FABIAN <9~AGTI1S, Ro. 11. Wf?e ~or!iers' 'P!otifica£ 'P!rograntme. P UBLISHED BY THE FABIAN SOCIETY. Price One Penny. JUNE, 1890. FABIAN SOCIETY. FABIAN SOCIETY. T T HE FABIAN SOCIETY consists of Socialists. A statement of its Principles, Rules, Conditions of Membership, etc., can be obtained from the Secretary, at 2L Hyde Park Mansions, London, N.W. The undermentioned publications of the Society are still in print, and will be supplied by the Secretary, or by the FreethoughtPublishing Company, 63 Fleet Street, E .C. " FABIAN ESSAYS IN SOCIALISM." (Second Thoutand.) A full exposition of modern English Socialism in its latest and maturest phase. The book consists of eight monographs by Socialists who are known as practical speakers, writers, and political workers. The relation of Socialism to economic and moral science is dea!L with by G. Bernard Shaw and Sydney Olivier; itR evolutior~, as traced in the history of politics and industry, by Sidney Webb and William Clarke; its effect on politics in the immediate future by Hubert Bland and G. Bernard Shaw ; its consequences upon property and industry, by Graham Wallas and Annie Besant. The practical steps by which the transition to Social Democracy is likely to be effected are the subject of a separate essay. The frontls. piece aud decorations of the cover are from designs by Walter Crane and MayMorris. The book has been printed by Mr. Arthur Bonner, of 34 Bouverie Street, E.C., and bound by Messrs. James Burn & Co., of Kirby St., Hatton Garden. The character of these houses as employers of labor will bear the strictest enquiry. Price 6s. ; or, direct from the Secretary, for cath, 4s. 6d. (pottage 4td). FABIAN TRACTS. No. 1.-Why are the Many Poor P 15th thousand. Price 6 for ld., ls. per 100. No. 6 .-Facts for Socialists. A comprehensive survey of the distribution of income and the condition of classes in England, gathered from official returns, and from the works of weJI.known economists and statisticians. 15th thousand. 16 pp., ld. ; or 9d. per doz. No. 7 .-Capital and Land. A similar survey of the distribution of pro- perty, with a criticism of the distinction sometimes set up between Land and Capital as instruments of social wealth. lOth thousand. 16 pp., ld.; or 9d. per doz. No. 8 .-Facts for Londoners. An exhaustive collection of statistical and other information relating to the County and City of London, with suggestions for Reform on Socialist principles. 5th thousand. 56 pp., 6d.; or 4/6 per doz. No. 9 .-An Eight Hours Bill in the form of an amendment of the FactoryActs, with further provisions for the improvement of the conditions of Labor. Very full notes explain the principles and precedents on which the Bill is founded. A complete Jist of literature dealing with the question of the limitation of the hours of labor is apPf>nded. lOth thousand. 16 pp., ld. ; or 9d. per doz. No. 10.-Figures for Londoners (a short abstract of No.8). lOth thousand. 4 pp., 6 for ld., ls. per 100. · No. 11.-The Workers' Political P rogramme: with questions for Parliamentary candidates and reasons for asking tbem. 20 pp. ld. ; or 9d. per doz. No. 12.-Practicable Land Nationalization. A practical political pro- gramme for Land Nationalizers. 4 pp., 6 for ld., or ls. per 100. Further pamphlets will be issued from time to time. The meetings of the Society, for lectures and discussion, are held in the evenings of the first and third Fridays in each month. Tha LECTURE LIST, containing the names of more than fortylecturers, who offer their services gratuitously, may be obtained on application to the Secretary. Upwards of 1000 lectures were de- livered by members in the year ended in March 1890. @~EFlAGE. IN 1887 the Liberal party, through the Conference of the National Liberal Federation at Nottingham, put forward the following pro- gramme (in addition to Home Rule for Ireland) : "One Man One Vote" (this then meaning only the aboli tion of plural votes). "Free Land" (this meaning only power to buy and sell land as an ordinary commodity). "Disestablishment of the Church in Scotland and Wales." "Reform of Local Government." The party newspapers, with customary servility to their leaders, expressed satisfaction and delight at this paltry and inconsistent manifesto. Lord Randolph Churchill instantly capped it by offer • ing the same programme on behalf of "Tory Democracy," with the addition of (1) Departmental Economy, (2) Free Schools, and (3) Compulsory Employers' Liability. The Fabian Society thereupon issued a pamphlet entitled '' The True Radical Programme,'' in which it attacked the official leaders of the Liberal party for offering to the Radical working classes an old-fashioned middle-class Whig programme ; and roundly accused them of disaffection to the cause of the people. lt accused them, for instance, of " loud-mouthed denunciation of Coercion in Ireland, and silent approval of Coercion in England" ; and it flatly questioned the sincerity of the cry, "Remember Mitchelstown," with which Mr. Gladstone was then rallying the Liberal forces. This was in October 1887. In November 1887, the Govemment, through their Chief Commissioner of Police, Sir Charles Warren, forbade, by proclam!J,tion, a political meeting in Trafalgar Square, under a certain Act of Parliament (23 Vic. cap. 47). 