ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 WOODS 
 
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 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
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 A ccessions No. .4A .2/.^AZ~~ Shelf No 
 
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ENGLISH 
 SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
ENGLISH 
 SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 BY 
 
 ROBEET AROHEY WOODS 
 
 LEOniRER AT ANDOVER SEMINARY AND HEAD OF THE ANDOVEB H0D8B 
 IN BOSTON 
 
 TJITIVBESITr] 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 1891 
 

 COPYRIGHT, 1891, BY 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNBR'S SONS 
 
 TROIV DIRECTORY 
 
 PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
Zo 
 
 PROFESSOR WILLIAM JEWETT TUCKER 
 
Digitized by the Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2007 witin funding from 
 
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PEEFACE 
 
 Six of the following chapters are nearly iden- 
 tical with the lectures given at Andover Seminary 
 in the spring term under the Alumni Lectureship 
 for the year 1890-91. The other, the chapter about 
 University Extension, appeared first in The Ando- 
 ver Review, March, 1891, from which it is taken 
 by permission. The whole material has been 
 carefully revised, and in all significant details 
 brought fuUy down to the time of pubhcation. 
 
 The aim has been to present an ordered sketch 
 of those movements in the life of the EngHsh 
 people which are exerting the greatest influence 
 at present. Little attention has been paid to any 
 movement that has not shown some distinctive 
 activity during the last ten years. Moreover, 
 general statical conditions have not been touched 
 upon except for the sake of making plain the 
 operation of social forces. 
 
 I have not attempted to institute a running 
 comparison between the English social situation 
 and the American. Occasional mention of Amer- 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 ican matters has been in each case only in or- 
 der to give a better understanding of the point 
 in question. I may, however, express my increas- 
 ing conviction of the substantial emptiness of the 
 kind of criticism made upon the constitution of 
 EngHsh society which is intended to be an indi- 
 rect f ehcitation of ourselves over our own social 
 conditions. The American aristocracy is more 
 powerful and more dangerous than the Enghsh. 
 Our class system is not less cruel for having its 
 boundaries less clearly marked. And it can no 
 longer be taken for granted that working men 
 are better off in the United States than in Eng- 
 land. The coal miners of the North of England 
 have strong trade unions, work eight hours or 
 less per day, support their co-operative stores, 
 and in some places are organizing University Ex- 
 tension centres. The coal miners of western 
 Pennsylvania, already low enough, are being 
 forced lower by the competition of the latest 
 Continental immigrants, with their unspeakably 
 degraded standard of life. As to the crowded 
 populations of cities, we are beginning to see that 
 the problem of lower New York is in some 
 respects even more serious than the problem of 
 East London. 
 
 We do not, therefore, any longer need to go 
 over the sea to learn about evil social conditions. 
 
PREFACE vii 
 
 But, for the sake of a knowledge of what means 
 may best be used toward remedying such condi- 
 tions, as well as of an apprehension of the noble 
 feeling by which men are impelled to take up 
 their social and political duties, it will be of great 
 importance that we watch closely the remarkable 
 progress England is making in these ways. 
 
 The observations and conversations from which 
 the account is in large part made up were 
 had during a stay of six months in London at 
 Toynbee Hall, and in short visits afterward to 
 the other leading Enghsh and Scotch cities. 
 Wherever I went I met kind friends, to whose 
 assistance I am greatly indebted. My especial 
 thanks are due to the Rev. Samuel A. Barnett, 
 Warden of Toynbee Hall 5 to the residents of 
 Toynbee Hall; to Mr. William Clarke, of the 
 Fabian Society ; and to Mr. Vaughn Nash, of the 
 Co-operative Aid Association. I should be sorry, 
 however, to have any person other than myself 
 charged with mistakes of fact or opinion which 
 I may have made. References to pamphlets and 
 reports are seldom given ; but so far as the recent 
 hterature of the subject is generally available, 
 attention has been called to it. 
 
 Andovee, October, 1891. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I 
 
 The Labor Movement 1 
 
 II 
 Socialism 38 
 
 III 
 The University Settlements 79 
 
 University Extension 119 
 
 V 
 
 The Social Work op the Church 142 
 
 VI 
 Charity and Philanthropy 182 
 
 vn 
 
 * Moral and Educational Progress 227 
 
^>' OF THE 
 
 'tjniversity^ 
 I 
 
 THE LABOR MOVEMENT 
 
 The Old and New Trade Unions. — John Burns and 
 Tom Mann. — Strike of the Dock Laborers, and 
 THE Dockers' Union. — Other New Unions. — Influ- 
 ence AND Methods of the New Trade Unionism. — 
 Hopeful Elements in its Success. — Character of 
 the Leaders. — Working Men's Clubs. — Friendly 
 Societies. — Co-operation. 
 
 The last two years have opened a new era in 
 the history of the working class in England. 
 The change is indicated in the discussions that go 
 on between the old trade unions and the new. 
 The old unions have their strength at the North, 
 and are made up of men from the more skilled 
 industries. Some of these unions date back thirty 
 or forty years, or even longer, and have become 
 powerful and wealthy. The New Trade Unionism 
 takes up the cause of the unskilled. Its strong- 
 holds are in London. Its main organization is the 
 Dockers' Union, which came into being through 
 the great dock strike in the summer of 1889. 
 
 The old trade unions had fallen into, and still 
 maintain, a conservative poUcy. They were for 
 the most part merely holding their own ground. 
 
2 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 No determined efforts were made to bring non- 
 union members of a trade into the union. There 
 was practically no effort to extend the bounds of 
 organization into industries not having unions. 
 There have been, under the present government, 
 nine trade-unionist members of Parliament ; but 
 they seem to think that there has been sufficient 
 labor legislation, and have been giving their atten- 
 tion to the ordinary pohtical issues. 
 
 The earher leaders had seen so great changes 
 brought about in the public and legal standing of 
 the unions, as well as in the life of the individual 
 member of a union, that they were to some extent 
 excusable for thinking the further development of 
 labor would gradually come of itself. The unions 
 had made steady progress in the advance of wages 
 and in the decrease of hours of work. The recog- 
 nition of the law had been gained for them, so 
 that their funds were fully protected. They 
 were relieved of the persecution of the conspiracy 
 acts. They had ui*ged forward, through the Parha- 
 mentary Committee of the Trade Union Congi^ess, 
 a long series of factory laws. There had gradually 
 come a marked improvement in the feeling of peo- 
 ple generally toward the unions. The justice of 
 their claims was often acknowledged by a portion 
 of the press. The economists were beginning to 
 recognize the organization of labor as an impor- 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 3 
 
 tant and necessary means to its further develop- 
 ment. Moreover, that portion of the working men 
 of Great Britain who were included in .the older 
 unions had come to have very fair conditions of 
 Ufe. In the industries covered by the leading 
 unions, there were few strikes of any consequence. 
 A union had so strong a hold on the men of its 
 trade, even in cases where many in the trade were 
 not members of the union, that the employers 
 usually acceded to its demands very quickly. Or, 
 if a strike were ordered, the funds were so ample 
 and the members of the union so well disci- 
 plined, that the working men, after a short and 
 quiet contest, usually gained their point. 
 
 But with all this progress of the artisans, the 
 gi*eat mass of the unskilled laborers found no 
 remission of the evils that oppressed them. The 
 trade unionists, when they considered the case of 
 the poor dockers at all, regarded them as incapa- 
 ble of organization on the orthodox trade-union 
 plan, and opposed the application of any new 
 methods to suit their more difficult case. Just as, 
 when the middle class gained its liberties under 
 the Reform Bill of 1834, it was indifferent and 
 even hostile to the claims and methods of the 
 fathers of the trade unionists ; so the trade union- 
 ists themselves, when they began, a generation 
 later, to gain their rights, felt little inchnation to 
 
4 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 extend the benefits of trade nnionism to the men a 
 grade below them, and were rather critical of any 
 struggling attempts of the fourth estate to gain 
 those benefits for itself * It was just here that 
 there was needed a new infusion into the labor 
 movement. The new infusion came mainly 
 through the efforts of two men. 
 
 John Burns and Tom Mann are both highly 
 skilled mechanics, and members of the Amalga- 
 mated Society of Engineers, which is one of the 
 oldest and strongest of the trade unions, having 
 existed in some of its branches since 1826. Their 
 experience as members of this union has given 
 them a strong sense of the importance of labor or- 
 ganizations among the better elements of the 
 working class. It has also taught them something 
 about directing large bodies of men. But their 
 cardinal principle of action, their belief in the 
 possibility of hope for the vast body of the un- 
 skilled, and their enthusiasm for the emancipa- 
 tion and development of the lower grades of 
 working men, does not come from trade unionism ; 
 it comes from Sociahsm. 
 
 * The history of the old trade iinions up to 1890 is given 
 in the second edition of George Howell's " The Conflicts of 
 Capital and Labor." A comparison of the first with the 
 second edition will show how little there was to record 
 about the doings of the Old Unionism during the thirteen 
 years that intervened. 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 5 
 
 Bums and Mann had both been connected with 
 the Social Democratic Federation for several years 
 before the great dock strike. They were on the 
 staff of OTit-door speakers. They had not a httle 
 to do with the agitations of the unemployed in 
 London between 1886 and 1888. Burns was 
 twice arrested and once imprisoned on the charge 
 of f omentiQg some of those disturbances. 
 
 Through the early years of its existence, the 
 Social Democratic Federation was very indifferent 
 to the trade unions, if not positively hostile to 
 them. It is to the credit of Tom Mann that 
 he refused to accept this view. John Burns was 
 much more inclined to hold to the Federation 
 position ; but, as they were old friends and com- 
 rades, they did not long remain at variance on the 
 matter. "With the discouragement resulting from 
 the spasmodic risings of the unskilled, they both 
 came to feel that the hope of the future lay in be- 
 ginning at once a thorough organization of the 
 lower departments of labor. 
 
 The men at one of the largest gas works in 
 London had a very successful strike in the spring 
 of 1889, by which they gained the eight-hours' day 
 and ultimately an increase in wages. John Burns 
 was a leader in this strike. The success of the gas- 
 workers stirred up dissatisfaction among the dock- 
 ers at their low rate of wages and the uncertain 
 
6 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 nature of their employment. Ben Tillett was at 
 that time working at the docks, though he was 
 of a higher grade than most of the dock laborers. 
 He had formed a small union, and he now asked 
 John Burns to come and help in an effort to gain 
 better terms. Burns, after reviewing the situation, 
 decided that the time was ripe for a stril^e. The 
 great six weeks' struggle began. The difficulty of 
 the case may be imagined when it is known that 
 the dockers were utterly undisciplined, and with- 
 out the means of subsistence except such support 
 as might be hoped for from other working men 
 and from charitably disposed people in London. 
 
 Burns took charge of the out-door programme. 
 He kept up the spirits of the dockers by address- 
 ing them at least once every day. Often he would 
 speak several times, and then have to walk to his 
 home, five miles away, after 'busses and cars had 
 ceased running for the night. Tom Mann had the. 
 responsibility of the general management of the 
 strike, of arranging for the supply and distribution 
 of rehef, receiving the counsel of friends, prepar- 
 ing plans of settlement, and dealing with the 
 dock directors. Ben Tillett's work was of course 
 important, but in the reports of the time he was 
 made unduly prominent because he was the only 
 leader of the strike who had been actually engaged 
 at the docks. The great ability and determined 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 7 
 
 efforts of these men were seconded by the fact that 
 the market was steadily rising and the demand 
 for goods increasing. By the generous contribu- 
 tions of working men throughout Great Britain 
 and in the colonies, a complete system of strilie 
 pay was made possible. It was especially signifi- 
 cant how the strike had pubhc sympathy and pub- 
 lic support. Large quantities of relief suppHes 
 were furnished every day. The dock strike of 1889 
 ^tU for the future not only indicate a new epoch 
 in the development of labor from witldn, but it 
 will be remembered as the first time when to a 
 large extent the moral sense of the English people 
 began to feel the justice of the laborers' cause. 
 
 The result of the strike was that a minimum of 
 sixpence per hour — "the dockers' silver shining 
 ^ tanner ' " — was guaranteed for regular work, and 
 eightpence per hour for overtime. The dock 
 managers' grievous custom of dismissing men 
 after an hour or two, in order to get the fuR ad- 
 vantage of men's fresh strength, was ended by 
 the agreement that no one called in to work 
 should be sent away with less than two shillings. 
 The great outcome of the strike, however, was the 
 gradual formation of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside, 
 and General Laborers' Union, with Tom Mann as 
 president, and Ben Tillett as general secretary. 
 
 In the two years that the Dockers' Union has 
 
8 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 been in existence it has accomplished some re- 
 markable results. It has in its membership nearly 
 25,000 dock workers in London, and abont 35,000 
 more scattered through most of the leading ports 
 of the Kingdom. Some dock laborers' unions of 
 the Netherlands have been affihated. On Novem- 
 ber 1, 1889, when the agreement which ended the 
 strike came into effect, a further arrangement was 
 made by which every group of men gained the 
 right to appoint one of their number to act with 
 the superintendent appointed by the company own- 
 ing the dock, in the direction of the work. In 
 November, 1890, when the agreement expired and 
 the dock directors issued a new hst of conditions 
 of employment, they withdrew the arrangement 
 for a second superintendent chosen from the 
 ranks, and introduced an express order that there 
 was to be no examining of union cards on the 
 premises of the affiliated companies. This looked 
 as if the companies had determined to reassert their 
 power. However, after many conferences between 
 the leaders of the Union and the dock directors, a 
 plan was agreed upon, which, if it can only be 
 worked out, will constitute another long step for- 
 ward in the progress of the dock laborer. Under 
 this plan, at a number of docks the groups of men 
 who work together have been unloading ships on a 
 co-operative basis. They choose their own leader, 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 9 
 
 who deals directly with the ship-owners' foreman. 
 The work is done by the piece at fixed rates, and 
 the whole sum earned is divided up among the 
 men of the group. The plan was suggested by 
 the dock directors in the first instance, it is said. 
 At any rate, they were quite willing to have it 
 tried. The experiment has been, on the whole, 
 quite successful. The men do not, of course, have 
 a regular sum per day guaranteed them, as under 
 the previous arrangement, but as a rule their wages 
 have been higher. And they have been free from 
 the domination of the middleman. The leaders 
 of the Union have very strong hopes of the plan, 
 and look confidently forward to getting the whole 
 work of the port of London organized in that way. 
 The Dockers' Union has a yearly income of 
 $140,000. It publishes a monthly paper, which is 
 put together with a great deal of taste, and has a 
 circulation of nearly 30,000.* The Union has 
 gained for its members an addition, on an aver- 
 age, of $1.25 to the weekly wage. Throughout 
 the Kingdom, it has conducted more than two 
 hundred strikes, and has won them nearly all. 
 This has been accomplished by dint of great effort 
 in getting the dockers well organized at all the 
 
 * The official Dockers' Becord has been succeeded by 
 another paper under the same general direction, which 
 represents all the new unions. 
 
10 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 ports and, as far as possible, bringing them into 
 tlie one general organization. 
 
 But important as the progress of the Dockers' 
 Union itself is in the development of the EngUsh 
 working class, the less direct results of the dock 
 strike are still greater. There is hardly a depart- 
 ment of work where men have not during the past 
 two years been moved to seek an improvement of 
 their lot. Beside the increased unrest in all the 
 trade unions, there was in London a threatening 
 strike among the postmen j the policemen struck j 
 the soldiers struck. It was interesting to notice 
 that the striking postmen were far more numerous 
 and stood more firmly in the East End, the scene 
 of the dock strike, than in the other parts of Lon- 
 don. 
 
 Beside the Dockers' Union, there are two other 
 large unions of unskilled working men, both of 
 which have received a great impetus from the 
 dockers' success. The Gas Workers' and General 
 Laborers' Union was formed in the spring of 1889. 
 It includes all classes of unskilled laborers and has 
 a membership of 120,000 men. Forty thousand of 
 its members engaged in the gas works of the 
 Kingdom have the eight-hours' day. This gain 
 was made in a series of struggles about the time 
 of the formation of the Union. It is claimed that 
 with the decrease of the hours of labor there have 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 11 
 
 been no cases in which wages have been lowered. 
 Ninety per cent, of all the members of the Union 
 have had an increase of from one-tenth to two- 
 fifths in their wages. The other leading represent- 
 ative of the New Trade Unionism is the National 
 Seamen's and Firemen's Union. This Union made 
 a beginning in September, 1887, but its larger 
 growth has been quite recent. It now has about 
 seventy-five branches, with a total membership of 
 nearly 90,000. The president of this Union is Mr. 
 Samuel PlimsoU, who for a long time has cham- 
 pioned the cause of the sailor before Parliament 
 and the country. He has already accomplished a 
 great deal in this direction, but is now able to make 
 his proposals part of the programme of the Union, 
 and thus to present his claims with the additional 
 emphasis that comes from having a large organized 
 force behind him. The Sailors' Union is the more 
 remarkable on account of the exceptional difficul- 
 ties it has to face. It is very hard to organize 
 and discipline men who lead so irregular a life as 
 sailors do. They are constantly changing their 
 ports. They pay their dues at different places. 
 Moreover, the Union has been compelled for some 
 time to be fortifying itself for a possible great 
 contest with the recently organized Shippers' 
 Federation. 
 
 There have not been to any such extent in 
 
12 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 England as in America, great combinations of capi- 
 tal for the sake of getting control of commercial 
 markets. But it shows how the centralizing tend- 
 ency of the time is bound to work out in one 
 way or another, that the owners of ships and 
 docks have been compelled by the growing 
 strength of the labor organizations to consolidate 
 for self-defence. The members of the Sailors' 
 Union decline to go to sea with non-union men in 
 the crew. The Dockers' Union blocks, that is^ re- 
 fuses to unload, ships which have been loaded by 
 firms employing non-union men. The Shippers' 
 Federation threatens that if this kind of interfer- 
 ence with traffic is not stopped, its members will lay 
 up their ships in all the ports of the Kingdom until 
 some better understanding can be reached. This 
 threat is, of course, hardly taken in earnest j and 
 yet the labor difficulties of the last few years have 
 seriously curtailed the incomes of both ship and 
 dock companies. They are compelled to take 
 vigorous measures. They are just now pushing 
 forward a so-called "free-labor movement." Of- 
 fices have been opened in all the ports for the regis- 
 tration of men willing to work independently of 
 the trade unions. Those applying are guaran- 
 teed continuous employment, and full protection 
 against interference or intimidation. It is claimed 
 that there is an abundant supply of men willing to 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 13 
 
 work under these conditions. The Sailors^ Union 
 and the Dockers' Union have both raised a fight- 
 ing fund. The Sailors' Union has been preparing 
 some large lodging houses in which its members 
 are to live in case of a strike or lock-out. There 
 are some non-union men at work at the London 
 docks now, but the leaders have kept down any 
 tendency to strike. They have not wished to 
 bring on another great struggle, partly because 
 their treasury was low, partly because the condi- 
 tions of the commercial situation and of public 
 sympathy were not sufficiently favorable, and 
 pai'tly because they hope the new co-operative 
 scheme may gradually remove the difficulty of the 
 non-union men, or " blacklegs." 
 
 There are now about as many men in the Dock- 
 ers' Union in London as can suitably be em- 
 ployed in the unloading of ships. The leaders 
 have therefore determined to refuse admission 
 hereafter to all men who do not seem specially 
 desirable. This move has been severely criticised. 
 But the leaders say, with justice, that the only 
 way to elevate the conditions of dock labor is to 
 make it a regular kind of work, and not merely a 
 last resort for all the shiftless or unfortunate of 
 every other occupation. In directing the co-opera- 
 tive scheme, the Union itself will appoint the men 
 to the separate gangs, and as the scheme develops 
 
14 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 the Union will more and more be responsible for 
 the whole of the unloading at the docks. To have 
 men who are faithful to the Union and acquainted 
 with its discipline, would be quite essential under 
 such circumstances. It wiU be a very important 
 departure from the principles of our present war- 
 like mdustrial system when an agreement to be 
 loyal to the aspirations of the great body of his 
 brother working men, shall become the test put 
 upon an appUcant by those from whom he is seek- 
 ing employment. 
 
 There are other unions which sjonpathize with 
 the attitude of the New Trade Unionism. The old 
 and weU-estabhshed miners' unions are such. The 
 railway employees are becoming more strongly 
 united, and even when they lose in their stiniggles 
 with the companies, as in the most recent strike in 
 Scotland, they are rapidly bringing to the public 
 a knowledge of their difficulties, especially in the 
 way of long hours. A few more great railway 
 strikes, and we shall probably see the government 
 compelled to institute some close surveillance of 
 the whole matter of the companies' dealing with 
 their employees. 
 
 The gradual uniting of interests on the part of the 
 men at work in these large industries suggests the 
 possibility of the greatest labor struggle the woild 
 has yet seen. On the one side is the Shippers' 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 15 
 
 Federation, representing, it claims, the eqnivar 
 lent of seven-ninths of all the capital invested 
 in shipping in the United Kingdom. On the 
 other side, the sailors, the dockers, the gas work- 
 ers, the railway men, and the coal miners, have 
 already combined in local strikes, and they are 
 getting prepared for a sti-ike aU along the Hne, if 
 events seem to make it necessary * These things 
 clearly illustrate the gigantic massing of forces 
 that is coming about in the industrial world. 
 English trade unions do not succeed well with for- 
 mal federations like the American Federation of 
 Labor, but they are nowise behind in the ability 
 quickly to form offensive and defensive alliances 
 which meet special needs fully as well, if not 
 better. 
 
 A situation of this kind raises the question of 
 arbitration. On this matter, veiy little progress 
 has been made. Good results have been gained, 
 however, by committees of conciliation at some 
 recent strikes. The best example of such work 
 is that of the committee composed of Cardinal 
 Manning, Mr. Sidney Buxton, M.P., and others, 
 which brought the dock strike to a conclusion. 
 
 A special part of the poUcy of the New Union- 
 ism is to organize those kinds of labor which are 
 
 * See an article by Michael Davitt in The North Ameri- 
 can BevieWf October, 1890. 
 
16 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 likely to come on the market and be the means of 
 depreciating wages or of displacing union men. 
 For this reason, as well as out of direct motives of 
 pity, the new unionists give every encouragement 
 to the organization of women workers. The main 
 burden of this work has been borne by two ladies — 
 by Miss Clementina Black for London, and by 
 Lady Dilke for the provinces. Lady Dilke's suc- 
 cess with the taiLoresses, and Miss Black's with the 
 gu'ls working in confectionery factories, have done 
 much toward getting women's work established 
 on a basis of regularity and justice. 
 
 The spirit of the New Unionism has gone among 
 the tenement-house workers of London, including 
 the tailoring and boot-making trades, which have 
 been very badly sweated. These trades are now 
 strongly demanding government inspection of 
 the conditions of tenement-house work. Factory 
 operatives — of whom there are comparatively few 
 in London, the factories being mostly at the 
 North — belong to the more conservative unions. 
 Yet even they are by no means of one mind in 
 rejecting the distinctive proposals of the new 
 leaders. 
 
 A scheme wliich may have very far-reaching 
 results has recently been launched by the new 
 unionists. ReaUzing that the supply of ^^ black- 
 legs," who give so much trouble at the docks, 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 17 
 
 comes mostly from the country, they have deter- 
 mined to try and make comitry life more endm*- 
 able, and city life less fascinating. They propose 
 to organize the agricultural laborers throughout 
 England, and have already begun work in the 
 counties from which most men come up to Lon- 
 don. If this movement has any success, it wiU 
 not only relieve the pressure at the docks, but it 
 will mark the beginning of a great change in the 
 aristocratic rural life which is characteristic of 
 England. The fundamental question of the land 
 would be sure to come up in such a case. But it 
 is to be feared that the difficulties of organizing 
 rural laborers and of getting advances in wages 
 from the hard-pressed farmers have been some- 
 what underestimated. The part of their due which 
 the laborers are deprived of goes, not to the farmer, 
 but to the landlord. Nevertheless, one is glad to 
 see any effort to better the condition of these poor 
 people, who suffer under long hours, miserable 
 wages, and a most monotonous existence. 
 
 Within the lines of the older organizations the 
 New Unionism is making steady progress. It is 
 not, of com^se, to be supposed that the new leaders 
 wish to have the unions of the skilled adopt all 
 the methods which are used by unions of the un- 
 sldlled. For instance, the new unions differ from 
 the old in that most of them have practically no 
 
18 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 benefit or insurance features. The reason for this 
 is that the fees must be kept as low as possible. 
 Also many of the men are already members of 
 friendly societies, and would be unwilling to join 
 a union if they had to invest further in benefits. 
 It is considered so important that aU of the labor- 
 ers at any one industry should so far as possible be 
 united together for the sake of meeting effectively 
 the strength of the capitalists, that the new unions 
 are unwilling to introduce any feature which 
 would divert from this main effort. 
 
 But though the methods of the new unions may 
 not be adopted in detail by the old, the New Union- 
 ism is having a gi-eat influence upon the whole of 
 organized labor. The new unionists are acquiring 
 strength in the trades councils, the local consult- 
 ing bodies. At the last two Trade Union Con- 
 gresses, the new leaders have been successful in 
 the most important issue presented, their demand 
 for a legal eight-hours' working day. A large 
 majority of the Congress of 1891 voted for such 
 legislation, to be binding over all trades, excepting 
 trades a majority of whose members should pro- 
 test. It is significant that John Burns and Tom 
 Mann were delegates, not from the Dockers' Union, 
 but from the Amalgamated Society of Engiaeers. 
 
 There are many impressive things about this 
 great movement among the English laborers. 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 19 
 
 Nowhere outside of it at the present time can one 
 see so well how strong are the forces that are mak- 
 ing for the development and triumph of true de- 
 mocracy in Europe and America. The New Trade 
 Unionism illustrates the unity of the labor move- 
 ment. As it progresses, it uses suggestions from 
 trade-union history; it is embodying practica- 
 ble Socialism in its proposals for municipal and 
 national action; it has sought the interest and 
 advice of some leading co-operators with regard 
 to the new plan of conducting dock labor ; it has 
 formally expressed confidence in the Salvation 
 Army's scheme, and offered aU possible assistance. 
 Its success has shown in a fresh way the common 
 f eeUng that exists among working men, and even 
 suggests a time when trade unions in different 
 countries shaU be afSHated for mutual assistance. 
 During the dock strike, there was contributed 
 from Austraha $180,000, mainly from the work- 
 ing men, to aid the dock laborers. Wliile the 
 strike in Australia lasted, during the summer of 
 1890, about $60,000 was sent out by Enghsh 
 trade unions. To see laborers who a few years 
 ago were deemed almost below being hoped for 
 now, for the sake of seeing justice done, divid- 
 ing their scanty earnings with the confectioner 
 girls, the seamstresses, the farm hands, or with 
 working men at the other end of the world, is 
 
20 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 calculated to give one a fresh sense of what the 
 brotherhood of humanity really is. The new 
 unions, by bringing men into relations of this 
 kind, as weU as into united action with the im- 
 mediate sharers of their labor, have accomphshed 
 a great deal toward the social and moral educa- 
 tion of their members. 
 
 A wonderful momentum bears this movement 
 on. It is by no means certain that the new 
 unions will continue at their steady rate of pro- 
 gress, — ^indeed, the Dockers' Union may meet some 
 calamity almost at any time, its difficulties are 
 so many. But it is safe to say that the New 
 Trade Unionism stands for some principles which 
 it wiU surely carry over into the future of the Eng- 
 lish nation. It makes mistakes of pohcy. Not 
 everything that has been done in its name can be 
 justified on ethical grounds. And yet there has 
 never been in the whole history of labor any great 
 uprising more fully actuated by a real quality of 
 statesmanship and the love of men. 
 
 The nature and success of the New Trade Union- 
 ism is in very large degree owing to its main 
 official head, Tom Mann, and its unofficial leader, 
 John Bums. Bums is of Scotch extraction, but 
 was bom in London. He has been an industrious 
 worker from childhood. Since he was sixteen or 
 seventeen he has always been at the front in labor 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 21 
 
 agitations. During the last haH-dozen years he 
 has been the most powerful Sociahst speaker in 
 England. Burns' work during the dock strike 
 was something almost unparalleled. One hun- 
 dred and twenty thousand of the lower grades 
 of laborers were on strike, and it fell to him 
 on the one hand to keep some from returning 
 to work, and on the other to restrain this great, 
 angry, and ungoverned mass of men from becom- 
 ing a mob and instituting a commune in London. 
 For six weeks he held them in almost unbroken 
 control, untn the strike was won. Since that time, 
 Burns has given himself to his work on the London 
 County Council, the governing body of the metrop- 
 olis, and in addition holds himself ready for duty 
 at any moment in connection with the labor move- 
 ment. Now, he will be directing a strike of con- 
 fectioner girls; now, addressing midnight meet- 
 ings of 'bus and tram men ; now, helping the dock- 
 ers at Southampton ; now, up in Scotland assisting 
 with the railway strike. 
 
 John Bums is in no sense a revolutionary. He 
 says — ^what is undeniable — ^that the working men 
 are the masters of the future. But he says, " We 
 are not going to tell them how much power they 
 have untn they become sufficiently educated to be 
 worthy of it." He lays great stress upon the in- 
 tellectual, social, and moral improvement of the in- 
 
22 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 dividual working man. For this reason, he always 
 prefers that strikes should be for decrease of time 
 rather than for increase of wages. A visitor at 
 Bums^ home finds him at work at his desk^ sur- 
 rounded by books. They are the fruit of long 
 seK-denial. For the sake of some of them he has 
 even gone hungry. The result is that he is a man 
 of wide information and no little culture. He is 
 always tasteful in his personal appearance and 
 in his suiTOundings. He is fond of tracing the 
 progress the dockers have made, by pointing out 
 some touch of refinement in theii* conduct, or of 
 beauty and comfort in their homes. On the other 
 hand, he well deserves the title often given him, 
 "Honest John Burns," as he exemplifies most 
 fully the rugged virtues of temperance and 
 straightforwardness, which are maintained by aU 
 the leaders of the New Unionism. None of the 
 ofiicers of the central executive of the Dockers' 
 Union use either intoxicating drinks or tobacco. 
 Burns and Mann have incomes from their work 
 of not more than $15 a week, an amount which 
 they could easily earn at then* trade. 
 
 Tom Mann is no less interesting a character 
 than John Burns. As a boy, he worked in a coal 
 mine. He came up to London at the age of 
 twenty-one, and entered upon the trade of a ma- 
 chinist. Before the dock stiike, he had been 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT - 23 
 
 engaged as secretary to a committee of leading 
 London citizens, with Sir John Lubbock for its 
 chairman, which undertook to have the hours 
 of work for shop assistants materially reduced — 
 a movement which resulted in the Shop Hours 
 Regulation Act. Mann's work in the directing 
 of the dock strike displayed a high order of cour- 
 age and administrative abihty; while only such 
 liigh ideals as his are could have sustained him 
 in the arduous task of organizing the Dockers' 
 Union. And all the time he has gone forward, not 
 merely struggling against obstacles and keeping 
 internal forces from disruption, but constantly 
 taking new steps toward the development of his 
 plan, which must have seemed too audacious to be 
 attempted but for the strength of his faith and 
 purpose. Like Burns, he is a man of no httle edu- 
 cation, the result of his own efforts. He has a very 
 courteous bearing. His fair way of dealing with 
 the dock directors has given them confidence in 
 him, and has, no doubt, saved many a difficulty. 
 Numbers of good people outside the working 
 class are his admiring friends. 
 
 Mann does not have as a speaker the power of 
 voice nor the great personal force that character- 
 ize Bums. Often, however, he goes beyond Burns 
 in denunciation of the present industrial system. 
 He has an element of prophetic feehng which 
 
24 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Bums lacks. His speeches exhibit the great labor 
 struggle as a religious cause, and he calls upon men 
 to go into it with all the courage and zeal of crusad- 
 ers. He tells the East End laborers that he would 
 have this new movement of oppressed humanity 
 to be animated by no lower enthusiasm than that 
 of Peter the Hermit, or even of Christ himself. 
 Tom Mann — a labor agitator — ^is one of the finest 
 figures in Enghsh life to-day. 
 
 It is doubtful whether any other two men in 
 England of their years have such a widespread 
 and hopeful influence. John Burns is thirty-two, 
 though his recent work has made him look a dozen 
 years older, Tom Mann is thirty-five. Their as- 
 sociates are of like age, or younger. Much is 
 justly said nowadays in admiration of young 
 men's movements at the universities, in the Church, 
 and in politics ; but, rightly considered, there is a 
 still deeper meaning in this movement of the 
 young men from the mines, the workshops, and 
 the docks. 
 
 One cannot but be impressed with the fact that 
 the English working men live a more rounded 
 and developed life than the American, comparing 
 grade with grade. No small proportion of them 
 have an intelligent interest in the political ques- 
 tions of the day. They are learning to appreciate 
 the healthful pleasures of social life. They are 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 25 
 
 beginning to care for a knowledge of history 
 and literature. Of course, there are merely sug- 
 gestions of such a tendency among unskilled 
 laborers; and it is not strongly marked even 
 among the artisans. But one never goes far among 
 English working men without finding signs of this 
 very hopeful influence. And the best of it is that 
 progress of this kind, like the industrial progress 
 of the trade unions, is largely the result of agen- 
 cies acting within the lines of the working class. 
 This influence has taken shape mainly in the work- 
 ing men's clubs, which are related to it both as 
 cause and effect. The first working men's clubs 
 were established twenty-eight years ago by a 
 group of philanthropic men, who thought the 
 attractions of the public house might be counter- 
 acted by institutions which should be to working 
 men what a business or professional man's club is 
 to him. The first clubs proved quite successful, 
 and their number increased through the assistance 
 of the promoters of the plan. At the beginning, 
 no Hquors were allowed, but afterwards it seemed 
 to the leaders of the movement hardly reasonable 
 that the rich man should be allowed his wine at 
 his club while the poor man was refused his beer 
 at his club. Since then, the clubs have nearly 
 all allowed the use of liquors. About a dozen 
 years ago, the general control of the clubs passed 
 
26 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 entirely into the hands of the working men, though 
 a few of the originators of the clubs still assist in 
 one position or other. From this beginning as an 
 independent working men's movement, the clubs 
 have steadily developed and increased in number. 
 In every manufacturing town of any size in Eng- 
 land, there is something corresponding to a club, 
 where working men can go in the evening, and 
 read the papers, smoke their pipes, drink their 
 beer, talk with their friends, and perhaps listen 
 to a lecture or a concert. The fees amount to 
 between ten and twenty cents a month. There 
 are said to be in London alone two hundred inde- 
 pendent working men's clubs. This, of course, does 
 not include the large number of clubs carried on 
 with the assistance of philanthropic persons. 
 
 A very good illustration of what a club can 
 become is funiished by the Boro' of Hackney 
 Working Men's Club. This is one of the oldest in 
 London. It has had no financial assistance to 
 speak of, but it now has $35,000 invested in its 
 buildings, and has $2,500 in the bank. There are 
 1,600 members. In their building, they have a 
 good-sized meeting hall with a complete stage, in- 
 cluding scenery, greenrooms, and aU appurte- 
 nances ; a large billiard-room ; a library and read- 
 ing-room; social rooms and class-rooms. They 
 have three or four entertainments a week during 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 27 
 
 the winter, to which the wives and sweethearts 
 come. The concerts are ordinarily given by home 
 talent, as the Club supports both a brass band and 
 an orchestra. As to dramatic entertainments, not 
 the worst companies on the road are those which 
 make their main business that of supplying work- 
 ing men's clubs with amusement. It shows to 
 what a large extent working men are taking 
 even their recreation into their own hands. The 
 Boro' of Hackney Club usually has a lecture on 
 Sunday morning. A large number of the clubs 
 have lectures on Sunday ; others have lectures on 
 week-day evenings. The subjects of the lectures 
 at the different clubs are mainly pohtical and 
 social, but scientific, literary, historical, and relig- 
 ious subjects are treated. The lecturers are often 
 educated working men 5 but in the list of speakers 
 pubhshed in the democratic papers every Satur- 
 day, persons from eveiy walk of life and of every 
 sort of opinion will be announced. This list 
 taken through the winter would include several 
 names of international reputation, and many 
 well-known throughout England. At the Boro' 
 of Hackney Club, the library numbers 4,000 
 volumes, which seem to be well used. Each win- 
 ter a number of classes in the common branches, 
 and in some of the more advanced, are carried on, 
 which are open to all the members of the Club. 
 
28 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 This Club, like the majority of the working men's 
 clubs, is strongly Radical in politics, and exerts a 
 good deal of influence in its district. Clubs which 
 go actively into politics, keep themselves remark- 
 ably free from tendencies toward political corrup- 
 tion. They even preserve a healthy independence 
 of party regime. In nearly all cases the clubs go 
 to the support of law and order. Usually there 
 are strict rules against intoxication in the club- 
 rooms. But of course in the great number there 
 are some clubs which become little more than 
 places for escaping the restrictions on drinking in 
 public houses. 
 
 From the beginning of the movement there has 
 been a federation of the clubs. It is called the 
 Working Men's Club and Institute Union, and 
 now iQcludes nearly four hundred clubs through- 
 out England, representing a total membership of 
 about 100,000. This Union is neutral in national 
 politics, and mainly concerns itself with the devel- 
 opment of the clubs socially and educationally. 
 It issues cards to members of clubs, which wiU 
 constitute them honorary members for the time 
 being of any other allied club which they may 
 care to visit. It organizes competitions and pre- 
 sents prizes for various sports and games. It is 
 especially useful in increasing the educational 
 value of the movement. Exanunations are held 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 29 
 
 and prizes given for rhetorical work, and knowl- 
 edge of history, political economy, and current 
 social questions. There is a circulating Hbrary of 
 over 4,000 volumes, from which thirty books at 
 a time are lent to the clubs j and a reference 
 library of over 2,000 volumes, from which any 
 member may draw a book at a time. Facilities 
 are provided for clubs to carry on classes in their 
 own rooms. For ambulance classes, stretchers, 
 diagrams, and aU necessary apparatus are pro- 
 vided, and, in London, the services of duly quah- 
 fied teachers are secured. For scientific classes, 
 the Union provides the necessary outfit in the way 
 of books and appliances. In connection with the 
 Working Men's College, an admirable institution 
 founded by Frederick Maurice, it is able to fur- 
 nish to London clubs for a shght fee teachers 
 in any subject they may choose to study. Of 
 course, there is a great deal of discouragement 
 in connection with this educational work, but 
 the officers of the Union have hopes of mak- 
 ing such work more and more prominent as a 
 feature of club life. The Union is very useful in 
 upholding the legal rights of the clubs, as they are 
 nearly all incorporated under the Friendly Soci- 
 eties Act. It is probable that it will soon take up 
 the question of the housing of the working class, 
 and similar social topics, and endeavor to create 
 
30 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 a right feeling among its members on these mat- 
 ters. The largest plan now on hand is that of a 
 central hall which should be a headquarters fitted 
 up with all club f acihties, and open freely to every 
 member of an affiliated club. The building would 
 also be made a centre for working-class organiza- 
 tions of all kinds, to which they could come for 
 conferences and meetings. This would help to 
 free many a strugghng trade union from an 
 entangling alliance with the public house. 
 
 An impoi-tant agency in the way of self-help 
 among the working men is the friendly societies. 
 These are numerous and some of them very strong. 
 Some, however, are not on sohd foundations. Their 
 purpose is to assist working men to form habits 
 of thrift. They are given up to their special 
 insurance work, and rarely have any of the feat- 
 ures of a club. The objects of these societies are 
 summed up as follows in the Friendly Societies 
 Act: 
 
 For the relief or maintenance of members or any of 
 their immediate relatives during sickness or other infirm- 
 ity, whether bodily or mental, in old age (which shall 
 mean any age after fifty), or in widowhood, or for the 
 relief or maintenance of the orphan children of mem- 
 bers during minority ; 
 
 For insuring money to be paid on the birth of a 
 member's child, or on the death of a member, or for the 
 funeral expenses of the husband, wife, or child of a 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 31 
 
 member, or the widow of a deceased member, or, as 
 respects members of the Jewish persuasion, for the 
 payment of a sum of money during the period of con- 
 fined mourning ; 
 
 For the relief or maintenance of the members when 
 on travel in search of employment, or when in distressed 
 circumstances, or in case of shipwreck, or loss or dam- 
 age of or to boats and nets ; 
 
 For the endowment of members or nominees of mem- 
 bers at any age ; 
 
 For the insurance against fire to any amount not 
 exceeding fifteen pounds of the tools or implements of 
 the trade or calling of the members ; 
 
 Provided that no society (except as aforesaid) which 
 contracts with any person for the assurance of an 
 annuity exceeding fifty pounds per annum, or of a gross 
 sum exceeding two hundred pounds, shall be registered 
 under this Act. 
 
 Of course many of these benefit features are 
 included in membership of trade unions. But, as 
 we have seen, the new trade unionists insist that 
 the functions of the trade union and of the friendly 
 society should not be confused. However that 
 may be, the virtue of thrift is very prominent 
 among EngUsh working men.* A case before a 
 charity committee is regarded as rather hopeless 
 
 * The postal savings banks and insurance offices exert 
 a great influence in this direction. They are to a large 
 extent the depositories of trade unions and friendly socie- 
 ties. Building and loan associations are numerous and 
 useful. 
 
32 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 when tlie applicant's family has not had member- 
 ship in a friendly society. The combined hsts of 
 the three largest societies show a total of over a 
 million and a half members. All the better so- 
 cieties are controlled by the members, and are 
 conducted in their members' interest. 
 
 The most remarkable visible achievement of 
 English working men is the co-operative societies.* 
 The co-operative movement dates from the second 
 decade of the century. But it was in 1844 that 
 the Rochdale Pioneers gave a new start to the 
 movement. Up to that time, most of the stores 
 had pursued the plan of paying their dividends 
 on the capital invested. This gave the benefits of 
 the system to the investors and not to the pur- 
 chasers. The Rochdale Pioneers took up the plan 
 of paying merely current interest to the sharehold- 
 ers, and of dividing the profits with the purchasers. 
 The marked influences toward the progress of 
 working men during the following period did 
 much to advance the cause of Co-operation. Food 
 became cheaper through the repeal of the corn 
 laws. The conditions of labor became greatly 
 
 * For books on Co-operation, there are, besides Hol- 
 yoake's " History of Co-operation," a valuable little manual 
 entitled '^Working Men Co-operators," by Arthur H. Dyke 
 Acland and Benjamin Jones, published by Cassell; and 
 Miss Beatrice Potter's authoritative book, ''The Co-oper- 
 ative Movement," published by Sonnenschein. 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 33 
 
 improved as a result of the factory acts, and also 
 tlirough. the growing strength of trade unions. 
 "Working men's societies for seK-help were given 
 the protection of the law. Numbers of influential 
 people began to take an interest in Co-operation, 
 especially the Christian Sociahsts, led by Maurice, 
 Kingsley, and Thomas Hughes. These men se- 
 cured for Co-operation a large measure of pubhc 
 sympathy. For the past twenty-five years its his- 
 tory has been one of steady progress. 
 
 The Wholesale Society, in which the shares are 
 held by the individual stores, began operations in 
 1864. The annual Co-operative Congress was first 
 held in 1869. About this time energetic efforts 
 were made to estabUsh co-operative production, 
 but they were only partially successful. Within 
 the last few years co-operative production has 
 again been taken up, with much more promise of 
 success. At present, there are three wholesale 
 warehouses, in London, Manchester, and Glasgow, 
 among the largest and finest in the Kingdom, with 
 branch warehouses at Newcastle, Bristol, and 
 Leeds. There are a number of purch asing agencies 
 in Ireland and in foreign countries. Six ships are 
 owned and regularly used by the English and 
 Scottish Wholesale Societies. There are more than 
 fifteen hundred retail stores, which are often the 
 most attractive in their towns or districts. There 
 
34 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 are nearly thirty separate co-operative productive 
 workshops and factories in close relation with 
 the Wholesale Societies. Many co-operators hope 
 that the difficulties of production will be met as 
 distributive co-operation becomes strong enough 
 to supply a steady market, and is able more and 
 more to furnish information to producers as to the 
 quality and quantity of goods required. The 
 large productive plant of the Scottish Wholesale 
 Society at ShieldhaU, Glasgow, is enough to give 
 good ground to their hope. Here seven separate 
 industries are carried on, each on a comparatively 
 large scale, with the most modern appliances, and 
 employing altogether over a thousand hands. 
 The total annual business done by . co-operative 
 societies in the United Kingdom at the present 
 time amounts to more than one hundred and 
 ninety millions of dollars, with a net profit to 
 members of about twenty millions. 
 
