life was devoted he welcomed the co-operation of pro- nounced Socialists like Mr. Herbert Burrows and Mr. George Barnes. Indeed, the League was, as far as he could make it, independent of party, and numbered among its supporters Conservatives like the late Marquis of Bristol, the late Sir Howard Vincent, Mr. Agg-Gardner, and Lord Avebury. The one bond of union was belief in arbitration as a substitute for war. That was enough. He was ready to enrol in the cause men as far apart as Crispi of Italy, the ex-Garibaldian, and Beernaert, the Catholic ex-Premier of Belgium ; he would have enrolled the Pope himself if that had been possible. For some years Cremer was an active member of the Kitchen Committee of the House of CHARACTERISTICS 333 Commons, and took an honest pride in his work thereon, for it is largely due to the reforms which he introduced that a Labour Member is now able to dine inside the House of Commons as cheaply as outside. He also caused something like a revolution in the wine list. A distinguished authority in the wine trade used to say that beyond a certain figure all the people paid for was a label. Cremer held the same view, and protested against the exorbitant prices which are so often charged in this country for claret and other light wines. He took so much trouble in this matter that he once introduced into the cellar of the House of Commons a hogshead of white wine direct from the vineyard of one of the most distinguished of French Pacificists, and connoisseurs declared that its bouquet was as admirable as its cheapness. Among his peculiarities was his dislike to the tip system by which waiters were paid, which he regarded as degrading and demoralising to the recipients. Of course, he did not object to a fair wage for any class of men, but he held that the employer should pay his own servants. More than once when arranging a social function he stipu- lated for the payment of a fixed sum to waiters, and nothing roused his resentment more than to find the men who had been thus paid already cadging for further payment by the guests. This view of the relation of customers to waiters has been adopted by Messrs. Lyons & Co. and other large catering firms ; but before their time Cremer 334 SIR RANDAL CREMER had endeavoured to bring it into force in the House of Commons. Few political men have lived so lonely a life as Cremer in his later years. His large office was in reality his sleeping chamber. At the back of a bookcase was a turn-down bed, which apparently he made himself ; a small gas-stove enabled him to prepare his own breakfast. For the rest of the day he obtained his meals at the House of Commons or elsewhere. This, however, was by no means an unpleasant hermitage. Lincoln's Inn Fields is a veritable rus in urbe. The rich foliage of the extensive gardens altogether hid the houses on the opposite side of the square. Only from his third floor front was it possible to get a glimpse of the dome of St. Paul's, and the graceful fleche of the Law Courts in the Strand. Cremer was all the more lonely because he had a horror of bores, who often are very interesting persons when you come to know them. On the landing leading to his office, he had fixed a small iron gate which he always kept locked. A casual caller had to ring for the clerk, and if the clerk- happened to be out, the caller had to depart as he came ; for Cremer had a peephole which enabled him to determine whether or no he wished to receive the visitor. A few of us had the open- sesame, and always found a warm welcome, for never was a man more accessible and companion- able to his own friends. Until he had grown old, Cremer was a great CHARACTERISTICS 335 lover of the beauties of Nature. In the lifetime of his second wife he frequently spoke with enthu- siasm of his country rambles in her company. In later years he was more interested in great cities, and seemed sometimes annoyed because the pres- sure of journalistic work prevented me from accompanying him on foreign expeditions. I had, however, to look after the work of the office in his absence. It has been said that Cremer was not easy to work with, and certainly I shall not deny the fact. During his long and varied career he had not a few quarrels, some of them with men quite as honour- able as himself, some with provocation, some with- out. His differences with George Howell, the secre- tary of the Reform League, always seemed trivial to the friends of both ; but they lasted for some years . It was with a chuckle of satisfaction that some of us saw the two men flung together on a common platform in Shoreditch Town Hall as Radical candidates for Haggerston arid North-East Bethnal Green. At one time a serious dispute arose in the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters ; Mr. Robert Applegarth, the secretary, was supported by most of the country branches ; Cremer