224 MY LIFE 



And so on, and so on; with the one conclusion: Wc must increase 

 army, navy, and home defences, and he prepared to fight all the 

 world. Not one word about there being any alternative to all this 

 blood-and-iron bluster and defiance; nut one syllable to show that the 

 writer is a great Socialist teacher, a believer in the goodness of human 

 nature and the brotherhood of man. " But," he replies by his heading, 

 " this is very good in theory, and very true, but it is not practical poli- 

 tics. The danger is urgent. Tell us, ye Labour leaders, what you 

 propose to do now?" 



I am not a Labour leader, but I hope I am a true friend of Labour 

 and a true Socialist; and I will now state the case as it appears to me, 

 and suggest what, in my opinion, is the only course of action worthy of 

 Socialism or politic for Labour, and, besides, the only course which 

 has the slightest chance of succeeding in the long run; in one word, 

 the only right course. 



It is a notorious and undeniable fact that we — that is, our Govern- 

 ments — are, with few exceptions, hated and feared by almost all other 

 Governments, especially those of the Great Powers. Is there no cause 

 for this ? Surely we know there is ample cause. We have either 

 annexed or conquered a larger portion of the world than any other 

 Power. We have long claimed the sovereignty of the sea. We hold 

 islands and forts and small territories offensively near the territories 

 of other Powers. We still continue grabbing all we can. In disputes 

 with the powerful w r e often give way ; with the weak and helpless, or 

 those we think so, we are — allowing for advance in civilization — 

 bloody, bold, and ruthless as any conqueror of the Middle Ages. And 

 with it all we are sanctimonious. We profess religion. We claim 

 to be more moral than other nations, and to conquer, and govern, and 

 tax, and plunder weaker peoples for their good ! While robbing them 

 we actually claim to be benefactors ! And then we wonder, or pro- 

 fess to wonder, why other Governments hate us ! Are they not fully 

 justified in hating us? Is it surprising that they seek every means to 

 annoy us, that they struggle to get navies to compete with us, and 

 look forward to the time when two or three of them may combine 

 together and thoroughly humble and cripple us? And who can deny 

 that any just being, looking at all the nations of the earth with im- 

 partiality and thorough knowledge, would decide that we deserve to 

 be humbled, and that it might do us good? 



Now the course I recommend as the only true one is, openly and 

 honestly, without compulsion and without vainglory, to do away with 

 many of the offences to other peoples, and to treat all subject peoples 

 and all foreign Powers on exactly the same principles of equity, of 

 morality, and of sympathy, as we treat our friends, acquaintances, and 

 neighbours with whom we wish to live on friendly terms. 



And to begin with, and to show that our intentions are genuine, I 

 would propose to evacuate Gibraltar, dismantle the fortress, and give 



