ftABIAN <9~AGTDS, !10. 11. ~f)e ~orfters' ~ofifica£ ~rograntnte. PUBLISHED BY THE FABIAN SOCIETY. PRICE ONE PENNY. To be obtained also from the Secretary, at the Fabian Society's Office, 276, Strand, London, W .G. 1891. ftABIAN <9~AGTDS, !10. 11. ~f)e ~orfters' ~ofifica£ ~rograntnte. PUBLISHED BY THE FABIAN SOCIETY. PRICE ONE PENNY. To be obtained also from the Secretary, at the Fabian Society's Office, 276, Strand, London, W .G. 1891. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & eo. THE SOCIAL SCIENCE SERIES. Each 2f6. NEWEST VOLUMES. THE LONDON PROGRAMME. SwNEY W~oo, LL.B THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT. DEATRIC& PoTTER. ORIGIN OF PROPERTY IN LAND. FusTEL O& CouLANGE, wiJh an Important Introduction on the Enrl"h Manor b)• Profe,,or W. J ASIILKT. 26. EVOLUTION OF PROPERTY. PAUL LAFARGU2. 27. CRIME AND ITS CAUSES. W DouGLAS !'>ioRRISON, of H.M. Pri,on, Wand,worth. 28. PRINCIPLES OF STATE INTERFERENCE. D (,, RITCIII&, M.A. (Oxon.). 29. GERMAN SOCIALISM AND F. LASSALLE. W. H DAw&oN. 30. THE PURSE AND THE CONSCIENCE . 11. W. THO>~PSON, B.A. (Cantab.). PREVIOUS VOLUMES. WORK AND WAGES. Profes or J. E. TIIOROLD RoG&Rs. 1. 2. CIVILISATION: ITS CAUSE AND CURE. EowARD CARPENTER. "No p .-ing piece or lt·mu:-., !Jut a pe:nnanent ~"-e<'-ton ·-s(ot/islt Rn·itw. 3. QUI TESSENCE OF SOCIALISM. Dr. SellA> >LE. "Preci cly the manual needed. Brief, lucid, fair, and wi e -Bu"tlsh lVakly. 4. DARWINISM AND POLITICS. D. G. RtTCHI&, 1\I.A. (Oxon.). "One of the most sug· g_e~tive book~ we ha,·e met with -Litaary \\'or/d. 5. RELIGION OF SOCIALISM. E. BEL>'ORT flAX 6. ETHICS OF SOCIALISM. E. llELPORT !lAx. 7. THE DRINK QUESTION. Dr. KAT& MITCIIELL. PROMOTION OF GENERAL HAPPINESS. Prof. M. JIIACN!LLAN. "The moSI advanced and mo~t enlightened utilitarian doctrine. -S/(t/snw "· 8. 9. ENGLAND'S IDEAL, &c. EDWARD CARI'ENT> R "The litemry power 1 unmi,takable," !'all ,1/a/1. 10. SOCIALISM IN ENGLAND. S10NFY WKnn, LL.B. "The best general ''"w of the !.Uh.\:CI ·AihtiiQ"UIII. 11. PRI CE BISMARCK AND STATE SOCIALISM. W. H DAwsoN. "A well·d1ge•ted v1ew ... or Gt:rman -;m·ial and tconom tc legt~lation smce rH]O. ·-aitoday Rn•im· 12. GODWIN'S POLITICAL JUSTICE (ON PROPERTY). Edited by H. S. SALT. "Shows <.Jodw1n at hi!oo ht:... t ; \\ ith an mttrt:~ting and informing introduction. -Glasgow 1/uald. 13. STORY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. E BEL>ORT BAx. "A tru.tworthy outline." -,\t'(l/flllllll, ! 4. THE CO-OPERATIVE COMMONWEALTH . L.\URENCE GRONLU~o. "An independent t xpo,itlt~n ot the Sociali~;,m or the Marx school -CtmltmfMal)' Rtt·uw. 16. ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES. btRNARD BOSANQURT, M.A (Oxon.). " Oughtt<> be in the hand' nf t\t'f\' tudl·nt ol tht Nineteenth Century spirit. -Echo 16. CHARITY ORGANISATION. C. S Loc11, t-<:retary to Charity Organiope 11 will be rend hy all landow neh, large and 'mall.'·-f(dnh r 26. IN ACTIVE PREPARATION. PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. Profe sor ). K. INGRA>J. THE DESTITUTE ALIEN IN ENGLAND. ARNOLD W111n and others- CRIMINAL ANTHROPOLOGY . M C. Lo>lnRoso. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. P1olt,,or PIZZA>UGLIORt. MALTHUS'S ESSAY ON POPULATION. F.dt1ed bv A K. Do~ALD. THE STUDENT'S MARX : AN ABRIDGMENT OF lU:5 "CAPITAL." THE LABOUR PROBLEM. LANG£. ~:dill·d hv Rev l ARTER SOCIAL DEMOCRACY : PART 11. OF HIS " QUINTESSENCE." Dr ScuAFrL&. Edlltd by B. BosANQUn, M.A !Oxon.). THE ENGLISH REPUBLIC. W. J. L1NTON OUTLOOKS FROM THE NEW STANDPOINT. E. BttroRT BAx POPULAR GOVERNMENT. Prof.-,or Dt LnrL n COMMUNISM AND ANARCHISM . R W lluR~Ia. MODERN HUMANISTS. 1,. \I RoonT 011 NEIGHBOURHOOD GUILDS. Dr. STANTON ColT COLLECTIVISM AND SOCIALISM. A 'Aot n . THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT. I RoC\IUAI~ UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. M E SADL&R. SO CHE CO., PATERNOSTER SQUARE, E.C. PREFACE. IN 1887, the Liberal party, through the Conference of the Nationa 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). "Disestablisbment 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 inconsi,stent manifesto. Lord Randolpb 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 there- upon 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. It 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 Mitcbelstown," with which Mr. Gladstone was then rallying the Liberal forces. This was in October, 1887. In November, 1887, the Government, through their Chief Com- missioner of Police, Sir Charles Warren, forbade, by proclamation, a political meeting in Trafalgar Square, under a certain Act of Par- liament (23 Vie., cap. 47). The Radicals of London examined this Act, and found that it gave the Chief Commissioner no such power as be claimed. They marched in unarmed procession 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 compliments to " our admirable police." Notbing was done by the Liberal leaders to countenance the Socialist member of Parliament (CunningbameGrabam) 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. Theywere 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, instead of in the streets byforce. PREFACE. IN 1887, the Liberal party, through the Conference of the Nationa 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). "Disestablisbment 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 inconsi,stent manifesto. Lord Randolpb 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 there- upon 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. It 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 Mitcbelstown," with which Mr. Gladstone was then rallying the Liberal forces. This was in October, 1887. In November, 1887, the Government, through their Chief Com- missioner of Police, Sir Charles Warren, forbade, by proclamation, a political meeting in Trafalgar Square, under a certain Act of Par- liament (23 Vie., cap. 47). The Radicals of London examined this Act, and found that it gave the Chief Commissioner no such power as be claimed. They marched in unarmed procession 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 compliments to " our admirable police." Notbing was done by the Liberal leaders to countenance the Socialist member of Parliament (CunningbameGrabam) 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. Theywere 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, instead of in the streets byforce. 