took an active part on the opposite side, and I fear was not justified in his action. The mention of certain other disputes, especially in the earlier parts of his career, had better be buried in oblivion. Sometimes it was difficult for others to work in harness with him ; but the council of the 336 SIR RANDAL CREMER League usually gave him a free hand, and he could always rely on their cordial co-operation. Occasionally he was out -voted ; but he was content to let the adverse majority have their way, though protesting to the last that he was right. Always his work was characterised by a steady persistence and even a splendid audacity. When once resolved upon a course of action no obstacles could daunt him, and he had the happy faculty of getting all sorts and conditions of men to do what he wanted. It was sometimes amazing to find how he laid hold of the most unlikely persons and induced them to co-operate. On one occasion a certain financier who pro- fessed Liberal opinions and who was anxious to secure a seat in Parliament cast envious eyes upon Haggerston, and even went so far as to secure some following among the electors, to Cremer's great annoyance. The financier in question intimated that he was very desirous of entering the House of Commons, and that he con- sidered that Haggerston was exactly the kind of constituency that would suit him. He thought that it might be possible to enter into an amicable arrangement. A man with Cremer's political re- putation would find little difficulty in securing a seat elsewhere, though of course that would be attended with a certain amount of expense, and under these circumstances he would be quite willing to pay Cremer £1,000. Of all sorts and conditions of men who seek BENEFACTIONS 337 to enter Parliament the moneymonger was to Cremer far more obnoxious than even the aristo- crat or the plutocrat. I well remember that some years before Cremer had a hand in introducing Mr. Keir Hardie to the Radicals of West Ham in order to spoil the game of a person of this kind, who afterwards committed suicide. The audacious proposal that he should sell his con- stituents in this manner filled him with fierce indignation. His only answer to the man who made this insulting suggestion was " Thy money perish with thee." Of Cremer's kind-heartedness to people in dis- tress it would be easy to give instances, but it will be sufficient to cite the following passage from a letter written by Mr. Henry Morris, of Dalston, one of his prominent supporters. He says : "I have enclosed, as promised, some of the many com- munications I have received from Sir Randal, whose almoner I was for his constituency. He had a soft place for numerous appeals which I know he personally attended to. He must have been frugal in his own living to enable him to assist so many. As you know, Haggerston is extremely poor, and always has its share of out-of-works. I, as one of the Shoreditch trustees, painfully know this by experience. He was so well understood here that many have denied themselves of possible help rather than appeal to him, feeling proud of being represented by a poor ex -working man. He contri- buted to our funds, but in the main the expenses of 22 338 SIR RANDAL CREMER the association were covered by the members' sub- scriptions and the grant from headquarters. How- ever, he was a power in our midst, and many is the time that he has by his personal influence changed the whole aspect of what seemed certain collapse. Though I have at times asked him to lie low, knowing the workings of prospective changes that seemed best to his supporters, still somehow it seemed that he generally brought about what he personally thought best. Our association had much labour to keep him in his position." Though he lived to a great age Cremer was repeatedly attacked by serious illnesses. At one time he was an inmate of the London Temperance Hospital, under the care of Sir William Collins. At another time he was carried almost lifeless to Westminster Hospital ; more than once he had to be taken to a nursing home, and it was in a nursing home that he died. As to Cremer's views on matters of religion I incline to think that he had something more than that nachschein of Christianity which is often found among those who have received a Christian training in their youth, but have subsequently drifted away from all organised Christian churches . Never for a moment, even in the familiarity of friendly intercourse, did I hear Cremer utter a word, even in jest, that could be offensive to those possessing strong religious convictions. Possibly he was a doubter, but of that type that " cleaves ever to the sunnier side of doubt." My view is BENEFACTIONS 339 confirmed by one who was closely associated with him in the last few years of his life. This man, himself a secularist, said : I should reckon Cremer a very broad-minded