aOBIMW»WPMni»wiB«Wilil<»iOW»*twWWi^^ MACK AY MaMMwMBOManpMatM i W iii j ii i n — «—i m il MM mmmmmitmimmmmtoti*tt 10^^^ BOOK 2 1 1.B728ZM c. 1 MACKAY # LIFE OF CHARLES BRAOLAUGH 3 T1S3 D0DbS232 3 ^-^^^ Date Due ^m a '51 1 Demco 293-5 LIFE OP CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. LIFE ^o^L OF \(^C ^ CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. BY CHARLES R. MACKAY. // J77 W/io, in the seo'et, deals in gtochs secure, And cheats the unknowing toidow and thepoor. — PoPE. And Ananias hearing these words fell doivn, and gave up the ghost. — Acts v. 5. LONDON: D. J. GUNN & CO., 84 FLEET STEEET, EC. 1888. LONDON : PRINTED BY CHARLES E. MACKAT. ^ PREFATORY NOTE. ^ When the subject of this Memoir heard of its preparation, and was questioned in regard to it, he replied in his journal that no "authorised" version of his life was in the press. If this ^ sketch have any special value, it may be \!^ found to lie in the fact that it is not " authorised," as all previous biographies or awfo-biographies of Mr Bradlaugh have been, but perfectly discriminating, absolutely fear- **^ less, and thoroughly independent. Whatever may be the faults of the performance I ^ now place before the public, I have nought extenuated and nought set down in malice. I never met Mr Bradlaugh in my life, and, for , aught I know, he is unaware even of the existence of such a person as myself. I state VI CONTENTS. this in evidence that I simply discharge what has appeared to me a public duty, having no private grudge to exploit and no personal ani- mosity to gratify. If Mr Bradlaugh be averse to having a true statement of his career placed before the public, that is his affair, not mine. I am more careful of the interests of truth than of the good graces of the subject of my Memoir. Amono;st those to whom I have to acknow- ledge indebtedness, directly or indirectly, are the following : — Mr Merriman, Mr Henry Graut, Mr Morrison Davidson, " Saladin," Rev. Brewin Grant, Mr W. H. Johnson, Mr William Maccall, Mr Charles Watts, "Lara," Rev. Rowland Young, Mr James Martin, Mrs Charles Watts, Rev. Dr Sexton, Miss Edith Saville, Mr G. W. Foote, Mr G. J. Holyoake, " B. V," and Joseph Barker. C. R. M. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY. The Historical Schools of English Freethought, and their Personal Repre- sentatives, frohi Thomas Hobhes to John Stuart Mill, and from Charles Blount to Charles Bradlaugh, . . . . . 1-30 CHAPTER I. Early Life — Education — Leaving Home — Residence with the Carlilcs — In- gratitude, , . , . . . . .31-55 CHAPTER II. Joins the Army — Military Stock Exchange — Oratory at Sea — Boxing Match — Lectures in Dublin— Evidence of Brother — Bought off, . . 46-71 CHAPTER III. StraTige Contradictions — Solicitor's " Errand Boy " — In Judge's Chambers — Managing Clerk — Lectures on Freethought — Description of Lectures — Legal Experiments— " Crowbar Brigade "^Marries Miss Susan Hooper — Mutual Separation — Becomes active Demagogue — Hyde Park Riots — Bravery — Giving Evidence before Royal Commissioner, etc., . 72-92 CHAPTER IV, Quits Employrncnt of Mr Rogers and becomes nominally articled to a Mr Harvey — Harvey imprisoned — Alleged that Bradlaugh tvas the means of detaining Him in Prison — Harvey's Son walks from, North Wales to Vlll CONTENTS. BradlaugTi's House in Tottenham to intercede for His Father's Release — The Youth's Supplications not entertained — Enters into Treaty ivith a Jew Solicitor, a Mr Leverson — Leverson complains of Misplaced Confidence in Bradlaugh — Leverson subsequently escapes from out the Junsdiction of the English Courts — Rumoured that Information which would prevent Brad- laugh's being admitted as a Solicitor was lodged at the Law Institution — Abandons Legal Career, and becomes a Company Promoter — His first anti- Christian Wo7'k — The HolyoaJce "Institution" — Holyoake Boycotting — • Description of "Iconoclast," internally and externally, by a Young Free- thinker, thirty years ago — His first Provincial Debate, . . 93-108 CHAPTER V: Little or no Improvement within the last Thirty Years in the Matter and Style of His Debates — Extract from the Sheffield Debate of June 1858, between the Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A., and "Iconoclast," on " The God of the Bible" — Another Extract displaying his Scholarship, Strategy, and the whole Armour of his anti- Christian Warfare — Effect of Debate, . 109-124 CHAPTER VI. "Iconoclast's" Debate ivith Rev. Bmcin Grant at Sheffield — How Breicin Grant conducted Himself — "Iconoclast" on Jewish Slavery — Brexvin Grant's Ex- planations — DescrijJtion of Debate by one who was present — Quarrels as to Publication of Debates, and as to Cash derived from Sale of Tickets of Admission, ....... 125-129 CHAPTER VII. Hardships encountered in his Early Propaganda — Travelling vAthout Sufficient Funds — Making Headway in Lancashire — Lectures in Wigan — Riot, Windows smashed. Hall Doors burst open, ^'Iconoclast " spat upon, etc. — Landlady of Hotel insists upon His leaving the House — The Mayor threatens to stop His Lectures " by Force of Law " — Debates — Riots on Subsequent Occasion, ,,,,.. 130-139 CHAPTER VIII. To the Rescue of Mr Bendall, who %vas 2^rosccuted for distributing Freethought Pamphlets — Letters to M. le Procureur and the Clergy of Guernsey — "Iconoclast" and Bendall placarding the Town — Free Admission to the Lectures — Riot, Stone-throxving, etc. — Disturbances on the occasion of the Second Lecture — The Authorities challenged, etc.,. . . 140-148 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER IX. Lectures in Plymouth and Dcvonport — Prohibited by Superintendent of Police from Lecturing in the Park — A Field is engaged — Arrested, released, returns to Lecture, re-arrested — Before the Magistrates — Acquittal — Again in Dcvonport— The Authorities baffled — Action against the Superintendent —Result, etc., ....... 149-156 CHAPTER X. Lectures in Dumfries — Excitement caused by his Visit — Secularists kicked by the Mob — His Life threatcnM — He hides by the River Side — Is escorted by Friends to his Hotel — Lectures in Burnley — Incredible Conduct of the Wcsleyans — Meeting monopolised — Fight between Wesleyans and Secu- larists — Lectures in Huddersfeld — Hall Doors broken with a Crowbar — Imprisoned — Liberated — Before the Magistrate — Solicitor defeated — Fresh Tactics adopted by his Enemies, ..... 157-166 CHAPTER XI. Hoio Favour was obtained with the English Democracy — Arrest of Dr Simon Bernard — Italian Revolutionists — Fclici Orsini and Bernard — The Orsini Bombs — Meeting of Conspirators in Paris — Discharge of Bombs — Escape of Emperor — Orsini arrested, imprisoned, visited by Emperor during his Incarceration — Guillotined — Lord Palmerston anxious to curtail Right of Refugees in England — Activity of Bradlaugh at this Crisis — Protected by Mounted Police — Old Bailey surrounded by Republican Enthusiasts during Bernard's Imprisonment — Warders bribed by the ^^ Defence Committee" — Bradlaugh supplies Juryman on the Bernard Trial with a Quantity of Sandwiches — Truelove Prosecution — BradlaugK's Political Work during 1858-9, ........ 167-177 CHAPTER XII. Death of John Watts — Bradlaw/h refuses to "square" Accounts — Watts' Wido^o Fund — The Quarrel with "Anthony Collins," . . 178-182 CHAPTER XIII. Visited by a French Countess — TJie Countess visited at the Grosvenor Hotel — Interviews with Prince Jerome Bonaparte — Accompanied by the French Countess (?) on his Lecturing Tours — Why Prince Jerome utilised Mr Bradlaugh — Arrested at Calais, etc., .... 183-188 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIV. Prepares and delivers Course of Lectures on " The Impeachment of the House of Brunswick " — Educating his Disciples re the Overthrow of Royalty — Gross Inconsistency — Creating Republican Clubs — Wishes a Political Advertise- ment, and requires a Holiday at the Expense of the Public — Conference at Birmingham — Resolutions — Quintessence of Impudence — On the Road to Madrid — Banquet in Madrid — Alleges that He was serenaded — Strange Statements — Hoiu He gulled the Public into ministering to his Vanity — The True Story of the Visit to Madrid — The " Honesty " of the Transac- tion, ........ 189-206 CHAPTER XV. De Bristo v. Hillcl—The Story told by the Plaintiff's Solicitor — Bradlaugh's Conncctiomvith Hillel — His Alleged Connection icith Messrs Lewis d; Lewis — Engaged to take Evidence in Portugal — Ignores his Engagement, after being paid, and goes to Madrid — Imp)osing upon his Republican Dupes — Superhuman Cunning — Seven Distinct Charges against his Integrity — Betrayal of Sefior Casielar, etc. , ..... 207-219 CHAPTER XVI. Death of Mr 2'urberville — Inquest — Bradlaugh present at Inquest — Copy of Turbcrville' s Letter — TurbervUle Legacy — Probate Action — £2,750 to Mr Bradlaugh — 7s it true that Mr Bradlaugh's Daughters nursed their Mother? ........ 220-227 CHAPTER XVII. His connection with " 2Tie Elements of Social Science" — What the Book teaches — Its Publishei — 3Ir Bradlaugh becomes the Paid Apostle of " The Ele- ments" — Receives large Sums of Money for advertising Licentiousness — In- calculable Damage to Morality through his Teachings — How his Teachings affected his Wife — The Reason why He occupied an ostentatiously Cheap Lodging — A Few Extracts from the Bible of the Brothel, the Bradlaughite Text-book — Do Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant practise what they preach? — No more Marriages — Free Sexual Licence— Earned, probably, £10,000 by teaching Obscenity, yet always pleading Poverty — What Dr Agate says about '^ The Elements" — Joseph Barker's Opinion of Mr BradlaugKs Teachings, etc., ....... 228-246 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER XVIII. Disruption in the Atheistic Ranlcs — Mr Holyoake's Frccthovght Connection — Mr Bradlaugh's Cruel Treatment of Mr Charles Watts — Utterly Ungrateful and Exceedingly Mean — James Watson's Publications — Conviction of Cook — The Atheistic Trinity — Prosecution against Mr Charles Watts— Mr Watts persecuted by Mr Bradlaugh on His refusing to Publish Obscenity — Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant become the Publishers of Obscene Literature— Realising £15,000 thereby, ..... 247-260 CHAPTER XIX. Mr Bradlaugh' s Reasons for publishing the "Fruits of Philosophy" — Mr Bradlaugh' s and Mrs Besant' s Preface to the "Fruits" — Bradlaugh and Besant Wire-pulling —Mrs Besant'' s Account of the so-called "Defying the A uthorities " — Correspondence between Mr Watts and Mr Bradlaugh re the " Fruits'' — Public Decency shocked by the Sale of the "Fruits" in the Streets — Every Prostitute in England indebted to Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant- — The two Bs. courting Prosecution, thereby gaining Money and Notoriety — "Defence Fund" — Miss Femcick Miller's Letter — A Probable Result of Her connection ivith Mrs Besant — So-called A7-rest of the two Bs. is, at last, made — Empty Bravado of the two Bs. — The two Bs. before the Alderman — Alderman requests Females to leave the Court, 07i account of the Nature of the Evidence — Mr Bradlaugh objects — His Daughters in Court — Mr Bradlaugh' s Defence — Alderman commits the tivo Bs. for Trial — Alderman's Decision — Mr Foote's Exposure of Mr Bradlaugh's cruel Treatment of Mr Watts, of Mrs Besant's Inaccuracies, and of the Tactics of the two Bs. generally — Pleading Poverty, and, at the same time, en- gaging a Private Box in a Theatre — Veinly the Advocacy of Filth pays — The Case removed, at the Expense of Simpletons, to the Court of Queen's Bench, 261-280 CHAPTER XX. A Common Jury ')iot good enough for Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant — Extracts from the Affidavit of the tv)0 Bs. asking for a Special Jury — The two Bs. toadies to Lord Chief -Justice Cockburn — The Begging-Box of the two Bs. brings in £150 per Week — Mr Bradlaugh's Impudent Letter to those whom he styles his " Country Friends" — The Indictment against the two Bs., wherein the "Fruits" is styled an Indecent, Lewd, Filthy, Bawdy, and Obscene Booh ; contaminating, vitiating, and corrupting the Morals of Youth, etc., etc. — The Trial — Mrs Besant's Argument in Court — Mr Bradlaugh, gratuitously, becomes the Sycophant of Sir Alexander Cockburn, Xll CONTENTS. and the Censor of Dr Kcnealy — "Fruits" Verdict — Appeal— Mr G. J. Holyoake repudiates all Connection ivith Mr Bradlaugh's Obscene Pamphlet, and writes a Letter to the Times — Sends another Communica- tion to Mr Bradlangh — The two Bs. refuse to insert Letters hostile to Obscenity in their Journal — Mr Truelove committed for Trial — He is practically forsaken by Mr Bradlangh, who utilised Him as a " Dirtite " Sacrifice— Mr Truelove sentenced to Six Months' Hard Labour for selling Obscenity, while Mr Bradlaugh realised Thousands of Pounds by the Wholesale Dissemination of the same^The " Defence Committee " are Mr Bradlaugh's Tools — Hoio the Funds were exhausted — " Dirtite " Martyrs versus Real Martyrs — 3fr Bradlaugh contrives to extract more Coppers from his Dupes — Besant v. Besant— Money which should be used for Mr Truelove's Defence used in Mrs Besant's Defence — Her Teachings calcu- lated to corrupt her Daughter's Morality — The "Fruits" substituted by a New Wdrh by Mrs Besant — The Leeds Infidel Orgies — Shocking Revela- tions — No Barrister would plead for the Infidels—" Saladin" on Low Infidelity — Hoio the Crimes a la mode the City of the Plain are to be accounted f 01 — Why did Mr Bradlaugh not repudiate all or any Connec- tion with the Promoters of the Orgies? — The Promoters belonged to the Society of which He is President — Hozv Mr Bradlaugh, ever and anon, worked for His own Glorification at the Expense of the Credulous, 281-309 CHAPTER XXI. Mr Bradlaugh becomes jealous of Mr Footc's Popularity — Determines to crush Mr Foote at the Leeds Conference of 1876 — " B. V.'s" Criticism on the Conduct of Mr Bradlaugh at the Conference — Freethinkers utterly dis- gusted with his Ungovernable Temper —Letter of Mr Robert White to The Secularist of 17th June 1876, reflecting upon Bradlaugh's Vulgar Be- haviour and Tyrannical Conduct at the Conference — A Letter from Mr Foote to Mr Bradlaugh, alleging that the' Latter is Mean, Ignoble, Malicious, Slanderous, Unscrupulous, etc. — Wind-up of the Conference, . 310-327 CHAPTER XXII. Air Bradlaugh and the Press — Working-up Lawsuits against the Press — How his Early Laivsuits u'ere conducted — His Sham Attack against the Yokk- SHiKE Post and a Hull Newspapei — Contesting East Finsbury — His Action against the Clerkenwell Chronicle — Resigned his East Finsbury Candi- dature — Hoiv He proceeded against the Clerkenwell Chronicle — The Ma- terial Parts of the " Statements of Claim " — Interrogatories administered to Mr Bradlaugh — He failed to answer Them — A Hostile Biographical Sketch CONTENTS. Xlll of Mr BradlaugJi published in the Beaconsfield Standard — A With- draioal, an Apology, and £50 demanded — His Demands slighted, his Letter published along with a more scathing Biographical Sketch — Mr Bradlaugh has always been afraid to fight a Stahvart Foe — His Action against the Rev. Breivin Grant — Mr Grant' s Preparations for the Fight — The Charity Organisation Society in league with Mr Bradlaugh — Mr Bradlaugh issues a Writ against the Rev. Breivin Grant — Mr Grant having learned from the Columns of the National Reformer that Mr Bradlaugh ivas exceed- ingly Poor, applied for " Security for Costs," in the Everd of Mr Brad- laugh's Defeat — Mr Bradlaugh replied by Affidavit that He earned (in 1876) £1000 a year, that he received a £100 Annual Interest from Invest- ments in Stock, and that he was about to receive £2,500 in a Present — Copy of Affidavit No. 1 — Extracts from National Reformer showing that Mr Bradlaugh ivas pari passu ivith his Affidavit pleading Poverty — Is again interrogated as to his Means — He further admitted to have £6,000 invested in Italian Securities, and to have a Journal in England worth £2,000 — • Copy of Affidavit No. 2 — 3Iore Extracts from his Journal, the National Reformer, doivn to 25th December 1887, wherein he alleges that He is absolutely unpossessed of Capital — According to Mr Bradlaugh' s Affidavit, He is possessed o/ £13,600, and according to the National Reformer He "earns His Dinner the Day before He eats it " — What has Mr Bradlaugh done for those for whom He professes to have helped 1 — What has He done with the Moneys subscribed to His everlasting "Funds?"- — Is it Mr Bradlaugh of the Affidavits or Mr Bradlaugh of the Begging Column of the National Reformer that is to be believed? — Who now is the "Foul- mouthed Scoundrel," and who is the "Infamous Liar?" . . 328-359 CHAPTER XXIII. Tico Hundred and Eleven Questions prepared by the Rev. Breivin Grant for the Purpjose of being put to Mr Bradlaugh in Cross- Examination — Questions 1 to 17 refer to ivhat Mr Grant called the " American Dollar Stump Life" of Mr Bradlaugh — Questions 18 to 55 have reference to Mr Bradlaugh' s neglecting the Interests of His Constituents — Questions 56 to 71 refer to Mr Bradlaugh' s Methods adopted for Advertising Himself — Questions 72 to 111 have reference to his Early Life and his Slanders against his Parents, etc. — Questions 112 to 155 relate to his "Sales" of Public Causes, and his Oft-repeated Stock Phrase^ " I want to be True; I try to be True" — Questions 156 to 199 deed most especially with his "Sales" or Betrayals of Public Men — Questions 200 to 211 were intended to elicit the Truth re his "Fake" Friendship or the "Sale" of his Private Friends, . . ... . . . . 360-379 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. Mr BradlaugK's proffered Alliance repudiated by Leaders of the National Sunday League — Ignored by other Radicals — What the Socalists think of Mis " Trimming "—The Political Conduct of the National Reformer — Mr Bradlaugh's Connection with the Reform League — -Rejected by the Agricultural Labourer's Movement — Mr Bradlaugh and the Electoral Reform Movement — Irish Nationalists object to His Alliance, etc., 380-389 CHAPTER XXV. How Mr BradlaugK's Irish Policy has fluctuated — Connected with Fenianism — Alleged to Mr Morrison Davidson and Others that He drew up the Fenian Manifesto; and subsequently denounced Mr Davidson as "a Liar " for repeating His Statements — Copy of Irish Republican Proclama- tion — Improbable that Mr Bradlaugh could have been its Author — Denouncing Fenianism, arid at the same time palliating the Murder of Brett — Wire-pulling and ^^ Trimming," etc., . . . 390-396 CHAPTER XXVI. The Question of an Unstamped Press — Mr. Bradlaugh called upon to jind Sureties to the extent of £400 against the piublication of Blasphemy and Sedition in His Journal — Refuses, and " defies " the Governments—Inland Revenue v. Bradlaugh — A Splendid Advertisement for Mr Bradlaugh — The Fight over the Freedom of the Press beneficial to Mr Brad- laugh, ........ 397-405 CHAPTER XXVII. Mr Bradlaugh engaged to Lecture in the United States — How He was adver- tised preparatory to His Arrival — From His Three-and-sixpenny-a-week Lodging to the most Aristocratic New York Hotel — Intcrvieiocd by Press Representatives — " Trimming " at the " Lotus Club " — Lecturing in Boston, etc. — How the American Public uas gulled — Why Mr Bradlaugh shunned the Misses Carlile — Why he suppressed His Anti-Theological Views — Left America to attend Northampton Election — More Money -grabbing Tactics — Alleged to have made over £1,000 Profit from His Lecturing Tour — Lectures realising £30 each — Again in Northamp)ton — Off to America — Lecturing in Christian Chapels — Hob-n'obbiyig with the Clergy — Impos- CONTENTS. XV sihle to compare Mr Bradlcmgh with Colonel Ingersoll — Third American Tour — Was not received as on former Occasions — Health broke down — Return Home — Received from His Du2^es a Purse o/'£169 at the "Hall of Science," ........ 406-417 CHAPTER XXVIII. Mr BradlaugKs Teachings rejiudiated by all Oultured Freethinkers — " Sala- din" versus the Knoulton Pamphlet, and the Bradlangh and Besant Abominations — Mr Holyoake's Want of Courage — " Saladin's " Addendum to Dr Agate's Pamphlet — Mr William MaccalVs Writings against and Exposures upon the Teachings of " Brassy Cheek " {Mr Bradlcmgh) and Breezy Bouncer (Mrs Besant) — Mr Macccdl's Position in regard to Free- thought, etc., . ..... 418-436 CHAPTER XXIX. Mr Bradlaugh returned by the Electors of Northampton — Determined to adver- tise Himself in the House of Commons — Claims to affirm — Requested to withdraw— Committee appointed to consider His Grievances — Decision of Committee — Flagrant Self- Contradictions — His Business Partncr^s Wire- pulling — Swallowing His "Principles" — In Northampton — The Acme of Hypocrisy and Inconsistency attained — His forming the Subject of Discus- sions in the House — A Few Extracts from Speeches made in the House re Mr Bradlaugh — Wishes to have the Oath administered — Locked-up hi the Clock Tower — Taking His Seat on making Affirmation — Clarke v. Bradlaugh — Cardinal Manning and Charles Voysey on Bradlaugh — Strange Proceedings ■ in Exter — Denouncing His Radical Committee as "Cotvards," etc. — More swallowing of Principles — Decision in the Action Clarke v, Bradlaugh — His Seat vacated — Re-elected — In the House — Expelled — Mr Labouchere^s Bill — Clarke v. Bradlaugh again— -Forcing His Way into the House once more — Ejected — Went direct to address his "Hall of Science" Dupes, etc., ........ 437-459 CHAPTER XXX. Inauguration of the Whitminster School — A Thorn in the Flesh to Mr Brad- laugh — His Underhand Conduct commented upon by "Saladin " — "Lara's " Scathing Article on Mr Bradlaugh, wherein He designates Bradlaughism " an unspeakable abomination" — Conclusion, . . . 460-467 LIFE ERRATA. Page I, line 5, for underly read underlie. Page 3, line 2, after asserts add of. Page 5, line 5, for agape moni read agape /none. Page 27, line 13, for he read A,?. Page 65, line 18, for Bentick read Bentinck. Page 90, line 23, for Cow read C<7/<;Y. Page 169, line 22, for san-scasser read sans casser. Page 275, line 27, for he read she. Page 298, line 29, for / read gaol. Page 312, line 24, for eady read r^a^/j/. of England, it will help to a better understanding of the principles which underly modern Democracy, if I trace the germ of the party organisation whose exponent has now become one of the political factors of the age. Mr Bradlaugh is the chief of a sect which has, in certain districts, become a living force, capable of influencing large masses of the people to insist upon the individuality of an idea which is incarnated in one who, commencing life as a Demagogue, lives on in the hope of ending it as a Cabinet Minister. The greatest art of the agitatoi- A LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. INTEODUCTORY. The Historical Schools of English FreethougJit., and their Personal Representatives, from Thomas Hobhes to John Stuart Mill, and from Charles Blount to Charles Bradlavgh. Before entering into a record of the career of the honourable gentleman who has been several times chosen to represent the electors of Northampton in the Commons of England, it will help to a better understanding of the principles which underly modern Democracy, if I trace the germ of the party organisation whose exponent has now become one of the political factors of the age. Mr Bradlauo-h is the chief of a sect which has, in certain districts, become a living force, capable of influencing large masses of the people to insist upon the individuality of an idea which is incarnated in one who, commencing life as a Demagogue, lives on in the hope of ending it as a Cabinet Minister. The greatest art of the agitator A 2 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. is to conquer the intellect of a few leading disciples, and to make them his willing slaves. The people of North- ampton having become convinced that Mr Bradlaugh was ignored by those who dispense the favours of the Crown, resolved to fight the Crown by sending Mr Bradlaugh to Parliament as their champion. When he was rejected, they took upon themselves his quarrel, as a century ago did the electors of Middlesex after John Wilkes had been again and again refused the privilege of taking his seat at Westminster. It was merely the old story of history repeating itself, and, possibly, the historic conflict of the last century may find a resem- blance in our own time which may point a moral that there is a great deal of human nature in men — especially in politicians. John Wilkes was as licentious in fact as Charles Bradlaugh is in theory. In the most con- vivial orgies of the hero of "Wilkes and Liberty," the cross-eyed Demagogue afterwards protested to King George that, in his own person, he was never a " Wilkite." In like manner Mr Bradlaugh, who has enjoyed all the intoxication which popularity can give, is careful to repudiate the imputation of being a " Bradlaughite." John Wilkes built his greatness upon the mob, but when he had reached the summit of his ambition he kicked away the ladder by which he had climbed to power, and he died a courtier and a place- man. It is too early to predicate the end of Mr Bradlaugh, but the Socialists who once worshipped at his shrine INTRODUCTORY. 3 now denounce him as a renegade ; while Reynolds ■openly asserts him that he is a "turn-coat." But this is only the record of a class whose historic prototype was Cleon ; and the race will not end with " Icono- clast." As long as Mr Bradlaugh was the mere repre- sentative of a party whose organisation has hitherto always consisted of the slow, changing atoms of a residuum left by speculative enthusiasts, who prefer the arts of political denunciation to intellectual develop- ment, the opinions of this gentleman, either in religion or politics, were immaterial ; but the case assumed another aspect when Mr Bradlaugh progressed in social strength beyond the mere tribune whose stentorian •eloquence impressed the fickle mob with his views. Now, however, when casting aAvay the slough of liis Republican skin, he, through his most intimate friends, boldly asserts his right to the reversion of a seat in •a Liberal Cabinet — the question of his competency assumes another form. Very few years have passed .since Mr Bradlaugh delivered his celebrated orations on the " Impeachment of the House of Brunswick." He then uttered no veiled threats against the next successor to the English throne, and he did his best to sow sedition, by teaching the doctrine that the mere rescinding of the " Act of Settlement " would effectually dispense with the rights of sovereignty of the House of Hanover. There is now, however, as great a change passing over the public utterances of the Honourable Member for Northampton as there was in the case of 4 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. John Wilkes, when he emerged from his chrysalis role of patriot, to gravitate into a full-blown placeman. What- ever may be the future rank of the anti-Christian Member for Northampton, it cannot but be instructive to glance at the development of the party whose acknowledged representative leader he claims to be, — and we may calculate from the experiences of the past the problem of his further development in the near future. As the exponent of British Atheism, Mr Bradlaugh occupies a unique position in Parliament. He is the field-marshal of a party which, for two and a-half centuries, has, with its leaders, been in historic revolt against the governing statesmen of Great Britain. Al- thouoh its individual adherents have numbered the most daring politicians and thinkers of their time — men and women who have sacrificed everything which the world holds dear for their opinions — yet, while boasting of an ubiquitous organisation controlling public opinion, they are still without a meeting-place superior to that of the poorest denomination of Christians. In the entire British Empire they cannot pride them- selves on being possessed of a hall where a refined audience would not feel ashamed to congregate. The society which boasts of the services of Mr Bradlaugh worships in an Atheistic cathedral, dignified by the title of the " Hall of Science," — a building which has. more the appearance of a barn than of an assembly- room. Its revenues are derived from the sale of liquors in a " Club," to which is added a Dancing Academy,. INTRODUCTORY. O where males are admitted without the formality of an introduction, and females attend without chaperones ; while within the hall is a bookstall bestrewn with " literature," recommending the grossest sexual immor- ality. It was at this agapemoni that Mr Bradlaugh oflSciated as high priest before he became a power in the House of Commons. His present position has been achieved solely through following the traditions of his political and theological ancestors. It is, however, a remarkable fact that in the Freethought party there are now, as there has been from time immemorial, two sections which have carried on an internecine struggle through ten generations of polemic warfare. Of these two sections, one has obtained all the credit of influ- encing public opinion, while the other has accomplished the real work of advancing Thought from the fetters of ecclesiastical bondage. Mr Bradlaugh has vaulted into Parliament upon a reputation gained, to a large extent, by extreme ad- vocates who have given utterance to ideas which have caused much trouble to orthodox champions to explain away. The Honourable Member has spent his political and theological life in slaying the slain. He has, in himself, gone forth to the world as the personification of the Freethought party, and as such has arrogated claims of iconoclastic opposition to the Christian Religion, as well as boasted of a prowess over controversialists whose intellectual credentials would be impugned by an educated clergy. He has, 6 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. from his youth, taken it as an axiom of undoubted fact that there was no freedom of thought in theology, except that which was alHed to offensive descriptions of biblical examples, and that there could be no independence in politics, except when couched in insults to those who had social advantages over his own adherents. This is a mistake which has not been confined to Secularists, and it would be well if it were possible to convince the un- thinking public that every age possesses its own political and religious fashions, which are fair marks for ridicule and argument ; but that underneath all the follies of political and religious parties of a bygone age, there was then as much independence of Thought as exists now, even if expressed in a different style. The writings of Chaucer and the poems of Piers the Ploughman show that the clergy were satirised as freely in the English Middle Ages as in the Agnostic propaganda of the nineteenth century. The rebellions of Wat Tyler, Jack Cade, and Ket the Tanner, all demonstrate that the art of organising political agitations did not originate with modern Reformers in Hyde Park. It is even doubtful if, comparatively, there is more Freethought in existence now than when Bishop Grostete defied the Pope, or when WicklifT appealed to the common sense of the Farm Labourers of his day. Amongst politicians, few will be able to demonstrate that in the Burgess Guilds of Plantagenet, Tudor, or Stuart the people had fewer popular rights than are to be found amongst the Household Suffrage Electorate of INTRODUCTORY. 7 the Victorian Age. Even in the most bigoted periods of the Middle Affes, when Faith dominated King-s, we have records of Thinkers who dared to express their heterodox ideas in no uncertain voice. If the history of the first doubt is traced in theological criticism, we shall have to seek it, if not amongst the traditions of the Apostles, in the controversies of the earliest Christians. With all our cosmopolitan breadth of creed, we have not advanced any further in theological diver- sion than at the time when Constantine superseded the priests who worshipped in the temples of Jupiter ; and Freethought, the School which Mr Bradlaugh al- leges to have sprung, Minerva-like, from the brains of English Sceptics, existed prior to the establishment of Christianity in England. Political freedom, which is fre- quently alleged by popular politicians to have arisen from the conflicts of modern Radicals, existed before the British constitution was evolved from the text- book of Saxon battle-axes and Norman swords. Liberty in England is the most ancient of all her possessions. It is tyranny which is modern, and it is the just and necessary condition of a people who have neglected rights which they inherited with their breath. The party of which Mr Bradlaugh is chief is com- posed of men who, from their want of education, are incapable of deciphering the teachings of history. They base their claim to be dealt with as a political motor upon the simple fact that they are the extreme ad- vocates of an extreme policy. Their most strenuous 8 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. opponents are men with equally advanced ideas, but who have not separated themselves from the right to stand within the ranks of their fellowmen. Of the two Schools of English Freethought, one is composed of Thinkers who keep in touch with the intellectual development of their age, even if considerably in ad- vance of its teachings, and who, like the Ritualists in the Established Church, have preferred to mould its formula rather than to secede from the main body, and be left outside its influence. The other School, which worships at the footstool of the Honourable Member for Northampton, asserts that it stands outside of every party, only to find that it is ignored, except when its co-operation is required on a common platform for election purposes. This is clearly shown in the dis- tinguishing characteristics of the two modern organs of popular Freethought. The National Reformer is the representative organ of that particular cult which adds the freedom of the Tavern to the mysteries of a Maltliusianism which would have horrified Malthus ; while the Secular Revieto, under the editorship of " Saladin," is a journal written by scholars for gentle- men, who, whether working in a College Library or studying Mental Science in the limited intervals of leisure which the artisan enjoys, alike consider blas- phemy an outrage upon the moral sense of the public, irrespective of its vulgarity as an obsolete weapon of intellectual warfare. It is interesting, to a political observer, to study INTRODUCTORY. 9 the lineal descent of the two Schools of Freethought in their origin, and to witness the culmination of one of them in the apotheosis of Mr Bradlaugh, M.P. This gentleman has performed the drama of " Wilkes and Liberty," which he has adapted with the war-cry of " Bradlaugh for Northampton," so as to secure an historical continuity of a farce played in two centuries, the hero in each case being the advocate of opinions in Politics, Theology, and Morals which were obnoxious to the public, l)ut were tolerated because it was sup- posed that, in some way or other, either Wilkes or Bradlauffh was ho-hting^ in defence of Freedom. The Eno;lish Freethinker once had a terrible re- putation, but he has always existed, and there is not a single sect which has sprung from the womb of the Protestant Reformation but has had specimens of the genus which, long prior to the advent of Luther, procreated and brought forth into the world its Rabel- aisian gibes under the protection of the Scarlet Hat of a Cardinal to the discomfiture of the Mitred Bishop, whose sacerdotal functions durst not aspire to that ridicule which Caesar Borgia knew so well how to use to keep the churchmen in order. The mistake made by the masses in our time arises from the want of knowledge of what has taken place in the past. The idea is prevalent that Mr Bradlaugh is the founder of Freethought. Those who are acquainted with the metaphysical controversies which have occupied so large a portion in our libraries, can tell a different story. 10 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. I need not recount many names, but I will mention a few. Amongst the men who set the fashion in reli- gious doubt, Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, was the one who first distinctly diverged from Sectarian Christi- anity. Lord Herbert was one of the earliest of our speculative Deists. If his works had to appear now, the author would be considered an advanced Unitarian, with a tinge of Spiritualism. Thomas Hobbes, of Malmesbury, the father of English Freethought, was only the mere antitype of John Stuart Mill. Amongst the religious world the author of " Leviathan " was looked upon with the same horror, as that with which, until recently, Mr Bradlaugh was regarded. He taught nothing new. He simply followed the Baconian in- duction which had been in use two thousand years before Bacon was born. Hobbes created a school which sneered at the clergy and formulated argu- ments by which the Restoration was enabled to crush theological recalcitrants. He was protected by the " Merry Monarch," who boasted that he kept him as a tame bear for the purpose of blooding the young dogs of the clergy. John Locke was the successor of Thomas Hobbes. His Essay on the "Human Understanding," popularised the method of Hobbes, and it is still a text-book of Mental Science. Locke had a reputation for piety of which Hobbes was destitute, and upon the system of Locke the theories of Scotch and German metaphysicians were founded. These ultimately produced the School INTRODUCTOKY. 11 of Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall, and modern Scientists, with which the leading idea is the ignoring of supernatur- alism. With them religion is assumed to be an ele- ment of human nature, and theology is noted as an excrescence of the imagination, distorted by creeds which require to be discarded in all calculations of speculative inquiries. Hence the school of modern thinkers exists upon a positive basis, which turns the flank of clerical criticism without personal contact, or theological odium. The party represented by Mr Brad- laugh, on the contrary, carries out the theory that Freethought is inimical to the ordinary courtesies of life. In this view Mr Bradlaugh and his National Reformer fitly represent the epoch of Thought which existed at the time of the Restoration, when " Free- thinker" was only another term for one who satirised the clergy and ridiculed the Bible. Contemporary with John Locke was a scion of the House of Blount, who, with Charles Gildon, issued numerous tractates upon the Hebrew Theology, which he diversified with political quarrels between the rival candidates for the English throne. These ephemera were collected and published under the title of the "Oracles of Reason" — a title which was utilised one hundred and fifty years afterwards by Mr Charles Southwell. Gildon was the friend of Charles Blount, who, in the prehistoric days of the agitation for marriage with a deceased wife's sister, committed suicide because the Church placed its ban on the nuptials he desired. 12 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Gildon, after his recantation, lived long enough to be placed in the pilloiy of Pope's " Dunciad." After Blount was Lord Shaftesbury, whose " Characteristics," em- bodying the theory that " Ridicule was a test of Truth," served to popularise the right of dissent from Christianity, a principle which the Independents and Nonconformists had limited to dissenting from the Establishment. Contemporary with the latter was John Toland. He was the first esprit fort who lifted the gauntlet of defiance against the opinions of the religi- ous world. His pamphlets were sold in sufficient numbers to create a sensation both in England and in Ireland. Toland was considered the originator of a new sect which was thought to savour more of political Anabaptism than Deism. Those who believed in the new prophet announced him as a modern Mahomet, destined to found a new religion ; and while his books were burned by the common hang- man, he still had defenders, in the coffee-houses, who magnified his courage and disseminated his argu- ments. It was not till 1712 that even the name of " Freethinker," as a distinct sect or schism, was known in English history. The author who invented the name was Anthony Collins, a friend of John Locke. In the books he wrote he expressly urged the right of a man to think freely, and utter his thoughts with- out incurring the penalties of the jail, or the fear of the wrath of the Eternal. From the date of Anthony Collins' death we beo-in to hear of organised Free- INTRODUCTORY. 13 thought, but it was the Freethought of the scholar, and not that of the mob. So strong were the preju- dices of the clergy against the writings of Anthony Collins that the literary remains of the author were kidnapped by an eminent bishop, who bribed a Grub Street hack to hand over the unpublished MSS. given to him by the widow of Collins to prepare for pub- lication. The conduct of the bishop was, doubtless, considered to be an exceptionally clever pious fraud. Contemporary with Anthony Collins was Matthew Tyndal, and Chubb, who occupied the attention of the public with theological disputations. Their works are still exhumed by the student who wishes to ascertain the polemics of the earlier reigns of the House of Hanover. All of these authors were men who wrote for scholars. The first who wrote for the people was Thomas Woolston, who, about 1720, commenced to issue his attacks on the Gospels in language which appealed to the humorous side of the mob. Wool- ston's tracts created a reading section of the Free- thinkers which is yet in full swing at the tabernacle presided over by Mr Bradlaugh to-day. It is noteworthy that the first trace of Infidelity in Scotland is a record of certain young men, who defied public morality at Ayr, by assembling in a public-house on a Sunday to read Woolston's " Discourses on Miracles." They outraged the feelings of the in- habitants by leaving their room at the hour when the kirk closed, for the purpose of ridiculing pious deacons 14 LIFE OF CHA.RLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. on their way home. Beyond the rabid blasphemy of the gutter, which delighted the gin shops, where Wool- ston's effusions were first read, the modern Freethinker of the " Hall of Science " has not advanced a single step. He has but changed his accompanying liquor, and added the " Club," so as to dispense with the publican's licence ; while Mandeville's " Fable of the Bees " is re- presented by the modern Bible yclept " Sexual, Social, and Natural Religion," — a work in which prostitution is set forth as a domestic virtue. Thomas Woolston's attacks upon the literal interpretation of the Gospels contain the germ of the satires of Voltaire, and they were incorporated (minus the wit, but with all the buffoonery) in the tracts issued by the modern Free- thought propaganda. After Woolston's day an edu- cated era intervened, in which Bolingbroke reigned over a negation, made respectable by his " First Philosophy," whose didactic morals survive in the poetic " Essay on Man," which was versified by Alexander Pope without his understanding its philosophic drift. For a half century Freethought became eminently respectable. Instead of attacking the authority of the Bible, Gibbon " sapped a solemn creed with solemn sneer," and so well did he succeed in his work that the " Decline and Fall " (with Christian annotations) is still a text-book in our collegfes. At the close of Gibbon's career the cataclysm which overturned the balance of society appeared, and the French Revolution inaugurated the epoch which compelled scholars to look for disciples in INTRODUCTORY. 