 The retail stores are usually begun in a small 
 way at a public meeting by getting fifty or a hun- 
 dred working men each to contribute from five to 
 twenty-five dollars. Often at first the store is open 
 only part of the time, in order to keep down ex- 
 penses. As the store prospers, a regular store- 
 keeper and assistants are employed. The prices 
 put upon goods are the current rates charged by 
 the store-keepers of the neighborhood. The benefits 
 
THE LABOR MOVEMENT 35 
 
 of co-operation are reaped in a three-fold way: 
 by a five per cent, dividend to shareholders ; by a 
 dividend on the profits, retm*ned to purchasers 
 according to the amount they have bought ; and 
 by a bonus to employees. The amount of interest 
 paid on capital shares is ahnost without exception 
 , limited to five per cent. The legal limit to the 
 amount of capital to be held by any one person, 
 in societies coming under the Friendly Societies 
 Act, is $1,000; but some societies put the limit 
 much below this. The reason for this is that the 
 larger body of purchasers wish to keep down the 
 amount paid in interest so that the amount paid 
 in purchasers' dividends may be greater. 
 
 But notwithstanding this tendency the wealth 
 of the societies gradually increases, and they take 
 newer hues of trade. The more progressive co- 
 operators would like to have every society act as 
 a sort of bank for its members, receiving aU the 
 capital they offer, and constantly developing the 
 business both of distribution and production. It 
 is the carrying out of this poUcy which has brought 
 about the wholesale stores, and the productive 
 industries that already exist. The profits distrib- 
 uted to members average from seven and a half 
 to ten per cent, on the purchases, though sometimes 
 they are nearly twice as much. In some stores, 
 members are compelled to purchase a certain 
 
36 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 amount per quarter; but others have no such 
 restriction. The plan of giving a bonus to em- 
 ployees is, strangely enough, not followed to any 
 great extent. Co-operators often consider their 
 interests as receivers of dividends to the detriment 
 of their movement and of social progress gener- 
 ally. It is too largely true of co-operators, as of 
 the old trade unionists, that they belong to an 
 aristocracy of labor. Both of these movements 
 have accomplished marvels for the elevation of 
 the working class; they have developed a body 
 of working men who are in some respects the 
 strength of the British nation. But in both there 
 is a tendency to be seK-contained, and satisfied 
 with what has already been accomplished. 
 
 Much is to be hoped for from a group of 
 enthusiastic young co-operators who, with the 
 assistance of some able men and women not of 
 the working class, are trying to make co-opera- 
 tion have a broader and deeper social influence. 
 Their hope is that all co-operative stores may 
 become — what some already are — centres of social 
 life. They would pay much more attention to 
 education, especially by having libraries at the 
 stores, and by having University Extension lect- 
 ures given under the auspices of the stores. This 
 younger body of men has caught something of 
 the spirit of the New Trade Unionism. They 
 
THE LABOR MOVEIMENT 37 
 
 wish to bring the strength of the co-operative 
 movement to bear for the improvement of the 
 condition of the unskilled and the unemployed. A 
 Co-operative Aid Association has recently been 
 formed in London, which has for its object to 
 assist both with advice and loans of money groups 
 of working men who have been under oppression 
 and can be induced to seek the freedom of a sys- 
 tem of co-operative production. 
 
 The young men who take the lead of the Co- 
 operative Aid do not really belong to the ranks 
 of working men. They have given up opportuni- 
 ties of advancement which their talents would 
 easily secure them, for the sake of identifying them- 
 selves with the different movements that go to form 
 the one comprehensive labor movement. Beside 
 being in no small degree the fresh life of Co-opera- 
 tion, they are identified with the general manage- 
 ment of the Club and Institute Union, and one of 
 them at least is a valued friend and adviser of the 
 leaders of the Dockers' Union. It is through such 
 men as these that the members of the so-called 
 upper and lower classes are coming to understand 
 each other. It is soon found on each side that 
 there are unexpected and perhaps unknown w- 
 tues in the other 5 and it begins to be felt on both 
 sides that to hve within the limits of a class be- 
 littles manhood. 
 
n 
 
 SOCIALISM 
 
 The Social Democratic Federation.— Mr. H. M. 
 Hyndman. — The Socialist League, and William 
 Morris. — The Fabian Society. — The New Fellow- 
 ship.— Fabian Essays, Lectures, and Campaigns. — 
 The Christian Socialist Society and the Guild 
 of St. Matthew. — The Land Nationalization 
 Society and the Land Restoration League. — 
 Socialistic Tendencies in Municipal and National 
 Politics. 
 
 It is less than ten years since the first of the 
 existing EngUsh SociaHst organizations was estab- 
 hshed. In 1881, a group of educated men formed 
 the " Democratic Federation," which at the begin- 
 ning held merely Radical party views. But under 
 the leadership of Mr. H. M. Hyndman it grew 
 more and more sociaHstic, and in 1883 the name 
 of the society became the "Social Democratic 
 Federation." As this name suggests the German 
 Socialist organizations, it is generally taken for 
 granted that the Federation is transplanted from 
 Continental soil. It is true that Carl Marx, during 
 
SOCIALISM. 39 
 
 his residence in London, had a good deal of 
 inflnence with Mr. Hyndman and other persons 
 of extreme tendencies. There have also been 
 numerous German refugees in London from time 
 to time. But the membership of the different 
 Sociahst organizations has been made up almost 
 whoUy of EngUsh people, and their programmes 
 have to a large extent taken character from the dis- 
 tinctive nature and circumstances of English life. 
 Mr. Hyndman is a graduate of Triaity College, 
 Cambridge. At the time of his espousal of Social- 
 ism, he was a wealthy member of West End so- 
 ciety. It is a fair test of his honesty that he 
 was shunned by his former associates, and expelled 
 from his club j and that he spent a fortune to ad- 
 vance the new cause. He is stiQ, perhaps, the 
 leading exponent of Sociahsm in England, so far 
 as knowledge of the subject goes. His organiza- 
 tion, too, is the largest of all, and is now made up 
 almost exclusively from the working class. Mr. 
 Hyndman is not, however, a man of agreeable 
 personahty. This hinders him from becoming a 
 great popular leader, and has been the cause of the 
 Federation's losing some valuable men. This ex- 
 plains why William Morris, the poet, left the Fed- 
 eration and formed the Sociahst League. It also 
 explains to a large extent the more recent defec- 
 tion of John Burns and Tom Mann. 
 
40 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 The Federation has carried on a vigorous propa- 
 gandist campaign. In all parts of London, as 
 well as in the other cities, it has estabUshed 
 branches which keep up a constant series of meet- 
 ings, mainly in the open air. The people who 
 conduct these meetings sometimes do not repre- 
 sent the most industrious and respectable elements 
 of the working class j but ver^^ often the officers 
 of the local branches are skilled workers having 
 good positions, tasteful in their appearance, and 
 modest and agreeable in their bearing. A large 
 number of tracts and pamphlets are pubHshed, 
 and a weekly paper called Justice. The marked 
 increase of socialistic feeling among working men 
 is to be credited to the Federation, for its original 
 impulse at least. 
 
 An important part of the work of the Federa- 
 tion — as also of the Socialist League — ^has been 
 that of holding persistently before the people of 
 London the problem of the unemployed. The 
 years 1886, 1887, and 1888 saw a long series of 
 agitated meetings, disturbances, and even riots, 
 in which the leaders were nearly all Socialists. 
 The worst of these affau-s was a parade of unem- 
 ployed from the East End through aristocratic 
 Mayfair, in which a great deal of damage was 
 done, especially to the windows of the clubs where 
 the sons of the aristocracy are wont to sit. The 
 
SOCIALISM 41 
 
 meetings at Trafalgar Square, which the police 
 finally succeeded in suppressing, were all occupied 
 with the troubles and threats of men willing to 
 work, but without the opportunity. Several times 
 the imemployed appeared in a great crowd in front 
 of some leading church on Sunday merely to be 
 seen by the worshippers as they passed in — per- 
 haps with the hope of suggesting some contrasts 
 between original Christianity and the present kind. 
 Once they exercised their privilege as Londoners, 
 and all went to St. Paul's 5 once they went to 
 Westminster Abbey. In these and other ways the 
 Socialists have done much toward getting atten- 
 tion fixed upon the East End of London and its 
 dangerous problem of poverty and degradation. 
 Had it not been for these things by way of prep- 
 aration, there might not have been the pubhc 
 sympathy which helped so much to win the dock 
 strike, and still supports the new trade unions. 
 After leading up thus to a more definite work of 
 organization, the agitations of the unemployed 
 have practically ceased 5 but this is not to be con- 
 strued as indicating that the vast number of men 
 out of work has perceptibly decreased. 
 
 The new trade unions are the offspring of the 
 Social Democratic Federation. This is none the 
 less so though the leaders of the New Unionism 
 were rejected by their brethren of the Federation. 
 
42 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIHENTS 
 
 John Bums says that he tries to have a Socialist for 
 secretary of a branch union whenever it is possi- 
 ble. His reason is that such a one is likely to have 
 ideals, and therefore to be honest and intelligent. 
 Nine-tenths of the officers of the Gas Workers' and 
 General Laborers' Union are said to be Socialists. 
 Every part of the programme laid out by the 
 Dockers' Union is socialistic. 
 
 The remarkable progress of the new unions, and 
 their increasing influence in the Trade Union 
 Congress, have giadually opened the eyes of the 
 members of the Social Democratic Federation to 
 the value of trade unions as a means of develop- 
 ment. They formerly doubted this because they 
 saw only the attitude taken by the old and well- 
 estabhshed unions. They speak much more favor- 
 ably of the possibilities of trade unionism now. 
 
 The Federation nominates its own candidates 
 for parish, municipal, and parhamentary offices. 
 It will often support a candidate against a Radical 
 who is proposing the same immediate measures 
 as the Socialist. The reason for keeping strictly 
 independent is the fear that candidates may be led 
 away by flattery, if not by money. Further to 
 prevent traitors, there is a very severe proviso. 
 Before any candidate begins his canvass, he must 
 leave with the Federation committee his resigna- 
 tion of the office for which he is standing ,• the 
 
SOCIALISM 43 
 
 resignation to be handed in by the committee, if 
 in their judgment he proves unfaithful to Sociahst 
 principles. 
 
 The Social Democratic Federation, whatever it 
 may have been in the past, is not now a revolu- 
 tionary body. It has of late been growing 
 steadily more moderate. Mr. Hyndman says the 
 first step must be to get the apathy, ignorance, and 
 jealousy of the working class removed. He lays 
 great stress upon the spread of education. He 
 ui'ges the eight-hours bill for the sake of giving 
 working men a better chance to improve them- 
 selves. He says that the only hope of changing 
 present conditions is in getting hold of the gov- 
 ernment. He would not use force, for the reason 
 that force would not succeed. The plan would be 
 to capture municipal councils, school boards, and 
 even Parliament as far as possible. Side by side 
 with the political movement, he would have the 
 working men organized so as to take advantage at 
 once of every opportunity to increase their power 
 in industrial and commercial affairs. 
 
 The platform of the Social Democratic Federa- 
 tion is as f oUows : 
 
 OBJECT. 
 The socialization of the means of production, distribu- 
 tion, and exchange, to be controlled by a democratic 
 state in the interests of the entire community ; and the 
 complete emancipation of labor. 
 
44 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 PKOGEAMME. 
 
 1. All officers or administrators to be elected by 
 equal direct adult suffrage, and to be paid by the com- 
 munity. 
 
 2. Legislation by the people in such wise that no 
 project of law shall become legally binding till accepted 
 by the majority of the people. 
 
 . 3. The abolition of a standing army, and the estab- 
 lishment of a national citizen force ; the people to decide 
 on peace or war. 
 
 4. All education, higher no less than elementary, to be 
 free, compulsory, secular, and industrial, for all alike. 
 
 5. The administration of justice to be free and gra- 
 tuitous for all members of society. 
 
 6. The land, with all the mines, and the railways and 
 other means of transit, to be declared and treated as 
 collective or common property. 
 
 7. Ireland and all other parts of the Empire to have 
 legislative independence. 
 
 8. The production of wealth to be regulated by 
 society in the common interest of all its members. 
 
 9. The means of production, distribution, and ex- 
 change, to be declared and treated as collective or com- 
 mon property. 
 
 As measures called for to palliate the evils of our 
 existing society, the Social Democratic Federation urges 
 for immediate adoption : 
 
 The compulsory construction of artisans' and agricul- 
 tural laborers' dwellings in proportion to the population, 
 such dwellings to be let at rents to cover the cost of 
 construction and maintenance alone. 
 
SOCIALISM 45 
 
 Free compulsory education for all classes, together 
 with the provision of at least one wholesome meal a day 
 in each school. 
 
 Eight hours or less to be the normal working day in 
 all trades. 
 
 Cumulative taxation upon all incomes above a fixed 
 minimum not exceeding £300 a year. 
 
 State appropriation of railways ; municipal control 
 of gas, water, and tramway companies. 
 
 The establishment of national banks which shall 
 absorb all private institutions that derive a profit from 
 operations in money or credit. 
 
 Kapid extinction of the national debt. 
 
 Nationalization of the land, and organization of 
 agricultural and industrial armies under state or mu- 
 nicipal control, on co.-operative principles. 
 
 As means for the peaceable attainment of these 
 objects the Social Democratic Federation advocates : 
 
 Payment of members and payment of official expenses 
 of election, out of the rates. Adult suffrage. Annual 
 Parliaments. Proportional representation. Abolition 
 of the House of Lords and all hereditary authorities. 
 Disestablishment and disendowment of all state 
 churches. Extension of the powers of county councils. 
 
 The Socialist League takes its character very 
 largely from its leaHer^ William Morris. Morris, 
 while at Oxford, came under the influence of Rus- 
 kin, and has not a little of Ruskin's fondness for 
 some of the ways of earlier and simpler types of 
 society. As far as possible, he would have the 
 
46 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 medieval system of guilds of handicraft brought 
 back. He abjures pohtics. He would have in 
 his. socialistic commonwealth very little central 
 government. His plan is to have people dwell to- 
 gether in free communal groups, sufficiently smaU 
 so that every member could participate in the 
 management of affairs. This brings the Socialist 
 League's platform very near to that of the Anarch- 
 ists, and many of the members of the League caU 
 themselves Anarchist-Communists. Of Anarchists, 
 properly speaJdng, there are in England very few. 
 Morris's protest against the present social sys- 
 tem is that of an artist and poet. He sees pub- 
 lic taste decaying, the artist and the artisan being 
 degraded, through the influence of a soulless com- 
 mercialism. The whole gi-inding, mechanical pro- 
 cess of current civilization is abhorrent to him. 
 The ugliness and wretchedness of an Enghsh 
 manufacturing town or mining district express to 
 him the fact that as long as men and nature are 
 viewed chiefly as means of acquiring money, there 
 can be no progress among the people toward a 
 happier and more beautiful life. This intense feel- 
 ing of recoil from the present conditions of the 
 existence of the majority of his countrymen, would 
 have made many men pessimistic reactionaries. 
 But Morris sees that the forces of history cannot 
 turn back. His strong hope for the future, to- 
 
SOCIALISM 47 
 
 gether with his impatience of the mechanical 
 methods of politics and of trade organization, have 
 made him a revolutionary. 
 
 The immediate proposals of the Socialist League 
 seem fanciful enough. They call for a no-rent 
 movement and a general strike. The plan of the 
 no-rent movement, as outhned by articles in The 
 Commonweal, the now defunct organ of the So- 
 ciahst League, is for a house in the slums to be 
 taken and garrisoned with a few resolute men, 
 prepared to ward off the rent collector with such 
 proletarian ammunition as " bottles, bricks, stones, 
 hot water, and missiles of all kinds." If the defence 
 prove vigorous and successful, it is expected that 
 the whole street will rise in rebellion, and thence 
 the no-rent movement spread into every district in 
 London. As to the general strike, it is suggested 
 that the workers of a town or district should all 
 strike under a pretext of demanding the eight- 
 hours' day, but with a real aim of bringing in the 
 social revolution. At any rate, all who desire the 
 social revolution are to be prepared for the time 
 which is soon expected when the trade unionists 
 shall despair of getting the eight-houi-s' day by 
 parliamentary enactment, and shall, it is pre- 
 dicted, be driven to settle the question by a united 
 insurrection. 
 
 These come as near to forming a definite plan of 
 
48 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 action as do any propositions made by members of 
 the League. There are many vague revolutionary 
 threats thrown out, but no attempt is made to en- 
 act them. The farthest step taken in the no-rent 
 movement, of which the writer heard, was that of 
 a pale youth who announced that he had marked 
 with red one of the no-rent articles in The Com- 
 monweal, and had shpped the paper under the 
 door of a man who was having trouble with his 
 landlord. In fact, WiUiam Morris says very little 
 about the way in which the social revolution is to 
 be brought about. He is confident, however, that 
 the present social system is fast bringing on its 
 own dissolution. Of late he has begun to have 
 more hope than before in the power of trade 
 unions. But the Socialist League, in general, is oc- 
 cupied with exposing the iniquity of present condi- 
 tions, and comparing them with the features of 
 the coming social commonwealth. 
 
 It can easily be understood that such methods 
 as these do not get much support from the hard- 
 headed, unpoetic English working man. The 
 League is steadily diminishing in numbers, and 
 probably before long it will be merely a single 
 society meeting at Morris's home in London. 
 Apart from the results of the agitation it has car- 
 ried on, the League has had an important place 
 in the socialistic movement in two respects. It 
 
SOCIALISM 49 
 
 has emphasized the necessity of international 
 Sociahsm, and has been a refuge for men who 
 have had to leave the Continental countries on 
 account of their revolutionary attitude. But the 
 League will be remembered especially on account 
 of the work of William Morris. For seven or 
 eight years he has paid a large share of the 
 expenses of the League, and has put himself on 
 the same plane with the humblest member as to 
 duties to be performed. The figure of the poet, 
 clad in the garb of an artisan, addressing a crowd 
 of working men at the street comer, on such a sub- 
 ject as " Art for the People," calls up suggestions 
 moral as well as picturesque. And Morris has had 
 a deep influence, both directly and indii-ectly, in 
 the artistic circles of London. A distinct phase of 
 English Radicalism and Socialism is that of men 
 who look at the present industrial and commercial 
 system first of all from the aesthetic point of 
 view, and decide that without some fundamental 
 changes, true art — art yielding its benefits to the 
 whole people, and in turn getting its inspiration 
 from the whole people — will be quite impossible. 
 These men look upon William Morris as theu^ 
 leader, and without sharing aU of his visionary 
 ideas, they feel that his denunciation of our pres- 
 ent life is the message of a real prophet. 
 
 The most important of the Socialist organiza- 
 
50 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIVIENTS 
 
 tions, by far, is the Fabian Society. In 1883, Mr. 
 Thomas Davidson, formerly one of the lecturers 
 at the Concord School of Philosophy, stopped long 
 enough in London on his way to Italy, to open a 
 discussion among a Httle circle of people, mainly 
 literary and journalistic workers, as to the new 
 moral and social duties of the present time. As 
 the discussion was continued, it was not long till 
 a divergence appeared. One group was most 
 impressed by the need of a new and more stren- 
 uous application of ethics to personal Hfe. The 
 other felt that this would be to neglect the greater 
 matter of social ethics, and, moreover, that per- 
 sonal character, in these times above all, could be 
 developed only by entering into active service 
 among men. The one group became the New Fel- 
 lowship j the other became the Fabian Society. 
 The New Fellowship is sociahstic in feeling, but 
 instead of dealing with the larger economic ques- 
 tions, takes up the practical problems of every-day 
 life — such as the ethics of the relation between a 
 merchant and his employees, the ethics of purchas- 
 ing goods which have been produced under unjust 
 conditions, the ethics of having two social classes 
 in the home. The object of the New Fellowship is, 
 by discussions and printed matter and by co- 
 operative experiments in home and neighborhood 
 life, to show how far we are in many of our cus- 
 
SOCIALISM 51 
 
 toms and habits from obeying the law of service, 
 according to which we are all interdependent, each 
 person being, as regards every other, always an 
 end in himself. The New Fellowship insists that 
 the outcome of this principle must be thorough- 
 going social equality. 
 
 The Fabian Society was not at first definitely 
 socialistic. For two years it held drawing-room 
 meetings for economic discussion. Its leading 
 members, all of them educated men, gave close 
 study to Marx and other Socialist writers, espe- 
 cially trying to see in what way the socialistic idea 
 could be introduced into current politics. They 
 joined one of the amateur parhaments, of which 
 there were a large number in London a few years 
 ago, and being appointed to the government they 
 presented and carried a long list of sociaUstic bills. 
 From that time the Society began to pubhsh , its 
 poHtical tracts. In the winter of 1888 it began 
 to hold public meetings. At these meetings the 
 lectures were given which have since been pub- 
 hshed, with an additional chapter, as the " Fabian 
 Essays." * The Essays give a very able exposition 
 of SociaUsm at its best, except for the somewhat un- 
 ethical attitude of Mr. Bernard Shaw, the brilliant 
 editor of the book — a point in which the other 
 writers disagree with him entirely. Some of the 
 tracts pubHshed by the Society are : " Why are 
 * London : Walter Scott. 
 
52 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVE^IENTS 
 
 the Many Poor " j " Facts for Socialists," contain- 
 ing statistics with regard to the relative income 
 and conditions of the different social classes; 
 " Facts for Londoners," an exhaustive collection of 
 statistics with regard to large enterprises in Lon- 
 don which might be municipaUzed easily and 
 soon ; " An Eight-hours Bill," introducing for the 
 first time a trade-option clause, by which, if the 
 bill were passed, it would be effective only in those 
 trades which should adopt it by a majority vote 
 of the workers. 
 
 With the first public meetings and the success- 
 ful circulation of the earlier tracts, the Society en- 
 tered fairly upon its work of poHtical education 
 and action. In the formal meetings of the Society, 
 the discussions have been mainly upon Sociahsm 
 in its theoretical and historical aspects. The 
 meetings are held in a central place and are 
 largely attended. After the introductory papers 
 are read, a free expression of view is had from 
 persons of every variety of economic opinion in 
 the whole circuit, from the ^treme IndividuaHsts, 
 around again to the extreme Anarchists — two 
 parties of rather different intellectual and social 
 position according to present standards, who find 
 themselves curiously at one in their arguments 
 against moderate Socialism. 
 
 Every year the Fabian Society sends out a list 
 
SOCIALISM 53 
 
 of about sixty lecturers, with their subjects, who 
 are ready to speak without charge other than 
 expense incurred. Some of the lectures are stated 
 to be solely for drawing-room meetings. Others 
 are offered for any sort of gathering, in-doors or 
 out. The Society also offers to supply courses of 
 lectures on different topics connected with Social- 
 ism, as well as on " Elementary Pohtical Economy " 
 and " The History of the Nineteenth Century in 
 England." 
 
 A very active and effective campaign has been 
 carried on in the way of lectures at the working 
 men's clubs. In this way, socialistic f eehng has 
 been aroused to a remarkable extent among Lon- 
 don working men during the past few years. The 
 clubs furnish a very hopeful field for the Fabian 
 propaganda. They are always on the look-out for 
 suitable lecturers from week to week. Their mem- 
 bers are especially interested in industrial and 
 pohtical questions, and are almost universally 
 ready to take a strong Radical attitude on cur- 
 rent issues. With platforms and audiences thus 
 awaiting them, all the Fabians have had to do has 
 been to detail several of their ablest men into this 
 special service, with the most of the rest of the 
 Society to be called upon when needed. Their 
 main effort has been to get the working men 
 enhsted for a series of immediate practical reforms 
 
 uinvERsiTrl 
 
54 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 in the way of government control, rather than to 
 persuade them of the correctness of theoretical 
 Socialism. In all cases the club members are 
 free to ask questions, and thoroughly to discuss 
 the subject in hand. Throughout this movement, 
 which has all gone on so quietly as hardly to be 
 noticed from the outside, the intelligence and 
 moderation of the Fabian speakers, combined with 
 their evident desire to identify themselves with 
 the interests of the working class, have presented 
 Socialism to working men in an entirely new 
 light. It has been this effort, along with some 
 other influences, that has made the body of Lon- 
 don working men pass definitely away from the 
 old IndividuaLLst Radicalism ; with the result that 
 their demands for comprehensive social legisla- 
 tion are now something that must be seriously 
 treated with by the leaders of the Liberal party. 
 Not long ago the executive of the Fabian Society 
 decided that this work had fairly accomplished its 
 end in London for the present. They therefore 
 determined to turn their efforts toward the North 
 country. The prospect did not seem very hopeful, 
 as Lancasliire is the home of Co-operation and the 
 Old Trade Unionism. The Northern working 
 men are a better race than those of the South. 
 They are thrifty, independent, and not altogether 
 unsatisfied wdth the present state of tilings. Still, 
 
SOCIALISM 55 
 
 the Society was encouraged by a gift of money 
 sufficient to cover expenses, and about sixty lect- 
 ui-es by ten different speakers were arranged for 
 in the autumn of 1890. The lectures were given 
 before a variety of kinds of audience, in churches, 
 pohtical clubs, social clubs, co-operative society 
 halls, and to branches of the Federation and the 
 League. The main object of the Lancashu-e cam- 
 paign was to urge a political platform which should 
 attempt, by measures for government control 
 or ownership, to equalize some of the unjust 
 conditions of the working class. Some subjects 
 of lectures were : " Practicable Land Nationaliza- 
 tion," " The Politics of Labor," " The Case for an 
 Eight-hours Bill," "Co-operation and Socialism," 
 " What Socialism Means." This campaign was a 
 success in that the Fabian Society has shown the 
 Northern working men that Sociahsm, in its pres- 
 ent proposals at least, is not only not dangerous, 
 but is merely a development of principles they 
 have already accepted as Radicals. Sometimes, 
 in the discussions that always followed the lectures, 
 men asserted that the Fabian proposals were no 
 advance at all on the old Radicalism which they 
 had been following. But the lecturers were not 
 so anxious to prove that their solution was new 
 as that it was true, and accepted this criticism 
 along with the expressions of interest and, in 
 
56 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 many cases, of full sympathy, as indicating re- 
 sults considerably greater tlian they had expected. 
 It is an especial point with the Fabian Society 
 that its members shall work with the Liberal 
 party. At first it seemed as if the Liberal leaders 
 would either ignore them or else cast them out. 
 But they have intrenched themselves so strongly 
 that their reforms seem likely to be thoroughly 
 canvassed within the lines of the party. The 
 Fabians join the local Liberal organizations. 
 They stand for local offices. They send up reso- 
 lutions to the central political body. Many of 
 them are members of the National Liberal Club in 
 London. There has recently been formed in Lon- 
 don the Metropolitan Radical Federation, repre- 
 senting working men's clubs having a total mem- 
 bership of 25,000. Mainly under the direction of 
 Mr. Graham Wallas, of the Fabian Society, this 
 Federation has put forth a Radical platform 
 which practically embodies the Fabian propo- 
 sals. Under the process called " heckhng '' — that 
 is, besieging with questions — nearly every Liberal 
 candidate in London has been compelled to assent 
 to this platform. The Metropolitan Radical Fed- 
 eration is now only waiting the proper time to 
 launch a movement through the country at large. 
 If Home Rule for Ireland seems likely to be 
 gained soon, a delay will be made. If not, the 
 
SOCIALISM 57 
 
 Federation will insist that a somewhat distant and 
 uncertain measure shall no longer keep back con- 
 sideration of matters vitally concerning vast 
 masses of the people of England. The nature of 
 the situation may be inferred from the fact that 
 Mr. Sidney Webb, the political leader of the 
 Fabian Society, was not long ago consulted by Mr. 
 John Morley as to what representative of the 
 Radicals he would propose for a place in the next 
 Liberal cabinet.* 
 
 The Fabian Society takes its name, of course, 
 from Fabius of Rome. Its motto is this : ^' For 
 the right moment you must wait, as Fabius did 
 most patiently, when warring against Hannibal, 
 though many censured his delays ; but when the 
 time comes you must strike hard, as Fabius did, or 
 your waiting will be in vain and fruitless." The 
 Society's prospectus gives a statement of the ob- 
 jects to be gained by this policy of masterly delay : 
 
 The Fabian Society consists of Socialists. 
 
 It therefore aims at the reorganization of society by 
 the emancipation of land and industrial capital from 
 individual and class ownership, and the vesting them in 
 the community for the general benefit. In this way 
 only can the natural and acquired advantages of the 
 country be equitably shared by the whole people. 
 
 The Society accordingly works for the extinction of 
 
 * Many of the editorials in Tlie Speaker, the weekly 
 Liberal organ, are written by Mr. Webb. 
 
58 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 private property in land and of the consequent individ- 
 ual appropriation, in the form of rent, of the price 
 paid for permission to use the earth, as well as for the 
 advantages of superior soils and sites. 
 
 The Society, further, works for the transfer to the 
 community of the administration of such industrial 
 capital as can conveniently be managed socially. For, 
 owing to the monopoly of the means of production jn 
 the past, industrial inventions and the transformation 
 of surplus income into capital have mainly enriched the 
 proprietary class, the worker being now dependent on 
 that class for leave to earn a living. 
 
 If these measures be carried out without compensa- 
 tion (though not without such relief to expropriated 
 individuals as may seem fit to the community), rent 
 and interest will be added to the reward of labor, the 
 idle class now living on the labor of others will neces- 
 sarily disappear, and practical equality of opportunity 
 will be maintained by the spontaneous action of eco- 
 nomic forces with much less interference with personal 
 liberty than the present system entails. 
 
 For the attainment of these ends, the Fabian Society 
 looks to the spread of Socialist opinions, and the social 
 and political changes consequent thereon. It seeks to 
 promote these by the general dissemination of knowl- 
 edge as to the relation between the individual and 
 society in its economic, ethical, and political aspects. 
 
 It wiU be seen from this statement that the mem- 
 bers of the Fabian Society are careful to avoid Uto- 
 pian Socialism. They hold closely to the study of 
 actual facts. It is their effort to show that Social- 
 
SOCIALISM 59 
 
 ism is a necessary induction from the social his- 
 tory of the past few centuries, and that the ten- 
 dencies of the present time are gradually but 
 surely carrying us toward a socialistic common- 
 wealth. They seek constantly to assist all of these 
 tendencies in whatever way may seem most favor- 
 able. They do not, therefore, uphold a mere 
 mechanical State Socialism. They are proposing 
 now to have the central government control only 
 the large interests affecting the whole country, such 
 as the land, the railroads, and the mines. The 
 management of other enterprises they would leave 
 to the cities and towns to be carried out in a way 
 to suit local circumstances. The Fabians also wel- 
 come and assist the movement of the new trade 
 unions toward economic Socialism 5 though with 
 regard to economic Socialism they do not agree 
 with the members of the Socialist League in hold- 
 ing that each industry ought to be carried on for 
 the benefit especially of the workers in that indus- 
 try. They hold that ultimately all industries 
 must be conducted in the interest of the whole 
 social body. 
 
 Perhaps the leading immediate proposal of the 
 Fabian Society, in addition to the regular Radi- 
 cal platform, is the taxation of ground rents in 
 cities. Besides this, its members urge the national 
 o^^mership of railroads, and the municipal owner- 
 
60 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIVIENTS 
 
 sMp of gas and water supply, tramways, docks, 
 markets, and hospitals. They are calling for an 
 increase of the activity of city and parish authori- 
 ties in caiTying out the provisions of sanitary 
 legislation and of the laws for the housing of the 
 working class. 
 
 The more active members of the Fabian Society 
 are young men who are rapidly rising in their 
 different spheres of work. Several of them hold 
 important positions in the civil service. Among 
 these are Mr. Sidney Webb, author of the book 
 " Socialism in England," and lecturer on PoHtical 
 Economy at the Working Men's College,* and Mr. 
 Sidney OHvier, who has recently been* entrusted 
 with the reconstruction of the government of the 
 colony of British Honduras. Mr. William Clarke 
 is one of the editors of the London Daily Chroiiicle, 
 and writes for different periodicals and newspapers 
 in England and America. Mr. Graham Wallas has 
 recently been commissioned by the Charity Organi- 
 zation Society — a body that is far from being so- 
 ciahstic — to spend a year or more in studying the 
 possibility of increasing the functions of municipal 
 governments, and to report in a series of lectures. 
 
 * This book gives a valuable account of the subject, but 
 it makes rather exaggerated claims as to the supporters 
 and results of Socialism. London : Swan Sonnenschein 
 &Co. 
 
SOCIALISM 61 
 
 Mrs. Annie Besant, the ablest and most interest- 
 ing woman reformer in England during the 
 years just past, has unfortunately left the Fabian 
 Society, and given up nearly aU her social work, 
 in order to undertake more fully the culture of 
 Theosophy. A large proportion of the two hun- 
 dred members of the Society are persons not only 
 of culture, but of experience in the world's affairs. 
 All walks of life are represented. Among the 
 most widely known members are the Rev. Stop- 
 ford Brooke, Mr. Walter Crane, the artist, and 
 Mr. Grant Allen. The Society is at no trouble 
 to increase its membership. It aims at the spread 
 of its principles rather than of its name. A 
 Fabian Society has, however, been formed in Bir- 
 mingham, and one in Manchester; but each is 
 quite independent of the parent organization. 
 
 The increase of Sociahsm in England is by no 
 means restricted to a few associations, though they 
 are the nucleus of it all. It is much more than a 
 working-class movement. It has its strong sup- 
 porters at the universities. It is an important 
 fact that the educated Socialists have themselves 
 felt the stress of competition in their own work. 
 Many of them belong to the " Hterary proletariat " 
 which is gradually being formed as a result of the 
 increase of education and the entrance of women 
 into the professions. The presence in the move- 
 
62 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 ment of men who combine university training 
 with a keen sense of the social injustice under 
 which they themselves suffer, is adding a new and 
 unexpected element of strength to the forces of 
 Socialism. The character of some of the uphold- 
 ers of Sociahsm is compelling thoughtful persons 
 to consider its claims for what they are worth. 
 Even the aristocratic circles of society are not 
 proof against it. Indeed, the f eehng of sympathy 
 among upper-class people leads much more quickly 
 toward Socialism than the cold seK-interest of 
 many in the middle class. 
 
 Christian Socialism is spreading, though as 
 yet it has not collected much of its strength 
 into organizations. In the Dissenting churches, 
 while many of the younger ministers hold very 
 radical views, the number of avowed Socialists 
 is comparatively small. But, in the Church of 
 England, one might fairly say that there is a 
 strong socialistic movement. A gi'oup of forty 
 London clergymen, nearly all Sociahsts, meet 
 during the winter to consider what attitude they 
 shall take toward specific labor troubles. A good 
 part of the young High Churchmen, often the 
 best representatives of the universities and of 
 the upper social class, are facing the problems 
 of poverty in London and other towns. This 
 experience, together with the new enthusiasm of 
 
SOCIALISM 63 
 
 humanity, which is running so strongly in the 
 High Church party, is making many of them 
 Socialists. 
 
 The two main organizations of Christian So- 
 cialists are the Christian Sociahst Society and 
 the Guild of St. Matthew. The Christian So- 
 cialist Society is a body of small membership 
 which holds fortnightly meetings in London 
 tlirough the winter. At these meetings a rather 
 thorough course of economic study is gone 
 through, and current issues are discussed from 
 the socialistic point of view. A very good 
 monthly paper, The Christian Socialist j is pub- 
 lished, but financial difficulties seem hkely to end 
 its career. The attitude of the Society is best 
 expressed by its own statement : 
 
 MAIS'IFESTO. 
 
 Christian Socialism aims at embodying the principles 
 contained in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ in the 
 industrial organization of society. 
 
 The Christian Socialist Society believes that by the 
 changes which it advocates in the industrial system 
 men will be enabled, under the altered conditions of 
 modem life, to put into practice the principles taught 
 by Christ in all their dealings with one another as fel- 
 low-men and fellow-citizens. 
 
 The Society is independent of special theological 
 views, and welcomes as members those who desire to 
 subordinate their private advantage to the good of the 
 
64 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 commonwealth and of mankind, and to strive for the 
 knowledge and the power of doing it in the best and 
 highest manner possible. 
 
 AIMS OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 The union of men in a real universal brotherhood. 
 
 Public control of land and capital, to be gradually 
 assumed, and the organization of society on a basis of 
 rightly directed industry and moral worth (rather than 
 of wealth, privilege, and monopoly, as at present) ; in- 
 dustry being understood to comprise both mental and 
 manual work. 
 
 The fullest possible development of the powers and 
 faculties of each member of the community by the pro- 
 vision of a liberal education, physical, mental, and 
 industrial. 
 
 The consequent ennobling of domestic and national 
 life, and the promotion of enlarged peaceful relations 
 with all men. 
 
 The Guild of St. Matthew combines radical 
 social views with the support of High Chui'ch 
 principles. There are about two hundred mem- 
 bers of the Guild through the country. Its method 
 has been to put out a list of about forty of its 
 members who are willing to lecture on subjects 
 connected with Christian Socialism. It has not 
 organized local associations, but has depended on 
 the more general influence of its supporters. The 
 objects of the Guild are : 
 
 1. To get rid, by every possible means, of the exist- 
 
SOCIALISM 65 
 
 ing prejudices, especially on the part of ** Secularists," 
 against the Church — her sacraments and doctrines ; and 
 to endeavor to " justify God to the people." 
 
 2. To promote frequent and reverent worship in the 
 Holy Communion, and a better observance of the 
 teaching of the Church of England as set forth in the 
 Book of Common Prayer. 
 
 3. To promote the study of social and political ques- 
 tions in the light of the Incarnation. 
 
 It was the Guild of St. Matthew which by a 
 strong memorial called out the favorable deliver- 
 ance of the Pan-AngUcan Conference upon the 
 social questions when it met in London in 1888. 
 The leader of the Guild is the Rev. Stewart D. 
 Headlam^ who edits The Church Reformer, the 
 organ of the Guild. Mr. Headlamps influence is 
 somewhat hindered by his being under the ban of 
 the Bishop of London on account of his promoting 
 the Church and Stage Guild, which on the one 
 hand upholds the theatre and theatrical dancing, 
 and on the other endeavors to bring theatrical 
 men and women under the influence of the Church. 
 Notwithstanding this difficulty, St. Matthew^s 
 Guild has done a valuable work, and includes a 
 number of influential Churchmen. It seems likely 
 now, however, that the Christian Social Union, 
 which has been formed under the auspices of 
 the Pusey House at Oxford, will draw off a good 
 deal of the support of the Guild. 
 
66 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Knowing what a strong tendency there is in 
 the dii'ection of Socialism in all the religious 
 bodies, one can account for the fact that larger 
 numbers of clergymen have not identified them- 
 selves with Christian SociaUst organizations by the 
 general feehng among progressive Christians in 
 England that Christianity itself condemns the pres- 
 ent social conditions of the poor and of the rich, 
 and demands, iadependently of any external move- 
 ment, that society should undergo a series of radi- 
 cal reforms, if not a gradual reorganization. 
 
 The movement for Land Nationalization has of 
 late years been closely identified with the socialistic 
 movement. Many land reformers have become 
 Socialists} while most Socialists think that the 
 gradual abolition of the private ownership of land 
 will lead easily to the abolition of the private 
 ownership of capital. It is for this reason that 
 Land Nationalization does not receive so much 
 individual prominence as before. But its being 
 associated with other movements has, neverthe- 
 less, added a great deal of strength to its support. 
 There are two organizations that carry on a dis- 
 tinct propaganda, the Land Nationalization So- 
 ciety and the Land Restoration League. The Land 
 Nationalization Society would abolish all private 
 property in land, but would compensate dispos- 
 sessed landowners to an extent not exceeding 
 
SOCIALISM 67 
 
 the net income they derive from the land. As a 
 practical programme, it advocates : 
 
 The acquisition by public bodies of land for allot- 
 ments, crofts, small holdings, and other public purposes. 
 
 The right of public access to rivers, mountains, 
 moors, and uncultivated lands generally. 
 
 Keservation to the state of all future unearned incre- 
 ment of land values. 
 
 Taxation of land values. 
 
 The Society opposes : 
 
 The alienation of any land now held by the crown, or 
 by any public body. 
 
 Encroachments on existing commons, roadside 
 wastes, foot-paths, and rights of way. 
 
 Measures tending to increase the number of owners 
 of land and involving merely transfer of ownership. 
 
 The president of the Land Nationalization 
 Society is Professor Alfred Russell Wallace, who 
 nov7 avows himseK a Socialist. 
 
 The Land Restoration League follows Henry 
 George in holding that private ownership in land 
 must be done away through an increasing tax on 
 land values until the whole annual value of land 
 is taken in taxation for public purposes. It does 
 its work through numerous lectures by its mem- 
 bers, through pubhshing tracts and issuing peti- 
 tions, and through pohtical action. Like the 
 Fabian Society, it has much influence among the 
 working men's clubs. 
 
68 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 The question of the land is rapidly becoming 
 an issue in practical politics in England. In a 
 large proportion of Scotch constituencies candi- 
 dates have to pledge themselves to Land National- 
 ization. The evil of the present form of land 
 tenure is bitterly felt in Scotland. There seventy 
 men own half the land of the country, and httle 
 villages of crofters are constantly being evicted in 
 order to make room for deer parks for English 
 aristocrats, and for some American ones, too. . In 
 English cities and towns the rebellion against the 
 landlord system is every day becoming stronger. 
 There are several members of Parhament who are 
 earnestly advocating municipalization of land. 
 The earlier Liberal policy which proposed for 
 country laborers a system of small holdings and 
 peasant proprietorship is rapidly being given up. 
 It is beginning to be seen that farming on a small 
 scale must fail in an age of vast combined pro- 
 duction. Thus, the issue Hes between an increased 
 power of the landlord, on the one hand, and some 
 form of public control, on the other. 
 
 The Liberal party is definitely pledged to a just 
 and equitable taxation of land values and ground 
 rents. Even such a movement as this would 
 effect a great change in London where certain of 
 the nobility not only get the unearned increment 
 on acres of land in the midst of the city, but pay 
 
SOCIALISM 69 
 
 a small rate of tax on a valuation which is said to 
 have been assessed two hundred years ago. The 
 Liberals are also pledged to the abolition of the 
 " breakfast table " duties on tea, coffee, and cocoa, 
 which, of course, come mainly from the mass of 
 the people. It is interesting to notice that the 
 Financial Reform Association in the North of 
 England, founded by Cobden and Bright to ad- 
 vance the cause of absolute free trade, has been 
 naturally led toward the increasing land tax as 
 the proper means of national revenue. There is 
 in London a " Joint Committee for the Taxation 
 of Ground Rents and Values," which is supported 
 by many influential men. It has secured ap- 
 proval of its plan of special taxation of urban 
 land from a large number of members of Parlia- 
 ment, and from a strong majority of the London 
 County Council.* 
 
 These various movements which have been 
 described seem to be in reality only part of a 
 larger, less defined tendency which appears nearly 
 everywhere among Enghsh people. It is the feel- 
 ing that they must, in theii^ organized capacity as 
 city or nation, take measures to lessen the social 
 inequalities of the time. Social politics is agi- 
 tated in aU kinds of governing bodies, from the 
 local vestries and parish boards upward. 
 * " Socialism in England, " page 58. 
 
70 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 This enlargement of the functions of govern- 
 ment in all its departments is partly the cause 
 of the decentralization which has gone on during 
 the past few years. The cities are now governed 
 by councils of their citizens, which have a large 
 measure of power free from parhamentary inter- 
 ference. This fact is contributrag stiQ more to the 
 remarkable progress in the administration of Eng- 
 lish municipalities. It adds to the feeUng of loy- 
 alty which an English citizen has for his city, and 
 leads many of the best men to seek city offices. 
 The London County Council is hardly behind the 
 House of Commons in its personnel, and is not 
 insignificant in comparison of business transacted. 
 Even the London School Board has a consider- 
 able importance. The process of granting local 
 autonomy is next to be extended, as far as practi- 
 cable, to the districts of London and the other 
 cities. These for the most part retain their old 
 village names, and have local interests of their 
 own. The present movement tends to restore to 
 them some of the healthy pohtical life which 
 ill-devised city governments took away. This 
 reanimation of the body pohtic in all its parts 
 win best enable it to put through the vast social 
 work it is compelled to undertake. 
 
 The English cities are a remarkable example of 
 purity in government and comprehensiveness of 
 
SOCIALISM 71 
 
 function. Birmingham, Manchester, and Glas- 
 gow show how important a municipality may 
 become as a social unit in the more complex 
 organization of the State. These towns make it 
 their object to care for the needs of all the citizens, 
 even the humblest ; while they succeed to a remark- 
 able degree in securing the loyalty and service of 
 all, even the best. There is little of the feehng 
 in England, which is prevalent in America, of 
 reluctance to soil the hands with city poHtics. It 
 was such men as George Dawson, preaching from 
 his pulpit the duties of citizenship ; Joseph Cham- 
 berlain, though having apparently far greater 
 prospects, taking a seat in the City Council and 
 getting his friends to follow him ; Dr. R. W. Dale, 
 "the great Liberal," serving for many years on 
 the School Board — that have made Birmingham 
 what it is, one of the best managed municipalities 
 in the world. 
 
 Cities like these are well able to take the lead in 
 directing enterprises that closely affect the hfe of 
 all the citizens. In Birmingham, the city owns 
 the water, the gas, baths, parks, libraries, art 
 galleries, and an ai't school. The school system is 
 the best in England. The method of sewerage 
 and sanitation is almost as complete and pains- 
 taking as could be devised. Glasgow owns the 
 tramway road beds, and has municipal tenement- 
 
72 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 and lodging-houses. One English town, Hndders- 
 field, owns and manages the tramways. Under 
 individual enterprise they could not be made to 
 pay. Now they pay for themselves, and that, too, 
 on a basis of short houi's and fair wages to the 
 employees. 
 
 These things go to show that, aside from the 
 direct influence of SociaHsm, it has become part 
 of the conception of a city that it should include 
 many of these larger interests. The present social 
 movements are fast urging upon the municipalities 
 thus prepared, the control of monopolies both of 
 capital and land, together with the provision of 
 healthful homes and the means of education and 
 recreation for the working people. 
 
 It cannot be long in London until the County 
 Council shall furnish the water-supply for the 
 whole Metropolitan Area. A delay is being caused 
 by the discussion as to whether the plant of the 
 present companies shall be purchased, or whether 
 a new and better source of supply shall be sought, 
 and a new system of pipes laid. As the leading 
 water company has received no investment of 
 capital since the time of the Stuarts, it is thought 
 by many that the company has had sufficient 
 return, even if it should lose by municipal compe- 
 tition. The supply of gas will probably follow 
 that of water as a public enterprise. The licenses 
 
SOCIALISM 73 
 
 of the tramway companies are soon to expire, and 
 an active effort is being made to have the County 
 Council take control of them. The Council has 
 recently resolved to purchase one of the leading 
 lines. In the case of a proposed extension of a 
 company's Hne, the Council reserved the privi- 
 lege of prescribing the manner of laying the 
 tracks, the number of cars to be run, and the 
 fares to be charged ; and a further condition was 
 that none of the employees of the line should 
 be required to work more than ten hours a day. 
 The Council is taking up with its accustomed 
 energy the matter of cheap transportation for 
 working men both by tramway and railroad. 
 The companies are feehng the necessity of pro- 
 viding such facilities if they would save them- 
 selves from some thoroughgoing action of the 
 County Council. 
 
 The farthest step the Council has yet taken in 
 the direction of social administration is the 
 decision to demolish a large area of buildings in 
 Bethnal Green and erect approved working men's 
 dwellings. The magnitude of the experiment 
 may be seen from the fact that this area is about 
 fifteen acres in extent, and included 730 houses, 
 with a permanent population of 5,566. The radi- 
 cal make-up of the County Council may be in- 
 ferred from this action. The scheme was brought 
 
74 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 forward suddenly. It was urged that merely 
 repressive measures should be given a longer trial. 
 It was urged that the owners should be obliged to 
 make the buildings sanitary or else tear them 
 down. It was said to be dangerous to invest 
 £300,000 in such a scheme. It was insisted that 
 it would be impossible to provide for the people 
 who should be compelled to move out. But, in 
 spite of aH, the County Council decided that 
 half-way expedients had received a sufficient 
 trial in this dreadful case, and passed the measure 
 by a vote of fifty-eight against thirty-four. There 
 are many other spots in London which wiU 
 have to receive the same treatment. One hears 
 also of movements in the Northern towns, where 
 partial measures have already been tried, which 
 aim at similar comprehensive work with their 
 slums. 
 
 The London School Board has passed two im- 
 portant socialistic measures through the efforts 
 of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Headlam, both of whom 
 are members of the Board. One is a rule by which 
 all work undertaken for any of the schools of Lon- 
 don must be paid for at trade-union rates of 
 wages. The other is the decision to supply din- 
 ners through the public funds for poor children 
 who come to school hungry. 
 
 In English national pohtics, the social question is 
 
SOCIALISM 75 
 
 rapidly coming to the front place. Any one who 
 watches the anxiety of both parties in Parliament 
 to propose and support measures favorable to 
 the working men, will see that they both appre- 
 ciate the impoi-tance of the labor vote at the next 
 election. Questions Kke those of Disestablish- 
 ment and Home Rule, though they will stiU be 
 prominent on Liberal and Radical progi*ammes, 
 are decreasing in relative significance. It wiU 
 not be long after a Liberal government goes into 
 power till every British male adult is allowed a 
 vote, and none more than one.* The pajrment of 
 members of Parliament cannot be long delayed. 
 Free education is certain to come — indeed the 
 Conservative government itself has put through a 
 compromise bill, in order to save the voluntary 
 system as far as possible. AU these are elements 
 of the regular Radical platform. 
 
 The next measure to be brought before Parlia- 
 ment by the Trade Union Congress is to be a biU 
 for a compulsory eight-hours' day of labor. A 
 resolution to this effect was passed at the Con- 
 gress of 1890, but was then deferred in order that 
 a trade-option clause might be introduced. The 
 
 * At present a man has a vote in every district where 
 he holds property ; and as an election is not held on the 
 same day in different places, a landowner is able to cast 
 many votes in a general parliamentary contest. 
 
76 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 progress of events is bringing a remarkable 
 change in the feeling of working men with regard 
 to this proposal. Before 1890, its support was 
 very slight. Working men had full confidence 
 in the unaided power of trade unions to secure the 
 shorter day. But the great meetings at the be- 
 ginning of May, 1891, showed that the small 
 majority in its favor, indicated by the vote at the 
 Congress of 1890, had received the reinforcement 
 of large bodies of men who have become im- 
 patient of the difficulties and reverses which the 
 separate efforts of the trade unions have to meet. 
 After the eight-hours biU an enlargement of the 
 factory acts will be asked for, so as to include all 
 workshops, as well as factories ; and then a reform 
 of the poor laws. On the whole it seems not 
 unlikely that Tom Mann's prediction may have 
 meaning in it ; he said, in effect, that the Trade 
 Union Congress would go on creating the laws 
 which really concern the great mass of the English 
 people, and getting more and more power to 
 enforce its decisions, until finally it should one 
 day decide to have its sittings for the future in 
 the historic chamber at Westminster. In the 
 meantime, the trade unions are strongly urging 
 their men to be projjerly represented in local 
 boards and city councils, and it is practically set- 
 tled that the New Unionism will be represented 
 
SOCIALISM > 77 
 
 in Parliament the next session in the person of 
 John Burns * 
 
 It is certain, thus, that the social question is com- 
 ing to be the matter of prime importance in Eng- 
 lish pontics. The Conservative party is quite will- 
 ing to take up, if necessary, a pohcy of imperial 
 Socialism, like that of the German Emperor. This 
 is shown by the valuable Housing of the Working 
 Classes Act recently amended and consoHdated by 
 the Government, under which the Bethnal Green 
 scheme is being put through. The appointment 
 of the Royal Labor Commission is in the same 
 direction, though the personnel of the Commis- 
 sion shows that httle alleviation of labor troubles 
 may be expected to result from its deliberations. 
 This tendency of the Conservatives will compel 
 the Liberal party, in spite of its unwillingness, to 
 become what Gladstone has all along said it must 
 be, " the party of the masses," meeting them on 
 their own ground, and offering them not patron- 
 age, but a reasonable social equality. 
 
 In the midst of aU these changes which are 
 gi-aduaUy making over the Enghsh Constitution, 
 
 * It is probable that there will be a considerable 
 increase in the labor group in Parliament after the next 
 election, and that the group will be much more in sjnn- 
 pathy with the proposals of the New Trade Unionism. 
 The socialistic Radicals, apart from the working men, will 
 also be much stronojer. 
 
78 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEI^IENTS 
 
 it is remarkable how few voices ai-e raised in 
 anytMng like active and complete opposition. A 
 few relics of the period now past remain : — ^the old 
 WhigS; who have seen little need of change since 
 their freedom was gained in 1834 ; and the adlier- 
 ents of the Liberty and Property Defence League, 
 an extreme laissez faire organization composed of 
 landowners and capitalists, who would restrict the 
 state absolutely to the defence of country, person, 
 and property. It was this League which inspii-ed 
 the book called ^^ A Plea for Liberty," with an 
 introduction by Herbert Spencer. The book was 
 brought out as an antidote to the "Fabian Es- 
 says." Nearly every member of the committee of 
 the League has a title. Its chairman, the Earl of 
 Wemyss, who is the proprietor of 60,000 British 
 acres, makes an annual speech to empty benches 
 in the House of Lords, giving an account up 
 to date of the dangerous advances of Sociahsm, 
 among the working men, in Parliament, and in 
 the Church. 
 
m 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 
 
 Development of the Idea. — Influence of John Eus- 
 KiN AND Thomas Hill Green. — Edward Denison. 
 — ^Arnold Toynbee. — Mr. Barnett's Message at 
 Oxford. — Toynbee Hall. — Its Political, Social, 
 AND Educational Work. — Some Results. — The Ox- 
 ford House. — The University Club, and Mr. P. R. 
 Buchanan. — The Women's University Settle- 
 ment. — College Missions. — The Mansfield House. 
 — University Hall, and Mrs. Humphry Ward. — 
 Scotch Settlements. — The Social Bond. 
 
 The idea of the sharing of the life of the poor 
 by university men owes its origin to no one per- 
 son. It has been a gradual development which 
 has taken up elements from the teaching and 
 influence of nearly all the great spiritual leaders 
 at the universities during the last thirty years. 
 As early as 1860, Frederick Maurice was estabhsh- 
 ing the Working Men's College, and securing the 
 services of young Cambridge graduates as they 
 came up to London, for conducting classes in 
 their spare time. Charles Kingsley was not only 
 Professor of History at Cambridge, but gave him- 
 self largely to the cause of the poor in London. In 
 
80 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 1867, the University Extension movement had its 
 beginning from Cambridge. More recently, Cam- 
 bridge has been the headquarters of the Work- 
 men's Pohtical, Social, and Educational League, 
 formed for the purpose of bringing university 
 men and working men together for the study of 
 pubhc questions. Of this League, Professor Seeley, 
 author of " Ecce Homo," is president. 
 
 But it was at Oxford first that the feeling of 
 humanity urged men to go and make their homes 
 iQ the city of social exUes at the East End of Lon- 
 don, living there the life they had learned to live 
 under the influences of the University. The no- 
 bler impulses of Oxford students were stirred 
 especially by the teachings of John Euskin and 
 Thomas Hill Green. Ruskin, as Slade Professor 
 of the Fine Arts, was constantly taking up eco- 
 nomic and ethical questions in his lectures in his 
 wonderful way. Among all thoughtful people in 
 England, his presentation of the beauty of social 
 service has had a very marked eifect. Once, in 
 order to illustrate the dignity of labor, Ruskin led 
 a party of his students to a village a httle way out 
 of Oxford, and they all set to repairing a road 
 there which had fallen into bad condition. The 
 influence of Green at the University was of a dif- 
 ferent kind, but not less strong. He exhibited 
 to those students who were fortunate enough to 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 81 
 
 know him, the cahn elevation of a lofty philos- 
 ophy bringing out with a fresh emphasis the 
 brotherhood of men. It was something new to 
 Oxford to see the quiet scholar exemplifying his 
 philosophy by interesting himself in the concerns 
 of the townspeople, and serving in some of the 
 municipal of&ces. 
 
 Of course, during all this time, and ever since 
 there has been an East End of London, some of 
 the best men from the universities have under- 
 taken work as clergymen there. These men 
 now and again told of their work, and of the 
 great need of their districts. Their self-denying 
 lives did much to rouse the heroism and devotion 
 of the university students. It was to the late Rev. 
 John Richard Green, Vicar of St. Philip's, Stepney, 
 and historian of the English people, that Edward 
 Denison went in 1867, and sought an opportunity 
 to hve and work among his parishioners. Denison 
 was a young Oxford man of wealth and social 
 position, and at first Green could hardly beheve 
 that he was in earnest. But he took a lodging 
 near by, and used to visit the people of the neigh- 
 borhood, and often addressed them pubUcly on 
 the subject of rehgion. Unfortunately his health 
 failed him and he came to an early death* So 
 
 * A volume of ''Letters and other Writings of the late 
 Edward Denison " was published in London in 1871 by 
 
82 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 also, when Arnold Toynbee resolved to spend the 
 summer vacation of 1875 in Whitechapel, he went 
 to the Rev. Samuel A. Barnett, Vicar of St. Jude's, 
 for advice and direction. These last two names 
 are the most closely identified of all with the origi- 
 nal " Universities' Settlement." 
 
 Toynbee seemed to gather up in himself the 
 new influences which had been rising at Oxford. 
 He was a friend and ardent disciple of Thomas 
 Hill Green. He is said to have fiHed the place of 
 foreman in Ruskin's amateur gang of laborers. 
 Though prevented by ill health from gaining 
 academic distinction, his fine powers of insight 
 and great personal charm drew around him a 
 group of friends from among the ablest young 
 men then in the University. Upon taking his 
 degree in 1878, he was appointed tutor to the In- 
 dian Civil Service students at Oxford, and gave 
 pohtical economy a prominent place in their in- 
 struction. He had spent his vacations in White- 
 chapel for the several successive years, but his 
 weak health demanded that he should have rest 
 and travel during the months of summer. After 
 his marriage in 1879, his special philanthropic 
 activity took the form of addresses to working 
 
 Richard Bentley & Son. See also ''Edward Denison — 
 In Memoriam," by John Richard Green, in Macmillan^s 
 Magazine, September, 1871. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEJNIENTS 83 
 
 men at different places on economic subjects. At 
 his last public appearance, when his disease had be- 
 gun to make alarming progress, he gave two lect- 
 ures to popular audiences in. London, on Henry 
 George's " Progress and Poverty." After the sec- 
 ond lecture, he was carried from the platform in 
 a faint, which was the beginning of his final ill- 
 ness. He died March 9, 1883.* 
 
 So keenly did Toynbee's friends at Oxford feel 
 their loss, that they resolved to commemorate his 
 name in some permanent way. At first a fund 
 called the "Toynbee Trust" was raised. Under 
 this a recent graduate is appointed to give a se- 
 ries of lectures on some economic question upon 
 which he shall have made original investigations. 
 But not long afterward a very strong agitation 
 was begun in the London papers as to the awful 
 condition of the people in the East End. For a 
 time the attention of the whole nation was turned 
 with pity, not unmixed with a sense of danger, 
 to this dark mass of social corruption. And 
 amid all the plans proposed for letting in the 
 Ught, the friends of Toynbee determined, as a me- 
 
 * Toynbee's collected writings are contained in the book, 
 ''The Industrial Eevolution;" published by Eivingtons, 
 London. An account of his life is given in the ''Johns 
 Hopkins University Studies in History and Political Sci- 
 ence," Seventh Series, I. 
 
84 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 morial of him, to secure a large room in the East 
 End where something could be done, through 
 University Extension lectures and in other ways, 
 toward bringing the benefits of education to the 
 more hopeful grades of people there. 
 
 It was just at this time, in November, 1883, that 
 Mr. Barnett, who had then seen nearly ten years 
 of service in Whitechapel, went to Oxford, and 
 submitted to a little group in a student's room 
 his plan for having, in addition to the proposed 
 lecture hall, a settlement of university men to hve 
 and work among the poor. "Vain," he said, 
 " will be higher education, music, art, or even the 
 Gospel, unless they come clothed in the life of 
 brother-men." 
 
 It was the right moment for such a message at 
 Oxford. There had been an increasing interest 
 in the discussion of social problems. The depth 
 of the misery and need of East London was com- 
 ing to be felt as a claim upon university men for 
 their personal attention and help. The remem- 
 brance of Green, who had died the year before, 
 as wen as of Toynbee, was fresh in their minds. 
 Under such circumstances, the words of Mr. Bar- 
 nett feU on ready ears. It was not long before a 
 committee was appointed to secure volunteers and 
 collect money. A smaU settlement of five men 
 was soon begun in a disused public house in 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEJIENTS 85 
 
 Whitechapel. At this stage in the movement, the 
 plan was presented at Cambridge for assistance 
 and co-operation. The main meeting was pre- 
 sided over by Professor Seeley, and addressed 
 by Professor "Westcott j with the result that Cam- 
 bridge gave its warmest support. A location 
 was found next to St. Jude's Church, and a suit- 
 able building erected. In January, 1885, the work 
 of Toynbee HaU commenced, with Mr. Barnett as 
 warden. 
 
 The thought of having such a settlement had 
 occurred to a few men gathered at Ruskin's house 
 a dozen years before. He had asked Edward 
 Denison, John Richard Green, and some others, to 
 come and talk about the social elevation of the 
 poor. Their conclusion was that a number of 
 educated men should join together to reside in a 
 poor district, as Denison was doing, for the sake 
 of giving personal service and of influenciQg pub- 
 lic opinion toward a better local government. 
 But no further steps were taken.* It remained 
 therefore for Mr. Barnett to take up the idea, 
 present it in its true attractiveness at the fit 
 moment, and act as the main influence in get- 
 ting it better and better realized from that time 
 to this. 
 
 * See ail article by the Eev. Brooke Lambert in The 
 Contemporary Bevietc, September, 1884. 
 
86 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 The record of seven years has been one of un- 
 varying progress. There have been both curiosity 
 and criticism to meet, but now Toynbee Hall is rec- 
 ognized as a regular part of the life of London. 
 There are few of the leading men and women of 
 England who have not been there at some time to 
 give their help. It seems as if Toynbee Hall had 
 come to have an acknowledged claim upon states- 
 men, clergymen, artists, musicians, and scholars, 
 for their occasional participation in its work. 
 Many visitors from other parts of Great Britain, 
 the Contiuent, and especially from America, come 
 to leam about what is being done. 
 
 The Toynbee building is arranged as far as pos- 
 sible to suggest an English college. Entering a 
 narrow arch from one of the noisiest streets, and 
 passing through to the rear of a large warehouse, 
 you find yourself in a court, or " quad," so dear 
 always to the heart of a university man. The win- 
 dows, roof, and tower strengthen the impression. 
 Vines grow on the walls, and there are window- 
 boxes full of flowers. During the day only a dis- 
 tant rumble is heard from the streets. In the even- 
 ing the place is delightfully quiet. The good taste 
 shown in the interior aiTangements, especially the 
 generous plan of the drawing-room and dining- 
 room, completes the effect of making everything 
 in harmony with the spirit of the undertaking. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 87 
 
 These surroundings serve to keep fresh the remi- 
 niscences of the residents, and, on the other hand, 
 to bring the working people into something of the 
 classic university atmosphere. 
 
 There are accommodations for twenty-two men. 
 Usually, the building is quite full, though it is 
 always expected that there will be room for guests 
 from the universities who come to stay a night or 
 two. There is a regular force of about fifteen, 
 duly elected as " residents,'^ some of whom have 
 been connected with the Hall since its estabhsh- 
 ment. A few have independent means and sur- 
 render their whole time to East End interests. 
 Two are curates of St. Jude's. One is a teacher at 
 a board school in the neighborhood. The others 
 are occupied in the city during the day, and spend 
 their evenings in some kind of social activity. 
 There are, in addition, always men making short 
 stays of a few weeks, who are drafted into some of 
 the simpler forms of service. Last of all, there is 
 a body of associates, men and women, many of 
 whom come at intervals to take care of classes 
 or clubs. Every small kind of assistance has its 
 value ; even mere passing friendliness is at a high 
 premium in connection with such an effort as that 
 of Toynbee HaU. Each of the residents has some 
 special work, which he chooses himself and carries 
 on as he thinks best. One is secretary of the 
 
88 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Stepney branch of the Charity Organization 
 Society. Another resident makes a specialty of 
 labor organizations, and is chairman of one of the 
 branches of the Dockers' Union. Another is secre- 
 tary of the Children's Country HoHday Fund for 
 the whole of London. This work has grown so 
 much that he gives nearly aU of his time to it the 
 year round. Each of these men is recognized as 
 having much influence in his own department. 
 The main action of the Tojrabee force, however, 
 can be given a turn to suit the special needs of 
 different times. During the great strike at the 
 docks, a large proportion of the men were steadily 
 occupied in assisting in the work of rehef . In the 
 winter, education and charity receive most atten- 
 tion. In the early summer, nearly every one is 
 busy with sending the children for their holidays 
 in the country. 
 
 The first and most obvious duty of such a body of 
 men is that of magnifying the of&ce of citizenship. 
 Those who remain long enough become voters, as 
 joint householders, in the Whitechapel district. 
 For a long time Mr. Barnett has been urging a 
 free Library for Whitechapel. Some years ago, a 
 vote was taken, and the scheme was badly de- 
 feated. Recently, Mr. Barnett promised to secure 
 a sum of money to assist in putting up a hbrary 
 building, and it was decided to have another vote. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 89 
 
 The canvassing of two-thirds of the constituency 
 was organized at Toynbee Hall. More than a hun- 
 dred persons, associates, friends, and members of 
 Toynbee classes, assisted. Four thousand voters 
 were visited -before the voting day, and on the 
 voting day nearly the whole district was again can- 
 vassed. The result was that about three-quarters 
 of the whole vote was poUed, with a majority of 
 almost four to one in favor of the Hbrary. Similar 
 poHtical work is done in the case of elections to the 
 London County Council, the London School Board, 
 and the parish governing bodies. When the ter- 
 rible outbreak of crime occurred in the vicinity in 
 1888, a vigilance committee was organized. With 
 the assistance of a number of working men, the 
 neighboring part of Whitechapel was patroUed 
 every night for six months. After that, as a 
 marked improvement was noticed, the commit- 
 tee continued its activity only on the noisiest 
 nights — Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mon- 
 days — up to January, 1890. Then, after thirteen 
 weeks had gone by with only a single disturbed 
 night, the patrol was discontinued. Much evi- 
 dence was collected by this committee, which wiU 
 be of use in the process of cleansing the district 
 of its abominations. Several residents are mana- 
 gers of board schools in the East End. It wiU 
 easily be seen how necessary it is that teachers 
 
90 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 serving in so difficult a field should receive the 
 assistance and encouragement of educated per- 
 sons. The Toynbee men have been active in 
 the effort to supply dinners to Ul-fed children. 
 They have succeeded in introducing some tech- 
 nical instruction into the schools, and in securing 
 suitable play-grounds for the children, with the 
 provision that the grounds shall be open after 
 school hours and an hohdays. About half of 
 the residents serve on local committees of the 
 Charity Organization Society. Two of the three 
 best directed branches in London owe very much 
 to Toynbee influence. 
 
 There is a great deal of social life at Toynbee 
 Hall. Nearly every one connected with any of the 
 classes or clubs is present some time, during the 
 winter at a tea party or supper party. It means 
 a great deal that the residents do not merely shake 
 hands with the people they are trying to help, 
 or merely ask them into the drawing-room, but 
 make provision for breaking bread with them 
 besides. Many times during the year, the resi- 
 dents have with them as their guests at supper, 
 associations of working men whom they have 
 .assisted, or who have been having free use of 
 one of the To^Tibee rooms for discussing their 
 business. ■ On these occasions no pleasant cus- 
 tom is omitted — friendly table talk, after-dinner 
 
THE UNn^ERSITY SETTLEHIENTS 91 
 
 speaking, and perhaps some jolly songs. In 
 order to make sure that hospitahty may not lapse, 
 it is understood that residents shall have the 
 privilege of inviting to evening dinner, at the ex- 
 pense of the entertainment fund, any person living 
 in the East End. Thus there is a genial warmth 
 in the reception Toynbee Hall gives to its neigh- 
 bors and friends. This feeling penetrates into 
 the different forms of entertainment that are pro- 
 vided, and indeed into all that goes on about the 
 place. 
 
 Through the winter, various entertainments are 
 given in the main lecture hall, which unfortu- 
 nately does not hold many more than three hun- 
 dred persons. In summer, there are open-air con- 
 certs in the quadrangle every week. Admission 
 to the entertainments, as to nearly all general lec- 
 tures and addresses, is free by ticket. A special 
 feature of the recreative side of Toynbee HaU 
 work is the Lolesworth Club. The membership 
 of the Club is made up of To;yTibee men and of 
 people living in the great model tenement-houses 
 near by, after one of which it is named. It is the 
 best example in East London of an unpatronized, 
 home-like club. Its rooms, which are in a large 
 business block, are reserved for the women mem- 
 bers at certain times ; and all members come to 
 the lectures and entertainments, of T^hich there 
 
92 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 are many. It has been found that the Club has 
 been the means of developing sociability, not only 
 at the club-rooms, but among the people as neigh- 
 bors in the buildings. One of the Toynbee resi- 
 dents, Mr. R, W. Kittle, a man who has the natural 
 art of keeping up relations on an equal with work- 
 ing people, has for four years given nearly all his 
 evenings and many of his days to the Club and 
 its members. In close relation with Toynbee HaU 
 is a large club for boys, the Whittington, wliich 
 was one of the first clubs to introduce military 
 organization and discipline among its members. 
 
 Beside official visits in connection with chari- 
 table and labor organizations, the Toynbee men 
 find many other errands to people at their work 
 and in their homes. Nearly every resident has a 
 special care for some family, or some group of 
 people, as, for iastance, the German Jews. Many 
 times, weak labor unions have been assisted. In 
 several recent cases, bodies of workmen who had 
 rebelled against the despotism of sweating mas- 
 ters have been organized into productive co-oper- 
 ative associations ; and, considering the obstacles 
 they have to meet, they are having good success^ 
 
 The educational work is quite as important at 
 Toynbee Hall as the general social work. The 
 University Extension lectures for the "Whitechapel 
 centre are given at the Hall, in accordance with 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 93 
 
 the plan of the friends of Arnold Toynbee. But 
 there is in addition a variety of courses in different 
 grades given by residents, associates, and others. 
 The quadrangle at eight o'clock in the evening 
 presents a sight which is, in the light of the 
 circumstances, not less interesting than a similar 
 university scene would be. The students are both 
 male and female, young and old, and instead of 
 being all well-to-do, are nearly aJl poor- — though, 
 of course, one would find very few representatives 
 of the two or three lowest grades of society among 
 the students. The schedule of studies includes 
 most of the subjects taken up in college. But the 
 studies are made as simple and practical as pos- 
 sible. Admission to about half the courses is 
 free j for the rest there is a small charge. 
 
 Among the most interesting classes are those 
 in poUtical economy. The lecturer in charge is 
 younger than most of his pupils. A recent 
 course was on the lives and teachings of the lead- 
 ing English economists, in which the lecturer 
 combined economic instruction with biography 
 and personal characterizations. The class was 
 made up of from twenty-five to forty men, mostly 
 artisans. They would listen intently for an hour 
 and a half, often interposing questions. This 
 department has grown so much that the students 
 ai-e in three divisions, a primary course, a more 
 
94 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIVIENTS 
 
 advanced course, and an economic club. The eco- 
 nomic club is composed of thirty or more mem- 
 bers, about half working men and half university 
 men, and promises to be of great interest. It will 
 give most of its attention to bringing together the 
 results of observation and investigation by the 
 members concerning such subjects of actual ex- 
 perience and immediate interest as: the condi- 
 tions of riverside labor j co-operation in London j 
 the way working men live as to food and house- 
 hold arrangements ; the effects of changing seasons 
 in throwing men out of employment. Under the 
 work of this club it is hoped that Toynbee Hall 
 will become an important centre for the supply of 
 full and accurate data with regard to the state of 
 East End life. 
 
 In addition to all the regular Toynbee courses, 
 two series of lectures by public and literary men are 
 carried on through each winter. It seems almost 
 an anomaly that probably the people of no district 
 in London now see and hear so many of their dis- 
 tinguished countrymen in the course of a year as 
 the people of Whitechapel. There is also a series 
 of veiy interesting "smoking conferences,'^ in 
 whixih a social topic is opened by a labor leader, 
 or by a person intimately connected with some 
 social movement ; 'and afterward is discussed 
 from the point of view of nearly every type of 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEIVIENTS 95 
 
 man in the strange congeries of East London 
 humanity. 
 
 There are many other ways in which Toynbee 
 Hall acts as an educational centre. Numerous 
 societies, like the Economic Club, are organized for 
 lines of special study. There is a free students' 
 library of four thousand volumes, which will soon 
 be supplemented by the more general Whitechapel 
 Library, to be located near by. Excin-sions to 
 places of historic and picturesque interest are ar- 
 ranged, with talks beforehand by persons familiar 
 with the objective points. The Toynbee Travellers' 
 Club organizes two or three parties for Conti- 
 nental trips every year. The expenses are made as 
 low as possible, so as to suit the means of clerks, 
 artisans, and teachers in the schools. Another 
 important feature of the Toynbee work is the 
 effort that is being made, through clubs and even- 
 ing classes at the schools in the vicinity, to supple- 
 ment the daily instruction of the schools, by 
 manual and athletic training. In this way, many 
 boys who have finished their time of compulsory 
 attendance at school, and are at work during the 
 day, have a partial secondary education. These 
 different clubs are afBiliated and have competi- 
 tions in athletics and out-door sports. Two build- 
 ings adjoining Toynbee Hall are now used as stu- 
 dents' residences. Here in pleasant rooms dwell 
 
96 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 forty young men — clerks, artisans, school-mas- 
 ters — who attend the Toynbee classes, and live 
 something like a university life. The students are 
 under the general charge of one of the Toynbee 
 residents as tutor. These Houses, named after 
 Oxford colleges, Wadham and Balliol, are an im- 
 portant development of the plan of the settle- 
 ment. It is hoped that ultimately the Hall may 
 be surrounded with buildings occupied by such 
 students. "With St. Jude's Church and the model 
 tenement-houses included, there is a community 
 thus formed which is a fruitful and increasing 
 source for the spread of inteUigence, improved 
 social life, and good citizenship, through White- 
 chapel and into the whole of East London. 
 
 The connection between Toynbee Hall and the 
 universities is kept up by frequent visits of men 
 from Oxford and Cambridge. At nearly eveiy 
 college in both universities a committee exists 
 which takes up the college subscription, and 
 also acts as a medium of information for men 
 thinking of spending some time at the settle- 
 ment. Meetings are often held at the different 
 colleges, at which some Toynbee man is usually 
 present to report. The funds for the support of 
 Toynbee Hall, beyond what is contribiited from the 
 universities, come from the fees of the members 
 of the " Universities' Settlement Association " and 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 97 
 
 from a few generous friends. There probably 
 never was so large a work carried on at so small 
 an expense. To begin with, all residents and vis- 
 itors pay their own charges. This leaves only 
 the general running expenses to be paid, and 
 these amount to about $6,000 per annum. 
 
 The progress of Toynbee Hall in its unique ex- 
 periment must be in large degree traced to the 
 influence of Mr. and Mrs. Barnett. The origi- 
 nality, good taste, and hberality with which the 
 enterprise has been conducted, is owing ahnost 
 entirely to them. Their experience of eighteen 
 years at St. Jude's makes them acquainted with 
 every phase of work among the poor. In his re- 
 lation with the residents as warden, Mr. Barnett 
 is admirable. Few persons could go in and out 
 among young men of all types, fresh from the 
 critical atmosphere of the universities, and earn 
 the confidence and esteem of them all, as he does. 
 Acting by the way of suggestion rather than of 
 direction, he succeeds both in sending the residents 
 and visitors individually out into work which in- 
 terests them and draws forth their best efforts, 
 and also lq retaining for the settlement as a 
 whole much of the quahty of a united force. 
 As time goes on, many men occupying places of 
 poHtical, economic, and rehgious influence will 
 look back to the inspu-ation and training they 
 
98 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 gained at Toynbee Hall under the friendly guid- 
 ance of Mr. Barnett. A number of Toynbee men, 
 past and present, are rising young economists. 
 Among them are : — Mr. Bolton King, the senior 
 resident, a friend of Arnold Toynbee, and one of 
 the editors of Toynbee's " Industrial Revolution " ; 
 Mr. Ernest Aves, honorary secretary of Toynbee 
 Hall, and Mr. H. Llewellyn Smith * both of whom 
 contributed to Mr. Charles Booth's work on " La- 
 bor and Life of the People," some of the re- 
 sults of their investigations in the East Endj 
 Mr. Vaughn Nash, one of the younger, progress- 
 ive leaders in the co-operative movement, who 
 also has a more intimate acquaintance than any 
 other outsider with the men at the head of the 
 new trade unions j and Mr. Henry Higgs, the 
 lecturer on pohtical economy at Toynbee Hall, a 
 man who is certain to take a high position in his- 
 torical and theoretical economics. There are a 
 number of former residents engaged in charitable, 
 educational, and religious Hues of activity in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, whose services are 
 perhaps less known, but hardly less valuable. 
 They do not estimate results at Toynbee Hall 
 
 * Mr. Smitli and a few of his friends have a small settle- 
 ment in Stepney. Their main activity, besides that of 
 carrying on a boys' club, consists in supporting social poli- 
 tics in the district, upon both local and national issues. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 99 
 
 by numbers. They simply carry out their com- 
 prehensive plan, trusting to its inherent necessity 
 and value. They know from the work itseK as it 
 goes on that good results are not merely coming, 
 but are already come. If they have not been able 
 to bring many from out of the dregs, they have 
 at least given a hand to many who were struggling 
 up. There are numbers of people at Toynbee 
 Hall every night who are striving daily against 
 the awful odds of poverty to attain to the things 
 that are pure and lovely and of good report. 
 To such people the place is a constant source 
 of light and strength. In its public capacity, 
 Toynbee HaU is becoming more and more a 
 social centre, where charitable, philanthropic, and 
 labor organizations hold their important gather- 
 ings. The trade unions of the East End are uni- 
 formly friendly and appreciative, and the rela- 
 tions between residents and labor leaders are 
 always very pleasant. 
 
 During the formation of the Dockers' Union in 
 1889, important and successful meetings were held 
 at Oxford and Cambridge, under the auspices of 
 Toynbee HaU, at which Ben Tillett and some of 
 the Toynbee men explained the situation and asked 
 the sympathy of the universities. The fact that 
 sympathy would not be lacking was shown by the 
 large audiences at both places, which included 
 
100 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVE]VIENTS 
 
 many of the leading professors. At Oxford, two 
 well-known dons are said to have entered into 
 lively competition for the honor of presiding. In 
 the fall of 1890, a conference was called by Toyn- 
 bee Hall men to meet at Oxford, at which labor, 
 capital, and learning discussed their differences in 
 an amicable manner. It is hoped that this confer- 
 ence will be a regular annual event. In such 
 ways, Toynbee HaU is magnifying its mission 
 both to the student and to the worker. 
 
 The settlement as a whole takes no attitude on 
 rehgion or national pohtics. Most of the men, in- 
 cluding Mr. Bamett, are political Eadicals. The 
 position of nearly all on economic and social ques- 
 tions is somewhat more conservative than one 
 might expect. As to religious preferences, there 
 have been among the residents, Churchmen, Non- 
 conformists, Roman Catholics, Jews, and unsec- 
 tarians. The absence of official connection with 
 religious effort has thus made it possible to bring 
 together into a working unity a wide variety of 
 men. In this way an opportunity of social ser- 
 vice has been opened to men who never would have 
 associated themselves with any rehgious move- 
 ment. Also, it would not be possible, as things 
 are now, for an organization with a religious 
 propaganda, especially for one connected with 
 the Church of England, to keep up relations with 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 101 
 
 labor organizations and their leaders, as Toyn- 
 bee Hall is able to do. The whole of Toynbee 
 Hall life and work, however, has the essential 
 spirit of Christianity in it. Each man shows 
 respect for the convictions of every other. A 
 numbel* of the men engage actively in rehgious 
 work. 
 
 ' As to this matter, the true position seems to be 
 that there is abundant room for both kinds of 
 settlement, the religious and the non-religious, 
 each kind following its distiQctive lines. The best 
 example of the settlement whose first object is a 
 religious one, is the Oxford House, in Bethnal 
 Green. The Oxford House began its work in the 
 same year as Toynbee Hall. When it was found 
 that Mr. Bamett was not going to give his pro- 
 posed settlement a distinctively religious charac- 
 ter, a movement to estabUsh one under Church 
 auspices was begun at Keble College, an institution 
 founded by the High Churchmen at the time the 
 Dissenters were given the freedom of the old col- 
 leges. The centre of the work of the Oxford 
 House all this time has been in a remodelled 
 parish school-house ; but a new bmlding, well 
 adapted to the needs of the settlement, wlQ soon 
 be ready to be occupied. There will be accommo- 
 dations for twenty residents, with a chapel and 
 a library. Connected with the bmlding there 
 
102 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 will be a lecture-room and club-rooms. The 
 whole cost of land and buildings is to be about 
 $G0,000. 
 
 Part of the religious work of the Oxford House 
 is done independently, and part in connection with 
 the parish work of neighboring churches. On 
 Simdays, two large meetings are held, one in the 
 afternoon and one in the evening. The meeting 
 in the afternoon is for men only, and is taken up 
 with a lecture on a religious, social, or liter£iry 
 subject, followed by questions and discussion. 
 The general aim of this afternoon meeting has 
 been to reconcile the Church and the working 
 men. The lectures have often been given by able 
 Oxford scholars and preachers, and some of them 
 have been pubhshed in two small volumes called 
 '^ Oxford House Papers."* These essays consti- 
 tute a sort of working man's "Lux Mundi," as 
 the Oxford House itseK represents the East Lon- 
 don phase of the new movement among the young 
 High Churchmen. The meeting in the evening 
 takes the character of a mission, the service usually 
 beiQg conducted by the Rev. A. F. W. Ingram, 
 Head of the Oxford House. It is very interesting 
 and successful The preaching is simple, clear, 
 and earnest ; and every one receives a hearty hand- 
 shake from the preacher on going out. The aver- 
 * London : Rivingtons. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 103 
 
 age attendance in the afternoon is a hundred. In 
 the evening, the families come, and the attendance 
 is usually much larger. 
 
 The Oxford House men give valuable assistance 
 in the ordinary parish work of their district. 
 They visit regularly two wards of the London 
 Hospital, near by. In the summer, they meet 
 the agnostic lecturers on their own ground by 
 preaching in the open air. They assist clergymen 
 in carrying on missions. Mr. Ingram is coming 
 to be closely connected with aU the large religious 
 efforts that go on under the auspices of the 
 Church in the East End. There is a great deal 
 of freshness, and freedom from constraint, about 
 all of the rehgious work that centres at the Ox- 
 ford House, and the neighboring clergymen find 
 many new and hopeful influences that come from 
 the activity of the residents. 
 
 The social work of the Oxford House has been 
 in several respects remarkably successful. The 
 settlement has three large clubs under its control, 
 beside rendering active assistance to others. The 
 University Club, the largest' and most interesting 
 of the London working men's clubs that receive 
 outside assistance, was formed in 1885, with less 
 than a dozen members. Its membership now 
 numbers about fifteen hundi-ed. It occupies a 
 large and commodious building of its own, with 
 
104 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 rooms suited to all its various features,* including 
 a biUiard-room, a reading-room, class-rooms, and 
 the large Oxford HaU, used for athletics, dramatics, 
 music, and dancing, during the week, as well as 
 for the meeting and mission service on Sunday. 
 
 The Club is intended to be a genuine working 
 men's club ; that is, no employers are allowed to 
 join. Residents of the Oxford House and a few 
 particular friends are included, however. Women 
 members have the special privileges of the rooms 
 on four afternoons in the week, and of course 
 are present at all the entertainments. No intoxi- 
 cating drinks are allowed in the club building. 
 
 Within the general organization are the ath- 
 letic, rowing, cricket, and foot-ball clubs, the dra- 
 matic and debating societies, the string and brass 
 bands, each one managing its own work. The 
 classes in English, French, drawing, short-hand, 
 and book-keeping are conducted by Oxford House 
 men and their friends. Beside aU, there are one 
 or two entertainments in Oxford HaU every 
 week. 
 
 The University Club has given its members 
 
 * Among the different games, the games with cards take 
 their place with the rest, as they do at most of the church 
 clubs even. This would be hardly worth mentioning ex- 
 cept for the fact that it is found very difl&cult to conduct 
 3, -yyprking men's club where cards are prohibited. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 105 
 
 valuable co-operative training. There is a very 
 well conducted and successful general store, with 
 about six hundred members, which carries on its 
 business on the first floor of the Club's building. 
 There are two productive co-operative societies 
 under the auspices of the Club, with warerooms 
 in its building — the Boot and Shoe Makers' and 
 the Cabinet Makers'. There is a flourishing provi- 
 dent dispensary, and a loan association. The 
 products of a large working women's co-operative 
 association are sold in the distributive store. 
 Lastly, a book-stall has been opened, which will 
 be made co-operative if it prove successful. 
 
 This Club is almost whoUy the result of the 
 efforts of Mr. P. R. Buchanan, the Vice-head of 
 the Oxford House, and one of the most energetic 
 and influential of all the settlers in the East End. 
 Mr. Buchanan is a wealthy tea importer, who has 
 taken up his residence with his family in Bethnal 
 Green, next the University Club. Here, with the 
 help of his family and friends, and with a lib- 
 eral and intelligent use of his money, he has de- 
 veloped this remarkable centre of social hf e. His 
 aim has been to make the Club self-supporting as 
 far as possible — to make it " a People's Palace built 
 by the people's pence." In this way, the members 
 have felt a deeper personal interest in the Club 
 than they would have felt as mere beneficiaries. 
 
106 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Mr. Buclianan constantly advises and assists in its 
 many different enterprises. He is especially anx- 
 ious to have a natural religious atmosphere about 
 it. The Sunday exercises at Oxford Hall are put 
 down on its programme. Mr. Buchanan conducts 
 a weekly Bible-class composed of its members on a 
 week-day evening thi'ough the winter. He has a 
 little private chapel, which is connected with his 
 own house and with the Club, and all members 
 are invited to come ia to morning and evening 
 prayers. Within the last year, Mr. Buchanan has 
 been establishiug in different parts of East London 
 a number of coffee-houses, on a novel and ingenious 
 plan, which will be described in a later chapter. 
 
 Beside the University Club, the Oxford House 
 men carry on a smaller but veiy successful men's 
 club, called the Oxford House Club; a Young 
 Men's Institute, for those who will in due time be 
 candidates for the University Club; and the 
 Webbe Institute, a boys' club with about five hun- 
 dred members, which has a large disused factory 
 building, admirably adapted to its uses. Several 
 other clubs receive their assistance. The Oxford 
 House is the centre of a Federation of Working 
 Men's Clubs, all of which refrain from seUing in- 
 toxicants, and most of which are connected with 
 churches and missions. There are thirty-five clubs 
 in this Federation, representing four thousand 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEIMENTS 107 
 
 members. Through the Federation, competitions 
 in music and athletics are arranged, lectures pro-- 
 vided, excursions taken, and joint committees are 
 formed for discussing and acting upon whatever 
 sanitary, municipal, and industrial questions are 
 most important at the time. 
 
 A very practical piece of charitable work has 
 been that of the House of Shelter, directed from 
 the Oxford House, where people are received for a 
 night, and work found for them as far as possible. 
 As at Toynbee HaU, secretaries and committee- 
 men are furnished for the Charity Organization 
 Society and the Children's Country HoUday Fund ; 
 and managers are supplied for board schools. 
 Much better work has been done than at Toynbee 
 HaU for the sanitary improvement of the neighbor- 
 hood — by a large amount of investigation, by urg- 
 ing forward the local sanitary authorities, and by 
 having lectures and discussions on sanitary topics. 
 In these and other ways the Oxford House has 
 kept prominent the idea of social citizenship. In 
 the matter of the higher education it has had very 
 little success. The University Extension lectures 
 have been dropped for the present ; but it is hoped 
 that when the settlement gets into suitable quai*- 
 ters it may be able to take them up again. 
 
 The number of men staying at the Oxford 
 House varies from seven or eight to fourteen or 
 
108 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 fifteen. There is, besides, a small but very active 
 body of associates. More undergraduates from 
 both universities seem to go to the Oxford House 
 than to Toynbee Hall. A considerable proportion 
 of Oxford House men are studying for orders. It 
 is mainly for this reason that there is difficulty in 
 getting them to stay for long periods. Of course 
 the residents are much more of a type than at 
 Toynbee Hallj but it may be doubted whether 
 better examples of the educated young Church- 
 man and gentleman could be found in the univer- 
 sities themselves than those one finds at work in 
 that gloomy, wretched, and unhealthy district. 
 
 The other settlement in London which represents 
 the universities, rather than any particular institu- 
 tion, is the Women's University Settlement. This 
 Settlement is supported by Girton and Newnham 
 Colleges, at Cambridge, and Lady Margaret Col- 
 lege and Somerville Hall, at Oxford. The move- 
 ment began at Cambridge in 1887, and it is inter- 
 esting to note that the feature of the first formal 
 meeting there, was a paper by Mrs. Bamett. The 
 Settlement is located in Southwark, on the south 
 side of the river, where life is perhaps on the whole 
 not so degraded as in the East End, but for some 
 reason is far more monotonous. In the house 
 now used, there is room for but five residents. 
 It is hoped that the Settlement may soon be able 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 109 
 
 to take a house twice the size. The running ex- 
 penses are a little higher proportionally than at 
 the other settlements, as the women residents are 
 not charged for their rooms or attendance, while 
 the men, nearly without exception, pay all of their 
 own charges. 
 
 The Women's Settlement, with the aid of its as- 
 sociates, accomplishes some very valuable results. 
 A good deal of attention is given to the recrea- 
 tion of the children of the neighborhood. Special 
 efforts are made for the education and amusement 
 of girls just leaving the board schools. For these 
 a club is carried on at the Settlement, with provis- 
 ion for entertainments in winter and excursions 
 in summer, beside a number of classes. There are 
 classes for boys in drawing and wood-carving. 
 An especial feature is the help the residents are 
 able to give the mothers of the neighborhood, 
 both by visiting them in their homes, and by 
 holding meetings for them at the Settlement dur- 
 ing the winter. A Hbrary and reading-room is 
 open to those connected with the classes and 
 clubs. 
 
 The larger share of the activity of the residents 
 and associates is in the way of assisting in the or- 
 ganized social work of the district-. It is found 
 that the need is not so much for additional organ- 
 ization as for more workers.. 
 
110 ENGUSH SOCIAL MOVEIHENTS 
 
 Beside assistance rendered to churches in the 
 neighborhood, much time has been given to com- 
 mittees of the Charity Organization Society, the 
 Children's Country HoHday Fund, and other met- 
 ropolitan associations, as well as to some local in- 
 stitutions. The plan is, as the Settlement grows, 
 to have each more permanent resident become 
 thoroughly skilled in a certain line, and then, 
 in turn, take the less experienced ones under her 
 direction. This is the method so successfully car- 
 ried out at Toynbee HaU. Already one of the resi- 
 dents works entirely imder the dii-ection of Miss 
 Octavia Hill, and manages a block of houses near 
 the Settlement; while another is going through 
 a regular course of training under one of the 
 Charity Organization secretaries. Altogether, the 
 Women's Settlement has shown that there is a 
 distinct and important use for such an organiza- 
 tion. Its success has encouraged the starting of 
 a similar settlement made up mainly of graduates 
 of the Cheltenham Ladies' College. It is called the 
 Mayfield House, and is situated in Bethnal Green, 
 where it will work in co-operation with the Ox- 
 ford House. 
 
 The South of London has been, in the main, 
 the scene of the activity of the college missions. 
 The strength of Cambridge has gone more to 
 these than to the university settlements; as at 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 111 
 
 Cambridge loyalty is stronger toward the indi- 
 vidual colleges, wMle at Oxford it is stronger 
 toward the University. In the area to the south of 
 the Thames, Cambridge has since 1885 established 
 no less than six college missions. There are be- 
 sides in different parts of London two or three 
 missions supported by Oxford colleges, and nine 
 or ten supported by the different public schools. 
 When a college establishes a mission, a clergyman, 
 a graduate of the college, is put in charge ; the ex- 
 penses are borne by the college ; frequent reports 
 are sent from the mission to the college, and from 
 time to time students go from the college for 
 short visits to the mission. In general, coUege 
 missions do not yet have provision for corps of 
 lay residents. As the missions grow, however, 
 the plan of having lay settlements is gradually 
 being introduced. 
 
 The largest and most successful of these mis- 
 sions is that of Trinity College, Cambridge. Soon 
 after the establishment of the mission in 1885, the 
 parish of St. George's, one of the most extensive 
 in the South of London, was turned over to its 
 charge. The clerical staff is six in number, and 
 under their direction the activities of the church 
 have become quite wonderful for comprehensive- 
 ness and value. A lay settlement, with five resi- 
 dents and eight regular visitors, has lately been 
 
112 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 established, occupying several houses in a block 
 in one part of the parish. A lecture-room for its 
 use is approaching completion. 
 
 The work of the lay residents does not differ 
 materially from that undertaken at the other set- 
 tlements. As the settlement develops, its sup- 
 porters hope to make it a Cambridge House, 
 having a general university relation, as the Ox- 
 ford House has. Already the residents have spe- 
 cial charge of four clubs, two for men and two 
 for boys. They wiU pay a good deal of attention 
 to intellectual, manual, and athletic training, and 
 will co-operate with aU the movements for social 
 improvement ia their district. 
 
 Several other missions have gradually developed 
 iato churches after the manner of the Trinity 
 Mission, but aU are on a much smaller scale. 
 Among these are the St. John's, Clare, and Corpus 
 Christi Missions from Cambridge, and the Christ 
 Church Mission from Oxford. The Caius College 
 Mission from Cambridge is unlike the rest in fol- 
 lowing Toynbee Hall lines. The Caius Mission, at 
 last reports, was not in operation, but a deter- 
 mined attempt is being made to have it enter 
 fully upon its work again. 
 
 A very interesting and promising settlement is 
 the one recently begun with a good deal of en- 
 thusiasm by a movement from Mansfield College, 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 113 
 
 the Congregational theological school at Oxford. 
 The Mansfield House is located in Canning Town, 
 some four miles east of Toynbee Hall, Though 
 the district is not nearly so degraded as White- 
 chapel or Bethnal Green, yet it is much poorer in 
 opportunities than they. There is said to be not 
 even a pubhc hall where meetings can be held, in 
 the locality. In its plan the Mansfield House is 
 the most comprehensive of all the settlements. 
 It includes active rehgious effort, as Toynbee Hall 
 does not, and a thorough educational course, as 
 the Oxford House does not. It has the great 
 advantage of the experience of an earnest and 
 able young minister, the Rev. F. W. Newland, 
 who has been the most hopeful force in the 
 district for some years. Already there is a Sun- 
 day afternoon Bible-class, conducted on a unique 
 plan, with one hundred and fifty members. Lec- 
 tures are given on rehgious subjects, bringing 
 out especially their bearing upon social ques- 
 tions. Entertainments are held every week. 
 There are two hundred students in the educa- 
 tional classes. The plan also includes a work- 
 ing men's club, with various features of thrift and 
 of training in citizenship 5 and a youth's in- 
 stitute, with arrangements for various kinds of 
 instruction in handicraft. In general, there wiU 
 be no line of distinction between the scope of the 
 
114 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIHENTS 
 
 settlement and that of tlie Canning Town Con- 
 gregational Church. The residents are few in 
 number as yet, but no difficulty is anticipated in 
 securing men. Indeed, it is hoped to have branch 
 settlements in other parts of East and South Lon- 
 don. As Congregational students are not often 
 financially independent, it is expected that scholar- 
 ships will have to be estabhshed, apart from the 
 funds raised for running expenses, under which 
 men shall reside at the settlement.* The Mansfield 
 House will have an excellent opportunity to show, 
 as has not yet been shown, the special value of 
 the university settlement whose efforts centre 
 about an active, intelligent, and unconventional 
 Christianity. 
 
 A settlement resembling the Mansfield House 
 is carried on by the Wesleyans in Bermondsey, a 
 district along the docks in the South of London. 
 They hope soon to erect a building suitable for a 
 number of residents, and having facilities for 
 classes and entertainments. In addition to the 
 religious and social work, the University Exten- 
 sion idea is to be kept prominent. The latest set- 
 tlement announced is that of some young Jews, 
 mainly university men, who are proposing to es- 
 
 * Up to the present, men without private means have 
 been precluded from giving the major part of their time to 
 imiversity settlement work. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLETMENTS 115 
 
 tablish themselves among their brethren of Rag 
 Fair and Petticoat Lane, Whitechapel. 
 
 One would also speak of University Hall, the set- 
 tlement which has been brought about mainly by 
 Mrs. Humphry Ward. University Hall is in 
 Bloomsbury, in the west-central division of Lon- 
 don. It is not situated near any poor quarter, 
 though the Chancery Lane slums are not more 
 than half a mile away. Mrs. Ward's object is 
 first of all to popularize the radical criticism of 
 the Bible. Her method is to have lectures at 
 University Hall by leading English and Conti- 
 nental scholars of the rationalistic school. The 
 results of these lectures are then to be given by 
 the residents in different parts of London, in 
 meetings and Sunday-schools. That the more 
 general social and educational part of the pro- 
 gramme will not be neglected is assured from 
 the fact that the warden, the Rev. Philip H. Wick- 
 steed, holds advanced and earnest views on eco- 
 nomic questions, and is one of the most popular 
 University Extension lecturers in London. There 
 are ten or twelve residents, but only a small propor- 
 tion of them are university graduates. This is ex- 
 plained by the fact that the movement has, in 
 spite of itself, become identified with the Unitarian 
 body, and has thus lost the glamour that sur- 
 rounds movements under Church ausmces^r on 
 
116 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVERIENTS 
 
 purely humanitarian lines. This settlement may, 
 however, be the means of a new development, 
 in the way of suggesting settlements made up of 
 young business and professional men, without re- 
 gard to their having been bred at universities. 
 Such a settlement has recently been proposed at 
 Liverpool. It is not unhkely that something of 
 the kind may be the next effort to bridge the 
 chasm between classes and masses. 
 
 Outside of London, in England, there is as yet 
 no work similar to that of the settlements, except 
 a small Rugby Mission in Birmingham. But in 
 the Scotch cities there are flourishing settlements. 
 In Glasgow, there is a settlement of fourteen stu- 
 dents from the University, under the presidency of 
 Professor Drummond. There is also a very inter- 
 esting Toynbee House, carried on under the influ- 
 ence of Professor Edward Caird- — who is to Glas- 
 gow as Green was to Oxford. Though there are 
 as yet no residents, every evening finds social and 
 educational activity at the House. From week to 
 week, groups of members, called '^ families," hold 
 receptions for poor people of the neighborhood, 
 whom they have already personally invited to 
 come. In Edinburgh, there is the successful Uni- 
 versity Settlement ; the Free Church College Set- 
 tlement} and the two University HaUs, which, 
 without attempting much social work, bring stu- 
 
THE UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENTS 117 
 
 dents into close acquaintance with the life of the 
 poor * 
 
 This whole movement of the university settle- 
 ments would seem to have sufficiently demon- 
 strated one thing : it is, that if anything of value 
 is to be done to assist the working people, a good 
 share of the help must come from persons actually 
 living as neighbors to them. There is no way to 
 bring weU-to-do and poor together except by hav- 
 ing them come together. 
 
 The university settlements are a stem rebuke to 
 the wealthy f amUies and churches moving farther 
 and farther into aristocratic quarters, and leaving 
 slums in their wake as they go. The settlements 
 suggest that this tendency is hurtful to the rich as 
 well as to the poor. The destitution and famine 
 of one extreme of life is not more false to the nor- 
 mal pattern than the congestion and glut of the 
 other. The Lord Chief Justice of England comes 
 to a working men's club in a httle upper room in 
 Whitechapel, and tells its members that the West 
 End of London has quite as much need of the 
 East End as the East End has of the West End. 
 There is thus comiag to be a deep sense of the so- 
 cial bond which holds the favored and the outcast 
 together, so that neither can with his better life 
 
 * An account of the Scotch settlements was given in 
 The Congregationalist, May 28, 1891. 
 
118 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 escape. As this feeling grows, it is bringiQg some 
 of the true aristocracy back to establish theu* 
 homes amongst the working class. An increasing 
 number of men and women are concluding that 
 their own duty, at least, must no longer be dele- 
 gated. In Manchester, one of the families of the 
 C'rossleys, the famous engine-builders, who for- 
 merly contented themselves with large gifts to 
 charitable agencies, have now left their suburban 
 mansion, and gone to live and work in one of the 
 poorest and gloomiest districts. And they are 
 said to be the happiest people in the city. 
 
rv 
 
 insriVERSITY EXTENSION* 
 
 Increasing Need for the Higher Education. — ^Exclu- 
 siveness of the universities. — beginning and 
 Progress of University Extension. — How a Cen- 
 tre IS Organized. — Lecturers. — The System in 
 General. — Method of Instruction. — Students' 
 Associations. — Influence of University Exten- 
 sion in Forming Local Colleges. — Relation of 
 THE Centres to the Universities. — Summer Meet- 
 ings. — University Extension and the Working 
 People. — Need of Eesources. — Question of State 
 Aid. 
 
 Under the system of compulsory education, the 
 English are fast becoming a nation of readers. 
 But those who receive only an elementary educa- 
 tion are likely to give aU the time they have for 
 reading to sensational newspapers and useless 
 books. The demand that the people should be 
 supplied with good books is being met by a re- 
 
 * The best account of this subject is given in a little ^ x> 
 
 book entitled "University Extension: Has It a Future," ""^■' ' ^ ^^ 
 
 by H. J. Mackinder, M.A., and M. E. Sadler, M.A., of ^ ;^^ ; 
 
 Oxford University. London : Henry Frowde. A good <\,/^ ^' 
 
 part of the data for the chapter have been obtained from ^X£/#U 
 this book. 
 
 /' 
 
120 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 markable increase in the number of public libra- 
 ries. Yet there is a strong feeling that public 
 libraries by themselves do not meet the case. The 
 least improving books are most often chosen. 
 People need to be taught to select good books. 
 An interest in the right kind of reading must be 
 aroused and fostered. For this purpose, the gen- 
 eral resources of literature and science must be 
 opened and explained. 
 
 Thus, compulsory elementary education soon 
 makes it necessary to provide for more advanced 
 education. Schools for secondary education and 
 for technical and agricultural training are rapidly 
 increasing. The government now makes large 
 grants to aid technical schools. But, for the 
 more general education of the people, the hope 
 of the future seems to lie in the University Exten- 
 sion movement. 
 
 The old universities are practically Hmited to 
 the rich. There has long been a feeling among 
 the best men at Oxford and Cambridge that 
 the privileges of the universities ought to be 
 much more widely shared. But there has been 
 very Httle effort toward bringing students from 
 the working class into the life of the universities. 
 Almost the only improvement in this respect has 
 been that of granting to students the freedom of 
 living outside the colleges, and thus avoiding a 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 121 
 
 number of special charges. There is a strong 
 opinion among the cultured class that to reduce 
 the expense of education at the preparatory schools 
 and universities would involve too great a lower- 
 ing of their dignity and social standing. So the 
 change has come almost entirely in the way of car- 
 rying university teaching to the working people. 
 
 As early as 1860, a system of local examinations 
 was begun by both universities, designed to direct 
 and improve the education given in schools in the 
 cities. This plan gradually developed, and in the 
 end furnished a framework for the extension of 
 university teaching. Professor James Stuart, 
 then of Cambridge, now a prominent Radical 
 member of Parliament and editor of the London 
 Star^ began courses of lectures in manufactur- 
 ing towns in 1867. In 1872 he addressed a letter 
 to the members of the University, proposing a 
 plan of University Extension by local lectures. 
 A syndicate was appointed by the University to 
 consider the matter, and in the next year it was 
 decided to give the plan a trial. Many difficulties 
 were met at first, but the movement was so suc- 
 cessful that in 1876 the Society for the Extension 
 of University Teaching was formed in London, 
 and two years later the University of Oxford for- 
 mally undertook extension work. Recently, exten- 
 sion courses have been begun by the new Victoria 
 
122 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 University, which includes colleges in Manches- 
 ter, Leeds, and Liverpool. 
 
 The three universities and the London Society 
 aU carry on their work radependently. The gen- 
 eral body of each university appoiats a committee 
 to direct its extension system. As a rule, the 
 Cambridge centres are iu the eastern half of Eng- 
 land, the Oxford centres in the western half. The 
 Victoria University gives courses in towns at the 
 north, and the London Society has charge of all 
 the centres iu and near London. There is a 
 certain loss of force through competition and 
 divided efforts. However, one university would 
 never think of enteriug a neighborhood where a 
 centre had already been estabhshed by another 
 university. It is claimed that a httle of the good- 
 natured rivalry which seems always associated 
 with university Hfe, will do no harm. There are 
 tendencies which dimiaish the element of competi- 
 tion. It is becoming common for the centres to 
 select their lecturers from either the Cambridge 
 or the Oxford list, as they please. The London 
 Society, which is made up of Cambridge, Oxford, 
 and London graduates, has a list of its own, but 
 its branches may ask through its central offi.ce for 
 the services of any of the lecturers on the Cam- 
 bridge and Oxford lists. One good result of 
 independent action has been that each plan has 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 123 
 
 differed in details from the others, so that the sys- 
 tem as a whole has been more fully developed than 
 it would have been under the undisturbed action 
 of a general organization. 
 
 There are now about two hundred and fifty 
 extension centres in England. It is estimated 
 that there were as many as 45,000 attendants at 
 the courses in the year 1890-91. The growth 
 of the movement may be fairly indicated by the 
 fact that in 1885-86 the total attendance was 
 only 16,752. Extension work is being taken 
 up in Scotland, where it is to be in charge of a 
 joint board representing the different univer- 
 sities. A system is now being organized in 
 America and in some localities courses have 
 already been carried on with much success. 
 
 The local centres usually have their origin 
 through some university man, or other intelligent 
 person, who is acquainted with the extension 
 movement and wishes to try to gain its benefits 
 for his own town. Through his influence, a com- 
 mittee is formed, and a secretary for the branch 
 appointed. Then a good deal of active mission- 
 ary work has to be done to get people sufficiently 
 interested to come to the lectures and pay the 
 fees. In most cases, a public meeting is held, at 
 which some representative of University Exten- 
 sion is present to give information. As soon as 
 
124 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEI^IENTS 
 
 it becomes possible to guarantee the payment of 
 a lecturer's charges, the centre is ready to begin 
 its work. Sometimes the lectures are given at a 
 local college and are made part of its programme. 
 Public libraries and mechanics' institutes occa- 
 sionally take the responsibihty of engaging the 
 lecturers. There are some interesting instances at 
 the North of England where centres are organized 
 by co-operative societies and are attended by their 
 members. It is generally an advantage when the 
 centre can be associated with the educational in- 
 fluences of some existing institution. The pro- 
 moters of the movement especially desire that an 
 extension centre should exist side by side with a 
 public hbrary in every town in the country. 
 
 The members of a centre have a rather wide 
 range of choice as to both subjects and lecturers. 
 Some men of standing have, out of interest in the 
 movement, given courses of extension lectures. 
 But for the most part, the work is undertaken by 
 young graduates, who have only the recognition 
 they have gained in their university studies. Up 
 to the present, it has been looked upon, even by 
 the young men, as only a temporary avocation. 
 It seems likely, however, as the system is develop- 
 ing so rapidly, that the work of extension lecturer 
 will soon become a regular occupation. There 
 are a few men now who have given most of their 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 125 
 
 time for a number of years to extension lecturing. 
 But the duties are arduous and the compensation 
 not large, so that a good lecturer soon has more 
 promising opportunities offered him. One who 
 gives his whole time to extension teaching will 
 lecture five evenings and sometimes three or four 
 afternoons per week during the term. Each lec- 
 ture includes some class work, and the examination 
 of students' papers. Other disadvantages are long 
 journeys by rail and absence from home. The 
 largest income yet made by an extension lecturer 
 — and that by a man of great ability and endur- 
 ance — was somewhat more than $2,500. For a 
 single course of twelve lectures, a lecturer receives 
 about $175. 
 
 What the leaders in the movement are now try- 
 ing for is so to reduce the work and travelling of 
 regular lecturers, and so to increase their incomes, 
 that it may be worth the while of the best men to 
 enter upon and continue in the extension service. 
 They are determined to have for their leading 
 lecturers a number of men of proved abihty and 
 standing. They see how the loss of some three or 
 four of the present lecturers, who do answer to 
 this description, would seriously embarrass them, 
 and they are anxious that the movement should 
 not remain in so precarious a condition. 
 
 At the same time, notwithstanding their desire 
 
126 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 for men of experience, they believe it to be one of 
 the advantages of the system that it finds promis- 
 ing young graduates and introduces them into 
 educational work. Any young university man 
 may apply for an appointment as lecturer. His 
 college record is examined. He must have had 
 experience in speaking in public. He must be 
 thoroughly acquainted with the extension sys- 
 tem. Finally, he must deliver to a private audi-^ 
 ence the course of lectures he proposes to give. 
 If all tests are satisfactorily passed, a small sum 
 of money is voted to send him to some typical 
 centres, in order that he may see senior lecturers 
 at their work. 
 
 It is an important fact, and the promoters of 
 University Extension do not forget it, that the 
 extension lecturer needs to be of a different type 
 from the resident lecturer at a university. He 
 cannot expect to find his hearers already inter- 
 ested in his subject, but must begin by arousing 
 them to its significance. His way of presenting it 
 must be very clear and simple. He must have 
 some of the traits of a public speaker, so as to 
 hold the attention of a general audience. He 
 needs to have a turn for organization, in order to 
 bring up to their highest efficiency the centres to 
 which he goes. Not the least important thing is 
 that he should enter his work with a desire for 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 127 
 
 the improvement of social conditions, and a belief 
 that University Extension may be made a valu- 
 able factor in bringing about the good change. 
 
 The general machinery of University Extension 
 is very well devised. Considering the methods 
 already generally used and those just being intro- 
 duced, the system seems admirably complete. 
 The two old universities and the London Society 
 each have a head ofS.ce in charge of men who give 
 most of their time to directing extension work. 
 Early in the spring of every year, the list of sub- 
 jects in history, economics, hterature, and science, 
 with the names of the lecturers, is made out and 
 sent to the local centres. The secretary of each 
 centre must report his committee's first, second, 
 and third choices for lecturers and sub j ects. From 
 all the applications, the assignments are made 
 out according to the selection of places by lect- 
 urers, and the possibility of convenient railway 
 arrangements. By the middle of the summer, 
 the programme is complete. 
 
 Up to the present, the lectures have been given 
 in two terms of twelve weeks each, separated by 
 the Christmas holidays. Recently, in answer to a 
 demand which arose from the centres themselves, 
 additional courses have been given in the spring. 
 As a rule, each centre has only one course of lect- 
 ures presented dm*ing a term. The course given 
 
128 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 in the second term generally continues the subject 
 treated in the first term. The Cambridge and 
 London courses consist of twelve lectures dehv- 
 ered weekly. The Oxford courses consist of from 
 six to twelve lectures, which are given only once 
 a fortnight. In order that the lectures may be as 
 thorough as possible, a course nearly always in- 
 cludes only a part of a subject. A course will be 
 not on EngHsh history, but on one or two periods 
 of EngHsh history j not on physics, but on hght, 
 or heat, or electricity. This may seem to give 
 students a rather narrow scope for their whole 
 winter's study; but of course the time of the 
 students is quite limited, and they are able to 
 get variety by securing a difference of subject 
 from winter to winter. Some of the stronger 
 centres have several courses going on at the same 
 time, so that persons can pursue as many different 
 studies as their circumstances allow. At any rate, 
 the plan of limiting the range of com*ses tends to 
 free the system from the danger of superficiaUty 
 which constantly threatens it. 
 
 Great pains are taken in conducting the classes 
 to give the students good facilities and to make 
 their study effective. To begin with, the subject 
 of the lectures to be given in the fall is known to 
 all the students usually as early as July. Some 
 time before the term opens, fidl printed outlines 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 129 
 
 of the course are in the students' hands, which 
 direct their reading and help them in following 
 the lectures. The outlines contain lists of books 
 recommended to be read in connection with the 
 lectures. In order to supply the students with 
 the necessary books, Oxford has what are called 
 "travelling libraries." The head extension office 
 secures about forty of the best books on each sub- 
 ject taken up. Each centre then can have a set 
 of books bearing on the course it is pursuing. The 
 hbraries are sent to the different centres, and the 
 books either loaned in rotation, or deposited in 
 some convenient place as a reference library. 
 There is coming to be in this way a large central 
 hbraiy at Oxford, made up, not of a great diver- 
 sity of books, but of a considerable number of 
 copies of each of the standard books in the differ- 
 ent branches. It is hoped that the hbrary will 
 grow so as to meet aU demands the students may 
 put upon it. 
 
 The lectures are an hour in length. As far as 
 possible, specimens and diagrams are brought into 
 use. The magic lantern is found to be a very 
 valuable aid. Many times, advantage can be 
 taken of local facilities for illustrating historical 
 and scientific subjects. At each lecture, a num- 
 ber of questions are given out for further 
 study. The students are expected to write out 
 
130 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 their replies to these and send them by mail to 
 the lecturer. They are encouraged to study in- 
 dependently and to express their own opinions in 
 their papers. In connection with every lectui-e, a 
 class is held lasting tliree-quarters of an hour^ or 
 longer. Of course many come to the lectures 
 who do no outside work. At the classes, only the 
 more earnest students are expected to attend. 
 With this smaller circle the lecturer explains 
 points not understood and discusses the subject 
 further. Pupils and teacher have an opportunity 
 to get acquainted. The papers which have been 
 sent in are returned with oral comment or a writ- 
 ten criticism. 
 
 Students who attend two-thirds or three-fourths 
 of these classes, and write the same proportion of 
 papers in answer to the lists of questions given 
 out, are ehgible to the examination, which is held 
 at the end of each course by some university 
 man other than the lecturer. As a result of the 
 examination, all who pass receive a certificate, 
 the best students have honors assigned to them, 
 and the one standing first is awarded a prize. 
 The certificates and special honors are presented 
 at a public meeting, at which some important 
 person in the neighborhood is invited to speak. 
 The appointed period of study includes six terms, 
 running through three years. In many cases, stu- 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 131 
 
 dents continue to follow the courses after this 
 period has expired. 
 
 No centre is complete without its students' as- 
 sociation. Those associations are formed for the 
 purpose of taking charge of the work of the centre, 
 and for encouraging study preliminary and sup- 
 plementary to the lectures and classes. They hold 
 meetings while the lectures are in course of being 
 dehveredj in which they review and discuss the pre- 
 ceding lecture, and try to prepare for a thorough 
 understanding of the lecture to come. This use 
 of the associations is larger under the Oxford sys- 
 tem, in which the lectures are fortnightly, than in 
 the others in which the lectures are given once a 
 week. The associations devise plans for system- 
 atic study after the lectures are over. In the 
 summer, they organize excui-sions to places that 
 appeal to intelhgent interest. There are plans for 
 courses of home reading issued from the head 
 offices, and so far as these are taken up, the asso- 
 ciations have been the mediums through which 
 they have been introduced.* 
 
 There are now several general associations, 
 which aim to include all the centres, whether con- 
 
 * An organization called the "National Home Eeading 
 Union" is endeavoring to introduce the Chautauqua sys- 
 tem in England, but its efforts do not as yet meet with 
 any great success. 
 
132 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 necled with Oxford or Cambridge, in a certain dis- 
 trict. The latest association formed announces as 
 its objects — the organization and extension of 
 ■university teaching in its district ; the suggestion 
 of subjects and lectures, and the grouping of cen- 
 tres for the convenient arrangement of lectures ; 
 the organization of lectures and systematic work, 
 in vacation ; the formation of a students' hbrary, 
 and the lending of books ; the promotion of higher 
 education generally. These district associations 
 are in several respects an advance in the system. 
 They tend to obliterate the distinction between 
 Oxford and Cambridge centres. They reheve the 
 head offices of much difficulty, arranging through 
 conference among their members for convenient 
 circuits for the lecturers. Dr. R. D. Roberts, sec- 
 retary of the London Society, has proposed that 
 through these associations a kind of floating local 
 college might be formed.* A senior lecturer 
 would have to be assigned to the special charge 
 of its work. He would be expected to lecture in 
 his district during the winter, besides giving con- 
 stant advice and direction to the local committees 
 and the district association. Dr. Roberts suggests 
 that the plan might be the means of providing a 
 
 * '' Cambridge University Local Lectures ; Seventeenth 
 Annual Eeport of the Syndicate," page 6. London : C. J. 
 Clay & Sons. 
 
XJNIVERSITY EXTENSION 133 
 
 place of sufficient honor and salary to command 
 the services of men of the grade of university pro- 
 fessors — a class of men whose assistance the pro- 
 moters of University Extension are so anxious to 
 gain. It is hoped, also, that the district associa- 
 tions will be of valae in introducing the benefits 
 of the system into the small country villages. 
 
 Mr. M. E. Sadler, the University Extension sec- 
 retary at Oxford, has outhned a plan by which 
 four towns near each other could estabhsh a joint 
 coUege.* Mr. Sadler says that ^ve professors 
 would be sufficient at first. Whether one town 
 was made headquarters for the rest or not, each 
 professor would visit aU the towns once a week, 
 to lecture and conduct classes during the day and 
 in the evening. Under the direction of one of the 
 professors, acting as principal, and through the 
 assistance of pubhe-spirited residents of the towns, 
 the organization of the college would gradually 
 be perfected, and the means solicited from local 
 benefactors for endowments and buildings. 
 
 It is very significant in connection with the 
 growth of University Extension, how local col- 
 leges have increased in England. Within the last 
 fifteen years, colleges have been estabhshed in 
 nearly every city of any considerable importance ; 
 or, if such institutions already existed, they have 
 * The Paternoster Review, December, 1890. 
 
134 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 been strengthened and developed. University 
 Extension has had a great influence in this move- 
 ment. Some of these colleges can be traced back 
 directly to extension centres. The others have 
 been assisted and encouraged by extension work- 
 ers. The relationship is still kept up by having 
 University Extension lectures given at the local 
 colleges. There is a constant tendency for the 
 stronger centres to become assimilated to a col- 
 lege. They have their organized student body. 
 They are coming to possess libraries, or they hold 
 some special relation to a neighboring Hbrary or 
 museum. By having entertainments, informal 
 gatherings, and excursions of their own, a distinc- 
 tive social life is developed. A students' dwelling, 
 on the same plan as Wadham and Balliol Houses 
 at Toynbee Hall, has been opened in connection 
 with the Chelsea centre in London. It seems 
 probable that this plan may be adopted by many 
 city centres. If so, it wiU go far toward getting 
 the extension system established and intrenched. 
 
 The London Society is trying hard to have the 
 University of London become the nucleus of a 
 great people's university. At present, the Univer- 
 sity of London does no teaching and has no resi- 
 dent students. It is merely an examining board 
 with power to grant degrees. The London Society 
 proposes that the University shaU affiliate to itself 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 135 
 
 all the extension centres in London. While it 
 shaU assist the centres in their work, its main use- 
 fulness shall be that of a teacliing university, to 
 which the most promising of the extension stu- 
 dents shall be enabled to go for more advanced 
 university studies * Cambridge University has an 
 arrangement with certain centres similar to the 
 one proposed by the London Society. This is a 
 development of a custom followed by both the 
 old universities, through which they affihate local 
 colleges. In addition to some other privileges 
 granted these colleges, their students have one of 
 the three required years of residence remitted by 
 the universities. Cambridge gives the same privi- 
 leges to several affihated extension centres, on con- 
 dition that the students desiring to avail themselves 
 of them shall take a systematic course of lectures on 
 literature and science, extending through a period 
 of four years. The main value of this requirement 
 is in that it gives breadth and sequence to the 
 courses followed from term to term. It is ac- 
 knowledged by all interested in the movement 
 that there is a lack of these things in extension 
 study. Oxford and the London Society tiy to 
 meet the drfiiculty by giving special certificates 
 
 * The first steps have recently been taken toward a 
 teaching university for London. The University of Lon- 
 don, however, still holds firmly to its narrow methods. 
 
136 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 to those who have followed plans of continuous 
 and systematic study. 
 
 For keeping up the relation of the local centres 
 to the university, Oxford rehes especially upon 
 the summer meetings. The first summer meeting 
 was held at Oxford in 1888. The session lasted 
 ten days, and there were nine hundi-ed students 
 present. In 1889, a second session was intro- 
 duced, lasting for two weeks after the close of the 
 fii'st one. The number in attendance has been 
 about the same from year to year, a good propor- 
 tion remaining through the entire meeting. Dur- 
 ing the first part of the meeting, courses of three 
 lectures are dehvered in the mornings. In the 
 evenings, there are addresses by eminent men, so- 
 cial meetings, and concerts. The afternoons, in 
 accordance with the good Oxford custom, are 
 largely occupied with out-door sports. The sec- 
 ond session is quieter and less hurried. The sub- 
 jects taken up at the first session are continued 
 with gi-eater fulness. There is more time given 
 for reading. 
 
 Undoubtedly, the summer meeting furnishes a 
 good deal more to the students than they can pos- 
 sibly assimilate, especially to those who remain 
 only ten days. But those who manage the meet- 
 ings feel that both the longer and the shorter ses- 
 sions are in their different ways successful. It is 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 137 
 
 no small matter that the summer meeting intro- 
 duces into the extension system the element of 
 actual residence at a university. The extension 
 students live in the colleges in much the same way 
 as the Oxford students themselves Hve in term 
 time. They hsten to well-known university pro- 
 fessors, and get acquainted with them at the social 
 meetings. They breathe a little of that charmed 
 atmosphere lingering about the old universities, 
 which exercises so great an influence on the whole 
 cultured Hf e of England. At the Cambridge sum- 
 mer meeting, on account of lack of accommoda- 
 tion — many of the university students staying up 
 during vacation — there are only about forty in 
 attendance. But the smaUness of the number 
 makes it possible to gain more thorough and valu- 
 able results. The students remain a month, and 
 are engaged in close laboratory work on the sub- 
 jects they have had lectures upon during the pre- 
 ceding winter. Several scholarships have recently 
 been estabhshed under which promising students 
 may be sent to one or other summer meeting. 
 Most of the students at both meetings are women. 
 They stay at the women's colleges, as far as there 
 is room for them. 
 
 The extension movement has been criticised 
 because it ministers so largely to middle-class 
 people, and especially to women. To this the re- 
 
138 ENGLISH SOaAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 ply is that though more working people are very 
 much desired, yet it is the function of University 
 Extension to yield its benefits to all who seek 
 them. Special arrangements are even made for 
 afternoon lectures to suit the convenience of 
 women. These afternoon lectures are attended to 
 a considerable extent by elementary school teach- 
 ers, male and female. 
 
 But, after all, the final test of the movement 
 will undoubtedly be whether it can reach the in- 
 tellectual need of working people. There are 
 many encouraging signs of the ability of the Uni- 
 versity Extension movement to meet this test. 
 There are some thriving centres among the miners 
 at the North of England.* The lectures are 
 largely attended, and the miners show their in- 
 terest by coming long distances, and often by 
 losing something from their wages in order to 
 get away from their work in time. Recently, 
 when several of the centres had to suspend 
 their lectures on account of a strike which was 
 going on, one centre arranged an exhibition in 
 its village, which, by the co-operation of some 
 other centres, brought in sufficient funds to jus- 
 tify their engaging a course of lectures as usual. 
 Aid has been secured from the mine-owners and 
 
 * See "Eighteen Years of University Extension," by 
 R. D. Roberts, D.Sc. London : C. J. Cl&y & Sons. 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 13i) 
 
 others to assist in continuing the lectures in this 
 district. 
 
 In nearly all towns there are a fair number of 
 artisan students. At the North the artisans take 
 a special interest in University Extension. In 
 many cases they have organized centres of their 
 own, often, as has been mentioned, under the 
 auspices of their local co-operative societies. 
 Sometimes extension work is aided by the funds 
 of co-operative societies. There is an increasing 
 number of co-operators who beheve that their 
 system ought to make some regular provision 
 for the education of its members. There can 
 certainly be no question that English work- 
 ing men are learning to appreciate the value of 
 education. Most of the labor leaders have risen 
 by educating themselves at the cost of a great 
 deal of self-denial. It is clearly recognized that 
 intelligent men are necessary to direct the busi- 
 ness of the trade unions. The prominence of 
 this type of man in the unions exerts in turn a 
 considerable influence on the rank and file. The 
 University Extension system seems destined to 
 meet this increasing desire of the working class 
 for education. What is most of aU needed, in order 
 that university teaching may be brought to work- 
 ing men, is that there be lecturers who shall un- 
 derstand working men and shaU be ready to meet 
 
140 ' ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 them on a plane of equality. The number of 
 university graduates of this type is largely on the 
 increase. The importance given to social studies 
 at the universities, and the interest felt in the 
 university settlements, as well as in the extension 
 movement itself, are strong tendencies toward 
 bringing educated men into right relations with 
 working men. 
 
 A good deal of missionary effort is needed for 
 the developing and strengthening of the sys- 
 tem. More and more attention is being given 
 to establishing centres in places where they have 
 not sprung up spontaneously after the manner 
 already described. In many cases, centres are 
 brought together by means of single popular lect- 
 ures, or by short experimental courses. The need 
 of men to act as organizers is felt more and more. 
 As time goes on, there will probably be a body of 
 men whose whole duty will be that of forerunners 
 to those that are to come. 
 
 It is at this point that the promoters of Univer- 
 sity Extension most feel the need of financial re- 
 sources. The law of diminishing returns begins 
 to operate. An average fee of twenty-five cents 
 per lecture from each person may be borne by 
 middle-class students, and may support the less 
 complicated and less complete methods of the sys- 
 tem as it now is. But if University Extension is 
 
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 141 
 
 to be a comprehensive scheme for the higher edu- 
 cation of the people — as it can be and ought to 
 be — the way must be opened for it to increase its 
 forces and develop its methods, while at the same 
 time it puts its advantages easily within the means 
 of every working man. Many of those interested 
 in the movement are in favor of making an appeal 
 for state aid. They are encouraged in their hopes 
 by the grants voted by Parliament for the develop- 
 ment of technical education and for the assistance 
 of local colleges. Others fear that government as- 
 sistance would mean government domination. But 
 this objection is put forward rather as a caution 
 than as a hindrance to the proposal. And it is a 
 caution to be observed, because it would be a great 
 loss if the movement were no longer to be directed 
 from the universities. When this is allowed, how- 
 ever, one can easily see that something of national 
 dignity and national resources, added to the valu- 
 able elements the system already possesses, would 
 open up to University Extension vast and inspir- 
 ing possibilities. 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE 
 CHURCH 
 
 Increasing Activity of the Church of England, and 
 ITS Effect. — The Parish System. — Necessity of 
 THE Church's Undertaking Social Work. — Meth- 
 ods Adopted. — St. George's, Camberwell. — St. 
 Andrew's, Bethnal Green.— St. Jude's, White- 
 chapel. — Mr. Barnett's Unique Activities.— 
 Other Efforts and Tendencies.— The Christian 
 Social Union. — The London Congregational 
 Union. — Progressive Wesleyans and Baptists. — 
 The Missions of Dr. Barnardo and Mr. Charring- 
 TON. — Other Religious Bodies. — Sunday-Schools. 
 — The Great Criticism. — General Booth's Scheme. 
 — Present Attainments. — Objections. — Prospects 
 OF THE Scheme. 
 
 Ever since tlie Oxford Movement of 1840, there 
 has been a steady increase of earnestness and ac- 
 tivity in the Chnrch of IJngland. This was char- 
 acteristic not only of the original Anglo-Catho- 
 hc party, bnt of the Broad Church party of Man- 
 rice and Kingsley. These two influences have 
 leavened the whole of the Church, and are now 
 combined in fair proportion in the attitude of the 
 young High Churchmen represented by the book 
 
THE" SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 143 
 
 "Lux Miindi." Men holding this attitude are 
 rapidly coming to the front in all phases of the 
 Church's work. There is no other tendency in the 
 Church of England of a vitahty and promise to 
 compare with that of this new movement. There 
 are few clergymen, however, in any of the crowded 
 centres of population, to whatever party they may 
 belong, who do not endeavor, after their hght, in 
 season and out of season, to bring the ministiy 
 of rehgion to the masses of the people. Even ia 
 the case of Low Church Pietists and of High 
 Church RituaHsts, there are not lacking efforts 
 toward giving to the poor, along with rehgious 
 teaching, the privileges and pleasures of a better 
 social life. The curse of the Established Church 
 is in its country clergy, who are, to a large 
 extent, aristocratic in their feeling, and often exer- 
 cise a petty despotism over their parishes j and in 
 some of the incumbents of churches in the f asliion- 
 able divisions of cities, whose main use seems to be 
 that of factors to polite society. It is such men 
 who have made the word " parson," to many peo- 
 ple, a word of contempt. But, on the whole, and 
 in its main features, the Church of England exerts 
 a larger and more salutary influence upon gen- 
 eral social life than any other Christian body in 
 the world. This influence often comes, it is true, 
 in a patronizing way which is distasteful to self- 
 
144 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIMENTS 
 
 respecting working men. And yet there is a 
 rapidly increasing number of the younger clergy- 
 men whose whole life and preaching goes to urge 
 social equahty as a necessary corollary to Chris- 
 tianity, to be worked out by moral, economic, and 
 pohtical means. 
 
 A very important element of the constitution 
 of the Established Church is the parish system^ 
 under which every district has its church, that 
 holds endowments, and must remain the church 
 of the people of the district, though the weU- 
 to-do move away and the poor come in. It must 
 stiU remain even though business houses largely 
 displace the dwellings. The famous Bow Church, 
 Cheapside, London, has practically no resident 
 parishioners, except a few care-takers of com- 
 mercial buildings. Thus the poor districts of 
 London have been fairly well supphed with 
 churches. Of course, when the districts become 
 crowded, the church force becomes utterly in- 
 adequate. But it means a great deal that there 
 are so many churches in East and South Lon- 
 don, each independent and commanding the ser- 
 vices of one or more experienced and able clergj^- 
 men. For this reason, the work of the Church 
 of England in the* poor parts of London is hap- 
 pily not carried on in mission chapels to any 
 large extent. No clergyman is subject to the 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 145 
 
 whims of a wealtliy congregation at the other 
 end of the city; each one casts in his lot with 
 the people among whom he hves and works. 
 
 In the matter of rehgious services, on Sunday 
 especially, the churches are, of course, held within 
 rather narrow limits. The effort, therefore, is to 
 have the services as frequent, simple, and earnest 
 as possible. In the other lines of church activity 
 there is the greatest variety. Most of the churches 
 are well supplied with paid workers. In addition 
 to the rectors or vicars, there will be found curates, 
 lay readers, members of lay brotherhoods and sis- 
 terhoods, deaconesses, Bible women, and trained 
 nurses, beside the usually well organized volunteers 
 from the church membership. The ordinary 
 works of religion and charity are very faithfully 
 carried out, and a courageous effort is made by 
 each church to include its whole district in such 
 ministrations. But, aside from the almost insu- 
 perable difficulty of the vast number of persons to 
 be reached by those distinctive efforts, there arises 
 in every case the more immediate and pressing 
 necessity of helping people into some natural 
 physical and social life, without which attempts 
 at religious training wiU be entirely futHe. There 
 are many places in East London where it would 
 be impossible to conceive how a child could grow 
 up into a healthy and moral maturity. In the 
 
146 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 best parts, the hindrances to such growth are suf- 
 ficiently strong. It thus becomes the plain duty 
 of the churches, and indeed a necessary condition 
 of their own continued existence, that a large part 
 of their efforts should be taken up with so-called 
 secular matters. There is probably not a single 
 church of the EstabHshment in any working-class 
 district in 'London but that has definitely aban- 
 doned the plan which makes a church merely an 
 association of people for the culture and spread 
 of the rehgious life. 
 
 The simplest form of church work iu such a 
 district would include attention to charitable re- 
 hef , mainly in connection with the organized char- 
 ities, and to the recreation of the people, usually 
 through men's clubs, mothers' meetings, and clubs 
 for boys and for girls. But not many churches 
 would have so sHght a social programme. There 
 would be provident societies ; entertainments and 
 lectures in winter, and excursions in summer ; in- 
 door and out-door athletics j and more or less edu- 
 cational work, in addition to the usual parochial 
 schools. In London, however, it is not so urgent 
 that the churches should do much in the way of 
 education, aside from the day-schools, as schools 
 and technical classes in the evening are quite 
 numerous, even in the poorer parts. Some 
 churches aUow properly conducted dancing in 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 147 
 
 their parish buildings. Some show special sympa- 
 thy with men in their labor and in the manage- 
 ment of their trades-unions: one churchy minis- 
 tering largely to artisans, arranges exhibitions 
 of home artsj several along the docks allow 
 branches of the Dockers' Union to hold their 
 meetings in the parish rooms. A very striking 
 instance of adaptation to the needs of environment 
 is that of a ritualistic church, situated in a region 
 where the people are largely criminal. The vicar 
 maintains a model lodging-house of a very fine 
 kind for men 5 but the lads' club is the special 
 feature of his work. In his church building, 
 the room consecrated to reUgious services is 
 up-stairs — there being only one other such case 
 in England — and just below is the club-room, 
 whose main feature is a fully equipped prize ring, 
 suitably enclosed, and raised from the floor for 
 the sake of the spectators. Here, two or three 
 evenings in the week, upwards of a hundred lads, 
 nearly aU of whom have been in prison, gather 
 to see and participate in tournaments in boxing. 
 When a person is invited to come as a visitor, it 
 is suggested that perhaps it would be better not 
 to bring a watch along. But the proceedings are 
 quite orderly. All are intensely interested. The 
 victors receive prizes and are met with great en- 
 thusiasm. Father Jay, the vicar, and a lay 
 
148 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 brother, are present in their cassocks, to exercise 
 general oversight of the meeting. At its close, 
 eveiy member extends his hand to Father Jay, 
 each bidding the other good-night. The demand 
 for entrance into the club far exceeds the capacity 
 of the room. In such a way as this, many young 
 fellows are brought under good influences, who 
 would probably be plying their trade of pickpocket 
 at the street corners, if only the usual mild excite- 
 ments of church clubs were offered. 
 
 As to the methods adopted in general, one finds 
 that there are several different kinds of churches. 
 Some of the stronger churches approach the type 
 of the fully organized institutional church, with 
 its multitude of features. The large body of the 
 churches form a second group, laying great stress 
 on a few of the more obvious plans for meeting 
 the needs of the poor; often, however, taking 
 some special way of meeting a special need. The 
 members of a thii'd group try to avoid the dangers 
 both of machinery and of conventionality, and by 
 their unique efforts are broadening stiU further 
 the mission of the Church to the working people. 
 As to equipment, unquestionably the strongest 
 working churches are those which include along 
 with their regular forces the direct or indirect co- 
 operation of university settlements. From this 
 time forward, it seems hkely that churches in 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 149 
 
 poor districts in large cities will more and more 
 have the assistance of educated laymen actually 
 living in the parish and entering into its inter- 
 ests. The three groups which have just been 
 mentioned may perhaps be best illustrated by 
 churches which also illustrate, each in a different 
 way, the value of the co-operation of a university 
 settlement : letting the first group be represented 
 by St. George's Chm'ch, Camberwell, which is in 
 charge of the Trinity College Mission ; the second 
 group, by St. Andrew's Church, Bethnal Green, 
 which receives special help from the Oxford 
 House ; and the third, by St. Jude's Church, 
 Whitechapel, with which Toynbee HaU is in- 
 formally connected through its clergy, and in 
 many ways besides. 
 
 The parish of St. George's has a population 
 of over 20,000. The vicar of the parish, three 
 curates, and two Trinity missioners, live to- 
 gether in a large, old-fashioned vicarage near the 
 church. Besides the church, the clergy house, and 
 the home of the lay settlement, the other buildings 
 used are the parish schools, two mission hsdls, a 
 mission house, and a sisters' home ; while a large 
 building for mission and club uses is approaching 
 completion. Services are held on Sunday at three 
 different centres, and Sunday-school at four. At 
 each centre there is a list of guilds, clubs, and 
 
150 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIMENTS 
 
 societies, designed to bring attendants into close 
 relation with the reUgious and social life of the 
 church. The whole parish is covered by an elabo- 
 rate system of district visitors, with a sisterhood, 
 some of whom are trained nurses, to minister to 
 the more urgent cases of need. An attempt is 
 made to keep a complete register of the parish. 
 Ea^h visitor is supplied with the hst for her dis- 
 trict, and the report of all visits is carefully kept. 
 All of this is most significant, as St. George's 
 Church was in a low condition when the Trinity 
 Mission, led by the Rev. Norman Campbell, the 
 present vicar, took it in charge. 
 
 The parish of St. Andrew's, in which the Oxford 
 House is situated, has a population of over 13,000. 
 St. Andrew's Church has a staff of thirteen paid 
 workers. There are frequent services at the 
 church and at its mission halls. Clubs are can-ied 
 on for young people, and for men and women. 
 Great importance is given to house-to-house visi- 
 tation. The clergy of St. Andrew's have found 
 their forces greatly strengthened by the help of 
 the Oxford House men. There is some loss, how- 
 ever, resulting from the fact that each agency 
 works independently, though their purposes are 
 so largely the same. 
 
 At St. George's, Camberwell, the church and 
 the settlement are one organization. In Bethnal 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 151 
 
 Green, the two are not formally connected, though 
 they have a unity of interest. In the case of 
 Toynbee Hall and St. Jude's Church, the two are, 
 by intention, quite distinct, and yet each acts as 
 the complement of the other. There is not a more 
 interesting church work in England than Mr. Bar- 
 nett's. Here through aU these years this noble 
 Christian ideahst has gone on preaching and ex- 
 emplifying his gospel of the beauty of holiness, in 
 a district whose inhabitants are in large part made 
 up of the loathsome Jews of Eag Fair, and the 
 denizens of the common lodging-houses of Brick 
 Lane, of whom many have hardly the semblance 
 of humanity left. Mr. Barnett has done much 
 toward cleaning this region out. He has been 
 the means of having some of the worst slums 
 demolished and model tenement-houses erected. 
 In this way a saving remnant of honest, sober 
 working men have been brought into the parish, 
 and it is an important element in the work of St. 
 Jude's Church, as also of Toynbee HaU, to serve 
 as a centre of light and hope in the little com- 
 munity which has thus been formed. Among the 
 many and varied lines of the activity of St. Jude's 
 Church, which aim to touch all sides of hf e, the 
 most notable are in the direction of drawing 
 out the higher nature through music and art. 
 The annual St. Jude's Picture Exhibition has be- 
 
152 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 come one of the events of the year for East 
 London, if not for the whole of the metropoHs. 
 The exhibition is held each spring in the school 
 building, and lasts for three weeks, including Sun- 
 days. It is usually opened with an address by 
 some famous artist. The pictures are lent by 
 artists and collectors. At the exhibition of 1891, 
 more than 70,000 people visited the show, and 
 there was a very large number of the penny de- 
 scriptive catalogues sold. Several persons were 
 always on hand to give explanations, as well as 
 to guard the pictures. Mr. Bamett says, " Expe- 
 rience has settled the question as to whether people 
 care for pictures." 
 
 Through the year, oratorios and organ recitals 
 are given on week-day evenings in the church, the 
 oratorios especially being weU attended. Evening 
 classes in vocal and instrumental music are held. 
 But of all that goes on at St. Jude's during a 
 week, the rare thing is the exercise which brings 
 to a close the Sunday services, fitly called the 
 "Worship Hour." It occurs at half-past eight. 
 Each evening some sentiment is chosen as a sort 
 of subject. The programme is taken up with 
 anthems by a special choir, and organ or viohn 
 solos, together with hymns sung by the congrega- 
 tion, a few prayers, and a short reading or address, 
 — everything being kept in harmony with the sen- 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 153 
 
 timent of the particular evening. Into no service 
 does the feeling of reverence and aspiration enter 
 more thoroughly. Often at the Worship Hour the 
 seats are every one taken. The audience includes 
 all classes, even the poorest people, many of whom 
 would never be found at any ordinary church ser- 
 vice. At the close, Mrs. Barnett, or one of her 
 lady helpers,* distributes the flowers banked in 
 the font at the entrance, to those who most need 
 a touch of brightness in their homes. 
 
 The general work of the Church of England in 
 East London is under the Bishop of Bedford; 
 that of South London is under the Bishop of 
 Rochester. The Bishop of Bedford's East London 
 Church Fund fulfils the function of a city mission 
 association. The Fund is not applied to starting 
 new churches, however, but by the support of fur- 
 ther workers, to strengthening existing churches. 
 The Additional Curates Society also follows this 
 admirable plan of home mission work. This plan 
 fosters the variety of occupation in the work of 
 the Church of England. Sisterhoods and brother- 
 hoods are as yet not numerous, but seem Hkely to 
 increase. Deaconesses, who take no vow, are nu- 
 merous and successful in then* way. Most well- 
 
 * Mrs. Barnett has lately established a St. Jude's House, 
 which is a settlement of young women who have volun- 
 teered to assist in the work of the parish. 
 
154 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIVIENTS 
 
 managed churclies have trained nurses on their 
 staffs. 
 
 The churches situated in the central parts of 
 London, as well as many at the West End, ac- 
 compHsh useful social work j for indeed poverty 
 is never far away in London. In addition to 
 caring for the special needs of poor districts near 
 them, some of the churches in the old City have a 
 service and an address to business men every day 
 at about noon. Others have frequent lectures and 
 discussions on questions of practical rehgion. 
 Others still use some of their endowments for 
 musical services and oratorios. St. Paul's Cathe- 
 dral, by all its associations, its music, and the 
 preaching of Canon Scott Holland, exerts a great 
 influence on the hfe of London. In this respect 
 it has almost taken the position that was occupied 
 by Westminster Abbey under Dean Stanley. 
 
 In none of the other English cities do general 
 philanthropic efforts have the relative importance 
 among churches of the EstabHshment that they 
 have in London. But that the Church of England 
 is getting awaked to the present phases of social 
 movements is well shown by recent Church Con- 
 gresses. Such utterances as those of the Bishop 
 of Durham (Dr. Westcott) leave no uncertain im- 
 pression as to the steadily growing demand that 
 the Church shall be thoroughly committed to the 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 155 
 
 remedying, in every reasonable way, of the unjust 
 and demoralizing influences of existing social con- 
 ditions. 
 
 Some account has been given of the Gruild of 
 St. Matthew, a Church Socialist society. Two 
 years ago, there was organized in Oxford the 
 Christian Social Union, with headquarters at the 
 Pusey House. The object of the Christian Social 
 Union is, without taking up any formal propa- 
 ganda, to urge upon the Church the necessity 
 of careful and painstaking study of the social 
 question, and to take the lead in establishing 
 branches for such study. The plan is for the 
 Oxford branch, which has about a hundred mem- 
 bers, to prepare outlines of books to be read 
 and subjects to be discussed by the branches 
 throughout England. In this way the Union 
 went through SchaefSe^s "Quintessence of So- 
 cialism," and has recently been studying the 
 blue-book on " Strikes.'^ Circulars are now being 
 sent out, whose aim is to lead the separate 
 branches to begin careful and systematic investi- 
 gations into the economic and social situation in 
 their own localities. These things show that the 
 Christian Social Union proposes to do much more 
 than merely to stir sentiment. Already it pub- 
 lishes the valuable Economic Bevietv, which was the 
 fii'st periodical of the kind to be issued in England. 
 
156 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 It is likely that, as tlie Union grows in strength, 
 there will be a corps of lecturers to go from Ox- 
 ford to the other branches, somewhat on the Uni- 
 versity Extension plan. As a rule, the branches 
 are parish organizations, and are under the leader- 
 ship of the clergymen. The clergjonen associated 
 with the Union are mainly connected with the new 
 High Church party at Oxford, which takes the 
 same earnest, progressive attitude on social ques- 
 tions as on theological. The spirit of this party 
 is well expressed in the manifesto of the Christian 
 Social Union when it says, speaking of the dis- 
 ordered social conditions of the time, that " the 
 present situation is intolerable," and that "its 
 solution must be found in the unfaltering assertion 
 of moral, as supreme over mechanical, laws." An 
 increasing number of the leaders of the Union are 
 Socialists. 
 
 Among all of the Dissenting bodies, a more or 
 less active social programme is being taken up. 
 There is, it is true, some danger always that Non- 
 conformity will become for religion what the old 
 Liberalism is for poUtics, a mere middle-class insti- 
 tution, feeling even less concern about the lower 
 grades of labor than the people of the upper class 
 do. But in the different Nonconformist denomi- 
 nations, this danger seems likely to be escaped. 
 Their problem is, in some respects, simpler than 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 157 
 
 that of the Churcli of England. Their democratic 
 constitution suits the free spirit of the cities and 
 towns. Much the larger proportion of their sup- 
 port comes from the business and manufacturing 
 centres ; they are therefore better able to approach 
 questions from a common point of view and to 
 adopt a policy that will be in some measure com- 
 prehensive and uniform. On the other hand, they 
 have the disadvantage of lacking the parish sys- 
 tem, and thus lose the feehng of relation to each 
 part of the social fabric, a feeling which the system 
 of having an independent church in each district 
 always suggests. For this reason, the work of the 
 Nonconformists among the poor has to be done 
 largely through the inferior means of outlying 
 stations, mission chapels, and city mission societies. 
 In these ways, however, they are having substan- 
 tial success both in London and in the Northern 
 towns. Nonconformity does not, indeed, as a 
 whole, make much progress ; but that is mainly to 
 be ascribed to defections of its well-to-do people to 
 the Established Church. 
 
 The Congregationalists are easily the most in- 
 fluential Nonconformist body. Though they have 
 a number of strong and active churches in the 
 poorer parts of London, yet their most valuable 
 agency in such regions is the London Congrega- 
 tional Union. It was this organization, through 
 
158 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 its secretary, the Rev. Andrew Mearns, that issued, 
 in 1883, the tract called " The Bitter Cry of Out- 
 cast London, " which was so largely the means of 
 stirriQg up the newspapers, the churches, and the 
 universities, with regard to the shocking condition 
 of some parts of East and South London. The 
 district described in " The Bitter Cry," called Col- 
 lier's Rents, in South London, is the main centre 
 of the work of the Union. At the mission hall, 
 in the midst of this place of narrow alleys, close 
 courts, and winding passages^ the week is usually 
 begun with a five-o'clock Sunday morning break- 
 fast for people who have been spending the night 
 on London Bridge, or along the Embankment, 
 for lack of better accommodations. After the 
 breakfast, a rehgious service is held. In times 
 of special stress, the hall is kept open all night as 
 a place of shelter. Every effort is made to help 
 these wretched people, by clothing them and by 
 trying to find employment for them. There is a 
 Sunday-school at which the children are fed, as 
 has to be done at so many day-schools in London. 
 Then there are sewing classes, mothers' meetings, 
 temperance clubs, play hours, a gymnastic class for 
 girls, and general entertainments, besides two or 
 three mission services a week. The neighborhood 
 is carefully visited by missionaries and trained 
 nurses. An especial interest is taken in the ehil- 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 159 
 
 dren to see that they are not half starved in the 
 winter, and to insure them a fortnight in the 
 country in summer. The other stations main- 
 tained by the London Congregational Union are 
 of the more familiar mission chapel type, though 
 they, too, give active charitable help in their dis- 
 tricts. A great hindrance at these chapels, as in- 
 deed at all churches in poorer quarters, is that the 
 most valuable members, who are, of course, most 
 likely to be thrifty, are constantly leaving to move 
 to some pleasanter locality. Thus, the same influ- 
 ence which is building up congregations made up 
 exclusively of the rich in fashionable quai-ters 
 extends all the way along the social ladder. The 
 result is that the slum at the bottom continues 
 much the same. There is every indication that 
 the stem caU of Chidstian duty along the upper 
 ranges, where so much of the responsibility for 
 the creation of slums must rest, will from this 
 time forward be producing a return movement in 
 which the best of those at the top will become 
 neighbors and friends to the despised and forgot- 
 ten humanity which makes up the residuum at the 
 bottom. 
 
 An interesting instance of what can sometimes 
 be done by a wealthy suburban church, is fur- 
 nished by the Lyndhurst Road Congregational 
 Church in Hampstead, of which the Rev. Robert F. 
 
160 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Horton, one of the younger Congregational leaders, 
 is the pastor. Besides two flourishing missions in 
 neighboring districts, with charitable and educa- 
 tional features, there are adult schools in the 
 morning and pleasant meetings in the afternoon 
 on Sunday for working men at the church. A 
 series of popular entertainments is carried on 
 during the winter. There is a friendly society, a 
 social reform league, and a sanitary aid committee. 
 On the first Sunday evening of every month, Mr. 
 Horton preaches a special sermon to working men, 
 at which a very large audience is always present. 
 In these ways, though the church is located in one 
 of the finest of London suburbs, it still finds and 
 attaches to itself a considerable body of working- 
 class people. 
 
 In the Congregational, Methodist, and Baptist 
 bodies, there are growing elements of men who 
 are devoting themselves, along with their advo- 
 cacy of a progressive theology and a renewed 
 rehgious enthusiasm, to earnest efforts for the 
 improvement of social conditions. The Baptists 
 have not as yet done so much in this line, owing 
 in a measure to the oj)position of Mr. Spurgeon ; 
 but the party of the " down grade " is one from 
 which much is to be hoped, both in London and at 
 the North. The ^' Forward Movement " among the 
 Wesleyans, having the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE OIURCH 161 
 
 for a leader, and Mr. Percy Bunting, editor of 
 The Contemporary BevieWy for a strong supporter, 
 is rapidly growing in numbers and influence. 
 The most striking success of this party has been 
 in the West London Mission, under the superin- 
 tendence of Mr. Hughes, in many respects the 
 most remarkable piece of church work in England. 
 Mr. Hughes and the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse, his 
 associate, are both acknowledged to be very able 
 preachers. They combine inteUigence, radical so- 
 cial f eehng, and rehgious fervor in a high degree. 
 Their services are held at St. James's HaU, the 
 finest ^public hah in London, on Sundays, and at 
 Prince's HaU, near by, on Fridays. There are two 
 other haHs in the West End which are connected 
 with the Mission. In 1888, 123 members were 
 reported j in 1890, 827 members, with 251 on trial. 
 Of tills number it is said that three-fourths had 
 no pre\4ous church connection. The theory upon 
 which the Mission is based is that, in a great city, 
 the method of confining special effort to a single 
 district always necessarily leaves many people 
 uncared for; hence the advisability of taking a 
 large field, and by the use of somewhat more 
 general methods, gleaning through the whole of 
 it. Connected with the Mission, there is a sister- 
 hood under the direction of Mrs. Hughes. It has 
 about fifteen members, who are under no binding 
 
1G2 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 promises, but live together in groups and grad- 
 ually apply themselves to some specialty of rehg- 
 ious and social work. They are interested in clubs 
 for boys and girls, mothers' meetings, charitable 
 reUef, nursing of the poor, and securing countiy 
 holidays for children. 
 
 There are two large missions in the East End 
 of London, without denominational connection, 
 which resemble that of the Rev. Hugh Price 
 Hughes. One is conducted by Dr. T. J. Barnardo, 
 at the Edinburgh Castle ; the other by Mr. F. N. 
 Charrington, at the Great Assembly Hall. The 
 Edinburgh Castle, once a pubUc -house, has been 
 turned into a coffee-house and book-stall, and be- 
 hind it is a large hall capable of seating 3,000 per- 
 sons. This place, however, is in the main an 
 evangehstic centre for the various charitable in- 
 stitutions carried on by Dr. Barnardo in different 
 parts of the East End. Mr. Charrington's mission 
 is much more interesting, partly on account of his 
 own romantic history. He belongs to one of the 
 wealthiest families of brewers in England. Some 
 fifteen years ago he came strongly under the good 
 influence of a young companion with whom he 
 was travelling on the Continent ; and when he re- 
 turned he began to be a sort of street missionary 
 in East London, near his father's brewery. His 
 father threatened to disinherit him, but finally 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 163 
 
 left him a share in the brewery. He then sold 
 out his interest to his brothers^ and built the Great 
 Assembly Hall. This HaU has a seating capacity 
 of nearly 5,000 j it is one of the best in London, 
 and occupies about the most conspicuous place in 
 the whole of the East End. Besides the largely 
 attended services on Sunday, there is some kind 
 of meeting held nearly every evening, includ- 
 ing temperance meetings, lectures, and concerts. 
 One of the most valuable uses of the Hall is that 
 of a place where the working men of London can 
 meet to express their grievances and consider 
 plans of action. It has been no shght element in 
 the progress of the unskilled laborers at the docks 
 that they could come in such numbers to the Great 
 Assembly HaU, without any charge, and Usten in 
 an orderly way to the counsels of their leaders. 
 Mr. Charrington acts as treasurer of the Dockers^ 
 Union, and its central offices are at the Great 
 Assembly HaU. The mission, in aU its distinctive 
 f eatm-es, shows a highly commendable spirit. It 
 hsis a numerous staff of workers, and foUows a 
 long and varied Ust of reUgious, charitable, and 
 educational activities. 
 
 The great London City Mission, with its five 
 hundred missionaries, is committed to an almost 
 purely evangelistic poUcy. It does a very remark- 
 able work in this line. Over a hundred men are 
 
164 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 told off, each to minister to the rehgious needs of 
 some one kind of working people, many of whom 
 are hindered by the oppressive nature of their 
 occupations from having any opportunity of 
 attending church services. For the rest of the 
 missionaries, the entire metropoHs is districted, 
 and each man is assigned to a special locaUty, 
 where he usually acts under the direction of a 
 resident clergyman or minister. 
 
 The Unitarians ha^e not apphed themselves in 
 any large degree to the practical problems of pov- 
 erty. But many of them are taking a very strong 
 stand with regard to the more political and pub- 
 lic aspects of the social question. A number of 
 Unitarian ministers in different parts of the coun- 
 try openly advocate Land Nationalization and 
 Socialism. The Roman Cathohcs, whose con- 
 stituency among the poor is mainly confined to 
 Irish emigrants, pay great attention to temper- 
 ance, but are slow to take up new methods in their 
 parish work. Some of the younger priests are 
 followers of Cardinal Manning in his demand for 
 thorough-going social reform, and in his sympa- 
 thy with organized labor. Cardinal Manning does 
 not, it is to be feared, carry a great body of Roman 
 Cathohc support with him ; but, for himself, there 
 is no man in ecclesiastical position in England so 
 well acquainted with the labor movement, and so 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 165 
 
 influential among its leaders. The Jews, of 
 course, take very good care that their own people 
 shall not be brought to a condition of beggary. 
 In addition to this, there are tendencies among 
 educated Jews toward attempting to elevate their 
 brethren intellectually and socially. It has re- 
 cently been pointedly suggested by some of them 
 that the Chief Rabbi ought to reside in White- 
 chapel, where the majority of his flock are. Dr. 
 Stanton Coit, lecturer of the South Place Ethical 
 Society, who founded the old Neighborhood Guild 
 in New York, conducts an East London branch 
 society, and a guild at Leighton HaU, Kentish 
 Town, in the northwest metropolitan division. The 
 Theosophists, even, to prove faith by works, have 
 established a girls' club in the East End. 
 
 The sketch which has been given of the activity 
 of the London churches will include nearly every- 
 thing that is attempted at the North of England 
 and in Scotland. In general, the working class, 
 being more independent and thrifty at the North, 
 does not demand so much charitable effort on 
 the part of the church. In Birmingham, for in- 
 stance, the stress of extreme poverty is compara- 
 tively light, and even in Manchester there are 
 very few cases where families have but a single 
 room. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, however, the 
 conditions are hardly better than in London. The 
 
166 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Presbyterian cliurclies carry on aggressive mis- 
 sion work, but the tendency of Christian people 
 in Scotland seems to be to try to meet the social 
 problems without the use of church machinery. 
 Tliis is quite possible in Scotland, where sectarian 
 boundaries are easily passed over, and where the 
 poor people, having had early rehgious training, 
 are quite open to the simpler and more distinctive 
 influences of religion. 
 
 The Sunday-schools of the North of England 
 are very interesting, and even remarkable, for the 
 new forms of educational and social experiment 
 which they have taken up. In connection both 
 with Nonconformist churches and with churches 
 of the Estabhshment, they are organized as so- 
 cieties or clubs, and in many cases arrangements 
 are made for some amusement, entertainment, or 
 class for general study, on every evening of the 
 week, and for out-door recreation in summer. The 
 Sunday morning adult schools, which were begun 
 by the Quakers at Birmingham forty years ago, 
 and are still carried on largely by them, have of 
 late increased so much that the schools now have 
 a membership of 20,000 in and near Birming- 
 ham. Schools of this kind are now being intro- 
 duced into churches of various denominations 
 in London, where they have already 2,500 mem- 
 bers, and the leaders in the movement expect a 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 167 
 
 large increase. The plan of these schools is to 
 confine their membership to men, who shall be 
 invited to come for instruction in reading and 
 writing, together with some study of the Bible. 
 The Bible is used as fitly serving a double pur- 
 pose. After the reading, the passage is freely dis- 
 cussed. The one taking charge of a class does 
 not pose as a teacher ; he is called the president, 
 and formal elections take place from time to 
 time. It is strenuously insisted upon that the 
 schools must be kept free from aU sectarian prop- 
 aganda. An important secret of the success of 
 these schools is the hour at which they are held, 
 eight o'clock a.m. — just the time when a work- 
 ing man's home is Kkely to be least inviting, and 
 when there is no other place to go to. The best 
 type of school is carried on in a building of its 
 own, adapted to its special methods, and not used 
 for ordinary church services. In such a building 
 the adult school takes on a large number of feat- 
 ures. On Sunday afternoons a school for women 
 is held ; in the evening a general meeting. AU 
 the week-day evenings are taken up with a variety 
 of matters in the way of self-help, education, and 
 recreation, which would do credit to the best of 
 working men's clubs. The plan of these adult 
 schools is really a fresh and important contribu- 
 tion. Their success suggests that a simple Chris- 
 
168 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIMENTS 
 
 tianity, free from theological and ecclesiastical 
 refinements, and expressing itself in terms wMch 
 embody answers to honest human needs, will be 
 as irresistible as a law of nature. 
 
 It is because the present activity in all branches 
 of the Christian Church in England is to so large 
 a degree taking such form, that it is feeling so 
 much new life in itseK and is coming to have so 
 much better relations with the working people. 
 But this is only a small beginning compared with 
 what remains to be done. In the main line of the 
 progress of the working class, in the labor move- 
 ment, there are practically no direct influences 
 coming from the churches. It is a critical matter 
 that the men who best represent the labor move- 
 ment, men of sturdy integrity and noble pur- 
 pose, are seriously estranged from the churches. 
 No doubt these men are somewhat embittered j 
 but who can say that they have not had cause ? 
 
 The great criticism to be made upon nearly all 
 bodies of Christians in England is that they are 
 not democratic enough. It is true that usually 
 churches of the Establishment are open daily and 
 the seats free. The Nonconformists, also, are 
 making rapid strides toward the free-seat system. 
 But the trouble is that working men wiU not come 
 among people who, as individuals, disregard their 
 dearest interests. As long as class distinctions 
 
THE SOCIAL W0RK OF THE CHURCH 169 
 
 hold among the attendants at a church — whether 
 based on position, wealth, or learning — ^it will be 
 difficult, if not impossible, to secure the co-opera- 
 tion of self-respecting working men. It may 
 safely be said that wherever in English cities a 
 church succeeds in winning the confidence of the 
 better grades of poor people,and actually bringing 
 them into a state of independence and self -rehance, 
 that church has been pervaded, not merely in its 
 constitution, but in the personal relations of its 
 members, with the feeling of social equahty. As 
 long as Christians sustain the attitude of " superior 
 persons/' the best of the working men will hold 
 aloof from outward Christianity. The spirit of 
 an active sympathy is the essential thing ; without 
 it, aU methods will be understood to be merely 
 baits for the catching of proseljrtes. At a large 
 Low Church mission in London, a class in rudi- 
 mentary knowledge for working men is held two 
 or three evenings a week during the winter. AH 
 the men have to agree to remain to a prayer- 
 meeting after the lesson, and they are clearly as- 
 sured by the teachers that of course no such 
 trouble would be taken to give them instruction 
 but for the expectation that it would lead to the 
 conversion of their souls. 
 
 When one passes below the grade of the regu- 
 larly employed working man, into the two lowest 
 
170 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 grades — that of the casual laborer living with his 
 family in a room or two, and that of the idler and 
 criminal, who Hves in common lodging-houses — 
 it is easy to see that the churches have very little 
 influence in the flrst grade, and practically none 
 at all in the second. It is to these two grades 
 that the scheme of General Booth is to minister. 
 It ought to be well understood that before the Sal- 
 vation Army took up definite social work it had 
 httle, if any, more success than other evangelistic 
 agencies have among these people. The cam- 
 paign of purely emotional religion in the East of 
 London was a f ailiu-e. General Booth has been 
 keen enough to recognize this ; and we see first 
 the East End barracks turned into food and 
 shelter depots, then a Social Reform Wing estab- 
 lished, and finally the social scheme of the book, 
 "In Darkest England, and the Way Out." In 
 order to get the fuU importance of the marked 
 change of pohcy, it must be remembered that the 
 decision to turn the enthusiasm of the Army 
 strongly into social channels is very recent in 
 General Booth's mind. It is a fact of much sig- 
 nificance that the greatest popular reHgious leader 
 of this century should make so sudden and far- 
 reaching a change in a programme which had 
 been settling into fixed form during twenty-five 
 years. It ought to show the Church at large that 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 171 
 
 Christianity, if still to have tlie original message 
 to the poor and the oppressed, must first free 
 them from hmiger, exposure, and the whole in- 
 human bondage of abject poverty, so as to lead 
 them forward to a position where it shall begin to 
 be possible for them to understand a little about 
 the hberty of the sons of God. 
 
 Not much was done by the Salvation Army 
 toward supplying the needs of the poor until the 
 dock strike in 1889, though two food depots had 
 been opened the year before. In connection with 
 the agitations of the unemployed about Trafal- | 
 gar Square, Captain Frank Smith had been hold- / 
 ing meetings among these men. One day he / 
 returned to General Booth and insisted that it 
 was useless longer to try to preach to the soul 
 without first feeding the body. But General 
 Booth was quite averse to entering upon any 
 large plan of charitable rehef at that time, 
 and Captain Smith retired from the service of 
 the Army. At the beginning of 1890, however, 
 he was recalled, appointed commissioner, and 
 given direction of the Social Reform Wing, 
 Under his energetic and capable management, the 
 number of shelters and food depots was increased. 
 He organized a very successful labor bureau. He 
 saved the sandwich-poster men from a cruel 
 sweating system, and by hiring them out himself, 
 
172 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 was able almost to double their wages. He estab- 
 lished a factory in Whitechapel with a capacity 
 for about a hundred hands. He planned a match 
 factory, at which he expected to employ a large 
 number of girls on a co-operative system, at 
 least until the great match fii*ms should begin to 
 show mercy. His fertile mind seemed full of such 
 plans, and he was coming to have a large number 
 of friends among social workers in London. 
 Meanwhile General Booth's book had been issued, 
 to which Commissioner Smith's work had to a 
 large extent furnished a basis, and the money of 
 subscribers began to pour in. Commissioner 
 Smith found that his department was receiving 
 very limited supphes. He became satisfied that 
 not suflicient care was being taken to keep the 
 new accounts separate from those of the regular 
 finances of the Army. Not having his inquiries 
 as to these matters f aii-ly answered, and under the 
 smart of numerous petty interferences with his 
 work, he resigned his office and left the Army.* 
 
 While it is difficult to see how so valuable a 
 man could have been allowed to go, it is shown 
 that now, at least, the two sets of books are to be 
 kept quite separate, and the original work of the 
 
 * Mr. Smith is now engaged in trying to form a Labor 
 Army, in which he proposes working men shall co-operate 
 under the military idea for the sake of their own advance- 
 ment and in order to elevate their less favored fellows. 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 173 
 
 Social Reform Wing is continued on the same 
 lines as those laid down by Commissioner Smith. 
 
 In any review of the social work of the Army, 
 the success of General Booth's book is no small 
 element. Probably 200,000 copies have been sold. 
 Over $500,000 have been subscribed in response 
 to it. It has stirred people again all over the 
 world to the crying needs of the poor of Lon- 
 don, and also, it is to be hoped, to the miseries of 
 the poor at their own doors. It has ehcited the 
 support of aU sorts of persons, from bishops of 
 the Church to the Marquis of QueensbeiTy. Very ^ 
 much of this is, of course, owing to Mr. W. T. 
 Stead. The literary form of the book is largely 
 his, and many of its most striking ideas. He 
 gave the book its great publicity through articles 
 in his Review of Renews. It is an interesting fact 
 that it was he who brought "The Bitter Cry" 
 to the attention of the country, by his articles 
 in The Pall Mall Gazette. It is perhaps idle to 
 consider how much regenerating social activity 
 would never have gone into East London if those 
 articles had not been written, and the tract had 
 reached only the usual readers of such things. ' 
 
 Any detailed exposition of General Booth's 
 scheme wiU perhaps be unnecessary here. The 
 scheme beguis with the food and shelter depots, 
 to which all without other resorts are expected 
 
174 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 to drift. The patrons of these depots are to be 
 given a chance of employment in factories, work- 
 shops, or at other industries — the whole enter- 
 prise thus far being organized into a city colony. 
 As the city colony prospers, rural colonies will be 
 formed, to which the best members of the city 
 colony are to be drafted. Last of all, over-sea 
 colonies ai-e to be developed by a selective process 
 from the rural colonies. 
 
 The work of getting the scheme launched has 
 thus far had to do almost whoUy with the city 
 colony. A lodging-house of a somewhat better 
 grade than the others has been opened, with ac- 
 commodations for two hundred people. A lodg- 
 ing-house for families, and another large one, 
 like the original shelters, for men only, have also 
 been opened. An old brewery is being prepared 
 for use as a combined shelter and factory, and 
 there is to be a haU in Whitechapel where poor 
 women can find employment. Suitable quarters 
 have been obtained for a prison gate brigade, and 
 there is to be a workshop where fifty ex-prisoners 
 can be employed. Arrangements are being made 
 to extend the scheme to Bradford, Leeds, Liver- 
 pool, Manchester, and Bristol. Land for a rural 
 colony has been secured, and the farm work begun. 
 The over-sea colony will, of course, have to await 
 the progress of the scheme at home. There have 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 175 
 
 already been a number of small efforts in the way 
 of transferring the poor of London to rural dis- 
 tricts and to the colonies ; but experiments have 
 not as yet gone far enough to indicate how great 
 their success will be. A man who has been active 
 in this line for some years, the Rev. Herbert V. 
 Mills, has given his endorsement to General 
 Booth's scheme. Mr. Mills' organization, the 
 Home Colonization Society, has turned over five- 
 sixths of its funds to General Booth. 
 
 What success is this enterprise likely to have 1 
 We can begin to answer the question best by re- 
 viewing the social work already accomplished by 
 the Salvation Army. It is at least impossible to 
 gainsay the results attained by the rescue homes 
 and by the prison gate brigades, which have been 
 carried on by the Army since 1884. The rescue 
 work is one of the noblest instances in the world 
 of woman's work for woman. In London, there 
 are now sixteen slum corps ; in provincial cities, 
 twelve. These corps are made up of Army lasses, 
 often fresh from the country. In some cases they 
 are set down in the most degraded spots. In 
 other cases, in accordance with the nature of our 
 social system, their field lies but a httle way aside 
 from where the central stream of civilization 
 passes. In any case, they go freely to whatever 
 places may seem to call for their helpful minis- 
 
176 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 try. A nun, bound by a triple vow, is not safer 
 in the sanctity of veil and robes than these slmn 
 sisters in the utter simphcity of their faith. There 
 are now twelve rescue homes in England, and 
 seventeen in other countries, including several in 
 America. At the London homes, in 1889, 1,029 
 girls and women were cared for. In every case 
 the effort is to find employment for them. A 
 large number of rescue home inmates are kept 
 busy with various kinds of light labor at the 
 homes, such as book-binding, machine-knitting, 
 needle-work, and the making of mottoes for 
 meeting halls. As far as possible they are put to 
 service in Christian households. 
 
 The prison gate brigades first began their work 
 in AustraHa and India. In both countries, the 
 brigades have received the hearty support of gov- 
 ernment of&cials. One Australian city supplies a 
 building where discharged prisoners may be put 
 under the Army's care. One of the colonial gov- 
 ernments gives free transportation for those sent 
 by the Army to employment at a distance. In 
 London, the department, which has been very 
 useful for seven years, wiU now be increased and 
 given suitable quarters. The members of the 
 brigade bring released prisoners from the prison 
 gates every morning in the " Red Maria." There 
 have recently been instances where magistrates 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 177 
 
 have, instead of committing men, sent them in 
 charge of a police officer to the Salvation Army 
 factory. 
 
 In connection with the efforts begun more re- 
 cently, and yet previous to the pubhcation of 
 General Booth's book, there are in London alone 
 920 people sheltered nightly, and 6,000 cheap 
 meals served every day. The usual charge for 
 supper, lodging, and breakfast, all of course in 
 the simplest style, is eight cents. At the original 
 factory, there are now 120 men engaged at car- 
 pentering, painting, brush-making, wood-chop- 
 ping, mat-making, and other industries. At first 
 they are given merely their board and lodging at 
 the shelters. Gradually, if they prove faithful, 
 they rise to full trade-union rates of wages, and 
 then have situations found for them. 
 
 Thus what has already actually been done 
 shows at least that there are very considerable 
 possibihties in the Salvation Ai-my for acting as 
 a redeeming social agent. In any case, such 
 possibilities would be indicated by the wonderful 
 constitution and disciphne of the Salvation Army, 
 which has enabled it to spread through the world ; 
 to have most of its divisions, even in the mission 
 field, self-supporting; to be facing such a vast 
 variety of problems and yet adapting itself to the 
 needs of each separate situation J all this, though 
 
178 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 held together only by an humble, unquestioning 
 faith, and a few forms and symbols taken up out 
 of the life of these prosaic times. This modern 
 crusade has developed a type of character which 
 is in important respects something new in the 
 history of Christianity. With the exception of 
 the Franciscans, there has been no large body of 
 people at aU comparable with the Salvation 
 Army in its fitness for bringing a stirring 
 enthusiasm and a personal love into the service 
 of outcast and oppressed humanity. 
 
 There have been three main lines of criticism 
 of General Booth's scheme. Mr. Huxley has 
 called attention to the despotic nature of the 
 Army's government and to the possibihty of great 
 abuses arising. While in a large measure recog- 
 nizing this, it must be said in reply that under 
 General Booth's administration, and in the one 
 following — during which at least the Army could 
 go on with the acquired momentum — there can 
 be no great danger in this direction. Also, since 
 Mr. Huxley's letters were pubhshed, General 
 Booth has executed a trust bond and appointed a 
 consulting committee, thus providing a just secu- 
 rity, while not introducing outside interference 
 with the direction of the Army's members. As 
 to Mr. Huxley's fears with regard to the grow- 
 ing strength of the Army as a peculiar rehgious 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OP THE CHURCH 179 
 
 organization, they have httle weight or much, ac- 
 cording as one acknowledges or rejects the abso- 
 lute value of the rehgious life, and the justice of 
 a historic sense which can appreciate the force of 
 this life in a variety of manifestations. A more 
 serious criticism is that of Mr. C. S. Loch, secre- 
 tary of the Council of the Charity Organization 
 Society, London. Mr. Loch's criticism is on the 
 ground of the uneconomic nature of some of the 
 methods and proposals of the Army. It must be 
 acknowledged that there are grave dangers of this 
 nature involved in the scheme, but it has by no 
 means been shown that the dangers cannot be 
 safely passed through. Already the criticism of 
 the food and shelter depots, that they pauperize 
 the poor by charging too low prices, is being met 
 by the plan of making these depots simply the 
 way of entrance into the factories and workshops 
 where the most hopeless of the poor are taught 
 the lesson of industry and thrift. Indeed, the 
 officers of the Social Reform Wing, and General 
 Booth himself, have given much time to con- 
 sulting with speciaUsts as to the economic bear- 
 ings of different parts of the scheme. A third 
 line of objections has come from persons engaged 
 in social work similar to that undertaken by the 
 Army. Then* objection that money has been di- 
 verted from the support of institutions and soci- 
 
180 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 eties already at work is in a measure true j and 
 against a plan which furnished no new ground for 
 hope, the objection would have great weight. But 
 from the same quarter has come the complaint 
 that General Booth's scheme proposes nothing 
 new. The obvious reply is that the uniting of 
 various plans into one organized whole is the im- 
 portant feature of the scheme, and that in this 
 it is essentially novel. In some of the objec- 
 tions urged by Church of England clergymen, 
 there has been a noticeable tinge of jealousy that 
 another popular rehgious body outside of the 
 Church should be getting prominence and power 
 in the social life of the country. This f eehng has 
 caused increased attention to be given to the 
 Church Army, a small organization which does a 
 valuable work in its way, but is, after all, merely 
 a sublimated imitation of the Salvation Army. 
 
 So that, while recognizing the many limita- 
 tions, and even dangers, which the pecuhar nature 
 ,of the Salvation Army puts upon the operation of 
 such a vast social scheme, a large number of 
 the best English people have felt that the work 
 proposed must be done, and quickly j and that 
 the Salvation Army was in some remark- 
 able ways fitted to do it. Of course, no one ex- 
 pects that General Booth will accompHsh all that 
 he has set before himself. But the experiment 
 
THE SOCIAL WORK OF THE CHURCH 181 
 
 will be sure to make valuable additions to the 
 knowledge of social conditions and their best 
 remedies. It does not even attempt to remove 
 the cause of pauperism ; but it will do much to 
 develop means adequate to its removal when the 
 facts are fully found out. 
 
 The moral side of social progress certainly 
 can no more express itself in- this age without 
 comprehensive movements than the industrial 
 side can. In every age, it has been the mission 
 of Christianity to take the common, current 
 problems of human life, and lift them up into 
 the hght of eternal principles; and then give 
 them some outward representation to stir the 
 imaginations of men until they forgot the limits 
 of race and custom, and became apostles and 
 heroes and martyrs. Christianity will be untrue 
 to itself if it do not, under some new vision and 
 with a strong, united force, give form and voice to 
 the aspirations for a better society that are rising 
 among the people of aU civiHzed countries. The 
 first large origiaal impulse going out in this way 
 to meet the evils, to attain the hopes, most char- 
 acteristic of our time, is that of the Salvation 
 Army with its world-wide campaign. One must 
 admit that at many points the Salvation Army 
 lacks knowledge. But so did early Christianity, 
 according to its own confession. 
 
VI 
 CHARITY AJSiD PHILA^^THEOPY 
 
 London Charitt Organization Society.— Administra- 
 tion OF Charity in the Stepney District.— The 
 Children's Country Holiday Fund. — Metropol- 
 itan Public Gardens Association. — Mansion House 
 Council on the Dwellings of the People. — London 
 Nurses. — The Kyrle Society, and the Ministry of 
 Beauty. ^ — The Scotch Social Unions. — The Ladies' 
 Association for Useful Work, in Birmingham. — 
 The Ancoats Brotherhood, in Manchester. — Mr. 
 Charles Booth's Investigations. — Model Tene- 
 ment-Houses. — Lady Rent Collectors. — Economic 
 Experiments. 
 
 The great awakening as to the condition of the 
 poor in English cities has had one of its best re- 
 sults in a renewed effort to put the administration 
 of charity upon a sound economic basis. The con- 
 ditions of public relief have, it is true, been grad- 
 ually improving ever since the reform of the old 
 poor-law in 1834. But it is only of recent years 
 that there has been any measurable success in 
 eliminating the tendency toward pauperization 
 which has been the bane of the Enghsh charity 
 system. Even now, there are only a few districts 
 in the whole country where food and money are 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 183 
 
 not doled out, under some general restrictions, but 
 with little or no discrimination of individual cases. 
 The shghtest glance into the history of the English 
 poor-laws will show how such a plan degrades the 
 poor, destroys their independence, and spreads 
 pauperism as by a sort of contagion, besides add- 
 ing to the burden of taxation which self-reliant 
 working people have to bear. 
 
 In 1869 the London Charity Organization 
 Society was formed. Between that time and this 
 it has had a long, slow struggle with the pubUc 
 reUeving officers and with the dispensers of private 
 charity. The progress of the Society has been a 
 gradual educating influence, showing the harmf ill- 
 ness of giving charity without investigation as to 
 whether there is actual need. Under an organized 
 system, furnishing facilities for finding quite ac- 
 curately what the probable effect of a gift will 
 be, it becomes to an enlightened conscience a 
 shirking of duty to give indiscriminately. This 
 attitude is now taken almost universally by per- 
 sons administeriag voluntary charities in London, 
 and to a very large extent such persons have some 
 affiliated relation with the Charity Organization 
 Society. To bring the public relieving officers up 
 to this view, especially with the present poor-law 
 against it, is a matter more difficult. 
 
 The London Charity Organization Society is 
 
184 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 composed of the Central Council and forty branch 
 committees, covering in their scope the whole of 
 the Metropolitan Area. The specific object of the 
 Society, of course, is to organize existing charities, 
 rather than to act itseK as a distributor of alms ; 
 but in practice the branch committees are the 
 main centres for dispensing voluntary charity in 
 — their respective districts. As far as possible, these 
 committees are made up of persons connected with 
 the distribution of either church or private char- 
 ities in their districts j they thus form a connecting 
 link between workers of different kinds. The 
 sections to be covered are made as small as possi- 
 ble, both for the sake of securing thorough work, 
 and also for the sake of having each committee in 
 large measure identify itself with the local life, 
 and secure the interest and co-operation of all the 
 people within its scope, of whatever creed or 
 class. It is a favorite idea of Mr. C. S. Loch, 
 who, as secretary of the Council, has general di- 
 rection of the Society's work, and is perhaps the 
 first English authority on questions of charity, 
 that a local committee should become a general 
 leavening influence in its district ; that it should 
 call out the active support of the well-to-do in the 
 assistance of the needy and in other efforts for 
 social improvement 5 that it should bring citizens to 
 realize the importance of the functions of local 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 185 
 
 boards of government and education. It is strong- 
 ly insisted that on each committee there should be 
 several persons who have developed by experience 
 a special skill in the treatment of cases entered 
 for charitable aid. In fact, the administration of 
 charity in its organized methods is both a science 
 and an aiii: there is first a careful investiga- 
 tion, in which data are collected from all possi- 
 ble sources; then arrangements for co-operative 
 action ; and finally, after help has been rendered, 
 a good deal of care to make sure that the person 
 aided has improved under the aid which he has 
 received. 
 
 The experience of members of committees, or 
 " almoners," when taken up in this broad way, is 
 very valuable, aside from the human interest of 
 it, in developing a trained social sense which wiU 
 look with clear insight into all the various phases 
 of social movements. The marked increase of 
 persons of this type in London and the other 
 English cities is bringing about increased mu- 
 nicipal purity and strength. The work of the 
 charity committees in the East End of London is 
 to a considerable degree done by men and women 
 from other parts of the metropolis, who iden- 
 tify themselves in various ways with their special 
 districts. This again is an instance of how 
 strongly the best of English life is running out as 
 
186 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 fresh nerve-force into the helpless extremities of 
 the social body. 
 
 The Council ^f the London Charity Organiza- 
 tion Society exerts a large influence. It is the 
 centre of all the afiiliated charity societies of the 
 Kingdom, and is in correspondence with similar 
 organizations in all the large cities of the world. 
 The Council is made up of representatives of the 
 district committees. It exercises general control 
 on matters of policy over these committees, and 
 has a plan by which visitors from the Council 
 inspect the work of the committees from time to 
 time. It considers carefully all large plans, under- 
 taken either by municipal bodies, trades-unions, 
 churches, or individuals, which affect questions 
 of charity ; sending out the results of its dehbera- 
 tions in articles and pamphlets and in definite 
 instructions to committees. The Council is now 
 making an effort to have addresses and courses 
 of lectures given under the auspices of the dis- 
 trict branches, on the history and methods of 
 charity, as weU as on other departments of prac- 
 tical social science. The object is to get the 
 mass of the people of each district to take an in- 
 telligent interest both in the voluntary social work 
 of the district and in its political administration. 
 
 The Council directs the larger charitable efforts 
 which would not come so easily within the scope 
 
CHAKITY AND PHILANTHROPY 187 
 
 of the branches. A medical sub-committee pro- 
 vides for the supply of surgical apparatus, and 
 for the sending of convalescents, recommended 
 by the branches, to the various convalescent homes 
 which have been estabhshed in the country and 
 at the seaside. In some years, nearly two thou- 
 sand patients are sent out in this way, being mainly 
 those just leaving the hospitals. An emigration 
 sub-committee assists unemployed persons to emi- 
 grate; not, however, without carefully selecting 
 those that are to be sent. 
 
 One of the most valuable parts of the Council's 
 work is the publication of the annual " Charities 
 Register and Digest." * This massive volume con- 
 tains a long introduction, outlining the general 
 means and methods of relief, which is also pub- 
 lished separately under the title ^'How to Help 
 Cases of Distress."* The Register proper is an 
 exliaustive catalogue of all charitable, philan- 
 thropic, and provident societies and institutions 
 in London ; their aims, resources, and officers. A 
 publication of this kind is of very great use in 
 securing co-operation and preventing overlap- 
 ping. An effort is now being made to form a 
 strong federation of all the charity organization 
 societies of the Kingdom; and last year a con- 
 ference of charities was held at Oxford, which 
 * London and New York : Longmans, Green & Co. 
 
188 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 will probably be contimied annually, in support 
 of tliis object. In addition to all the other printed 
 matter issued by the London society, it pubhshes 
 The Charity Organization Eeview, which has a dis- 
 tinctive field of its own in the careful discussion 
 of charity and related social topics. 
 
 The best possibilities yet gained in the work of 
 any local committee have been reached in the 
 district of Stepney. It is doubtful whether the 
 charities of any similar district in England — 
 including both pubhc and private relief — are 
 administered so strictly according to economic 
 principles as in Stepney. The pubhc reheving 
 officer for this district, Mr. John Jones, has held 
 his position for over twenty years. Through all 
 this time he has been working courageously to 
 reform the abuses of the system. He has kept 
 complete and painstaking accounts of all cases 
 assisted during the last fourteen years. In this 
 way he is able to trace the history of his chents, 
 and to tell at once whether they are worthy of 
 help. Mr. Jones's books have furnished valu- 
 able material for the later volumes of Mr. 
 Charles Booth's work on " Labor and Life of the 
 People." This has been especially the case with 
 the striking data these records supply as to the 
 influence of heredity and environment on pau- 
 perism. Mr. Jones's leading effort has been to cut 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 189 
 
 off out-door relief * This is, of course, one of the 
 main things at which the Charity Organization 
 Society aims. The co-operation between the Step- 
 ney branch and Mr. Jones is quite complete. Mr. 
 Jones is a member of the Stepney Charity Organi- 
 zation Society Committee, and Mr. Thomas Han- 
 cock Nunn, the honorary secretary of the Charity 
 Organization Society Committee, has recently been 
 elected one of the public guardians of the poor 
 for Stepney. 
 
 Mr. Nunn is the second resident at Toynbee 
 Hall in point of seniority. He has been at his 
 present work since 1884, and has succeeded re- 
 markably in developing and applying scientific 
 methods to the problems of voluntary charity. 
 To begin with, thanks to Mr. Jones, he has had the 
 whole field of the out-door relief of the district 
 free of official interference. He has then secured 
 as committee members nearly all the clergymen 
 and ministers of Stepney, and other persons asso- 
 ciated with local charities. Different members 
 of the committee from other parts of London — 
 among them several residents of TojrDbee HaU — 
 have undertaken to represent for the Stepney dis- 
 
 * That is, relief given otherwise than by commitment 
 to a poor-house. The term "poor-house" is in this ac- 
 count applied to the English work-house, to prevent its be- 
 ing confused with the American work-house, an institution 
 for short-sentence criminals. 
 
190 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIMENTS 
 
 trict the metropolitan societies which distribute 
 relief there. Some of the latest additions to the 
 committee have been working men who act as 
 representatives of local branches of friendly socie- 
 ties and trades-unions. 
 
 A very close system of visitation has been insti- 
 tuted, each visitor taking charge of a certain sub- 
 district. In several cases, clergymen, by the help 
 of their parish workers, relieve the committee of 
 responsibility for all the people in the neighbor- 
 hood of their churches. A special feature of the 
 Stepney committee's work is a quarterly revision 
 of all cases, in which every person who has apphed 
 for aid, whether the aid was granted or not, is 
 again visited, and careful returns made as to any 
 change of conditions since the original apphcation. 
 The members of the committee thus retain, as far 
 as possible, a continued interest in the people who 
 seek their help. The data gained by the double 
 registration are gradually becoming of great use 
 in the practical direction of the committee's work, 
 and are from time to time examined by Mr. 
 Charles Booth's assistants and other students of 
 the problem of pauperism. 
 
 There are many who disagree in important 
 points with the methods of the Charity Organiza- 
 tion Society. They say it is too cold-blooded in 
 its dealings with poor people, treating them always 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 191 
 
 according to the letter of a few rigid economic pre- 
 cepts. It is admitted by every one that the Society 
 has done a valuable work in reducing greatly the 
 amoimt of indiscriminate giving. But it is held 
 that an individual who is suffering should not so 
 often be refused help, even though he has been 
 somewhat careless and thriftless ; and especially 
 that one who is in want through another's fault — 
 as, a woman deserted by her husband — ought to 
 be aided even if the aid should somewhat weaken 
 the conscience of other people tempted to commit 
 the same fault; even though help given a desei-ted 
 wife might make it easier for other husbands to 
 desert their wives. The claim is that, while it may 
 be an excellent rule that people should be reheved 
 for the sake of helping them to get beyond the 
 need of help, and for the sake of reducing the sum 
 total of pauperism; yet one does not have the 
 right to make a weak individual bear the brunt of 
 some social evil, or even in many cases to charge 
 him so largely with responsibility for the failure 
 of his own life. It is acknowledged by some 
 leading charity organizers that economic laws 
 have not been sufficiently tempered with sympa- 
 thy. The Society has, it is true, put charity upon 
 a higher ethical basis than it had before. Or- 
 ganized charities show that it is selfish merely to 
 give your money or your goods. They insist that 
 
r, 
 
 192 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 you must give yourself. And yet it seems to be 
 the position of the Charity Organization Society, 
 that the organization of charity is a means ade- 
 quate to the solution of the problem of pauper- 
 ism. This compels it to put an undue share of 
 the weight upon the individual in distress. To 
 one who believes that charity is only a partial 
 remedy, and that pauperism is in large part the 
 result of injustice in our social system, of which 
 the poor are innocent victims, the methods of the 
 Society, though carried out with earnestness and 
 self-sacrifice, often seem to have over much of the 
 spirit of paternal discipline, and not enough of the 
 spirit of brotherly kindness. 
 
 The charities of London are simply bewildering 
 in number and variety. ^^ The Charities Register " 
 fills 840 pages with a list of them, gi\dng brief 
 descriptions. They include some provision for 
 every ill that afflicts flesh or spirit. It is a con- 
 stant wonder to see what vast resources are avail- 
 able for charitable use. There cannot be much 
 doubt that there are too many separate institu- 
 tional charities in London. Thtj editor of Low's 
 "Charities of London"* for 1890, says: "It 
 should, we think, be a source of gratification that 
 no new charitable institutions have started into 
 existence during the past year." He holds that 
 * London : Sampson Low & Co. 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 193 
 
 • 
 
 the special need now is that existing institutions 
 should be adequately supported, and should, as 
 far as possible, combine their efforts rather than 
 continue in harmful competition. It would of 
 course be impossible here to enter upon any ac- 
 count of institutional charities. It may be said 
 that in general their plans have come to a practi- 
 cally complete form ; they do not therefore take a 
 large place in recent progress. In the case of 
 public poor-houses, here and there a marked im- 
 provement has been made in London and other 
 cities J but through the country, as a whole, it is 
 to be feared that many of the poor-houses have 
 not advanced far from the condition they were in 
 Avhen Dickens wrote. 
 
 The more general charities and philanthropies 
 of London, especially societies including aJl of the 
 metropolis, or large sections of it, in their scope, 
 have increased in number and strength of late, 
 and often exhibit valuable unique features in their 
 objects and methods. 
 
 There is an important group of associations in 
 the interest of children and young people, which 
 suggest their objects in their names : the Society 
 for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the 
 Children's Invalid Aid Society, the Metropolitan 
 Association for Befriending Young Servants, and 
 best of aU, the Children's Country Holiday Fund. 
 
 ^ OF THE ^ 
 
 'tj'nivbrsit 
 
 OS" 
 
194 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 These are all districted, after the plan of the Char- 
 ity Organization Society. They have also learned 
 much from it as to methods, and in general are 
 closely affiliated to its committees in the separate 
 districts. 
 
 The Children's Country HoHday Fund is one of 
 the most satisfactory and successful of all London 
 charities. The number of children sent away 
 each summer is more than twenty thousand. 
 There are four hundred and fifty country centres 
 to which children are sent. Thirty-six local com- 
 mittees meet weekly during the first part of the 
 summer, to make preparations. The Fund is 
 remarkably weU organized. There are now very 
 few country holiday enterprises in London which 
 have not attached themselves to it. Even the 
 Jews, since special provision has been made for 
 the food of their children, have united. The con- 
 dition imposed by the central authority is that no 
 local committee shall be affiUated unless it accej)t 
 the regulations of the Fund, and engage to work 
 in an approved area. 
 
 The members of the committees begin by con- 
 sulting the teachers of board schools in their dis- 
 tricts, as to what pupils most need a change of 
 air — ^f or unfortunately the committees are able to 
 send only niue or ten poor children out of a hun- 
 dred. This is the best way to begin, as pupils 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 195 
 
 go to school very young in London, and education 
 is compulsory between the ages of five and thii-teen, 
 roughly speaking. After getting a list of names 
 and addresses from the teachers, the visitors call 
 at the children's homes. They find from the par- 
 ents about the condition of the family, its uicome, 
 and the health of the children, guarding especially 
 against the danger of infectious disease. For 
 the ones who go away for a fortnight, the whole 
 cost to the committee is about three dollars. They 
 ask the parents to contribute as much of this 
 amount as they can. The. parents are, on the 
 whole, quite willing to have their children go to 
 the country, and their offers are very fair, consid- 
 ering their circumstances. One-third of the year's 
 expenditure is covered by the parents' payments. 
 The children are sent in small groups to cottages, 
 where for a time they enjoy the real country home 
 life. It is easy to see how much better this is 
 than to send them to large institutions, or into 
 camps. The woman who receives a party into 
 her house is called a ''foster mother.'^ As far as 
 possible, arrangements are made not only for their 
 general care, but for teaching them something of 
 nature and for directing their pleasures. One 
 would perhaps tliink that Httle slum urchins would 
 feel some of the original joys of Eden when they 
 come into the fields and woods. It is often quite 
 
196 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 otherwise. A most pathetic thing, and a doubly 
 strong argument for the Country Holiday Fund, 
 is that some children from the alleys are able to 
 feel no touch of kinship between themselves and 
 their Mother Nature when they come into her 
 very presence. That children left to such an 
 inhuman existence should ever grow up into good 
 citizens is simply inconceivable. 
 
 The importance of taking poor city children for 
 a sight of the country — and of training them to 
 love the country — ^is not then merely a matter of 
 compassion for little people deprived of rural 
 pleasures, but a matter that deeply concerns the 
 health and character of coming generations of 
 working people. It is beginning to be seen that 
 even the school is a hurtful influence when chil- 
 dren have little pure air and no healthful recrea- 
 tion. And of course nearly every other circum- 
 stance of a tenement-house child is against him. 
 Whatever remedial influences may be introduced, 
 the children must still be given some of the phys- 
 ical strength and moral exhilaration that come 
 alone from nature and rural life. This is so 
 strongly felt in London that large numbers of 
 excursions are arranged by churches, schools, and 
 individuals, both for the children and for older 
 people. A favorite way is for the leaders of such 
 a party to secure the hospitality of the owner of a 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 197 
 
 coimtry house and grounds somewhere near Lon- 
 don. In such excursions, as well as in the longer 
 hohday under the Fund, it is held to be very- 
 important that the visitors should be received as 
 guests, and thus experience some of the pleasures 
 of social life. 
 
 Within the bounds of London, an active cam- 
 paign is being carried on for the increase of parks 
 and open spaces. It is already a redeeming feat- 
 ure of the East End that one never goes far 
 without seeing little green spaces. The County 
 Council is very active in this matter, and has greatly 
 improved Victoria Park, the only park in the East 
 of London. The Metropolitan Public Gardens 
 Association has secured, in one way and another, 
 many pieces of ground in different parts of Lon- 
 don, which it has beautified and opened to pub- 
 lic use. In some of the most crowded districts of 
 the East End there are large churchyards. The 
 Gardens Association holds that the hving count 
 for more than the dead in such cases ; and, by per- 
 sistence, it is gradually getting the churchyards 
 changed into places where those who are stiU in 
 the struggle may find a httle rest. The County 
 Council and some voluntary societies are preparing 
 playing fields within the parks or in the near 
 suburbs, of which athletic clubs wiU have the use 
 for their out-door sports. 
 
198 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 A great deal of attention has been given to 
 sanitary reform in London of late. The Mansion 
 House Conncil on the Dwellings of the People, 
 which was established in 1884, has been gain- 
 ing strength, until it has now thirty-three branch 
 committees in different metropolitan districts. 
 In this case, however, the central body is relatively 
 more important than in the case of the other dis- 
 tricted chaiities. The Council has accomplished 
 much in the way of discovering and explaining 
 deficiencies in the sanitary laws and in their 
 enforcement. As yet, official sanitary inspectors 
 arc far too few. The laws defining their duties 
 are too lax, allowing careless officers an excuse 
 for neglect of their duty. There are also many 
 needless technicalities which hinder bringing 
 offending landlords to justice. A great advance 
 was made last year in the passage by Parlia^ 
 ment of the consoHdated and amended Housing 
 of the Working Classes Act. This Act puts 
 into the hands of county councils a large discre- 
 tionary power to co-operate with district authori- 
 ties, or to take direct action in case these authori- 
 ties fail, in doing away with unhealthful con- 
 ditions, even to the extent of replacing insanitary 
 buildings. The Mansion House Council has been 
 instrumental in bringing before the public a 
 knowledge of the state of things. The present 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 199 
 
 plan of the London County Council for large 
 model tenements in the condemned area in Beth- 
 nal Green may be traced back to a government 
 inquiry into the conditions existing in that local- 
 ity, undertaken at the instance of the Mansion 
 House Council. 
 
 In a number of other parts of London, investi- 
 gations have been made and full reports published, 
 both for the sake of bringing about improved 
 legislation and of securing a better enforcement 
 of the present laws. The Council is striving to 
 arouse the different districts with regard to elec- 
 tions for the parish boards which have control of 
 sanitary matters. By this means good men are 
 being secured for such offices. As a direct result, 
 it is beginning to be insisted that inspectors must 
 not only be active in the enforcement of the law, 
 but must have technical training in sanitary 
 science. 
 
 The Council is just beginning to supply lectures 
 for pubhc meetings and working men's clubs. It 
 has been successful in securing the active assist- 
 ance of a number of working men's clubs. In a 
 few cases, clubs have organized district commit- 
 tees of the Council. In these and other ways, 
 those most closely affected in the matter are learn- 
 ing to take care of their own best interests. The 
 main use of all the local branches is to give the 
 
200 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 people themselves a free opportunity to express 
 their grievances without fear of bringing down 
 the vengeance of agent or landlord. All cases of 
 complaint are at once investigated either by a 
 committee member, or by one of the Council's 
 inspectors ; and summary action is taken if there 
 prove to be valid grounds for complaint. 
 
 Organizations similar to the Mansion House 
 Council exist in Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol, 
 Sheffield, and other towns. In Salford, wliich 
 adjoins Manchester, it is likely that the inunicipal 
 authorities will demolish an insanitary tract of 
 buildings, and put up model dwellings in their 
 place. In Glasgow, much work of this kind re- 
 mains to be done, beyond what has already been 
 accomplished. In Manchester, though certain 
 parts are extremely insanitary, the difficulty is not 
 so much with the buildings as in the lack of means 
 for the disposal of sewage matter. Birmingham, 
 after twenty years of experiment, is now happUy 
 free from any difficult problem of sanitation. 
 
 WhUe so active efforts are being made to pro- 
 vide for the pubHc health in crowded districts, the 
 needs of the individual sick and injured among 
 the poor are receiving more and more attention. 
 Beside the hospitals themselves, this is especially 
 seen in two ways. The ambulance system is very 
 effective. There are so many classes everywhere 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 201 
 
 in " first aid to the injured '^ that it would almost 
 seem as if the public were being organized into an 
 ambulance brigade. The chief of police of Lon- 
 don has recently determined to compel every 
 policeman to take such a course of instruction. 
 Much more important, however, is the large in- 
 crease of trained women nurses, some of whom 
 go to service in the hospitals, while the rest visit 
 the sick poor at their homes. 
 
 The course of training for a nurse continues 
 for a period varying from six months to three 
 years. One who remains in training for only six 
 months is assigned to district work; one who 
 remains in training for three years is fully certifi- 
 cated for hospital service. In all cases a period 
 of probation has to be gone through at the be- 
 ginning of the course, and one who does not seem 
 fitted for the duties of a nurse is not allowed to 
 proceed further. In the course of training, the 
 young candidate learns that her future work is to 
 be no easy task. She finds that not much time 
 can be allowed for leisure. The greatest care and 
 watchfulness has to be continually exercised. 
 Many are the demands upon patience and hu- 
 mihty. 
 
 The hospital system of London is, of course, a 
 very admirable one. It may be said in general 
 that the most skilful care is as much at the dis- 
 
202 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 posal of the sick poor as of wealthy valetudinari- 
 ans. The number and size of the hospitals, and 
 their openness to all who are in need, make the 
 demand for trained nurses very large. More- 
 over, some of the poor-house infirmaries in Lon- 
 don have a f tdl staff of trained nurses. 
 
 The district nurses are as numerous as the 
 hospital nurses. Their work is more varied and 
 in many cases more arduous than that of the 
 hospital nurses. Each nurse is assigned by a 
 nursing society to a certain comparatively small 
 district. Her duties are, to visit all the sick among 
 the poor people, to bring them nourishing food and 
 the little dainties which often soften the lot of an 
 invahd so much, and in every possible way to add 
 to the comfort and cheer of those who are in bodily 
 trouble. The district nurses are supported entirely 
 by the general nursing societies, but in all cases 
 the churches of the district, and philanthropic 
 individuals, are looked to for such contributions 
 as seem rightly due from them. 
 
 The societies thus work on the noble principle, 
 '^ To each according to his need ; from each ac- 
 cording to his power." The same spirit pervades 
 the nurses as a body. Some of them are ladies 
 bom ; some have been household servants. There 
 has been objection raised to the admission of the 
 servant class, but the immediate reply has been 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 203 
 
 that if those who have been servants are able to 
 stand the tests for admission to and continuance 
 in the work of nursing, their knowledge of what 
 it means to minister to others may make them 
 even better nurses than those who have always 
 been their own mistresses. 
 
 The nobility of the nurses' work is felt by the 
 people among whom they go, apart from those 
 whom they immediately assist. There is a softer 
 tone in the voice of the rough dock laborer as he 
 speaks of the "sisters/' referring to the nurses. 
 It is not unusual to see a crowd of working peo- 
 ple, who just before have been pushing and strug- 
 gling to get into some public place, separate and 
 make an opening for two or three nurses to go in. 
 
 One of the rarest of all charities is that of the 
 Kyrle Society.* Here is something weU done 
 without much rehance upon organization. The 
 field of the Society is so largely its own that it 
 simply follows out its mission, quite secure from 
 fear of sowing where another has sown already. 
 It never needs to question whether its gifts may 
 not possibly make the poor poorer ; its mercy is 
 always twice blest. The Kyrle Society tries to 
 
 * The name of the Kyrle Society was suggested by 
 Pope's lines eulogizing John Kyrle, the Man of Ross, 
 ''who with a small estate passed his long life in contriv- 
 ing and advancing plans of public utility." — Moral Essays, 
 Epistle III. 
 
204 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 bring brightness and beauty into the dreary life 
 of the working people. 
 
 The Society was formed in 1877, under the aus- 
 pices of Miss Octavia Hill, who had already done 
 so much to improve tenement-house homes. The 
 formation of the Society was the result of that 
 increasing f eehng among the best Enghsh people, 
 that a nation cannot be advancing as long as a 
 large share of its citizens know only the scenes of 
 ugliness and squalor. Its promoters — some of 
 the leading artists being included among them — 
 did not indeed hold that " bringing beauty home 
 to the people " would meet the most important need 
 of the people. But they saw in its lack the absence 
 of all the common consolations to which every 
 healthy moral life owes so much. They realized 
 how dull, narrow, and monotonous is the existence 
 of the majority of dwellers in cities, from whom 
 nearly everything that has the elements of color, 
 expansion, and harmony is shut out.* 
 
 It is often thought that the ministry of beauty 
 to the poor is a merely sentimental thing. No 
 mistake could be greater. The reason for the 
 mistake is that people who are not poor breathe 
 in this refining influence as plentifully as they 
 breathe the atmosphere, without thinking how 
 
 * See an article by Miss Octavia Hill in Tlie Nineteenth 
 Century, May, 1884. 
 
CHARITY AND PHIIxA^NTHROPY 205 
 
 necessary it is for tlie renewing of the better na- 
 ture. Suppose you had never run in a green field, 
 or walked down a shady lane. Suppose you had 
 never looked over a broad landscape, had never 
 seen the open sky — never really seen a sunset 
 — never heard the distant murmur of the wind 
 among the trees. No flowers, no brooks, no birds j 
 save the mere change of temperature, no spring- 
 time. Suppose music and pictures were gone ; or 
 rather had never come — for we are supposing 
 all these things banished not only from present 
 experience, but out of all your memory and out of 
 all the subconscious influences of your life. Such 
 an awful gloom is the common inheritance of the 
 poor in great cities. If one could imagine the 
 moral element being developed under such cir- 
 cumstances, how could it be sustained, how could 
 it flnd expression! The truth is, that present 
 social conditions are bringing the finer feehngs 
 of vast numbers of men and women to a state of 
 atrophy, with the result that part of them become 
 literally " as dumb, driven cattle," while the rest 
 are transformed into wild beasts. The ministry 
 of beauty, then, is not a merely sentimental thing j 
 it is an essential of social salvation. 
 
 The plan of the Kyrle Society proved so at- 
 tractive that it soon gained a following in Lon- 
 don, and allied societies were before long estab- 
 
206 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 lished in eight other cities. The parent Society's 
 work is subdivided among the decorative branch, 
 the open spaces branch, the musical branch, and 
 the literature distribution branch. The walls of 
 working men's clubs, mission halls, and hospital 
 wards are ornamented with mural paintings de- 
 signed and executed by members and friends of the 
 Society. Pictures, mottoes, and other adornments 
 are furnished. A stock of flags and temporary 
 decorations is kept ready to be lent for special 
 occasions at schools and clubs. In the year 1889, 
 mural paintings were completed upon the walls of 
 ten different rooms in various parts of London. 
 In one large haU, the ornamentation consisted 
 of fifteen single figures and five large groups, 
 adapted chiefly from paintings in Itahan churches. 
 About ten members and helpers were occupied 
 through two years in its production. Also dur- 
 ing 1889, seven rooms were beautified with framed 
 paintings, di-awings, prints, and photographs. 
 
 The largest part of the Society's work is the 
 effort to increase and beautify parks and open 
 spaces. A number of small pieces of ground are 
 already under the care of the Society, or have 
 been laid out under its direction previously to 
 passing into pubHc control. Recently, a large 
 estate in South London has been secured. It is 
 caUed Vauxhall Park. There are to be playing 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 207 
 
 fields, summer houses, a band-stand, and a gym- 
 nasium. The old mansion of the estate has been 
 retained, and will be a social centre for the work- 
 ing people of the district. Efforts have been 
 made by the Kyrle Society, in connection with the 
 Public Gardens Association, to secure some pieces 
 of hUly land which were about to be built over. 
 But the owners, seeing their chance, demanded a 
 much larger price than the land was worth. The 
 London County Council has been asked to assist 
 in securing these places for public use. The Kjrrle 
 Society has been instrumental in having several 
 old burying grounds opened up and suitably laid 
 out. It is endeavoring to secure the legal pre- 
 vention of building on burying grounds, especially 
 in order that they may be used as open spaces, 
 but also urging the danger to the health of per- 
 sons who should occupy houses so situated. It 
 has joined actively with other societies in endeav- 
 oring to prevent local authorities from building 
 upon land that is now open for public enjoy- 
 ment. Connected with this branch of the So- 
 ciety's work is a committee for the distribution 
 of flowers. Flowers and plants are sent to many 
 girls' clubs and homes, to hospitals and poor- 
 houses. Plants and shrubs are supphed for open 
 spaces, and sometimes for little gardens which 
 working men have of their own. 
 
208 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 The Kyrle Choir gives oratorios through the 
 winter in churches and halls in poor districts. 
 Among those rendered are, The Creation, Sam- 
 son, EUjah, The Messiah, and St. Paul. The 
 applications for performances are so numerous 
 that it is hoped a second choir may be established 
 in the South or East of London. The difficulty is, 
 that the funds at the Society's command for this 
 branch, as well as the others, are already quite 
 inadequate. But some enlargement has been 
 made by inducing other choral societies to co-op- 
 erate with the Kyrle singers, or to act independ- 
 ently, in giving performances. Beside the ora- 
 torios, miscellaneous concerts, consisting of vocal 
 and instrumental music, and readings, are given. 
 These take place in schools and small halls, some- 
 times in the most degraded spots in London. 
 Here again the Society has found that its field 
 could be indefinitely enlarged if the means and 
 the helpers were only forthcoming. The musical 
 branch tries in aU possible ways to be of use 
 where musical help is needed. Some of its mem- 
 bers undertake to teach vocal or instrumental 
 classes. Some unite to furnish dance music for 
 evenings of social recreation. Efforts have been 
 made, through the Workiag Men's Club and Insti- 
 tute Union, to help the clubs to raise the standard 
 of their entertainments. In one recent case a 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 209 
 
 dramatic entertainment was given by the Society 
 for the benefit of a working men's provident club. 
 For the past five seasons, bands have been pro- 
 vided to play in public gardens. The effort now 
 is to get suitable band-stands erected. When 
 this is done, the Society has received the as- 
 surance of several bands of the Volunteers that 
 they will give their sei'vices, simply holding their 
 weekly meetings in the open air during the sum- 
 mer, instead of in their usual rooms. In 1889 the 
 Kyrle Society rendered seventeen oratorios, gave 
 twenty-two miscellaneous concerts, suppHed twelve 
 band concerts in pubhc gardens, beside furnishing 
 numerous entertainments to poor-houses, infirm- 
 aries, and hospitals. In the same year, the branch 
 of the Society devoted to the distribution of liter- 
 ature, sent out 1,417 books and 5,980 magazines 
 to working men's clubs and charitable institutions. 
 The Birmingham Kyrle Society, beside features 
 similar to those of the London Society, has a large 
 building in a poor quarter, which is the centre 
 of varied activities, including a boys' club, a guild 
 of handicraft, and numerous musical and dra- 
 matic entertainments. In a cottage near by, a 
 club for girls is carried on. The girls learn the 
 affairs of housekeeping, and also acquire dehcate 
 skill at needle-work, fancy rug-making, basket 
 work, and embroidering. A great impetus was 
 
210 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 given recently both to the girls' club and to the 
 guild of handicraft, by the holding of a Home Arts 
 Exhibition at Birmingham. The plan of such 
 exhibitions, which are directed by a central society 
 in London, is to develop some of the simpler lines 
 of skill in work which can easily be done by per- 
 sons at odd times in their own homes. 
 
 In Edinburgh and Glasgow, successful efforts 
 have been made to combine the various kinds of 
 social work that are being carried on. Each city 
 has its Social Union. The Edinburgh Social 
 Union does much toward improvement of tene- 
 ment-house conditions. It maintains classes in 
 art and handicraft. Some members of the Social 
 Union are recovering the old historic houses of 
 Edinburgh, now in the most crowded and tliickly 
 built quarters, and are refitting and decorating 
 them. Two of these houses are the University 
 Halls, whose residents form gi'oups similar to the 
 university settlements. The Glasgow Social Union 
 is made up of six societies, of which the Kyiie 
 Society is the leading one. Among other things, 
 the Glasgow Social Union has entered actively 
 into the movement for improved dweUings and 
 better sanitary conditions. A scheme for health 
 lectures is to be carried out, by which coui-ses will 
 be given in the working-class districts of the city. 
 
 Some valuable lines of social activity are fol- 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 211 
 
 lowed in different cities, taking a unique character 
 from special needs, or more often from the origi- 
 nal ideas of some person or group of persons. In 
 1875 there was organized in Birmingham the 
 Ladies' Association for Useful Work. The object 
 of the Association at the beginning was to instruct 
 the women of the poorer classes in hygienic and 
 domestic matters. Every year several com'ses of 
 health lectures have been given in the different 
 parts of the city by members of the Association, 
 among whom Mrs. R. W. Dale, now its president, 
 has been prominent from the beginning. The re- 
 sults of these lectures through fifteen years can 
 hardly be overestimated. No doubt the low death 
 rate of Birmingham may be traced partly to the 
 increasing knowledge of the laws of health brought 
 about among the poor in this way. All grades 
 and types of working women have been from 
 time to time included, as it has been part of the 
 plan to hold the lectures in connection with 
 churches, mission halls, day-schools, Sunday- 
 schools, and factories, in addition to the more 
 general meetings arranged for directly by the 
 Association. The lectures have been from first to 
 last largely attended and heartily appreciated. 
 The Association also manages a club and dining- 
 room for working girls, supports a children's coun- 
 try holiday fund, and arranges for holding local 
 
212 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEI^IENTS 
 
 examinations in university subjects. A Univer- 
 sity Extension centre is about to be established 
 by the Association. 
 
 A very interesting effort toward social improve- 
 ment has been carried on for nine years in the 
 Ancoats district of Manchester by Mr. Charles 
 Eowley, of the Manchester City Council. Fii-st 
 imder the name of the Ancoats Recreation Com- 
 mittee, but for the last three years under the 
 auspices of a large organization of working men 
 called the Ancoats Brotherhood, Mr. Rowley 
 has conducted in this dark, depressing neighbor- 
 hood his mission of refreshment and inspiration. 
 The special feature has been an annual series of 
 lectures and addresses held on Sunday after- 
 noons. These lectures have been on the greatest 
 variety of subjects, and the list of lecturers has 
 included many well-known men. For a half- 
 hour before and after each lecture, a concert is 
 given, the music being provided each time by a 
 group of friends from the city. Often the best 
 musicians in Manchester appear before the 
 Brotherhood, and some of them prefer the 
 Ancoats audience, for its warmth of appreci- 
 ation, to the more critical one they face at the 
 Town Hall. Every month an " At Home " is held, 
 on a week-day evening. At these meetings there 
 are dancing and songs in the large room of the 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 213 
 
 hall whicli is rented by the Brotherhood ; pictures, 
 books, and games, in a small room j refreshments 
 during the evening, and " beef tea at 11." Occa- 
 sionally on Sunday evenings a reception is given 
 for the members of the Brotherhood to meet 
 the lecturer of the afternoon. Every winter, 
 two or more courses of University Extension 
 lectures are provided under the direction of the 
 Brotherhood j and meetings for the discussion of 
 pohtical and social questions are quite frequent. 
 There is a book-stall in the meeting-room. From 
 week to week the programmes of the concerts con- 
 tain lists of carefully selected books that are on 
 sale at a reduced price. The programmes are an 
 educational influence in themselves. They always 
 have a number of quotations of rare appropriate- 
 ness and beauty, which seem like a breath from a 
 better world. In summer there is a series of 
 rambles, usually for a day, but sometimes to places 
 at a distance. Through Mr. Rowley's encourage- 
 ment and assistance a number of the members of 
 the Brotherhood attend the annual University 
 Extension Summer Meeting at Oxford. 
 
 There is an admirable Free Art Museum in 
 Ancoats, in addition to the very fine municipal gal- 
 lery in the centre of Manchester. This Art Museum 
 is made up almost entirely of prints and casts ; 
 but in this way the best art of the world is brought 
 
214 ENGUSH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 to the service of the poor. Under each pictui'e or 
 cast is an explanation designed to help toward an 
 intelligent appreciation of it. The characteristics 
 of different schools of painters are indicated. 
 Groups of pictures are put together to illustrate 
 the various stages and processes of engraving, the 
 different artistic treatments of similar subjects, 
 successions of events of historic interest. In one 
 case a striking illustration is given of what good 
 pictures working people may have in their own 
 homes. Beside a fine water-color copy of one of 
 Tumer^s landscapes is placed a chromo-lithograph 
 copy; and the chromo-lithograph is a close ap- 
 proach to the beauty of the water-color. Incident- 
 ally, Turner's extreme impressionism is graphic- 
 ally shown by putting beside these a photograph 
 of the scene from which the ai-tist took his sketch. 
 As far as possible, copies of all paintings of 
 scenery within easy reach of Manchester are 
 secured, and the people are then encouraged 
 and assisted to study how a landscape is artis- 
 tically reproduced. Of late, classes in draw- 
 ing, handicraft, and music,have been begun at the 
 Museum, together with some general entertain- 
 ments. The Museum is, and continues to be, the 
 result of the efforts of Mr. Rowley and some other 
 men of like spirit. 
 
 Aside from the kinds of social work actuated 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 215 
 
 more directly and obviously by the feeHng of hu- 
 manity, there is a constantly widening field of ex- 
 periment, which aims at improving gradually the 
 economic conditions which hem in the lives of 
 working people. Any plan to supply them as a 
 class with suitable dweUings, with wholesome food 
 and drink, to reduce the time and improve the cir- 
 cumstances of their labor, to free them from the 
 wages system to a greater or less extent, — is not 
 to be accomphshed by the giving of charity, but 
 proves the f easibihty of its being generally adopted 
 only when it brings in a fair return on the amount 
 invested. There must be at first, however, a spe- 
 cial expenditure of personal interest and care, such 
 as would not be necessary after a plan had become 
 well understood and generally applied. The use of 
 capital in that way is one of the best forms of 
 philanthropy. 
 
 A very great impetus to aU such efforts has been 
 given by the investigations of Mr. Charles Booth, 
 himself a wealthy merchant and ship-owner. Mr. 
 Booth began his study of the " Labor and Life of 
 the People "* by taking a lodging in one of the poor- 
 est parts'of the East End, and maldng close personal 
 observations. He then attached to himself a num- 
 ber of young economists wjio are fast becoming 
 
 * Mr. Booth's book is published in London by Williams 
 & Norgate ; in New York by Charles Seribner's Sons. 
 
216 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 specialists in their respective lines. Besides these, 
 who appear as collaborators in Volume I., on East 
 London, there are five or six clerks constantly em- 
 ployed by Mr. Booth, whose duties are to collect 
 and tabulate statistics, and assist in preparing the 
 poverty maps. Volume II. treats of the remain- 
 ing divisions of London, and an accompanying 
 volume contains the maps showing the poverty 
 of those divisions. There will probably be one or 
 two further volumes on London. At last accounts, 
 Mr. Booth was in a lodging in Liverpool, at an 
 address unknown to his friends, making prelim- 
 inary observations for a full study of the poverty 
 of Liverpool. As Professor Marshall recently 
 said, speaking of Mr. Booth, it is very rare to 
 find a man combining the means, the inchnation, 
 and the ability, to do so valuable a work. 
 
 The first society for improving the dwellings of 
 the poor of London * was formed by Lord Shaftes- 
 bury in 1844. There are now at least eight large 
 companies, in addition to the Peabody Fund, which 
 own and manage buildings containing model 
 
 * What is said on this subject, both as to the build- 
 ings and as to the care of the tenants, is in large part 
 taken from a valuable report to the Presbytery of Glasgow 
 on "The Housing of the Poor in London," by William Smart. 
 M.A., Lecturer on Political Economy in the University of 
 Glasgow. The report was printed for the Presbytery, but 
 unfortunately not more widely published. 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 217 
 
 tenements for people of the working class. These 
 buildings are usually four or more stories liigh, 
 and each has accommodation for a large number of 
 families. The income from the buildings ranges 
 from two and a half to five per cent. Some of 
 the companies disclaim any philanthropic purpose^ 
 though even they have their dividends hmited to 
 five per cent. The rents charged are from thirty- 
 seven cents per week for a single room, up to as 
 high as $2.50 or $2.75 per week, for a tenement 
 of five rooms. 
 
 There has gradually come a marked improve- 
 ment in the arrangements for health, privacy, and 
 safety, in the large model dwellings. In nearly all 
 cases, tenants are carefully selected so as to keep 
 up the respectabihty of the settlement. In no case 
 is Hquor allowed to be sold on the premises. 
 With tenants of the better class it is found that 
 the companies which are organized on a commer- 
 cial basis have little difficulty in securing their 
 four or five per cent, retm'n. The old style of build- 
 ing was Hke that of a great barracks. Of late, there 
 has been a return in some cases to the cottage 
 form of house, but this plan has been followed 
 mainly in the suburbs where land is cheaper. 
 The large buildings recently erected in crowded 
 districts have, however, been carefully design'ed for 
 their architectural effect, and some of them would 
 
218 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 in their appearance do credit to any part of Lon- 
 don. This is true of the College Buildings, which 
 stand next to Toynbee Hall, and were designed by 
 the architect of Toynbee Hall. 
 
 About the finest model dwellings yet erected in 
 London are the new Brady Street Dwellings, the 
 property of the National Four Per Cent. Invest- 
 ment Company. This is a Jewish company, which 
 borrowed its money from the Rothschilds. There 
 are two large buildings containing three- and four- 
 room tenements, and two small buildings of single 
 rooms. There are careful restrictions against 
 -overcrowding. Privacy is secured by making each 
 of the larger tenements self-sufficient. The popu- 
 lation is about 1,200. An effort is made to culti- 
 vate a sort of village life. There are large open 
 spaces where the cliildren may play. At the head 
 of the main avenue is a little green arcade with 
 seats. At both entrances, there are great iron gates 
 which help to set the buildings off in a community 
 by themselves. Lady Rothschild has presented a 
 very beautiful httle club house for the use of the 
 tenants, with a good hbrary, and club rooms for 
 men and for women. 
 
 It is found, however, that only a beginning has 
 been made with the poor when they have been in- 
 stalled in the model dwellings. They need con- 
 stant help in their home Hf e, as weU as in their re- 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 219 
 
 lations with their neighbors. This difficulty was 
 especially felt when efforts were made to supply 
 quarters for the great class of dwellers in a single 
 room. These people are so tlirif tless and destruc- 
 tive that it was long thought impossible for a com- 
 mercial company to provide for them. But there 
 are recent buildings accommodating this class, 
 which give a return of between four and five per 
 cent. The success of these buildings, however, 
 would probably have been impossible but for 
 Miss Octavia Hill's system of lady rent-collect- 
 ors ; while to all the better class tenement-houses 
 her system has proved to be of great value. 
 
 This work of Miss Hill's began in 1864, when 
 Ruskin bought the buildings in two courts, and gave 
 them to her to manage. In its first stages, ladies 
 volunteered their services, but Miss Hill was so 
 anxious that the plan should be applicable under 
 all circumstances, that she insisted that there must 
 always be a commission of five per cent, reserved 
 for the collector. For herself. Miss Hill has taken 
 up the problem of the lower grades of working 
 people, who hve in older buildings. She purchases 
 the buildings, and for a beginning abolishes only 
 the worst evils, such as living in cellars j and even 
 that reform she accomplishes through influence 
 rather than through force. She also sees that the 
 sanitary conditions are right. But, after that, she 
 
220 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 relies upon returns from tlie rents for supporting 
 yearly improvements. In this way she is able to 
 tell the tenants that the more careful they are, the 
 better house they will have to live in. After a 
 time the tenants become sufficiently improved to 
 enjoy a better house. Miss HOI then puts up a 
 new bmlding for them. The largest growth of the 
 system has come from taking entire charge of 
 blocks of buildings owned by individuals and 
 companies. Miss Hill assumes the responsibility 
 of paying the proprietors their four or five per 
 cent, interest, and then takes the management of 
 the premises. She is said to have under her con- 
 trol about $1,250,000 worth of property. 
 
 This new kind of rent-collector, though she 
 must stiU have a degree of authority, has robbed 
 the title of many of its terrors. She acts as a 
 general civilizing influence among her tenants. 
 Often she makes her home among them. In one 
 group of buildings under Miss Hill's charge, there 
 is a working men's club, classes and clubs for the 
 children, and a fund for country hoHdays. Ad- 
 joining the buildings, there is a public garden, 
 where the children play, and where band concerts 
 are held in summer. There is also, near by, a hall 
 in which a free library, a gymnasium, and occa- 
 sional entertainments are provided. 
 
 Miss Emma Cons, a friend of Miss Hill, man- 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 221 
 
 ages a group of very beautifully designed build- 
 ings, erected by a company wliich she herself or- 
 ganized. She has great success in educating her 
 people into becoming good tenants. Her build- 
 ings are probably on the best model of all in Lon- 
 don. Wherever it is possible, she advises with 
 the tenants, explaining to them the reasons for rules 
 that have to be made. Miss Cons uses part of the 
 reserve, after the interest has been paid, in a 
 variety of ways for forwarding social life in 
 the dwelhngs. It is Miss Cons who conducts the 
 Royal Victoria Music HaU— the ^^Old Vic" of 
 "Alton Locke" — not far from these dwellings, in 
 which she aims to furnish to the people of South 
 London amusement similar to that sought at the 
 music halls, without any of the objectionable feat- 
 ures of the performances there presented. She 
 has recently been instrumental in the estabhsh- 
 ment of Morley Memorial College for working 
 men, wliich has a finely equipped building next to 
 the Royal Victoria Music HaU. 
 
 There are a few model lodging-houses in Lon- 
 don. Glasgow, however, is the place which has 
 gone ahead in that respect, with its munici- 
 pal lodging-houses. Its few municipal tenement- 
 houses win probably be added to. In Birmingham, 
 the corporation is erecting cottage dwellings for 
 working people. No doubt the great work of 
 
222 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 the London County Council in the way of erect- 
 ing dwellings in Bethnal Green will open a 
 new era in the housing of the working class. 
 What has already been done under private en- 
 terprise in London has been the means, be- 
 side the accomplishment of its main object, of 
 changing completely the character of a number of 
 districts which were formerly among the worst 
 in the metropolis. It is to be hoped that public 
 action will in a similar way break up and scat- 
 ter the nests of vice and crime that remain. It 
 has long been the desire of Mr. Barnett to buy out 
 and demolish the whole region of buildings in 
 Whitechapel which have become a source of dis- 
 grace to London and to the civilized world. After 
 a great deal of troublesome investigation it was 
 discovered that this tract belonged to two wealthy 
 residents of the West End having some apparent 
 standing in respectable society. A company was 
 organized and a fair offer made ; but the owners 
 named a prohibitive price, giving as a pretext that 
 they were holding the property for a rise in value. 
 As things are going now in the London County 
 Councd, it may not be long tiU these gentlemen 
 shaU find themselves cut off from their infernal 
 revenue. 
 
 English coffee-houses are by this time a 
 thoroughly established success. The Lockhart 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 223 
 
 Cocoa Rooms in London, Glasgow, Manchester, 
 and some other towns, have proved a good com- 
 mercial enterprise. In Liverpool and Birming- 
 ham, and even in many small places, local compa- 
 nies have been organized. One company in Liver- 
 pool has sixty coffee-houses. In Birmingham there 
 are altogether about a hundi-ed. The most unique 
 form of cafe for the masses is seen in the Tee-to- 
 tums, recently opened in different parts of East 
 London by Mr. P. R. Buchanan, of the Oxford 
 House. These are a combination of coffee- 
 house and club. The one first opened has a 
 counter where tea imported by Mr. Buchanan's 
 company is sold by the pound. Then there 
 is a refreshment counter, where a large vari- 
 ety of good food and temperance drinks is to 
 be had at very cheap rates. The second floor 
 is reserved for the men's club, wliich is formed 
 from the patrons of the Tee-to-tum. The club 
 members have a reading-room, a room for meet- 
 ings and discussions, and rooms for billiards, 
 bagatelle, and other games. The second estabhsh- 
 ment opened includes a club for girls and women. 
 In the most recent one there are, in addition to 
 what the others have, a gjrmnasium, baths, and a 
 large haU for concerts, dramatics, and dancing. 
 In each case, a capable lady is in charge, and resi- 
 dents of the Oxford House and Toynbee Hall as- 
 
224 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIMENTS 
 
 sist in managing the clubs. All the surroundings 
 are made as tasteful and attractive as possible. 
 There is usually music in the evening. The cafes 
 have been largely patronized thus far, and Mr. 
 Buchanan is confident that they will continue to 
 pay for themselves. 
 
 There is a growing disposition on the part of 
 employers of labor to consider the interests of their 
 employees. This is especially shown in the re- 
 cent marked increase of profit-sharing. Mr. David 
 F. Schloss, who is authority on this subject, re- 
 ported at the beginning of 1891 that there were in 
 the British Empire fifty-four cases — all but two or 
 three being in England and Scotland — of genuine 
 profit-sharing; that is, profit-sharing in which a 
 definite proportion of the profits is promised to 
 the employees beforehand. Of these firms, more 
 than twenty began the system in 1890. Some 
 firms give the whole of the bonus in cash j some 
 give part in cash and part in membership of a 
 provident fund ; while a few put the whole of the 
 bonus to the provident fund. The number of 
 Enghsh firms which follow the less valuable plan 
 of giving their employees a share of the profits 
 without promising a definite proportion would be 
 found to be quite large. One great hmdrance to 
 the growth of the system is that working men fear 
 it means to bribe them from loyalty to their trade 
 
CHARITY AND PHILANTHROPY 225 
 
 unions ; for usually, under profit-sharing, if a man 
 should strike he would be in danger of losing not 
 only his daily wages, but his share of the profits 
 to be distributed at some later time. But there 
 are not many employers who would take up profit- 
 sharing with such a purpose. Some encourage 
 the unions. A while ago the employees of the 
 Tangyes, the Birmingham engine-builders, one of 
 the oldest profit-sharing firms, were considering 
 the advisability of joining the Knights of Labor, 
 who have estabhshed a few branches in England. 
 The members of the firm asked the nature of the 
 new organization ; and when they had been fully 
 informed, endorsed it and offered their assistance. 
 In many smaller ways the employing class and 
 other weU-to-do people are making efforts toward 
 bettering the conditions under which labor is 
 carried on. They have in a number of cases fur- 
 nished capital and given business direction to 
 productive co-operative societies. There are sev- 
 eral co-operative societies of working women in 
 London who have been helped in this way. The 
 Consumers' League puts out a ^^ white hst'^ of 
 London employers who are known to treat their 
 working people fairly. With the development 
 of a better conscience in this matter, it has be- 
 come not unusual for dealers to advertise that 
 then' workshops are open to pubhc inspection. 
 
226 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 Other indications of the same general tendency 
 are, the Shop Hours Regulation Act, to limit the 
 time per day during which young persons may be 
 kept at work in stores, and the well-nigh universal 
 custom in all the larger cities of a Saturday half- 
 holiday the year round. Both of these reforms 
 are the result, in the main, of agitations led by 
 good-hearted business men. 
 
vn 
 
 MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROG- 
 RESS 
 
 Bearings op the Social Movements upon Specific 
 Moral Causes. — Liquor Problem. — Leading Tem- 
 perance Organizations and their Work. — Coffee- 
 houses. — Prison System. — The Howard Associa- 
 tion. — Crime, Gambling, Prostitution. — Child- 
 saving Institutions. — Dr. Barnardo's Homes. — 
 Elementary Education. — Increase op Secondary 
 Education. — Regent Street Polytechnic. — Peo- 
 ple's Palace. — Evening Schools. — Development 
 OP Public Education. — Relations Existing be- 
 tween Education and the Social Movements. — 
 How the Social Movements are Making for a 
 Nobler National Life. 
 
 Of the intimate relation between social move- 
 ments and the tendencies of a people in the direc- 
 tion of morality and intelligence, there can of 
 course be no question. It is not yet fully known 
 how largely intemperance and crime are the ef- 
 fects of poverty ; but there is an increasing belief 
 that they are at least as much its effects as they 
 are its causes. No small part of the vast mass of 
 pauperism, which is a recruiting ground for 
 
228 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 every form of immorality, is involuntary pauper- 
 ism, and under right economic conditions, would 
 pass away. A good share of the remainder is an 
 inheritance from previous generations of enforced 
 or encouraged idleness. As to the evils which 
 flourish in the upper ranges of society, it cannot 
 be denied that they are to a large extent the 
 fault of a system which sends to many persons 
 such a harmful surplus of means and leisure. 
 In this point of view, the present tendencies in 
 England in the way of supplying a healthful occu- 
 pation of body and mind to all, under just condi- 
 tions, ought to be considered as working strongly 
 toward a higher standard of life. The more direct 
 efforts to dissipate ignorance and crime would be 
 of little account if it were not for the steady re- 
 inforcement that comes from influences greater 
 than they. 
 
 There is among workers for these special causes 
 an increasing feeling of the interdependence and 
 essential sympathy of their lines of activity with 
 the movements of labor and charity. They have 
 to recognize, for instance, the marked effect which 
 the temperate lives of the leaders of the New 
 Unionism have upon the rank and file. The more 
 general social workers, for their part, can never go 
 far without being compelled to take explicit ac- 
 tion in support of morals and education. It is par- 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 229 
 
 ticularly noticeable that persons engaging in phil- 
 anthropic effort almost inevitably become more 
 simple and frugal in their own way of living. 
 The result of the mutual understanding is that 
 new . Hght is being shed upon problems of pubhc 
 morahty. An exaggerated form of a social dis- 
 ease is easier to diagnose and more readily calls 
 out a strong healing force to meet it, than evils 
 which present themselves merely as the transgres- 
 sions of individuals. We shall, of course, not get 
 past the need of deahng with individual sin- 
 ners ; but such work must always be shght, and 
 often quite hopeless, if there happen to be some 
 distorted economic force acting with all its in- 
 herent energy to oppress better aspirations from 
 within and to counteract good influences from 
 without. 
 
 The problem of intemperance is quite different in 
 England from what it is in America. In England, 
 a large proportion of people take some kind of 
 liquor moderately and regularly with their food. 
 This weakens the power of the pubhc bar, and 
 lowers it in the scale of respectabihty j while de- 
 creasing the likelihood that if a man take any 
 liquor, he will be led to take too much. There is at 
 once more justification for alcoholic drinks, and less 
 chance of disastrous results, under the conditions 
 of English life than in America, where the cHmate 
 
230 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 and the haste of business are abeady over-stimu- 
 lating. The working people of England drink 
 beer, for the most part, which is of course vastly 
 less hurtful than such poison as the poor get under 
 the name of whiskey. The amount of intoxication 
 in the East End of London is not nearly as great 
 as one would expect. The effect of the beer di'unk 
 is rather gradually to benumb and brutahze the 
 better natures of those that take it. 
 
 The Enghsh public-house, hke the American sa- 
 loon, is almost wholly bad, and will have to be 
 either radically changed, or abohshed altogether. 
 In respect of having bar-maids and women pat- 
 rons, the public-house is much worse than the sa- 
 loon. As it now is, the pubhc-house makes prac- 
 tically no contribution to social Hfej it with- 
 holds, as far as possible, every attraction which 
 would in the least tend to lessen the mad fascin- 
 ation of the drink and of the crime that so often 
 follows. The men and women employed in pub- 
 lic houses, aside from the moral debasement of 
 their occupation, are held under a shameful sweat- 
 ing system. The manufacturers of liquor, and 
 the wholesale dealers, are a much better class in 
 England than in America. But even in England 
 they are a dangerous power in the State. The 
 breweries are consolidating their capital from year 
 to year and stoutly resisting efforts to limit their 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 231 
 
 traffic* A large proportion of the public-houses 
 are owned by the brewers. But the public-houses 
 are not any such powerful centres of political cor- 
 ruption as the American saloons are. 
 
 Mistakes are often made in the discussion of 
 statistics with regard to the consumption of Uquors 
 in England. Variations in the drink bill are many 
 times to be explained by special temporary con- 
 ditions. Thus during the years 1889 and 1890 
 the drink biU increased on account of the revival 
 of commerce. In 1876, a very prosperous year, 
 the average expenditure per person for intoxicat- 
 ing drinks was $22.25 — the corresponding amount 
 for 1890 having been $18.50. Taking a period of 
 twenty years, the consumption of Hquors per per- 
 son has fallen in a proportion varying from one- 
 tenth to one-fifth. The liquor traffic clearly fails 
 to keep up with the steady progress of the coun- 
 try in numbers, prosperity, and improved social 
 conditions. For one thing, as the result of an im- 
 proved public sentiment, much less wine is taken 
 at the tables of the well-to-do than there used 
 to be. 
 
 There are three leading organizations for the 
 
 * Licenses to sell beer and spirits to be consumed on 
 the premises cost from $20 to $300. Public -houses are 
 required to close in London at 12.30 a.m., in the country at 
 11 P.M. On Sundays they are open from 1 P.M. 
 
232 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 promotion of temperance — the National Temper- 
 ance League, the United Kingdom Alliance, and 
 the Church of England Temperance Society. The 
 National League has for its aim to support the 
 cause of total abstinence by education and moral 
 influence. It publishes a large amount of valu- 
 able temperance Hterature, and endeavors to in- 
 troduce the study of temperance among teachers 
 and pupils in the board schools. Missions to the 
 army and navy are carried on. The League 
 acts as a kind of centre for all British temperance 
 societies. It issues a valuable annual, giving 
 fuU accounts of the advance of temperance. A 
 special feature of the League is a branch called 
 the Medical Temperance Association, which in- 
 cludes many physicians throughout England, and 
 has for its president Dr. B. W. Richardson, one of 
 the highest medical authorities in the country. 
 Dr. Richardson is very active in the cause of tem- 
 perance as well as in seeking to improve the health 
 and sanitary surroundings of the poorer classes. 
 His work shows how useful a skilled physician 
 may be in connecting himself with hues of social 
 progress. Dr. Richardson is the author of a 
 "Temperance Lesson Book," which has been of 
 great service in the schools. 
 
 The United Kingdom AUiance strives for the 
 ultimate overthrow of the liquor interest through 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 233 
 
 local option. The Alliance has long been urg- 
 ing before Parhament, through its president, Sir 
 Wilfrid Lawson, the passage of a law which 
 should take the power of granting licenses away 
 from the local magistrates and give it directly to 
 the people of the district. The magistrates, who 
 have both administrative and judicial functions, 
 are arbitrarily appointed, and on many matters 
 do not represent popular feeling at all. It is 
 merely a question of time till the Liberals shall 
 remove this abuse, and it is not unlikely that the 
 change may introduce a plan including local 
 option. Under the Conservative government, it 
 has been very dif&cult to get temperance measures 
 introduced before Parliament. But the Alliance, 
 through its members and agents, keeps close watch 
 upon parliamentary elections, and as far as possi- 
 ble has it clearly understood just what attitude 
 the candidates^ are prepared to take upon temper- 
 ance questions. During 'the spring of 1891, local 
 option legislation was pushed farther along in the 
 parhamentary process than at any time before. 
 
 One of the critical mistakes of Lord Sahsbury's 
 administration was the measure introduced in the 
 early summer of 1890 for compensating keepers 
 of public-houses whose business was brought to an 
 end through a change in the system of hcensing. 
 The strength of the temperance sentiment of the 
 
234 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 country was well shown in the general disapproval 
 of this proposition. The episode exhibited the 
 pohtical influence of the English people between 
 elections. The papers pubHshed columns of con- 
 demnatory communications. Meetings were held 
 everywhere. There was a great " No Compensa- 
 tion " parade in London, with a mass meeting in 
 Hyde Park. The result was that the government 
 had to withdraw the bill. This agitation added 
 much strength to the cause of the United Kingdom 
 Alliance. The AUiance is beginning to appre- 
 ciate the increase of support which temperance is 
 receiving from all who are dealing practically with 
 the problems of poverty, and has been issuing a 
 series of pamphlets showing how the drink ques- 
 tion is related to various lines of social work. 
 
 The Church of England Temperance Society 
 supports total abstinence in its main action, but 
 it receives as members moderate drinkers who are 
 willing to help in promoting the cause of temper- 
 ance. The Society wished, if possible, to have a 
 branch in every parish, but soon found that it 
 could not make much headway without allowing 
 the wide basis of union. With this platform, the 
 Society received the endorsement of aU the Church 
 authorities ; diocesan councils were formed ; and 
 by this time there are nearly 4,000 parochial 
 branches, with 700,000 members. This Society goes 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 235 
 
 far toward organizing the direct temperance work 
 of the Church of England. Occasionally it makes 
 arrangements to have a temperance Sunday ob- 
 served throughout a diocese. On a single Sun- 
 day as many as 340 sermons have been preached 
 in London in support of temperance. A success- 
 ful police court mission is carried on, and there 
 are throughout England more than twenty mis- 
 sionaries whose duty is to care for prisoners 
 brought down through drink. Special efforts are 
 made to help soldiers, sailors, railway men, and 
 cabmen. Shelters are erected at the cab stands, 
 in order that " cabby " need not be bounden to the 
 publican for his dangerous hospitality. The 
 Society urges certain poHtical measures upon the 
 attention of Parliament, its object being to secure 
 " a system of populai* local control for regulating 
 the number, hours, and character of public houses." 
 A women's branch carries on an important and 
 necessary work among inebriate women. A very 
 good system of temperance education is also being 
 developed by the Society. 
 
 AU rehgious bodies in England have their 
 young people's temperance societies, including 
 the Roman Catholic Leagues of the Cross, with 
 about 20,000 members. It is calculated that there 
 is in the United Kingdom a total of 16,724 such so- 
 cieties, having a membership of almost 2,000,000. 
 
23G ENGLISH SOCIAL MO^TLMENTS 
 
 The most prominent of these organizations are 
 the Bands of Hope. There were estimated to be 
 in 1890, 10,000 Bands of Hope, with over 1,300,- 
 000 members. There is a central organization in 
 London. Cities and districts have their smaller 
 unions. The central committee, beside doing all 
 the publishing, sends out lecturers to address the 
 local bands, as well as to give instruction in schools 
 and charitable institutions. The district unions 
 in some cases support temperance workers. The 
 local bands have weekly meetings, which are 
 partly recreative and partly educational ; and, by 
 combining together, undertake different forms of 
 temperance work in their own neighborhoods. It 
 seems not too much to expect that there will be 
 a clearly perceptible gain toward sobriety in the 
 whole of the rising generation, resulting from 
 this remarkable activity among the young people 
 of the churches. 
 
 An important influence toward temperance is 
 the fact that several of the leading working men's 
 friendly societies are on a basis of total abstinence. 
 In these associations for providence and insur- 
 ance, working men can learn beyond question that 
 temperance has an actual objective value. The 
 former practice of having trade unions meet at 
 pubUc -houses is now rapidly passing away. It is 
 more and more the feeling among working men 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 237 
 
 that it is a disgrace to labor to have its interests 
 connected with these places. The plan of com- 
 pelling working men to receive their wages in 
 pubhc houses has not wholly ceased, as the expe- 
 rience of the fruit porters at the London wharves 
 shows ; but there is a stringent law against it. 
 
 Almost the best temperance measures are those 
 of practical prevention. This is especially true of 
 the coffee-houses. There is a general society in 
 London for the promotion of coffee-houses. The 
 Church of England Temperance Society has also 
 estabhshed a large number, through its local 
 branches. The first of the coffee-houses was 
 opened about 1875. Since that time, they have in- 
 creased so greatly that they are plentifully distrib- 
 uted through all the cities, and even the small towns 
 are not without them. There are few cases where 
 they do not pay substantial dividends. This 
 shows, what is evident to an observer, that they 
 are coming to be considered as settled institutions. 
 Large numbers of working people take their mid- 
 day meal, and even their breakfast, at the coffee- 
 houses. In market towns, people coming with 
 produce from the country, who were formerly 
 compelled to go to the public houses, now go veiy 
 largely to the coffee-houses. Often the function 
 of a hostelry is included with that of a restaurant. 
 Some coffee-house companies have large and well- 
 
238 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 appointed hotels. Temperance hotels of various 
 grades are a feature of all EngHsh and Scotch 
 towns. 
 
 One thing that helps the coffee-houses in the 
 competition with the public houses is the number 
 and popularity of non-alcoholic drinks. A coffee- 
 house becomes a place where men can drop in of 
 an evening, and have some Hght refreshment, a 
 smoke, and a chat — ^Just as they otherwise would 
 at the pubHc house. In many cases, various 
 games, including sometimes billiards and cai'ds, 
 are introduced. In points of general neatness 
 and attractiveness, the coffee-houses are always 
 better off than the pubHc houses, as the publicans 
 have, until now, found their liquors alone a suffi- 
 cient inducement. Some experiments are being 
 tried in London of dupHcating exactly the appear- 
 ance of a public house, while doing away with its 
 substantial evil influences. One Rituahst priest 
 conducts such an estabhshment, in which beer is 
 sold, but no spirituous hquors. His object is to 
 see whether it may not be possible and useful to 
 have a pubUc house following what might be called 
 a model plan as to sobriety and good order. 
 
 The publicans are coming to feel all this 
 competition. Against their wishes they are grad- 
 ually coming to supply food and non-alcoholic 
 diinks. Meanwhile, the coffee-houses are more 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 239 
 
 and more recognized as centres of law-abiding so- 
 cial Hf e. Not long ago, the chief of poUce of Bir- 
 mingham ascribed the good order of the city 
 mainly, in the first place to the discipUne gained 
 at the schools, and in the second place to the 
 coffee-houses. It is estimated that in Birmingham 
 70,000 people go in and out of them every week. 
 Close after the matter of intemperance must 
 always come the question of crime and prisons. 
 The English prison system is still conducted very 
 largely on the military plan. The punishment 
 of the criminal is its almost exclusive object. It 
 is very difficult to secure admission to the 
 prisons for purposes of inspection. Mr. WiUiam 
 TaUack, secretary of the Howard Association, 
 was told recently by an officer in a prison that no 
 visitor had inspected that prison during two years. 
 In this way great abuses creep into the manage- 
 ment of prisons. As no reformative influences 
 are allowed to come in from without, so there are 
 few at work within. There are, it is true, the 
 chaplain and, for the illiterate, the school-master. 
 Occasionally there is a prison library. But there 
 is httle skilled labor, and that is largely done by 
 men who have acquired their trades before their 
 conviction. In some prisons, the whipping-post 
 and the strait-jacket are to be seen, ready for use. 
 In some, prisoners work at the degrading treadmill. 
 
240 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 This unduly rigorous idea affects even public insti- 
 tutions for poor relief. In tlie casual ward, where 
 tramps and other unemployed are sheltered, the 
 men are compelled in the morning to do a very 
 difficult stint of stone-breaking, which is often 
 more than they, in their weak condition, can en- 
 dure. It is because of the atmosphere of con- 
 demnation and punishment which is thrown 
 around the Enghsh poor-house, that the poor 
 people have such a horror of the fate which so 
 many of them are helpless to escape, that of end- 
 ing their days in " the house," as they euphemis- 
 tically call it. 
 
 There are no institutions analogous to the 
 American reformatory prisons. The plan of the 
 indeterminate sentence is quite absent; except 
 that prisoners sentenced for a term of five years 
 or more are released on a ticket of leave, if their 
 conduct has been good, after they have served 
 about three-fourths of their time. It is almost 
 impossible to find in the Enghsh prison system 
 any of that rising behef and hope in the man- 
 hood of men who have been guilty of crime. Once 
 inside the prison waU, they have practically no 
 one to look upon them except as a strange order 
 of beings, from whom humanity with its possibiU- 
 ties has passed away. This quahty of the system 
 is, considering these times, not very greatly re- 
 
MORAL AJSro EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 241 
 
 lieved by the fact that the prison buildings are 
 on late models, and that the physical health of the 
 prisoners is carefully looked after. 
 
 The Howard Association is the leading prison 
 society. This Association interests itself almost 
 entirely in the public and general aspects of prison 
 questions; that is, it undertakes no organized 
 work either of prevention or reformation. It does 
 valuable service in exposing abuses and scandals 
 in the management of prisons. It continually 
 urges the aboHtion of capital punishment. It 
 would make prisons much more open to good in- 
 fluences from without, and urges a system of reg- 
 ular visitation. The Howard Association on the 
 whole, however, supports the rigorous Enghsh 
 system, and its ofl&cers look with dissatisfaction 
 upon some of the lenient tendencies of American 
 prisons. Yet the Association was instrumental, a 
 few years ago, in securing the passage of the First 
 Offenders Act, which gives magistrates the power 
 to put under probation those guilty of a first of- 
 fence, in petty cases, instead of committing them 
 directly to prison. The Association carries on its 
 work through communications to the newspapers, 
 through influencing members of Parhament, and 
 by a variety of printed matter. 
 
 For the aiding of discharged prisoners, men and 
 women, a number of associations exist, and there 
 
242 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 is a central committee in London for tlie general 
 estabHshment of such societies. Some of these 
 societies have homes where discharged prisoners 
 may stay until they can secure employment. The 
 Government allows such societies a smaU sum for 
 each person cared for by them. It must be said 
 that this department of philanthropy is, compared 
 with the others, at a lack. Indeed, the whole treat- 
 ment of the problem of the adult criminal seems to 
 be deficient in breadth and sympathy. One's view 
 as to this holds, notwithstanding the decrease in 
 the amount of crime. One cannot but think that 
 the improvement is because of social and educa- 
 tional advances ; that it is not a result of the way 
 criminals are treated, but in spite of it. At any 
 rate, the diminution of crime in England is some- 
 thing quite remarkable. The Judicial Statistics 
 show that in twenty years the number of convic- 
 tions has decreased nearly one-half. In 1869, 
 there were 11,660 prisoners in the convict prisons 
 of the United Kingdom. In 1889, there were only 
 6,405. The same general proportion of decrease 
 would hold for the local jails. The number of 
 women prisoners has dechned at a much greater 
 rate than that of the men. 
 
 An evil of great magnitude in the working 
 class is that of gambhng. John Burns ranks it 
 with intemperance for the harm it brings to the 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 243 
 
 poor. The gambling centres mainly about the 
 national pastime of horse-racing. Before every 
 great race, the papers circulating among the 
 working people are largely given up to discussions 
 and predictions as to the coming winners. Ad- 
 vertisements of book-makers are also plentifully 
 inserted. In some cities, efforts are made to sup- 
 press pool-rooms, but in general the law against 
 gambling is poorly enforced. 
 
 So far as crime in the East End of London is 
 concerned, those who have watched that locality 
 during a period of years unanimously agree that 
 a marked improvement has been made. The con- 
 dition of things twenty-five years ago is sufficiently 
 shown by the fact that people were often garroted 
 in open daylight. Lawlessness has gradually 
 been put under close restraint. At present the 
 East End is quite orderly, considering everything. 
 If there are any streets that can fairly be said to 
 be dangerous to pass through, they must be very 
 rare. The atrocious murders in Whitechapel are 
 no doubt the work of a monomaniac, and are not 
 to be taken as indicating, except by certain side 
 Hghts, the usual condition of life in that quarter. 
 A street brawl of a more or less serious sort 
 would more truly represent the form of disorder 
 that is not uncommon. 
 
 The horrible curse of prostitution is certainly no 
 
244 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 greater characteristic of the East End than of the 
 West End. Indeed, some who know both parts 
 of the metropolis, affirm that the record of the 
 Bast in this respect is fair compared with that of 
 the West. It is probable that this curse, though 
 it flaunts itself very much in London, exists there 
 in somewhat the same proportion as in other large 
 cities in England and the rest of civilized countries. 
 In England, as in America, there is sufficient leg- 
 islation against it; but the law is not enforced. 
 The English mind is healthy with regard to this 
 matter in an important respect — it does not re- 
 gard the woman taken in sin as being practically 
 beyond the reach of hope. A noble work is 
 done by a large number of preventive and re- 
 formative institutions and societies. Their plan 
 is to train their protegSes to an interest in some 
 useful activity, and then secure situations for them 
 where they wiR be under special encouragement. 
 
 And yet it is perfectly evident that such efforts 
 can be no more than shght mitigations. What- 
 ever may be said about the other moral evils that 
 rend the tissue of society, this one at least can be 
 clearly traced back to false economic conditions. 
 Statistics have shown repeatedly that in its main 
 features it is only one of the aspects of the burn- 
 ing question of the unemployed. It is a matter 
 of common" information that vast numbers of 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 245 
 
 women are thrown into a position where insuffi- 
 cient food and slow starvation are ever present 
 realities to them. Vast numbers beside are so situ- 
 ated that by cruel labor they gain only the merest 
 subsistence. On the other hand, a great many 
 men are debased through having far too much ma- 
 terial wealth. Even in the case of men receiving 
 salaries and wages, they receive the same sum at 
 the hands of society whether or not they accept 
 the obligation of family life. Until the women of 
 the poor are allowed a fair share of economic free- 
 dom ; until the men of the well-to-do are assigned 
 a just share of social responsibility, it is idle to 
 expect to remove much of this poison from the 
 life of a people. If these things are true, what 
 shall we have to say to a commercial system, 
 already under serious doubt, which puts upon its 
 markets, alongside its other commodities, the 
 souls of no inconsiderable fraction of all the women 
 in the world ? The encouraging thing in England 
 is that so many tendencies are working together 
 to express in practice the necessary answer to this 
 question. 
 
 For the prevention of crime by caring for chil- 
 dren and youth, there are two kinds of institution 
 under Government control. The reformatories 
 are under the auspices of local public authorities. 
 In the reformatories, young persons under sixteen 
 
246 ENGLISH SOCIAL MO\"EMENTS 
 
 who have been guilty of crime are set to work, 
 and have instiniction both intellectual and manual. 
 Even here, however the stem treatment of crime 
 is shown by the fact that all juvenile criminals 
 have to undergo a preliminary term in a prison. 
 There are unfortunately many young persons sen- 
 tenced to f uU terms in prison who ought of right 
 to be sent to the reformatories. A careful ob- 
 server in the East End of London has noticed 
 that lads ai*e worse, without exception, after com- 
 ing from prison than before their committal. For 
 children and youth who are incorrigible, uncared 
 for, or otherwise in danger of becoming criminals, 
 there are industrial schools which have govern- 
 ment grants and are under government inspec- 
 tion, but are conducted by private individuals or 
 societies. On the whole, these schools are very 
 weU managed. They are to a large extent in the 
 hands of pliilanthropic people. In some cases 
 they are introducing the system so successfully 
 followed in Germany, of having an increased 
 force of workers, each of whom shall, as far as 
 possible, share the Hfe of groups of the inmates 
 and spread a good influence by means of this spe- 
 cial intimacy.* Many boys from reformatories 
 and industrial schools are put on training ships, 
 
 * This is the plan followed by Mr. W. M. F. Round, of 
 New York, at the Buriiham Industrial Farm. 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 247 
 
 from which they pass into the merchant or gov- 
 ernment marine sei'vice. 
 
 Like every other kind of social work, this is 
 centrahzed under a general organization, the 
 Reformatory and Refuge Union. This Union, 
 with headquarters in London, carries on its valu- 
 able mission through the boys' beadle, five res- 
 cue oflScers, and twenty-one women agents, beside 
 sending out a large amount of Hterature designed 
 to help institutions for the rescue of women and 
 children. The Union maintains an emigration 
 agency by which boys trained in industrial schools 
 are sent to Manitoba, where they are befriended by 
 an agent of the Union. The proportionate de- 
 crease of juvenile crime is even greater than of 
 adult crime. Much of the credit for this must be 
 attributed to the improvement of the pubUc edu- 
 cational system ; but no little of this good result 
 comes from the work of the reformatories and 
 industrial schools. Somewhat more than 75 per 
 cent, of reformatory inmates are not again con- 
 victed of crime after their discharge. 
 
 Valuable voluntary efforts of a similar nature 
 are carried out by St. Giles' Christian Mission in 
 London. This Mission was estabhshed thirty 
 years ago in the notorious Seven Dials district; 
 but as the Seven Dials is now built up with im- 
 proved tenements, the Mission is largely given up 
 
248 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 to various kinds of rescue work. Its specialty is 
 that of assuming the care of boys brought before 
 police courts, who would otherwise be sentenced. 
 The boys have homes provided for them, which 
 are made as atti-active as possible. They are left 
 practically free from restraint, and have situations 
 found for them in the city, often in places of con- 
 fidence. This mild, kindly system, with able 
 management, has been veiy successful, and there 
 are now three large homes under cliarge of the 
 Mission. The Mission has a special care for all 
 classes of criminals ; a much noticed feature of it 
 being the annual thieves' supper. 
 
 The most remarkable child-saving institutions in 
 England are Dr. Barnardo's Homes. It is twenty- 
 five years since Dr. Bamardo began his work. 
 There are now forty separate branches, aU sus- 
 tained by voluntary contributions. In these insti- 
 tutions, 3,000 children are constantly cared for. 
 Children are received without any limitation as to 
 age, sex, creed, or nationality. None are excluded 
 on account of sickness or infirmity. Children are 
 either brought to the Homes by destitute parents 
 or friends, or they are rescued from starvation or 
 moral danger by the ofl&cers of the Homes. The 
 chief estabhshments are, the boys' home in 
 Stepney, and the girls' village homes at Hford, 
 some distance out of London. At the boys' home. 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 249 
 
 which has about 300 inmates, for half the day the 
 boys are in school, for half they are employed in 
 the shops. Nearly a dozen different trades are 
 taught. The little artisans are under skilled fore- 
 men, and to a large extent what they produce goes 
 to supply the needs of the Homes. The village 
 made up of cottage homes for the girls at Ilf ord is 
 one of extreme interest. Many of these girls are 
 waifs found in the East End of London, who 
 under ordinary circumstances would have to spend 
 the first years of their lives in poor-houses, and 
 would afterward be sent out quite hopeless and 
 helpless against the dangers of the world. The 
 Hf ord settlement contains forty-nine cottages, and 
 some other buildings. Each cottage has a sort of 
 home life of its own. Each is in charge of a 
 " mother," who has oversight of the work and play 
 of a group of the girls. There are about 1,100 
 girls in the village. Some other branches of Dr. 
 Barnardo's Homes are, — the Babies' Castle in the 
 country, to which are sent infants rescued from 
 the slums, often in the most pitiful condition ; a 
 farm home for boys; a Youths' Labor House; 
 three houses for boot-black brigades; receiving 
 homes in Canada, and a large farm in Manitoba. 
 The emigration agency has succeeded well. Girls 
 are drafted into household service in Canada. 
 Boys are sent to the institutional farm, and when 
 
250 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 they prove faitMul, they are assisted to secure 
 land of their own as settlers. Of the 13,000 chil- 
 dren cared for and given a start in life since the 
 opening of the Homes, fully 4,000 have been sent 
 to the colonies. There have been few instances in 
 which the young emigrants have not proved a 
 credit to their training. Dr. Bamardo's work has 
 had its characteristic success through able and 
 energetic management, but especially through the 
 strong, sometimes over-zealous, rehgious feeUng 
 which has pervaded it aU. 
 
 In the pubUc educational system of England 
 profound changes are coming. At present, there 
 are two kinds of elementary schools receiving 
 pubHc support — the board schools, which are man- 
 aged by a board of citizens not necessarily of the 
 district, and the so-called national schools, which 
 are conducted under the auspices of some relig- 
 ious body. At aU of these schools, up to the 
 present, a charge has been made, except in ease of 
 extreme poverty. But now, under the legislation 
 of 1891, the schools are to a large extent empow- 
 ered to remit their fees. There is an aristocratic 
 gradation of schools, some that have charged a fee 
 of eighteen cents a week, others as httle as two 
 cents a week. All books are supphed, however. 
 These schools provide a course which carries pu- 
 pils not quite as far as the American grammar 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 251 
 
 schools do. Attendance upon the course is com- 
 pulsor^^ This relation seems to work well ex- 
 cept among the very poor, whose residence is 
 uncertain and whom the magistrates are usually 
 unwilling to imprison — being unable to pay the 
 fine — for the slight breach of a truant law. SiQce 
 the fee system has been so largely done away, 
 there has been a considerable increase in the 
 number of pupils at the schools. 
 
 There is no general provision for intermediate 
 instruction, but the movement toward technical 
 and secondary education is every day growing 
 stronger. There is an active society, having 
 branches in different parts of the country, with 
 this object in view, which it is urging with increas- 
 ing success upon Parliament and upon local gov- 
 erning bodies. It is also doing much to assist the 
 efforts of existing technical and secondary schools 
 carried on under private auspices. It was maialy 
 through this association that when ParUament 
 came to distribute to county councils the money 
 from licenses which was to have been used in com- 
 pensating pubUcans, the money was given with 
 the express permission that it might be used for 
 the advancement of technical training. The sum 
 divided will amount to $3,700,000 annually. As 
 a result, many new institutions for scientific, 
 manual, and agi'icultural education are springing 
 
252 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 up, and the old ones are enlarging their work. In 
 Wales especially, where just now an interesting 
 intellectual awakening is in progress, the means 
 of intermediate instruction are developing very 
 rapidly. 
 
 An important step is to be taken by the gov- 
 ernment Charity Commissioners having charge of 
 the parochial and other charities of the old City 
 of London. Here there are over a hundred par- 
 ishes whose funds have lost their use, as nearly all 
 of their parishioners have moved away. Under the 
 directions of an act of Parliament put through by 
 Professor Bryce, the Commissioners have pre- 
 pared a plan for a number of polytechnics in 
 different parts of the metropolis, especially in 
 working-class districts. The amount to be dis- 
 tributed as a capital fund is rather more than 
 $750,000. This is divided among the Regent 
 Street Polytechnic, the People's Palace, and the 
 combined Morley Memorial College and Royal 
 Victoria Hall. An annual sum of $100,000 is to 
 be distributed among these and seven institutions 
 beside. Four of the seven are new polytechnics, 
 for which a good share of the responsibility has 
 wisely been placed upon people interested in the 
 districts which are to have advantage of them. 
 
 The plan of these institutions is taken in the 
 first instance from the Regent Street Polytechnic 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 253 
 
 wliich has gradually grown to large proportions, 
 from a beginning as a Young Men's Christian 
 Institute. It now has branches both for young 
 men and for young women. There is a very large 
 number of classes in scientific, artistic, musical, 
 commercial, and more general subjects; beside 
 preparation for the civil service, and instruction 
 in manual training and practical trade work. In 
 the winter, there are many lectures and entertain- 
 ments. A variety of athletic clubs are organized, 
 for which there is a well-equipped gymnasium, and 
 for summer sports a recreation ground of twenty- 
 seven acres at Wimbledon. The religious exer- 
 cises are frequent, but are not made unduly promi- 
 nent. The Polytechnic has a total for members of 
 the Christian Institute and students in the classes, 
 of over 10,000. Considering that the Polytech- 
 nic is not in a poor part of London, the size 
 of its working-class constituency is quite remark- 
 able. Four-sevenths of the members and two-thirds 
 of the students are artisans ; the rest being, in both 
 cases, teachers and clerks. Nearly a quarter of aU 
 are women. Notwithstanding the vastness of it, 
 there is a great deal of warmth and friendly feel- 
 ing about the Polytechnic. This is largely on ac- 
 count of the esprit de corps which the Christian 
 Institute has developed, and on account of the 
 personal influence of Mi*. Quintin Hogg, whose 
 
254 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIVIENTS 
 
 devotion and generosity have been the principal 
 means of bringing the Polytechnic to its present 
 great success. 
 
 It is just the lack of such things that is hinder- 
 ing the progi'ess of the People's Palace, wliich was 
 to have been such a centre of refreshment and 
 joy. In an external respects, it is indeed going 
 forward. The fine stone facade of the building 
 is nearing completion. The splendid winter gar- 
 den will soon be ready to be opened. The in- 
 struction given is able and on a wide variety of 
 topics. The facilities for gymnastic, technical, 
 artistic, and musical training are already good, 
 and are gradually being increased. One or tvfo 
 entertainments are given every week in the beau- 
 tiful Queen's Hall, and two or three organ recitals 
 on Sunday. The library is by far the best in 
 East London, and both books and periodicals seem 
 to be well used. It is not on the ground that the 
 People's Palace is not to-day a very valuable in- 
 stitution that one is so dissatisfied with it. The 
 trouble is that it is so much, and yet fails of being 
 somewhat more. There has been from the begin- 
 ning a lack of that element of soul which one finds 
 in the Polytechnic. There is no uniting sentiment, 
 no common feeling. The number of students is 
 altogether over 5,000. The students' association, 
 though it enrolls 2,000 members, does not accom- 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 255 
 
 plish much. The fees for instruction are higher 
 than they should be ; but even at the concerts or en- 
 tertainments, which either are free or have a very 
 small charge for admission, the poorer grades of 
 working people do not come in any such numbers 
 as it was hoped they would. The great secret of 
 this is that in connection with any such work 
 there must be strong, organized influences which 
 shall teach these less hopeful classes to appreciate 
 the healthful pleasui*es of life — which shaU, in 
 fact, go out into the highways and hedges, and 
 compel them to come in. Of late, the Palace has 
 come into the, hands of the Drapers' Company, one 
 of the old city guilds of London. There are many 
 ancient abuses connected with these companies, 
 and the change of management can only decrease 
 the popularity of the Palace. Already the Dra- 
 pers' Company has magnified the educational fea- 
 tures, and made stiU less of the social. Under 
 these circumstances, while the People's Palace will 
 still be important and useful, it will be impossible 
 for it to retain the deep interest which the outline 
 of its plan aroused. 
 
 In aU large English cities, but especially in Lon- 
 don, there are unusual facilities for evening study. 
 In most of the Northern towns there are me- 
 chanics' institutes which offer a variety of courses 
 every winter. In London, the number of evening 
 
256 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 classes on all sorts of subjects is quite remarkable. 
 A guide to these classes in the metropolis, giving 
 merely the necessary information with regard to 
 each course, fills a pamphlet of eighty pages. 
 This pamphlet shows what an unorganized even- 
 ing university there is in London, bringing a 
 thorough intellectual or manual education within 
 easy reach of working people. 
 
 An apparently unambitious, and yet really valu- 
 able, plan is that of the Recreative Evening Schools 
 Association. The object of this Association is to 
 caiTy on, through voluntary workers, evening 
 classes in the board schools, combining instruc- 
 tion and recreation for boys and girls who have 
 passed through the elementary required course at 
 the schools. It is found that young people just 
 passing from under this restraint need to be 
 especially cared for. The plan includes also the 
 use of the schools for social clubs, and the use of 
 school play-grounds for gymnastics and out-door 
 games. This simple programme as carried out 
 has shown how much may be accomplished 
 through means which are close at hand. There 
 are in London 345 such classes, combining man- 
 ual training with entertainment, and their average 
 attendance is 10,000. Schools of the same kind 
 are carried on in a hundred other places outside 
 of London. Besides then* immediate success under 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 257 
 
 private efforts, these schools are bringing Par- 
 liament to see the importance of their object. Of 
 late, the government has been assuming the care 
 of recreative evening classes little by little, and it 
 looks as if ultimately all the work of the Evening 
 Schools Association would be undertaken by the 
 school boards. This illustrates the way many 
 reforms are brought about in England — not by 
 reasoned arguments, but by practical demon- 
 stration. 
 
 Gradually, therefore, the government school 
 system is coming to include secondary training, 
 and it cannot be long until a regular part of the 
 system will be schools of the grade of the Ameri- 
 can public high schools, only with a far wider 
 range — preparing students not merely for the 
 university and professional careers, but for every 
 occupation of art or skill. It is now a foregone 
 conclusion that under the next Liberal govern- 
 ment the school system is to be made, to aU in- 
 tents and purposes, entirely free. The Conserva- 
 tives themselves, just before Parliament was pro- 
 rogued in the summer of 1891, passed a measure 
 in this direction by which the country wiU have, 
 to a degree, the advantages of free education. But 
 it is in no full sense a free education measure. It 
 is only a compromise, intended, on the one hand, 
 to quiet the popular demand, and, on the otlier, to 
 
258 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEIHENTS 
 
 save as much as possible of the voluntary system 
 under wMch the parochial schools are carried on. 
 
 With these developments, there will undoubtedly 
 come a still greater impetus to what is good and 
 hopeful ; as so much has already come in the moral 
 and social development of the working people 
 through the reign of popular compulsory education 
 during the last twenty years. The intellectual ap- 
 petite of the working man has grown by what it has 
 fed upon. He is learning in the progress of labor 
 how important is the possession of trained facul- 
 ties not only for the sake of greater skill in his 
 work, but for the sake of a true knowledge of his 
 better interests. Not seldom, one hears remarks 
 which indicate that the more educated working 
 men are beginning to look with expectation 
 toward the universities, having the desire at least 
 that those who follow them may come into privi- 
 leges which they themselves have failed of. 
 
 For the present, at least, the University Exten- 
 sion system seems to be the most promising means 
 of bringing the fruits of culture to the workers. 
 The local colleges are of more and more use in this 
 direction. With their government grants, they 
 are able to reach the needs of working people by 
 special evening classes and by occasional popular 
 lectures. The spread of the higher education is 
 greatly assisted by the increase of pubhc hbraries. 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 259 
 
 In the past four years, over eighty districts have 
 voted to have libraries, as against 133 adoptions 
 of the plan in the thirty-six years previous, dating 
 back to the first Public Libraries Act. The feel- 
 ing constantly grows stronger that the public 
 library is a necessary adjunct to the school. Li- 
 braries are being voted for by one after another 
 of the working-class districts of London. There 
 is found to be a gradual improvement in the char- 
 acter of the books taken from the Hbraries. 
 
 Though it may be long till the working men 
 have the full freedom of Oxford and Cambridge, 
 yet the extension lectures and the settlements are 
 having a great influence in establishing relations 
 between the centres of learning and the centres of 
 industry. At the universities, the attitude toward 
 the cause of labor is becoming much more sympa- 
 thetic. This is well shown in the book of Pro- 
 fessor Marshall, of Cambridge, the leading econ- 
 omist of the country, which begins at once with 
 the radical question of the abolition of poverty, 
 and intimates that even so great a blessing is not 
 too much to hope for.* Professor Marshall makes 
 it a point to confer from time to time with intel- 
 ligent working men, in order to keep fresh his 
 sense of actual events as they go on in the busy 
 world. In general, however, the academic atmos- 
 * ''Principles of Economics," pages 2-A. 
 
260 ENGLISH SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 
 
 phere unfits men residing at the universities for 
 a just appreciation of the labor movement. But 
 there is a tendency which is bringing to its aid 
 some of the best young minds that the universities 
 produce. The very strong gravitation toward the 
 cities leaves comparatively slight opportunity for 
 intellectual work in the smaller towns. London is 
 more and more a concentration of the whole of 
 English life. Moreover the universities are grad- 
 uating an increasing number of students who in- 
 cline to be specialists in poHtical and social science. 
 There is small provision for postgraduate study 
 in such lines in the way of fellowships at the uni- 
 versities or of professorsliips at smaller institu- 
 tions of learning. So these men come up to Lon- 
 don, and perhaps join one of the university settle- 
 ments ; or they enter the struggle for existence at 
 professional or literciry work ; at any rate, they arc 
 brought face to face with facts as they reaUy arc. 
 They get acquainted with the younger trade uniou 
 leaders, and find themselves in unexpected sympa- 
 thy with the hopes and efforts of labor. They do 
 not hesitate on occasion to support working peo- 
 ple in then* strikes. Scholars of this type, mak- 
 ing specialties of matters of cun-ent, practical 
 importance, are the ones who are certain to be at 
 the front in the discussions of future years. In 
 this way, the current school of economists which 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 2G1 
 
 has shown the bearing of social history upon 
 pohtical economy is passing naturally into a school 
 which will contribute the results coming from an 
 intimate experience of the circumstances under 
 which life is lived by the great crowded masses of 
 the people of to-day. 
 
 The various social movements have beyond 
 question drawn out and strengthened the higher 
 intellectual and moral forces of English society. 
 In a general pohtical point of view, they have been 
 a strong purifying influence. It is a curious fact 
 that some of the ablest and most earnest members 
 of Parliament represent the poorest working- 
 class districts. The County Council elected by 
 democratic London is a very fine object lesson. 
 As to international poUtics, nothing operates so 
 strongly in the different countries toward keep- 
 ing the peace of Europe as organized labor 5 and 
 the advocates of peace, like other reformers, are 
 beginning to learn how closely their cause is 
 bound up with democratic movements. 
 
 More immediate effects are more remarkable. 
 Who can estimate the influence of bringing vast 
 numbers of untrained men into a relationship 
 which stirs the social and moral feelings to 
 so large an extent as the trade unions do ? The 
 persistent holding up of a better kind of life 
 before lower grades of working men does not re- 
 
262 ENGLISH SOCIAL SIOVEMENTS 
 
 suit in a mere desire for selfish advancement, for 
 material accumulation or gratification. It brings 
 a determination to be free from the misery of 
 that material impoverishment which cramps and 
 paralyzes the higher faculties. In this sense, 
 what the labor movement has accompUshed for 
 its members has been of great significance, as 
 bringing them up into a more elevated atmos- 
 phere, where they may be free to seek and receive 
 for themselves a greater share of those things 
 which make the individual life true to itself, and 
 make a nation great. 
 
 We have seen how the condition of the poor has 
 challenged aU the different elements of civiliza- 
 tion. It has made each feel that if East London 
 is one of the outcomes of the progress for which 
 it is working, then that progress must be in some 
 part false and deadly. And we see them all yield- 
 ing themselves in new forms of endeavor to prove 
 that they are truly powers set for the regenera- 
 tion of society. This passing of the social forces 
 out into fresh fields wiU be sure to revive them 
 at the source. Even now one can begin to 
 see new strength and motive coming into the 
 Church and the government j new inspu-ation 
 coming into art and learning. The confident feel- 
 ing that the best things may be safely entrusted 
 to the people is something which, when faith- 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 263 
 
 fully carried out, as it is being carried out in Eng- 
 land, will not only ennoble the people, but will 
 make every higher kind of activity burst forth 
 into an era of achievements hitherto unknown. 
 
 This means that whole sections of society which 
 have been indifferent and even hostile to each 
 other are now coming together, are seeking a 
 unity of interest, each learning to render to the 
 other of what it has received. This tendency 
 would not, indeed, appear on the surface. It is to 
 be found only in its beginnings, compared with 
 what remains to be done. And yet the most im- 
 pressive thing in Europe to-day is the slow, steady, 
 irresistible advance of the British democracy. 
 Every person that goes on a helpful mission to the 
 poor, bringing education, religion, or only the 
 means of physical Hfe, is adding in fact, whether 
 consciously or not, to this tendency. There is a 
 deep unity which binds the social movements 
 together. No one exists to itself. Each finds 
 itself after a while face to face with some other. 
 And all are at last borne along in the same mighty 
 current. An influence so great imparts to every 
 slight effort for humanity something of its own 
 dignity. In its presence, less reliance begins to be 
 placed upon the theories of the past, or upon im- 
 agined limitations to progress. The wisest men 
 are seekinsr most of aU to know their times — act- 
 
204 ENGLISH SOCIAL MO^TIMEXTS 
 
 ing in the light of to-day, daring to hope for great 
 things in the days to come. 
 
 England is well prepared for the working out 
 of the national society of the future. The peo- 
 ple are of the vigorous Anglo-Saxon race, with- 
 out contaminating mixture. The country is 
 small, so that diverse interests of localities are 
 not so likely to spring up. The government in 
 all its parts is remarkable for purity, which shows 
 that the people individually have a healthy po- 
 litical instinct. The strength and vitality that 
 has been the means of conquering so much of the 
 world is gradually proving itself able to throw off 
 internal evil. There is coming to be a general so- 
 cial sense which forbids that men should be hin- 
 dered from attaining the fair enjoyment of those 
 better qualities that are the essential distinction 
 of human existence. 
 
 Already the large activities of the EngUsh peo- 
 ple are beginning to run according to the lines of 
 a real social organism. Christianity in England 
 has always, in spite of sectary and sacerdotalist, 
 stood for the noble ideal of the whole nation or- 
 ganized for worship 5 profound changes will not 
 destroy this hope, but will only make it broader 
 and truer. From the old universities, are going 
 out efforts which unmistakably suggest the nation 
 organized for culture. The House of Commons 
 
MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 265 
 
 and the city governments express more closely 
 every year the public interests of all the people. 
 Out of the toiling majority, there comes a great 
 impulsive rising which shows that the period of 
 confusion and chaos in the industry of the nation 
 is almost at an end. 
 
 In any case, whatever other characteristics this 
 coming democracy may have, it is certain to be a 
 social democracy. It will not disappoint its people 
 by removing one kind of aristocracy merely that 
 a worse may arise. It will not be swept and gar- 
 nished of ancestral privilege in order that the 
 privilege of commercial craft may the more fuUy 
 enter in. Rather, it wiU be as a fertile field, lev- 
 elled of the remnants of a former season, where 
 aU that nourishes the better nature may freely 
 grow. In the approach toward such a national 
 life — toward a republic of industry, of letters, of 
 art, of pure religion and undefiled — England, of 
 aU the countries of the world, holds for the next 
 following generations the manifest destiny. The 
 other nations of Greater Britain, learning from the 
 mother country, may, if they will, in the farther 
 future, with their more difficult problems, arrive 
 at a more glorious result. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Adult schools, the Sunday 
 
 morning, 160, 166, 167 
 Agricultural laborers, 17, 19 
 Allen, Grant, 61 
 Allotments, 68 
 Ambulance classes, 200, 201 
 America, 19, 24, 71, 86, 123, 176, 
 
 2i'c)sq., 240, 241, 244, 257 
 American Federation of Labor, 
 
 the, 15 
 Anarchists, 46, 52 
 Ancoats Brotherhood, the, 
 
 Manchester, 212, 213 
 Arbitration, 15 
 Art for the people, 151, 203-210, 
 
 212-214, 262, 265 
 Art Museum, the Ancoats, 213, 
 
 214 
 Artisans, progress of the, 1 sq. , 
 
 25 
 Athletics, 95, 112, 197 
 Australia, 19, 176 
 Aves, Ernest, 98 
 
 Balliol House, 96, 134 
 Bands of Hope, the, 236 
 Baptists, the, 160 
 •.Barnardo, Dr. I. J., 162, 248 
 
 sq. 
 Barnardo' s, Dr., Homes, 248- 
 
 250 
 Barnett, Mrs., 97, 108, 153 
 Barnett, Rev. S. A., 82, 84, 85, 
 
 88, 97 sg., 151-153, 222 
 Beauty, the ministry of, 152, 
 
 153, 203-210, 212-214 
 Bedford, the Bishop of, 153 
 
 Benefit features, the question 
 
 of, 18 
 Besant, Mrs. Annie, 61, 74 
 Birmingham, 61, 70, 71, 116, 
 
 165, 166, 200, 209 so., 221, 
 
 223, 225, 239 
 "Bitter Crv of Outcast London, 
 
 the," 158, 173 
 Black, Miss Clementina, 16 
 I " Blacklegs," 13, 16 
 Booth, Charles, 98, 188, 190, 215, 
 
 216 
 Booth, General, his book, 170, 
 
 172, 173, 177 
 his scheme, 19, 170-181 
 Boys' clubs, 92, 95, 106, 146 «a, 
 
 162, 209, 256 
 Boys' homes, 248, 249 
 Bradford, 174 
 Bristol, 174, 200 
 Broad Church, the old, 142 
 Brooke, Rev. Stopford, 61 
 Brotherhoods, 145, 153 
 Bryce, Professor, 252 
 Buchanan, P. R, 105, 106, 223, 
 
 224 
 Building and loan associations, 
 
 31 
 Bunting, Percy, 161 
 Burns, John, 4-6, 18, 30-24, 39, 
 
 41, 42, 77, 242 
 Buxton, Sidney, 15 
 
 Caird, Professor Edward, 
 116 
 
 Caius College (Cambridge) Mis- 
 sion, 113 
 
268 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Cambridge House, a proposed, 
 
 113 
 Cambridge, the University of, 
 
 79, 80,85, %,1 10, 111,1:^0 
 
 sq., 185 
 Campbell, Rev. Norman, 150 
 Canada, emigration to, ^41) 
 Capital, great combinations of, 
 
 13 
 Capitalists aiding the working 
 
 class, 105, 315-326 
 Chamberlain, Joseph, 71 
 Charities, districted, 183-203 
 
 institutional, 193, 19o, 347 sq. 
 " Charities of Loudon," Low's, 
 
 193 
 "Charities Register and Di- 
 gest," the, 187, 193 
 Charity Organization Society, 
 
 the London, 60, 88, 90, 
 
 107, 179, 183-192 
 Charity, public, 183, 183, 188, 
 
 189 
 Charrington, P. N., 1(53, 163 
 Chautauqua system, the, 131 
 Child-saving institutions, 345- 
 
 350 
 Children, work among, 74, 90, 
 
 158, 159, 193-197, 230, 
 
 345-350 
 Children's Country Holiday 
 
 Fund, the London, 88, 
 
 107, 110, 194-197 (see al.-o 
 
 311, 330) 
 Christ Church College (Oxford) 
 
 Mission, 113 
 Christian Social Union, the, 65, 
 
 155, 156 
 Christian Socialism, 63-66, 155, 
 
 156 
 Christian Socialists, the old, 33 
 Christianity, social bearings of, 
 
 41, 66, 168, 169, 171, 181, 
 
 364 
 Church Army, the, ISO 
 Church Congress, the, 1 54 
 Church Fund, the East London, 
 
 153 
 Church of England Temperance 
 
 Society, the, 334, 335, 337 
 Church of England, the, 63, 65, 
 
 115, 143-156, 157 
 
 Church of England, the. 
 
 (see " Broad Church," " High 
 Church," "Low Church," 
 "Ritualists ") 
 Social bearings of, 143-146, 
 180 
 Church Jiejormer^ The^ 65 
 Church services, special, 152, 
 
 153, 154, 160 
 Church, tjie Canning Town 
 
 Congregational, 114 
 Church, the social work of the, 
 Chap. V. , and 234-336, 363 
 Churches, the, and the lowest 
 social groups, 170, 171 
 and the university settle- 
 ments, lUO s^., Ill sq.f 
 148 sq. 
 and the working people, 143 
 
 xq., 160,166-170 
 great criticism of, 168, 169 
 types of, 148, 149 
 Cities, social administration of, 
 70 s</., 198 sf/., :.33, 365 
 slums of, and their effects, 
 11)5, 196, 205 
 City Mission, the London, 163, 
 164 (see also 153, 157 s^.) 
 Clare College (Cambiidge) !iMis- 
 j sion, 113 
 
 Clarke, William, 60 
 Classes, social, the coming to- 
 I gether of, 37, 117, 118, 
 
 159, 1S<'., 363 
 Club, the Boro' of Hackney 
 ! Working Men's, 36-30 
 
 ! the Lolesworth, 91, 1)3 
 I the University, 103-106 
 
 tlie Whittington, 93 
 Clubs, boys', 93, 95, 106, 146 
 sq., 163, 309, ^56 
 girls', 109, 146, 162, 209 sq., 
 
 333, 356 
 working-men's, 25-30, 53, 54, 
 91, 93, 103-106, 113, 199, 
 3i)6, 309, 330, 333 
 Coffee-houses, 106, 2;i2-224, 237- 
 
 3H9 
 Coit, Dr. Stanton, 165 
 College missions, 110-113 
 College Settlement, the Free 
 Church, Edinburgh, 116 
 
INDEX 
 
 269 
 
 Colleges, local, 124, 132 sq., 141, 
 
 258 
 affiliated bj' universities, 135 
 Colonization Society, the 
 
 Home, 175 
 Commonweal, The, 47, 48 
 Compulsory education, 95, 119, 
 
 120, 247, 251, 258 
 Congregationalists, the, 113, 
 
 114, 157-1(30 
 Cons, Miss Emma, 220, 221 
 Conservative party, the, 77, 
 
 233, 234, 257 
 Consumers' League, the, 225 
 Convalescent homes. 187 
 Co-operation, 32-37, 54, 124, 
 
 139 
 Co-operative Aid Association, 
 
 the, 37 
 banks (see "Building and 
 
 Loan Associations ") 
 Congress, the, 33 
 production, 33, 34, 92, 171, 
 
 225 
 scheme, at the docks, 13, 14, 
 
 19 
 Corpus Christi College (Cam- 
 bridge) Mission, 112 
 County councils, 198, 251 
 Crane, Walter, (51 
 Crime, diminution of, 242, 247 
 prevention of, 241, 244, 245- 
 
 250 
 the question of, 222, 239-250 
 
 (see '' Prison") 
 Criminals, 170, 222, 228, 243, 
 
 244 (see "Prisoners") 
 young, 241, 245-248 
 Crossley family, the, in Man- 
 chester, 118 
 
 Dale, Mrs., 211 
 Dale, Rev. Dr. R. W., 71 
 Davidson, Thomas, 50 
 Dawson, George, 71 
 Deaconesses, 145, 153 
 Democracy, advance of the 
 
 English, 19, 75-78, 258- 
 
 2(35 
 Denison, Edward, 81, 85 
 Dilke, Lady, 16 
 Disestablishment, 75 
 
 ' Dissenters, 101 
 
 I Dissenting churches, 63, 156 
 
 I their social work, 156-168 
 District nurses, 145, 154, 201-208 
 Dock strike, the great, 5 sq. , 19, 
 
 I 21, 41, 88 
 
 Dockers' Union, the, 1, 7-10. 
 
 I 12-14, 20, 23, 37, 42, 88,' 
 
 147, 163 
 Drummond, Professor, 116 
 Durham, the Bishop of (Dr. 
 
 i Westcott), 85, 154 
 
 Dwellings of the people, the 
 Mansion House Council 
 on the, 198-200 
 
 Bast End of London (see 
 
 " London " ) 
 Economic experiments, 214-226, 
 
 237, 238 
 Economic lieiiiew. The, 155 
 Economic study at Toynbee 
 Hall, 93, 94 
 in the Christian Social Union, 
 155, 156 
 Economists, the coming school 
 
 of, 260, 261 
 Edinburgh, 116, 165, 210 
 " Edinburgh Castle," the, 162 
 Education, 44, 45, 119 sq., 250- 
 259 
 and the working people, 121, 
 124, 187 s^., 167, 209, 211 
 sq., 253, 255, 258, 259, 
 2(32 sq. 
 as to temperance, 232, 235, 236 
 compulsory, 95, 119, 120, 247, 
 
 251, 2o8 
 free, 75, 250, 257 
 higher, Government grants 
 
 to aid, 141, 251 sg., 258 
 secondary, 95, 251 sq., 257 
 technical, 251 sq. (see "Man- 
 ual training") 
 Educational system, the public, 
 
 75, 250-252, 257, 258 
 Eight-hours' day. the, 5. 10, 18, 
 
 43, 45, 47, 52, 75, 76 
 Emigration, 174, 175, 247, 249, 
 
 250 
 Employers, some, favorable to 
 working-men, 224-226 
 
270 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Engineers, the Amalgamated 
 
 Society of, 4, 18 
 English nation, prospects of 
 
 the, 20, 74 sq., 141, 228, 
 
 245, 261-265 
 Equality, social, 51, 77, 140, 
 
 143, 245, 265 
 Evangelistic methods, 163, 169, 
 
 170 
 Evening schools, 146, 255-257 
 
 Fabian campaigns, 53-56 
 
 "Fabian Essays," the, 51 
 
 Fabian Society, the, 50-61 
 
 Factories, 16, 76 
 
 Factory acts, 76 
 
 Federation of Labor, the, 15, 
 19 
 
 Feeding, the, of school-chil- 
 dren, 74, 90, 158 
 
 Fellowship, the, of the New 
 Life (see "New Fellow- 
 ship " ) 
 
 Financial Reform Association, 
 the, 69 
 
 First Offenders Act, the, 241 
 
 Franciscans, the, 178 
 
 Free education, 75, 250, 257 
 
 "Free labor movement," the. 
 12 
 
 Free-seat system, the, 168 
 
 Fresh-air funds, 88, 107, 110, 
 194-197, 211, 220 
 
 Friendly societies, 18, 80 so., 
 160, 236 
 
 Friendly Societies Act, the, 29, 
 30,35 
 
 Gladstone, 77 
 
 Glasgow, 70, 71, 116, 165, 200, 
 
 210, 221, 223 
 Great Assembly Hall, the, 162, 
 
 163 ' ' . 
 
 _ Greater Britain, 265 
 I Green, John Richard, 81, 82, 85 
 Green, Thomas Hill, 80, 81, 82, 
 
 84, 116 
 Guild of St. Matthew, the, 63 
 sg., 155 
 
 Gambling. 242, 243 
 
 Gas Workers' and General 
 
 Laborers' Union, the, 10, 
 
 11, 42 
 George, Henry, 67, 83 
 German Emperor, the, 77 
 Germany, Reformatories in, 
 
 246 
 Girls' Clubs, 109, 146, 162, 209 
 
 sq., 223, 256 
 Girls' homes, 249 
 Girton College, Cambridge, 108 
 
 Half-holidat, the Saturday, 
 
 226 ^' 
 
 Headlam, Rev. Stewart D., 65, 
 
 74 
 Health lectures, 210, 211 
 
 I Higgs, Henry, 98 
 
 ' High Church party, the, 62 sq., 
 101, 102, 142 s?,, 156 (es- 
 pecially the Young High 
 Churchmen) 
 Hill, Miss Octavia, 110, 204, 
 219, 220 
 
 Hogg, Quintin, 253 
 
 Holland, Canon Scott, 154 
 
 Home arts exhibitions, 147, 210 
 
 Home Reading Union, the Na- 
 tional, lol 
 
 Home Rule for Ireland, 44, 56, 
 75 
 
 Horton, Rev. Robert P., 159 
 
 Hospitals, London, 187, 200 sq. 
 
 House of Commons, the, 264 
 of Lords, the, 78 
 
 Housing of the working class, 
 the, 29, 44, 60, 77, 198- 
 200, 216-222 
 
 Howard Association, the, 239 
 
 Huddersfield, municipal tram- 
 ways in, 71 
 
 Plughes, Mrs., 161 
 
 Hughes, Rev. Hugh Price, 160 
 sg. 
 
 Huxley, T. H., 178 
 
 Hyndman, H. M., 38, 39, 43 
 
 Idlers, 158, 170, 222, 228, 243, 
 
 244 
 Ilford, girl's homes at, 249 
 
INDEX 
 
 271 
 
 "In Darkest England and the 
 
 Way Out," 170 sq. 
 Indeterminate sentence, the, 
 
 240 
 India, the Salvation Army in, 
 
 176 
 Individualism, 53, 54, 78 
 Industrial prospecte of the na- 
 tion, 20, 75 .s<2., 224 sq., 
 
 265 
 Industrial schools, 246, 247 
 Ingram, Rev. A. F. W., 102, 103 
 Injustice, social, 192, 195, 196, 
 
 205, 228, 240, 244, 245, 262 
 Inspection of tenement-houses, 
 
 16, 76, 198 sq. 
 Institutional charities, 192, 19o, 
 
 247 sq. 
 Insurance, working-men's, 18, 
 
 30 6-^., 224, 236 
 Intemperance, the problem of, 
 
 25, 229-239, 242 
 Ireland, Home Rule for, 44, 56, 
 
 75 
 
 Jay, Fatheh, his boys' club, 
 
 147, 148 
 Jews, the, 92, 114, 151, 165, 
 
 194 
 Jones, John, 188, 189 
 Justice, 40 
 
 Keble College, Oxford, 101 
 King, Bolton, 98 
 Kingsley, Charles, 33, 79, 142 
 Kittle, R. W., 92 
 Knights of Labor, the, 225 
 Kyrle Society, the, 203-210 
 
 "Labor and Life of the 
 
 People," 98, 188, 215 
 Labor Army, the, 172 
 Labor Commission, the Royal, 
 
 77 
 Labor, Federation of , 15-19 
 Labor legislation, 3, 16, 18, 74 
 
 sq. 
 Labor movement, the (see 
 " Co-operation," " Friend- 
 ly Societies," "Trade 
 Unions," "Working-men's 
 Clubs " ) 
 
 Labor movement, the, and the 
 
 Church, 168, 169 
 assistance to, from without, 
 
 7, 36, 37, 53 sq., 88, 9t5- 
 
 100, 147, 224-226, 260 
 educational influence of, 19 
 
 sa., 26 5o., 36, 37, 258,261, 
 
 262 
 prospects of, 20, 75 sq., 361 sq. 
 unity of, 19 sq., 37 
 Laborers, agricultural, 17, 19 
 
 unskilled, 1, 4, 10, 18, 25, 163 
 Ladies' Association for Useful 
 
 Work, the, Birmingham, 
 
 211 
 Lady Margaret College, Oxford, 
 
 108 
 Lady rent-collectors, 219 sq. 
 Lancashire, 54 
 Land, municipalization of, 68, 
 
 69 
 Land nationalization, 66 sq., 
 
 164 
 Land Restoration League, the, 
 
 msq. 
 Land, taxation of the, 67, 69 
 the question of the, 17, 44, 45, 
 
 59, 66 sq. 
 Lawson, Sir Wilfred, 233 
 Leeds, 122, 174 
 Leighton Hall, 165 
 Leisure for working people, 21, 
 
 226 
 Liberal party, the, 54, 56, 57, 
 
 68, 69, 75, 156, 233, 257 
 Liberty and Property Defence 
 
 League, the, 78 
 Libraries, pubUc, 88, 89, 95, 120, 
 
 124 
 travelling, 129 
 License system, the, 231, 233, 
 
 235, 251 
 Liquor question, the, 35, 329- 
 
 239 
 Liquors, quantity of, consumed, 
 
 231 
 Liverpool, 116, 123, 174, 216, 333 
 Local option, 333, 235 
 Loch, C. S., 179, 184, 185 
 Lodging-houses, common, 151 
 
 model, 221 
 Lolesworth Club, the, 91, 92 
 
272 
 
 INDEX 
 
 London (consult the various 
 topics of the index), 1, 5, 
 6, 9, 16, 17, 21 sq., 2(i, 29, 
 84, 39, 40, 53, 54, 68, 69, 
 72 sq., 86, 111, 115, 122, 
 154, 157, 172, 173, 175, 
 183a5.,216, 244, 260 
 
 a concentration of English 
 life. 2<)0 
 
 charities, 183-209 
 
 churches, 146-165, 166, 170 sq. 
 
 County Council, 21, 69, 70, 72 
 5^., 89, 199, 207, 222, 261 
 London Districts : 
 
 East London, 10, 40, 41, 81, 83, 
 84, 94, 96, 99, 103, 108, 
 114, 117, 144, 145, 153, 
 
 158, misq., 170, 173,197, 
 215, 216, 243, 244, 246, 
 249, 262 
 
 Bethnal Green, 71 «<?., 101 
 sq., 110, 113, 149, 150, 
 199, 222 
 
 Canning Town, 113 
 
 Hackney, 26 sq. 
 
 Stepney, 88, 98, 188-190, 
 248, 249 
 
 Whitechapel, 82 sq., 88 sq., 
 
 113, 151 sq., 165, 172, 175, 
 222, 243 
 
 Old City, 154, 252 
 
 South London, 108, 110, 111, 
 
 114, 144, 153, 158, 206, 
 221 
 
 Bermondsey, 114 
 Camberwell, 111, 149, 150 
 Chelsea, 134 
 Southwark, 108 
 West London, 117, 154, 161, 
 222, 244 
 Bloomsbury, 115 
 Hampstead:, 159, 160 
 Kentish Town, 165 
 May Fair, 40 
 Lord Chief Justice, the, 117 
 Low Church party, the, 143, 
 
 169 
 Lubbock, Sir John, 23 
 *' Lux Mundi," 102, 143 
 Lyndhurst Road Congregational 
 Church, the, London, 
 
 159, 160 
 
 Magistrates, abuses connect- 
 ed with the, 233 
 
 Manchester, 61, 70, 118, 122, 
 165, 174, 200, 223 
 Ancoats, 212 sq. 
 
 Manitoba, emigration to, 247, 
 249 
 
 Mann, Tom, 4-7, 18, 20, 22-24, 
 39, 76 
 
 Manning, Cardinal, 15, 164 
 
 Mansfield College, Oxford, 112 
 
 Mansfield House, the, 113, 114 
 
 Mansion House Council, the, 
 on the dwellings of the 
 people, 198-200 
 
 Manual training, 90, 95, 146, 147, 
 209, 210, 251 sq. 
 
 Marshall, Professor, 216, 259 
 
 Marx, Carl, 38, 51 
 
 Maurice, Fred'k, 29, 33, 79, 142 
 
 Mayfield House, the, 110 
 
 Mearns, Rev. Andrew, 158 
 
 Mechanics institutes, 124, 255 
 (see " Working-men's Clubs") 
 
 Members of Parliament, pay- 
 ment of, 45, 75 
 
 Methodists, the, 114, 160-162 
 
 Mills, Rev. Herbert V., 175 
 
 Miners' trade unions, 14 
 
 University Extension centres 
 among, 138 
 
 Mission chapels, 144, 157, 159 
 
 Missions, college, 110-112 
 
 Moral progress, 226-250 
 
 Morality, public, and social 
 movements, 227-229, 234, 
 242, 244, 245, 261 sq. 
 
 Morley, John, 57 
 
 Morley Memorial College, the, 
 221, 252 
 
 Morris, William, 39, 45 sq. 
 
 Mothers' meetings, 109, 146, 158, 
 162 
 
 Municipal administration, 70 
 sq., 198 sq., 222, 265 
 
 Municipalization of land, 68, 69 
 
 Music, the ministry of, 152 sq., 
 208, 209, 212 
 
 Nash, Vaughn, 98 
 Nation, prospects of the. 20, 74 
 sq., 141, 228, 245, 261-265 
 
INDEX 
 
 273 
 
 Netherlands, branches of the 
 
 Dockers' Union in the, 8 
 New Fellowship, the, 50, 51 
 Newland, Rev. F. W., llo 
 Newnham College, CambridgCi 
 
 108 
 Nonconformists, the, 63, 156 
 
 sq. 
 social work of, 156-168 
 Non union working-men, 3, 3, 
 
 12, 18, 16 
 North of England, the, 1, 16, 
 
 54, 122, 124, 138, 139, 157, 
 
 165 sq. , 255 
 Nann, Thomas Hancock, 189 
 Nurses, 145, 154, 201-2U3 
 
 Olivier, Sidney, 60 
 
 Open spaces in cities, 197, 206, 
 
 207 
 "Oxford House Papers," 102 
 Oxford House, the, 101-108, 
 110,113,113, 149, 150,233 | 
 educational work at, 104, 107 
 religious work at, 102, 103, 
 
 106, 150 
 social work at, 103-107 
 Oxford movement, the, 143 I 
 
 Oxford, the University of, 80 
 sq., 96, 111, 120, 155, 156 
 
 Pall Mill Gazette, The, 173 
 Parish system, the, 144, 145, 
 
 157 
 Parks, increase of public, 197, 
 
 206, 307 
 Parliament, 3, 11, 43, 75 so., 
 
 141, 333, 235, 24t, 351, 
 
 252, 357, 264 
 payment of members of, 45, 
 
 75 
 Pauperism, 183 sq., 1S8, 191, 
 
 337, 228 
 Peabody Fund, the, 216 
 Peace, international, labor or- 
 ganizations and, 261 
 Pearse, Rev. Mark Guy, 161 
 Peas'int proprietorship, 68 
 People's Palace, the, 325, 354. 
 
 255 
 
 Play-grounds in London, 90, 197 
 " Plea for Liberty, a," 78 
 Plimsoll, Samuel, 11 
 Political economy at Toynbee 
 
 Hall, 93, 94 
 new schools in, 359-261 
 Politics and the social question, 
 
 39 S(?., 53 s?., 69-78, 361 
 Polytechnic, the Regent Street, 
 
 352, 354 
 Polytechnics, 3.53 sq. 
 Poor-houses, 189, 193, 202, 240, 
 
 249 
 Poor-law, the, 76, 182, 183 
 Poor-relief, public, 182, 183, 
 
 188, 189, 240 (see "Char- 
 ity ") 
 Postal savings banks and in- 
 surance offices, 31 
 Poverty, the bondage of, 171, 
 
 245, 259, 262 
 Presbyterian churches, the 
 
 Scotch, 166 
 Prison question, the, 239, 250 
 societies, 241, 242, 247 
 system, the, 239, 241, 245-247 
 Prisoners, discharged, care of, 
 
 176,235,241,242,248 
 Prisons, reformatory, absence 
 
 of, 240 
 Probation system for young 
 
 criminals, 341 
 Profit-sharing, 35, 36, 224, 225 
 Proletariat, the literary, 61, J260 
 Prostitution, 243, 245 
 Public Gardens Association, 
 
 the Metropolitan, 197, 2li7 
 Public-houses, 230, 231, 236 sq. 
 
 payment of wages in, 2JJ7 
 Public libraries, 88, 89, 95, 130, 
 
 1:34, 258, 2.59 
 Pnsey House, the, Oxford, 6.5, 
 
 155 
 
 Quakers, the, 166 
 Queensberry, the Marquis of, 
 173 
 
 Radical Federation, the 
 
 Metropolitan, 56, 57 
 Radicals, the, 38, 43, 49, 53 sq., 
 
274 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Railway employees, 14 
 
 Reform, a practical method of, 
 257 
 
 Reformatories, 245 sq. 
 
 Reformatory and Refuge Union, 
 the, 247 
 
 Reformatory prisons, the Am- 
 erican, 240 
 
 Rent-collectors, lady, 219 sq. 
 
 Rescue work among wonaen, 
 175, 176, 235, 244, 247 
 
 Review of Reviews, The, 173 
 
 Richardson, Dr. B. W., 232 
 
 Ritualists, 14:^, 147, 238 
 
 Roberts. Dr. R. D., 132, 138 
 
 Rochdale pioneers, the, 32 
 
 Rochester, the Bishop of, 153 
 
 Roman Catholics, the, 164, 235 
 
 Rothschild, Lady, 218 
 
 Rowley, Charles, 213 sq. 
 
 Royal Victoria Hall, the, 221, 
 252 
 
 Rugby Mission, the, Birming- 
 ham, 116 
 
 RuBkin, John, 45, 80, 82, 85, 219 
 
 Sadler, M. E., 119, 138 
 
 St, George's Church, Camber- 
 well, 111, 149, 150 
 
 St. Giles' Christian Mission, 247, 
 248 
 
 St. John's College (Cambridge) 
 Mission, 112 
 
 St. Jude's Church, Whitechapel, 
 87, 96, 97, 149, 151-153 
 
 St. Jude's House, 153 
 
 St. Paul's Cathedral, 41, 154 
 
 Salford, 200 
 
 Salisbury, Lord, 233 
 
 Saloons, 230, 231 (see " Public- 
 houses " ) 
 
 Salvation Army, nature of the, 
 177, 178 
 social work of the, 19, 170- 
 181 
 
 Sanitary reform, 73, 198-300, 
 310 
 
 Schloss, David F., 324 
 
 School Board, the London, 70, 
 74,89 
 
 Schools, board, 87. 89, 107, 194, 
 239, 250, 251 
 
 Schools, evening, 146, 255- 
 257 
 fees at the, 250 
 meals for children at the, 74, 
 
 90, 158 
 national (parochial), 250, 258 
 (see "" Education ") 
 Scotland, 14, 33, 34, 68, 116, 117, 
 123, 165, 166, 224 (see 
 "Glasgow" and ''Edin- 
 burgh " ) 
 Seamen's and Firemen's Union, 
 
 the National, 11 sq. 
 Seamstresses, 19 
 Seeley, Professor J. R., 80 ' 
 
 Shaftesbury, Lord, 216 
 Shaw, Bernard, 51 
 Sheffield, 200 
 I Shieldhall co-operative indus- 
 I tries, the, Glasgow, 34 
 
 i Shippers' Federation, the, 11, 
 12, 14, 15 
 Shop Hours Regulation Act, 
 
 the, 23, 226 
 Sisterhoods, 145. 153, 161, 162 
 i Slums, effects of living in, 195, 
 I 196, 205 
 
 , Smith, Frank, 171, 172 
 I Smith, H. Llewellyn, 98 
 Social administration of cities, 
 the, 70 sq., 198 sq., 222, 
 865 
 Social bond, the, 117, 118, 159, 
 
 185, 245, 263 
 Social classes, the coming to- 
 gether of, 37, 117, 118,159, 
 185, 263 
 Social Democratic Federation, 
 
 the, 5, 38-45, 55 
 Social equality, 51, 77, 140, 143, 
 
 245, 265 
 Social injustice, 192, 195, 196, 
 205, 228, 240, 244, 245, 
 363 
 Social movements and Christi- 
 anity, 41, 66, 168, 169,171, 
 181, 364 
 and politics, 39 sq., 53 sq., 69- 
 
 78, 261 sq. 
 and public morality, 227-229, 
 234, 242, 244, 245, 261 sq. 
 unity of the, 19, 37, 263 sg. 
 
INDEX 
 
 275 
 
 Social system, the evil of the 
 present, 45 sq., 66, 193, 
 228, 240, 215 
 Social Union, the Christian, 65, 
 
 155, 156 
 Social unions, the Scotch, 210 
 Social work of the Church, the, 
 at the North, 165-168 
 of the Dissenting churches, 
 
 London, 156-165 
 of the Established Church, 
 
 London, 142-156 
 of the Salvation Army, 168-181 
 Socialism, Chap. II., and 4, 19, 
 155, 156, 164 
 Christian,62-66, 155, 156 
 Economic, 4 sg., 59 
 Imperial, 77 
 " Socialism in England," 60 
 Socialism, International, 49 
 Revolutionary, 21, 43. 47, 48 
 State, 59 
 
 Utopian, 58 (see " Fabian 
 Society," " Social Demo- 
 cratic Federation," and 
 ;' Guild of St. Matthew ") 
 Socialist Lsague, the, 39, 40, 
 
 45-49, 55, 59 
 Socialist Society, the Christian, 
 
 63, 64 
 Socialistic feeling among the 
 upper classes, 61, 62 
 among working-men, 40,53-57 
 Socialistic tendencies, general, 
 
 69-78, 245, 258-365 
 Socialists, the Christian, 33 
 Somerville Hall, Oxford, 108 
 Spencer, Herbert, 78 
 Spurgeon, Rev. C. H., 160 
 State aid to higher education, 
 141, 251 sq., 258 
 to University Extension (pro- 
 posed), 141 
 Stead, W. T., 173 
 Strike, the great dock, 6, 7, 19, 
 
 21, 88 
 Strikes, 3, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 
 
 21, 138, 235,260 
 Stuart, Professor James, 121 
 Suffrage, universal, 44, 75 
 Summer meetings. University 
 E.xtension, 136, 137. 313 
 
 I Sunday, hours of public-houses 
 
 on, 231 
 Sunday morning adult schools, 
 
 the, 160, 166-168 
 Sunday-schools, 113, 115, 149, 
 
 158, 166-168 
 Sweating, 16, 19, 92, 171, 230 
 
 Tailoring trade, the, 16 
 j TaUock, William, 239 
 Tangyes, engine-builders, 225 
 Taxation of land, 67, 69 
 Tee-to-tums, the, 333, 224 
 Temperance Association, the 
 
 Medical, 232 
 Temperance education, 232, 235, 
 
 236 
 Temperance League, the Na- 
 tional, 232 
 Temperance movement, the, 
 25, 239-239 
 organizations, 231-236 
 Temperance Society, the 
 Church of England, 234, 
 335, 237 
 Tenement - houses, inspection 
 of, 16, 76, 198, 199 
 model, 96, 151, 216-232 
 municipal, 71, 73, 74, 231, 223 
 workers in, 16 
 Theosophy, 61, 165 
 TiUett, Ben, 6, 7, 99 
 Total abstinence, 233, 234, 236 
 Toynbee, Arnold, 83, 84, 93, 98 
 Toynbee Hall, 84-101, 107, 108, 
 110, 113, 113, 149, 151, 
 189, 218, 223 
 beginnings of, 80-85 
 building, 86 
 
 educational work of, 87, 88 
 men, 87, 88 
 political and social work of, 
 
 88-92 
 some results, 97-101 
 Toynbee House, the, Glasgow, 
 ! 116 
 
 I Toynbee Trust, the, 83 
 ; Trade Union Congress, the, 3, 
 I 18,43,76 
 
 j Trade Unionism, the New, 1,3, 34, 
 I 36, 41, 43, 76, 77, 228, 265 
 
 the Old, 1 sq., 16 sg., 36, 54 
 
276 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Trade unions, 76, 93, 190, 325, 
 
 236, 261 
 public feeling toward, 3, 7, 41 
 Trade-option clause, the, 18, 
 
 5:^, 76 
 Training ships, 246 
 Transit, means of, in cities, 73 
 Trinity College (Cambridge) 
 
 Mission, 111, 112, 149, 150 
 Trusts (see 12) 
 
 Unemployed, the, 5, 40, 41, 
 
 171, 244 
 Unitarians, the, 115, 164 
 United Kingdom Alliance, the, 
 
 232-234 
 Universal suffrage, 44, 75 
 Universities' Settlement, the, 82 
 Universities, the, 79 sq., 96, 130 
 sq., 135, 137, 264 
 and the social movements, 79 
 sq., 120, 140, 155, 156, 
 259-261, 364 
 University Club, the, 103-106 
 University Extension, Chap. 
 IV., and 36, 80, 84, 93, 114, 
 115, 212, 213, 258 
 beginnings of, 121 
 lecturers, 124, 127, 139 
 method of, 137-136 
 relation of, to the universities, 
 
 136, 137 
 to the working people, 137-140 
 spread of, 132-124 
 state aid to, 140, 141 
 University Hall, London, 115, 
 
 116 
 University Halls, the, Edin- 
 burgh, 116, 210 
 University of Cambridge, the, 
 79, 80, 85, 96, 110, 111, 
 130 sq., 135 
 London, the, 134, 135 
 Oxford, the, 80 sq., 96, 111, 
 130.97., 155, l-'^^ 
 University Settlement, the, 
 Edinburgh, 116 
 the Glasgow, 116 
 the Women's, 108-110 (see 
 also 153) 
 University Settlements, the, 
 Chap. III., 140, 360 
 
 University Settlements and re- 
 ligious work, 100, 101- 
 108, 111-115, 148 sg. 
 
 beginnings of, 79-85 
 
 financial problems of, 96, 97, 
 109 
 
 lesson of, 117, 118 (see ''Col- 
 lege Missions," " Mans- 
 field House," " Oxford 
 House," "'Toynbee Hall," 
 " University Hall '' ) 
 University Teaching, the Ex- 
 tension of, the London 
 Society for, 121 sq. 
 
 ViCTOKiA University, 121, 132 
 Village idea, recovery of the, 
 in cities, 70, 96, 151, 318 
 
 Wadham House, 96, 134 
 Wages, payment of, in public- 
 houses, 237 
 strikes and, 7, 11 
 Wales, the intellectual awaken- 
 ing in, 352 
 Wallace, Professor Alfred Rus- 
 sell, 67 
 Wallas, Graham, 56, 60 
 Ward, Mrs. Humphry, 115 
 Water-supply in London, 73, 73 
 i Webb, Sidney, 57, 60 
 ' Wemyss, the Earl of, 78 
 I Wesleyans, 114, 160-162 
 I West End of London, the 
 I (see " London " ) 
 I West London Mission, the, 161, 
 I 162 
 
 I Westcott, Dr. (Bishop of Dur- 
 1 ham), 85, 154 
 
 Westminster Abbey, 41, 154 
 I Whigs, the old, 78, 156 
 i Whittington Club, the, 93 
 ■ Wicksteed, Rev. Philip H., 115 
 Work-houses (see 189, footnote) 
 Working class, the housing of 
 the, 39, 44, 60, 73, 74, 77, 
 198-300, 316-322 (see 
 "Tenement-houses") 
 Working-men's Club and Insti- 
 tute Union, the, 28-30, 
 37, 308 
 
INDEX 
 
 277 
 
 Working-men's Club, the Boro' 
 
 of Hackney, 26 sq. 
 Working-men's clubs, 25-30, 53, 
 54, 91, 92, 103-106, 113, 
 199, 206, 209, 220, 223 
 ("see Clubs") 
 Working-men's College, the, 
 
 29, 60, 79 
 Working-men, attitude of the 
 universities toward, 98- 
 100, 120, 140, 259-261 
 leisure for, 21, 226 (see 
 
 " Eight-hours' Day ") 
 non-union, 2, 3, 12, 13, 16 
 assisted by employers, 224-226 
 university settlements and, 
 94, 99, 100 
 Working people and education, 
 19 s^., 25 sq., 36,121,124, 
 137 sq., 209 sq., 253, 255, 
 258, 259, 262 sq. 
 and the churches, 143 sq., 160, 
 166-170 
 
 Workmen's Political, Social, 
 and Educational League, 
 80 
 
 Workshops, inspection of, 16, 
 76 
 
 Women, working, miseries of, 
 245 
 organization of, 16 
 
 Women's University Settle- 
 ment, the, 108-110 (see 
 also 153) 
 
 Women's work for women, 1% 
 108-110,153,175,176,235, 
 244 
 
 Women's, working, co-opera- 
 tive societies, 225 
 
 Young CRIMINALS. 241, 245-348 
 Young men's institutes, 106, 
 
 253 
 Young people's temperance bo- 
 
 cieties, 235, 336 
 
 
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