Christian. When Cremer lost his seat for Haggerston in 1895, Miss Frances Willard, the President of the World's Women's Christian Temperance Union, sent a resolution to Cremer from that body thank- ing him for his exertions in the cause of inter- national peace. This was accompanied by a per- sonal note in which the writer said : "I do not know of a calamity connected with the recent elec- tion that seems to me more lamentable than that you are not returned. If women had had the ballot I believe you would have had an over- whelming majority." Cremer was probably of a different opinion. Throughout his parliamentary life Cremer was a resolute opponent of the woman suffrage move- ment ; indeed, he might be described as an Anti- Woman Suffrage Society in himself. He issued a tract with the title " Shall Men or Women Rule the World? " which gave thirty-three reasons against Woman Suffrage. He contended strongly that so far from women being treated unjustly by the laws of this country, privileges were conferred upon them in preference to men, and he widely circulated a leaflet entitled " Some of the Legal Privileges of Women," which ran as follows : "That Man-made law, is, on the whole, more favourable to Women than Men is proved by the fact that Women are 340 SIR RANDAL CREMER immune from many legal obligations, which are imposed upon Men. To prove this assertion the following illustrations and instances will suffice : — " A Woman, however wealthy, is not legally bound to con- tribute to the support of her parents, however necessitous they may be, but a Man, however poor he may be, is legally responsible. "A Man is legally responsible for any debts his Wife may incur, even without his knowledge, but a Wife is not responsible for any debts of her Husband, although she may be a wealthy Woman. " A married Man may, by a County Court Judge, be imprisoned for Contempt of Court, if it is proved that he has the means of paying and will not do so, either his own or his Wife's debts, but no such punishment can be inflicted on a married Woman, however wealthy she may be. " If a married Woman incurs debts, she cannot be made personally liable by being committed to prison for Contempt of Court if she fails to pay ; nor can her property be seized in order to satisfy her creditors if that property has been settled on her in the usual way. She is thus in a unique and privileged position. No similar right is allowed to a Married Man. " A bankruptcy order can be served against a married Man, but not against a married Woman, however much wealth she may possess, unless she is carrying on a trade separately from her Husband. " A Wife may leave her Husband without any risk, and he cannot compel her to return to him ; but if the Husband leaves his Wife, she can summon him for desertion and obtain an order for his return and support. BENEFACTIONS 341 "A Wife may leave her Husband, occupy a separate residence, refuse to let him in, and he has no remedy ; but if he leaves her, his Wife has a remedy. She can support herself on his credit and obtain an order for restitution of conjugal rights and maintenance, which he disobeys at his peril. " If a man's Wife who has a separate estate of her own slanders another Woman, and the slandered Woman is awarded damages, the Husband of the slanderer, although he knew nothing about or disapproved of what his Wife had done, is liable to pay the costs of the trial and damages, while his wealthy Wife escapes with impunity. " If a Man has a Wife who spends his wages in drink, sells his furniture and breaks up his home to obtain drink, deserts him and his children, leaving them without food, he has no remedy, and cannot leave her without risk of being punished for desertion ; but if a Man behaves in such a manner towards his wife, she can obtain a judicial separation and an order compelling him to maintain her. "All these laws, exempting Women from obligations which Men are compelled to perform, were made by what Suffragists refer to as " Mere Men." If the Suffragists, instead of de- nouncing those who differ from them as " brutes, tyrants,'' etc., etc., would prove that Women suffer any real injustice, and state what their grievances are, they would be respectfully listened to and redressed." Twice Cremer spoke in the House of Commons against woman suffrage, and he declared that several Members who had voted in its favour came to him afterwards and congratulated him upon his courageous opposition. He republished and widely distributed these speeches, because some of the suffragettes charged him with having shamefully slandered women. Cremer contended that if any 342 SIR RANDAL CREMER women should be enfranchised all women should be enfranchised, and that thereby the male popula- tion of the country would be swamped, seeing that the female population outnumbers the men by nearly a million. He urged