15 the ranks of the People. The reign of the Upper Classes in matters of opinion was at an end. The regime of the Bourgeoisie had commenced. The English reformers were a distinct class, who were first described as the " Swinish Multitude," which metaphor, within a century, passed through the gradations of " Unwashed," " The Mob ; " and finally it has emerged into that of " The Masses" and "The People." At a period when a temporary calm arose in the conflict of parties, when Pitt and Fox alike stood aghast at the boldness of Burke, who dared to " rat " from liis party at the execution of Marie Antoinette, it was found that even his glittering eloquence was insufiicient to stay the ebullitions which had arisen in the breasts of those who had looked across the English Channel for a ray of political light. The star of Fox was paling. Even the electors of West- minster were doubtful of the political divinity of the Whigs. Corresponding Societies sprung up like magic, and attempts were made to ])\it them down by ruthless law. England was quivering in the volcanic womb of an incipient revolution, when a pamphlet appeared on the "Rights of Man," written by a rene- gade Quaker who has assisted in the moulding of two Empires. When Thomas Paine crossed the Atlantic, he found the Continentals undecided as to whether they were Rebels or Patriots. He had landed there big with ideas of English Freedom, and, in his own incisive way, he told the American Patriots the course 16 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. they ought to pursue. They begged this Quaker emi- grant to write a book, which should render their position secure against the headsman's block and the hangman's rope, should King George and Lord North succeed in levying Excise duties in Boston harbour. In ten days " Common Sense " appeared, which achieved a larger circulation than that of any other political tract ever previously published. It was not the arguments alone which made it a political gospel to an eager people ; although, when it ridiculed the idea of three millions of persons rushing do\^'n to the seashore every time a ship arrived from London, in order to ascertain what amount of Liberty King George was going to give them, the ludicrous absurdity of the simile so struck their fancy that it did not require the pellucid clearness of his style to satisfy their intellects as to which was the proper course to pursue. The " Common Sense " pamphlet of Thomas Paine accomplished more in the way of deciding the Americans to declare their in- dependence than all the arguments of Jefferson and Patrick Henry. Had this work not appeared at that exact date, it is exceedingly probable that the United States of America would, like Canada, have remained a dependency of the British Crown. At the close of the Revolutionary War Thomas Paine threw himself into the current of English Politics. For the first time in our political struggles, an appeal was made to the people in the language which the people understood. The " Rights of Man" became the text-book which has since formed INTRODUCTORY. 17 the basis upon which all the political struggles of this century have been formulated. At a period in natural history when " Church and King " was the great party cry of our country, Thomas Paine was burnt in effigy, with the " Rights of Man " around his neck, in every parish in England, under the superintendence of the lord of the manor and the village parson. The author went to Paris, and narrowly escaped the guil- lotine. While awaiting the advent of the tumbrel of "Monsieur de Paris," he amused himself with compos- ing the " Age of Reason " — a work which is now con- sidered by mos^ clergymen of the Church of England as being only slightly in advance of the writings of Dr Golenso and the Bishop of London, and by no means unorthodox, in comparison with many works of the dignified clergy. The " Age of Reason," theologically, like the "Rights of Man," politically, was the first theological work published in the English language, which was adapted to the comprehension of the unlettered classes, as distinct from those who had enjoyed a liberal education. Paine's influence was immense. To - day it is a mere tradition, but it created in England that peculiar propaganda, uniting extreme political and theological opinions, which in their progress, in the great Social Agitations of this century, has done for us what the Encyclopaedists did for France. Why those works of Thomas Paine created such a sensation it is difficult for us to ascer- tain. That they inaugurated a new political and B 18 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. theological era is undoubted. True, in the terrible Napoleonic struggle in which Great Britain was soon after engaged, the heart of the nation was so patriotic that it could think of little else except its national existence ; but as soon as peace was purchased by the victory of Waterloo, political and theological agitation recommenced. The Jacobins, as they were then called, reviving the traditions of the old Pretender, and con- fusing this title with the famed Parisian Revolutionary Club, made a point of studying the works of Thomas Paine, and his successor, the soi-cUsant Peter Porcu- pine — a politician who had many points in common with Mr Bradlaugh, and who was, like his successor, an admirable tactician, who turned his opinions into a "bank of issue, which produced more capital than could be drawn from a Government appointment. Indeed there is a great resemblance between the living leader of the Democracy and the dead champion of the People's Rights in the time of the Regency. William Cobbett and Charles Bradlaugh had both been sol- diers ; they appealed to the prejudices of the same class ; they had in common that painful egotism which affects self-educated men ; and there is little to differentiate between the eleemosynary demands (for ostensibly public purposes), of William Cobbett and Charles Bradlaugh, with his appeals for pay- ment of his debts, when he admits to have earned during many years an income exceeding one thou- sand pounds per annum, while he invests his surplus INTRODUCTORY. 19 capital in foreign securities, as will be seen in a subsequent chapter. Both these leaders acquired at an early age the power of effective oratory, in speak- ing to uneducated people, and there can be little sur- prise that, at the death of Thomas Paine, William Cobbett became his successor as the counsellor of the Democracy. When Cobbett ran away to America for the pur- pose of avoiding a prosecution for libel and slander, he was anxious to propitiate his English admirers, and he adopted a novel way to illustrate his staunchness to his political creed. He, ghoul-like, exhumed the bones of Thomas Paine, and brought them from the United States as a peace-offering to the readers of the Annual Register, which he edited. To advertise and accentuate his opposition to the Government, he refused to pay the duty demanded by the Excise on the supposed skeleton of Thomas Paine. For years it lay in pawn at the Custom-House, till some of the admirers of the great Freethinker redeemed it, as a sacred relic. Like all relics, it was of doubtful authen- ticity. The American disciples of the author of the "Age of Reason" allege that the bones stolen from a nameless grave were those of a negro, and not those of the author of the "Rights of Man." Be this as it may, William Cobbett for many years led the political section of the Freethought party, until he was elected by the freemen of Oldham as their re- presentative in Parliament. During the years of the 20 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. agitation for political reform in which William Cob- bett fiofurecl as leader of the section identified with Peterloo, the other section of reformers were repre- sented by Richard Carlile, whose Lion and Republican narrates the struggles which preceded the first Reform Bill. Richard Carlile spent about nine years in prison for publishing " blasphemous libels ; " and ultimately his efforts resulted in giving us an unstamped press. Richard Carlile was not an orator ; the oratorical part of his programme was taken up by the Rev. Robert Taylor, the author of the "Devil's Pulpit," whose orations against Christianity were extremely popular sixty years ago. He, like many of his prede- cessors, was at last sent to jail for blasphemy ; and from the " blood of martyrs " a party was formed, which ended in infidel lectures being permanently or- ganised in London. The Socialist scheme of Robert Owen at length arose, and drew within its fold all the scattered leaders of Infidelity. For ten years Halls of Science were erected, and mainly used to support the propaganda of Owenism, until its first collapse, about 1838. When Fergus O'Connor became leader of the extreme Reform wing, the contra- dictions in the Gospels no longer formed the subject of Sunday lectures in the Halls of Science, which were then monopolised by the advocates of the " Six Points of the People's Charter." The Socialists at length broke up as a political party. When Lord Brougham intro- duced Robert Owen to the Queen's Drawing-Room, the INTRODUCTORY. 21 Bishop of Exeter denounced his conduct in the House of Lords, and brought before the Peers the allec^ed laxity of the marital connections of the Socialists. The friends of Robert Owen, in reply, alleged that the new " Marriage Law," which permitted nuptials to be con- tracted at the Registrar's office, was satisfactory to the Socialists ; but even Lord Brougham never recovered his lost prestige for daring to speak in defence of the Socialists. It was considered an insult to the Queen to introduce Robert Owen to the Drawing-Room, al- though Queen Victoria owed it to the generosity of the Socialist Leader that she herself was born on English soil ; moreover the debt incurred by her father, the Duke of Kent, for this purpose, was not repaid till twenty- five years afterwards. At this period there could be no real accusation of immorality against the Socialists. In 1840, the Freethinking- section of the Socialists again split into fragments under Charles Southwell, who had for a short period acted as a Socialist lecturer. During the Social Agitation, most of the advocates held advanced views on theological subjects, but their leader, Robert Owen, evaded discussions upon biblical ques- tions. He adopted the policy which has since been effectually carried out by modern Scientists, that doc- trinal Christianity was tine quantiU negligeable, which should, in all cases of controversy, be ignored. Accord- ing to the Owenites, if the " New Moral World " did not require theological support, then Theology was an excrescence which could be dispensed with ; and if it 22 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. clashed with it, so much the worse for Theology. Like all theorists, Robert Owen had elaborated his system to what he considered perfection, and in his scheme there was no room for dogma. The Clergy would not admit that any new method of society could be devised which would exclude the operation of Christianity as taught by the Churches, and the lighting force of the religious world was impacted against the benevolent plans of the great Welshman. At every Congress special instructions were given to the lecturers to deal with the Social aspect of Titherley and New Harmony, and to preserve the Movement from being decimated by theological bitterness. Robert Owen's cautions were premature by half a century. That which he was unable to do has since been accomplished by Huxley Tyndall, and Darwin. The Clergy attacked Socialism as Atheistic in its practical working. In reply, Fred Hollick, Mackintosh, and Haslam entered the lists to prove their denunciations were true. Had the Social- istic lecturers of 1830 to 1840 kept silent on this sub- ject, there would have been no hiatus in England between the Materialistic and Metaphysical Freethinkers who founded the London University — men who, like Brougham, Grote, and LaAvrence, gave an impetus to Thought, but who were chilled into silence when they became compromised by controversial theologians, who have always been ready to stigmatise speculative opinions as being allied with social immorality. Charles Southwell was by no means the ablest INTRODUCTORY. 23 debater or the most learned representative of the Atheistical section of the Freethought advocates. He was a Cockney Infidel, possessed of the usual qualities of the class from which he sprung. Readiness in debate, quickness in repartee, acrimony in personalities, form the basis of a popular representative of ex- treme opinions, whether the speaker trade in Politics or ReliOTon. This leader, Southwell, had s'raduated in the School of London Out-door Speakers, whose elo- quence was as voluble as that of an Irish patriot. In conjunction with a few kindred spirits he brought out a journal which he styled the Oracle of Reason, after the manner of Charles Blount, in 1690. It was the first work that introduced the Evolution theory to the People. The " Yestiges of Creation " had made a profound sensa- tion amongst the learned and scientific, so Southwell took the opportunity of bringing such writings before , the intellectual workmen who were connected with the Socialists. Had he confined his efforts to those abstract speculations, he would not have suffered im- prisonment for blasphemy, nor would he have lived to be the founder of the Erotic School of Freethought, of which Mr Bradlaucrh is now the leading: orator. A few weeks after the Orach' of Reason was started, Charles Southwell was arrested for his ultra-Free- thought utterances. When he was imprisoned in Bristol jail, George Jacob Holyoake, then a young Socialist, flew to the editorial post of danger, where he remained till he was also prosecuted for alleged 24 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. blasphemy. Other men and women volunteered for the vacant post of martyr as fast as the prison doors closed on each successive editor. Dozens of newsvendors were convicted for selling the Oracle of Reason, and its pages were sullied by articles which could only be justified by the wrongs of those who were- suffering for expressing their undoubted right of Free Thought and Free Speech. At last, after a stormy and a brave existence, this journal died, and, phoenix-like, revived in the Movement. The Socialist organisation was fast breaking up. The wealth of Robert Owen was dissipated in an agitation which proved abortive, and which ended by giving us Reforms in detail, which the great Socialist wished to bestow upon us en bloc. At last the insane madness of theological bitterness exhausted itself, and for a time there were no more prosecutions fo;.' blas- phemy. The peripatetic advocacy of Freethought was confined to three men, who, for several years, divided the controversial field among them. Charles Southwell still maintained his position of doyen in ecclesiastical attacks. He lectured out of doors, at Coffee House Discussion Halls, and wrote pamphlets which were destitute of that sparkling vivacity which kept an audience in a roar of laughter, while the lecturer kept poking fun at a reverend antagonist. Robert Cooper was an advocate as distinct in his mode of thought and expression from Charles Southwell as it was possible to be. Cooper was a Lancashire man, who had been INTRODUCTORY. 25 reared in Democracy at a time when to be a Democrat was to be proscribed by all who wore a cloth coat or a silk dress. As an elocutionist and a debater, he was incomparably the ablest man who ever stood upon a Freethought platform. Diametrically opposed in thought, in expression, and in character to the class of London Thinkers, he succeeded in convincing audiences where other advocates left but a fleeting impression. He fully carried out the view so often expressed, of the great superiority and better grit of men of the Northern counties than of those of the more polished South. It is said that the river Trent divides the race of Englishmen, and it is certainly a fact that, if an impression is to be made upon the mind of England, it must be done by men who inherit the thought, as well as the language, of the Northern Counties. When addressed by a London orator, the complaint of a working man is that "there are too many words, and too few facts." The inapplicability of this dictum to him may possibly account for the reason why Robert Cooper had so enormous an in- fluence over the most intellierent amongst the workinsf classes, from the time of the break-up of the Socialist organisation to the era of the Russian War. During this period George Jacob Holyoake still carried on the Reasoner, which existed for many years as the organ of Freethought. Mr Holyoake was a brilliant rhetorician. He was an essayist rather than a controversial advocate. He had the merit of 26 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. being a gentleman, and he elevated his creed until it became no disgrace to be known as a Secularist — a term Mr Holyoake first applied to those speculative thinkers who were agreed in rejecting supernaturalism without labelling themselves Atheists. There was no union of sentiment in the tri-partition of the Free- thinking world. Charles Southwell scandalised his colleagues by his liaisons. Robert Cooper stigmatised George Jacob Holyoake as a " Trimmer." This gentle- man sought to make friends with a class of supporters who were ashamed of being connected with poor men. Southwell published the Lancashire Beacon — a paper which was the organ of his friends. At its demise Robert Cooper issued, during three years, the London Investigator. Upon Cooper's retirement, it passed under the editorship of a young writer whose noni de plume was "Anthony Collins," who after two years was in. his turn succeeded by "Iconoclast," under whose edi- torship it soon died. The Investigator is worthy of remembrance for two things, which have since widely influenced Freethought. It was in its pages that " Iconoclast " was first introduced to the Freethinkers of a class above those who met to discuss the authen- ticity of the Bible at a convenient back street, or in a crowd at a public park. His first articles in the Inves- tigator were upon the patriarchs, and they did not dis- close anything new in biblical criticism. The publisher of the Investigator was also publisher of a book, then preparing for the press, called "Natural, Sexual, and INTRODUCTORY. 27 Physical Religion," by a Student of Medicine. A por- tion of this book, consisting of the "Economic Criticism on the Law of Population," was forwarded in "proof sheets " to the editor, " Anthony Collins," for review. An article appeared in the Investigator which intro- duced the treatise of G. R. (Dr Drysdale) to the Free- thinkers of England. The rival journal, the Reasoner, refused to touch the unclean thing. The attention directed to the new gospel was unwise, but the editor was very young and very enthusiastic. Not having read the medical portion of the work, his judgment was hasty, and although the theory of Malthus might he correct in the abstract, the changes in the method of food-supply in the two generations which had passed since this economical school of the " Dismal Science " had been invented, rendered the deductions from its teachings open to considerable doubt. Immediately upon the appearance of this review, the editor of the In- vestigator received the grave remonstrance of Mr Robert Cooper, who had for so many years led the van of aggressive Freethought in England. Almost simultane- ously the rival leader, Mr Holyoake, spoke, both pub- licly and privately, in the most earnest terms respecting the introduction of matters which were alleged to be false in doctrine, prurient in morals, and, even if proved of practical utility must, of necessity, cast a cloud over the fair fame of advanced Thinkers in England. It had not been forgotten how Richard Carlile had tarnished the fame of speculative seekers after Truth, 28 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. who were associated with him, by his publication of a work entitled " Every Woman's Book." This produc- tion sought to teach wives how to avoid becoming mothers. The Investigator held on its course, and lost the support of those who had sacrificed money, labour, and reputation, in order to advance what they con- sidered as Truth. Before the book was published, means were taken to give it an extensive circulation. Every effort was made to cause its teachings to be advocated by the Secular party. Where the book was too expensive to be pur- chased, pamphlets, tracts, leaflets, and handbills were printed to create a publicit}^, which soon told on its circulation. Added to this, the leaders of the Infldel party who adopted its teachings were bribed by anony- mous eleemosynary aid, with the intention of securing their support. This was soon apparent in the Party, especially so when " Iconoclast " succeeded " Anthony Collins " in the conduct of the Investigator, which, under his hands, collapsed. The respectable subscribers, who, when they had become emancipated from theological dogma, still kept up a religious life, felt disgusted at being held responsible for what they termed "the religion of the brothel," withdrew from association with persons whom they could no longer introduce into their family circle. The Secular party, which had hitherto consisted of Freethinkers of various shades of dissenters from biblical orthodoxy, now became divided into two distinct sections ; those who INTRODUCTORY. 29 followed the historic continuance of Hobbes and Locke, who sought to establish a Church of Humanity free from Supernaturalism, but based upon that religious and moral instinct underlying every Creed which has sprung from Christianity or Buddhism, as it was of the different Faiths which existed before Christ, and have descended in diverse forms to every race in the world. In con- tradistinction to this School of Thought, the new Creed of a Sexual Utilitarianism, as represented by the Erotic School of Mr Bradlaugh has been formulated. Having now brought this rapid sketch of the History of the Freethought party down to the time when "Icono- clast " commenced his labours, sufficient has been said as an introduction to the subject. The active career of Mr Bradlaugh will necessarily embrace a record of some of his contemporaries during the last quarter of a century, wherein Mr Bradlaugh has been the undoubted leader of the Erotic School of Freethought, and in which his organ, the National Reformer, has been the expon- ent of his views, and that of his disciples ; while opposed to this division is the party led by a brilliant, scholarly, and poetic writer who, under the nom de guerre of " Saladin " has succeeded in lifting the cause of Free- thought from the gutter, through the medium of his journal, the Secular Revieiu. " Saladin " has collected around him as brilliant a band of writers as was en- gaged by D'Alembert and Condorcet when Dogma was first attacked in France by the Encyclopsedists. Now that I have arrived at the stao-e when "Icono- 30 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. clast" made his debut as an Orator and Journalist, I shall confine myself to tracing in his biographical career the marvellous rapidity with which Mr Brad- laugh has risen in the estimation of English Politicians, and possibly my readers may be enabled to form an idea of what this political leader will accomplish when he achieves his ambition of obtaining the post of Prime Minister of England, or the first President of the British Republic. CHAPTER I. Early Life — Education — Leaving Home — Residence with the Carliles — Ingratitude. When a self-made man reaches the altitude of a seat among the Commons of England, his biography is studied by those who are desirous of profiting from the example of a career which has been attained through rigid self-denial, even if impelled by more than an ordinary ambition. Every observer of so rare an instance as that of a man rising from the ordinary crowd, by sheer intellectual force, must derive some consolation from knowing that, in England, there is a royal path to fame which does not demand a golden fee for leave to travel on its route. Every town in the empire contains numerous records of men who have risen to eminence by trading speculations, or by trafficking in the labour ■of others. There are countless thousands more of this class than there are of men who, like Mr Bradlaugh, have slowly but steadily climbed into a high profes- sional and responsible rank through the possession of marvellous idiosyncratic powers. Many and terrible are the drawbacks which retard the progress of the self-taught student. He is handicapped in the race of Life. He has to compete with those who are born 32 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. with " silver spoons in their mouths," furnished with the means to carry out a university curriculum of study at an age when such facilities can alone be of service, Mr Bradlaugh has, without doubt, shown that he is possessed of powers and energies which would have secured him a fortune in any occupation he might have selected. He has pitched upon a most difficult pursuit. To his credit be it said that he has succeeded where thousands who have essayed the same flight have igno- miniously failed. Had he remained in the legal profes- sion, and had his ambition directed him to the higher branch of it, he might, as an Advocate, have had signal success, and might have obtained a Judgeship when he felt weary of the excitement and worry of the Bar. His predilection, however, lay towards the Senate, and he sought its poi'tals through the favour of the English Democracy. How he strove for his prize, and how he obtained that which in the prime of life he won — while others pass successively from the platform to the grave without achieving the blue ribband of Demos — will be narrated in these pages, upon authorities gleaned from sources which will be generally authenticated by Mr Bradlaugh's own words. I do not appear as the apologist of Mr Bradlaugh. I represent neither his principles nor his party. With- out eftrontery on the one hand or obeisance on the other, I approach the subject on which I write with perfect candour, and while repudiating the extrava- gant language which is made use of by the disciples LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 33 of Mr Bradlaugh, when attacking theological antagon- ists, I claim that the tendency of all modern Thinkers is to allow to all those who investigate the mysteries of theology, the utmost latitude of thought, without the infliction of any moral or legal penalty. It may be justly maintained that the bulk of persons tvho think at all upon sacred subjects are perfectly indifferent as to what a man's opinions may be, pro- vided such opinions are expressed in a manner that will not prove offensive to others. I mention this at the outset, in order to disarm my readers of the im- pression that I entertain any prejudices either for or against Mr Bradlaugh, or his party. I shall deal with the utterances of this gentleman as if he were a purely historical personage ; and I shall dwell upon the principles advocated by his friends and supporters, as if I were describing a sect or a cult. The materials for this work have been gleaned from multifarious sources. Where there has been any official utterance, I have adopted it as the basis of my remarks, although I may sometimes dissent in toto from its deductions. A biography appeared in 1880, by a writer who apparently obtained his particulars from the lips of Mr Bradlaugh. This work by implication has been certified as accurate by the honourable gentleman, in his dual capacity as hero and publisher. It will, to a certain extent, afford material for quiet reflection, the more so as the book bears internal evidence of C 34 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. having been taken down in shorthand and written out to order. Of Mr Bradlaugh's ancestry I shall say very little. That is a subject upon which his disciples may weave the usual genealogical heraldry of myth and tradition. Whether he is a pure descendant of Demos or whether there is to be found traces of family gentility in his blood — such as biographers love to invent — is alike unknown to and uncared for by those who write to gratify public inquiry. Dealing with a man who has sprung from the people, it is only fair that Mr Brad- laugh should be regarded as his own ancestor. What he did as a boy, what were his favourite tastes and follies, it is premature to inquire into in the life of our hero. When he is carried in state to a great London cemetery, followed by a quarter of a million of mourners to weep at his tomb, as they wept for his great prototype Danton, then will be the time to fabri- cate pious fables of how, while in his cradle, he swore ecraser Vinfame; and how, when he heard of Hannibal swearing (or making "affirmation") at the altar of his country to cherish undying hatred to Rome, he bet- tered the example by registering a solemn vow to ex- tirpate the House of Brunswick from Great Britain ; and how he devised its accomplishment by means of an Act of Parliament, which he mentally drafted while yet in his infancy. There are already sufficient legends floating about the Hall of Science to provide several volumes of " Ana " of Charles Bradlaugh, and place him on an equal eminence with men who have acquired an LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 35 historical niche in the memory of Enghshmen. Suffice it, however, to say that Charles Bradlaugh's father was a lawyer's clerk, between whom and his son there does not appear to have been any sympathy. His father was poor, and his poverty stung his son into disrespect, if, indeed, it did not sow the seeds of ingratitude ; for no record has appeared which leads us to infer that the future Tribune ever sought to solace his parents, or even to study their creature comforts. The love of angling is the only link which reveals the slightest trace of his sire. In the voluminous writings of Mr Brad- laugh there is not to be found any record of that rev- erence due to father, or to mother, or to wife, or to brother, or, indeed, to any human being except — himself. From his earliest days his thoughts seem to have been absorbed in his own advancement. Of late years his egotism has been painful to witness on the platform, and it is but thinly veiled at St Stephen's. This egot- ism is and has been the root of that impacting energy which has enabled him to climb half way to the zenith of his ambition, when he has contemptuously kicked away the ladder by which he has risen. He owed his parents some debt for the education he received, but he who searches the writings of Mr Bradlaugh for a recog- nition of such debt, will search in vain. He was entered at the National School in Abbey Street, Bethnal Green, when he attained the age of seven years. He was under tuition till he was about twelve years old, when he was taken into the solicitor's 36 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. office where his father had been many years employed. Here he remained two years. It is only reasonable to suppose that during this period his father superintended his education. The duties of a solicitor's junior clerk would be principally to copy documents to be kept as drafts. It was here that the honourable member for Northampton acquired that engrossing caligraphy which he has never been able to throw off. At this age, under the supervision of a parent who was a solicitor's man- aging clerk, the two years' employment may be consid- ered to have been of more advantage in acquiring the elements of a sounder education than if the time had been spent in an ordinary middle-class school. When he was fourteen years of age, he obtained a situation as a wharf clerk, at a coal staith in the City Road. His duties here would have been to loaf about a hut on the canal bank, enter the orders as they came in, and receive payment of accounts. From the nature of his occupation, he had some spare time, which was, for the most part, spent in listening to the out-door harangues which, from time immemorial, have amused the district in which he resided. There, poverty is perennial, and Socialism, in all its phases, is advocated now as it was thirty-five years ago, when, united with the remnants of the Chartist movement, it formed the rear-guard of political discontent in the East of London. Charles Bradlaugh, however, could have been only an occasional listener to those doctrines, for his father was a member of the Church of England, and he appears LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 37 to have been, with his family, a regular attendant at the parish church. The future Infidel leader claims to have distinguished himself as a Sunday-school teacher at fourteen years of age. Surely this proves that his parents had not neglected his education, but that, on the contrary, he was carefully instructed in his morals from his earliest years. The period at length arrived which brought a change both in the family relations of this youth, and, at the same time, led to his lapse from Christianity. The Rev. J. G. Packer, the Incumbent of St Peter's, Hackney Road, was making preparations for the confirmation of the junior members of his flock; and it is said that he felt so proud of the tuition of Master Bradlaugh, that he resolved, on the occasion of the visit of the Bishop, to request his Lordship to catechise this neophyte upon the foundations of the Christian faith. This statement did not emanate from the clergyman. If Mr Bradlaugh had not given his personal assurance upon this proposed innovation, the public might have been led to doubt the fact of a Bishop taking upon himself such duties. It appears, however, that the reverend gentleman selected a number of youths from out his future proposed communicants, who formed the usual advanced class for preparation for the coming confirmation. Master Bradlaugh at once set himself to the study of the Thirty- nine Articles of the Church of England, and as this was insufficient to satisfy his intellectual voracity, as a candidate for confirmation, he voluntarily entered into 38 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. an inquiry of the " harmony " of the Gospels. Other and more devout persons than Charles Bradlaugh have been unable to understand the Articles in the Prayer Book upon which the Church of England is by law established, and thousands of volumes have been written for the purpose of " harmonising " the Gospels, without success ; so we must not be surprised if the promising pupil of Parson Packer found difficulties in his quest which he could not surmount. He applied to his pastor for an explanation of the Gospel discrepancies, but whether it was that this clergyman was unable to an- swer the inquiries, or that they were couched in lan- guage which was improper, the fact is apparent that Mr Packer forwarded a complaint to his parishioner (Mr Bradlaugh, senior) to the effect that his son had imbibed Atheistical ideas which might become contagious amongst the scholars who were in the Sunday-school class in- structed by Charles. The parson suspended Master Bradlauo;h from exercisincj his functions as a teacher for a term of three months. To say the least of it, this was an unwise policy on the part of Mr Packer. Had he been a little painstaking with his charge, and had he exercised some tact and diplomacy in directing a course of theological study, the church-going section of the community might have benefited by the teach- ings of the Very Bev. Boanerges Bradlaugh, D.D., while the Social and Atheistic world would lack the eloquence of the Cardinal Bishop of the Old Street "Hall of Science." This suspension furnished Master Bradlaugh LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 39 with sufficient spare time to permit of his attendance at the open-air meetings in Bonner's Fields, where he rambled through the groups of peripatetic orators who discoursed on the " Six Points of the People's Charter," on Teetotalism, and on every other ism that could attract a crowd. The Infidel party was well represented in those controversies which took place in Bonner's Fields ; and young Bradlaugh's ambition was so great that he was anxious to teach before he had learned his lesson. As a Christian, he took the Christian part ; but he was not used to the style of argument which commands success with the out-door congregations who dabble in critical exegesis. So great was his temerity, that he was pre- pared to enter into a public discussion with an Infidel on the subject of the " Inspiration of the Bible " at the Warner Place Hall (?) — an imposing title. The " hall " would probably hold, at most, an audience of some forty persons, who, whilst listening to an argument, imbibed their liquor and smoked their tobacco. The so-called hall was simply a cofFee-shop, kept by Mrs Carlile. In this discussion, the combatants were a Mr Savage and the suspended Sunday-school teacher. The dispute appears to have taken place in 1849, when the couiy de grace was administered by the Infidel, and the most illustrious convert of the age was won over to the ranks of Atheism. The curious may exhume a paragraph, in the " Reports of Lectures " in the Reasoner of that date, provided the local reporter forwarded a notice 40 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. — which was generally done by the orator in person, as in most Mutual x\dmiration Societies. It is said that Master Bradlaugh tried to soothe his pastor by taking the pledge — which (in 1849) was considered one of the visible signs of a person being dissatisfied with both Church and State. It is rather strange that it took a full generation of Total Abstainers to live down the prejudices of the Clergy, as in all the earlier Tem- perance Societies the most prominent reformers who advocated those views were invariably considered to be Infidels. Charles Bradlaugh fell under this suspicion, and the suspicion was all the more aggravated when he called upon the clergyman to refute the Rev. Robert Taylor's "Diegesis." At this point, grave charges are alleged against Mr Packer, which, if true, prove that he was not fit to have entrusted to him the spiritual supervision of young men ; and, if false, it reflects strongly on the character of the fvi'eat Infidel debater. The fact — if fact it be — was disclosed to the world at a public discussion held in Sheffield in the year 1858, between the Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A., a polemic divine, who had then devoted several years in a "special mission to convert Infidels," and who, on this occasion, came into conflict with " Iconoclast." The tenacity of this clerical pugilist was such that, after a period which embraces a generation of platform warfare, Mr Bradlaugh describes the last debate with this divine as the "calamity of his life." In this encounter, taunts were levelled at the Infidel LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 41 champion because he appeared under the name of " Iconoclast." In his reply he said : — " I conceal my name because I am fearful of my reputation. I will tell him why I conceal my name, and then, perhaps, he will not be quite so ready to talk about it. A boy of fourteen, a Sunday- school teacher, named Charles Bradlaugh, began to think, and was foolish enough to believe in the honesty of Christians as well as of inquirers, and in his own name he was foolish enough to speak and publish his thinkings. The Rev. John Graham Packer, of St Peter's, Hackney Road, caused me to be expelled, wantonly and cruelly, from my home, and left to fight life's battle with the world, in despite of the world." If this statement were reliable, young Bradlaugh would have had just grounds of complaint against his pastor, as well as against his father. Doubtless, prejudice may have been so strong in the mind of the young convert as to inflict a permanent wrong on a clergy- man who was evidently well disposed towards youthful members of his flock under his spiritual charge. The world will be very slow to give credit to the accusation brought against Mr Packer by Mr Bradlaugh : that on account of his inability to understand the Thirty-nine Articles, or to reconcile the " harmony " of the Gospels, his spiritual guide should seek an interview with his father, and that the two conspired together to threaten the youth that unless "he changed his opinions within three days " he would be turned out of his father's house, and, in addition to being rendered homeless, his ruin would be completed by his employers dis- charging him within the three days, the utmost limit 42 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. of time allowed him to recant his heresies. It is difficult to conceive such a foul conspiracy to have ever been entertained. A clergyman could not be ignor- ant of the fact that, however immature a lad's opinions on Scriptural exegesis might be, they were the result of some doubt, which could be dispelled only by superior knowledge and reasoning, and that it was his duty, as a clergyman, to reason with one whom he was pre- paring for confirmation, irrespective of the fact that proficiency in the studies referred to are never required previous to a youth's undergoing the rite of confirmation. If it be correct that Charles Bradlaugh was only four- teen years of age, and a Sunday-school teacher, his pupils could have been only of an infantile age : and it is extremely unlikely that any superior pro- ficiency would have been required of him more than of other young teachers, whose doctrinal examination has at all times been limited to the Church Catechism. It would have been a vile and dastardly act in a clergyman to have sought out the employer of this boy and to have extorted a pledge that he should be dis- missed if he did not conform to the edicts of the pastor, who, evidently, was well disposed toward his family. It is but fair to give Mr Packer's version of this story, in his own words, wdiich appeared in a letter, dated 19th April 1860, addressed to the Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A., and was published by him at that time. The letter also contains reference to events of a later period, which shall be dealt with in their proper sequence. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 43 " St Peter's PARSo?rAGE, Bethnal Green, April iMi, 1860. " Dear Sir, — Bradlaugh was in our Sunday-school, and at the age of about nineteen, joined himself to a set of Infidels (the Carliles) who came into my district, and by so doing incensed his father to a great degree ; but whether he turned him out of his house I do not know, most certainly he did not do so at my instigation or suggestion. On the contrary, I endeavoured to reclaim the young man, and to pacify his father. As an instance of my efforts in the latter direction, I may mention the following circumstances : — " The father returning home one evening, saw a board hanging at the Infidels' door announcing some discussion by Bradlaugh, in which my name was mentioned not very respectfully,* which announcement so enraged the father that he took the board down and carried it home with him, the Infidels calling after him, and threatening him with a 23i't>secution if he did not restore the jilacard immediately. " When Mr Bradlaugh, senior, got home, and had had a little time for reflection, he sent for me and asked my advice, and I urged him, successfully, immediately to send the said placard. " Bradlaugh, junior, in spite of his father's remonstrances, and of my advice, continued to be linked in with the Infidels, and was said to be engaged to (Hypatia) the daughter of one of them, and at last got involved in some money transactions with them, in which they made a tool of him, and then left him to his fate, so that he enlisted as a common soldier, and went through great hardships in Ireland, and at length persuaded his then widowed mother to buy him off with money which she had saved, he giving a solemn promise that he wotdd never again speak on subjects of religion, hut only that of Teetotalism. " How he kept this promise his recent proceedings testify. His mother has often complained to me, with tearful eyes, of his cruel neglect of her. " The cause of his Infidelity, I have no hesitation in saying (indeed, I have said so to himself), loas his tinbounded conceit of his own abilities, esi^ecially his caimbility of fluent speaking. "At the age of nineteen or twenty, he used to preach Infidel doctrines in Victoria Park. On one of these occasions he pretended * This perhaps refers to a lecture announced in the Reasoner of November 17, 1850, on " Pope Pius, Pope Bunting, and Pope Packer." •l-l LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. to prove that Church of England ministers taught tlieir jjeople to worship the material sun. " Mr T. G. Williams, a dissenting minister in my district, passing by at the moment, and hearing what he was upon, suddenly turned round, and said, ' You foolish boy, don't think I am going to argue with you, for you are beneath my notice ; biit you are telling a lie, and you know it.' And then, addressing a few words to the by- standers, at once caused them all to turn away in contempt from the young Infidel. The friends of Bradlaugh, junior, used to announce their subjects in this way : — ' On Sunday evening next, Mr will deliver a sermon from the devil's pulpit, on such and such a subject.' " I am happy to say they made no converts by their jireaching in my district, excepting the said Bradlaugh, and perhaps one or two of his companions. " They were, indeed, utterly blasijhemous and atheistical, and were, therefore, too bad even for the irreligious portion of Bethnal Green people. — I am, dear sir, yours faithfully, " J. G. Packer, M.A. " To the Rev. Brewin Grant, B. A." I leave my readers to draw their own conclusions from the initial fact recorded in the life of Mr Charles Bradlaugh on his divergence from home and Christianity. Unless imagination and prejudice united to warp the mind of " Iconoclast " to such an extent as to fix a stigma upon a clergyman who expelled him from the Church, and against his father, who drove him out into the world for a mere intellectual escapade of doubt, we must believe that a foul and brutal wrong was com- mitted against this young and helpless lad. If, on the contrary, a slander has been uttered against his father as well as his pastor, and reiterated during a lifetime to point a barb against the Church of England, and to exalt himself at the expense of his father's memory, a heavy charge rests upon the reputation of Mr Charles LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 45 Bradlaugh. It is but common charity to suppose that, at an age when precocious boys take to reading "penny dreadfuls," investing their spare savings in pistols and dark lanterns, it is possible that the current epidemic of youthful adventure might have attacked this young Sunday-school teacher in another mode, and that the Infidel eruption broke out after listening to some wild oratory on Hackney Downs, which was retailed to his companions. Under such circumstances, the reverend gentleman would naturally feel it his duty to isolate the theological patient, so as to prevent the spread of biblical doubts amongst boys who were preparing for confirmation. Perhaps the lionourable member for Northam]3ton, now that he is approaching the zenith of his ambition, will yet do justice to a father whom he has foully slandered by accusations which are libellous to our common humanity. While on this subject, I am compelled to notice a confusion of dates — which has never been accounted for — as to the age of Charles Bradlaugh at the time of this hypothetic banishment from home. In the Sheffield discussion, Mr Bradlaugh states that he was fourteen years of age when this event occurred ; while in the authorised biography printed and published by his own firm (apparently as an inspired record of his life), it is stated that he was barely seventeen years old when "he found himself alone in the streets of London, with no money and hardly any clothes." It is certainly important to reconcile this contradiction. It would be 46 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. interesting- to know his exact age when the alleged expulsion from home took place. At fourteen a lad could not be expected to provide for himself. At seventeen the difficulties, though severe, would be less. He appears to have made the acquaintance of Mr B. B. Jones, who, hearing of his homeless condition, gave him the promise of shelter for a week, till he could devise some means by which the youth could earn a livelihood. Bradlaugh decided this point by undertaking to canvass the neighbourhood for orders for coal, upon which orders he might obtain a commission. This was work requiring much patience, as when the orders were ■obtained he had to persuade the customer to pay on delivery — a method which is not even yet universal in Bethnal Green. He had some cards printed with his name and address as " Charles Bradlaugh, Coal Mer- chant," one of which, after dark, he placed under his father's door. His behaviour, and the " after-dark " card freak, are hardly consistent with his statement that it was a source of anxiety with him "lest his parents should institute any pursuit." His legal know- ledge and experience must have made him aware that the age of seventeen his father -had no power of com- pelling him to reside under the paternal roof, except with his own free-will and consent. It is absurd to suppose that a father, having expelled his son, would afterwards institute any pursuit to bring him back. Mr Bradlaugh's career as a coal merchant collapsed &t an early date. He is said to have sold " several tons LIFE OF CHARLES BRADEAUGH, M.P. 47 of coal per week " to a baker's wife, who required that quantity for baking purposes. This sale produced a commission of ten shillings per week. Upon one occa- sion, as the story goes, the lady stated that she had heard that her coal merchant was not orthodox, and on that account she feared the bread would smell of brimstone, if she continued to fire it with coals pur- chased from an Infidel coal merchant ! She refused to continue her custom, which probably led to the short duration of the coal agency. The energy of Mr Bradlaugh was, and is, unquestion- able, and I have no wish to underrate his distincjuished talents. He at once turned to another occupation. He Tiad made friends with many Freethinkers, who had every wish to lend him a helping-hand in time of need. One of them M^as a Mr Barnes, of Goswell Road — a manufacturer of buckskin braces. Mr Barnes employed Mr Bradlaugh to act as his traveller, on commission, taking care to give him a breakfast before he started, and a dinner when he returned, irrespective of the fact that he found no customers. At this stage he had a good friend in the widow of Richard Carlile, who, with her son, Julian, and her two daughters, Hypatia and Theophila, resided at the Warner Place Temperance Hall, Hackney, where he had the debate with Mr Savage. This lady gave him a home when he left his father's house, and from her connection with a section of the Freethought party, she was able to be of material assist- ance to him, notwithstanding that she was in very 48 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. straitened circumstances. Mrs Carlile was only the de facto widow of Richard Carlile, and in the life of this publicist, written by Mr G. J. Holyoake, the author has some difficulty in veiling the relationship with a euphemism which would allow of its introduction to conventional readers — a method which has since been followed by a precedent created by the biographer of " George Eliot." Possibly it was in this school that Mr Bradlauoh first learned the doctrines of Neo-Malthus- ianism. Richard Carlile was a consistent Freethinker, of the Erotic School, inasmuch as his opinions were so free as to be bound by no bond of decency, during the whole of his life. Still, without a single exception, he was the most useful man who ever stood in the deadly breach ready to defy an ex-officio Information for Political or Seditious Libel. To his efforts — pur- chased by nine years of imprisonment — we owe to-day in some measure the freedom of the British Press. It is customary to pass his name by as if he were a mere Demagogue, who loved to be in perpetual conflict with the law officers of the Crown. But his defiant antagonism was effective in obtaining the freedom of the Press. He lived in a state of constant con- flict with the Society for the Suppression of Vice, which sought to suppress all publications which did not come up to their standard of orthodoxy. He died poor, and left his family to the protection of a few Free- thinkers, who had stood by him in his struggles with the Crown lawyers. When the doctrine of Malthus LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 49 was believed to be the foundation stone of modern poli- tical economy, and all the leading Economists dreaded the increase of population, he issued his "Every Woman's Book," which was denounced by Moralists with the same fervour as is the " Elements of Social Science," recommended by Mr Bradlaugh, in the present day. Whether it was through the influence of " Isis " (the de facto Mrs Carlile) that those views were implanted in the mind of Charles Bradlaugh, or whether he was the exponent of ideas he had gathered by mixing with the Socialists, I know not. The fact, however, remains that it was at that time the future Infidel leader ob- tained his first success as a coffee-house debater. At this stage of his life our hero seems to have been attracted to the family of Mrs Carlile by the "tender passion." In one of his public statements he describes Hypatia Carlile as " the first girl I ever loved." Perhaps this was the attraction that " drove him from his father's house "(?) The passion does not appear to have been re- ciprocated by the young lady, for she was not enamoured of her gauche suitor, who, at that period, was awkward in his manner, and destitute of any personal graces to have rendered him acceptable to a young lady. He used to figure in the nightly debates which took place in obscure coffee-houses prior to the rise of "Clubs." In every district the unattached Democracy, the Secu- larist, the Deist, the Atheist, and the representative of every political, religious, and social craze, flocked of an evening to the London " Coffee-house," where a dis- D 50 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. putant could air his theory at the trifling expense of ordering a villainous concoction which, by a liberal stretch of imagination, was called coffee. At eight o'clock the "chairman" would read over the subject of the night's debate, and introduce the " opener," who duly made his speech. After the " opener's speech," anyone in the audience who caught the chairman's eye could join in the debate. A fresh subject was fixed for each night ; but, regardless of the title, the " speech " was substantially the same. Each orator repeated his stereotyped ideas. The only benefit derived from attending those discussions was the fluency acquired by young speakers. It was in this school that Charles Bradlaugh made his early reputation. It was then a period of considerable political excite- ment. The fiasco at Kennington Common, on the 10th April 1848, had discredited Fergus O'Connor and the Moral Force Chartists who wouldn't fight, because the same policy had previously ruined Daniel O'Connell and Smith O'Brien in Ireland. The year of reaction (1849) had driven Kossuth into exile, and some thousands of Polish and Hungarian fugitives had sought the shelter of England. They were hospitably received by the English nation, and Bradlaugh took a great interest in their welfare. His intimacy with the Carlile family brought him into connection with the Holyoakes, who intro- duced him, as a promising youth, to the " John Street Institution," — a place which Thomas Cooper has made classical by his historical and biographical orations. It was in this hall that Emest Jones, in the full flush LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. ol of his genius, sought to gather together the remnants of the London Radicals. Association with men of this class aroused a feeling of ambition in young Bradlaugh to acquire knowledge which would elevate him in the social scale. He commenced to study French and other languages, in which he was assisted by a gentleman who visited the Carliles, out of respect to Richard Carlile, whose friend he had been when living, and who inter- ested himself in teaching his children to read and speak French. Bradlaugh was permitted to join in the exer- cises, as well as to share at Mrs Carlile's humble table. Although Mr Bradlaugh acknowledges he was in love with Hypatia, the passion was neither deep nor lasting. After his marriage, he honoured this lady by giving one of his dausrhters her name. While leading; this life in the Carlile family, he appears to have felt that he was encroaching on their narrow means ; and having fallen into some trifling difficulties, which compelled him to borrow about £4, 15s., he determined to seek his fortune in the army. He could not complain of his Freethinking friends at this crisis ; for, despite their poverty, they commenced to raise a subscription to extricate him from his embarrassments. The authorised biographer of Mr Bradlaugh alleges that this fact coming to his knowledge, his pride was aroused, " and this, far from pleasing, pro- foundly humiliated him. It made him realise more forcibly his own poverty ; and then the matter was complicated with the bitterness of owing money he could not pay." It is said that his affections not being returned by 52 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Hypatia, formed one of the reasons why he left the Carlile family. This may be so, but it looks very strange that his future remembrance of the "first girl I ever loved " should be forgotten simultaneously with the memory of his parents. I do not read that he was jilted ; probably he was — ignored. Before proceeding further with the life of Mr Brad- laugh, after he left the shelter of Mrs Carlile's home, I will briefly refer to the Carlile family, even at the risk of anticipating events, as I shall not have further cause to mention this family ; and it may serve to enable us to form an opinion of Mr Bradlaugh's feelings with reference to those friends who have on so many occasions rendered him assistance. From the time when Charles Bradlaugh first left the home of Mrs Carlile and her daughters (17th December 1850), without bidding them farewell, or in- forming "the first girl I ever loved" where he was going, or how he intended to live, there does not appear to be any evidence of his having communicated with them for nearly eighteen years. It might have been mere forgetfulness, but it is not a pleasant feature in this gentleman's career, that those who were nearest and dearest to him are allowed to pass from his mind into oblivion, to be recalled only when they again be- stow upon him monetary benefits. In his writings, neither father, nor mother, nor wife, nor dearest friends are mentioned wath that feeling of reverence which a man should have for the memory of those who have LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 53 helped to place him in a better position. Mrs Carlile a-nd her daughters deserved soTne recognition. Those who search the columns of the National Reformer for such recognition will, unfortunately, search in vain. When Mrs Carlile died, the humble friends of her husband, who had raised money to erect a monument to his memory, wisely thought that this fund would be better employed in sending the family to the United States, where friends would welcome them. The amount, contributed in small sums, was only £20. At this time Mr Bradlaugh was in the army, and was earning money, in addition to his pay. His name does not appear in the list of subscribers, nor was he among those who wrote letters of sympathy. The first notice of even the existence of "Isis"' daughters — save the declaration that Hypatia was " the first girl I ever loved " — is to be found in "Rough Notes" of National Reformer, July 19, 1868: — "We see that among the subscriptions announced by the Chicago Liberal for the National Reformer De- fence Fund is one from Hypatia and Theophila, daugh- ters of Richard Carlile. It was with these two sisters and their mother that, twenty years ago, we found kind words and shelter when, scarce fifteen, we left home and family to enlist in the Freethought ranks. It is more than eighteen years since we last heard from them." In another place he says (N. R. of Aug. 31st, 1873, p. 131): — "After leaving home I was chiefiy sheltered by Mrs Sharpies Carlile, with whose children, Hypatia, Theophila, and Julian, I shared such comforts as 54 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. were at her disposal." It was two years after he had left this "shelter" that Mrs Carlile died. Sixteen years after her death, the silent reproach of a subscrip- tion in favour of a cause for which their father had fought (a threatened Press Prosecution) was the occasion of Charles Bradlaugh's mentioning "the first girl I ever loved," — an utterance which had been so theatrically pronounced by him on the platform. Six years after- wards, Mr Bradlaugh is at Chicago, giving an oration in the city where those two sisters are living. He does not write to say he will visit them, and renew the acquaintance of past years. He does not appear to have recofifnised their existence. He left it to those ladies to accost him at the door of the lecture-room. The follow- ing is Mr Bradlaugh's description of the interview : — " On arriving at the lecture hall, I was stopped at the foot of the stairs by a face which I hardly recognised. It was one I had not seen for a quarter of a century. ' Don't you know me, Mr Bradlaugh ? ' was the greeting. My memory went back to the days when food was short, and when I shared the scanty meal with the questioner,, her mother, and her sister, in Warner Place ; but twenty -five years had sufficiently blotted the memory, and blurred the page, to confuse me in the recognition. Half hesitatingly I said, 'I am not quite sure ; I think it is Hypatia.' I was wrong, however, it was her sister Theophila ; and thus, after so long a time, I was again brought face to face with the daughter of one to whom the English Freethought party, in a great measure, owe the free press and free platform which we use to-day. I only stayed in Chicago that night ; and even the interview on that short stay was painful to one, for I could not help wondering whether, thirty years after my death, my own daughters might be in a strange land, so entirely overlooked as are the daughters, of Richard Carlile, the bravest of those rough pioneers who have led the war against the law-protected Church." * * National Reformer, January 25, 1874. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 55 There are but few men who have achieved eminence in Ufe who would not have taken some pains to express gratitude for such services as were rendered by these poor women to Mr Bradlaugh. Even had he forgotten his benefactresses until then — a period of eighteen years — and had he possessed a soul at all susceptible of generous impressions, he would have placed these ladies at the seat of honour at that meeting, which he had come to address ; and he would have paid a tribute of praise to the memory of their dead mother, who, in remembrance of the proscribed opinions of her husband, had sheltered a youth because he was professedly fol- lowing in her husband's footsteps. He was silent. Reference to the heretic, Richard Carlile, might have interfered with the influx of American dollars ; and on that lecturing tour Mr Bradlaugh discreetly kept his Freethouo;ht in the background. Such was the episode of the early life of Mr Charles Bradlaugh with the Carlile family. There are but few of my readers who will think that the kind- ness bestowed by this poor woman upon a friendless lad has yet been sufficiently acknowledged. She took him, a fugitive from his parents, into her house ; she gave him a shelter ; she divided her children's food with him, and yet he allows a quarter of a century to elapse without showing any desire to mourn the mother's fate, or to inquire after the daughters' welfare ; and then the survivor has to seek him at a public hall, in a distant country, to claim his recognition. CHAPTER II. Joins the Army — Military Stock Exchange — Oratory at Sea — Boxing Match — Lectures in Dublin — Evidence of Brother — Bought Off. When Charles Bradlauo^h failed at selling' buckskin braces, and was unfortunate in love, he determined to achieve success in another line open to all young men free from physical infirmity. His biographer says that " he quietly went out, leaving his good friends without any farewell scene, not knowing what to do, but firmly resolved to put an end to a crisis which had already been prolonged beyond endurance." It is said that he strolled to the recruiting rendezvous of the British army at Charing Cross, where he saw a flaming poster stating that a few smart young men were wanted for the East India Company's Service, who, on being approved of by the medical officer, would be entitled to a bounty of £6, 10s. The douceur, he concluded, would be sufficient to discharge his liabili- ties of £4, 15s., and enable him to start on a new career. Sergeant Kite was at once interviewed. He described the special advantages exclusively possessed by his corps, and explained how every private who had any education would, in a very short time, leap into a good billet, preparatory to his receiving a commission from "John Company;" adding that, if LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 57 his behaviour was good, he would rapidly become a colonel, unless he was drafted into the Covenanted Service, where he was sure to be appointed a Resi- dent at the court of an Indian Prince. The sergeant, however, was a member of a Recruiting Exchange, where the commodity of recruits was dealt in like stocks and shares elsewhere. When there happened to be a " bull and bear" transaction, and Sergeant Kite could not meet his liabilities on settling day, he would " borrow a man " from Sergeant Hawk, to en- able him to complete his engagements. It happened that, when Charles Bradlauo^h took the shillino- which made him a soldier. Sergeant Kite recollected that he had " borrowed a man " from Sergeant Hawk. As a scrupulous member of the Recruiting Exchange, he wished to pay his debts without the annoyance of being " posted " a defaulter. Without informing his victim, he squared his account with Sergeant Hawk, and Charles Bradlaugh found that he was enlisted for the British Service, instead of being enrolled in the East India Company's army. The entire legal instincts of Bradlaue^h rose ao-ainst this little trans- action. True to his polemic bias, he threatened the unfortunate sergeant with all the pains and penalties of the law, and with him all and sundry who were parties to the transaction. When taken before the doctor for examination, he laid the case before him in so clear a manner as to satisfy him that there was a probability of an expose which might, 58 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. very probably, injure more officials than Sergeants Kite and Hawk. The doctor asked him to look out of the window, where he would see a number of repre- sentatives of the army strutting about, and told him to pick out the regiment he preferred, according as he liked the uniform of the men. He selected the 7th Dragoon Guards, and the difficulty was ended by his being sworn in as a member of this gallant regiment. Soon after he had joined the "awkward squad," he was drafted off with a number of recruits who sailed for Ireland. Mr Bradlaugh did not appreciate his fellow recruits. He was the only man amongst the number who wore broadcloth and a silk hat. This was an offence to his comrades, who considered that as soon as a man became a soldier, it was his duty to sell his clothes, and spend the money derived from the sale in liquor and tobacco, to be consumed amongst the "squad," as a sign of comradeship. His kit was soon burst open by his comrades, who evinced great astonishment when it was discovered that he was possessed only of a vocabulary and a Greek lexicon. They used the two books for kicking purposes in a football match. Mr Bradlaugh was not physically, even if metaphoricall}', a fighting man, otherwise he would not have permitted his comrades to make free with his literary treasures. He recovered with difficulty, and in a mutilated condition, his Greek lexicon, which he now preserves as an historical and classical relic. To add to other calamities, he was sea-sick on the short passage LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 59 to Dublin. A storm followed, and the ship was in danger. The captain found it necessary to shift the cargo, in order to ballast the vessel in a more secure manner. He promised to the recruits a reward of £o for their services in performing this labour. The storm exhausted itself in the Irish Channel. When the safety of the ship was assured, the captain discovered that he had been recklessly generous in his offer to the recruits. To avoid payment, and yet pretend to keep his word, he selected four of the leading men, who, apparently, might be troublesome, to whom he gave five shillings each, in the expectation that the rest of the "gang" would quarrel with their comrades for a share of the twenty shillings rather than trouble him for the £4 unpaid. Mr Bradlaugh was indignant at this breach of faith. He astonished the captain by delivering a fierce invec- tive against the outrageous immorality displayed in trying to evade his bargain. His biographical amanu- ensis says : " To the unutterable surprise of everyone, he delivered a fierce, menacing harangue, upbraiding the captain in no measured terms, exposing in lucid language the meanness of his action, and concluding with the appalling threat of a letter to the Times. To this day Bradlaugh remembers, with a small sense of self-satis- faction, the utter and speechless amazement of the cap- tain at the sight of a person so miserable in appearance suddenly becoming so formidable in speech and menace." Captains have a traditional horror of sea-lawyers. This captain capitulated. The mutiny was quelled by 60 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. payment of the amount promised, and the recruits not only helped to save their own lives but received their full share in the £5, as the price of the salvage. Mr Bradlaugh's comrades, not having had the advantage of an oratorical education on Hackney Fields, were gratified at the success of their champion, and his bio- grapher tells us that, " During the removal of the cargo, the soldiers had not failed to steal a few trifles that fell out of the bags and cases, and they were consequently able to j)ly Bradlaugh with a plentiful supply of herrings and biscuits during the rest of the journey," which appeared to have occupied three days, from the time of leaving London till landing in Dublin. He was conveyed to the Newbridge Bar- racks, Kildare, and was duly paraded before Lieutenant- Colonel Ainslie, who, having surveyed him from head to foot, seemed astonished at his ricketty appearance, and asked him what the devil he thoug'ht he was fit for. He was then six feet high, but according to his own account, which coincided with that of all who knew him at that age, he was ill-shaped, awkward in his movements, and he bore traces of being a lad who had suddenly shot up, and had overgrown his strength. He appears to have been popular in his troop ; and, in fact, Mr Bradlaugh always could make himself agreeable to both male and female, whether young or old. At the time he joined the army, and for years afterwards, he was an ardent teetotaler. He delighted to preach on the merits of total abstinence. His first sermon, as a LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 61 soldier, was delivered while standing on a ladder, when he was engaged in whitewashing the quarter-master's room. He was still in his shabby black clothes, which bore painful evidence of having been made for him when he was some two or three inches less in stature. The quarter-master's daughter, observing his pale face, his apparent illness, and the evident signs of former respect- ability in his thread-bare clothes, which were now be- spotted with whitewash, concluded that he was ill, and fetched him a glass of wine. The young lady could not ascend to the ceiling, near which the recruit was balancing himself on a ladder, with a pail of whitewash which he was using. On being offered the wine, he refused it in his elevated position. It would have been undignified to come down. With his customary eloquence, he descanted loudly, and at considerable length, on the sin of drinking intoxicating liquors, and he eulogised a few of the virtues of temperance. At last he had seriously to commence his drill, and he very early discovered the fact that soldiering was not to his taste. He did not like the British army dis- cipline, which, however monotonous it may be, has the effect of turning out the best cavalry troops in Europe. He had hitherto been accustomed to debate with every- one who challenged his opinions, but he now found that the word discussion was not recognised in the ridinff- master's vocabulary. It was difficult for him to make his Rosinante to keep step, to mark time, and for him- self to judge distance. He was too awkward to fence 62 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. creditably, and the troop-horses had such a contempt for his horsemanship that they took a deHght in "buck- jumping." Whenever he mounted one particular charger, it performed certain gyrations, which, as it took the fancy to be vicious or playful, invariably dropped its rider either over its head or over its tail. This afforded fine sport for the troopers, who made as merry with Recruit Bradlaugh as "Iconoclast" has since done with the blunders of a helpless town missionary whom he may have met in debate. Unable to master the steed, he concluded his next best feat was to accomplish a victory over the best boxer amongst the jeerers who laughed derisively at the contest between the horse and the recruit. Whether Charles Bradlaugh had had any experience in the pugilistic ring is a fact unrecorded in the annals of Secularism ; but it is undoubtedly on record that he took the usual steps to challenge his antagonists to a fight, without having any particular anticiiDation of victory. He felt that if he were destitute of science, he had plenty of staying power, and that if he were even clumsy, fortune might favour him sufficiently to allow him to give his antagonist a powerful, swinging blow, which might act as a coup de grace. The fight took place. Bradlaugh got terribly mauled, but at last found his opportunity of administering a powerful stroke, which was registered as a "knock-down." Both combatants had more than enough of each other. They were fright- fully battered. Bradlaugh was on the point of yielding, thinking he had done sufiicient to establish his reputa- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 63 tion for courage, when, to his great surprise, his opponent withdrew from the struggle, and acknowledged that he was beaten. On his way to Dublin, Mr Bradlaugh had, in the estimation of his fellow recruits, obtained the laurel of " orator," and - he had now added to his accomplish- ments the fame of being a pugilist of no common order. The troopers, finding that he was better educated than most of them, cleaned his accoutrements and groomed his horse, in the expectation that he would write their letters, and explain, where necessary, points of law. Either from the habit of reading, or the con- sumption of tea, he acquired the nickname of "Leaves." He was, without doubt, popular in the barracks. One of the customs of soldiers, when leaving a town where they have been located, is to collect wood from any place where they can find it, on the day previous to their departure, because on that day no wood is served from the stores. It appears that Bradlaugh had not been ac- quainted with this custom, for he returned to his quarters without any material for fuel. With that daring for which he was renowned, he crossed over to the quarters of the 17th Lancers in quest of faggots. After con- siderable search, he saw nothing save a dog-kennel, with a ferocious-looking inmate. The dog-kennel appeared to Mr Bradlaugh to be composed of good material for fuel. Without the least trace of fear, he walked up to Cerberus, unfastened his collar and chain, and lifting the kennel on his shoulders, bore it in triumph to 64 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. his post, as a contribution to the stock of firewood. The audacity of the act was rewarded by the good faith of the 17th Lancers, who would not inform on the perpetrator of such a heroic deed. The 7th .Dragoon Guards were removed to Dublin. Bradlaugh had now more scope for the exhibition of his public spirit. He assisted the Temperance party by addressing meetings. By this method he got intro- duced to circles which were not open to many private soldiers. He was sometimes refused permission to attend these Temperance Meetings. When this was the case, he surreptitiously left the barracks, by de- scending from a window by the aid of ropes, and sometimes of blankets and sheets tied togethei- and held fast by his comrades while he was alighting. In this way Mr Bradlaugh kept his lecturing engage- ments. There must have been a good deal of freedom and laxity in the regiment, or such facilities would not have been given as would enable " Leaves " to mix with the civilian population of Dublin. He was invited to take his seat between an eminent Roman Catholic priest and a Mr Haughton, who was one of the earliest Temperance Eeformers in Ireland. A young soldier in red uniform, and a Roman Catholic priest in black, declaiming against the drink traffic, and anathematis- ino" public-house keepers, doubtlessly formed a consider- able source of attraction to the working classes. On Sundays the regiment was sent to Rathmine's Church. On a particular Sunday, a clergyman preached LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 65 a sermon there which he asserted to be " too learned " for the soldiers' understanding. This announcement affronted the military part of the congregation, and " Leaves " was accordingly deputed to answer the dis- course, and expose what the clergyman was pleased to label "too learned." The following Sunday the soldiers were in rapt attention when the parson rose to com- ment upon the letter he had received from " Leaves," but no sooner had he commenced, than the troopers simultaneously dropped their swords on the floor, which was an effectual way of silencing a controversy. Once more Bradlaugh was in luck, for an inquiry, which was instituted for the purpose of investigating the proceed- ings at church, was suddenly dropped while in embryo, otherwise " Leaves " might have had an opportunity of airing his eloquence before a court-martial. He now became orderly-room clerk, and was in consequence released from sentry work and drill. Major Bentick was kindly disposed towards him, and as Bradlaugh relieved him from the work of making-up the regi- mental accounts, he received many and kindly services from the father of the present Duke of Portland. Besides lecturing on teetotalism, he took an interest in local matters. There was a road between the bar- racks and Inniscarra which was stopped up by the proprietors of a powder manufactory. Trooper Brad- laugh investigated the legal merits of the controversy, and concluded, as a result of his investigation, that the landowners had "no case." At the head of the vil- E ■6Q LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. lagers, and assisted by some of his comrades, he ad- dressed a meetins: denouneino^ the conduct of the "land- grabber." The speech concluded, he marched, followed by the crowd of villagers and soldiers, to the obnoxious gate, pulled it up and wrote on the relic, " Pulled up by Charles Bradlaugh, C. 52., vii. D.G. (7th Dragoon Guards)." The landowners, naturally concluding that Trooper Bradlaugh was simply the nominee of the mili- tary authorities, no action for trespass was instituted against him. He derived both profit and glory from this mock-heroic act. He was paid in kind by the farmers, and in reputation by his comrades. Soldiering did not agree with Mr Bradlaugh. He found none of the officers who followed the example of the captain of the troop of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who, when he enlisted as a dragoon, amused himself with writing Greek hexameters over his charger's stall. In this case sympathy was elicited, which ended in the poet's release. Since then, educated men have, pre- sumably, become so common, that they no longer attract special attention, and are no more the recipients of extra favours. Nobody of importance took any interest in Charles Bradlaugh, whose great desire was to appear once more amongst the Hackney Radicals — a pleasure more congenial to him than grooming his horse, or even making out regimental accounts. History is silent as to the relations he kept with his parents, who, by the testimony of his brother, and his father's life-long em- 23loyers, were everything parents should be, and it is a LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 67 cruel slander on their memories either to revile them, or to damn them with faint praise. If Charles Bradlaugh had been a dutiful son, he would not have left his home, and insulted his father by his conduct, while he professed to be afraid of being compelled to return home by his father's recourse to law. This is irreconcilable with the story detailed by his biographical amanuensis. The father died while the son was in the army. It is no more than an act of justice to the memory of Charles Bradlaugh, senior, to transcribe what his younger son, William Robert Bradlaugh, has written about him, when describing his own feelings at the period of his conversion : — " In an instant I was all attention, and I found he was preach- ing on the very point which had so perplexed the conversion of the soul. As, in grajjhic language, he pictured scene after scene in his own life ; so, in like manner, the whole of my j'^-^t life, with all its follies and bitterness, flitted vividly before me, as in panoramic view. "The scene of distress occasioned in the family through my brother's leaving home, was the first presented. This was fol- lowed by my father's death-bed. Though nearly three-and-twenty years had passed away, that death-bed scene, with all its surround- ings, came fresh to my recollection. So faithfully did memory depict the scene, that the interval, instead of being many years, appeared to be but of days. I could see my dear mother leading me by my young hand to the bedside, that I might receive a dying father's blessing. Tears were streaming down that mothei''s cheek, but those tears were not the tears of maddening despair, nor was the weeping that of those who sorrow, ' having no hope, and without God in the world,' but they were the tears of the believer, out of which beamed rays of hope. My father's thin hands were clasped together, and the pale lips moved in prayer. The end |had now come ; for, winging its flight heavenward, the 68 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. spirit of my father quitted its tenement of clay, to be for ever with Jesus. Thus passed away one of the kindest, noblest, and best men that ever lived, fully persuaded and trusting in the truth of the glorious Gospel of Christ, which had been his guide through life, and effectual solace in the hour and darkness of death." In an autobiography written in 1874, Mr Bracllaugli says : — " While I was in the regiment my father died, and, in the summer of 1853, an aunt's death left me a small sum, out of which I purchased my discharge and returned to England, to aid in the maintenance of my mother and family." By these words the world is induced to believe that his desire to leave the army was caused by his anxiety to support his mother in her widowhood. As far as the numerical strength of his family was concerned, it consisted only of two persons — his mother and his brother. As a nomina- tion had been obtained for his brother in the British Orphan Asylum, where he was educated, his mother was the only member of his family who might have had a claim upon his labour. By the evidence of his brother, Charles Bradlaugh's statements are entirely contradicted. It is on record that his mother supplied the money to buy him off. This appears from the following words of Mr W. E. Bradlaugh:— "As in many books and pamphlets containing a record of my brother's life, the statement has appeared to the effect that, in consequence of the death of an aunt, who left him a legacy, he secured his discharge from the army, I wish it to be distinctly understood, that there is no foundation for such a statement, as my mother, and no one else, purchased my brother's discharge from LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 69 the 7th Dragoon Guards on the eve of the commencement of the Crimean war. This explanation is necessary, inasmuch as Secul- arists are constantly questioning the truth of my affirmation in this particular, and my dear mother being dead, cannot be appealed to." It is perfectly true that Bradlaugh manifested great anxiety to abandon the scarlet uniform of the Dragoon Guards. There was a cause for this haste in the premonitory symptoms of a great war, in which we were likely to be engaged with Russia. Throughout the year 1853 there were ominous signs of hostilities in the disputes as to the possession of the " Holy Places." The Aberdeen Government was temporising with a great difficulty. Behind the now extinct party of " Peelites," aiid the supporters of Richard Cobden, was the rising tide of English opinion, which saw in Lord Palmerston the only War Minister who could command public confidence. The empire in- stinctively turned its thoughts to the strengthening of the Army, in preparation for foreign service. It was at this epoch that Trooper Bradlaugh displayed such intense eagerness to retire from the Army. The death of his father formed a reasonable pretext, of which full advantage was taken. The testimony of Mr Packer, and that of his own brother, is conclusive that he per- suaded his mother to "buy him off." Until the con- trary is proved, by the distinct affirmation of the honourable gentleman, this account must be taken, by all reasonable persons, as the true statement. His great desire was to become a civilian, before the outbreak of 70 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. war might require his services in the Crimea. This explains the giving of the solemn pledge to his mother, that if she would find the money for the purpose of purchasing his discharge, "he would never again speak on subjects of Religion, but only on that of Teetotalism." The world knows how his pledge was kept. The money for his discharge was lodged at Cox & Co.'s, Army Agents, in October 1853, a few months before the Russian War broke out, but during the actual preparations for the commencement of hos- tilities. It is but fair to presume that it was money bequeathed to his mother, whose maternal instincts were successfully invoked by her son, who was anxious to escape from the Army, before his regiment was ordered abroad for active service. There is an amount of dis- ingenuousness about this transaction which demands further explanation from the honourable member for Northampton. In his journal (March 29th, 1855) there is an intimation, that money for his discharge was lodged at Cox & Co.'s, the Regimental Army Agents, in October 1853 by S. Lepard, Esq., solicitor to E. Trimby, of Mitcham, a MATERNAL AUNT, by whose death the small funds necessary became payable. But Mr Bradlaugh is silent as to who authorised the money to be paid. If it were his own property, the first per- sonal pronoun would have been explicitly used. In the absence of a disclosure from either Mr Bradlaugh or his brother, it will be well for my readers to know that Mr Lepard, the solicitor, whose agency was in LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 71 voked, was a member of the firm of Messrs Lepard, Gamnon & Co., an eminent firm of City Solicitors, in whose service his father was for many years employed as managing and confidential clerk. For several years Mr Bradlaugh has been interrogated with respect to the origin of this "legacy," but he has never yet produced a copy of the Will under which he was a beneficiary, nor has he given a reference to vouch for his statements, which have been contradicted by Mr Packer, supported by the testimony of his own mother, and by that of his own brother, who explicitly denies his assertions. CHAPTER III. litrange Contradictions — Solicito7''s " Errand Boy " — In Judged Cham- bers — Managing Clerk — Lectures on Freethotight — Description of Lectures— Legal Experiments — " Crowhar Brigade " — Marries Miss Susan ffooper — Mutual Separation — Becomes active Demagogue — Hyde Park Riots — Bravery — Giving Evidence before Royal Com- missioner, etc. Trooper Charles Bradlaugh left the 7th Dragoon Guards with a very good character from his Colonel (Ainslie), who, he says, "earned an eternal right to grateful mention at my hands, by his gentlemanly and considerate treatment ; but I am bound to say that the captain of my troop would not have concurred in this character had he had any voice in the matter. He did his best to send me to jail, and whom (sic) I have not yet quite forgiven." This character was of little avail to procure him employment in London. By his biogra- phical amanuensis, he says, "His first thought on leaving was to assist, as far as possible, in the maintenance of his mother." He does not put this forward in the first person, but, as usual, it appears in the work inspired by the honourable gentleman, which he has publicly certified as a "very accurate biography."