PREFACE. ix 



self-assertion and self-restraint suited to his char- 

 acter and his circumstances. And the eternally 

 tragic aspect of the drama lies in this: that the 

 problem set before us is one the elements of which 

 can be but imperfectly known, and of which even 

 an approximately right solution rarely presents 

 itself, until that stern critic, aged experience, has 

 been furnished with ample justification for vent- 

 ing his sarcastic humour upon the irreparable 

 blunders we have already made. 



I have reprinted the letters on the " Darkest 

 England " scheme, published in the " Times '^ of 

 December, 1890, and January, 1891; and subse- 

 quently issued, with additions, as a pamphlet, 

 under the title of " Social Diseases and Worse 

 Remedies," because, although the clever attempt 

 to rush the country on behalf of that scheme has 

 been balked, Mr. Booth's standing army remains 

 afoot, retaining all the capacities for mischief 

 which are inherent in its constitution. I am de- 

 sirous that this fact should be kept steadily in 

 view; and that the moderation of the clamour of 

 the drums and trumpets should not lead us to for- 

 get the existence of a force, which, in bad hands, 

 may, at any time, be used for bad purposes. 



In 1892, a Committee was " formed for the 

 purpose of investigating the manner in which the 

 moneys, subscribed in response to the appeal made 

 in the book entitled * In Darkest England and the 