also that the ultimate object of the leaders of the movement was to secure admission for themselves into the House of Commons, and that but for this hope the movement would speedily collapse. Yet further he insisted that women were largely under the influence of priests and of pseudo -philanthropists, who were only masked politicians. He further protested that women were unfitted by their physical nature to exercise political power, and he firmly believed that the majority of them had no desire to obtain it. It required no small amount of courage for Cremer to resist a demand in opposition to the majority of his own political friends. The feeling on both sides was decidedly bitter. Occasionally some of the militant suffragettes appeared at meet- ings at which Cremer was to speak on the arbitra- tion question. On one occasion when he had to address a large P.S.A. meeting at Camberwell a number of these ladies attended, some of whom mounted the platform and delivered an ineffectual protest, which was not at all relished by the majority of the audience. On another occasion when Cremer was announced to speak at a peace meeting in Manchester Mrs. Philip Snowden re- fused to appear on the platform with him. Still more recently Cremer bitterly complained that a BENEFACTIONS 343 cabal was formed by some of his Haggerston con- stituents and certain leaders of the Metropolitan Liberal Association to drive him from his seat. Reasonable advocates of woman suffrage will cer- tainly not question Cremer's honesty and courage. Some years before his death Cremer had ex- pressed to me his intention to erect a few alms- houses at Fareham, his birthplace. He had a double motive. He wished to pay a tribute of filial piety to the memory of his mother, of whom he said in a speech in the House of Commons on the woman suffrage question that he proudly acknowledged whatever he was and had were due to her devotion. He desired also to do something toward helping those who had fought the battle of life more or less unsuccessfully in their declining days. For many years it had been the policy of those who had the administration of endowed charities to alienate as far as possible what they called " doles " to educa- tional purposes, not unfrequently to the education of the children of the middle classes. Cremer held that this policy was unjust. Happily of late there has been a healthy reaction in favour of old age pensions . So large a proportion of Cremer's means had been already devoted to the cause in which he had so long laboured that he was only able to carry out his wishes in regard to the almshouses on a very modest scale. He purchased a plot of land at the cost of about £350, on which four alms- houses were to be built, and in which the 344 SIR EANDAL CREMER occupants were to live rent free. Next he invested £200 in Hampshire County Council stock in order to provide for rates and repairs. Had he lived but a few months longer all the necessary materials would have been purchased b'y himself and the houses erected under his personal supervision ; but his design remained uncompleted at his death. Like his old friend Lord Hobhouse, he did not believe in the " dead hand," and he left his executors entirely unfettered, as will be seen by the following extract from his will : " Upon trust that my executors, or so many of them as shall prove this my will, shall retain for their use jointly and absolutely, the sum of nine hundred pounds (free of legacy duty) provided that (but nevertheless without imposing upon them any legal or equitable obligation, trust, or election whatsoever, or inter- fering with their full and absolute beneficial right or property in that sum) I declare it to be my wish that as soon after my death as may be they shall, in so far as they think proper, pay and apply the same for the benefit of the charitable objects mentioned in the signed letter and memorandum left by me and deposited with this my will and headed ' Cottages at Fareham,' and I hope that it may be possible for them to carry out the wishes expressed in the said letter and memorandum." As far back as 1890 M. Carnot, the President of the French Republic, conferred upon Cremer the Cross of the Legion of Honour, which makes the recipient a " Chevalier " of the Legion. Cremer's HONOURS 345 exertions in promoting the entente cordiale had been unremitting for some years previously ; but as the distinction was conferred only a few months after the meeting of the first interparliamentary conference at Paris, it was regarded as a mark of sympathy on the part of the French Government with the work so well begun. Times have indeed changed since Napoleon Bonaparte founded this Order, which, by the way, is partly military and partly civilian. The honour has not unfrequently been conferred upon British subjects, but except in the case of Mr. Hodgson Pratt, I remember no instance in which the decoration was conferred directly for promoting concord between the two nations. On this account Cremer was proud of the distinction and often wore its ribbon. 