* This naive chronicler adds, "His views on religion had made his * National Reformer, 20th Nov. 1881, p. 401. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 73 parents adopt a course of action which might have thoroughly alienated other and less conscientious chil- dren ; but no such consideration could influence Brad- laugh's strong sense of duty." This is hardly in ac- cordance with the Rev. Mr Packer's statement, that " his mother has often complained to me, with tearful eyes, of his cruel neglect of her." It is further placed on record, that "as time slipped by, the little store of money he had inherited was melting away, and, far from assisting his family, it seemed as if he himself would soon require assistance." It would certainly be a source of satisfaction to the numerous admirers of the honourable member for Northampton, if these facts of his early life were definitely cleared up by an authori- tative statement as to his treatment of his mother ; be- •cause it is alleged, by those who are conversant with his early history, that there is no truth in his statements respecting his parents, that his mother procured his dis- charge from the army, and that she derived no advan- tage from parting with her "savings" to effect his liberty. He had a difficulty in procuring employment in a solicitor's office. This was to be expected, after his having wasted nearly three years in the army at an age when legal knowledge can be most readily acquired, and retained in the memory. His personal appear- ance was somewhat against him. He looked like an overgrown lad. Without success, he called at the offices of several solicitors, who had known his. father, in quest 74 LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. of a situation. Amongst others he waited upon a Mr, Thomas Rogers, of Fenchurch Street. To use the par- lance of the profession, this gentleman was looked upon as one addicted to "sharp practice," more after the style of Messrs " Dodson & Fogg " than " Sampson Brass, Esq." Mr Rogers had no vacancy for a clerk, but, after the manner of his class, intimated to Mr Bradlaugh that he required an " errand boy." From his acquaintance with the legal profession, Mr Brad- laugh knew that this was the usual remark made by certain solicitors when they wished to obtain a man's service at the salary of a junior clerk. " What wages do you give your errand boy ? " inquired the applicant. " Ten shillings per week," was the reply made by Mr Rogers. " Then I'll take the situation," rejoined Mr. Brad- lauffh, and the eng-agement was concluded. With that acuteness which forms a part of his nature, the legal " errand boy " soon proved his ability to act as a clerk. His duties were to attend summonses at Judges' Chambers, serve writs, and manage the various transactions in a common law office. At this time the " Common Law Procedure Act " was coming into operation, on the demise of John Doe and Richard Roe. In a bustling office like Mr Roger's, very little knowledge of the theory of law was required, but it was requisite to know a good deal of what is called " practice " at the public offices. There is a great con- trast in the working of the legal business of a general LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 75 practitioner and that of an ordinary chancery firm. In the latter some knowledge of legal principles is in- dispensable. Prior to the amalgamation of Chancery and Common Law in the Judicature Acts of 1874, a London attorney could get on very well, provided he had a sharp clerk, possessed of an unlimited amount of assurance. Under the old system a lawyer's clerk was valuable to his employer, in proportion to his smartness in taking advantage of his opponent at Judges' Chambers. If he could get " substituted ser- vice " on a writ, by which the cost of two or three extra affidavits could be filed, and thereby " pile up the agony," in regard to the bill of costs ; or, if he succeeded in getting a master's order upon an ex parte application, supported by an affidavit of the non-attend- ance of his opponent, who was for the nioment em- ployed in another court, he could command a good salary. If, in addition, he were able to cajole a master into granting him "leave to appear" to a writ under the Bill of Exchange Act on a " fishy affidavit," or to "snap a judgment" in the absence of the defendant's solicitor, he would be invaluable to his employer. Those qualifications, if qualifications they be, were possessed by Mr Bradlaugh. He was fully equal to accomplishing all that an attorney's clerk was expected to do for his master's client. Attendance at Judo-es' Chambers was to him a personal pleasure. His polemic instincts and debating powers placed him in a superior position to that of any rival whom he had to encounter. Every 76 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Jew lawyer who had curtailed Moses into Moss, and who had converted Levy into Lewis, recognised in Mr Brad- laugh a stalwart foe. When enforcing his eloquent applications on the master or judge, his eyes used to play a curious part. He would, by a species of banter, and by the elevation of his eyebrows, make it appear that his opponent was committing some grand blunder, which the presiding genius was unable to grasp, and who, rather than show his ignorance, or reveal that he had been half asleep, would rapidly scrawl the magic words: "Order," "No Order:" or "Costs, to be Costs in the Cause." Mr Rogers boasted that his " errand-boy " was a treasure, and his " errand-boy " soon proved his ability to be promoted to the position of "managing clerk." He had nobody to manage, except the traditional office- boy, who plays with the ruler while balancing himself on an office stool. Business came to Mr Thomas Rogers. During the time Mr Bradlaugh remained in his service he gave that satisfaction which success always com- mands. It was in Mr Rogers' office where he acquir- ed that profound knowledge of Common Law which he has since utilised in so many encounters, both for himself and on behalf of the public. As Mr Rogers' business was not very extensive, Mr Bradlaugh had considerable spare time on his hands, which he spent in trying to augment his fixed salary. He obtained some evening work in connection with a Building Society, Besides this extra employment, his ambition and his LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 77 superfluous energies, directed him to deliver lectures in the East End, by which he probably received moderate sums of money. It is alleged that Mr Rogers was at once deluged with anonymous letters, complaining of the ideas and teachings of his infidel clerk. This is an im- probable statement, because the number of persons in London who would know of a lawyer's clerk's religion, or want of it, would be infinitesimal, and whatever might be the nature of the " religion," it would not affect in any degree the class of practice carried on by Mr Rogers. Mr Bradlaugh informs us, that his employer treated the anonymous letters with the greatest con- tempt, and that he simply " asked Bradlaugh not to allow his propaganda to become an injury to the busi- ness." This is one of the reasons given to the world why he assumed the name of "Iconoclast," under which noTYi de guerre he lectured from 1855 to 1868. In addition to his regular employment with Mr Rogers, he now found time to deliver two or three lectures per week, irrespective of his Sunday discourses. He gradually grew popular amongst his party. At that time George Jacob Holyoake was leader of the London Freethinkers, and for politic reasons he dis- approved of the style of anti-theological declamation which was used against the clergy. To stand on a public common and deliver a harangue against patri- archal concubinage, or the peculiar laws set out in Leviticus, was considered by the then Secularist leader to be out of place in the present age. The leading 78 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. opinion of modern Freethinkers, as well as of modern Scientists, upon this jDoint, is that beside the Cere- monial Law, — which is not binding upon Christians, — there is a great deal in the Scriptures which exclu- sively concerned the ancient Jews, with which we have nothing to do ; and that there is very little of the teachings in the New Testament, which have not been incorporated from pre-Christian compositions and pre- Christian religions, and that these teachings form to- day the basis of all existing religions. It is farther contended by cultured Freethinkers, that it would be better for those who cannot accept Christian Theo- logy en hloc, to agree with Christians in as many points as possible, instead of differing from them on all points. This policy has been repudiated by Mr Bradlaugh. He has learned from his Atheistical asso- ciates their system of irritating controversy, and he has used it without reaping satisfactory results. The cardinal principle in the advocacy of Mr Bradlaugh and his School is, to insult the feelings of those whom they profess they are anxious to convince. Accordingly, in the Reasoner, the then recognised organ of Secularism, there is little, if any, notice of the class of lectures delivered by "Iconoclast." They had no more influence on the progress of Free Enquiry, than has the recital in English history of the quar- rels of the painted barbarians — our remote ancestors — over the Channel Fleet of to-day. "Iconoclast's" out-door lectures were, for several years, all of one LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 79 genus. They may be described as violent declamations setting out the objections of uneducated persons against the " truth " of the Bible, on account of the con- tradictions in the concurrent narratives contained in the first and second chapters of Genesis, as to the origin of the world. They held, and still hold, up to ridicule, the Mosaic story of the " Creation." They object to light being in existence before the "creation" of the Sun. They insist upon the narrative of the creation being read as of several literal days of twenty-four hours each. They repudiate the modern, scientific, suggestion of each day being a geological epoch. They treat the fall of Adam as a solar myth. They compare the Noachian flood with that of Deuca- lion. They deny the possibility of a universal deluge ; they criticise antediluvian chronology ; they stigmatise the Patriarchs as immoral ; they object to the policy of the Mosaic Laws, and they try generally to find contradictions and literal inaccuracies in the Old Testament records. This was, and is, the staple of all " Iconoclast's " lectures. Educated Freethinkers repudiated such attacks upon the Bible and its defenders. Their arguments have always been directed against the supernaturalism of the sacred narratives. They have consistently ad- mitted the moral and religious basis of Christianity ; while they have denied the miraculous character of the Saviour, and treated the idea as the natural out- growth of myth. The main points which have difi'eren- 80 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. tiated the School o£ "Iconoclast" from that of edu- cated Freethinkers are, that the former seek to obtain their end through the agencies of satire, ridicule, and buffoonery ; while the latter, disagreeing as they do with the Christian, attack Christianity's dogmatic excres- cences, discriminate between what is genuine and what is artificial, separate its morals from its theology, and join on common ground with the Christian upon the whole of the ethical teaching of the Founder or Founders of the Christian Church. This is far in advance of the teachings of the Bradlaughites, who meet in Halls of Science, on public commons, under railway arches, and at street corners, with the design of lacer- ating the feelings of their opponents by allusions to disgusting biblical subjects. The Scientist, who ignores Christianity as a divinely-appointed religion, is always ready to unite with Christians on the broad ground of the code of morals, extracted from pre-Christian religions, and incorporated into the Gospels. Viewing, then, the early efforts of " Iconoclast " on this basis, my readers will not be surprised to find that his labours have not been productive of any consider- able educated secession from Christianity. Those per- sons who became detached from the Common Faith, by his ecclesiastical denunciations, have sprung from that section of society which delights in controversy for its own dear sake, and of which the excitable zealots of ultra-protestantism afford the best examples. At the veiy outset of his career this class of followers attached LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 81 themselves to Mr Bradlaugh, and on their finding that he was connected with the hiw, they frequently availed themselves of his legal knowledge. A curious instance of this happened in respect to a "Working Man's Hall," in Goldsmith's Row, Hackney Road, which had been built on ground without a lease or conveyance from the freeholder. The story points out the legal acumen of Mr Bradlaugh, and explains how, at a very early period in his career, he was in the habit of inaugurating bold legal experiments. The owner of the land proposed to give those political enthusiasts sufficient ground on which to erect a meeting-place, and, in order to more effec- tually get them into his power, he gave a donation towards the building fund. When the hall was erected,, the freeholder took an early opportunity of quarreling with his associates. He asserted his right to the entire building, which, by law, he was justified in doing, in the absence of a proper conveyance. Mr Bradlaugh was consulted. He advised his clients that they had no case. He recommended them to offer " a penalty rent " of £20 per year, to be allowed to retain possession. This offer was refused. It would have been useless to incur lefi^al expenses in trying to enforce a lease from an Equity Court, as no lease had been promised by the freeholder, Mr Bradlaugh took the law into his own hands. He advised the frequenters of the hall to meet together and organise a force which would be sufficient to remove tlie building in toto in a few hours. A vacant piece of ground was procured, to which they determined to cart if ^^s 82 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGB, M.P. the material. Early one morning, about one hundred 11:1 en congregated together, took forcible possession of the hall, and immediately commenced to ply their pick- axes on the fated building. The woodwork was soon removed. Doors, jambs, and windows were taken away. The gas - pij)ing, and everything of value, was soon •detached and hurried off the premises. When this was •accomplished, men mounted the roof, unfastened the slates from the rafters and dropped them into the carts below^ by which they were conveyed out of the reach of the enemy. Mr Bradlaugh was in the midst of his little army, acting as their legal adviser, but not interfering with the actual building, by way of demolishing it. After the men had been at work a few hours, the alarm was ■conveyed to the freeholder. He soon arrived on the spot and rushed into the arena, to threaten everybody with legal vengeance. He fetched the police. Mr Brad- laugh denied their right of interference. On going inside the building, the freeholder was affectionately ■cautioned against the risk of having a slate " accidentally " dropped on his head. He now rushed off to his solicitor, who also hurried to the scene in order to give verbal notice, to any whom it might concern, of an immediate application to the Court of Chancery for a Restraining Injunction. Mr Bradlaugh was still on the ground, as an "innocent spectator." He was, however, acting as a legal adviser to the " Crowbar Brigade." To the by- standers he did not appear to be personally taking any part in the business. Nothing could be done with him. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 83 The solicitor returned to his office to draw an affidavit upon which to found an ex-iJarte Injunction. The affidavit was sworn, counsel briefed, and motion was made to a Vice-Chancellor who granted a re- strainins: order. It had to be served before it could be enforced. By the time the clerk returned for this purpose, the " brave one hundred " had done their work. The freeholder was left in possession of his ground, and the materials of the " Working ]\Ien's Hall " had all been removed. Although Mr Bradlaugh has performed many smart and clever actions, perhaps none of them have excelled in thoughtfulness and in calm and de- liberate judgment this novel way of procuring justice for poor men who had no locus standi in a Court of Law. Within a few months of his leaving the army, and during the earlier period of his employment with Mr Kogers, Mr Bradlaugh joined the ranks of the Benedicts. The " first girl I ever loved " was speedily forgotten. His nuptials were celebrated with Miss Susan Hooper, a respectable servant girl, whose father, a steady working plasterer, for many years kept a coffee-house adjacent to Leadenhall Market. Miss Hooper prided herself on her attractions, as having been " the prettiest housemaid in Canonbury Square." Three children were born of this union. Two daughters, who are living, and one son, who died at an early age. It ^would be improper to comment upon the marital relations which existed between Mr and Mrs Bradlaugh, but I may 84 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. observe that, at the period when Mr Bradlaugh devoted himself to the advocacy of the " Elements of Social Science," the relations between husband and wife were, to the outer world, of a very strained character, and the strained relationships (ultimately) resulted in a separa- tion, which existed at the death of Mrs Bradlaugh in 1875, prior to M]-s Besant's becoming a business partner. During the year 1855, "Iconoclast" commenced that political agitation which has since formed the greatest labour in his career. At that period, there was not to be found a very prominent London dema- gogue. Ernest Jones, who had been the principal me- tropolitan agitator, was worn out by unproductive labour, and overwhelmed with debt. No man was more adored by a section of the people, and yet he was distrusted by the bulk of the working classes. The attacks which he made on Fergus O'Connor, in a novel in which he ridiculed the character of the Chartist leader, had disaffected the remnant of the " Old Guard." Notwithstanding his poetic style, his brilliant word- painting, and the charm with which he invested every subject he touched, the want of personal following" showed there was a chasm between Ernest Jones and the agitating Radicals, which could not be bridged. His organ. The Peoijle, at length collapsed. It could not rival the influence or circulation of Reynolds' Newspaper. That was the one drop which to him was more bitter than wormwood. His Chartist satellites would no longer revolve round his leadership. They evolved LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 85 new orbits for themselves, before they were finally shattered into fragments by their inability to command an audience capable of influencing the people. At last Ernest Jones abandoned London Radicalism, when he found that even his magniflcent series of lectures on political subjects delivered at St Martin's Hall would not defray expenses. He submitted to fate, and sadly left the metropolis for Manchester, to return to his work as a barrister, and it would have been well for him had he never abandoned the Bar for Politics. He by his profession earned sufficient money to support himself in a sphere of usefulness, at a time when his voice was broken, and when he was but the wreck of his former self. Thomas Cooper, another great speaker, in like manner became exhausted. He had also failed to create a position in London. He had changed his religious creed, and the London Radicals looked upon him as a turncoat, although he had fought the bravest fight for freedom of any man who ever defended him- self against a prosecution for sedition. For nine days he had held Sir William Follett, the first advocate of the day, at defiance, and, like William Hone, who, fifty years before, broke the heart of Lord Chief-Justice Ellenborough, when he beat the Government prosecu- tion on the question of the political parodies, as did Cooper shorten the life of Follett. A strange similarity between those two historic Radicals is that both had been Freethinkers, and each of them was reputed to have been re-converted to Christianity. So fickle 86 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. was public sentiment, that in either case the public withdrew their sympathy when they observed even an honest change of opinion. There were a few other men who stood in the front rank of Radicalism, but there was not a single man amongst them who could be considered a modern Cob- bett. Charles Bradlaugh, as "Iconoclast," set himself the task of filling this position. He, at that time, had abilities which were eminently suitable for such a rSle. His youth was an advantage which could not be over- looked. Englishmen naturally love a young man who has the darincj of his race. His size was another re- commendation. An energetic, big man presupposes in- tellectual ability. All other qualities being equal, " the gods " worship strength. The general run of platform orators amongst the " masses " have been men with more intellect than muscle. Their effeminate appear- ance has detracted greatly from their brain power. Besides, tall orators are, as a rule, usually lank and phlegmatic. " Iconoclast," on the contrary, was pos- sessed of an energy which stamped itself upon his audience. His voice pealed like the blast of a brazen trumpet over the murmurs of a public meeting. He could neither be hissed down nor coughed down. He was terribly in earnest, while he looked only like an overgrown boy. His manner was awkward, and his greatest enemy could not taunt him with masquerading as a gentleman — a reproach absolutely fatal to many a Hadicai who has essayed to obtain the suffrages of LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 87 Demos. It is only within the last few years that the honourable member has grown portly in appearance, and the charm of his address has been able to banish the awkwardness of his figure. His large head — yet not larger, perhaps, than his massive limbs warrant — his snub nose, and his coarse mouth, could never have been considered as carved on the lines of beauty. Despite, however, of this, " Iconoclast " was possessed of a nameless something which attracted the London mob. At that time the Radicals never dreamt that he would " rat " over to the Whigs. They would have stoned him had they believed that he would one day claim to hold office in an aristocratic government. The times were favourable for the advent of a new leader, and a subject suddenly surged into the front rank of practical politics which required to be met with organised defeat. The teetotalers and the Sabbatarians joined their forces, and Lord Robert Gros- venor introduced a bill in the Commons to put an end to Sunday trading. For many years there had been an attempt in various towns to persecute news-vendors and apple-women who sold their goods on the Sabbath. In some towns barbers were prosecuted for scraping chins on Sunday, under the authority of the Lord's Day Act, passed in the reign of that most religious king — Charles II. Sometimes the magistrates fined the defendants the full penalty of five shillings, while on other occasions they inflicted only a penny fine. When the persecution grew intolerant, the barbers, news- b» LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. vendors, and apple-women turned the tables, and prose- cuted the coachmen of the magistrates for driving- "their worships " to church on Sunday, as that was " following their ordinary occupation on the Lord's Day;" and in such manner this obnoxious Act was paralysed. Lord Robert Grosvenor's bill went far beyond this. He aimed at not only preventing the poor man from having his beer on Sunday, but he actually wanted to prevent his having his food cooked at the bake- house. The costermongers of the metropolis rose in arms against the Bill. Charles Dickens wrote one of his most telling articles on the bigotry of the Sabba- tarians, while George Jacob Holyoake penned a tractate on "The Rich Man's Sunday and The Poor Man's Sunday." Mr Holyoake's tractate had an immense cir- culation amongst those who were affected by such proposed legislation. The first of the great modern demonstrations in Hyde Park was organised, to protest against the bigotry of the supporters of Lord Robert Grosvenor. On Sunday, the 24th June 1855, the carriages of the aristocracy, and the cavalcade in Rotten Row, were hissed by the people who had assem- bled to protest against the proposed repressive legisla- tion. A meeting was called for the following Sunday (July 1st), to further show the futility of such measures, when, to the surprise of constitutional lawyers, a police proclamation appeared, warning the public that such proposed meeting was illegal, and would be suppressed. There was a concensus of legal opinion that Sir Richard LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 89 Mayne had no authority vested in him, a^ Commis- sioner of Police, to proclaim such meeting, and it was determined to test his right to issue such a police ukase. At the time announced, both the people and the police were ready for the encounter. It was the first of the ffreat struggles to determine as to whether Hyde Park belonged to the "Classes" or the "Masses." The " Season " was at its height, and the people, fear- fully exasperated, hissed and hooted the aristocrats. Their high-spirited horses began to prance. The pre- monitory symptoms of a revolt were experienced. The police charged the crowd. Eioting commenced. Arrests were made. The police stations were crammed with prisoners. As one of the organisers, Bradlaugh was in the Park watching the scene. He observed in one place no fewer than five policemen striking a man with their batons. He sprang to the side of their prisoner, dashed away one of the constable's staves, and with his sten- torian voice shouted: "The next man that strikes, I will knock him down." This had the required effect. The prisoner was marched quietly oft" to gaol without undergoing any further maltreatment. Shortly after this occurrence, Iconoclast was ordered to "move on," by a constable, who prodded him with his truncheon. He coolly told the official to desist, adding that he had no right to do this, and mentioning that he was stronger than the officer. Unable to comprehend such language, and having respect for his stature, the policeman called two 90 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. of his comrades to his assistance. Iconoclast's militaiy training served him in good stead. He speedily dis- armed two constables in their truncheon arm, and threat- ened the third that if he interfered he would take one of the staves from one of the officers he had dis- armed, and knock him down. The force beat a masterly retreat. The Government was alarmed. Lord Robert Grosvenor's bill was ignominiously withdrawn. A Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the police brutalities. Some valuable evidence was given by Mr Bradlaugh before the Royal Commissioner — the Right Honourable Stuart Wortley — as to what he saw and heard. He denied the legal authority of Sir Richard Mayne to issue such a proclamation. When asked by the Commissioner if he had been roughly treated by a mounted policeman, he replied he certainly had not otherwise he should have dismounted him. This officer gave a very significant expression of contempt at such a remark. Iconoclast noticed his horse standing at the door, and with quiet insinuatory suggestiveness pro- posed to the Commissioner that the officer should go outside and mount his charger, when he (Iconoclast) would " dismount " him before the Cour . This offer on the part of Mr Bradlaugh was not accepted. It might have proved too dangerous an experiment to teach the Radicals how to defend themselves in future Hyde Park Riots. At the close of his evi- dence, the Royal Commissioner publicly thanked Mr Bradlaugh ; and, when he left the Court, he refused LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 91 an ovation from those present, whose liberties he had defended upon purely civil grounds. This was the first of a long succession of legal triumphs, and it proved of the utmost value in implant- ing an idea into the minds of the people that the public parks were meant for the use of the people as political tribunals as well as pleasure grounds for all sections of the inhabitants of London. It was an attempt on the part of the Government to deny the right of the poor to hold meetings of any kind which might be offensive to the aristocratic prejudices of the West End. It brought to recollection the sage advice which Sir Robert Walpole gave to the second of our Hanoverian Queens, who asked the Prime Minister what would be the cost of enclosing the whole of Hyde Park, which Queen Caroline wished to preserve for her own Royal pleasure. " It would only cost your Majesty — a Crown" was the quiet reply. That meeting of the 1st July 1855 is one of historic importance. Had the people wavered in their demand to discuss their grievances there and then, and had they yielded to the edict of Sir Richard Mayne, a precedent would have been created which would have been enforced at a later date, and that series of magnificent demonstrations which have been held dur- ing the last quarter of a century in the political Champs de Mars of England, would have been impos- sible. They have proved in our time the safety-valve of the nation ; and no person deserves more credit than 92 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. does Mr Charles Bradlaugh, for vindicating the legal right to hold such meetings in Hyde Park. The wonder is, that a young man of two-and-twenty years of age could have the temerity to conceive of such a method, and the skill to preserve his self-possession during such a novel scene. In quite a recent letter to the Pall Mall Gazette, claiming the right of public meeting in Trafalgar Square, Mr Bradlaugh inferentially reminded his friends of how many bold doctrines he had silently dropped, the nearer he reached the goal of an official salary, when intimation had been given to him that if he sold his influence to Mr Gladstone, he might hope for a place in the next Cabinet. Whether any bargain was made can be known only to the negotiants ; but it is refreshing to find Mr Bradlaugh preserving even this relic of his early days, after the wholesale trimming he had indulged in of late. He won his early reputa- tion by his desire for Fame. His riper wisdom, although he passionately longs for Fame, still stoops for Money. CHAPTER I\^. Quits Employment of J/r Rogers aiid becomes nominally articled to a Mr Harvey — Harvey imprisoned — Alleged that Bradlaugh was the means of detaining Him in Prison — Harvey^s Son walks from North Wales to Bradlaugh's House in Tottenham to intercede for his Father's Release — The YoutKs Supplications not entertained — Enters into Treaty ivith a Jew Solicitor, a Mr Leverson — Leverson complains of Misplaced Confidence in Bradlaugh — Leverson subse- quently escapes from out the Jurisdiction of the English Courts — Rumoured that Information which would prevent BradlaugKs being admitted as a Solicitor was lodged at the Law Institution — Abandons Legal Career and becomes a Company Promoter — His first anti- Christian Work — The Holyoake '■'■Institution^^ — Holyoake Boycotting — Description of ^^ Iconoclast^' internally and externally, by a Young Freethinker, thirty years ago — His first Provincial Debate. After Mr Bradlaugh had served in the ofEce of Mr Rogers about three years, he concluded that he had acquired a sufficient stock of legal knowledge to enable him to start in practice for himself, under the cover of the qualification of a Mr Harvey, to whom he nomin- ally " articled " himself. It does not anywhere ap- pear that those articles were duly enrolled in the Court of Queen's Bench, which was necessary in order to give them validity. The payment of £80, as stamp duty, is a condition precedent to this formality, without which the clerk is not permitted to pass his intermediate examination. If the duty were not paid, it is probable 94 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. that the articles were executed in the anticipation of subsequent enrohnent by a Judge's order, after the duty and " penalty " had been paid — a privilege formerly granted to impecunious aspirants in the lower branch of the legal profession, who could make out a satisfactory excuse for their articles not being stamped before exe- cution. It would be interesting- to know whether Mr Bradlaugh really passed his " preliminary," for unless he did so, time would not run on his articles. It would also be gratifying to learn as to whether he obtained a " dispensation " from one of the then Chiefs of the Common Law Courts, who, jointly with the Master of the Kolls, had power to waive the passing of the "preliminary" to clerks who might not be able to pass the requisite " exam." With the mental acquirements of Mr Bradlaugh, there could be no possible doubt as to his ability to obtain the examiner's certificate had he tried for it. He would not have been entitled to have articled himself as a " ten years' " clerk, by which his service would have been only three instead of five years. But it was nominally an improved posi- tion to be an "articled" clerk. Any solicitor destitute of practice, but clothed with a certificate, would have been willing to take an assistant with the abilities of Mr Bradlaugh as an "articled" clerk. It is contrary to law for a solicitor to have an "unqualified" partner, or to divide his profits with his clerk, or with a person who introduces business. The general arrangement made between a clever attorney's clerk and a solicitor LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 95 without practice is for the clerk to employ the master, and not the master the clerk. In other words, the clerk takes out the master's certificate, for which he pays a duty of £9 per year, and practices in his princi- pal's name. The principal is alone responsible to the client and the Law Society. Those practising by this means manage to get a stipend, while the clerk who finds the brains takes the proceeds, leaving the "soli- citor" the risk of being struck off" the Rolls. When, in addition, " articles " are given, the " articled " clerk (?) assumes a social dignity which is denied to those who have not been enrolled as legal apprentices. From what is known of the peculiar business carried on by Mr Harvey, it is assumed that an arrangement of this kind was made with his clerk. It was the epoch of Joint Stock Companies. Mr Harvey was a promoter. He owned the Tal-y-sarn Slate Quarries, Other concerns of a similar kind were attempted to be set afloat in various forms. Neither Mr Harvey's nor Mr Bradlaugh's connection with them was altogether satisfactory to those who exchanged solid sovereigns for paper shares. A great number of schemes issued from the office of Mr Harvey which ended very unfortunately for the nominal head of the firm. Mr Bradlaugh was the one who transacted the business, but Mr Harvey was the individual who had to answer to clients and creditors. He was compelled by his position to be silent, because, had he disclosed his real arrangements with his clerk, he could not have 96 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. divested himself o£ responsibility, while the penalty would have been exacted of being " struck off the Rolls." The end of this blending of interests was that Mr Harvey was lodged in a debtor's prison for debts which he said had been contracted in his name by his clever clerk, or through his agency. The coalition was broken up. It was alleged by Mr Harvey's friends that Mr Bradlaugh had something to do with persuading the creditor to arrest Mr Harvey, and get " detainers " lodged against him, in order to prevent him from obtain- ing his discharge. Mr Bradlaugh, by his biographical amanuensis, says, — " Mr Harvey was plunged into money difficulties, and his arrangement with Bradlaugh was not only brought by force of circumstances to a premature end, but Bradlaugh found himself involved in consider- able pecuniary difficulties." This statement is correct, but it is an injustice to throw the blame on Mr Harvey for the failure of speculations which were beyond the ordinary scope of the transactions of a solicitor. The family of Mr Harvey thought that he had been badly used by his "articled" clerk. On one memorable Sunday, a genteel, well-educated youth of prepossessing manners made his appearance at Elysium Villa, Nor- thumberland Park, Tottenham, to implore justice from Mr Bradlaugh for his father, who seemed destined to rot in a gaol. This unfortunate young man had walked from North Wales to Tottenham, to plead for his father's release from prison. He pleaded in vain. Perhaps Mr Bradlaugh was not Mr Harvey's detaining creditor, but. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 97 if not, he was the instrument of his detention in gaol. He found it convenient to have a scapegoat who would be an intermediary for bearing his sins to the wilderness. At that time the scapegoat was Mr Harvey. I am told that those who saw this youth on his filial errand of mercy have never yet been able to banish the ugly picture from their minds. Mr Bradlaugh entered into arrangements with another solicitor, under articles. This gentleman, Mr Leverson, at one time bulked largely in professional circles. He was a relative of Madame Rachel, of " Beautiful for Ever" notoriety. The transactions between Mr Lever- son and Mr Bradlaugh have not been published. Doubt- less the Infidel clerk was equal in finesse to liis Jew employer. Mr Leverson shrieked loudly to his friends as to misplaced confidence, but he made no effort to have his wrongs redressed by judge or jviry. Rather hurriedly he disappeared from the jurisdiction of our Courts — criminal as well as civil, so, whatever were his grievances, he never disclosed them where they could be duly considered. Some persons have gone so far as to say that complaints were lodged at the Law Institu- tion which would have seriously jeopardised the chances of Mr Bradlauffh's beino- admitted as a solicitor if he had completed service under his "articles," and duly complied with the statutes relative to the admission of attorneys and solicitors. If this suspicion be correct, it may account for the fact that Mr Bradlaugh re- frained from applying to be '' admitted." It is only fair 98 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P, to conclude that Mr Bradlaugh would have been pleased- to become a legally-qualified member of an honourable profession, where he could have made more money than if he had been "called to the Bar," and where his splendid abilities would have given him a position of influence which would have made him a real power amongst the English lawyers. After Mr Bradlaugh had abandoned his legal career, he entered into the congenial occupation of " Company promoting." His transactions with the " Naples Oil and Colour Works," et hoc genus omne, are not to be found in any of the authorised accounts of his life, and it is not likely that they will be disinterred at the instigation of the honourable member. I will therefore retrace my steps, to describe the public career of Mr Bradlaugh from the period when he filled in his spare time as a lawyer's clerk. To keep himself before the Freethinking public, he started the issue of a series of argumentative pamphlets, which he styled a " Commentary on the Pentateuch." This work subsequently merged into " The Bible : What is It ? " The work appeared at intermittent periods. It is a rechauffe of anti-biblical attacks on the Mosaic narrative, the facts being principally cribbed from a work published many years previously under the title of "A Hunt after the Devil." This book is a kind of carping commentary, in the form of an encyclopaedia of objections similar to those which were afterwards put into shape by Bishop Colenso, and they LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 99 related to an extinct style of theological argument, by which verbal contradictions in the text of the Penta- teuch were duly trotted out to prove that the ipsissiiiia verba of the Old Testament were not to be relied upon. So long as the belief remained in the minds of imperfectly-educated ministers that every line of the Scriptures was verbally inspired, this class of argu- ment was considered effective. Mr Bradlaugh has never had the opportunity of studying the Modern School of Scriptural exegesis, and he has considered that every apparent " contradiction " in the Hebrew chronology or history is fatal to the theory of the verbal inspiration of the Bible. He doubtless considered that his tracts were of powerful effect in accentuating the destruction of belief in Christianity. His hopes were rudely blasted by his finding that, even amongst his admirers, "The Bible : What is It ? " failed to find readers. It was his first work. It gives a fair idea of the cast of his mind in dealing with the subject which he has made a life-study. Other Infidel writers have made destruc- tive criticism readable, but " Iconoclast " was destitute of the ability to attract readers to a theme which seldom occupies the attention of laymen. His earlier books were simply written speeches where they were not bald compilations, as in the " Half Hours With Free- thinkers," a work which had and still retains some popularity. This treatise, of which two volumes were published, was the work of "Iconoclast," John Watts, and " Anthony Collins." It represented, I am informed, 100 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P, an episode of publishing spite, which I explain, £01* the purpose of showing the usual modus operandi of Infidel propaganda. Mr G. J. Holyoake, while posing as the leader of the Freethought party, had represented to his friends the necessity of having a book-shop in London, which was to be called an " Institution." His supporters were asked to find funds to carry it on. It was to be not only a place where Freethought literature was to be vended, but it was to be a point which all wandering Infidels should make to when in London. It was started before popular clubs were invented, and was defined to be something of a marvel in disseminating liberal thought. The shopmen were to be selected apostles who would uphold the dignity of Secularism. Amongst them was an ex-Rev. Frederic Rowland Young, who afterwards blossomed into a Reverend D.D. Austin Holyoake was the Deputy-Director through whom the ministrations of Mr George Jacob Holyoake percolated to the esoteric circle of the elect who worshipped the founder of Secularism. Mr John Watts had charge of the printing arrangements, while the whole establish- ment was intended to become the nucleus for worship- ping the Holyoake cult of Freethought. The usual result of such a programme followed. All other workers in the field of Freethought were ignored, if they did not pay sufficient deference to the originator of the Secu- larist worship. The pamphlets of Charles Southwell were damned with faint praise in the Reasoner, while LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 101 orders for their supply were delayed or not executed. Mr Robert Cooper's works were practically tabooed, and his Journal, The London Investigator, could not be pro- cured by those news-vendors who purchased their goods through the " Institution," which was to elevate Free- thought into a medium of propagandism. This caused great dissatisfaction amongst the followers of the then leading advocates of Freethought who repudiated the new-fangled theory of Secularism and the rhetorical pla- titudes of its founder. At that time, several works were appearing under the title of " Cabinet of Reason Series," which appealed to the sympathies of advanced thinkers. " Anthony Collins " was anxious to publish a" work which he had written on the " History of Freethought," as one of the " Cabinet of Reason Series," but the terms quoted by Mr Austin Holyoake were commercially prohibitive. This young author announced, in the Yorkshire Tribune (a Freethought monthly magazine), the issue of his work through another channel ; when the directors of the " Holyoake Institution " instigated the publication of a rival work, under the title of " Half-liours with the Freethinkers," l:)y John Watts and " Iconoclast." Owing to the limited circulation of this class of literature, there would have been no sale for an original work if a fortnightly series of pamphlets on the same subjects had appeared simultaneously. A protest being made, Mr Austin Holyoake offered " Anthony Collins " a share in their production, and, in consequence, the series appeared by the three writers. One of the articles, by "Icono- 102 LIFE OF CHARLES BEADLAUGH, M.P. clast," on Spinoza, showed some original talent. This was really his hrst introduction to the particular class whose suffrages have since assisted him to climb into Parliament. At that time Austin Holyoake was overshadowed by the reputation of his brother. John Watts was an able, popular speaker, possessing fair debating powers, a pleasant delivery, and the faculty of making friends wherever he appeared. I shall have to refer again to John Watts as an important factor in Freethought jour- nalism. At this stage, it will assist my readers if I give a sketch of " Iconoclast's " appearance and method, from one who, thirty years ago, had intimate relations with him and the then younger branch of the anti-religious party :— " My first introduction to Charles Bradlangh was in the summer of 1858, when I ^^fiid a short visit to London, and enjoyed the hospitality of my dear friend Robert Cooper, who was then the editor of the London Investigator. He had recently received a legacy from Mr Fletcher, and was living in Clarendon Eoad, Notting Hill. I was then about twenty-two years of age, and rather proud that I had ' beaten the record ' of every other anti-Christian by publishing more literature than any other neophyte of my own age. I had a very high opinion of Mr Robert Cooper's personal character, while his published lectures on the ' Immortality of the Soul,' 'Holy Scriptures Analysed,' and 'Infidel's Text Book,' placed him far above any of his contemporaries in the Free- thought jiropaganda. I was at that age when a devoted young man is anxioiis to be enrolled in the noble army of martyrs, in the defence of opinions with which he had become identified, and which are considered too advanced or too dangerous to be adojited by the public, who prefer to travel on easy pathways. I was anxious, in the few days of my visit to London, to become ac- quainted with the men and women who had publicly renounced LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 103 Christianity. At that time, such renunciation was very different to the present era, when no more notice is taken of an Atheist than a Radical. It was A-ery different in my youth, for, imme- diately upon my embracing liberal views on theological subjects, I had been proscribed by my friends, pointed at by my opponents, held up as a warning by the clergy, and shunned by all who wished to preserve a reputation for the respect of Christians. From my sixteenth year, I had mixed with all the wandering stars of political and literary progress who had come within the orbit of my influence. I had personally known workmen who had been compelled to disguise themselves in order to attend the Socialistic meetings of Robert Owen, this being the only method to prevent the loss of their employment. They were ' boycotted ' by their employers, before ' boycotting ' was known as an Irish science. I was acquainted with Chartists who had been imprisoned with Thomas Cooper; Ten-hours' -labour Advocates, who had fought with Richard Oastler, long before this pioneer of factory redemp- tion was sent to the Fleet Prison, and made way for Lord Ashley to become the parliamentary representative who carried the charter of the factoiy labourer. I had stood by the side of Ernest Jones, when for five hours he had delivered an oration against Sir Charles Wood at the Cloth Hall, Halifax. For years I had joined in that unrecorded agitation which commenced in the Crimean War, when the picked men of the old Socialists and Chartists were interviewed by David Urquhart, and con- verted into Foreign Affairs Inquiry Societies, remnants of which still exist. I had identified myself with every out-door demon- stration in Yorkshire and Lancashire which extreme Reformers had organised, and I had carried my views beyond those of the ordinary Radicals, to the extent of invariably moving an amend- ment, when the lesolution for manhood suffrage was put to a Chartist meeting, by proposing ' person ' should be substituted for ' manhood,' in order to give women the same right to vote as men. With the Freethinking section of Reformers I had thrown in my lot, and was acquainted with all the leading representatives of aggressive Atheism. I was associated with Mr Holyoake's party, and on this my first visit to London, I wished to be introduced to the' younger men who were coming to the front as champions of Freethought. " Mr Robert Cooper did his best to gratify my desire. ' Icono- 104 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. clast' was to lecture at the John Street Institution on the Sunday. I became his guest, and it had been previously arranged that I should meet Mr and Mrs Bradlaugh, j^rior to hearing him address an audience. He was then only known as an aspiring young speaker who was a thorn in the flesh of city missionaries. When he entered the room, I cannot say that I was favourably impressed with his features. He had a slouching gait which re- duced his stature, and he appeared to be one of the drill-sergeant's failures. There was nothing of the smart appearance, erect carriage, and springing step which marks the cavalry soldier. There were no traces of culture, such as might be expected to appear in a young man who had graduated in the self-taught school of personal experience. His ponderous jaws gave an idea of shark-like power, which was accentuated by the eager manner in which he turned a general conversation into an instructive debate. When in repose, his features were almost repulsive by their coarseness. His nose w^as not proportionate in profile to the rest of his countenance. His thick projecting upper lip was then even more pronounced than now, when it is so well known through the caricatures of the comic journals, while his mouth was sternly set, without a wave line of poetry or humour. His clothing was the same fashion as lie has since adopted — a black frock coat, single-breasted vest, and trousers which showed signs that ' Iconoclast ' was by no means exacting in the qualificatio7is of his tailor. " When our host entered into conversational criticism on the new phases of philosophical thought, then the topic of society, I observed that ' Iconoclast ' listened without appearing to com- prehend the subjects which attracted the attention of the guests. Mrs Robert Cooper, a lady wdiose graceful tact was beyond praise, observing that ' Iconoclast ' could not enter into the subjects familiar to the rest of the company, delicately changed the current of conversation, and drew him out, by inquiries as to his out-door propaganda amongst the biblical controversialists. This at once aroused his interest. His eyes sparkled as he recited his triumphs over itinerating evangelists. He related his adventures in Coffee- house discussions, and mentioned that he intended taking the field as an Infidel lecturer in the provinces, where he anticipated being able to fill up the niche left vacant by Charles Southwell, the favourite Infidel advocate, who had then lately emigrated to Australia. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 105 "At that interview I grasped his full character, and while .recognising his valour as a soldier of Freethought, I felt pained at the intense egotism of the youthful lecturer. I was anxious to fathom the extent of his educational and literary qualifications. The subject of the ' Immortality of the Soul ' came up, in refer- ence to a new edition of Lectvires which Mr Robert Cooper was pi'eparing for the press, and I was greatly surprised at the paucity of knowledge possessed by 'Iconoclast' upon this subject. The conversation had drifted from the writings of William Maccall, a distinguished literary man, who was then the leader of the sect of ' Individualists.' Mr Maccall had, in our organs, taken up the gauntlet of Scotch Ontology, which brought at issue the meta- physical speculations of Berkeley and Hume with those of modern materialists who rely upon Laurence and Coombe ; and we were mutually interested upon the arguments as to the unsolved dogma of the Materiality of the Mind. I ventured to make the objection that the whole of the arguments put forward by the Atheistic party would have to be re-cast to meet the new phases of physio- logical phenomena of what has since been known as ' Sjiiritual- ism,' — that the dry logical d priori propositions which had hitherto been considered to prove the mind was 'immaterial,' and therefore must be ' spiritual,' were at an end, and that the Christian idea of a future life would have to be sujiported or combated by reference to physiological experiments. I soon found that ' Iconoclast ' had not studied those subjects. He was unable to enter into argument, either in defence or opposition, upon theories which had reference to either Kant, Reid, or Macintosh. His mind was only saturated with textual contradictions of the Penta- teuch, and he seemed never to have considered the tendency of Hebrew Sadduceeism towards the comity of thought which was in antagonism to the Platonic Metaphysics of the age of the Apostles. In opposition to those, he commenced to portray the horrors of Hell, as if engaged in one of his favourite lectures ; but when it was suggested that the tone of Jewish thought negatived such a theory, and that Warbui-ton's ' Divine Legation of Moses ' was established upon the foundation of the Materiality of the Mind, he admitted he had never heard of Warburton ; and when I inter- rogated him on the Deistic Controversies of the eighteenth century, he acknowledged that he had never read any of the great ecclesi- astic authors who had built up English theology. He coolly said 106 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. his reading had been confined to matters which he selected for his lectures. " I came to the conclusion that his literary studies were founded upon the maxim of our great classical scholar, Dr Bentlej, who, on observing his son perusing a novel, rebuked him by saying, — ' My son, never read a book you cannot quote.' " I heard for the first time that evening the peculiar eloquence of ' Iconoclast.' It was an old story. It was an hour of hyper- critical analysis of Mosaic texts. It pleased the audience, who took their quantum of anti-biblical criticism as other people in the same neighbourhood take their quantum of gin. It was a fair sample of the orations of ' Iconoclast.' He supplied then, as now, a kind of excitement which is dispensed elsewhere by Salvation Armies and sensational preachers. An educated audience could not listen to such harangues, if frequently repeated. His opponents were of such a low mental calibre as to give a stranger the impression that they were hired to create ridicule, in order to attract an assembly in the interests of the nearest gin palace. At that meeting, I first heard the peculiar bathos of the lecturer, which for years formed the staple of his perorations. ' He was not a leader ; he was simply a Standard Bearer,' which expression for several years alter- nated with his ' standing on the lowest rung of the ladder.' His youthful appeai-ance told greatly in his favour. Till he reached the age of thirty years, he had the appearance of an overgrown boy. His lecture on the night I refer to was subsequently delivered for ten or fifteen years without any variation except in the title. There was in it an absolute absence of all argument, which was, however, replaced by a i^unning commentary on the iniquities of the Hebrews in Canaan. There was absolutely nothing which would carry conviction to the mind of a person who had the elements of a Scriptural training. There was much that was attractive in the manner of ' Iconoclast ' on the platform. His sincerity seemed unquestionable. His energy was unbounded, nd his enthusiasm carried his audience away. I left that meeting with the prophetic feeling that 'Iconoclast,' as a Freethought lecturer, would succeed where better men had failed. My prophecy has been realised." Soon after the period above described, " Iconoclast " commenced to deliver lectures at Sheffield, and he became LIFE OF CHARLES RRADLAUGH, M.P. 107 very popular amongst the acute Sceptics who kept pos- session of their Hall of Science long after the Socialists in other towns had surrendered their places of meeting to the Unitarians, who, as a rule, endeavoured to suc- ceed in obtaining a footing by gaining the support and adhesion of the more intelligent of those theological Ishmaels. There was at that time residing in Sheffield a polemic Congregational minister who devoted his talents to dealing with the Secularist party. He was, without exception, the most difficult opponent the fighting In- fidels ever had to encounter. This clergyman — Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A. — had, some time previously, been engaged on a " three years' mission " attacking Secularists in their strongholds. He was by no means the usual type of a Christian minister. He had an unrivalled acquaintance with every portion of the literature of Atheism. He knew the personal character of all the Atheist leaders, and could speak ex cathedra on the sayings and doings of the Party. He called himself the " master of the platform ; " and indeed there was none who could fairly match him in satire, sarcasm, and fun. What to others were formidable difficulties in Scripture, were readily simplified by this indefatigable divine. He was ever and anon rollicking in fun. At the close of the lectures and debates there was generally a -scene of the wildest excitement, and the newspapers frequently headed their reports as a "Debate between two Infidels." Mr Grant had had a set debate at Glasgow with Mr George Jacob Holyoake, upon Secularism, which. 108 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Avhen published, had a hirge sale and wide circulation. He had met Mr Joseph Barker on the platform at Hali- fax, and even his pachydermatous skin was pierced by the raillery of the fighting parson. A challenge was given for a public debate in Sheffield between "Icono- clast" and Brewin Grant, which was accepted. This was really the first appearance of Mr Bradlaugh before a provincial audience of repute, and it formed the foundation-stone of his reputation. I will now proceed to describe this debate, as Mr Grant has, since that time, been a champion of such prowess as Mr Bradlaugh has not cared to meet, either on a public platform or in the courts of law. CHAPTER Y. Little or no Improvement within the last Thirty Years in the Matter and Style of his Debates — Extract from the Sheffield Debate of June 1858, between the Rev. Brewin Grant, B.A., and '■'■Icono- clast," on " The God of the Bible" — Another Extract displaying his Scholarship, Strategy, and the whole Arynour of his anti- Christian Warfare — Effect of Debate. Those who have studied the works of Mr Bradlaugh, as mere literary or journalistic efforts, see very little improvement in either their matter or style when com- paring the writings of his maturer years with the fierce diatribes of his earlier youth. Like Minerva, he seems to have sprung into public existence fully grown. The doctrine of mental evolution has Ijeen ignored in his life. He is a man who has shown himself to be utterly destitute of creative genius, while he exudes with clever- ness, and his tact bears witness that he can adapt the ideas of others, but can never do more than re-state the propositions which he has already absorbed. In politics, the changing subjects of the hour afford an opportunity to appear original, on account of the facilities which exist to adapt popular ideas. The "Iconoclast" of 1858 and the Charles Bradlaugh, M.P., of 1888 show no signs of improvement either in ideas or in impressing them upon an audience. The only noticeable difference is that in 1858 "Iconoclast" had not learnt to "trim." He was. 110 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P, to use his own expression, on the "bottom rung of the ladder," and his utterances were not shackled by the expectation o£ becoming a member of Her Majesty's Government. The Sheffield Debate of this date affords the fairest specimen of Mr Bradlaugh's polemical capa- bilities which it is possible to select from his multi- farious writings, and it is doing no injustice to Mr Bradlaugh to say that they still remain the most cor- rect example of his theological and platform criticisms. In the thirty years which have since elapsed, he has been engaged in all kinds of debates, with divines and laymen ; but the first controversy with the Rev. Brewin Grant is still the most explicit of his labours, and will bear reproduction, because it gives the public the most exhaustive information as to the manner in which "Iconoclast" tilted against the bulwarks of Christianity. It was his original starting-point, and at the present day he has not got beyond the crude weapons he used in his first encounter. There were four nights spent in discussion. The subjects of debate were : — 1. "The God of the Bible, Eevengeful, Inconstant, Un- merciful, AND Unjust. — His Attributes proven to be contradicted by the Book which is professed to reveal Them." {Affirmative, " Iconoclast.") 2. " Is THE Bible History of Creation consistent with Itself, and with Science ? " {Affirmative, Eev. Brewin Grant.) 3. " Is the Bible History of the Deluge consistent, and Physically possible ? " {Affirmative, Eev. Brewin Grant.) 4. " ' Iconoclast,' as a Commentator on the Bible, deficient in Learning, Logic, and Fairness ; proved by His LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Ill Attempt called ' The Bible : What ls It?'" {Affirm- ative, Rev. Brewin Grant.) Of the foregoing I shall give only extracts from the first night's debate, because it is the most coherent and effective of all Mr Bradlaugh's attacks upon Christianity. Upon this occasion he had to state his case without interruption, which was, what it appeared to be, an impeachment of the Deity of the Bible. He had a splendid audience to receive him, and few young men could have had such an introduction to public life. It was the commencement of a career which has been con- tinuous in its anti-Christian warfare from that period. In his opening speech he said : — " I am to submit that the God of the Bible is a God of a ^mrti- ciilar character, and that His character as there detailed is revenge- ful, inconsistent, unmerciful, unjust. I know this will clash with many of your ideas {sic). But what idea have you formed of God ? You were taught in your cradle, before you could utter words, to clasp your hands, to kneel, to pray, before you knew what prayer meant, and before you knew the meaning of words. At school, in every book, you found the word of God {sic). It was connected with everything. You heard perpetually of the hand of God, the finger of God, the works of God. The school was followed up by the college and the church. The word {sic) has thus been impressed upon you day after day, till it has seemed to be part of that to which it is only an addition {sic). It (?) is taken for an innate idea, and the man who doubts it is said to blaspheme. But now we have to deal not with this word or with that, but the character of the God of the Bible as detailed in this book. By these words {sic) we are to judge. I may be told that I judge harshly of these words, and that some of them are not now capable of bearing the same meaning as they once did. We may be told that these words were addressed to a debased and ignorant peojjle. But surely God who revealed His will to man, should have used language true and applicable to all times. But who shall thus blaspheme, — who shall pretend to say God's peoj^le in God's 112 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. time were incapable of understanding God's language as it should be understood ? Who shall say that God, who, they tell us, made the world, — the God who, as they tell us, revealed this book to guide men to everlasting happiness, who shall dare say He gave forth a revela- tion in such language as He must have known the world would some time have grown above and beyond ? Surely he would be a bold man who said (sic) so, — bolder than I, who shall take the words for what they mean, and from that meaning endeavour to deduce my pro- position (sic). The first text I will submit to you is Genesis, chap, vi., ver. 1 to 7 inclusive : — ' And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh : yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days ; and also after that, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth ; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air ; for it repenteth me that I have made them.' My question to-night is not, is this book a revelation from God ? My question is not, have men misrepresented the deity ? My question is not, is part of this book a forgery and the rest a reality ; is part untruth and the rest truth ? But my question is, is the God of the Bible as pictured here what I say He is ? And now from (sic) this terrible preface, what shall we add ? Can any man tell me that the picture (sic) of a whole world, of all its inhabitants, all living, breathing, moving things sud- denly destroyed, is not at least a tremendous punishment (sic), which should strike us witli horror and amazement ? Any man of thought, with even one particle of what we call the feelings of humanity within him, will at least be sorry that so many should so die — will think upon it, and what led to it, why it was, and what God intended by it. We have here not the mere act of a man, but the representa- tion of God. And this representation is not only not in accordance with some other parts of Scripture, but contrary to the best conceji- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 113 tious in the relation to the Deity. In this book, where man's highest aspirations should be surpassed, and his noblest thoughts transcended, we find the order reversed. The whole of the attributes of Deity are impugned, and the arrangements of divine intelligence are repre- sented, not even after the manner of human wisdom, biit of human folly. You have a picture of a Deity (Genesis, chap i. v. 31) who only a little while before reviews his work of creation, and pronounced his opinion that everything was very good ; yet in a short period the same Deity looks round and declares that man is so bad that ' he repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart ; ' and in consequence, God, to relieve himself from this source of grief, determined to destroy every living thing, and he did destroy them by deluge, for it repented him that he had made them, because man was so very wicked. Repented ! and this of the God of the Bible, who can never repent ! Either God fore- knew man's wickedness, and was always grieved, or God has not foreknowledge. But what could be the object, what efi'ect, what good, what usefulness, attends this ■ tremendous punishment, this sweeping away of man and beast too ? ' The thoughts of men's hearts were evil continually ; ' therefore God destroyed both man and beast. I don't know whether the beasts were affected in a similar way. ' It repented him that he had made man, and it grieved him at his heart.' "What causes grief? Is it that which has always been known, or is it not that when misfor- tune comes suddenly upon us ? We lose a dear friend, or fail in an undertaking, and we grieve. But God, before ever he created the world — if he created it at all — foreknew the wicked- ness of man. The knowledge must have brought with it the grief, and if God was grieved when he knew man's wickedness, after it occurred he must have been equally grieved when he foreknew it before its occurrence. Therefore, either the grief affects God not at all, or it equally affects him the whole time he has knowledge of the circumstances. No doubt there was some good reason for their destruction, but it does not appear on the face of the Bible. Man's thoughts are evil, man's deeds wicked ; therefore God destroys both man and beast. And why ? All punishment, to be useful, should have the effect to prevent- ing a recurrence of the evil. Had the deluge such an effect ? Did God expect that it would have such an effect? I need not go over the details of the flood. You will remember that, with H 114 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. the exception of one family, every living being is destroyed. This tremendous primitive act must strike every one with horror and astonishment — did it produce the effect desired ? Man was wicked before the flood, and so conscious was the Deity of the usefulness of the punishment, that immediately after he had de- stroyed the whole human family he says, 'I will no more destroy man because the deeds of his heart are evil continually.' But God made man — so they say — God made him with the powers he possessed. God made him what he was, in his own image? surrounded by circumstances which he controlled. Ere man was created, ere the universe was made, God knew that man should sin. God foreknew this terrible jaunishment of old and young, of grey-haired men and children scarce able to prattle. God foreknew all should be destroyed, that man and beast should all be swept away. He foreknew all this and the uselessness of this terrible punishment. He knew that Noah, the best amongst these wicked men, would be so little affected by this terrible punishment — if it ever happened — that immediately after he leaves the ark, he inaugurates his new life with an act of foolishness, if not of crime. Will you tell me that this God of the Bible is a God of love, of mercy, the Father to us all — did he act according to your conceptions of right and wrong, of human kindness, love and truth? He made man, surrounded him by circumstances, the effect of which he foreknew, and was all-powerful to control. 'I, the Lord, do all these things; I make peace and create evil' God could have kept man pure, holy, free from sin. My friend will not deny that. Man, a puny creature, on a little planet amongst iimumerable planets in the universe, God could have kept him as he wished. But the Deity places man where man does that which he cannot help, and for doing that which he cannot help God punishes him. And having punished him, He re-peoples the earth, and allows a recurrence of precisely similar circumstances. If any of you had with foreknowledge built a house upon a sandy foundation, and it fell, would you blame yourselves or others for carelessness in your work ? But when it had once failed, would you build of precisely the same materials, in precisely the same place, and on no better foundation? Would this be care- lessness, ignorance, or what? Yet you tell me that God, the all-wise, all-powerful, made exactly the same state of things. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 115 producing, as everyone would see, the same result. You tell me that he made man susceptible of evil, that he made evil which caused him to fall, that he punished him for that which he could not help. You tell me that he again placed man in precisely the same circumstances, to bring upon him eternal punishment for that which he could not by any possibility avoid. Is this wise ? Surely this was never revealed by God. Surely I am doing wrong when I tell you that the God of the Bible is not the God which you or I would fashion in our own minds. They do not represent him as a poet would pic- ture him, a being grand, great, noble, and supremely good, that eveiy one must revere, despite himself. But they picture him not only so that the Iniidel may carp and cavil, but so that even the most ignorant man at the town pump may tell you he thinks better than his God thought. Do you tell me that was- revealed by God in an ignorant age, and to an ignorant peoj^le ? I tell you, you blaspheme. If he be God, and if he revealed his. will to men, he should have revealed it in such words and in such power that the mightiest intellect would have confessed its truth. Will you tell me that my friend's brain will go higher than the Deity ? You would blaspheme if you did, and if I did, I should be denounced for my scoffing. But what have you here ? We have a mighty edifice erected, we see it fall, we dej^lore it ; we look upon it after the loss of human life, and we find exactly the same things hapjjening again, which God, in his infinite wisdom, could have prevented, if he had chosen. If God had foreknow- ledge at the time of creation, he must have known that man would become bad, and it is simple nonsense and sheer absurdity that it grieved him at his heart, because he must have been equally affected (if affected at all) at the time of the creation ; if, on the other hand, it is meant that God made man good, knowing and intending that he should afterwards become bad, and subsequently grieved and repented that he had made man with such an accom- panying condition, then is the statement equally absurd, for it would thus picture the omniscient and unerring God as commit- ting an error, resulting in grievous infelicity to himself. Could any blasphemy be more outrageous than the words of the text, or could any Infidel be more effective in attacking the character of the Bible God than the orthodox commentators, who endeavour thus foolishly to account for an evident inconsistency in the text ?' 116 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. The main feature in God's determination to destroy man must have been to effectually remove evil from the face of the earth, and thus remove the cause of his own grief ; and it would, there- fore, be expected that if the world was re-peopled at all, that the new inhabitants would be so differently constituted as to prevent their being liable to the action of similar circumstances to those which had impelled their predecessors in an evil direction. Was this so ? No. The book states that God, having declared that all flesh was corrupt, these of the old stock of mankind having personal acquaintance with all the pre-existing evil, corruption, "wickedness, and violence, and having the selfsame nature and pas- sions as their fellow-men. Without any rectification or attempt At change, which would improve their thoughts, words, or actions, Noah and his family were preserved specially to re-people the world, and the result was, as common sense would have anticipated, that with a recurrence of similar circumstances and conditions, simi- lar results did necessarily follow ; and, accordingly, as the popu- lation extended, corruption, violence, idolatry, sensuality, the crimes of Sodom and Gomorrah, murder and rapine, all prevailed, and man became shortly after as wicked as he was before the flood. But it may be said, you are only dealing with one little portion of the hook, you are taking that which seems to stand out in striking relief, and trying to make a case out of it. You condemn this punishment, but you don't understand that God is a God of love, of mercy, of kindness, and of truth ; he neither grieves nor repents as man ; and though it says there that he grieves and repents, yet if you would see it in a different light, not seeking to cavil, but in a spirit of faith, you would make something else of it. You tell me to read this book with the spirit of humanity, faith, and prayer ; and I daresay I shall be told, before this discussion is at an end, that if I had done this I should not have attached to these texts the meanings I have. But I tell you that the best spirit in which to grapple with any question is a desire to under- stand it, and an intention to get to the the bottom of it. (Hear ! hear !) The only way to get at truth is to search, to rend the veil that is thrown across the temple, despite all consequences. The desire to keep men ignorant only exists in those who want to keep their feet upon the necks of the people. There never can be any harm in man obtaining knowledge. Knowledge is the lever by which man may raise himself, despite all the creeds in LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 117 the world. Knowledge is a sword which has cut through many creeds, and is cutting through many more. This God of the Bible, a God of love ! It seems to me that he is not so, for I cannot imagine that any deity, being a god of love, would at any time order one nation to declare war against another. And yet we find this Deity, when guiding his chosen people to the promised land, declares war against a particular nation : ' I will have war with them from geneiation to generation.' What ! the Deity, the Omnipotent, the All-powerful war with man ! Why, by his will alone, he could destroy all. The Creator declaring war against those whom he had not yet created ! Surely this is unjust. I, such as I am, did not choose where I should be born, what lan- gviage I should speak, in what clime I should live. I chose none of these, and yet here I am, and perhaps against me, before ever I breathed, a decree of war was promulgated by this God of love and mercy. Did the poor Amalekite choose that he should be one ? Why war against him ? Is this just ? Is it loving ? " The above contains the Avhole armour of Mr Bradlaugh's war against Christianity, and it was met by the Rev. Brewin Grant, in a manner which satisfied the critical theologians who had induced him to enter into the conflict. It is not my intention to quote Mr Grant's reply, as my object is to lay before my readers the strongest arguments with which Mr Bradlaugh started, and with which he has since continued his anti- Christian warfare. It is by this means I seek to estab- lish the fact, that the Infidelity of Mr Bradlaugh has never been the logical scholarship of scientific inquirers who have opposed Christianity upon the a 'priori ground of its want of harmony with critical exegesis, but upon the basis of popular ignorance. In his second speech " Iconoclast " said : — " So far from the God of the Bible being a God of truth, he 118 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. lias contradicted himself, for he says that he appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but in his name of Jehovah was he not known to them ? Now, I say he was known unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the name of Jehovah, and he himself has contradicted himself. God a God of truth ! Why, God promised to Abraham, in the most solemn words he repeated his promise ; nay, this book, which reveals the attributes of Almighty God, tells us that that God condescended to swear to a weak, puny man that he would establish his kingdom for ever, and that his seed should be as numerous as the sand upon the sea shore. That promise was reiterated and sworn by God ; and I ask, Where is that kingdom now ? Where ? Don't tell me that it is meant figuratively ; don't tell me that it is not literal. God swore that it should be for ever : he established it, and now it is a thing of the past. You tell me that the God of the Bible always speaks the truth, and that he revealed himself in this book. I ask you to explain me this — 'Therefore hear the word of the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said. Who shall entice Ahab, king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Eamoth-gilead ? And one spake, saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him. Wherewith ? And he said, I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the moutli of all his prophets, and the Lord said, Thou shall entice him, and thovi also shalt prevail. Go forth, and do even so. Now therefore, behold the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee' (2 Chron. xviii. 18-22). My friend may say that the account of the prophet was not a correct one ; and the Lord certainly appears to have been very unfortunate in most of his prophets. He himself says of some of them that lies came out of their mouths like water ; and of others, that they were as cunning as foxes to deceive. This is very unfortunate, because we never know when really to rely upon a priest and when not. We never know what will really happen from what God's mouth- pieces say, because he himself has given us such a very bad character of them, and it belioves vis to use great caution in rela- tion to them. But supposing that for once the prophet did not tell a falsehood ; that the priest in this instance really did speak LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 119 the truth. The all-wise Deity is represented as sitting in council, seeking strategical suggestions from inferior spirits, inciting them to devise and offer plans for his approval or rejection ; and ulti- mately the God of truth is rej^resented as receiving and apj^roving a scheme based on falsehood and treachery. Those who should be pure and without guile, the heavenly host, uncorrupted by contact with frail humanity, or gross earthly conditions, the angels of the Lord — these prompted by the Deity, who is the fountain of all truth and purity, plan amongst themselves the most plausible form of falsehood, to induce Ahab to proceed to the place where his enemies should destroy him. In this case as in the preceding, if the account is received as literal truth, the effect is to deprive the Deity of his noblest attributes. God, however, we are told, is a God of justice, and no respecter of persons, though he loved Jacob and hated Esau, Esau having the misfortune to be an honest man, while Jacob was a cowardly knave. I daresay most of you know the story of Jacob and Esau, but I will briefly relate it. They were the sons of a patriarch named Isaac. Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents, but Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field. One day Esau came home from hunting, fatigued, hungered, and ready to die. At the point of death, he asked his brother for food, and that good kind brother, whom God loved, seeing his brother exhausted and ready to drop, says, ' Sell me your birthright for food.' Esau, sooner than die, did give up his birthright to his brother, and God ratified a contract which deprived Esau of his portion of the promised land. At the death of their father, Jacob robbed Esau of his blessing, and again God confirmed the robbery, sending him forth to live by the sword. Again, Jacob, after a life of cunning and trickery in a distant part, returns to his own land, and finds his brother in power with the sword in his hand. He sends to propitiate Esau. His parents are returned, and Esau falls upon his neck, blesses him, and forgives the fraud, cunning, and trickery of his early life. Yet God says, ' Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.' Again, God excluded Abraham's first-born son Ishmael from the promised land because he was a slave. It is not I who quarrel with the justice of the Deity, and speak in disrespectful terms of him ; it is not I who would be blasphemous ; I but give you the words of the book itself ... I have to do with this evening. Is God a God of justice ? Did Ishmael choose that he should be born of 120 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. a bondwoman ? Oli that I possessed the power to make each one of you feel the high esteem in which I hold the word liberty ! that I possessed a tongue of fire that should light in each a flame that should never be quenched ! I hold that it is diabolical for man to be a slave, and yet I find this man Ishmael born a slave, and shut out of the promised land because he was a slave. Did Ishmael choose that he should be a slave, and yet, though the first-born of his father, he is to be shut out from the land of promise for a cause over which he had no control. Slavery, that curse of humanity, I find again and again in your Bible. I am told in it that you may purchase a man for a number of years, bones, blood and brain ; that you may work him, aye, that you may beat him so cruelly that he will die ; but if he live three days, you escape the consequences of having murdered him, be- cause he is your money. What, the power of gold recognised in the kingdom of God ! What, man allowed to take his fellow man, with the same reason, the same brains, the same intelligence as himself, — perhaps not so logical, indeed, — and to beat him within three days of his life, because he is his money. It is even so. Gold is the god men worship ; its jjower is recognised everywhere, even in the kingdom of God. Again, if a man marry while he is your slave, his wife and children shall be your slaves also, and if he goes out he shall leave them with you. For you know slaves do not love their wives ; love with them is an accident ; they have not, like you and I, common human feeling. At least God does not think they have, for he states that if this slave shall love his wife and children, and refuse to leave his master, then his master shall take him to the door-post, bore his ear with an awl, and he shall be a slave for ever. (Shame) 'Oh, but this was meant for the Jews.' The more unfortunate, then, for them. They were the chosen people of God. But if for the Jews, why not for all ? If you tell me that any particular part of this book does not apply to me, I ask, in return, which part does ? If you say one chapter does not apply to me, then I challenge your right to apply a single sentence to me. If the whole is not a revelation from God to man, then I deny the whole ; and if it be a revelation, then I say that the God of the Bible is unjust in allowing and sanctioning slavery. Man's desire is to be free. No man is a man unless he desires to be free. One main reason of my being here to speak to you to- night is to make you be free physically and mentally, and that LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 121 knowing your rights, jou may have the power to take them, despite of any one. I may be a poor logician, but with my little learning I have got thus far with my logic to know that born into the world how I may be, I am as noble as any other man so long as my covirse of conduct is honest and true. I believe that the true source of hapj^iness is to make other men happy and wise, and no system can make man happy or wise which even connives at men being slaves. Connected with this slavery, there is, I blush to tell you, a horrid, terrible, degrading inhumanity, which I should shudder to read in an assembly like this. My friend may tell me that this was ordained for an ignorant people and an ignorant age. I tell him, if it is revealed by God, that it is for all humanity, otherwise it is no revelation at all. I will challenge slavery where- ever I find it. I will combat it whenever it comes in my way. Slavery of the mind is an evil, as well as slavery of the body, and I am here to combat the slavery of a creed. I believe that a book which contains any such procept as that a man's wife and children may be taken from him, is a bad, bad book. Even in our own time we see men speaking our own Saxon language, with white skins like ourselves, and standing erect as I do, supporting the bondage of their fellow - creatures, and preaching in their churches from this very Bible that men may be slaves. What, I ask, is this : Did these men choose where they should be born ? Is it not a tenible punishment, whatever the crime ef their fore- fathers ? Shall I say more ? Shall I tell you that throughout this book I find constant evidences of God's injustice ? I may not be logical, but I am one who thinks that man is responsible to society for his own crimes alone. This book, however, tells me that the people shall suffer for the crime of their king. This, I say, is unjust. I am told that your God is a God of mercy, love, and trvith, and yet the Bible says that the very worst man of whom we have any record, was a man after God's own heart. I am told that the man, who in early life rebelled against his king, collected around him the vagabonds, the discontented, and those who were in debt, who fled to a foreign country, and murdered the inhabitants of the country who had sheltered him ; who robbed right and left ; and when he came to the throne himself, was so bad that his family exhibited the most dis- gusting immorality ; who could not have been a good father, or he would not have had such bad children (' Oh, oh ') — • 122 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.r. who was a very bad citizen ; who, when the Philistines prepared for war, assembled an army to help to mvirder his own brethren in blood and country ; yet he was a man after God's own heart ! The man who caused people to be murdered in the most barbarous manner without offence ; who robbed a chosen soldier of his best treasure in his absence, and then coolly plotted his murder. This David it is whose crime God revenges upon his unfortunate subjects who had committed no offence. From his earliest birth David was a wicked man, and through his whole life was thoroughly bad ; he robbed, murdered and lied, without comjDunction ; when on his deathbed he begged his son to bring two more men down to the grave in blood ; and yet he, of all others, is declared to be the man after God's own heart ; it is the Bible which also says that he was perfect in his ways, and never broke any of God's ordinances. No doubt, my friend's keener logic will show that I am inextric- ably involved in dealing with this ; no doubt he will prove that slavery does not mean slavery, but something else ; no doubt he will prove that it is spiritual death, and not literal ; that if I had read this prayerfully and in faith, I should have made something differ- ent of it. But I challenge him to deal with these texts as they are. Let me have them expounded, and don't tell me how poor I am, how weak I am — (laughter) — but view these facts staring you in the face from your own book — revealed, as you tell me, by God. And when talking of a low class of punsters, believe me, I would never make a pun in relation to Deity, when I was speaking solemnly, and throw ridicule even on your monster Deity, whom I cannot revere. And if I am to speak of a Deity independent of this book, I should consider it a shame and disgi-ace to me, much more if I believed, were I to descend to punning. The book is before us ; let us have the courage to open it, to read it honestly, and not fear what men say, or what consequences may follow. Pardon me, if in anything I may have oflfended. Pardon me, if to some I may seem to have used language which does not apply to the Deity. It is in the book. I have but used it as it is. Let my friend show me that my words are not true upon it. (Cheers)." I refrain from quoting further. This has been the style of Mr Bradlaugh's attacks on the Bible from that hour to the present. He has known no change. Whatever LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 123 is the subject announced for his anti-Christian lectures, the woes of the Amalekites, or the immoralities of the Patriarchs, form the bulk of the discourse. He has never felt himself strong in opposing the Gospels, which appeal to the innate morality underlying the religion of all peoples, as this attack does not afford the same sen- sational expose which is to be gathered from the records of the Jews under a state of civilisation] different from our own. The Sheffield Debate is only important, so far as it shows the foundation upon which Mr Bradlaugh has raised the superstructure of his opposition to the Chris- tian Religion. On the part of the clergy this encounter was a blunder. It gave a commission to Mr Bradlaugh to cruise against orthodoxy with credentials which could not afterwards be impugned. Before it happened, it would have been impossible for the Infidels to have raised an audience of 300 persons in any provincial town. When it was over, " Iconoclast " found that he had importance imparted to him, and he authorised his friends to challenge • the clergy in every town he entered. The clergy greedily took the bait. They attended his meet- ings to protect their flocks. They brought their con- gregations with them to witness the Infidel overthrow ; they paid the money necessary to keep the agitation on foot, and when the ambitious cleric got defeated, either by impudence or logic, they rallied to contro- versy with the hope of achieving success by fresh dis- putants, but only to create doubts in the minds of those who would never have taken the trouble to listen to 124 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. the shallow Heresiarch, if their pastors had had more logic and less ambition. However, there can be no doubt but the Sheffield Debate was the fortunate impetus which impelled the audacious lawyer's clerk, through Atheistic controversy, to a seat in the House of Commons. And this Sheffield Debate-type of Mr Bradlaugh's unaltered controversial manner — what is it ? As will be seen, I have inserted " sic " till I got tired. It is an impudent compound of bad grammar and shal- low reasoning. Why the Kev, Brewin Grant, or any other self-respecting person, condescended to appear in public against a debater of such vulgar proclivities and mean attainments is not easy to conjecture. The objec- tions raised against Holy Writ are simply the objections of uneducated imjDertinence and irreverence all the world over. I have furnished, it will be admitted, an ordinary specimen of pot-house discussion, a specimen of what " Saladin " has bitterly called " the oratory of the ' Cat- and-Ladle.' " Mr Bradlaugh formed his manner as early as Mr Spurgeon did ; and like that luminary, he has never developed. By energy, bluster, and bull-dog per- tinacity, he has contrived to induce a certain unin- structed section of the community to let him have their hard-earned coppers, he ever making it appear that he was and is very, very poor. In the eyes of all cultured and thoughtful people, he has strengthened the Christian position rather than weakened it. CHAPTER VI. *' Iconoclasts " Debate with Rev. Breicin Grant at Shefield — Hoiv Brewin Grant conducted Himself — " Iconoclast " on Jewish Slavery — Breivin Grants Explanations — Description of Debate by One ivho was Present — Quarrels as to Publication of Debates, and as to Cash derived from Sale of Tickets of Admission. The Sheffield Debate with the Rev. Brewin Grant was a feat of theological polemics which stamped success upon " Iconoclast's " name. Mr Grant's reputation had been won on hundreds of platforms, to which he had challenged all comers, and he took as great a delight in holding discussions as do the most audacious mem- bers of a Mutual Admii-ation Society. He was a laugh- ing, clerical philosopher who objected to all the satiri- cal smartness being monopolised by the Freethinkers. Many persons were of opinion, that unless a man's theology was pretty fairly fixed, more doubts would enter his mind after listening to an intellectual tussle with this renowned controversialist, than were banished by his clever explanations of difficult problems in Scripture. Mr Grant knew that several Secularists made their points by sayiug smart things, even if they were irreverent ; and in order to undermine their popularity, and to turn an audience against their peri- 126 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. patetic philosophers, he considered it a sacred duty to turn the laugh against his opponents, even at the cost of the merriment being detrimental to the tenets of the Sacred Records. Repeating the same lecture in a fresh town every day, it was only reasonable that proficiency should be attained in explaining scriptural texts. One of " Iconoclast's " strongest objections to the In- spiration of the Old Testament was as to its sanctioning slavery, which created great amusement in a mixed audi- ence. It caused, however, a comical revulsion to find that, after a laboured Infidel argument had been illustrated by " Iconoclast's " graphic descriptions of how a domestic slave was treated by the Jews, the Christian advocate retorted that the boring of the slave's ear to the door- post by the master was a proper punishment for his cowardice in preferring to be a slave rather than a free man. In like manner, when the Secularist described the consequences of the rash vow of Jephthah in doom- ing his daughter to be a sacrifice to the Almighty, there was a sense of moral satisfaction when the exponent of the new Theology quietly asserted that the sacrifice did not mean the taking away of the life of Jephthah, but it meant her being devoted to a life of religious celi- bacy. The smartness of Mr Grant's repartees ensured him a sympathetic audience, while the liveliness of the encounter procured attention to both combatants. A friend of Mr Bradlaugh's, who was present at this de- bate, gives the following description of the first encounter between these athletes : — LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 127 " I travelled one hundred miles to see Mr Grant tackled hy a Cockney. Both parties were well matched. Mr Dodworth, a noted Secularist, backed ' Icon.' against all comers. But the Sheffield peo23le were sadly at issue about the name. It was pro- nounced in a dozen different ways, the most popvilar being 'Ikon- nuckles ' and ' Ikonoblast.' I looked round the platform to see Isaac Ironsides, who for many a long year had been the leader of the Freethinking Socialists at Sheffield. He was nowhere to be seen, for he had transferred bis worship to the shrine of David Urquhart, and had left Freethought to devote his attention to the ' Foreign Affairs ' agitation, and to doubts as to whether or not Lord Palmerston was a Eussian spy. I missed many other good men and true who had gone wrong in religion or politics, particu- larly those who were slightly cracked in respect to some theory of Science or Philosophy. There was a loud cheer of welcome when ' Iconoclast ' commenced his speech. He had the audience entirely with him from the first, and he managed to keep it. The Christian advocate was something so different from all other specimens of ecclesiastical debaters, that he aj^peared to rejaresent a new school of thought, which had severed itself from all the orthodox traditions of theology. ' Iconoclast ' was on his good behaviour. He used up old lectures for his opening speech. He argued with force, but continually fell into invective in denouncing the Laws of Moses and the narratives of the Pentateuch. Mr Grant in every case set himself the task of knocking down the foundation of his argument, without entering into a defence on the grounds on which it was attacked. ' Iconoclast ' lunged at an opjjonent who weakened his armour by raillery, and the audience was kept in a roar of laughter by the skilful feints with which Mr Grant disarmed his antagonist. There was a crowded hall, and an audience which any speaker might feel honoured in addressing. The thi'ee years' mission in which Mr Grant had been engaged had made him ati fait with every illustration which was used by Infidel advocates, and although the answers which were given did not satisfy me, as I do not think they satisfied the Christians, yet they were convincing for the moment. The debate made the reputation of ' Iconoclast,' and his first provincial laurels were gained at this Sheffield encounter." This contest was the commencement of a life-long- rivalry, which in the course of years became decidedly 128 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. unpleasant. Mr Grant possessed a facility for drawing blood from his antagonist, while he flourished with his boxing gloves, and for every blow he landed he retired to his corner with a chuckle, which was very galling to the Infidel champion. " Iconoclast " could never shake hands with his foe after an encounter. He betrayed in his manner a feeling of irritation, which he was unable to conceal. The contest was no sooner ended at Sheffield, than a series of challenges were given and received for other debates, which it took years and years to bring off. A debate took place with Mr Grant at Bradford. This was followed by frequent scratch encounters at the close of lectures. Ultimately, and after much pro- vocation, a debate at Cowper Street, and another at South Place, in London, were carried through. Some- times these Grant-Iconoclast debates were not completed. At other times they were not published. Disagreeable squabbles took place between the disputants as to the accuracy of the reports, or the prosaic charge of not ac- counting for tickets of admission ; so the records on either side do not yield attractive reading. Mr Bradlaugh, now that he has achieved nearly the summit of his am- bition, may not care to revive those recollections. Those who now know the great Tribune of Demos may not be aware how he has been worried by controversialists, and that he has not always been able to shake off his antagonists. No clearer exposition of his labours can be seen than in an extract from the preface of a published discussion, held at Hartlepool, between the LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 129 Rev. Brewin Grant and a Mr Symes. The language gives unmistakable internal proof that the Rev. Brewin Grant was the writer, and it refers to Mr Bradlaugh in his capacity of challenger, and the manner in which the defence had been taken up. After referring en passant to the " Three Years' Mission " to the Infidels to which Mr Grant was selected on the suggestion of the Rev. John Angell James and the Rev. Dr Campbell as the most suitable minister in the Congregationalist body to debate with the Secularists, he proceeded to describe his contests with Mr G. J. Holyoake, Mr Charles Southwell, and Mr Robert Cooper. He then deals with Mr Bradlaugh. Anyone who wades through the preface referred to, will observe that the Rev. Brewin Grant stuck to his antagonist with the tenacity of a bull-dog, and that he insinuates and proves that "Iconoclast" stooped to the unworthy dodgings of a Jeremy Diddler, and to the mendacity of an Ananias. It could be no pleasant task to stand before an audience to debate either the verities of the Christian Religion or the superiority of Secularism as set forth by Mr Bradlaugh. When it came to a question of issuing a writ for libel, it was evident that Mr Bradlaugh was unable to control his temper. Perhaps the forensic experience of the Infidel Leader had overbalanced his judgment, and he fancied he should obtain an easy victory. If so, he was woefully mistaken. CHAPTER VII. Hardships encountered in his Early Propaganda — Travelling without Suficient Funds — Making Headway in Lancashire- — Lectures in Wigan — Eiot, Wi7idows smashed, Hall doors hurst open, "Icono- clast " spat upon, etc. — Landlady of Hotel insists upon His leaving the House — The Mayor threatens to stop His Lectures " by Force of Law " — Debates — Biots on Subsequent Occasion. Few advocates o£ unpopular opinion have had more difficulties to surmount than Mr Bradlaugh experienced during the first fifteen years of his Atheistic agitation. However successfully a man may pilot himself through situations of public peril which entail constant poverty, the mind at last grows weary of being a follower of Sisyphus. We invariably find that in the religious world those evangelists who start life brimful of enthusiasm and seek "reputation at the cannon's mouth" of out-door meetings, or their equivalent, in collecting audiences at [theatres and music halls, or any other bizarre place, o-enerally settle down into quiet ministerial office as soon as they have pushed themselves prominently before the public. Few men resemble Mr Spurgeon, who, not- withstanding the time he has been before the public, by his excessive vitality, continues to attract the un- thinking sinners and convert them into ultra-pious LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 131 Christians. Mr Bradlaugli had more serious opposition, to encounter than most modern preachers. His record shows that, amongst the class in which he personally moves, he has won friends who still adhere to him, although he is an autocrat amongst the representatives of advanced opinions. Possibly there is no man living in Great Britain who has fought a harder fight for a position, or has been placed in more painful situations than Mr Bradlaugh was when he carried on an agitation without backers or the sanction of a live organisation,, such as supports the ordinary propaganda of public societies. The Secular Society, of which Mr Brad- laugh is the ornamental President, is now, and always has been, a mere name. Every Infidel lecturer who has ever conducted a campaign in this country has- fought like Hal' o' th' Wynd for his own hand. The primal obstacle with all Freethought advocates is the means with which to support life while attempting to disseminate unpopular opinions. There has always ex- isted in every community persons who were Dissenters from the dominant creed ; and Christians, who have precedents in the sacred records of an unbelieving Thomas and a persecuting Paul, should make some allowance for the historic continuity of itinerating zealots as they find them in their own illustrious ancestry. Had the Freethinking a party share of the wealth of the churches at their disposal, so that they could support a Bradlaugh in every town, it is very probable that the distinction between a real and a 182 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. nominal Christian would soon exhibit unequivocal signs of an absence of uniformity in the religious thought of our country. Fortunately for the popular creed, enthusi- astic Secularists are few in number, and they are soon satisfied. Those who make up their minds to renounce Christianity generally do so without making any fuss over it, and after a short time they fall into the ranks of the Indifferentists ; and, perhaps, with a view to escape publicity, they do not trouble to put themselves in evi- dence in small towns, while in large cities they will not attend any regular organised meeting. On this account the mere destructive anti- Christian cannot form a per- manent society, like any of the churches, although his followers may be in an absolute majority over the church-going public. Secularists seldom see the necessity of providing subscriptions to enable an anti-Christian agitation to be carried on. During the earlier years of his Secularist career in London, " Iconoclast " would earn probably not ten shillings per week as a result of his lectures. When he addressed meetings at the " Hall of Science," after he had obtained a reputation, the re- muneration would not have amounted to more than the salary he earned when acting as a solicitor's clerk. When, about 1857, he commenced to lecture in the pro- vinces, he was at first ignored. Soon, however, he was feared as a slashing debater, and became renowned, but his fame did not as yet bring him any substantial benefit. The field was clear to him. Every other Infidel lecturer had been driven oflf the platform by poverty. Paying LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 183 audiences could not be got. The announcement of a Freethought lecture only attracted a scattered congrega- tion, composed of all the local "cranks," who came to exhibit their folly at the inevitable "discussion" which followed the lecture. No person with a position to lose would dare attend, for such person would be gibbetted in the locality as an "Infidel." His most pronounced supporters were, as a rule, too poor to entertain the lecturer. His nominal "fee" would be grudged when paid, and very probably there would be a running fire of comment as to "how much he got for his lecture." Sensitive men soon grew tired of this sort of thing. It was a common case for a lecture to inflict a three- months' insolvency on the poor enthusiasts who sought to enlighten their neighbours by bringing a London lecturer into their midst. Mr Bradlaugh was the first who altered this system. He required no fee, for the sufficient reason none could be given him. He gen- erally asked his friends to provide the hall and adver- tisements. If there were a surplus he took it for his labour. If the lecture were a financial failure, he had to go unpaid. Frequently these arrangements brought him to the verge of extreme difficulty in finding his rail- way fare to take him to the next town, where he was advertised to address a meeting. He narrates a very laughable but sad adventure of this kind, after an ad- dress he delivered in Edinburgh, which makes manifest the straits he fell into by travelling long distances with insufficient funds. In his brief autobiography, he says : — 134 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. " For the encouragement of young propagandists, I may here insert a little anecdote of my early lecturing experience. I had lectured in Edinburgh in mid-winter ; the audience was small ; the profits microscopical. I, after paying my bill at the Temperance Hotel, where I then stayed, had only a few shillings more than my Parliamentary fare to Bolton, where I was next to lecture. I was out of bed at five on a freezing morning, and could have no breakfast, as the jDeople were not up. I carried my luggage (a big tin box corded round, which then held books and clothes, and a small black bag), for I could not spare any of my scanty cash for a conveyance or porter. The train from Edinburgh being delayed by a severe snowstorm, the corresponding Parliamentary had left Carlisle long before our arrival. In order to reach Bolton in time for my lecture, I had to book by a quick train, starting in about three-quarters of an hour, but could only book to Preston, as the increased fare took all my money, except 4|d. With this small sum I could get no refreshment in the station, but in a little shop in the street outside I got a mug of hot tea and a little hot meat pie. From Preston I got with great difficulty on to Bolton, hand- ing my black bag to the station-master there, as security for my fare from Preston, until the morning. I arrived in Bolton about quarter to eight ; the lecture commenced at eight, and I, having barely time to run to my lodgings, and wash and change, went on to the platform cold and hungry. I shall never forget that lecture ; it was in an old Unitarian (chapel. We had no gas ; the building seemed full of a foggy mist, and was imperfectly lit with candles. Everything appeared cold, cheerless, and gloomy. The most amusing feature was that an opponent, endowed with extra piety and forbearance, chose that evening to specially attack me foi- the money-making and easy life I was leading. Peace to that opponent's memory, I have never seen him since." About this time he commenced to work uj) the hard- headed Lancashire Radicals, with whom he made himself a general favourite by his suave manners, and a certain nameless grace, by which he always secured the attention and respect of women. In Manchester, he gradually made a position for himself from lecturing under a small LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 135 railway arch, to addressing a mass-meeting in the Free Trade Hall. In the more intelligent districts round Manchester, he was always sure of a large audience. The neighbourhood of Rochdale is famed for being the most intelligent district in the northern counties, and the great majority of the Rochdale pioneers — the fathers of the Co-operative Movement in England — were liberals in politics and theology. Not far from Roch- dale is Hollingworth Lake, a large reservoir, which supplies several towns and villages with water, and the banks of which are as favourite a place for out- door Secular demonstrations as is Shipley Glen in Yorkshire. There " Iconoclast " frequently met his followers from all parts of Lancashire, and the meet- ings were in every sense popular. But a very dif- ferent state of things was met with in the Lancashire coal field, where a set of human savages, calling them- selves staunch Christians, took delight in maltreating public speakers. They had been tampered with by a wild Irishman of the name of Murphy, who was employed by a Controversial Society to attack the Roman Catholics from the point of view of an Ulster Orangeman. Irishmen were there hounded into a chronic state of religious insanity, and every new speaker was looked upon as an emissary from those ecclesiastical firebrands, and was opposed with splinters of stone and pieces of coal, while the police were often called in to separate the opposing factions, who maimed each other for the glory of the Church. There were 136 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. but few adherents of Freethoug'ht iu Wio:an, so " Icono- clast" determined to become the Apostle Martyr of his Creed. There had been no Infidel lecture for twenty years previously in the town of Wigan, so it may easily be imagined how great was the excitement when an announcement was made by placards that " Iconoclast " would deliver two lectures on " What has the Bible done for England's sons and daughters ? " On the first night there was a full attendance of hostile critics. The second night there was a riot. Hundreds who could not gain entrance were engaged in attempt- ing to destroy the building. The windows were all smashed. When " Iconoclast " appeared he was hissed and hooted by the packed meeting; and disagreeable to relate, the organisers of so disgusting an affair were clergymen of the Church of England, who had become so demoralised by the Romish Controversy that they determined to try a fresh method of breaking the skulls of their opponents. The door was closed. A frightful knocking was heard, and it was found that a local clergyman, at the head of a number of Christian roughs, was insisting on admittance. Mr Bradlaugh informed him that the hall was full. Still the dogged clergyman insisted upon entering, and his brutal followers, who were no less anxious to gain admittance for the purpose of kicking up a row, and using obscene language, pushed behind. It required the Herculean strength of " Iconoclast " to close the door in the face of the surg- ing mob. While all this was going on, the apertures LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 137 for admission of air were burst open, and boys and men forced their way through panes of broken glass, while others climbed on the roof to throw lime and water through the ventilators. At last a man pushed his arm through an opening on the top of the building, and began to wave one of the bills which announced the meeting. An hysterical person suddenly sprang upon the platform, and pointing to the intruder, shouted, " Si' the lad ! t' owd devil has coom for Iconokles." This caused a scene of unparalleled confusion. The meeting broke up in disorder. Religious persons, in their excitement, abused the lecturer with violent epi- thets. They actually spat in his face, struck at him from behind, and when he got outside the hall, the fiendish crowd, stimulated by the parsons and the unco guid, yelled at him till they became blue in the face. Fearful of losing his life, " Iconoclast " decided that he would not return to his hotel, but leave by the lirst train for Liverpool. He made his way to the station, and there discovered that his money had been left in his valise at the hotel. Without being murdered by the way, he managed to return to the hotel. No sooner had the landlady seen him, than she insisted on his leaving the house at once. She professed to be afraid that the hotel would be pulled down by the rioters if Mr Bradlaugh remained. " Iconoclast," who kept his mental equilibrium in defiance of rioters and landladies then determined to insist on his rights as a guest at the hotel, and quietly walked up to his room, and went to 138 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P, bed. The mayor o£ the town, " a respectable, red-faced, dumpy sort of shop-keeping person, and who " (says Mr Bradlaugh), " as I am creditably informed, used threats about stopping my lectures by force of law," was ad- vised to "Try and do it." This was not a pleasant experience, but " Iconoclast " resolved that he would visit Wigan again and again till he succeeded in creat- ing friends to assist him, and till he conquered and cowed the spirit of his enemies. Ultimately he did suc- ceed in compelling respect to be paid to him. He also induced a layman and a minister of the district to enter into a public debate. One, a Rev. Mr Woodman Wood- ville, a Swedenborgian, obtained some local distinction in controversy, but a victory by " Iconoclast " over a semi-heretic was not considered of great weight by the public. With Mr Hutchings an instructive discussion was entered into, and " Iconoclast " slowly made some headway in the dense brains of the Wigan colliers. The mayor appeared to be a pompous fool, who threatened his municipal thunders, and flinched when the time to act arrived. On his second visit Mr John Watts accompanied Mr Bradlaugh. When he was leaving the meeting he was assailed by the lurking scoundrels who had been demoralised by the evangelist, Murphy, and they followed with yells, trying to get the chance of a " running punse " (kick) at him. " Iconoclast " then made a proposal which they respected. He turned right about face, and told the brutal mob to pick out two of their best men and he would fight them on the LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 139 spot. Nobody cared to come within the reach of his formidable biceps. He proceeded in peace to the house of his friend. The following night the rioters grew bolder. They menaced the gentleman and his wife who had given the hospitality of their house to " Iconoclast." They used the redundant stock of paving stones in hurling them at the heads of the Secularists. Some threatened to murder " Iconoclast ; " while others swore that they would drive him out of the town, as they had banished the lecturer, Murphy, They packed a mob on each side of the hall, so as to secure the object on which they determined to bestow their super- fluous Christian charity. On leaving the hall by the back entrance, some fifty determined scoundrels, for the honour of the local clergy, followed him and adminis- tered at least one violent kick on the leg. The kick was inflicted in a dark passage, where it was impos- sible to keep guard. Bricks were hurled at him, and injured some of his companions. The result of his Wigan meeting was the establish- ment of a society of Secularists, and Mr Bradlaugh's pluck gained him the respect of those who sought to make him a modern martyr after the manner of St Stephen. CHAPTER VIII. To the Rescue of Mr Bendall, who was prosecuted for distributing Free- thought Pamphlets — Letters to M. le Procureur and the Clergy of Guernsey— '''' Iconoclast" and Bendall Placarding the Town — Free Admission to the Lectures — Riot, Stone-throicing, etc. — Dis- turbayices on the occasion of the Second Lecture— The Authorities challenged, etc. The rioting at Wigan was part of an epidemic which spread over every part of the kingdom where aggres- sive Secularism made its appearance. It even in- vaded the ancient patrimony of the Dukes of Nor- mandy. A Mr Bendall had become so far anxious to proselytise his neighbours in Guernsey, to the know- ledge of the advanced creed of theological negation, that he laid in a stock of iconoclastic pamphlets, and freely distributed them throughout the island. The authorities made short work of the local zealot, by a prosecution under the ancient laws of Blasphemy, and as the worthy jurats decided that the pamphlets were contrary to what they considered law, they inflicted a fine of £20, in default of the oftender refusing to pro- mise not to continue the distribution, to be followed by imprisonment in the absence of finding securities that he would not repeat the oftence. This was on the 10th January 1861. Mr Bendall uttered his shriek according to the required formula of Haco, which in this case LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 141 was equivalent to the cry of old : " Come over unto Macedonia and help us." A cry which " Iconoclast " responded to. When Mr Bradlaugh's coming was announced, the island assembled all its bigots to welcome him with a royal salute of rotten eggs and as many putrid cab- bages as could be wielded at close quarters. He had previously sent a collection of tracts for distribution, accompanied with a hand-bill, of which the following is a copy : — "To M. le Procureur, to the Clergy (esj^ecially of the Method- istic New Connection), and to the public of Guernsey : " Gentlemen, I shall lecture in the Assembly Rooms on February 27th and 28th, when I shall endeavour to prove that the Bible is not a revelation from an all-perfect Deity. I am especially induced to visit you, because I have heard, with feelings of deep regret, that you, M. le Procureur, and you, gentlemen of the clergy, have per- mitted to-day the revival of an institution belonging to an ignorant past, and have evoked a law to defend a religion which, if from God, should need no such paltry aid, but should stand impregnable, because true. " You who were parties, active or acquiescing, in the late prosecu- tion of Mr Stephen Bendall, I challenge you to defend your faith in a free and fair discussion. You have no resource ; yovi have entered the lists with the weak weapons of j)rosecution, and I invite you to retrieve your honour, if you dare, by selecting your means of defence from a more potent armoury — that of honest manly thought." This pronunciamento was intended to awaken the instincts of platform controversy amongst the clergy, and to act as a challenge to the authorities to prosecute one who was ostentatiously willing to submit himself to the action of the law ojSicers of the Procureur who well knew that any hostile decision of the jurats would be 142 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, 3I.P. appealed against, and carried to the Superior Courts by Mr Bradlaugh. The authorities took a more direct method of protecting the orthodoxy of Guernsey. They induced the owners of the Assembly Hall to break their contract with those who hired it. This was, for years, a favourite dodge of those who opposed Freethought lecturers. There happened to be another place which was vacant and it was engaged. The next difficulty was to secure the ordinary means to announce a public meeting. The printers refused to print the placards. The crier or the bellman was connected with the Methodist chapel, and his conscience would not per- mit him to dispose of his services in disseminating amongst the inhabitants the announcement of "Icono- clast's" lectures. Anticipating those obstacles, "Iconoclast" had brought placards ready printed from London. But even the bill-poster was orthodox. His conscience was proof against employment which might endanger his soul. " Iconoclast " thought it was a pity that the walls of such a theological paradise should remain undecorated with his posters ; so, with the assistance of his local Sancho Panza, he sallied forth to fight the Guernsey windmill, armed with a ladder for a sword, while the shield was represented in the shape of a bucket of paste. The two heroes guided by the moon's struggling rays, covered every vacant space with the invitation to " Iconoclast " lectures ; so that the natives could clearly see that the gauntlet was thrown as a fair LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 143 challenge to M. le Procureur and his ministers to prosecute the challenge, or to meet him in debate. In this way the wrongs of Mr Bradlaugh were to be revenged, and the banner of Freethought raised from the mire of a paltry prosecution. It was easier to challenge than to persuade anyone to pick up the gauntlet. But " Iconoclast " was of different mettle to Lord John Russell, who was depicted in Punch as the naughty boy who chalked up " No Popery " on the wall, and then ran away. " Iconoclast " stood his ground. His predecessor in heterodoxy in Guernsey was the Cardinal who had stood the fire of the naughty boy, little Johnnie Russell. He had not contented his mind with parcelling out England into Roman Catholic dioceses, but had extended his efforts to Guernsey, and had there been received by the shout of Haco and the royal salute of rotten eggs. But Cardinal Wiseman was encumbered with his priestly robes, and did not know how to fight the Guernsey bigots. " Iconoclast " was of a different mettle. A hostile manifesto appeared on the walls, evidently by some zealot whose orthography was not equal to his orthodoxy, but whose meaning was sufficiently distinct in his invocation of : " Down with the Infidels, away with the Infidels." The clergy warned their flocks not to go near the meeting. Their instinct of curiosity strove sadly with their desire to preserve their faith from all risk of contamination. They left their Bibles at home, but they brought a supply of ammunition to pelt the 144 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. lecturer as he approached the place of meeting. They crowded the street where the hall was situated, but they would not enter the precincts lest a spell o£ blas- phemy might enthral them, and lest they might be un- able to cleanse themselves from the abomination which would render them unfit to be members of a Christian church. Their physical wants were attended to, if their religious instincts were left ungratified. They were supplied with liquor to keep their courage up to the standard of the effluvial ammunition they held in readiness to hurl at the lecturer. They talked vaguely of throwing "Iconoclast" and Mr Bendall into the sea. At last their volleys were exhausted ; but when Damon and Pythias had mounted their platform, they perceived nothing but a beggarly array of empty benches ; and as no person was willing to act as a money-taker at the door, it became a neces- sity to throw open the meeting, free. This proved an irresistible attraction. The crowds who had amused themselves by yelling in the streets, now took advan- tage of the free admittance. The lecturer commenced his address, and was listened to with tolerable patience for a time until his voice. Stentorian as it was, was drowned by the rioting of those who blocked up the street outside the hall doors. The doors where kicked by the surging mob ; the shutters were torn down ; windows where smashed ; and from the shrieks heard from outside, it was impos- sible to proceed with the lecture. The lecturer then LIFE* OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 145 begged the audience to remain quiet while he went out- side to appeal to the mob's love of fair-play. Some who were present seemed ashamed of their townsmen, and implored of Mr Bradlaugh to proceed with his remarks, as it mio^ht be dangerous to show himself outside. Regardless of their advice, " Iconoclast " insisted upon confronting the foe. He found that the mob was being incited to violence by a number of religious people, headed by persons connected with various places of worship, who, too cowardly to act' personally, were distributing coppers to fishermen and lads to break the doors and shutters of the hall. As soon as he appeared, stones w^ere thrown at him. One narrowly missed his head. A shout of jubilant execration greeted the failure. The mob dare not face the big heretic, and the sight of his prize-fighter jowls alone quelled the spirit of murder which ruled the bigots who thirsted for his blood. He returned to finish his lecture, and found that he had half-conquered his audience by the prize-ring bounce he had displayed^ which never fails in favourably impressing the vulgar. The next day his opponents were better organised. They lined the streets, mostly drunk. They w^aited outside his hotel for the purpose of insulting him, but there were no signs of any interference by the agents of M. le Procureur. At the second meeting he had a fair audience, who listened with respect to a lecture on the New Testa- ment. The friends of the clergy did their utmost tO' K 146 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P, cause confusion by annoying those who went into the hall. When they found that persons, who had come to create a disturbance, remained to listen in quietness, a determined effort was made to break up the meeting. There was a large plate-glass door at the entrance of the hall which had been closed at the commencement of the lecture. An ugly rush of drunkards burst open this door, and the noise caused by the shivered oflass alarmed the timid who tried to listen to the address. The mob was composed of porters, and the usual hangers-on of a sea-port town, and who at that season were out of employment. They stormed the platform, expecting that by their numbers and auda- city they would succeed in breaking up the meeting. "Iconoclast" told his audience to keep their seats. He went up to the individual who was creating the greatest disturbance, seized him, and ejected him by brute force. The authorities, of course, declined to take up the challenge of a legal prosecution which Mr Bradlaugh formally gave, and which he well knew would never be accepted, by distributing, personally, to every person who chose to accept a copy, the pamphlet for which Mr Bend- all had been prosecuted. They took their revenge another way. They persuaded the officers of the garrison to grant leave of absence to the soldiers, who were sent to assist the rioters. It was their safest policy. Had the clergy entered the lists as antagonists, it would have imperiled the faith of their flocks ; for in every town LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 147 where discussion had taken place, it had led to a vast increase of persons who commenced the study of bibli- cal subjects, and who lost faith in the churches, even if they did not join the Secularists. It is calculated that, for every single ojpen pervert from Christianity, there are at least twenty who having lost their Christian belief, have sunk into the great abyss of IndifFerentism. The conclusion of this brief campaign was marked by the same mock-dangers which had inaugurated it. The crowds which followed " Iconoclast " to the Hotel de r Europe endeavoured to assault him. They made a rush at the hotel. Possibly they thought that they would be appeased by a free distribution of liquor as they endeavoured to burst into his room ; but his hostess had by this time taken him in charge and had locked him up in a room, where she kept him safely till the crowd had dispersed, when he was liberated by his fair custodian. His enemies, however, kept watch and ward over the hotel until the steamer sailed. They escorted him to the landing stage, shouting, "Pitch the Infidel into the sea," but no one made the attempt. It is by the part he has played in such escapades as the one I have just referred to, that Mr Bradlaugh has become the darling of a certain rough element of the community. Those who respect law and order and decency can have only one opinion about the valour of assaulting a poor police-officer in the execution of his duty, as Mr Brad- laugh did at Devonport.