4 The Workers' Political Progmmrne. Aiter Trafalgar Square, Socialists had no further difficulty in persuading the London Radicals that the Liberal leaders were hardly less disaffected towards the English working class than their Tory rivals. Within three months a powerful daily newspaper, The Star, 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 workers bysubstituting for the Nottingham programme an advanced Radical programme on the lines indicated in the Fabian tract. By advocating this the paper achieved a great political success; and the Liberal official ring became thoroughly frightened, the more so as the ToryGovernment "dished" the chief item in their programme by introducing, in March, 1888, the Local Government Act, which established much more democratic County Councils than the Liberal party had ever dared to commit itself to. The tone of the London Liberal 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 Nottingham proceedings of the previous year by passing a series of comparatively revolutionary resolutions in favor of Public Payment of Returning Officers' Ex '( penses at Parliamentary Elections, Free Education, and Taxation of Ground Rents and Mining Royalties. But Payment of the Returning Officer is of little use without Payment of Members; and as the Council of the National Liberal Federation refused to entertain a Radical amendment introducing this reform, the Radicals perceived tha.t the new resolutions were a mere sop thrown to them, and were in no way dictated by sincere Radical principles. Consequently the Radical agitation, especially in London, went on with undiminished vigour; and the London School Boardelectionsin Nov., 1888, were contested on more advanced lines than had ever been ventmed upon before, with the result that the greatest number of votes in East London was secured by Mrs. Annie Besant, who was in V favor, not only of abolition of an fees(" Free Education "), but of the 11 provision of free meals for the children in Board Schools. At the first County Council election, in January, 1889, John Burns, the Trafalgar Square prisoner, was returned by 3,071 votes at the head of the poll for Battcrsea; and the success of the other Progressivecandidates in London was the more remarkable, as the term was only applied to those who had returned favourable answers to a. searching list of questions drawn up on frankly Social-Democratic lines. The new School Board, and later the County Council, at f once proceeded to consider the question of the wages paid by its contractors to their workmen; and resolved only to employ " fair houses." Such a thing had never been heard of in a public body before ; and it would not have been heard of then had the Radicals tamely submitted to the middle-class dictation of the Liberals. No ooner had Parliament risen that year tLan the Liberal leaders began in all directions to make speeches on " Social Reform." They were mo tly bad peeches, shewing that the speakers did not understand working-class politics; but they showed how the wind wa blowing. Many of the Metropolitan Liberal and Radical Associations. The Workers' Political Programme, led by South St. Pancras, passed a strong series of resolutions improving on the Birmingham programme. In December, 1889, the annual Liberal Conference was held at Manchester ; and this time, instead of refusing to consider Payment of Members, they not only putforward Mr. Stansfeld to propose a resolution in its favor, but actually had the impudence to declare, through him (after opposing it ever since 1832) that it is " a necessary part of the Liberal pro- gramme.'' But when a Radical amendment in favor of an EightHours Bill was proposed, the old Liberal hostility to Radicalism broke out again; and they refused to allow the amendment even to be put to the Conference. The London workers answered this renewed attempt to ignore them by turning out, a quarter of a million strong, on the 4th May, 1890, to demonstrate in Hyde Park in favor of the Eight Hours Day. Next year, if the Radicals continue to threaten the Liberals instead of blindly cheering for them, they will swallow the Eight Hours Bill as they have had to swallow Paymentof Members. One small result of this change in politics has been to revive the demand for the Fabian Tract " The True Radical Programme.' ' Some of it, however, is by this time a stale pennyworth. In response to the demand, the rest of it is now reprinted with such comments as are necessary, and with the additions for which the time is ripe. A summary of the present " official " Liberal Programme is appended, with questions and information for the use of Radicals who desire to employ their political influence in the most effective manner. It is unnecessary now to give much attention to the programmeswith which Lord Randolph Churchill still from time to