'After the Nobel Prize was awarded to Cremer he was made a Commander of the Norwegian Order of Saint Olav. This Order bears the name of that ancient King of Norway who sought to convert its people to Christianity by fire and sword. The name at once recalls Longfellow's poem in " Tales of a Wayside Inn," where he represents the Abbess of Drontheim listening to the voice of St. John the beloved disciple. "It is accepted The angry defiance, The challenge of battle ! It is accepted, But not with the weapons Of war that thou wieldest ! 346 SIR RANDAL CREMER Cross against corselet, Love against hatred, Peace-cry for war-cry, Patience is wonderful ; He that o'ercometh Hath power o'er the nations. Stronger than steel Is the sword of the Spirit ; Swifter than arrows The light of the truth is ; Greater than anger Is love, and subdueth." It is a rule of the Order of St. Olav that on the death of a Commander his " star " has to be returned, otherwise we should have been glad to have retained it among the heirlooms of the League . Shortly after Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister he offered Cremer the honour of knighthood. Cremer was doubtful whether he should accept it, and consulted two or three of his intimate friends . We were all dubious about such titular distinction, and therefore Cremer declined the honour. But Sir Henry made the offer a second time and it had to be recon- sidered. Cremer, of course, did not care a straw for titles ; as I happen to know from his private papers the one honour he cherished most was that he had been five times elected Member for Haggerston. There was, however, no hereditary nonsense about a knighthood. In former days HONOURS 347 every knight was a warrior, and usually won his spurs on the field of battle ; but in recent times explorers, scientists, artists, musicians, and in- ventors have received such a distinction. Why should a representative of labour be compelled to stand aside? In the diplomatic service of the country similar and even larger honours are often awarded to men who have done nothing more than perform a round of official duty ; why should not " the fountain of honour " recognise the unofficial services of a man who had for long years been the representative of a nation rather than of a Court, and the value of whose work had been freely recognised by statesmen and diplomatists? Cremer's main reason for acceptance was that the offer was an indirect recognition in the highest quarters of the value of the work of the League. CHAPTER XXXVI THE ULTIMATE GOAL The dreams of democracy often become the states- manship of the future. More than a century ago France led the way, inscribing on her banner, " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity ! " The inter- national coalition of monarchs and aristocrats drove the people of France to madness, and made them the victims of a military adventurer, from the consequences of whose cruel ambition Europe has not fully recovered even now. But all the while the peoples have been steadily pressing for- ward to the realisation of a noble ideal, in spite of the reaction caused by the great war of 1870. The international coalition of monarchs and aris- tocrats, which is dying or dead, has been replaced by a new international coalition of the democracy, whose watchword is, "A bas les frontieres." Slowly, but surely, the solidarity of labour is be- coming an accomplished fact. Through long cen- turies the pride and greed of priestcraft and the alliance of the Christian Church with the secular power have thwarted the Divine idea of Jesus. 348 THE ULTIMATE GOAL 349 The professed servants of the Master, who knew their Lord's will and did it not, are being replaced by those unconscious instruments who know not their Lord's will but unconsciously do it ; and happily, there is now a growing disposition on the part of modern official representatives of Christianity to cherish broader and deeper con- ceptions of patriotism, not only in the Free Churches, which have usually borne witness for peace, but in the English Established Church itself. To what does all this lead? To the fact that war panics are visionary and ephemeral. Yet, further, to the fact that in spite of occasional backward eddies the stream of progress is ever onward. Who can doubt that " Through the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened with the progress of the suns " ? With deliberate purpose I have largely used names of eminent men and quotations from their utterances in this biography. Less than half a century ago those who contended against militarism were regarded, not only by the governing class, but even by democrats as amiable enthusiasts