THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY 65 



John Stuart Mill aptly said more than sixty years ago: 



Of the working men, at least in the more advanced countries of Europe, it 

 may be pronounced certain, that the patriarchial or paternal system of govern- 

 ment is one to which they will not again be subject. That question was de- 

 cided, when they were taught to read, and allowed access to newspapers and 

 political tracts; when dissenting preachers were suffered to go among them, and 

 appeal to their faculties and feelings in opposition to the creeds professed and 

 countenanced by their superiors; when they were brought together in numbers, 

 to work socially under the same roof ; when railways enabled them to shift from 

 place to place, and change their patrons and employers as easily as their coats; 

 when they were encouraged to seek a share in government, by means of the elec- 

 toral franchise. The working classes have taken their interests into their own 

 hands, and are perpetually showing that they think the interests of their employ- 

 ers not identical with their own, but opposite to them. Some among the higher 

 classes flatter themselves that these tendencies may be counteracted by moral 

 and religious education: but they have let the time go by for giving an education 

 which can serve their purpose. The principles of the reformation have reached 

 as low down in society as reading and writing, and the poor will not much 

 longer accept morals and religion of other people's preseribing.26 



The common man is not only more intelligent, hut he has a keener 

 sense of self-respect. This is partly because he is better off materially. 

 Penury and want have a brutalizing effect because they prevent man 

 from leading a wholesome, normal life. The material comforts of life 

 not only affect our physical welfare, but they influence our mental and 

 moral outlook. Give a man something more than the bare necessities 

 of life and you make it possible for his better nature, his desire for 

 books, travel and education, to compete with his lower or sensual self. 

 Doubtless something more than an increase of this world's goods is 

 necessary to the reformation and upbuilding of character. The springs 

 that issue from the hidden recesses of the heart are no less important. 

 An increase of wealth unaccompanied by a wholesome expansion of 

 desires is a curse rather than a blessing. Great wealth is often ener- 

 vating. Habits of luxurious ease are degrading. There can be no 

 doubt, however, that the comforts and decencies which the nineteenth 

 century brought within the reach of the masses have done much to 

 civilize mankind. Besides, the process of acquiring wealth has been 

 helpful. It has forced men to contrive and has saved them from idle 

 and aimless lives. Commercial intercourse has done much to widen the 

 mental horizon, to undermine prejudice and to banish provincialism. 



The problems of the day which give character to the present age 

 are not due to the growing ignorance and degradation of the electorate. 

 We are not witnessing " the revolt of the unfit," but the demands of 

 the " fit " for simple justice. The spread of intelligence and a stronger 

 spirit of fair play are liberating new w T ants, pointing the way to new 

 ambitions, and are rendering men more self-assertive, more insistent 



26 Op. cit., p. 756. 



VOL. LXXXV. — 5. 