time trumpsthe Liberal cards. For Lord Randolph Churchill can only carry his proposals into law by the support of the Tory Party, which declines to listen to them. It is easy to see that a Tory cannot be a true Radical. But what people are not used to yet is the more important, because half-hidden truth, that the Tory party is now a Whig party, and that those Liberals who are only Whigs (whether they are Home Rulers or not) are just as bad as the so-called Tories. The Radical party will never do anygood until it drives all the mere Liberals out after Lord Hartington and Mr. Goschen; and fills their places with genuine representatives of the workers. It will do so the moment it is in a position to choose its own leaders ; and it can attain that position by adopting and carrying out the Workers' Political Programme. The Workers' Pol1tical Progmmrne. 6 The Workers' Political Progran1me.· --:o:--· WE WANT ADULT SUFFRAGE, PARLIAMENTARY AND MUNICIPAL. Why? If you don't know why, you are no true Radical. The Women must have a voice in the making of the laws, because the women work under the laws; pay for the laws ; and have to submit to the laws. And the paupers must vote because, since, if the laws were just there need be no paupers, the paupers have the first right to a voice in altering the unjust laws by which they are the greatest sufferers. As to the incorrigible idlers, they are mostly rich people who have not one but several votes apiece already. Remember that in the language of politics, people who have no votes are roughs, scum, dregs, mob, riff·raff, and residuum; but people who have votes are " Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen," "IndependentElectors," "Men of England," or "Friends and Fellow Citizens." • We want all Adults to be" Fellow Citizens." One-1\lan-one-Vote, registration reform, polling on the same day throughout the kingdom at general elections, and payment of the Returning Officer out of public funds, though they make up the total of the proposedLiberal measure, will be only minor business details in the true Workers' Franchise Bill. PAYMENT OF MEMBERS A 'D OF ELECTIO:-\ EXPENSES. Why pay Members? Simply because there must be genuine workers inside Parliament to uphold the interests of the workers outside; and they cannot live on air whilst they are doing this. Working-class members cannot now afford to go into Parliament because their constituents cannot afford to keep them there, having barely enough to live on themselves. Even if members were paid so much per day, as they are in France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, the United States, Canada., Newfoundland, Victoria, outh Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, New Zealand, &c., the expenses of standing for Parliament at present are enough by themselves to keep poor men (i.e., workingmen) from even thinking of it. A candidate has usually to guarantee the rent of an office, and the salaries of one or two clerks some years before the election, to work up the register and defend it against the objections lodged in the interest of the other side. When the election comes off, he has to pay for the printing of his election address, its insertion in the newspapers, and its distribution at the houses of the voters. He has to pay for the halls in which he holds meetings, and for the printing and posting of bills to make the e meetings known. He has to pay his share of the expenses of the Returning Officer, which may arsount to several hundred pounds; and even then, he has to pay in addition the cost of notifying to each • Numerous deta.il of the Programme receive further notice in tho Questions which follow this general tatement. The WoTke1·s' Political P1·ogramme. elector the places of polling. Few men will venture to face a parliamentary candidature, even when they can depend on a gooddeal of voluntary help, unless they can afford to spend a thousand pounds on it. If we had adult suffrage ten times over, working men could not get into Parliament if they still had to bear these monstrous expenses for doing the work of the public. Nothing but Parliaments of rich men can come out of such a system. At presentthere are five adult male wage-workers to every one gentleman in the country; but in Parliament the proportion is fifty-five gentlemen to one working-class representative-a pretty result of the Liberal and Tory Reform Bills which gave working men the vote without abolishing, as Radicals demanded, those pecuniary barriers to the House of Commons which have practically the effect of a heavyproperty qualification. That House is now full of men who live upon Rent and Interest. The less of the national produce goes in Wages, the more is left for Rent and Interest. That means that the House of Commons is full of men with a direct pecuniary interest in keeping wages as low and workmen as submissive as possible. In future, we must fill Parliament and the Local Governing Bodies with men who kuow what it is to work for wages ; and they must have enough to live suitably upon whilst discharging their publicduties. The registers should be made up at short intervals by publicofficers responsible under penalties for the omission of any dulyqualified voter. All necessary expenses of election should be defrayed from public funds; and any attempt on the part of a candidate to supplement these by private expenditure should be deemed a corrupt practice. And in order that the paid members may be called to account for their work at short intervals, there must be no seven-year sinecures. No Payment of Members without Shorter Parliaments. SECOND BALLOT. In France and Germany, no member is elected unless he polls a clear majority of all the votes cast in the election. In England, if the progressive vote is split by two candidates (say a Radical and a Liberal), the Tory may get in, even when the majority is progressive. The fear of this prevents the advanced Radicals from trying their strength at elections. For example, in a constituency of 2,000, a Tory minority of 800 could bring their candidate in if the Progressives split their vote and polled 500 for a moderate Liberal and 700 for an advanced Radical. But if there were a "Second Ballot," the Radical, being obviously the choice of the party, would stand whilst the Liberal withdrew. The Radical would then poll1,200 votes, and beat the Tory. This is what happens in France, where Opportunists, Radicals, and Socialists all run candidates, and in every case at the Second Ballot the united Democratic vote is given to the highest candidate amongst the three parties: This, the only genuine Democratic method of voting, would not only set the vanguard of the Radical party free to put upa candidate without fear of letting in the Tory, but it would put a stop to the game of the bogus " labor candidate " taking Tory moneyto split the Liberal vote. • The Workers' Political Programme. 8 TAXATION OF UNEARNED INCOMES. Besides Perpetual Pensions, which the Radicals have already driven out of existence, four hundred and fifty million pounds sterling, or more than a third of the annual income of the nation producedby the annual toil of the workers, is consumed, not by them, but bylandlords and shareholders who do not, as such, perform a single stroke of work for the nation in return. Two hundred millions of this is rent : the other two hundred and fifty is called interest. This is the estimate made in the interest of the idle classes themselves; and therefore it is well under the mark. It does not include employers' profits, or the large incomes derived by educated or "highly connected" men from employments which are practicallyclosed to the working class. In order to recover this large sum for the whole community, and at the same time free ourselves from the Customs duties which now fall upon our scanty wages through the dearness of the taxed goods we buy, we want to have it taken for public use by such means as a Land Tax (Taxation of Ground Values), largely increased Death Duties, and a progressive Income- tax upon unearned incomes. How high do we want to tax them ? Twenty shillings in the pound-i.e., Complete Nationalization of all unearned incomes-will satisfy us. But we will take an instalment to begin. MUNICIPALIZATION OF LAND AND LOCAL INDUSTRIES. It is useless to tax unearned incomes or nationalize rent as longas you have no place to put the money except the treasury of a central government that can do little with it except spend it in gunpowder and international mischief. The Imperial Parliament cannot deal with local industrial difficulties or with the pressing question of the unemployed in bad times. At present, no Municipal Authority can engage in the organization of industry, even for the supply of gas and water, without a special Act of Parliament. We want the Town and County Councils, elected by adult suffrage, and backed with the capital derived from the taxation of unearned incomes, and with compulsory powers of acquiring the necessary land upon payment of a reasonable consideration to the present holders, to be empowered to engage in all branches of industry in the fullest competition with private industrial enterprise. We want to drop the old political cant of pretending that the tyrannythat keeps the London tram-slave away from his home for seventeen hours a day, seven days in the week, is the tyranny of Priest or King, or House of Lords, or anything but what it really is-viz., the tyranny of the Board of Directors, elected by the votes of private shareholders, whose only care is to get the biggest dividend that can be sweated out of their employee by long hours and low wages. We want to recognize that until these employes and their like are transferred from the employment of private capitalists to that of the Town or County Council, which they and their fellow workers control through their votes, their claims as men can never meet with adequate consideration. Local Self-Government can be but a. The Worken' Politicc~l Prog1·armne, 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 eecaping 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 edu~ation, Secular, Compulsory, and Technical, at the public cost, 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 separatesections, 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 at 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 shareholdert> as rent or interest before being passed on-less what the interceptors consume themselves- as wages paid out of capital. We want these interceptors paid off, and the railway and canal system assimilated to the postal system. EIGHT HOURS DAY. We want the working day for wage-workers in all government and municipal offices and places of employment and in·all monopolies to be limited to Eight Hours by statute. We want an Hours of The Workers' Political PrC'gramme. 10 • Labor Bill which will enable labor organization to obtain, by government intervention, relief from excessive hour of toil a soon as a majority of them desire it, without resorting to the barba.rous and dangerou expedient of a strike, with all its attendant tumult, its stoppage of work, its expense, its privations, it waste of sa,·ings, dismantling of homes, and its black harvest of ill-feeling between employer and employed, striker and blackleg. Experience sbews that whilst the present competitive-indtvidualist system lasts, such Acts are neces ary to prevent employers from inhumanly abusingtheir powers, and workers from working overtime with no permanentbenefit to themseh·e . As soon a the people are free enougb to feel them as a restriction of their own liberty, they will be free enough to repeal them without opposition as obsolete tatute . But at presentthe hours of labor imposed on the more helples cla se!'> of wage· workers are literally mw-derous, and must be restricted by law. PARISH COUNCILS. We want Pari h Councils for the sake of the Agricultural Laborer, to whom the County Councils are of no use. .\t pre ent, \\ith hi~ eleven shillings a week, and his enforced setvility 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 hi magi trate, he keeps down the standard of comfort for unskilled labor to the lowest point. In a recent London strike, the employers defeated tbe men by sending to the country for a body of agricultural labourers to take their place ; 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 crowd into the town and lower wages by competing for work there. The first thing to do to help them is to establish a democratic council in each pari ·h to administer the public schools and the public provi ion for the aged, the sick, and the orphans; with compulsory powers to acquire land for allotments and for building cottages on; and with power a! o to engage in co-operative farming, so a to enable the laborer to get his livina and his homestead by working for a public body controlled by hi vote and those of his fellow workers. He would find this a good deal plea anter than living in a ty and touching his hat at evety turn to the men who profit by his starvation and squalor. HOME RULE. Home Rule i not a di tinctively Radical mea ure : it i a 1 ationalist mea ure. For in tance, 1\fr. Parnell and "Jir. Davitt are both Nationali ts; but in an Iri h Parliament, :.fr. Parnell will lead the middle-cla s \Vhw party against :.Ir. Davitt, who i a working·cla~s Radical. The principle of Radicali m is Equality of Right , economic as well a political, on to ecw-e as far as pos ible equality of opportunity. The principle of.T ationalism is the determination which every people bearing a di tinctly marked national character sbews, sooner The WoTke1·s' Political P1·ogmmme. or 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 becomes hated because it is foreign aud 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 protestsagainst the rule of England, demanding to be federated with her a;s an equal and not chained to her as a subject. Thorough-goingRadicals have never denied this claim. Their advocacy of it is not, like that of the Gladstonian Liberals, the effect of a four-year-oldconversion ; for the demand for " Repeal of the Union " was seconded in 1841 by the English Radicals. Of late years "Unionism" has 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 bearingdirectly 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 cruelty in our Workhouses and Prisons, the sloth, selfishness, and evil example of the Idle Rich, and the drunkenness and degradationof 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 Programme 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 "W01·kers' 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 agriculturallaborer has 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 everyfour or five years; but two-thirds of the adult population are not The Workers' Polztical Programme. 12 even 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, every council meeting, every executive meeting of every political association or club ought to pa s resolutions declaring its own political demands. These resolutwns 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 nion, 'utiolk House, Laurence Pountney Lane, E ..), as well as to the new'papers and the local M.P. and candidate. Every working men's dub ought to appoint a committee to draw up the political pro- gramme desired by its members. But perhaps the most effective means of impressing Parliament would be by the full dischar re of the duty of "heckling" and the con tant use of the following RADICAL QUESTIONS • • for Parliamentary candidates. Persons seeking votes naturally prefer to set forth only such of their opinions as are likely to escape disapproval or controver y. On all really " burning " question , except the party cry of the moment, candidate are apt to be either silent or purpo ely vague and ambiguou . Thus, a capitalist manufacturer will very likely be eloquent on Home Rule; but he will dodge, if be can, the ubjectof a Graduated Income Tax or the Eight Hours Bill. Many el ction addre ses nowaday might be igned by" 1r. Facing-Both-Way·." candidate who talks about "Reform of the Land Laws" may mean either " Land N ationalizat.ion" or its oppo ite, "Peasant Proprietorship," or perhaps only " .\.bolition of Primogeniture and Entail"; whilst "The Better Hou ing of the Poor " may stand either for the real remedy ( 1unicipal Dwelling ) or merely some scheme of 5 per cent. private philanthropy. It is the duty of earne t electors to get at the truth by probingthe candidate's mind with carefully framed questions. These can be t be asked at the emi-private meeting at which the candidate usually is selected. They should be mercilessly pressed, and clear answer insisted upon. Practically, however, the bulk of the electors can only ratify or reject at public meetings the choice already made by the Executive Committee of the local pohtical a sociation. The question on uch occa ions should be clearly written on slips of paper and sent up to the Chairman. Questions may also usefully be addressed to the candidate by post (stamp for reply being enclosed). H would be u eful if the candidate's answers were reported to the organizations(if any) which are working for the particular reform referred to. The Workers' Political Prograrmne. Questions fqr Parliamentary Candidates. ---:o:-- fit is assumed that th(l official Liberal Programme of " reforms urgentlyneeaed," and ''questions ripe for settlement," as declared at Manchester by the Conference of the National Liberal Federation in D(lcember, 1889, may be taken as the least that a Radical can accept from any candidate. Conservatives may equally be questioned on this programme whenever they profess-as theyusually do-to be more eager for Social Reform than their rivals.] THE OFFICIAL LIBERAL PROGRAMME. I. Justice 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 burdeningthe 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, and may again bring forward proposals to 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 though the Irish may have a right to do it for themselves if they like, for us to do it for them would be the worse kind of reactionary legislation. Hence, ask all candidates for a clear answer on this point. QUESTIONS. I. 2. Will you oppose any attempted settlement 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. Electoml Rejonn. 1. The amendment of the Registration Laws for Parliamentaryand other elections by the appointment of responsible Registration Officers; by reducing the qualifica- II. 1. Will you strive to obtain genuine " Manhood ~uffrage :" that is, such an alteratwn of the Registration Laws as will ai~ at giving every man a vote, subJect 14 The Workers' Political Programme. 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 arlult men are not qualified to vote. 2. The basing of the Franchise solely on the principle of "one man one vote." :1. The public provision of the neces ary cost of Parliamentaryelections. NorE.-I£ elections cease to involve expense to candidates, the e will be multiplied, and " econd Ballot" will be required to en ure repre entation of the majority. The London Liberal and Radical Union, in November, 18 9, in v-ain urged this reform on the National Liberal Federation. 4. The "recognition of the principle " of the payment of Members of Parliament by the State. Non:.-This is mere huftlin9. Liberal M.P. 's know that an effective mea. sure would mean the dismi sal of many of the present cnpitnli t member . Insist on a plain statement as to it. 5. The holding of elections for all constituencie on the same day. 6. The " mending or ending " of the House of Lords. NoTE.-This i purposely vague, as some Liberal de ire to strengthen the Upper Hou e by reform, which would enable it to be an even more effective check to the popular demand than at pre. nt. Thank God we hare a House oi Lords, and nut a cunningly devised 11nd powerful ' ennte, forming an impregnable citadel for the so-c11lled " Right of Property " ' 7. The hortening of the le al term of Parliament . only to the requirements absolutely necessary for making up a. Register'? Will you support the grant of the Franchise to women on the same terms as to men ? 2. Do you by " one man one vote" mean "every man a vote"? 3. Will you, in order to prevent a solid minority outvoting a divided majority, press for the introduction of the • • Second Ballot" at Parliamentary elections? 4. Will you press for the direct payment of all Members of Parliament by the State'? 6. Will you vote again t the continuance of any hereditarylegislators whatsoever? The Worken' Political Progmmme. Ill. Financial Rejo?·m. Ill. ::.. The equitable re-adjustmentof the incidence of local and imperial taxation. NoTE.-Ambiguous in the extreme. No one can sav what this means. If you really want Financial Reform you must ask for specific measures. Remember that incomes derived from the mere ownership of land and capitalusually pay at present a much smaller proportion in taxes than incomes de· rived from labor; and that nearlv all members of Parliament benefit 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 them. selves in favour of this for a whole generation, but have never yet found opportunity to carry it out ! 3. The eq~1ahzation of the Death Duties as between real and personal pr:)perty. NoTE.-But the Death Duties ought also to be much increased on the larger estates. Mr. Goschen introduced the principle of graduation in 1889. As regards the need for a Metropolitan Death Duty, to secure to the London County Council some of "London's Unearned Increment" now accruing to the Ground Landlords, see Facts for Londone1·s (fabian Tract No_ 8). 4. The taxation of land values, ground rents and mining royalties. .Non:.-Consult on this subject Fab! an Tract No. 7, Capital and Land. But even Mr. John Morley has expressed the view that the State should own the minerals. 5. The just apportionment, as between owner and occupier of . ' all rates and local charges. NoTEs--Nothing is said as to the method of dealing with existing con 1. Will you press at the first opportunity for the graduationand differentiation of the Income Tax, so as to press more heavily on large and unearned incomes than on small and earned ones ? Will you resist any further grants in aid of local rates from national funds? Are you in favour 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 as 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 Reassessment of the Land Tax on the full yearly value of the land to-day, instead of (as at present) on the value which it had in 1692? Will you urge the nf!.tionalization of mining rents and mining royalties? 5. Will you press for the fair division of the exisiting local rates between owner and occupier, any agreement to the contrary notwithstanding? The Workers' Political Progranmte. tract . When the Income Tax was impo ed (in 1842) the amount placedupon the landlord was made payable by him any agreement to the contrary notwithstanding. Without such a clause, the tenants would have had to pay the tax on the landlord's income. This arrangement is the mo t practical form of the Taxation of Ground Rents. noccupied land (even if merely" held for a rise ") escapes at presentall rates and taxe . IV. Land Reform. 1. The amendment of the system of the tenure and transfer of land. 2. The securing to tenants of compensation for all their improvements. S. "Leasehold Enfranchisement" (I) 4. The facilitation and further public provision of allotments and small holdings. 5. Extension and simplificationof powers for compulsory takingof land by local authorities. Will you support the propo a.l of the London County Council for the separate as es ment of Land Values apart from Hou e Values? Will you pre s for giving prompt legislative effect to th recommendation of the RoyalCommission on the Hou ina of th Working Cla ses that Ya.cant land should be assessed to local rate as if yielding an income of 4 per cent. on its selling value? IV. 1. Will you support measures enabling the community to appro· priate for public purpose , as far as this is practicable, the " unearned increment " of Land Value? 3. Will you resi t any attempt to create a new tatutory cla s of freeholders under the guise of " Enfranchi ed Leaseholders "? Will you vote against the Leaseholders' Enfranchi ement Bill? 4. Will you press for the grantof ample compul ory powers to all local authorities (including Pari h Council ) to acquire land to be let out--not sold-in allotments and small tenancies '? Will you strenuously resist any attempt to create additional landowners (under the guise of pea ant proprietor ) at the public expen e or by public guarantee? 5. Will you urge the retention by all public authoritie of all land now owned by them, so a to secure to the public the futur " unearned increment " ? Will you re ist the sale of any public lands (including Crown lands, charity property or hurch glebe ), or the extinction of the public rights over commons ? The TVorken' Political Programme. 17 6. The reform of the system of ~ The TVorken' Political Programme. 17 6. The reform of the system of ~ ompensation to owners of prooerty used for public purposes. ' NOTE.-The subject of Land Reform s one on which much evasion is practisld by candidates. Many of them are \till wedded to the obsolete ideal of Peasant Proprietorship. "Reform of ;he Land Laws'' is the phrase most comnonly used to conceal their views. It rill be noted that "Leasehold Enfranlhisement " still stultifies the official ;:..iberal programme, though it has been >mitted from that of the London Lib: ral Members and candidates. The only 10und reform which could possibly come mder the head of "Leasehold Enfran- :hisement " would be a measure en- Lbling tenants of Leaseholds to obtain :ompensation for improvements. .In :ases where the tenant is a democratic representative body, power to enfran- Jhise the leasehold would of course be mobjectionable. V. Social Reforms. 1. The extension of full muni- cipal powers to the London CountyCouncil and all representative gov- erning bodies. 2. The development and com- pletion of Local Government bythe creation of District and Parish Councils. NoTE.-lt is important to lay stress on Parish Councils. Nothing else will be of use to the agriculturallaborer. . Parishes too small for separate Coun- cils can be grouped with their neighbors. V. 1. Will you press for a measure conferring upon the London and oth'er County Councils the full control over the local police? Will you vote m 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 di- rectly undertake provision for the supply of water, gas,andtramways, and such other public services as it may be called upon by its consti- tuents to enter upon? 2. Will you resist any attempt to impose any pecuniary or ratingqualification for membership of the Parish or District Councils? Will you oppose any attempt to form the Parish and ·District Councils otherwise than entirelyby direct election. The Workers' Political Programme. 3. The extension of the Factory Acts. ~OTE.-Does thi vague phrase mean anything? '' Exten ion" to what or to whom i' All candidates should be &trongly pre ed to explain their meaning on this point. No Bill for the Ex- ten ion of the Factory Acts ha yet been introduced or d scribed by any of the Liberal leader . NoTE.-!:iee Fabian Tract No. 9, .A.n E1[1ht Houra Bill, in the jimn of A llltmlmeut of the Factory Acts, an price Id. 4. The popular control of the Liquor Traffic. 5. The adequate public proviion of Dwellings and Lodgingsfor the Working Clas es. ~ToTE.-ln i ton ad finite tatement a to the building and maint nance of nrtizan ' eh ell in rs by the elected locul authoritie themselve -not by any"ph1lanthropic" company or peculativebuild r. . The provi ion of Free Educa tion, of ontinuation, Intermediate and Technic 1 chools. NoTE--B side th &O-called "voluntary" hool for elementary ducation, th oondary chool cl!y n ed public or •anuation and control. 3. Will you vote for the Ei"ht Hours Bill for Miners? Will you insist on " an EightHours Day " for all public servants? Will you insist that, where the direct employment of labor bypublic authorities i not possible, only " fair hou es " hould be employed, and sub-contracting prohibited or strictly regulated? Will you press for the legallimitation of the hours of work of Railway Servants'? \Vill you support a mea ure enabling local authorities to limit, if thought fit, the maximum hour of work on tramway and other local monopolie '? Will you pre s for the pccia.l xtension and development of the Factory Acts nece ary to 111itigate"S\\eating" in London'? Will you support such an" EightHour Bill " as that drafted bythe Fabian Society ? 5. Are you in favor of the grantof full powers to enable local authorities (both urban and rural) them elves to build and maintain dwellings, to be let at "fair rents"? 6. Will you support the provision from public funds, and the management by elect d publicauthorities, of Continuation, condary and Technical chools The Workers' Political Progmmme. The whole of the existing colleges for training teachers are denominational, and managed in sectarian interests, although virtually supported from public funds. No college exists in which a non-Christian teacher can obtain training without conforming to a religion in which he does not believe. NoTE.-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 purposes. 8. Disestablishment in Scotland and Wales. 9. The promotion of International Arbitration. NoTE. -Nothing is yet stated in the official Liberal programme as to anyreform 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. Will you press for the establishment of training colleges for teachers, free from any religious test, and exclusively under publiccontrol ? Do you agree that free meals must, without delay, be provided out of public funds for all destitute children not otherwise adequatelyfed ? Will you urge the provision from 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 ? • FABIAN SOCIETY. T T HE FABIAN SOCIETY consists of Socialists. A statemen* of its Principles, Rules, Conditions of Membership, etc., can be obtained from the Secretary, at 276, Strand, London, W.C Also the following publications : "FABIAN ESSAYS IN SO CIALIS:M." (22nd Thousand.) A full exposition of modern English Soctalism in its latest and mat11rest phase. Library Edition, 6s.; or, direct from tl~ Secretary for Cash, 4 6 (postage 4td.) Cheap Edition, Paper cover (published by Waiter cott, 24 Warwick Lane, London), le. ; ditto, plain cloth, 2s. At all booksellers, or post free from the Secretary for la. and 2s. respectively. FABIAN TRACTS. No. 1.-Why are the :Many Poor P 75th thousand. Price 6 for 1d.; IS. per 100. No. lS.-Facta !or Socialists. A survey ef the distribution of income an4 the condition of classes in England, gathered from official uturns, and from the works of economists and statisticians. 25th thousand. 16 pp., Id.; or 9d. per doz.. No. 7.-Capltal and Land. A similar survey of the distribution of property, with a criticism of the distinction sometimes set up between Land and Capitalas instruments of production. 10th thousand. 16 pp., Id. ; or 941· per doz.. No. B.-Facts !or Londoners. An exhaustive collection of statistical and other information relatin~ to the County and City of London, with suggestions for Municipal Reform on octalist principles. 5th thousand. 56 pp., 6d. ; or 4/6 per doz. No. 9.-A.n Eight Hours Bill. Full notes explain the Trade Optionclause and precedents on which the Bill is founded. A list of literature dealing with the hour of labor is appended. 2oth thousand. 16 pp., Id. ; or 9d. per doz. No. 10.-Figures !or Londoners (a short ab tract of No. 8). 2oth thousand. 4 pp., 6 for !d.; Is. per 100. No. 11.-The Workers' Political Programme fully explains the pohtics of to~ay from the working class point of view, and gives questions to put to Parlia· mentary candidates. 20th thousand. 20 pp., Id. ; or 9d· per doz. No. 12.-Practicable Land Nationalization. A brief statement of prac· tical propo als for immediate reform. 20th thousand. 4 pp., 6 for !d.; or IS. per 100 No. 13.-What Socialism Is. A short exposition of the aim of Sociali,ts 30th thousand. 4 pp., 6 for !d.; or u. per 100. No. 14.-The New Reform Bill. A draft Act of Parliament providing for Adult "uffrage, Payment of Members and their election expenses, Second Ballot, and a thorough system of Registration. 15th thousand. 20 pp. !d.; or 9d. per doz. No. U5.-English Progress towards Social Democracy. The evolution of English ociety, with explanation of Socialism. 10th thous. 16 pp., Id.; 9d. doz. No. 16.-A Plea for an Eight Hours Bill. A brief answer to obJeC· tors. 50th thousand. 4 pp .. 6 for td.; IS. per 100. No. 17.-Reform. o! the Poor Law. Facts as to pauperism, with proposals for pensions for the aged, and other ocialist reforms. 20 pp., !d.; 9d· per doz. No. 18.-Facts !or Bristol. On the same lines as Tract No. 8. 16 pp., ld. each ; or 9d. per doz. No.l9.-What the Farm Laborer wants. 4 pp, 6 for 1d.; or I/-per too. No. 20.-Questions !or Poor Law Guardians. 4 pp., 6 for !d. ; M I/· per 100. No. 21.-Questions for London Vestrymen. 4pp.,6for Id.; orts. per JOoJ. No. 22.-The Truth about Leasehold Enfranchisement, gives rea~on why octalists oppose the propo al. 4 pp., 6 for td. ; or 1 . per 100. No. 23.-The Case !or an Eight Hours Bill. 16 pp., Id. each; 9d·a dozer., TM set post fru for eighteen petta. The LECTURE LisT, containing the names of ninety lectureno, who offer their services gratuitously, may be obtained on application to the Secretary. Upwards of 1400 lectures were delivered bymembers during the year ended in March, 1891.