hiipcridl Expansion 23 



1 rejoice to tell you that it is taken from an article recently 

 contributed by Mr. Victor Fisher, one of the ablest 

 members of the Labour Party," and it could have well 

 been added, " editor of the British Citizen and Etnpiye 

 Worker, and hon. secretary and treasurer to the British 

 Workers' League " ; but these facts were not mentioned. 

 We include them now, however, so that our readers can 

 realize v/hat a leading position Mr. Fisher appears to 

 occupy in the imperial politics of the Labour Party, 

 especially now that he has, according to the British Citizen, 

 been chosen by Stourbridge as their prospective parlia- 

 mentary candidate. We entirely disagree with what we 

 gather to be Mr. Fisher's views on the economic develop- 

 ment of the Tropics, but apart from that, we should 

 imagine that his presence at Westminster would be a 

 distinct acquisition to the House of Commons. Judged by 

 the articles he contributes to his paper, we should imagine, 

 for instance, that Mr. Fisher fully agrees with the views 

 expressed in the following articles. Meanwhile, with so 

 strong a support behind him, Mr. Fisher's position in 

 connection with the British Workers' League makes the 

 objects of that body of paramount interest to our readers, 

 especially the first two, bracketed together, which run as 

 under :^ 



To promote, demand, or support legislation to ensure : — ■ 

 (i) The application of the lessons of the War: — 



(a) That unrestricted commercial competition in,' and 

 the private ownership of, vital and key industries lead to 

 waste, inefficiency, fraud, and national disunion ; and 



(b) That the full utilization and development of National 

 and Imperial resources, in Peace or War, mainly depend 

 on the PlIBLIC OPINION and control of vital and key 

 industries.- 



We shall be interested to know what those who have 

 risked so much to develop our colonies and protectorates, 

 and to bring them up to the level at which they stand, will 

 think of a league whose primary objects are as stated, and 

 also what they imagine such a misleading and potentially 

 mischievous agitation can lead to. We should imagme 

 that if the League succeeded in working up its members 

 to the desired degree of enthusiasm, such objects would 

 do more to dismember the Empire than the Kaiser, the 



' And so we are to have State monopolies as a remedy. 

 -The capitals are not our own idea, but as printed in the advertisements 

 of the League. 



