CO BRITAIN FOR THE BRITON 



unrest wliich should not be there, and when I come to deter- 

 mine what this means, I find it springs out of discontent at the 

 unfavourable, and yet unnecessary, condition which the vast 

 army of British workers are undoubtedly in to-day. I find 

 this discontent in many instances has assumed the form of 

 passive and active hostility, not only to the governing body, 

 but to the entire administration of the country ; while it also 

 evinces deadly antagonism to all existing social and economic 

 conditions which would at once be swept away if the malcon- 

 tents ever gained the ascendancy." 



Peesent Unsatisfactory Conditions quite Avoidable 



" I find that every one of the undesirable conditions which 

 have brought about this undisguised hostility to existing forms 

 of national administration is quite unnecessary, and that they 

 could have been easily avoided had the political parties of the 

 country not betrayed the people by constantly putting Party 

 interests before National needs, and so sacrificing the people's 

 good to party gain." 



" I lastly find that so long as this terribly unjust and 

 undoubtedly suicidal system obtains, so long will the country's 

 legislators — irrespective of whichever party they may claim 

 to belong — merit the just execration of the people." 



Such replies as these will be found in the mouth of every 

 person in this country, be he working man or tax-payer, who 

 has thought out this matter in a rational manner. 



When we look about and carefully note the sad state to 

 which our people have been reduced since they commenced to 

 follow after these wretched phantasms of political catchwords, 

 we wonder if there be a man among us who, in his heart, really 

 believes that the cheap loaf, for example, is anything more 

 than a party cry raised for the purpose of catching the voter ? 



Does our great array of workers who, although in employ- 

 ment to-day, may — owing to the uncertaiuties which enshroud 

 the labour market question — be out of work to-morrow, really 

 believe in the efficacy of this political war-cry ? 



British workmen of late years have taken a keen interest 

 in national politics, and quite right too, for they have a con- 

 siderable stake in the commonwealth, and it is fitting that they 

 should look after their own interests. They are stalwart 

 fighters and loyal partisans, and constitute in themselves a 

 powerful division of tlie great political army ; but quite apart 

 from the faintest trace of political bias can they honestly say, 

 that even if the cheap loaf cry were capable of conferring on 

 the people the one lenefit of a cheap loaf, it has not, at the same 



