^74 



The Review of Reviews, 



March 20, 1900. 



exception of Mr. Lloyd-George— who stands con- 

 spicuous as the most effective spokesman alike of 

 his native nationality and of British Noaiconfor- 

 mity. 



v.— THE LABOUR PARTY. 



" Acquiescence in things as they are/' said Canon 

 Scott Holland last month in the pulpit of St. Paul's, 

 " is the sin of sins. That is the denial of the Incar- 

 nation." Judged by this standard, the Labour Party 

 is sound in the faith. For its note is the antithesis 

 of acquiescence in things as they are. It stands for 

 things as they ought to be There is a certain re- 

 semblance between some of therti and the Fifth 

 Monarchy men who went to dibble beans on the 

 hills of Surrey in the early days of the Common- 

 wealth. The Le\"ellers, as they were called in those 

 days, sought 



" to restore the aucient Community of enjoying the Fruits 

 of tlie Earth, and to distribute the benefit thereof to the 

 poor and needy, and to feed the hungry and clotlie the 

 naked. That tliey intend not to meddle with any man's 

 property, nor to break down any pales or enclosures," in 

 spite of reports to the contrary; "but only to meddle witli 

 what is common and untilled, and to make it fruitful for 

 the use of man. That the time will suddenly he, when all 

 men shall willingly come in and give up their lands and 

 estates, and submit to this Community " of Goods. 



Before the men rf the advanced Labour Party or 

 tlieir more enthusiastic leaders has gleamed the 

 ber.tlfic vision cif a new heaven and a new earth 

 wherein dvvelleth righteousness, where men shall 

 hunger no more, neither thirst any more, for Social- 

 ism, that Abracadabra or magic word of modern 

 DemcK^racy, will make all things new. Says Mr. 

 Snowden, M.P. for Blackburn: — " The beauty and 

 righteousness of the Socialist ideal has filled the 

 hearts and souls of these men and women with a re- 

 generating fire." Like all movements which stir 

 the hearts of the masses, the Labour movement is in 

 its essence distinctly religious. Again to quote Mr. 

 Snowden : — 



The gosi)el of the Labour movement comes, as did that 

 message from the little synagogue at Nazareth, as a mes- 

 sage of hope to all classes, for the emancipation of labour 

 will bring freedom for all who want to live honestly bv 

 the, work of hand or of brain. 



There are men in the Labour Party who are Ag- 

 nostics, and more who are Indifferentists. It would 

 he impossible to draw up a creed to which all of 

 them would subscribe, unless it be the simple for- 

 mula, " The world is out of joint, and we are the 

 chaps to put it right." For the most part the pro- 

 gramme of the Labour Party has more obvious con- 

 nection with the resolutions of the Trades Union 

 Congress than the Sermon on the Mount. But at 

 Browning Settlement, in Walworth, a serious at- 

 tempt was made by the Public Questions Committee 

 to show the intimate relation between the Gospel of 

 xMazareth and present-dav electoral duty. Its leaflet 

 addressed to " Fellow-Citizens nf Every Party and 

 of Xone" is worth preserving from the limbo which 

 swallows un the ephemeral literature of the General 

 Election. It is headed by the challenging question, 

 "What would Jesus do?" After setting forth the 



obligation to preserve a Christian temper in the heat 

 of election contests, the leaflet proceeds as fol- 

 lows : — 



IN THE AIMS TO BE PURSUED 

 we must be ruled by the Standard by which the Son 

 of Man decides the eternal destiny of all the nations 

 — by consideration of the least of His brethren, the 

 hungry, the thirsty, the ill-clad, the homeless, the 

 alien, the sick, the prisoner. There are, among 

 others, 



TEN PLAIN DUTIES, ' 



which must not be overlooked, because Parties may ■ 

 not choose to fight about them. It is the duty of 

 the Nation to try and 



1. Put Law for War, submit disputes to reason, 

 not to brute force. "Be at peace with all men." 

 " Love your enemies." 



2. Find Work for the Unemployed, — enable 

 every man to fulfil the law of service. 



3. ^L^ke honourable provision for the Aged Poor, 

 — honour the fathers and mothers of the community. 



4. See that no child in our public schools is with- 

 out sufficient food. " See that ye despise not one 

 of these little ones." 



5. Let not the proi>er nutrition and instruction of 

 the Nations children be hindered by the un-Chris- 

 tian quarrelling of rival sects. 



6. So reform the Poor Law as to make poverty no 

 longer a crime or civic disability; for "Blessed are 

 ye poor : yours is the Kingdom of Goil." 



7. Facilitate the Housing of the People, so that 

 all may have room to live in health and decency. 



8. Make it more easy for men to be sober, and 

 less easy for men to be drunken. 



9. Discourage gambling in all its forms. 



10. Make Land Laws less of a denial that " the 

 earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof: He 

 formed it to be inhabited;" less of a means of sel 

 fish monopoly. 



AS THE BEST MEANS 

 for carrying out these authoritative mandates of the 

 Christian Conscience, we venture to suggest the fol- 

 lowing measures : — 



1. Treaties with every other nation, stipulating 

 that all disputes not .settled by ordinar)- diplomacy 

 shall be submitted to Arbitration at the' Hague Tri- 

 bunal. 



2. Adequate recognition by the State of every 

 man's duty to sen'e, and so of his right to work — 

 consequently a more rational organisation of the Na- 

 tion's industry. 



3. Pensions for All in Old Age, as a civic right. 



4. Food for all Underfed School Children, to be 

 supplied by the Education authority, in a way not 

 dishonouring to the child. Punishment for parents 

 able but failing lo feed their children. 



5. Completer Popular Control of all State sup- 

 ported Schools, when " the common sense of most 

 will keep the fretful Serts in awe." 