whose ideas were altogether outside the domain of prac- tical politics. Who would dare to affirm this now? Largely by the efforts of the man whose life- story is here told, a strong international peace party has been created, whose spokesmen have their representatives in every Parliament of the civilised 350 SIR RANDAL CREMER world. We have friends and helpers in almost every cabinet and in almost every embassy. The fore- most leaders in religion are aroused to their duty as they never were before, and labour in its solidarity is rapidly becoming strong enough to confront militarism in every country. This book is written at a time when the most desperate efforts are being made to create another war panic. The stage, the music-hall, the studio, and the gutter press are all freely used by the scaremongers. The leaders of the Con- servative Party, though Lord Lansdowne and Mr. Balfour have, to their credit, contributed to the cause of international peace, seem only too ready to foster the dread of invasion in the hope that it may facilitate their return to power. It is not the first time that the champions of class privileges and class interests have sought to delude the people by setting up a phantom enemy. But the devices of mendacity which were so successfully used at the outset of the Boer War have been too recently exposed to produce much effect now. Against the nefarious wickedness of those who, either in Britain or Germany, sow the dragon's teeth of distrust and hatred, we must oppose the resolute determination of all men of goodwill and clear judgment. Britain and Ger- many, who have never fought each other in the past, have no cause of quarrel now ; their quarrel is with those disseminators of discord who are the common enemies of humanity. Happily, not only THE ULTIMATE GOAL 351 moral but economic forces are ranging themselves on our side. The mischief-makers in all countries are unwittingly aiding our efforts, for the revolt against the monstrous burden of war expenditure is rapidly extending to the very classes who have hitherto been the promoters of panics. The champion of peace whose biography is here written had lived through half a dozen war scares, and had been unmoved through them all. He had seen British blood and treasure wantonly wasted in the abortive effort to maintain the bar- barous rule of the Sultan throughout the Balkan peninsula ; he had heard the stupid clamour for war between France and England, on both sides of the Channel, when Napoleon III. was in power ; he had seen the Guards dispatched to Canada when the United States cruiser seized the Confederate envoys ; he had resisted the cry for war when the Russians were almost at the gates of Constantinople, and again when the Russian fleet fired by mistake on English fishermen ; he had made a happy use of the Fashoda contretemps to bring about an entente cordiale between the British and the French democracies. What sane man to-day would dare to stand up and say that he was wrong? We, who mourn our lost leader, shall continue his work. We are practical politicians. While the apparent necessity lasts we do not oppose adequate measures of national defence ; but it is the imperative duty of the international peace 352 SIR RANDAL CREMER party, now fully organised, to destroy such neces- sity — first, by means of international arbitration, and, second, by a mutual and simultaneous reduc- tion of armaments. The former object is already more than half accomplished, and this success should impel us to renewed efforts on behalf of the latter. The substitution of arbitration for war must in the end produce a revolt against wasteful, ruinous war preparations. We know that we can only advance step by step, but the goal before us is the total abolition of war, and to that end we press forward with resolute courage and unfaltering faith. INDEX Alverstone, Lord, 73, 183 American Civil War, 26, 29 Anglo-French Treaty, 228 Apponyi, Count Albert, 176, 317 Arbitration, Progress of, 327 Arbitration Treaty, Abortive, 167, 185, 187 Arbitration Treaty in French Chamber, 170 Arbitration with the United States, 150 Avebury, Lord (Sir John Lubbock), 152 Bartholdt, Hon. Richard, 260, 292 Basili, M., 178, 180 Beales, Edmond, 42, 86 Behring Sea Arbitration, 156, 164 Berlin Demonstration, 318 Berry, Dr. Charles, 186 Blaine, James G., 132 Boer War, 206, 216 Bourgeois, M., 194 Bourse du Travail Demon- stration, 208, 212 Bright, John, Letter of, 28 Brunner, Sir John, 232 Bryce, Mr. James, 264 Builders' Lock-out, 25 Burritt, Elihu, 59 Burt, Rt. Hon. Thomas, 86, in, 270 Campbell- Bannerman, Sir H., 282, 293, 346 Carnegie, Mr. Andrew, 123, 125, 132, 276,277, 311 Chamberlain, Mr., and Lord Weardale, 220 Chartists, 21 Chili and Argentina, 166, 292 Clemenceau, M., 112 Cleveland, President, 127, 161, 164 Cluserefs Revolutionary Pro- ject, 45 Corn Law Days, 20 Cremer, Sir