The Lesson of History 139 



thereby the compelling force of the altruism of its 

 gospel, is doomed, and this will become more and more 

 evident as time goes on. 



The author of this volume makes another astounding 

 statement worthy of attention : " The championship 

 of religion is the keystone of the arch upon which the 

 whole fabric of Conservatism rests." If he had said 

 " the championship of the Church," he would have 

 stated the case as it exists to-day. Unfortunately the 

 Church only champions a creed inculcated by authority ; 

 the true religion is in the hearts of men, quite apart 

 from the Church. The world is being saved by the 

 practical results of the teachings of Jesus, which both 

 the Church and Conservatism have done and are doing 

 their best to oppose. The practical results of these 

 teachings are all measures devised to ameliorate the lot 

 of the toilers below the poverty line, and these have 

 been consistently opposed by Lord Hugh Cecil and 

 Conservatism and the Church. 



Lord Hugh's dissertation is only " window-dressing," 

 which cannot bear investigation, and that is why 

 Conservatism per se, as a potent force in the community, 

 is as dead as Queen Anne. The main object of Con- 

 servatism is to " dish the Whigs " by the presenta- 

 tion of Acts of Parliament previously suggested and 

 elaborated by the liberal party, and some of their 

 measures are actually drawn on exactly similar lines 

 to those which have been thrown out by the Second 

 Chamber while their opponents were in office. His cry 

 that Old Age Pensions and State Insurance should be 

 secured to all, rich and poor alike, to those earning over 

 one hundred and sixty pounds a year as well as those 

 below, is absurd at the present time, as it would only 

 throw fresh burdens on the community. To argue that 

 those who by greed, stealth, or unscrupulous disregard 

 of their fellow-men, or who, apart from such methods, 



