f 
august lU, HJ17 
LAND & WATER 
LAND & WATER 
OLD SERJEANTS' INN, LONDON, W.C. 
Telephone HOLBORN 2828. 
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 1917 
CONTENTS 
PACE 
I 
,5 
4 
6 
8 
Death to the HohcnzoUcrns ! By Louis Racm^ckcrs 
The Case of Mr. Henderson (Leader) 
The Crisis. ByHilaire Belloc 
Consultative Treason. By H. M. Hyndman 
The Military Situation. By Hilaire Belloc 
America's Industrial Mobilisation. By Isaac F. Marcosson ii 
The New Civilisation. By The Editor I3 
Prussians in Alsace. By Henry D. Davray i4 
Pinkcrton's Great Coup. By h. Russell Wakcheld i.5 
A Note on the Flight of Shells. By R. Montcith lo 
The Green Spot. By Morley Sharp i? 
Books to Read. By Lucian Oldcrshaw • lo 
The Desert made by Germans (Illustrated). By James 
MUnc ' J9 
»omestic Economy . -^ 
Kit and Equipment ^5 
THE CASE OF MR. HENDERSON 
THE crisis wliicli threatens the victory of the Allies 
is common to all Europe, but we are naturally in this 
country specially concerned with its local aspect and 
we may legitimately concentrate upon it. It comes at 
the end of a whole series. The vote of the Laboui Conference 
in favour of going to Stockholm not only came as a sort of 
climax to a movement which had been growing for some tirne, 
but had, unfortunately, for the mompnt at least, a decisive 
effect. 
The beginning of things, was "the declaration by a mixed 
cosmopolitan group in the cosmopolitan centre of Pctrograd 
in favour of peace. They used a phrase directly imported 
from BerUn — " no annexation and no indemnities " — in other 
words, the policy which the masters of the German Empire 
have been working for against the stupider of their subjects. 
How far this piece of folly was deliberate, which of the little 
chques in Pctrograd were agents and which dupes is in- 
different to the practical result. It is clear that the German 
Government and Higher Command eagerly seized the oppor- , 
tunity and made everything ready for permitting a German 
delegacy to go to Stockholm. A few public men from this 
country visited Russia both before and during the revolu- 
tion. Mr. Henderson was chosen among others, and believed, 
as might have been expected, that he was meeting men repre- 
senting Russian national feeling. That great country, ad- 
mittedly the most difficult for us of the West to understand, 
had to be judged in a few hours by a not very competent 
■ politician, hitherto quite ignorant of European affair?, and the 
result was what might have been expected— he advised the 
sending of British delegates to Stockholm. 
Wc all know what followed. Mr. Henderson, just a week 
iftor his return, went over to Paris after some kind of, con- 
sultation with liis colleagues of the Cabinet, the degree and 
matter of wWch is doubtful. He went with Mr. Macdonald, 
two German Jews from Pctrograd (whom lie doubtless thought 
to l)e Russians), and he was apparently officially accompanied 
by some public servant or .servants. Everything was made 
easy for him to undertake this journey and he undertook it 
witli the authority of a Cabinet Minister. No one in the 
French capital could have taken his visit in any other cap- 
acity. The good side of representative institutions appeared 
immediately after in the fact tliat the whole episode (which 
had been carefully kept from public knowledge) was dis- 
cussed under the privileges of the House of Commons, and the 
British public were asto'nished to discover that one of the few 
men with some official right to sp«ik in their name had been 
pursuing a policy which they cordially detest jand rtT'idiatc. 
Mr. Henderson, called upon to defend Jiiinself, put lorth the 
astouisliiug plea, that tnougli he was a Cabinet Minister 
he did not go abroad in the capacity of a Cabinet Minister 
but in the capacity of head of the Labour Party. The 
working part of the War Cabinet thereupon discussed the very 
unpleasant situation in which their colleague had landed 
them, and, to spare his feelings, kept him waiting for an 
hour in another room while they did so. It is to be feared 
that this indignity rankled and had something to do with the 
next development of an episode which is comic in spite of its 
grave result. 
The next step in the story is doubtful. Mr. Henderson 
says that he gave his colleagues to understand that he would 
influence the Labour Conference in favour of going to Stock- 
hohn ; all liis colleagues, however, are unanimous in saying 
he did tljc exact opposite, and gave them to understand he 
would work against so fatal a decision. The probabilities are 
in the nature of the case, very heavy against Mr. Henderson, 
since the Cabinet would certainly have taken action at once 
had they received the impression that their colleague was 
going to advise against the most vital interests of the 
nation. But apart from this there is the fact that Mr. Hender- 
son took the trouble to write a letter after he had made his 
speech to the Conference excusing himself to his cliief, the 
Prime Minister. There can be no reasonable doubt that the 
version put forward by all of, Mr. Henderson's colleagues is 
the true one and that he gave them the impression that he 
was going to work as the most elementary statesmanship 
required. Mr. Henderson, speaking at the Conference with 
all the authority of a Cabinet Minister (he has no other) 
i.e., as a man knowing what plain citizens cannot know, 
and as a man representing a national policy which must 
necessarily be kept secret, persuaded the Conference that 
delegates ought to go to Stockliolm, and the members present 
followed his lead. 
We all know the conclusion. Mr. Lloyd George's long and 
exceedingly plain-spoken letter, -Mr. Henderson's lame de- 
fence in the House of Commons, and Mr. Asquith's inter- 
vention, which recalled the fact that we were at war, and 
stilled the uproar. As we write these words the last develop- 
ment is that the Cabinet has decided against the issuing of 
passports, and it is to be hoped they will stand firm in this 
right decision. 
Of the many morals that may be drawn from this fiasco and_ 
the harm that it has already done, the clearest and the least 
debatable is the moral that Parliamentary methods which are 
the experience and habit of the ParUamentary politician 
do not make for decision, strength of will, and resolute action. 
The people most heavily to blame in the whole matter were 
not Mr. Henderson and his group, but Mr. Henderson's col- 
leagues. The responsibility was shirked, no definite fine was 
taken, but everybody left it to somebody else, and the result 
was what we have seen. Had the Cabinet spoken through any 
of its organs, in a firm and quite unmistakable manner, had it 
said; even as late as a fortnight ago, that there would be no 
traffic with such perilous nonsense as white flag parleying 
with the enemy by any section of the community^ and that 
such action was, in plain English, treason and to be punished 
as treason, the whole nation wftuld have vigorously applauded 
the act, have supported it, and would have felt that it was 
■ governed as men should be governed under the strain of war. 
Instead of that, there was a long shilly-shally, resulting 
as shilly-shallies always do, in a breakdown. If the lesson is 
learnt, at least so far as to guarantee us from such errors 
in the future, perhaps the anxiety which we have suffered 
during the last few days will not have been suffered in vain. 
The situation still requires very careful handling. 
It must be made quite clear that the Government in its 
action is not condemning any serious body of opinion, and 
above all that it is not showing contempt for the real voice 
of the working masses of the country — that vast majority upon 
which all public opinion, and therefore all proper conduct 
of the war, ultimately depends. There is no doubt whatso- 
ever of what that opinion is, of its patriotism or of its tenacity, 
but even " unpopular and discredited leaders " may become 
symbols of the popular power which they misrepresent, and no 
ground must be given for any compljiint upon their part that 
those for whom they say they ktand.^ayc been treated hghtly. 