Randal, Birth and Parentage, 19 ; early Poverty, 21 ; goes to Work, 23 ; ap- prenticed, 23 ; migrates to London, 24 ; Nine Hours' 23 353 354 SIR RANDAL CREMER Movement, >2$ ; American Civil War, 27 ; the Inter- national, 31 ; Garibaldi in London, 40 ; Reform League, 42 ; Warwick Elections, 49 ; St. Pancras Vestry, 54 ; Workmen's Peace Com- mittee, 82 ; W. P. Association, 83 ; Pioneer Work in Paris, 88 ; the Eastern Crisis, 97 ; Anti - war Demonstrations, 100 ; South African Affairs, 106 ; Egypt, 107 ; in Paris again, 109 ; Haggerston Elec- tions, 114 ; Death of second Wife, 119 ; first Visit to Washington, 123 ; first Par- liamentary Memorial, 126 ; Pan-American Conference, 132 ; Birth of the Interpar- liamentary Union, 135 (for its conferences see separate heading) ; Dispute with Portugal, 143 ; Arbitration Resolution in House of Com- mons, 150 ; second Visit to Washington, 158 ; second Parliamentary Memorial, 160; DefeatandPetitionatH agger- ston, 172 ; Labour Memorial to the United States, 182 ; third Visit to Washington, 182 ; the Tsar's Rescript, 189 ; first Hague Conference, 194 ; Nobel Peace Prize, 201, 259 ; Address to French Work- men, 208 ; at the Bourse du Travail, 210 ; French Workers Visit London, 213 ; Boer War, 216 ; returned again for Haggerston, 221 ; French Parliamentary Visit to London, 225 ; British Parliamentary Visit to France, 235 ; fourth Visit to Wash- ington, 260 ; the Nobel Dinner, 267 ; Interparlia- mentary Union at West- minster, 281 ; second Hague Conference, 294 ; the Final Effort, 298 ; last Illness and Death, 304 ; Will, 304; Funeral Service, 305 ; Count Albert Apponyi's Eulogy, 317 ; Berlin Labour Demon- strations, 313; Characteristics, 331 ; Benefactions, 337 ; Female Suffrage, 339 ; Fareham Cottages, 343 ; Legion of Honour, 344 ; Cross of St. Olav, 345 ; Knighthood, 346 Cremer's Trustees, 275 Crimean War, 63 Criterion Dinner to-l Labour M.P.'s, 118 Davitt, Michael, 185 De Profundis, 119 Derby, Lord, Deputation to, 98 D'Estournelles de Constant, Baron, 225, 227, 286 Descamps, Baron, 177 Eastern Crisis, 98 ; Peace Manifesto, 98 INDEX 355 Eastern Peace Demonstration, ioo " Edward the Peacemaker," 225 Egypt, 107 Fallieres, M., 206 Fareham, 19 ; Cottages, 343 Female Suffrage, 339 Field, David Dudley, 71, 142 Forewords, 11 French Labour Visit to London, 213 French Parliamentary Visit to London, 224 Fry, Sir Edward, 294 Garibaldi in London, 14 Geneva Arbitration, 74 ; Con- sequential Damages, 77 ; these withdrawn, 79 ; Judg- ment, 79 German Workmen, Address to, 299 Gladstone, Mr., 69, 101, 105, 107, 141, 152 Goal, Ultimate, 348 Grant from British Govern- ment, 290 Gresham, Mr. Secretary, 158, 161, 163 Haggerston Elections, 114, 117, 118, 173, 221 Haggerston Petition, 174 Haggerston Testimonial, 279 Hague Conferences, The, 194, 291 Harcourt, Sir W., 154, 222, 269 | Olney, Mr. Secretary, 167 Hereford, Bishop of, 279 Herschell, Lord, 142 International Arbitration League (see Workmen's Peace Association and Cremer). International, The, 31; Balance- sheet, 35 International Geneva Confer- ence, 35 ; Collapse, 38 International Law Association, 70 Inter - Parliamentary Union, Projected, 134 ; Birth, 135 ; Conferences, 138, 146, 169, 171, 174, 198, 199, 203, 230, 260, 281, 291, 317 JOFFRIN, M., IIO Labour Conferences, Official, 33 Longuet, M., 37, 212 Lund, John, 199 McKinley, President, 188 Maddison, F., 278, 298, 303, 309. 3*9 Maret, M. Henri, no Memorial Meeting, 313 Morgan, Senator, 185 Nine Ho urs ' Movement, 25 Nobel Dinner, 267 Nobel Peace Prize, 201, 259, 266 356 SIR RANDAL ORBMER Pan-American Conference, 131 Paris Exhibition, 203 Paris, Meetings in, 88, 93, 94, 109, 208, 212 Paris, Treaty of, 65 Parliamentary Memorial, First, 126 ; Second, 160 Parliamentary Visit to France, 235 Passy, M. Frederic, 170 Pauncefote, Sir Julian, 158, 162, 194, 196 Peace Conference, First, 60 Peace Society, 56, 63 Portugal, Dispute with, 143 Pratt, Hodgson, 73 Reform League, Birth, 42 ; Trafalgar Square, 43 ; Hyde Park, 44, 67 ; Dissolved, 48 Richard, Henry, 57, 65, 69, 70 Rogers, Dr. Guinness, 165 Roosevelt, President, 262 Root, Mr. Secretary, 264 Rosebery, Lord, 194 Russians at Westminster, 285 St. Pancras Vestry, 54 Salisbury, Lord, 145, 179, 183, 184 Scarborough Riots, 218 School Board Contests, 53 Sherman, Senator, 140, 162 Simon, Jules, 137 Smith, Mr. E. G., 299 Stead, W. T., 179, 200 Sturge, Joseph, 58 Times, The, on Hague Con- ference, 196 Tolain, Senator, 31, 37 Transvaal Troubles, 106 Trarieux, M., 171 Tsar's Rescript, 189 Venezuela Dispute, 164 War Scares, 66 Warwick Elections, 49 Washington, Visits to, 123, 161, 182, 260 Weardale, Lord, 169, 198^-220, 281, 308 Westminster Hall Banquet, 288 Whittier, John G., 133 Workmen's Peace Committee, 82 ; Association, 83 ; Pro- gramme, 84 ; Manifesto, 85 Yellow Press, 208, 217 Zulu War, 105 UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON.