We are met together at a time when great exertions2 and a high constancy are required from all who cherish and sustain the Liberal cause. Difficulties surround us and dangers threaten from this side and from that. You know the position which has been created by the action of the House of Lords. Two great political Parties divide all England between them in their conflicts. Now it is discovered that one of these Parties possesses an unfair weapon—that one of these Parties, after it is beaten at an election, after it is deprived of the support and confidence of the country, after it is destitute3 of a majority in the representative Assembly, when it sits in the shades of Opposition4 without responsibility, or representative authority, under the frown, so to speak, of the Constitution, nevertheless possesses a [226]weapon, an instrument, a tool, a utensil—call it what you will—with which it can harass5, vex6, impede7, affront8, humiliate9, and finally destroy the most serious labours of the other. When it is realised that the Party which possesses this prodigious10 and unfair advantage is in the main the Party of the rich against the poor, of the classes and their dependants11 against the masses, of the lucky, the wealthy, the happy, and the strong against the left-out and the shut-out millions of the weak and poor, you will see how serious the constitutional situation has become.
A period of supreme12 effort lies before you. The election with which this Parliament will close, and towards which we are moving, is one which is different in notable features from any other which we have known. Looking back over the politics of the last thirty years, we hardly ever see a Conservative Opposition approaching an election without a programme, on paper at any rate, of social and democratic reform. There was Lord Beaconsfield with his policy of "health and the laws of health." There was the Tory democracy of Lord Randolph Churchill in 1885 and 1886, with large, far-reaching plans of Liberal and democratic [227]reform, of a generous policy to Ireland, of retrenchment13 and reduction of expenditure14 upon naval15 and military armaments—all promises to the people, and for the sake of which he resigned rather than play them false. Then you have the elections of 1892 and 1895. In each the Conservative Party, whether in office or opposition, was, under the powerful influence of Mr. Chamberlain, committed to most extensive social programmes, of what we should call Liberal and Radical16 reforms, like the Workmen's Compensation Act and Old-Age Pensions, part of which were carried out by them and part by others.
But what social legislation, what plans of reform do the Conservative Party offer now to the working people of England if they will return them to power? I have studied very carefully the speeches of their leaders—if you can call them leaders—and I have failed to discover a single plan of social reform or reconstruction17. Upon the grim and sombre problems of the Poor Law they have no policy whatever. Upon unemployment no policy whatever; for the evils of intemperance18 no policy whatever, except to make sure of the public-house vote; upon the question of the land, monopolised as it is in [228]the hands of so few, denied to so many, no policy whatever; for the distresses19 of Ireland, for the relations between the Irish and British peoples, no policy whatever unless it be coercion20. In other directions where they have a policy, it is worse than no policy. For Scotland the Lords' veto, for Wales a Church repugnant to the conscience of the overwhelming majority of the Welsh people, crammed21 down their throats at their own expense.
Yet we are told they are confident of victory, they are persuaded that the country has already forgotten the follies22 and even the crimes of the late Administration, and that the general contempt and disgust in which they were dismissed from power has already passed away. They are already busy making their Cabinet, who is to be put in and, what is not less important, who is to be put out. Lists of selection and lists of proscription23 are being framed. The two factions24 into which they are divided, the Balfourites and the tariff26 reformers, are each acutely conscious of one another's infirmities, and, through their respective organs, they have succeeded in proving to their apparent satisfaction what most of us have known, and some of us have said for [229]a long time past, that they are an uncommonly27 poor lot all round.
It would be bad enough if a Party so destitute, according to its own statement, of political merit were to return with the intention of doing nothing but repeating and renewing our experiences under Mr. Balfour's late Administration, of dragging through empty sessions, of sneering28 at every philanthropic enthusiasm, of flinging a sop30 from time to time to the brewers or the parsons or the landed classes. But those would not be the consequences which would follow from the Tory triumph. Consequences far more grave, immeasurably more disastrous31, would follow. We are not offered an alternative policy of progress, we are not confronted even with a policy of standstill, we are confronted with an organised policy of constructive33 reaction. We are to march back into those shades from which we had hoped British civilisation34 and British science had finally emerged.
If the Conservative Party win the election they have made it perfectly35 clear that it is their intention to impose a complete protective tariff, and to raise the money for ambitious armaments and colonial projects [230]by taxing the poor. They have declared, with a frankness which is, at any rate, remarkable36, that they will immediately proceed to put a tax on bread, a tax on meat, a tax on timber, and an innumerable schedule of taxes on all manufactured articles imported into the United Kingdom; that is to say, that they will take by all these taxes a large sum of money from the pockets of the wage-earners, by making them pay more for the food they eat, the houses they live in, and the comforts and conveniences which they require in their homes, and that a great part of this large sum of money will be divided between the landlords and the manufacturers in the shape of increased profits; and even that part of it which does reach the Exchequer37 is to be given back to these same classes in the shape of reductions in income-tax and in direct taxation38. If you face the policy with which we are now threatened by the Conservative Party fairly and searchingly, you will see that it is nothing less than a deliberate attempt on the part of important sections of the propertied classes to transfer their existing burdens to the shoulders of the masses of the people, and to gain greater profits for the [231]investment of their capital by charging higher prices.
It is very natural that a Party nourishing such designs should be apprehensive39 of criticism and of opposition; but I must say I have never heard of a Party which was in such a jumpy, nervous state as our opponents are at this present time. If one is led in the course of a speech, as I sometimes am, to speak a little firmly and bluntly about the Conservative tariff reformers, they become almost speechless with indignation. They are always in a state of incipient40 political apoplexy, while as for the so-called Liberal unionists, whenever they are criticised, they never leave off whining41 and say that it is unchivalrous to attack them while Mr. Chamberlain is disabled. Sorry I am that he is out of the battle, not only on personal, but on public grounds. His fiercest opponents would welcome his re-entry into the political arena42, if only for the fact that we should then have a man to deal with, and some one whose statement of the case for his side would be clear and bold, whose speeches would be worth reading and worth answering, instead of the melancholy43 marionettes whom the wire-pullers of the Tariff Reform League are [232]accustomed to exhibit on provincial44 platforms. But I hope you will not let these pretexts45 or complaints move you or prevent you from calling a spade a spade, a tax a tax, a protective tariff a gigantic dodge46 to cheat the poor, or the Liberal unionist party the most illiberal47 thing on record.
But if the tariff reformers are so touchy48 and intolerant that they resent the slightest attack or criticism from their opponents as if it were sacrilege, that is nothing to the fury which they exhibit when any of their friends on the Conservative side begin to ask a few questions. One would have thought at least that matters of such gravity and such novelty should be considered fairly on their merits. But what does Mr. Austen Chamberlain say? He tells us that no hesitation49 will be tolerated from unionist Members of Parliament in regard to any tariff reform proposals which may in a future Parliament be submitted—by whoever may be the Chancellor50 of the Exchequer. No hesitation will be tolerated. Not opposition, not criticism, not dissent51, but no hesitation will be tolerated. The members of the unionist Party are to go to the next Parliament, not as honest gentlemen, free to use their minds [233]and intelligences. They are to go as the pledged, tied-up delegates of a caucus52, forced to swallow without hesitation details of a tariff which they have not even seen; denied the right which every self-respecting man should claim, to give their vote on grand and cardinal53 issues according to their faith and their conscience. And in order that those who would refuse to be bound by these dishonouring54 conditions may be smelt55 out and excluded from the House of Commons, a secret society of nameless but probably interested busybodies is hard at work in all the dirtiest sewers56 of political intrigue57.
But, after all, these methods are an inseparable part of the process of carrying a protectionist tariff. The whole question resolves itself into a matter of "business is business," and the predatory interests which have banded themselves together to finance and organise32 the tariff campaign cannot be expected to put up with the conscientious58 scruples59 and reasonable hesitations60 of Members of Parliament. It will be a cash transaction throughout, with large profits and quick delivery. Every little would-be monopolist in the country is going to have his own association to run his own particular [234]trade. Every constituency will be forced to join in the scramble61, and to secure special favours at the expense of the commonwealth62 for its special branches of industry. All the elections of the future will turn on tariffs63. Why, you can see the thing beginning already. That egregious64 Tariff Commission have been dividing all the loot among themselves before the battle has been won—dividing the lion's skin while the beast lives—and I was reading only the other day that the Conservatives of Norwood have decided65 that they could not support their Member any longer, because, forsooth, he would not pledge himself to vote for a special tax on foreign imported chairs and window panes66. It is the same in every country.
Such is the great conspiracy67 with which the British democracy is now confronted—an attempt to place the main burden of taxation upon the shoulders of wage-earners and not on income-drawers, a disastrous blow at the prosperity, the freedom, the flexibility68, and the expansive power of British industry, and a deadly injury to the purity of English public life. The Conservative Party tell us that if they win the victory they will screw a protective tariff on our necks. What do we say? What of [235]the House of Lords? We say that if we win, we will smash to pieces the veto of the House of Lords. If we should obtain a majority at the next election—and I have good hopes that if we act with wisdom and with union, and, above all, with courage, we shall undoubtedly69 obtain an effective majority—the prize we shall claim will be a final change in the relations of the two Houses of Parliament, of such a character as to enable the House of Commons to make its will supreme within the lifetime of a single Parliament; and except upon that basis, or for the express purpose of effecting that change, we will not accept any responsibility for the conduct of affairs.
But there is another issue which must not be overlooked. I mean the social issue. We have taken a great step already. I must say that he is rather a sour kind of man who can find nothing to notice in the Old-Age Pensions Act except its little flaws and petty defects. I think you will feel, on the contrary, that the establishment of the pensions system is a marvellous and impressive example of the power which British Governments possess. Without a hitch71, perfectly smoothly72, punctual to the minute, [236]regular as clockwork, nearly 600,000 aged73 persons are being paid their pensions every week. That is a wonderful and beneficent achievement, a good job well worth some risk and sweat to finish. Nearly eight millions of money are being sent circulating through unusual channels, long frozen by poverty, circulating in the homes of the poor, flowing through the little shops which cater74 to their needs, cementing again family unions which harsh fate was tearing asunder75, uniting the wife to the husband, and the parent to the children. No; in spite of Socialistic sneer29 and Tory jeer76 and glorious beer, and all the rest of it, I say it is a noble and inspiring event, for which this Parliament will be justly honoured by generations unborn. I said just now that a Tory tariff victory meant marching backwards77, but there are some things they cannot undo70. We may be driven from power. We may desire to be released from responsibility. Much of our work may be cut short, much may be overturned. But there are some things which Tory reaction will not dare to touch, and, like the settlement and reconciliation78 of South Africa, so the Old-Age Pensions Act will live and grow and ripen79 as the years roll by, far beyond the [237]reach of Party warfare80 and far above the changing moods of faction25.
There are many political injustices81 in this country and many absurd, oppressive, or obsolete82 practices. But the main aspirations83 of the British people are at this present time social rather than political. They see around them on every side, and almost every day, spectacles of confusion and misery84 which they cannot reconcile with any conception of humanity or justice. They see that there are in the modern state a score of misfortunes that can happen to a man without his being in fault in any way, and without his being able to guard against them in any way. They see, on the other hand, the mighty85 power of science, backed by wealth and power, to introduce order, to provide safeguards, to prevent accidents, or at least to mitigate86 their consequences. They know that this country is the richest in the world; and in my sincere judgment87 the British democracy will not give their hearts to any Party that is not able and willing to set up that larger, fuller, more elaborate, more thorough social organisation88, without which our country and its people will inevitably89 sink through sorrow to disaster and our name and fame fade upon the pages of history.
[238]We have done some of that work, and we are going to do more. In moving forward to this great struggle which is approaching, we are going to carry our social policy along with us. We are not going to fight alone upon the political and constitutional issue, nor alone upon the defence of free trade. We are going, fearless of the consequences, confident of our faith, to place before the nation a wide, comprehensive, interdependent scheme of social organisation—to place it before the people not merely in the speeches or placards of a Party programme, but by a massive series of legislative90 proposals and administrative91 acts. If we are interrupted or impeded92 in our march, the nation will know how to deal with those who stand in the path of vital and necessary reforms. And I am confident that in the day of battle the victory will be to the earnest and to the persevering93; and then again will be heard the doleful wail94 of Tory rout95 and ruin, and the loud and resounding96 acclamations with which the triumphant97 armies of democracy will march once again into the central place of power.
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1
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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harass
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| vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰 | |
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vex
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| vt.使烦恼，使苦恼 | |
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impede
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止 | |
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affront
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| n./v.侮辱，触怒 | |
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humiliate
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| v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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dependants
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| 受赡养者，受扶养的家属( dependant的名词复数 ) | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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retrenchment
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| n.节省，删除 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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distresses
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| n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 )；痛苦；贫困；危险 | |
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coercion
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| n.强制，高压统治 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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proscription
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| n.禁止，剥夺权利 | |
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factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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tariff
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| n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表 | |
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uncommonly
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| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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sop
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| n.湿透的东西，懦夫；v.浸，泡，浸湿 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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organise
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| vt.组织，安排，筹办 | |
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constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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pretexts
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| n.借口，托辞( pretext的名词复数 ) | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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illiberal
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| adj.气量狭小的，吝啬的 | |
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touchy
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| adj.易怒的；棘手的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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dissent
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| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
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caucus
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| n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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dishonouring
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| 使（人、家族等）丧失名誉（dishonour的现在分词形式） | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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sewers
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| n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 ) | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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hesitations
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| n.犹豫( hesitation的名词复数 )；踌躇；犹豫（之事或行为）；口吃 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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tariffs
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| 关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准 | |
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egregious
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| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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flexibility
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| n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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cater
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| vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务 | |
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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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jeer
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| vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评 | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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injustices
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| 不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉 | |
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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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83
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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mitigate
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| vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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