Politics and the Land 



the hands of his leader, and values him accord- 

 ingly. We want those privileges restored. 



But the great point in this aspect of the 

 question is that it does not matter in the least 

 whether we think the group system desirable or 

 the reverse. It is already with us. Apart from 

 the four main groups in the present House of 

 Commons, there are numerous sub-divisions 

 (held together with some difficulty by their 

 respective leaders) and still others in embryo ; 

 and the whole present tendency is in the direction 

 of more clearly establishing this system. It is 

 no use shutting our eyes to this fact, and the 

 sooner men realise it, and set to work to organise 

 their own industries, both inside and outside 

 the House of Commons, instead of wasting 

 eff"ort in a fruitless attempt to instil life into the 

 dead bones of the old parties, the better it will 

 be for them. The two-Party system is some 

 250 years old, it has done good work in the 

 past, but it has served its purpose, and outlived 

 its use. Its demise has probably been hastened 

 by over-organisation, by the too accurate num- 

 bering of heads, and by its destruction of per- 

 sonal thought and initiative. It prevents per- 

 sonal interest being developed in any question, 

 as it is so much easier merely to do what the 

 Whip commands : the useful knowledge which 

 accrues from personal interest is therefore lost, 

 and the units of a Party become in very many 



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