'l'he Radicals of London examined this Act, and found that it gave the Chief Commissioner no such power as he claimed. They marched in unarmed processions to the Square, and were dispersed by the police with a violence which earned for that day (13th Nov. 1887) the name of" Bloody Sunday." Not a single Liberal member of Parliament went to the Squarewith the Radicals; and Mr. Gladstone hastened to pay complimentsto " our admirable police." Nothing was done by the Liberal leaders to countenance the Socialist member of Parliament (CunninghameGraham) and the Socialist working man (John Burns) who had been arrested for insisting on their right to speak in the Square, and who were sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment in January 1888. They were not indicted under the Act cited above. The Government had withdrawn that false pretence when compelled to sustain the illegalproclamation in the courts by argument instea.d of in the streets by force. 'J'he ll'orkus' Political J>,·og1'mltme. After Trafalgar Square, Social! t had no further difliculty in persuading the London Radical that the Liberal leader were hardly less disaffected towards the English working class than their Tory rivals. Within three months a powerful daily new paper, The Sta1·, was founded under the editorship of Mr. T. P. O'Connor, the well-known organizer of the Parnellite party. He at once found that the Liberals could only regain the support of the London worker bysubstituting for the Nottingham programme an advanced Radical programme on the lines indicated in the Fabian tract. By advocating this the paper achieYed a great political succes ; and the Liberal official ring became thoroughly frightened, the more o as the ToryGovernment "dished" the chief item in their programme by introducing, in March 1 88, the Local Government Act, which e tablished much more democratic County Councils than the Liberal party had eyer dared to commit itself to. The tone of the London Libe1·al and Radical Union steadily became more and more like that of the Metropolitan Radical Federation. In November 1888, the Liberal party confessed the meanness of its ottingham proceeding of the previous year by passing a series of comparatively reYolutionary re elution in favor of Public Payment of Returning Officers' Expense at Parliamentary Elections, Free Education, and Taxation of Ground Rent and Mining Royalties. But Payment of the Returning Officer i of little use witheut Payment of fembers; and a the Council of the National Liberal Federation refused to entertain a Raclical amendment introducing this reform, the Radicals perceived that the new resolution were a mere sop thrown to them, and were in no wn.y dictated by sincere Radical principle . Consequently the Radical agitation, e pecially in London, went on with undimini hed vigor; and the London School Board election inNov. 18 8 were contested on more ac1Yanced lines than had e\·er been ventured upon before, with the result that the greate ·t number of votes in Ea t London was secured by Mrs. Annie Besant, who wa in favor not only of abolition of all fees ("Free Education"), but of the provi ion of free meal for the children in Board Schools. At the fir t Countv ouncil election, in January 1 9, John Burns, the Trafa\aar Square prisoner, wa returned by 3,071 'i'te at the head of the poll for Batter ea; and the success of the other Progre i\·e candidate in London was the more remarkable, as the term was on!~ -applied to tho e who had returned favorable an ·wers to a searching list of que tion drawn up on frankly 'ocial-Democratic litw . The new School Board, and later the County Council, at once proceeded to con ider the question of the wages paid by its contractor to their workmen ; and re oh·ed only to employ "fair hou es." Such a thing had neYer been heard of in a public body before; and it would not haYe been heard of then had the Radical tamely ubmitted to the middle-cia s dictation of the Liberals. No sooner had Parliament risen that year than the Liberal leaders began in all directions to make peeche on "Social Reform." Theywere mo tly bad <;peeches, -,hewing that the speakers clites, their claim , as men, can never meet with adequate consideration. Local elf GoYernment can be but a The Wm·ke1·s' Political P1·ogramme. mockery to the poorer workers until it means the democratic control and administration not merely of a park or a sewer, but of the shopsand factories in which the worker has to earn his living. Therefore, we want to overthrow that infamous system of Protection to Private Enterprise by Prohibition of Public Enterprise, which has hitherto prevented the people from using their political organizations as industrial organizations, and thereby escaping in THE ONLY POSSIBLE PEACEFUL WAY from the slavery of private employment to the freedom of democratic co-operation. We want to substitute free and honorable municipal employment for charity, and to put a stop to the national wickedness of deliberately making our workhouses prisons, and our prisons hells, lest the wretched laborer should try to get into them as being preferable to the sweater's den, or the nail and chain forge. And we want to RESTORE the land and industrial capital of the country to the workers of the country, and so realize the dream of the Socialist on sound economic principles, by gradual, peaceful, and constitutional means. PROVISION OF EDUCATION AT PuBLIC CosT. We want a national system of education, Secular, Compulsory, and Technical, at the public eost, for all classes alike. But it is not enough to provide " free " schools, and " free " books, and "free" teachers for the children of our present population. We must feed them before their brains will work properly. We want, to begin with, one good meal a day for all children at Board Schools; and, if that is not sufficient, as much more as they need. The future welfare of the State depends on the health and education of its future citizens; and since our system leaves the parents individually too poor to look after them properly, the parents collectively, i .e., THE STATE, must. NATIONALIZATION OF CANALS AND RAILWAYS. Whatever hampers the traffic of the Nation hampers its Commerce, and so diminishes its prosperity. Nothing hampers traffic more than a system of railways and canals, broken up into separate sections, in the hands of separate bodies of shareholders, caring for nothing but the bigness of their dividends. They consider that the railways were made for the shareholders. We consider that the railways, equally with our public highways, were made for the nation, particularly as they were made originally, and are daily renewed as they wear out, not by the shareholders, but by wage· workers and salaried engineers, such wages and salaries being produced by other wage- workers, and intercepted by the shareholders as rent or interest before being passed on-less what the interceptors consume themselves- as wages paid out of capital. We want these interceptorspaid off, and the railway and canal system assimilated to the postal system. EIGHT HouRs DAY. We want the working day for, wage-workers in alii government and municipal offices and places of employment and in all monopolies to be limited to Eight Hours by statnte. We want a.n Hours of 1'he Workers' Political Progrwmne. Labor Bill which will enable labor organizations to obtain, bygovernment intervention, relief from excessive hours of toil as soon as a majority of them desire it, without resorting to the barbarous and dangerous expedient of a strike, with all its attendant tumult, its stoppage of work, its expense, its privations, its waste of savings, dismantling of homes, and its black harvest of ill-feeling between employer and employed, striker and blackleg. Experience shews that whilst the pre ent competitive-individualist system lasts, such Acts are necessary to prevent employers from inhumanly abusingtheir powers, and workers from working overtime with no permanentbenefit to themselves. As soon as the people are free enough to feel them as a restriction of their own liberty, they will be free enough to repeal them without opposition as obsolete statutes. But at presentthe hours of labor impo ed on the more helpless classes of wage- workers are literally murderous, and 11mst be restricted by law. PARISH CouNCILS. ·we want Parish Councils for the sake of the Agricultural Laborer, to whom the County Councils are of no use. At present, with his eleven shillings a week, and his enforced servility to the parson and to the farmer or squire, who have four-fold power over him as his employer, his landlord, his poor-law guardian, and his magistrate, he keeps down the standard of comfort for unskilled labor to the lowest point. In a recent London strike, the employers defeated the men by sending to the country for a body of agricultural labourers to take their places; and one of these poor blacklegs, on being remonstrated with by a "picket," said, " You can go where I came from and have my one and sixpence a day if you like.'' This shews how important it is for the town workers to help the country workers to better their position, so that they may no longer be tempted to crowcl into the towns and lower wages by competing for work there. The first thing to do to help them is to establish a democratic council in each parish to administer the public schools and the public provision for the aged, the sick, and the orphans ; with compulsory powers to acquire land for allotments and for building cottages on; and with power also to engage in co-operative farming, so as to enable the laborer to get his living and his homestead by working for a public body controlled by his vote and those of his fellow workers. He would find this a good deal pleasanter than living in a sty and touching his hat at every turn to the men who profit by his starvation and squalor. HoME RuLE- Home Rule is not a distinctively Radical measure: it is a Nationalist measure. For instance, Mr. Parnell and Mr. Davitt are both Nationalists; but in an Irish Parliament Mr. Parnell will lead the middle-class Whig party against Mr. Davitt, who is a working-cia s Radical. The principle of Radicalism is Equality of Rights, economic as well as political, so as to secure as far as possible equality of opportunity. The principle of Nationalism is the determination which every people bearing a distinctly marked national character shews, sooner The W01·kers' Politicctl P1·ogramme. <>r later, to govern itself in its own way, and to throw off the government of a different nation. Whether such government be good or bad, it be comes hated because it is foreign and unsympathetic; and in the .end it can only be maintained by the suspension of Radical Democracy and the introduction of Tory Coercion. The Italians would not be governed by the Austrians, nor the Greeks by the Turks. Poland hates the rule of Russia ; and Ireland protests against the rule of England, demanding to be federated with her as an equal and not ehained to her as a subject. Thorough-going Radicals have never denied this claim. Their advocacy of it is not, like that of the Glad- stonian Liberals, the effect of a four-year-old conversion ; for the demand for " Repeal of the Union " was seconded in 1841 by the English Radicals. Of late years "Unionism" bas become mainly a pretext for postponing English social reforms and for accustoming the public to the most dangerous infringements of the rights of free speech, public meeting, and the liberty of the press. This in itself is -sufficient reason for getting rid of it, even for those who attach no importance to the principle of Nationalism. The above programme is sufficient for the present to fill the hands of the True Workers' Party-the New Radical Party-in a word, the Practical Socialist Party. It consists of measures bearing directly and immediately on the health and prosperity of the mass of the nation. It goes in true Radical fashion to the root of that great evil of class monopoly of Land and Capital of which the House of Lords, the sinecurists, the pensioners, the corruption of the Church, the class bias of our Courts of Justice, the neglect and eruelty in our W orkbouses and Prisons, the sloth, selfishness, and .evil example of the Idle Rich, and the drunkenness and degradation of the ignorant and overworked Laborer, are all merely the branches. Middle-class politicians may continue issuing programmes .as if these things did not exist or did not matter; but the test of the true Worker-Politician is his determination to place them first in the list of evils to be eradicated. How TO SET To WORK. How this Workers' Political Prog1;amme can be.carried throughParliament is shewn by the political history of the last four years, alluded to in the preface. Acts of Parliament cannot be passed into law without securing the support of Members of Parliament, and (such is the management of legislation) practically not even then unless the Ministry of the day adopts them. Therefore the" Worker's Political Programme" must be forced upon every candidate for Parliament, and driven down the throat of every Cabinet Minister. No amount of popular desire for this Programme will command Parliamentary and Ministerial support until the popular will reaches the Government through the recognized political channels. The agri. cultural laborer bas for generations groaned under local tyranny, :for want of sufficient knowledge to make his political power felt. Electors at present use their right of voting by ballot once in every Jour or five years ; but two-thirds of the adult population are not Tlte lVm·ke/'8' Political Programme. e\'en electors. Every person can, however, exercise powerful influence by taking part in the local political associations, by formingspecial committees to promote particular reforms, and by "heckling" Parliamentary candidates and members. Every ward meeting, everycouncil meeting, every executive meeting of every political association or club ought to pass resolutions declaring its own political demands. These resolutions should be sent to the Secretary of the National Liberal Federation, 42 Parliament Street (and if relating to London, also to the Secretary, London Liberal and Radical Union, Suffolk House, Laurence Pountney Lane, E.C.), as well as to the newspaper& and the local M.P. and candidate. Every working men' club oughtto appoint a committee to draw up the political programme desired by its members. But perhaps the most effective means of impressing. Parliament would be by the full discharge of the duty of "heckling" and the con taut use of the following RADICAL QuESTIONS for Parliamentary candidates. Persons eeking votes naturally prefer to set forth only such of their opinions as are likely to e cape disapproval or controversy. On all really "burning" que tions, except the party cry of the moment, candidates are apt to be either silent or purposely vague and ambiguou . Thu , a capitalist manufacturer will very likely be eloquent on Home Rule; but he will rlodge, if he can, the subjectof a Graduated Income Tax or the Eight Hours Bill. Many election addre es nowadays might be s1gned by "Mr. Facing-Both-Ways." A candidate who talks about ''Reform of the Land Laws" may mean either "Land Nationalization" or it opposite, "Peasant Proprietorship," or perhaps only "Abolition of Primogeniture and Entail"; whilst "The Better Housing of the Poor" may stand either for the real remedy (Municipal Dwellings) or merely some scheme of 5 per cent. private philanthropy. It is the duty of earnest electors to get at the truth by probingthe candidate's mind with carefully framed questions. These can be t be a ked at the semi-private meeting at which the candidate u ually i elected. They should be mercilessly pressed, and clear an wers in i ted upon. Practically, however, the bulk of the electors can only ratify or reject at public meetings the choice already n1ade by the Executive Committee of the local political a sociation. The questions on such occa ions should be clearly written on lip of paper and sent up to the Chairman. Question may al o usefully be addressed to the candidate by post (stamp for reply being enclosed). It would be u eful if the candidate' an wers were reported to the organization& (if any) which are workina for the particular reform referred to. The Worlcm·s' Political P1·ogntmrne. Questions for Parliamentary Candidates. [It is assumed that the official Liberal Programme of " reforms urgentlyneeded," and "questions ripe for settlement," as declared at Manchester bythe Conference of the National Liberal Federation in December, 1889, maybe taken as the least that a Radical can accept from any candidate. Conservatives may equally be questioned on this programme whenever they profess -as they usually do-to be more eager for Social Reform than their rivals]. THE OFFICIAL LIBERAL PROGRAMME. I. Jt~stice to Ireland. 1. The establishment of an Irish legislative body for the management of exclusively Irish affairs. 2. Condemnation of any scheme of Land Purchase in Ireland which would entail a risk of burdening the British taxpayers for the benefit of Irish landlords. NoTE.-This is apparently a frank enough repudiation of Mr. Gladstone's Land Purchase Scheme of 1886. As Mr. Henry George says, "Don't buythe landlords out; don't kick them out; but TAX them out." But Mr. John Morley and others have since referred to the matter in more evasive terms, a11d may again bring forward propcsalsto settle the Irish Land Question, not on the sound Radical lines of helping an Irish Parliament to secure the land to be held by the State inalienably for the whole Irish nation, but to buy out the present landlords for a set of new ones called peasant proprietors. This would merely re-establish the old mischief on a broader basis, and thoughthe Irish may have a right to do it for themselves if they like, for us to do it for them would be the worst kind of reactionary legislation. Hence ask all candidates for a clear answer on this point. II. Electoral Reform. 1. The amendment of the Registration Laws for Parliamentaryand other elections by the appointment of responsible Registration Officers ; by reducing the qualifica- QUESTIONS. I. 2. Will you oppose any attemptedsettlement of the Irish Land Question which does not leave the matter to be settled by an Irish Parliament? Will you oppose any scheme, bywhatsoever Government it may be brought forward, for buying out Irish or other landlords with the view of creating a new class of landowners under the name of "peasant proprietors'' or " occupying owners "? II. 1 . Will you strive to obtain genuine "Manhood Suffrage": that is, such an alteration of the RegistrationLaws as will aim at giving every man a vote, subject only to the re The lVorkers' Political Prog1·amme. tion to a minimum period of residence without restriction to any particular house; and by such other means as will secure that every qualified person shall be enabled to exercise his electoral rights. NoTE.-What is meant by a·'qualified person ''? At present one-third even of the adult men are not qualifiedto vote. 2. The basing of the Franchise solely on the principle of " one man one vote." 3. The public provision of the necessary cost of Parliamentaryelections. NOTE.-lf elections cease to involve expen c to candidates, these will be multiplied, and " econd Ballot" will be required to ensure representationof the majority. The London Liberal and Radical nion, in November, 18 9, in vain urged this reform on the National Liberal Federation. 4. The "recognition of the principle" of the payment of Members of Parliament by the State. NOTE.-This is mere shuffling. Liberall\ l.P.s know that an effective measure would mean the dismissal of many of the present capitali t member . lnsi t on a plain statement as to it. 5. The holding of elections for all constituencies on the same day. 6. The "mending or ending" of the House of Lords. YOTE.-ThiR is purposely vague, 11s some Liberals de in: to streng-then the l;pper House by reform, which would enable it to be an even more effective check to the popular demands than at pre ent. Thauk God we hare a Hou e of Lr, rds, and not a cunning-ly dt!vised and powerful l::'~uatl•, forming an in•pregnable citad,·l f.,r tbe so-called " Right of ProJJcrty" '? 7. The shortening of the legal term of Parliaments. quirements absolutely neces aryfor making up a Regi ter ?~ Will you support the grant of the Franchi e to women on the ame terms as to men ? 2. Do you.by "one man one vote" mean "every man a vote"? 3· Will you, in order to pre,·ent a solid minority outvoting a di \ ided majority, press for the introduction of the "Second Ballot " at Parliamentary election ? 4· Will you press for the direct payment of all Members of Parliament by the State '? 6. Will you vote against the continuance of any hereditary le!ri lators what oever? 15 The lVo1·kers' Political Programme. III. Financial Rejonn. 1. The equitable re-adjustmentof the incidence of local and imperial taxation. NoTE.-Ambiguous in the extreme. No one can say what this means. If you really want Financial Reform you must ask for specific measures. Rt>member that incomes derived from the mere ownership of land and capitalusually pay at present a much smaller proportion in taxes than incomes derived from labor; and that nearly all members of Parliament b~:nefit pecuniarily by this unfair system. 2. The completion of the policyof a " Free Breakfast Table" bythe abolition of the duties on all necessary foods. NOTE.-Liberals have professed themselves in favor of this for a whole generation, but have never yet found opportunity to carry it out! 3. The equalization of the Death Duties as between real and personal property. NoTE.-Bnt the Death Duties oughtalso to be much increased on the larger estates. Mr. Goschen introduced the Jll·inciple of graduation in 18!59. As regards the need for a Metropolitan Death Duty, to secure to the London County Council some of " Lond011' s Unearned Increment" now accruinl( to the Grouud Landlords, see Facts fin· Lo11dmwrs (Fabian Tract No. 8). 4. The taxation of land values, ground rents and mining royalties. NOTE.-Consult on this subject Fabian Tract Ko. 7, CajJital and Lantl. But eveu l\lr. John l\lorley has expressed the view that the State should own the minerals. 5. The just appportionment, as between owner and occupier, of all rates anr1local charges. N0n.-Nothin.-. is said as to the met hoc\ of dealing with existing con- III. 1. Will you press at the first opportunity for the graduationand differentiation of the Income Tax, so as to press more heavily on hrge and unearned incomes than on small and earned ones? Will you resist any further grantH in aid of local rates from national funds? Are you in favor of the specialtaxation as well as rating of Town Ground Rents and Values? 2. Will you~ on the first Budget, press for the total abolition of the duties on tea, cocoa, and coffee, by means of the substitution for .. them of a direct TAx ON LAND VALUES, without necessarily awaiting the existence of a surplus ? 3· Will you press for an increase of the Death Duties, graduated so a.s to fall more heavily on all large inheritances? Will you support a specialDeath Duty for Municipal purposes on the '' unearned increment " of urban land values? 4· Will you press for the Re-assesment of the Land Tax on the full yearly valne of the land to·day, instead of (as at present) on the value which it had in 1692? Will you urge the nationalization of mining rents and mining royalties? 5. Will you press for the fair division of the existing local rates between owner and occupier, any agreement to the contrary notwithstanding? The TVo1 kers' Political Proyrmnme. tracts. "\Vhen tbe Income Tax waR imposed (in JS-1:2) the amount placedupon the landlord was made payableby him any agreemeut to the coutrarynotwithstanding. "\Vithout such a clause, the tenants would have had to pay the tax on the laudlord't! income. This arran<>ement is the mo t practical form of the Taxation of Ground Rents. noccupied land (even if merely" held for a rise ") escapes at pre ent all rates and taxes. IV. Land Rej01·m. 1. The amendment of the system of the tenure and transfer of land. 2. The ecuring to tenants of compensation for all their improvements. 3. "Leasehold Enfranchisement" (.) 4. The facilitation and further public provision of allotments and small holdings. 5. Exten ion and simplificationof power for compul ory takingof land by local authorities. Will you support the proposa.! of the London County Council for the eparate as e ment of Land Values apart from Hou e Values"! Will you press for giving prompt legislatiYe effect to the recommendation of the RoyalCommission on the Hou ing of the Working Classe that vacant land should be as es ed to local rates as if yielding an income of 4 per cent. on it selling value? IV. 1 . Will you support measures enabling the community to appropriate for public purpo es, a far a this i practicable, the " unearned increment'' of Land Value? 3· Will you resist any attempt to create a new tatutory cia s of freeholder under the guise of " Enfranchised Leaseholder "'? Will you Yote against the Lea eholder ' Enfranchisement Bill? 4· Will you press for the grant of ample compulsory powers to all local authorities (including Parish Council ) to acquire land to be let out-not sold-in allotments and small tenancies ? Will you strenuously re i t any attempt to create additional landowner (under the guise of pea ant proprietors) at the public expense or by public guarante '? 5. Will you urge the retention byall public authoritie of all land now owned by them, o a to ecm·e to the public the future " unearned increment"? \Viii you re i t the ale of any public land (including rown land , charity property or Church glebe ), or the extinction of the public right over commons'! The vVorken' Political P1'0gmmme. 6. The reform of the system of compensation to owners of pro[ perty used for public purposes. NoTE.-The suhject of Land Reform is one on which much evasiou is practised by candidates. l\lany of them are still wedded to the obsolete ideal of lPeasant Proprietorship. ·• Reform of the Land Laws " is the phrase most commonly used to conceal their views. It will be noted that " Leasehold Enfranchisement " still stultifies the official !Liberal programme, thouah it has been omitted from that of the"London Lib~ ral Members and Candidates. The onlyjSound reform which could possibly come under the head of "Leasehold Enfranchisement" would be a measure enabling tenants of Leaseholds to obtain compensation for improvements. In cases where the tenant is a democratic representative body, power to enfranchise the leasehold would of course be unobjectionable. V. Social Rejonns. 1. The extension of full municipal powers to the London CountyCouncil and all representative governing bodies. 2. The development and completion of Local Government bythe creation of District and Parish Councils. NOTE.-lt is important to lay stress on Pm·ish Councils. Nothing else will , be of use to the agricultural laborer. Parishes too small for separate Couucils can be grouped with their neighbors. 3. The extension of the FactoryActs. v. 1 . Will you press for a measure conferring upon the London and other County Councils the full control over the local police? Will you vote in favor of allowing the London .CountyCouncil to permit and regulatemeetings in Trafalgar Square ? Will you grant to the Town and County Councils full powers to d1· rectly undertake provision for the supply of water, gas ancl tramwaysand such other public services as it may be called upon by its constituents to enter upon? 2. Will you resist any attempt to impose any pecuniary or l"atingqualification for membership of the Parish or District Councils ? Will you o~pose any attemptto form the Parish and District Councils otherwise than entirelyby direct election. 3 Will you vote for the EightHours Bill for Miners? The Workers' Political Programme. 18 XoTE.-Does this vague phrn e mean anything? "Extension" to what or to whom? All candidates shvuld be trongly pressed to explain their meaning on this point. No Bill for the Extension of the Factory Acts has yetbeen introduced or de cribed by any of the Liberal leaders. ~OTE.--e Fabian Tract No. !l, An Eir;ht lloUI·s Bill, in the jimn of em .lmcl/( lmuil of the Factory Arts, price ld. , , 4. The popular control of the Liquor Traffic. 5. The adequate public provision of Dwellings and Lodgingsfor the Working Clas&es. NOTE.-lnsist on a definite statement a to the building and maintenance of artizans' dwellin~s by the elected local authoritie themselves-not by auy .. philanthropic " company or speculativebuilder. 6. The provision of Free Education, of ontinuation, Interm diate and T chnical Schools. • OTE.-Beside the so-called " volunta. ry'' chools for elementary education, the econdary chool sadly need public organi:r:ation and control. The whole of the existing colleges for tminiulo:( teachers are denominational, and mauag d in ectarian intt:re t , ulthough virtually upported from public fund . o college exi t in which a non-bri tiau teacher can obtain training without conforming to a relia10n in "hich he does not believe. Will you insist on " an EightHour Day" for tdl public servants'? Will you insist thn.t, where tho direct emplo) ment of labor bypublic n.uthorities i not pos'ible, only " fair houses " houlcl be employed, n.nd ub·contracting prohibited or strictly regulated'? Will you pre s for the legallimitation of the hours of work of Railway Servants'? Will you support n. measure enabling local authoritie to limit, if thought fit, the maximum hours of work on tramways and other local monopolies? Will you press for the 'pecial exten ion and deYelopment of the Factory Acts necessary to mitigate " sweating" in London '? Will you support such an "EightHours Bill " as that drafted by the Fabian Society? 5. Are you in favor of the grantof full powers to enable local authorities (both urban and rural) them lves to build and maintain dwellings, to be let at " fair rent " '? 6. Will you support the provi~>iou from public funds, and the management by elected publicauthorities, of Continuation, ,'econdary aud Technical chool '! Will you press for the e~tabli hment of training colleges for teacher , free from any relibriou!> te t, and exclusively under publiccontrol? The Wo1·kers' Political Programme. 19 ~OTE.-Over 43,000 children go to school in London without adequatebreakfast. (See Report of Committee of London School Board, 1889.) 7. The application of tithes in Wales to national purposeR. 8. Disestablishment in Scotland and Wales. 9. The promotion of International Arbitration. NoTE.-Nothing is yet stated in the official Liberal programme as to any reform of the Poor Law; but Mr. John Morley has given this as one of the prominent desires of the Liberal party. See his Eighty Club speech, Nov. 17th, 1889. Do you agree that free meals must without delay be provided out of public funds for all destitute children not otherwise adequately fed? Will you urge the provisionfrom public funds of amplescholarships, so as to make an effective "ladder to the University" for all? Will you press for a reform of the Poor Law so as to remove all stigma of dishonor from the publicprovision for persons destitute through no fault of their own? Will you press for a system of honorable pensions for the aged, .. instead of the workhouse? Will you press for the removal of the rating qualification for Poor Law Guardians and the regulationof Guardian elections, under the system of "one man one vote" byballot? Will you support the creation of a single "Poor Law Council" for London (with local committees), and the equalization of the London Poor Rate ? G. STANDRING, PRINTER, 7, & 9, FINSBURY STREET, LONDON, E.C. PcniOit.~ i-nterested in ocialis11t might usefully read !Itt• follrll"hl(/ ilttroductory 1"0rk,~, in additiou to those ?Witnd in tltf prt(ar·e : 'OCIALI ·~r IN ENGLAND, by 'mNEY \VEnn. An exhaustive description of the existing movement towards 'ocialism in English life, thought, and politics. Price half-a-crown. (London: onnen chein, 1:1, Paternoster ~quare, E.C.) A -APPEAL TO TRii YOUNG, translated from the Freuch of l'mlirr KnoPOTKlN. A stin ing explanation of the need for action. Price one peun:v. (London: l\Iodern Pres, 13, Paternoster Row. E..; \\'.Reeves, HI.), F'leet treet, E.C.; or office of J11.-tirc, :1:li, trand, W. MODEl{N ' OC'IALI'l\I, by ANNIE .BE ANT. A historical and explanatorysketch of the foundation and aims of the present ocialist movement. Price 6d. (London: 63, Fleet ' treet, E.C.) WA(:t::-LA130R AXD APITAL, from the German of KAnL l\JAR:O., by,J. L. ,Jo\ NES. A clear ac~'ount of the economic force and their result on wages and profit8. Price one pennv. (London: OfficP of 111.,/it·f, :);li. ' trand, "r· . ; or W. Reeves, lHi), Fleet Street, E.('.) TilE ' O('IAL RECOX 'THl.JC:TIOX OF ENGLAXD. Ly II. ~l. IhND- l!AN. An account of England as it might be. Price Hd. (London: "'· Reeves, 1R5, Fleet treet. E. .) USEFCL WORK vn-.~~~.~ SJ.;L,ES TOIL, by W!LLlA)! 1\lonH!s. An analy~i of modPrn industry. Price one penny. (London: RocinliRt League Office, :14, Great Queen 'treet, W ..) '()('lALISl\l IX THEORY AND PHAC:TJ E. by Professor KAIH. l'un:-. oN. An economical and historical exposition. Price :!d. (Louuou: W. RPeve~, 1H5, Fleet Street, E..) TilE ETlll .\.L .BA 'lS OF 'O('fALI .M, by Professor KAI!L PEARSO~. An ethical ju tification of ocialism. Price ~d. (London : "'· Heeve., u.;;l. Fleet 'treet, E.C.) i':;>,(~L.\:\1)"::) JDEAL, by Et11\.\l!U Jtl'l..liTl..Il. A collection of e .ays adtlr.:~ etl Rpecially to the rich and middle cla. es. Price one shilling. ( London: ~onnenschein, 1:!. Paterno ter 'quare, E.C.) A:\ E~, by Ern1.1Rn B1 LL.\m. A htch of a t-iociah t l10pw, 1.u. :!IIUIJ l'nce one Hhilliu!. (London · "'· Recn.. p,;•. Fleet t1 l·ct. E.C.)