^ But there are those who deem ^ Vide next chapter. 148 LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. it heroic to stand in bullying antagonism to law and order. Of such is Mr Bradlaugh's followino- and we make him welcome to their coppers and their applause. He too, at length, with the sweets of office within his reach, is beginning to be ashamed of the huzzahs of the rowdies of Infidelity and Sedition, but he is not yet ashamed of soliciting their coppers, as the begging column of his journal abundantly testifies. A mere simulacrum of valour passes for heroic courage with the undiscerning multitude ; and Mr Bradlaugh's knowledge of legal quirks and technicalities places him in an ex- ceptionally advantageous position for producing the sim- ulacrum. He well knew that M. le Procureur would not dare to convict, as the cause would at once be removed to a higher court, and, if need be, to a higher and a higher, incurring endless expense and worry ; but Mr Bradlaugh's simple-minded dupes did not see all this, and so his Bobadil valour in daring the authorities of Guernsey, was looked upon as the valour of a Bayard. Over and over again thus has Mr Bradlaugh made it appear to his benighted admirers that he was extremely brave, when he has, in reality, been only supremely cunning. CHAPTEE IX. Lectures in Plymouth and Devonport — Prohibited hy Superintendent of Police from Lecturing in the Park — A Field is engaged — Arrested, released, returns to Lecture, re-arrested — Before the Magistrates — Acq^dttal — Again in Devonport — The Authorities baffled — Action against the Superintendent — Result, etc. "Iconoclast," bent on opening new ground, next tried the West of England. He had lectured at Plymouth, and was requested to address a meeting in the park at Devonport, which was then used by the various sects for proselytising those who did not care to attend either church, chapel, or synagogue. While Devonport is distinct from Plymouth, the distinction is a merely technical, and not a geographical one. For all practical purposes Plymouth, Stonehouse, and Devonport form one district, but being garrison towns, the municipalities are restricted by the Commandant of the Forces, and the various local authorities may be taken to be under a quasi-military control. At the time of which I write, the Christian Young Men's Association took the lead in the out-door evangelising operations in the Devonport park ; and the friends of "Iconoclast" determined to join in the wordy warfare, by which such associations manage to keep themselves before the public. As soon as it was publicly notified that "Iconoclast" intended to speak at 150 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. this place, the theologians collapsed. Their meetings were announced as discontinued till he left the town. On his return, Mr Bradlaugh was requested to deliver an address at this spot. When he commenced to speak, he was met by the superintendent of police, who officially told him that all public speaking was prohibited in the park, and that he would not be permitted to address the people. "Iconoclast" did not venture to dispute the order of the policeman. Shortly afterwards a Mr Steer, who represented the Secular Society, entered into an agreement with the owner of a field near the park for the use of his ground, for the purpose of " Iconoclast's " giving an address. Placards appeared announcing the programme, and the superintendent of police ostenta- tiously undertook to protect the Christian religion from all attacks by the foe. Whether he was ordered by his watch committee to take this step, or whether he did it of his own accord, is unknown. He waited on the owner of the field, and did his best to per- suade him to break his contract. He failed. He then endeavoured to intimidate Mr Steer, the Secularist, but with him he succeeded no better than with the owner of the field. He then determined to act as his own censor and stop the lecture. "Iconoclast," not anticipating that such a stretch of wanton authority would have been exercised by a policeman, rose to commence his address. He had spoken but one sentence : " Friends I am about to address you on the Bible," when this Jack-in-office advanced to arrest LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 151 him. It was useless to show the superintendent that the field had been hired under a written agreement, which defined the terms of hire, and that he held a receipt for the licence to use it. This busybody, wish- ing to acquire local renown, ordered six of his constables to arrest Mr Bradlaugh. They executed their duty in the usual style. Determined to secure their prey, two of them gripped each arm, while the fifth and sixth seized hold of the coat collar. Surrounded in this style, their prisoner was marched to jail. On the way he became obstreperous, and exercised a little muscular energy in the ribs of one of the constables, which proved of salutary effect. The constable might have considered himself fortunate in that he was not severely hurt for his officiousness, as " Iconoclast " had no lack of brute strength. They released their prisoner as soon as they got him away from the field. " Icono- clast" at once returned to his post. He was then re-arrested along with Mr Steer, and conveyed to the prison, where Sir Oracle refused to admit him and his fellow-prisoner to bail. The next day the pri- soners were brought before seven magistrates, who appeared predetermined to convict. The superin- tendent was represented by two solicitors, but they experienced a difficulty in framing a charge upon which to proceed. Ultimately they alleged the offence to be " exciting to a breach of the peace, and assault- ing a constable in the execution of his duty." This charge was, however, not sustained ; but for all that 152 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. the hearing lasted two days, and "Iconoclast" would certainly have been convicted if he had not been able to obtain the evidence of some Nonconformist witnesses to testify to the facts, as objection was taken to all the witnesses who were Secularists, on account of their disbelief in the inspiration of the Scriptures. Mr Bradlaugh conducted his defence in a style of forensic cross-examination which elicited the attention of the public press. He broke the case down, and the magistrates were compelled to dismiss the charge. The defendant then demanded, and obtained, a certificate of dismissal, with the in- tention of carrying the case into another court, to recover damages for malicious prosecution. Before leaving the court he told the magistrates (some of whom had treated him with marked discourtesy) that he would deliver the lecture in the town despite the Acts past, or to come, of the Local Authorities. On leaving the court he received a triumphant cheer, and he found that his bold defence had won him troops of friends even amongst those who considered his religious opinions unsound and pernicious. To carry out his designs, "Iconoclast" carefully studied the boundaries of the boroughs of Plymouth and Devonport, with the limits of the authority wielded by the commandant of the military forces. He was gratified to find that while the three towns were closely united by governing boards, which interlaced one another, they were divided by the river Tamar, LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 153 which, with all the water to the sea, was under juris- diction of Saltash — distant some miles. Armed with this knowledge, an announcement was made by placard in the following words : — " In consequence of advice received, " Iconoclast " will deliver an open-air address on Sunday afternoon, and will be present near the Devonport Park Lodge, about half-past ten, in order to vindicate the right of free speech." This notice left it to be inferred that " Iconoclast " was going to speak in or near the Park, and public curiosity was widely excited as to the probable result of a second police conflict. They naturally thought that if the meeting did not take place in the Park, it would be held in an adjacent field in its immediate vicinity. The superintendent, with the firmness of his tribe, determined to make preparations by which to succeed better than in his late attempt. He drafted out twenty-eight of his picked constabulary. He in- stilled into the mind of the mayor that there were ominous signs of a riot. The mayor applied to the commandant to hold a body of soldiers in readiness to act on the spot, should the police be insufficient to suppress the disorder, which the superintendent was doing his best to create. His worship abandoned his visit to church with all the pomp of beadle and mace, in order to be present at the commencement of " Iconoclast's " lecture, to read in person the Piot Act, and thereby win knighthood through his manly and 154 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. prompt decision. The public was present in considerable numbers. " Iconoclast " and his friends were at the trysting spot, despite a violent shower of rain, when, much to the astonishment of the assembled multitude, he led the way to Stonehouse Creek. When he arrived there he stepped into a small skiff and rowed down to a boat which was moored in deep water, but only three yards from the shore. A platform had been constructed aboard the boat for the lecturer. He was now outside the jurisdiction of the Devonport police, and within hearing of a magnificent assembly, who appeared delighted at the audacity of the speaker. " Iconoclast " launched at once into his subject, and within a few minutes the baffled superintendent, with his body of twenty-eight constables, forced an entrance into the front ranks of the crowd, only to be received with a burst of derisive cheers. The mayor, poor man, felt that he had been made a fool of, but that was only the penalty of his public function. When this body of policemen had gained the water's edge, "Iconoclast," with mock courtesy, invited the superintendent to attend his next course of lectures in the hall, where he would not be exposed to a heavy downfall of rain similar to that which was then pouring on their heads. He further told the superintendent and mayor, that he should avail himself of this method of publicity every time he came to the town, if he would not be permitted to speak in any other place. This dodge produced an impression in " Iconoclast's " LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 155 favour, and the Christian Young Men's Association ef- fected a close alliance with the police in order to annoy the Secularists. Not many weeks had elapsed before Mr Bradlaugh instituted an action against the superin- tendent. In due course it was set down for trial at Exeter. Contrary to Mr Bradlaugh's usual custom, he issued the writ through a solicitor (Mr Leverson), and instead of defending it himself, Mr Collier, Q.C. (after- wards Sir Robert Collier), was "briefed." The only motive for such a course was that of the attorney's costs. It was thought that there would be a verdict for the plaintiff, and the costs would amount to £100, or thereabouts ; but Mr Collier, Q.C, temporised with his brief, and, gratuitously, apologised for his client. He obtained a verdict, but only a farthing damages. The Radical press commented strongly on the iniquity of the verdict, which placed the power of public meet- ings at the mercy of any policeman. "Iconoclast" did not hesitate a moment. He appealed to the Court sitting in Banco against the verdict, as being contrary to the weight of evidence. He alleged that he had sustained a loss of £7, 15s., which ought to have been taken into consideration as special damages. This would have entitled Mr Bradlaugh to very considerable costs ; but Mr Baron Channel, in his discretion, had refused to give the usual certificate in actions of Tort.. When Mr Bradlaugh appeared before the Appeal Court, he argued the case with persistency. Chief- Justice Earl, and the three puisne Judges of his court 156 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. who sat with him, listened with patience to Mr Brad- laugh's arguments, but they overruled all his points. Pecuniarily, Mr Bradlaugh suffered a great loss through this litigation, and for a long time it crippled him, as he had then a coadjutor on the National Reformer who objected on principle to make use of the columns of the journal for the purpose of obtaining public sub- scriptions to defray legal costs. If this coadjutor had remained on the journal, or if the memory of his scruples had been respected, Mr Bradlaugh's forensic career would have been shorn of all its glories. His interminable law- suits have been carried on with the coppers wrung from the hard hands of poor working men, who have made his barren triumphs possible. He has shamefully used his journal as a sort of begging-hat, which he has car- ried round incessantly amongst miners and pitmen and others whose brains were as benighted as their hearts were kind. Poor dupes, to give their pence out of their scanty and hard-won earnings to a man ever crying out about his poverty ; although, according to his own affi- davit, he has thousands of pounds invested, and is in receipt of £1100 a year! CHAPTER X. Lectures in Dumfries — Excitement caused by His Visit — Secularists kicked hy the Moh — His Life threatened — He hides by the River Side — Is escorted by Friends to His Hotel — Lectures in Burnley — Incredible Conduct of the Wesleyans — Meeting mono- polised — Fight between Wesleyans and Secularists — Lectures in Hiddersfield — Hall Doors broken with a Crowbar — Imprisoned — Liberated — Before the Magistrate — Solicitor defeated — Fresh Tactics adopted by His Enemies. It is a long cry from Devonport and the memory of Blake to Dumfries, and the classic land of Burns. " Iconoclast," attracted by the great freethinking Scotch- men, determined to waken up the descendants of those deacons who were satirically immortalised in " Holy Willie's Prayer." A Scotch Secularist is the most argumentative logician who exists on the habitable globe. When he once breaks loose from his hereditary caution, he fears neither the bailie nor the minister nor the promised hell of the Bible. There were a few such in Dumfries, who wished to welcome "Iconoclast" to a new sphere of labour. Arrangements had been made for the lecture to take place in a decent hall. It was expected that an orderly audience would be assembled ready to meet the lecturer in that intellectual contest from which a true-born Scot was never known to flinch. "Iconoclast" had had little experience 158 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. of the dense, doctrinal Scotchman. He felt somewhat amused at the appearance of the streets of Dumfries towards the approach of evening. Those who had nothing to do, and all the day to do it in, were con- gregated at the street corners. Evidently they were on the look-out for the stranger, who had come to challenge the doctrines taught in their kirks. Sud- denly a bell was rung, which caused the inhabitants to move en masse to the rear of "Iconoclast," whom they serenaded with all the yells which formed the accompaniment to the wild slogan which had called their forefathers to arms. They had arranged to improve the occasion by distributing religious tracts, of the usual inane description, to all who entered the door of the hall where the meeting was to take place. They blockaded the entrance to the hall to prevent Mr Bradlaugh gaining admittance ; and, afterwards, when he passed through the crowd by main force at another place, they thought they would be able to storm the platform and sing a Psaivhn over the van- quished Southron, whom they had done their best to keep outside the building. The lecturer tried to speak, but the yells of his pious opponents drowned his voice, and every time he was compelled to stop speaking, the tract distributors offered their wares to the audience, who were supposed to be half-way to perdition by the very fact of their presence there. To preserve their reputation for orthodoxy, the militant Christians felt that it was necessary to LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 159 be either shying a weapon at the lecturer, or else inviting a doubtful parishioner to go down on his knees and offer a prayer to cleanse Dumfries from the pollution of an Infidel lecturer. Like Dunsinane, the hall could laugfh a siege to scorn. There were no side windows. The mischievous partisans outside could " shy " their stones at the lamps only in front of the hall doors, and as the quantity and strength of their whisky prevented a particularly sure aim, there was consequently a fright- ful waste of ammunition. They had "squared" the police, and it was evident the mob had considered they were temporarily taken on to the higher service of smashing heads instead of using arguments. They would neither allow the lecturer to speak, nor would they keep silent ; and this continued till close on mid- night, when " Iconoclast " felt that it was time to return to his hotel. Many of the Secularists who went out of the hall were kicked in a most malicious manner, while the violence of the mob against " Iconoclast " went to the extent of threatening his life. He was practi- cally a prisoner in the meeting called to listen to his lecture. At last, a kind friend taking pity on his position, told " Iconoclast " to follow him through an underground passage, which would procure him an exit where there were no persons on the watch to stone him. He had never been in Dumfries before, and thinking it too hazardous to walk in the gas-lighted streets, he wandered down to the river side, where. 160 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. under the shade of "the Dock trees," he could himself, unperceived, watch the knots of people who were loudly vociferating that, if they caught him, he would not leave Dumfries alive. Whether it was the piety or the whisky that gave birth to those murderous threats, it was impossible to discover ; but it must have been a disagreeable sensation to know that the clergy who had hounded those zealots to a state of dangerous madness, had not the manliness to restrain a fury which might not have stopped at murder, and which had given tacit licence to the police to wink at atrocities they might not dare to publicly justify. Long after the midnight bell had tolled, "Iconoclast" kept in the shade of that river whose ripple is music to the ear of every Scotchman who thinks of his national poet. "Icono- clast" at last heard the murmurs of the mob grow fainter and fainter, so he started in search of his hotel. His friends had scattered themselves throughout the town in quest of their lost lecturer, who, before long,, had discovered some of the scouting parties, who piloted the way to his hotel, where he might expect to be temporarily in safety. The anti-Infidels gloried in their victory. They had prevented the lecture being heard. They had protected their faith from the assaults of "Iconoclast," and they were under the influence of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of John Barleycorn, happy. Since that eventful night a great reaction has taken place. Freethought journals are widely read in the LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 161 land of Burns, and there should be no part of Scotland more impregnated with modern thought than is the neighbourhood of the ancient town of Dumfries, which has given birth to two of the most distinguished Philo- sophic, Moralistic, Literary, and Freethought luminaries of the age — Thomas Carlyle and William Stewart Ross. On his return South, it was arranged that "Iconoclast" should address a meeting at Burnley, when the friends who sympathised with his views in East Lancashire might be able to meet with those who had long worked with the advocates of advanced thought in the Todmorden district, whose trysting place for many years had been on the slopes of Blackstone Edge, on the wild backbone of England, renowned as the rallying spot for Lanca- shire and Yorkshire in the days when Ernest Jones led the fierce Northern Democracy, and Fergus O'Connor had marshalled his " Old Guard," when political reform seemed a distant dream. Burnley was by no means a reaction- ary town. It contained many men who were equally as outspoken as was " Iconoclast " — men and women who had read the Reasoner during the long struggle of Mr Holyoake to propagate Freethought opinions. Dr XJttley had kept alive a spirit of opposition to creeds of all kinds ; and Joseph Barker's congregations of Christian Brethren, which had followed him for a quar- ter of a century in all his religious gyrations, from Wesleyanism through Unitarianism to Atheism, and which ultimately retrograded with him round his circle ; numbered many hundreds. Joseph Barker had then just L 162 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. returned from Nebraska, and it was arranged that this theological turncoat should join as co-editor with "Icono- clast." This arrangement brought about a feeling of stormy antagonism amongst the Wesleyans to the course of lectures announced by Mr Bradlaugh. The opposi- tion, however, was not directed so much against him as "old Joe Barker." It was organised and directed by the New Connection Wesleyans, who were alarmed at the prospect of Joe Barker's settling down in Burnley. They organised a riot. They issued placards telling the people of Burnley that the inhabitants of Dumfries had stoned the lecturer, and they invited their towns- men to follow so good an example. They met in the schoolrooms of their chapels, where they prepared them- selves to both fight and preach against Infidel meet- ings. They did not succeed in keeping their Tuodus operandi secret. In the factories, the male spinners and the power-loom (female) weavers determined that they would attend " Iconoclast's " lecture ; and that, if they found him to be " a gradely chap," they would use their clogs in obtaining for him fair-play and order. There was no hesitation amongst the Secularists. They attended the meetings ; listened to the lecture, and paid attention to the champion of the Methodists (a Mr Kiley), who, instead of discussing the subject of debate commenced to preach, monopolised the meeting; re- fused to conform to the statutory ten minutes' discus- sion ; defied the chairman ; insulted the Secularists, and announced his determination to do precisely what he LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 165 liked. Mr Riley's behaviour did not suit " Iconoclast's " notions of what ought to be the etiquette of a public debate ; and as no one else could enforce order, he quietly took him by the shoulder and made him sit down. The hall was packed by the Wesleyans. They showed the liveliness of their faith by the sprightliness with which they sprang upon the platform, and they gave evidence of their manliness when, by the mere weight of numbers, "Iconoclast," together with several of his friends, was thrown upon the floor, where, lying" in a heap, the prostrate Secularists were in consider- able danger of suffocation. The East Lancashire Secular- ists now thrust their way through the Wesleyans. For a few minutes the light waxed furious. The Wesleyans fought with carnal weapons, and at one time fifty saints and as many sinners were kicking furiously, and hurling maledictions at each other. At last the police forced an entrance. The offenders who had commenced the fray slunk out of the hall and attacked their enemies, who were standing near the hall entrance. The battle was short and decisive. The Wesleyans never again attempted to take the field against the Secularists. The succeeding lectures of " Iconoclast " were listened to in peace. Soon a shabby Secularist hall was established, sufficiently large to accommodate the two branches of Freethinkers, and Burnley was the town where the first division took place between those who held to the doctrine enunciated by Dr Drysdale in the celebrated " Elements of Social Science " — the future 164 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. New Testament of iconoclastic Atheism, in which pros- titution is put forth as one of the social necessities of youth ; and that other section which repudiates the can- cer of a malignant materialism. One of those episodes which frequently occurred took place at Huddersfield, where "Iconoclast" was a great favourite. His friends had hired the Philo- sophical Hall for three lectures, which had been well announced, and a large congregation had assembled -at the hour fixed for commencing the first lecture. When the lecturer arrived at the hall, he found the door was closed. Influence had been used by his opponents to cause a breach of agreement with the proprietor of the hall. Large numbers of Freethinkers were present from all the districts round about Huddersfield. They had travelled from Holmfirth and Honley. Men were there who had carried in triumph the huge black flag of Paddock which had flaunted in many a struggle when Richard Oastler was the Steward of Fixby Hall and the chosen leader of the Ten-hours' agitation. There were men present who had borne the brunt of every fight at the old Hall of Science ; and who, like George Brook, had been dis- missed from Starkie's factories a generation before ; or virho, like Joseph Thornton, had trained up a squadron of Reformers, or who, like W. Rowland Croft, had kept alive the flickering flame of Secularism till George Jacob Holyoake delivered the first lecture in Huddersfield fifteen years after the death of the LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 165 Socialist agitation. It was not likely that these men would stand tamely by and see "Iconoclast" locked out of a hall which had been paid for in advance for its hire. The police stood near, while, with willing arms, a crowbar was obtained, which was successfully wielded in effecting an entrance. Then the police interfered, by arresting "Iconoclast." They lodged him in prison. Bail was sent for, but before a magistrate had arrived, who would have answered for his appearance, Mr Bradlaugh was liberated, on his promise to attend before the magistrate. A Mr Learoyd, a solicitor, who was at once a Methodist, an attorney, and a Conserv- ative, was employed to vindicate the prejudices of the Christian opponents. His law was even worse than his loofic. He was defeated with derision. At an interval of many years, after he had figured in the rSle of lay controversialist and would-be advocate, he aspired to parliamentary honours at Boston, Unfor- tunately for his clients, he robbed them to pay his election bills, so he was compelled to flee to a land where extradition treaties are unknown. There were many other riotous assemblies in which " Iconoclast" took a leading part, but those which I have enumerated are a fair sample of the opposition which his peculiar mode of advocacy induced amongst his opponents. They were of a brutal nature, but it can hardly be said they exceeded the rowdyisms of the ultra-Protestant Orangeman and his hereditary enemy, the Boman Catholic. Perhaps it may be a necessity of 166 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. this class of brutal proselytism that heads should be broken before rational argument can enter the under- standing. If so, it is a disagreeable means of advancing opinion, and it is found only amongst a class whose theological and anti-theological consciences are of a par- ticularly inflammable nature. I shall not quote any further examples of this class of meeting, for very soon after those occurrences the tactics of "Iconoclast's" opponents were changed into a war of "Breaches of Contract," where halls were let for lectures, and where the owners took a pleasure in breaking their engagements ; and when brought before the County Court, they justified their acts by preventing Infidels from giving evidence on oath. Any stick is good enough to strike a mad dog with, as the proverb hath it. A propagandism, the advocacy of which con- sisted of little argument to convince the mind, and much insult to outrage the feelings, was hardly entitled to demand a respectful hearing. Ever since Mr Brad- laugh has begun to be " respectable," his lectures have been almost exclusively on political subjects ; and even the few Freethought lectures he now delivers, are com- pletely shorn of their olden fire and " go " and bitter- ness. Even Mr Bradlaugh can try to be "respectable," when he thinks it will pay. CHAPTER XL Hoio Favour was obtained with the English Democracy — Arrest of Dr Simon Bernard — Italian Revolutionists — Felici Orsini and Bernard — The Orsini Bombs — Meeting of Conspirators in Paris — Discliar ge of Bombs — Escape of Emperor — Orsini arrested^ imprisoned — Visited by Emperor during his Incarceration — Guillotined — Lord Palmer- ston anxious to curtail Right of Refugees in England — Activity of Bradlaugh at this Crisis — Protected by Mounted Police — Old Bailey surrounded by Republican Enthusiasts during Bernard^ s Imprison- mnent — Warders bribed by the ^''Defence Committee'''' — Bradlaugh supplies Juryman on the Bernard Trial with a Quantity of Sand- wiches — Truelove Prosecution— Bradlaugli^s Political Work during 1858-9. The real hold which Mr Bradlaugh obtained on the London Democracy was achieved by his impudent pro- ceeding's in connection with the defence of Dr Simon Bernard, who, at the instigation of the French Govern- ment, was arrested in London upon a charge of having been connected in the proceedings instituted by the Italian Revolutionists for the destruction of Napoleon the Third. His trial, at the Central Criminal Court, was an epoch in modern history, as it revealed the political shams by which we are always surrounded ; and, in this case, it showed how we were betrayed by great names in which the public place unbounded con- fidence. For what Charles Bradlaugh did on this occa- sion he deserves the thanks of all Revolutionists and Assassins. 168 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. There have been many attempts in history to get rid of tyrants by violent means, sometimes successfully, while at other times failure has been so pronounced as to throw back the tide of democracy for generations. For three centuries universal opprobrium has covered the authors and victims of the Gunpowder Plot in our own country. In France, the fate of Fieschi sank deep into the Gallic conscience, but a considerable discount may be safely taken off the horror of this class of crime, when we remember that the stigma is fixed in the public mind by those who are most interested in creating such a sentiment. In recent years, the fate which threatened only the two Napoleons was consum- mated in the assassination of the Czar. For many years the French held Rome, until at last there was a settled conviction amongst Italians, that deliverance could come only from France. The Emperor was to be menaced by his fears of a violent death, because it was known that he really had a friendly feeling towards Italy. He had himself been an Italian conspirator. He held the traditional Napoleonic idea of wishing to be the titular King of Rome, a title which for centuries was an appanage of the German Emperors, and which had been renewed by his uncle in favour of his unhappy son. On these grounds, Felice Orsini determined to strike a blow at the French Em- peror, if for no other purpose than that of warning him that his life and his throne would never be secure so long as his troops occupied the Imperial City. With LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 169 this view, he associated himself with Dr Simon Bernard and other representatives of the extreme Republican party. Their plans were to create a demonstration, per- haps not necessarily assassination, although they regarded it as an act of irregular warfare, where, like any other struggle, it is impossible to eliminate innocent sufferers. To quote a French proverb, " On ne saurait faire une omelette san-scasser des ceufs." The instruments of destruction have become known in history as the Orsini Bombs. They were manufactured in Birmingham by a Mr Taylor, who, at the trial of Dr Simon Bernard, gave evidence as to their composition. When the plot was ripe, the band of conspirators met in Paris, and selected the occasion of the Emperor's visit to the theatre as the opportunity for carrying out their designs. The bombs were discharged. The object at which they were aimed escaped with his life, but many innocent lives were sacrificed. Felice Orsini declined to escape. He was arrested, tried, condemned, and guillotined. His justification was that Napoleon had betrayed his country, and that French soldiers prevented Italian liberty being won. Before he was put to death on the scaffold, he addressed a letter to the Emperor, warn- ing him of his fate should he continue to oppress Italy. The Emperor took the warning, and secretly visited his victim in the prison of La Roquette. Whatever was the nature of the conversation which took place and the disclosures made at that interview, they will remain for ever unknown ; but the effects were as- 170 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. tounding in their magnitude, for they led to an entire change of policy, which ultimately brought about the Franco-Sardinian Alliance wbich drove the Austrians out of Italy, and it subsequently effected the with- drawal of the French Army from Rome. But the terror created by the Orsini attempt roused the military feeling in France. Inflammatory pamphlets were published against England. The French refugees retorted against the "man of December" in most un- measured language. When it was known that the bombs were manufactured in England, and paid for with money subscribed by certain prominent English- men, the cry of " Perjide Albion!" was raised, and a deputation of French colonels waited upon and implored the Emperor to declare war against England, as the " Asylum of Assassins." Public feeling was aroused to an alarming extent, and the known sympathy of Lord Palmerston with Louis Napoleon was evoked by the efforts to curtail the right of political refugees in Eng- land. This culminated in the arrest of Dr Simon Ber- nard, upon a charge of conspiracy to murder, and the attempt to pass a Bill in Parliament to amend the law of Conspiracy, so as to make the foreign exiles who had taken refuge in Great Britain amenable here for acts done abroad. Charles Bradlaugh became prominent at this crisis. Immense public meetings were held simul- taneously in the metropolis. At those meetings, " Icono- clast" seemed ubiquitous. Committees were got up to secure funds for the defence of the accused. The Jewish LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. l7l solicitor, with whom he was afterwards associated (Mon- tague Leverson), like all his tribe, put himself in evi- dence everywhere, with an eye to business. The London Radicals entered heartily into the question, and it was asserted that our right of free asylum was in danger, French spies were spread over London. "Iconoclast" was subjected to every annoyance except domiciliary visitation from the police. Mounted police followed him to his home from public meetings. He was "shadowed" by French and English detectives where- ever he went. On one occasion, while in a coffee-house with his friends, a French spy silently entered, and seated himself in the next compartment, where he pre- tended to fall asleep, in order the better to carry out his business. "Iconoclast," lit a match, as if to iofnite his cigar, and he then placed it under this person's nose, which act soon caused him to open his eyes and ignominiously withdraw to his confederates outside. Between the preliminary inquiry before the magis- trates and the trial at the Central Criminal Court, there was a popular impression that Lord Palmerston's Government intended to surrender Dr Simon Bernard and his fellow-prisoners over to the French police. To prevent such a violation of our laws, which could not have been justified by any extradition treaty then in force, "Iconoclast" assisted at the organisation of a cordon of watchers, who surrounded the Old Bailey during the time of Bernard's incarceration, from com- mittal to trial, with an intent to prevent by riotous force. 172 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. if necessary, such a truckling to the French Govern- ment. The warders had been bribed, and they gave daily information of what passed in the prison to mem- bers of the Defence Committee. The defence of Dr Simon Bernard was placed in the hands of Mr Edwin James, Q.C., who procured an easy verdict of acquittal. Few events of the present century have so roused public opinion as this celebrated trial and the demonstrations it evoked. There was much anxiety as to who would be empanelled on the jury, and as one juryman who was likely to be called was known to be a friend, " Iconoclast " conceived the idea of supplying him with sandwiches sufficient to hold out a considerable time, should his endurance be called upon. The case ter- minated successfully, without too much thanks having to be bestowed upon either attorney or counsel. Mr Leverson, the chief solicitor, had subsequently to ab- scond, to escape being arrested for fraud, while Mr Edwin James, Q.C., M.P., who stood next on the list for Solicitor- General or a Judgeship, had the option of leaving England within twenty-four hours, or to remain and be charged upon an indictment. Concurrently with the trial of Dr Simon Bernard, a violent attempt was made to crush " the liberty of the Press " by the prosecution of Mr Edward Truelove, for the publication of a pamphlet entitled "Is Tyranni- cide Justifiable ? " This suggestive brochure appeared at a critical time. Its publisher was a man who had. the courage of his opinions. At that period he had LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 173 a second-hand bookshop on the west of Temple Bar. At Mr Truelove's shop congregated all extreme men who required a daring publisher. He was known as a man who would undertake to bring out any book which he thought ouffht to be issued from the Press, but which no other publisher, with the Law of Sedi- tion, Libel, and Blasphemy before his eyes dare expose for sale. When, on the public entrance into London of Napo- leon and Eugenie, all the inhabitants of the metropolis vied with each other as to who should do the most honour to the French Emperor, Edward Truelove was the only man who ventured to display a hostile flag to the gaze of the City Magnates who waited to wel- come our ally at Temple Bar. For a similar act Barbara Fritchie, in nailing the Stars and Stripes to her window, was immortalised by the American poet who celebrated the story of the march of Stonewall Jackson through Frederickstown. Mr E. Truelove pub- lished " Tyrannicide " and was arrested. Charles Brad- laugh, without hesitation, became Honorary Secretary to his Defence Committee. Mr Edwin James, Q.C., M.P., was retained for the defence, and practically en- tered into a compromise with the Government. In a letter recently published by the author of "Tyranni- cide" respecting this prosecution against Mr Truelove, he states the following facts : — " Edwin James, then a prominent member of the Bar, was en- gaged to defend the publication of the pamphlet on the ground 174 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. that a question on the liberty of the Press was involved. TI1& prosecution was commenced under the Government of Lord Palmer- ston ; it was compromised under the Government of Lord Derby. If the secret history of the prosecution should ever come to be written, it will probably be found that Edwin James had ar- ranged with the Law Officers of the Crown to betray his client, in order to relieve the Government of Lord Derby of a difficulty which had been bequeathed to it by the Government of Lord Palmerston. "At all events, there is no doubt that the compromise was forced upon Mr Truelove totally against his desire and intention. I shall not forget the trouble and emotion Mr Truelove exhibited when, late on the evening preceding the expected trial in 1858,, he came to tell me how, as he had just been informed by Mr Leverson, the solicitor for the defence, when it was too late to instruct other counsel, Mr James had insisted that the defendant should withdraw the pamphlet, undertake to issue no more copies, and make a declaration that he had no intention of inciting to murder. But for the unwarrantable course thus pursued by Edwin James, the trial might have resulted in a new vindica- tion of the rights of the Press. As it was, Edwin James, and not Edward Truelove, was responsible for the lame and impotent result." Throughout the whole of those proceedings " Icono- clast " did his best to sow dissension, at a period when the Government were disposed to be friendly with the Emperor Napoleon. In reference to Mr Bradlaugh's political conduct during the years 1858-9, I prefer to say nothing. He was anxious to push himself into the front rank of extreme Radical agitation, and he accom- plished his purpose. Success had not then developed the inordinate egotism which has since rendered him a re- volutionary Autocrat. He kept up the acquaintance of French and Italian refugees, and he was acceptable to- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 175 them because he had a talent which enabled him to act as interpreter of their ideas. He was professedly a lin- guist. In those days, the European revolutionists were confined to Italy and France. There were no German Socialists till long after the advent of Prince Bismarck. The indignation of the working classes was not easily appeased when Lord John Russell took up the rSle of defender of British liberties against the principles of the Bill introduced by Lord Palmerston to amend the law of conspiracy, and, on account of public opinion, evoked " Old Pam," who was defeated with ignominy. "Iconoclast" swam with the rising tide, and sought the patronage of Joseph Mazzini, to give him countenance amongst those who valued this distinguished exile, in- cluding such men as Mr Stansfield, M.P., who left Lord Palmerston's Ministry on account of his connection with Mazzini. Impressed with ideas of Continental politicians, Mr Bradlaugh assisted in sending Dr Simon Bernard on a stumping campaign in the provinces. Later on, when he saw that Mazzini was falling in the background, and that the daring of Garibaldi was in the ascendant, he assisted in the organisation of the English legion for Garibaldi, and in such efforts he was constantly brought into contact with some of the staunchest of Ensflish politicians. That unlucky regiment was a much greater source of terror to the owners of Italian hen-roosts than to the soldiers of King Bomba. They were young enthusiasts, mostly Freethinkers, who had been taught to respect Garibaldi by Mr Holyoake years before the 176 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.R name of the great Liberator was known to the gener- ality of Englishmen. Some of the most striking lectures of "Iconoclast" were those delivered during the years 1858-9, and they betrayed an amount of audacity which drew con- siderable attention to the young orator. He frequently spoke of Felice Orsini, whose memory was always held by him in respect. Within a few months after his death, when the guillotine had struck off one of the handsomest heads in Europe, it was seen that the Emperor had elected to change his Foreign policy. Mr Bradlaugh delivered a lecture with the sensational title, "The Ghost of Orsini Beckons Him On." No inter- ference took place with this class of lectures so long as they were delivered east of the Mansion House, where no excitable Frenchmen reside, and where reporters can- not get their "flimsy" accepted by the daily press. Mr Bradlaugh, however, sought to procure larger audiences for his orations, and hired St Martin's Hall for a de- nunciation of "Louis Napoleon," which was intended to be given on an evening in March 1859. This alarmed the susceptibilities of the French Consulate. The Am- bassador at that time was Count Walewski (the illegi- timate son of the first Napoleon), who protested against such a meeting being held within a stone-throw of the French colonies of Soho and Leicester Square. The Home Secretary was instructed to prevent the lecture being delivered. St Martin's Hall was taken possession of by the police, under the orders of Sir Eichard Mayne, and LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 177 ingress was denied to the public. This was a bold in- novation on the rights o£ public meeting. It ought to have been resisted in the Courts of Law, and an appeal made for substantial damages. The proprietor had been indemnified by the authorities. He paid the expenses required by the hirers of the room. The acceptance of this amount, whatever it might have been, was an act of weakness, as it furnished a precedent which was acted upon in the various County Courts, when, soon after- wards, "Iconoclast" had to sue for damages, when he was locked out of the many halls he had engaged for the purpose of speaking upon unpopular subjects. M CHAPTER XII. Death of John Watts — Bradlaugh refuses to "square" Accounts — Watts^ Widow Fund — The Quarrel with "Anthony Collins." In the summer of 1867, tlie health of Mr John Watts l)roke clown. For some considerable time he had been editor and proprietor of the National Reformer. Mr Bradlaugh was meanwhile carrying on the business of financial agent, in St Helen's Place, ostensibly in con- nection with the Naples Oil and Colour Company, Limi- ted. Mr John Watts enjoj^ed the respect of all sections of Freethinkers, and the love of many who personally knew him. His disease was that which destroys so many Englishmen — consumption. While he was dying at his residence in Shoe Lane (now a portion of the printing establishment of Messrs Spottiswoode), he was assiduously attended by many friends, who strove to make his passage into the domains " of the majority " as smooth as possible. Mrs Sexton, the wife of the (now) Rev. Dr Sexton, a nurse whom Miss Nightingale might have envied, looked after his material comforts. His house was besieged by visitors to see the sufferer, who, like Charles the Second, apologised for the trouble he LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 179 was causing, and the unconscionable long time he took in dying. Yet one thing weighed heavily on the mind of John Watts. There were liabilities which were un- satisfied in respect to his business, which he wished to get arranged with Mr Charles Bradlaugh before his death. He told the friends who stayed at his bedside that he could not get Mr Bradlaugh to speak upon business subjects. When Mr Bradlaugh called at Mr Watts' house, he kept a "hansom" waiting at the door, as an excuse for a very brief interview. For the benefit of the Secularist party, Mr Watts had suggested that Mr Bradlaugh should again edit the National Reformer. To this Mr Bradlaugh consented, but this was the extent of the concession he was able to elicit from his old associate, who resolutely refused to go through the busi- ness accounts. On one of the last visits which Mr Bradlaugh paid to Mr Watts, he deliberately refused to enter into any conversation upon the subject of business. This refusal produced such an effect on the moribund man, that after Mr Bradlaugh's departure he insisted upon getting out of bed and calling a cab, with the intention of going to Mr Bradlaugh's offices to have the matter cleared up before he died. The constant mur- mur on his lips was to the effect that Mr Bradlaugh was only awaiting his death to repudiate his indebted- ness. He was lifted into bed. The next day he ex- pired. All that was possible was done to show respect to his memory at a public funeral. Those who were present at that representative gathering will never for- 180 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGE, M.P. get what they witnessed before the coffin was removed from the house where he had died. The addresses over his grave at Kensal Green Cemetery were delivered by Messrs Charles Bradlaugh and Austin Holyoake. Before the body was removed from the house, a fund was pro- posed to be got up for the widow. Instant response was made to this proposal. Mr G. J. Holyoake, with his usual shrewdness, when giving his subscription, in- timated to his immediate friends the advisability of the donations being: handed direct to the widow, instead of to a committee. It would have been well if his example as well as his precept had been followed. About £300 was collected. But a very small tithe ever reached the widow of John Watts. When Mr John Maughan, a highly respectable Secularist, tried to ascertain what had become of the fund, he was informed that it had been used for satisfying some supposed liabilities of the de- ceased, instead of being handed over to Mrs Watts. In the following autumn, on the occasion of a Secularist excursion to Sevenoaks Park, the matter was broached by several speakers, amongst whom were Mrs Harriet Law, Mr Hearn, Mr Johnston, and Mr Maughan. This reference to the misappropriation of the £300 gave rise to a system of " Boycotting " those who dared to chal- lenge the editorial clique who had obtained control of the National Reformer. The " Boycotting " was carried on to an incredible extent, in proportion as the National Reformer became the paid organ of Neo-Malthusianism. An amusing example of this took place when Mr Brad- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 181 laugh had been proprietor of the journal about a year. It was seldom that open attacks were delivered against schismatic Secularists, but on one occasion the oppor- tunity selected was that of a " reply " to an imaginary correspondent in the " Notices " on the " Leader " page. One of these veiled attacks was directed against "An- thony Collins." He treated it as a libel, and issued a writ against Mr Austin Holyoake as the publisher of the journal, ignoring Mr Bradlaugh as the editor. As Mr Austin Holyoake did not wish to be involved in litigation, he, through his solicitors, offered to apologise. Mr Holyoake's proposal did not meet with Mr Brad- laugh's approval. Mr Bradlaugh waited on the plain- tiff, and accused him of cowardice in attacking the publisher instead of the writer, who, he contended, was morally, if not legally, responsible. He said to "Anthony Collins," in a tone which indicated that he was labour- ing under great excitement, — "You have taught me a lesson which I shall never forget. In future, no man shall be responsible for my opinions. You know that in my religion and politics I have always been 'straight;' but, from this day, I shall be my own publisher. If you insist upon an apology, you shall have it. But immediately after the apology appears, I shall attack you fifty times worse, and I shall repeat such attacks until either you or I are finished. If you choose to withdraw your demand for an apology, I will undertake that no more references shall be made to you in the National MeforTner." 182 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. This compromise was accepted. The next issue bore upon it the imprint that the National Reformer was published by Charles Bradlaugh, of Sunderland Villa, Northumberland Park, Tottenham, in the county of Middlesex. This species of tyranny, Boycotting, bullying, and slandering has never ceased to be the principal weapon in Mr Bradlaugh's armoury. His " Correspondence " column still bristles with cowardly and masqued attacks upon all and sundry who stand in the way, or are supposed to stand in the way, of his vanity or his selfish aims. It was in the " Correspondence " he hinted that another prominent Freethinker embezzled in a Building Society. As a specimen of his Boycotting, it may be noted that he is proprietor of a shop in Fleet Street, from which he refuses to sell either the Secular Review or the Freethinker for fear of their rivaling his own journal, the National Reformer. And this is the man who pretends to be interested in and to have fought for the liberty of the Press ! CHAPTER XIII. Visited hy a French Countess — The Countess visited at the Grosvenor Hotel — Interviews with Prince Jerome Bonaparte — Accompanied hy the French Countess {^) on His Lecturing Tours — Why Prince Jerome utilised Mr Bradlaugh — Arrested at Calais, etc. In the autobiographical advertisement issued under the pseudonym of Adolphe Headingley, a statement is made as to the intimate relations that existed between Prince Jerome Bonaparte and Mr Bradlaugh. The statement is really amusing. The story reads as follows : — " Bradlaugh was at work in his East End lodgings when, at the beginning of September 1870, he received a mysterious visit. On this point, Bradla,ugh, with that general jDrudent reserve which distinguishes him when other persons are concerned, refuses to give any information but from the other side of the Channel; the ensuing details have been obtained. " Surrounded with books, plunged in a maze of papers, sitting in his shirt sleeves, the better to resist the heat and accomplish his work, Bradlaugh's silent labour was interrupted by an unexpected tap at the door. " ' "Who's there ? ' he exclaimed, in a tone of surprise. " ' A woman, and a Frenchwoman,' was the somewhat dramatic and unusual reply. " Bradlaugh hastily donned a coat, and invited his visitor to take a chair, if, indeed, she could find one amid the litter and confusion of the room. Madame la Comtesse, having thus obtained admission, explained the object of her mission, with all the graceful eloquence which distinguishes a French lady ; and, fixing her gaze steadily on Bradlaugh, she rose, and concluded by saying, — 184 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. " ' You state that you love Finance, and I know that this is true. You are, it is said, a powerful speaker, and yet you hesitate to save a drowning people.' " This mysterious visitor produced a wonderful effect on the course of Bradlaugh's action. The war between the French and the German Empires had left him neutral. He could not sympathise with either party ; but when Napoleon fell, his thoughts began to turn towards France, and, stimulated by the entreaties of the patriotic Comtesse, he determined to act. It was the 17th of September when he began to agitate on this question. He at once organised a series of meet- ings in London and throughout the country, and in these the Positivists, especially Dr Congreve and Professor Beesley, took an active part. " These demonstrations — notably the great meetings in St James' and St George's Halls — did not fail to influence the Government. Mr Gladstone became thus aware of a great change in public opinion ; and on one occasion he even called on the lady who, by ajjpealing to Bradlaugh, had originated the agitation. Madame la Comtesse was not, however, entrusted with any official mission, and had, therefore, no authority to answer Mr Gladstone's questions. All she could do was to write to France. Thereupon the Government of the National Defence hastened to send two or three diplomatists over to Eng- land, who, however, committed so many egregious blunders that they soon destroyed all the good effect produced on the English Government by the popular demonstrations that Bradlaugh had, in a great measure, organised. " In October, the Republican Government at Tours spontaneously sent Bradlaugh a long and flattering letter, signed by Leon Gambetta, Adolphe Cremieux, Glais Bizoin, and Admiral Fourichon, declaring that they, as members of the ' Gouvernement de la Defense Nationale, reunis en delegation k Tours ; ' ' tiennent k honnevir de vous remercier chaleureusement du noble conoours que vous apportez k la cause de la France.' On the 2d of February 1871, M. Tissot, the Charg^ d'Affaires of France in England, wrote to Bradlaugh : — " ' Quant k moi, mon cher ami, je ne puis que constater ici, comma je I'ai dejk fait, comme je le ferai en toute occasion, la dette que nous avons contractee envers vous. Vous nous avez donne votre temps, votre activite, votre Eloquence, votre §,me, la meilleure partie de vous mdme, en un mot ; la France que vous avez ete seul k defendre ne I'oubliei'a jamais.' LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 185 " Finally, in September 1871, M. Emmanuel Arago, member of the Trovisional Government of the 4th of September, wrote on the back of the letter just mentioned the following words : — " ' En lisant cette lettre, j'eprouve tres vivement le regret de n'avoir pu, enfermt^ dans Paris, joindre ma signature k celles de mes collegues de la delegation de Tours. M. Bradlaugh est et sera toujours dans la Eepublique notre concitoyen.' " During the agitation in favour of France, Bradlaugh on several occasions visited the Comtesse, who was then staying at the Gros- venor Hotel, but whose name it would be indiscreet to mention. On one of these occasions, a gentleman, with beard and whiskers, and therefore not easily recognisable, happened to be in the room when Bradlaugh was announced. At his request, no introduction took place, and an hour's conversation ensued, during which time Brad- laugh expressed freely all his opinions, and was delighted with the clever replies and conversational powers of the stranger. A little later, M. Chevreau entered, and, bowing very low, addressed the stranger as ' Monseigneur.' This puts Bradlaugh on the alert, and, in spite of the beard, he now recognised that he had been speaking with Prince Jerome Napoleon. The ice was, however, broken, and ever since that day Bradlaugh has always felt sincere friendship and admiration for Prince Napoleon, in spite of his being a Bonaparte. " Bradlaugh imagines, however, that Prince Napoleon has been generally and very widely misunderstood. As a Freethinker, as a man of great talent, and independent spirit, he naturally excited Brad- laugh's interest ; a feeling which was reciprocated, for Prince Napoleon not only went to hear Bi^adlaugh lecture at the Dialectical Society, biit he visited the Hall of Science on several occasions. On the other hand, when Bradlaugh was able to spend a few days in Paris, he generally visited Prince Jerome, sometimes M. Emile de Girardin, and also the amiable Comtesse, who decided him to take up the cause of France. His intimacy with M. de Gii^ardin exposed him, in 1871, to many attacks from the French Republican party ; but Bradlaugh now points to the fact that M. de Girardin sits in the Republican Senate, in consequence of the sujjport given him by M. Gambetta and M. Loviis Blanc. " With respect to Prince Jerome, who has recently become the head of the Bonaparte family, Bradlaugh is convinced that he has no ambition to reign over France. He has had many opportunities of witnessing what has passed behind the scenes, and has no belief in 186 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Prince Jerome's designs to re-establish the Empire. If, however, he is in this respect mistaken, no consideration of personal friendship would hinder his doing all in his power to prevent the downfall of the French Eepublicau Government. Bradlaugh would oppose tooth and nail any pretender, even though such action were to bring him in conflict with his old friend Prince Jerome." We are not informed of the name of this "amiable countess." She was the successor of "the prettiest housemaid in Canonbury Square," and the predecessor of Mrs Besant, the parson's wife ; and it is likely that all three were " countesses " alike. As a working collaborator, the " countess " accompanied Mr Bradlaugh in his provincial tours, and a great deal of mystery was made in secular halls as to her identity. This was in the epoch of Mr Bradlaugh's impressionable activity, after his mind had become saturated with the Neo- Malthusian doctrine that the female portion of the com- munity should be viewed as members of one universal harem. With one bold lady, Mr Bradlaugh's name had been bracketed after his separation from Mrs Bradlaugh, and his convenient residence in Turner Street, at a rental of three shillings and sixpence per week. This lady might not have been as fair as a French " countess," but it was certainly ungallant for Mr Brad- laugh to repudiate an intimate acquaintance, with the brusque remark, — " You may impeach my morality, but, for heaven's sake, don't insult my taste." In this matter, doubtless, Mr Bradlaugh will be pardoned by the fair sex for his reputed gallantries, but it seems very probable that the " countess " who interviewed him LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 187 was of the same class as many who usurp titles as articles de Paris. I£ we, in England, address every tradesman in his private capacity as an esquire, we ought to reciprocate the compliment, and recognise the heraldic assumption of every foreign count or countess who may inform us that they are entitled to such rank. It was a new sensation for the Secularists to find a live " countess " masquerading with Mr Bradlaugh in support of the French Republic. It was a parallel case to that of the enterprising gentleman who entered the French fortress to negotiate, upon the strength of a carte-de-visite, and who mystified both the Empress and Bazaine, as well as the Emperor William and Bismarck. It was a new sensation. At this time, Mr Bradlaugh had found that politics was a better-paying game than anti-Christian lectures. Plon-Plon, who during his cousin's reign was always at cross-purposes with Eugenie, was, at the time of the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, yachting in the north seas. He hurried back to France, but he was not trusted by the Bepublicans, whose cause he had always championed. He wanted foreign support in England to work up a dynasty of his own. He was a Freethinker as well as a Repub- lican, and he thought that he could have no more suitable instrument to efiect his purpose than Mr Brad- laugh, which reminds one of that period when our fleet was sold to the King of France, and the accom- panying French vessels, supposed to be our allies, only attended to see that our sailors did the work for which 188 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. our king had been paid. Mr Bradlaugh was permitted to see Plon-Plon at the Grosvenor Hotel, but the work which he undertook to do had to be superintended by the " countess " who inspired him in the interest of the Eepublican and Freethinking branch of the jSTapoleons. The Commune intervened, and Mr Bradlaugh pro- ceeded to Paris, as an Ambassador from the English Gutter to the French Gutter. He relied upon the position which he had established with the Gambetta Government ; but Thiers was in power then. He was arrested at Calais, until M. Thiers was communicated with by telegram, and after two days' detention, Jules Favre despatched a telegram saying, — " Empechez M. Bradlaugh d'entrer d Paris d tout prix." The fact had become known to M. Thiers that the tongue of Mr Bradlaugh had been purchased by an agent of Prince Jerome, and his presence in France was prohibited. He had tried to propitiate two parties, the Republican Napoleons, who were dissatisfied with the pro-clerical views of the Emperor, and the Commune, which was supposed to be as open to purchase as an ordinary English mob. When the Communist leaders fell, Mr Bradlaugh strove to identify himself with their views, by collecting money for them, so as to keep their favour on behalf of Prince Jerome when the time came to put forward his claims, and the Communists rejected with scorn the offer of subscriptions, on the ground that Mr Bradlauo^h was "an Enoflish Reactionist." CHAPTER XIV. Prepares and delivers Course of Lectures on " The Impeachment of the House of Brunswick'''' — Educating His Disciples re the Overthrow of Royalty — Gross Inconsistency — Creating Republican Clubs — Wishes a Political Advertisement, aiid requires a Holiday at the Expense of the Public — Conference at Birminghaitn — Resolutions — Quiiitessence of Impudence — On the Road to Madrid— Banquet in Madrid — Alleges that He was serenaded — Strange Statements — How He gulled the Public into ministe?'i?ig to His Vanity — The True Story of the Visit to Madrid — The '■'■ Honesty''^ of the Transaction. When the excitement attendant on the Franco-German War had subsided, Mr Bradlaugh prepared a course of lectures on the " Impeachment of the House of Bruns- wick," for delivery to a class of audience different to those persons who congregate at the "Hall of Science." The composition of the lectures showed an attempt to translate the inimitable satire of Thackeray's lectures on the "Four Georges" into the sarcastic language cal- culated to meet the taste of extreme politicians who, doubtless, were ignorant of the labours of the author of "Vanity Fair." Thackeray had succeeded with the educated, and " Iconoclast " considered that he would strike a new departure for the mob on the lines of the " Four Georges." The new point which he sought to bring before the public was that the Guelphs occupy the English throne by a purely parliamentary title, — 190 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. that the Act of Settlement — the foundation of the right by which our sovereigns rule — is open to be repealed, and with it the decheance of the Brunswick dynasty is thereby pronounced, by which a British Republic may be proclaimed by the Parliament which cuts this Gor- dian knot. Mr Bradlaugh put this idea forward as if it were a great legal discovery ; whereas, on the con- trary, it is known by every lawyer to be one of the oldest precedents in our parliamentary history. It was decided in the Middle Ages, when Henry IV. was recog- nised by our Parliament. It was confirmed when Henry VII. obtained the Crown. It was the principle laid down in the Convention Parliament which declared the Crown vacant, and took away the titular dignity from James II., in order to give it to William and Mary. When the children of Queen Anne died, the Act of Settlement was passed, which vested the heirship in the Crown in the descendants of the Electress Sophia, through whom the House of Brunswick obtained the Throne. There was then nothing at all novel in the method proposed by Mr Bradlaugh. It was, however, the opening of a new line of advocacy to discuss this subject publicly, and especially so as Mr Bradlaugh was then anxious to pose as the founder of the Republican movement in England. In order to popularise his new bantling, he encouraged his followers to put him forward as the coming First President of the British Republic. Those lectures were delivered in the largest halls in the kingdom. They were a novelty. They " took " so well LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 191 in England that he resolved to follow the example of Charles Dickens, and make an American "progress," where an attack on the institutions of his country would obtain for him that Irish support which, he thought, was necessary to make his name conspicuous, the Irish in England having contemptuously opposed him on account of his Atheism. There was, of course, a central " Republican Society " got up, with subsidiary Brotherhoods, for which " funds " were required. There are always "funds" wanted for every new political fad of Mr Bradlaugh. While this series of lectures was being delivered, Mr Bradlaugh was subjected to many inquiries as to the proposed British Republic. It may now be very convenient to deny the utterances which he made to his friends at that period as to what should be done upon the next demise of the Grown. Mr Bradlaugh made no secret to his followers as to what his intentions were, and as to what should be done when that event arrived. His friends throughout the country asserted, on his behalf, that he (Mr Brad- laugh) should object to the Prince of Wales succeeding his Royal Mother. He was quite willing that existing life- interests should be respected, but he considered that no new ones should be created. When asked what would be the course he should adopt, he replied that it would be premature to disclose his plans, but he added that the example of Paris after Sedan might be followed in England, unless a "Monster Meeting" in Hyde Park should declare the inauguration of the British Republic 192 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. — the Presidency of which was to be conferred on Mr Bradlaugh, and the Vice-Presidency on the late Mr Odger. These views were said to have emanated from the Republican leader. At that time, the Prince of Wales was extremely unpopular, and his name was fre- quently introduced into Mr Bradlaugh's numerous dis- courses. This was, however, before the illness which His Royal Highness experienced. Since that period, when the wave of popularity set in by which the Prince of Wales has become, as a leader of " Society," the most popular man in his mother's dominions, Mr Bradlaugh has dropped all those muttered threats as to heading a Parliamentary Revolution to change, by law, the occupant of the throne, and substitute an Elective President in her place. He has even gone so far as to say that if it were proposed to have an immediate English Republic he would not hold up his hand for it. His design was to " educate the public " to the Republican standard of liberty. In his "Impeachment of the House of Brunswick," and the lectures delivered on the subject in the United States, Mr Bradlaugh made some very casuistic distinc- tions as to what might be done, and what should not be attempted to be done, by his disciples. He said, " It was treason to seek to overthrow the Monarchy by force, or by any great assembly in which they voted that it should be overthrown, but it was perfectly lawful for them to make an organisation for the purpose of over- throwing the Monarchy, so long as they might do sa LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 193 by making a party in Parliartient who should carry a Statute for the purpose which they wanted." He told his friends that it was illegal to use force (a revolution) to win rights they did not possess ; but it was justifiable to use force in protecting the rights they had. This policy, pursued by an avowed Republican, can be justified as a legitimate method of attack on the British constitution, but it may be fairly objected to as an act of political dishonesty on the part of Mr Bradlaugh, as he was at that time a candidate for a parliamentary seat : and afterwards when he was elected, he first ostenta- tiously refused to take the oath as binding on his con- science, and subsequently offered to take the oath and swear true allegiance to the Queen whose throne he was plotting to overthrow. Again, in speaking of the Prince of Wales, he said,— "He is no Prince of ours," and, "I was no party to the agreement that he should be our Prince." After giving vent to those declamations, Mr Bradlaugh spent some years vainly endeavouring to take the oath of allegiance to the Queen he abjured outside the House of Commons, while he was anxiously willing to become her liegeman inside Parliament. The conduct of such men as Michael Davitt shows better grit. Davitt is as much opposed to British Royalty as is Mr Bradlaugh, but his conscience will not allow him to take an oath, and then commit perjury before God or degrade himself before man, by obtaining an honour at the expense of an untruth. At the Birmingham Conference, Mr Bradlaugh, in N 194 LIFE OF CHARLES BRAD LAUGH, M.P. describing his seditious conspiracy for overthrowing the monarchy, said : — " They " (the Royal Family) " would not have the right of British-born subjects, but the same right as naturalised foreigners." This remark was re- ceived with loud applause. Doubtless Mr Bradlaugh's Republican ideas were fos- tered by the speeches which Sir Charles Dilke had then made in favour of the Republican scheme. Even Her Majesty could hardly credit the conduct of the young statesman she had so frequently kissed when he was but a baby. Sir Charles Dilke was likely to prove II formidable rival. Besides Sir Charles Dilke, he had a democratic competitor in the Republican programme, a gentleman of the name of John de Morgan, who cul- tivated the Irish Nationalists. Mr Morgan's aristocratic prefix " de " irritated Mr Bradlaugh's love of democratic equality in surnames. De Morgan got up the rival National Republican Brotherhood, and was politely de- nounced by Mr Bradlaugh as "the man Morgan." To keep the field clear for himself, Mr Bradlaugh, through his journal, set to work in raising Republican Clubs. He found his readiest method was to duplicate the existing Secular Societies, of which he was President, and advise them to call themselves Republican Societies, in addition to that of Secularist Societies. By this means fifty Republican organisations were instantly created, each with a secretary and stafi" of officers ready for writing letters to the press and preparing petitions to Parliament in favour of the new boffus movement. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 195 Mr Bradlaugh then wished for a holiday at the public expense. He was tired of Italy and France. He determined to try Spain. A new Republic had been inaugurated at Madrid, where General Prim, himself a Republican, had only a few years previously declared that there was no possibility of a Republic, because of the absence of Republicans, All that Mr Bradlaugh wanted was a mandate from the English Republicans, and sufficient travelling expenses to enable him to go to Spain. He obtained his expenses in a unique manner. He made business pay for pleasure. A Republican Con- ference was called at Birmingham in May 1873. How this was worked up, will be seen from "Notices to Correspondents" (March 16, 1873),— " W. T. suggests an address of sympathy and congratulation to the Spanish Republicans. At present the position of Seiior Pi y Margal and Seiior Castelar is very difficult, and any ^noral support of a really useful character ought to involve the official recognition of the Spanish Republic by our Government." The next step was to call upon the Hall of Science people (qua Republican Club) to pufF the project. On the 5th May, a meeting is called at the. Hall of Science to further the proposal. Amongst the speakers I find the name of Adolphe Smith, who, perhaps, is the same gentleman known as Adolj)he Headingley. On the 8th, Mr Bradlaugh presided at the London Republican Club — which is the same place, but this time described as " Old Street," by way of ringing the changes, to mystify the people who were ignorant 196 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. that the Hall of Science is opposite the Lunatic Asylum of St Luke's — for the purpose of electing himself and Mr Foote as deleo^ates to the Birmingfham Confer- ence, and for holding a Court of Appeal against the Sheffield Republican Club, in the case of " the tnoii Morgan." The report says, " The secretary read a cir- cular from the Sheffield Republican Club, entitled ' Brad- laugh V. De Morgan,' in which it is stated that, having heard Mr De Morgan's defence, the Sheffield Committee of Inquiry is perfectly assured that Mr Bradlaugh's charges against Mr De Morgan are utterly false, and that Mr De Morgan is worthy the support of all true Republicans." The following resolution was unanimously agreed to : — " That this London Republican Club is of opinion that the investigation of the charges preferred by Mr Bradlaugh against Mr De Morgan has been judi- cially conducted, and until Mr De Morgan publicly ex- plains away those charges to the general satisfaction, it can place no conhdence whatever in him." Mr Foote adduced further charges against Mr De Morgan, and maintained, "that even if Mr Bradlaugh's charges were untrue — as they most certainly were not — it would still be a disgrace were the Republican party to countenance a conceited young man who, not content with the name given him hy his parents, made various deceptive altera- tions in it, and tuho went about the country promulgat- ing 2^hysical force principles, and proclaiming that the leading London reformers, notably Mr Odger, ivere sold like sheep for so much money." The only correction to LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 197 be made in the latter sentence was, that they sold themselves, and threw their dupes into the bargain. When the Conference assembled, it is said that " no fewer than eight London societies and forty provincial towns sent delegates. Thus there were present at this conference the representatives of forty-eight Republican societies and organisations, actually existing in almost all the important towns of the country, and a great many weaker bodies, unable to send delegates, forwarded letters of adherence." This is the vague statement which generally accompanies a description of this class of Institution. Out of the " eight London societies," it would be very doubtful if, with all the members con- gregated together, they would fill more than two tram- cars. But the description of those members sounds well, and imposes upon the credulity of those who do not look below the surface. At the close of the Con- ference, there was a meeting at the Birmingham Town Hall. The report in connection with this meeting runs thus : — " After passing a number of resolutions proclaim- ing Republican principles, and establishing a ' National Republican Lea.gue,' Mr Funnell, representing the German section of a London Society called the ' Universal Republican League,' which, in keeping with its name, possessed many foreign members, and took special inter- est in foreign affairs, proposed : — " That this Conference desires to express its sympathy with Spain, in its struggle to establish a Republican Government ; its abhorrence at the atrocities committed 198 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. by the Carlists in the interests of a Monarchical Govern- ment ; and also expresses its indignation at the non- recognition of the Spanish Government by the British Government ; and that Mr Bradlaugh be empowered to present the same to Seiior Castelar, on behalf of the Conference." The impudence and absurdity of such a resolution is manifest to any person who will take the trouble to analyse the scheme. A representative of a German pot- house Society, whose members, taken even collectively, could not plume themselves on the possession of a clean shirt, passed a resolution, while yet enjoying the pro- tection of our laws, complaining that the English Govern- ment did not do what those persons, calling themselves a Republican Conference, thought fit to demand. If such a resolution had been necessary, it should have been left to an Englishman to propose its adoption. Mr Bradlaugh immediately started for Madrid to congratulate the Spanish Republicans, " with the cheers of the Town Hall meeting still ringing in his ears." He passed through France, and was dining at the Orleans Station while Gambetta was seeing a friend off to Bor- deaux. This afforded an opportunity of setting the telegraph in motion, to " inspire " the Madrid newspapers with the intimation that Mr Bradlaugh and M. Gambetta had had a private conference on foreign affairs, and more especially on the Spanish mission of Mr Bradlaugh. This was about as true and realistic as the bona fides of the Birmingham Conference. When he reached Irun, LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 19& the railway had been cut by the Carlists. He hired a caleche with two horses, and informed the driver, that " if he dared to stop voluntarily when meeting any Carlists he (Mr Bradlaugh) would fire at him," taking care, as he said this, to keep his revolver in position. In another version, Mr Bradlaugh, without solicitation, tells us that he kept his revolver out of sight whilst addressing the driver. On the road to St Sebastian he was obliged to travel by the diligence. He met with the usual signs of Spanish Civil War. Mr Bradlaugh was more fortunate in his discoveries than was Mr G. A. Sala, who was sent out as war-correspondent to the Spanish Revolution, but who returned home without being able to discover it. Ultimately, after a variety of invented adventures, which he has graphically described, Mr Bradlaugh reached Madrid. " He immediately waited on Seiior Castelar, the then Foreign Minister, to whom he presented, with all due formality, the Resolution of the Birmingham Conference." The Spanish Minister re- ceived the document with the high-flown compliments of a hidalgo. He little suspected that the whole transaction was a hoax, and that the principal actor had arranged the plot as a political advertisement of himself. Not to be outdone in politeness, an official reply was received in due course, and then followed an invitation to a State Banquet, which was duly pro- vided in honour of the Birmingham Republican Pleni- potentiary ! The Alcalde of Madrid, the Deputy of Madrid, the President of the Federal Centre, and the 200 LIFE OF CHARLES BRAD LAUGH, M.P. Provincial Deputies, signed the Invitation, while a few supplementary Generals, Colonels, and Privates attached their autographs, as approving of the object for which Mr Bradlaugh had appeared. The Alcalde waited upon the distinguished guest to escort him to the banquet, where eighty leading Spanish Republicans were already assembled to do him honour. The chair was taken by Seiior Garcia Lopez, who introduced Mr Bradlaugh in a speech couched in the following words : — " Caballero Bradlaugh, the Alcalde of Madrid, her Cortes Deputies, her Diputacion Provincial, her Coun- cillors, the Chiefs of her Battalions of Volunteers of the Republic, the Presidents of the Popular Clubs, and the Representatives of the Press — all members of the Spanish Federal Republican Party — are those whom you see gathered here, and they thank you for the honour you have done them in accepting their cordial offer of a modest repast." A speech followed, explaining the prospects of the Republican party in Spain, which concluded with a toast highly eulogising the British Republican Leader and the Republicans who had sent him on his Spanish mission. Mr Bradlaugh replied in English, his speech being translated into Spanish, and in rej)ly to the Editor of the Epoca, who had obtained a glimmering of the truth, that the plenipotentiary represented but a very few nobodies, Mr Bradlaugh stated that all great reforms came from minorities. He said : — "With pride instead of shame I admit, Seiiors, that LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 201 it is tlie minority whose ambassador I am to you. To the minority I belong; and we are extending our small minority, so that / have little doubt that luithin tiventy years or less, we shall have the Republic in England" (Cries of " Now, now ! ") " sending its official Ambassador to the Republic of Spain. I trust, if I live, I shall then be able, on behalf of Republican England, to re- visit Republican Spain, and find her natural wealth developed, and the ancient glory of her name restored, and maintained in a path of peaceful progress, useful to herself and all mankind. I repeat, I shall be quite content if we have secured the Republic of England in twenty years." (Here the speaker was interrupted by cries of " Now, now ! " " At once ! ") " Speaking for myself, I may answer that if a Republic could come to-morrow in Eno-land without force, without blood- shed, without crime, without ruined cities and anger- maddened peoples, then I would be the first to greet it and to serve it ; but our Republic will, I trust, come nursed by the school, the brain, the pen, and the tongue, and not heralded by the cannon's roar, or carved by the sword. Hence it is that I say I should prefer to work, even for twenty years, to strengthen men's brains, so that they may know how to keep the Republic when they have won it, and that it may be an indestructible Republic, which shall honour the destinies of the people of England, and serve as guide as well as mother to the English-speaking races through- out the world." 202 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. When this speech was concluded, Seiior Ocon rose to inform the Plenipotentiary of the expected British Republic that he was the Secretary-General to the Council of Ministers, who sent him, on their behalf, to add to their congratulations. The Minister of the Colonies sent his card and a box of (Government ?) ciffars, for the quests at this remarkable "free-and- easy." After the speeches were concluded, the whole of Mr Bradlaugh's entertainers insisted on seeing him to his hotel, where a fresh series of deputations called upon him until half -past two the next morning. His biographical amanuensis says : " In the street and the Puerta del Sol an immense but orderly crowd waited patiently from midnight till nearly three in the morn- ing. During the whole of that time the two splendid bands of the artillery and the engineers, sent specially by the Minister of War, serenaded Bradlaugh, con- cluding their concert with the ' Spanish Republican Hymn ' and the ' Marseillaise.' At last, and after repeated entreaties from the vast crowd, Bradlaugh was per- suaded to address them from the balcony of his hotel. He spoke in French, a language more likely to be understood than English, and said : — " Peuple de Madrid, je regrette sincerement que je ne puis pas vous parler dans voire propre langue parceque louche au coeur par la demonstration que vous mJavez faite fai hesoin de paroles chaleioreuses pour traduire ma pense'e de reconnaissance. Je vous souhaite la paix, la prosperite, et I'ordre, et LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 203 je crie de tout mon dme. ' Vivad la Repuhlica Espanola ! ' " It is to be hoped that those Spanish democrats understood the plenipotentiary's speech. It is ex- tremely doubtful if an address in French delivered sither at the "Hall of Science" or on Clerkenwell Green would be any better understood than in the Puerta del Sol, where Mr G. A. Sala alleges that the penniless citizen of Madrid sleeps in his poncho. Pos- sibly such an amount of oratory had disturbed the usual boarders, and, if their sleep had been prevented, nothing was more likely than that they should mix with the deputations, in the anticipation of getting a supper at the price of their disturbed repose. Doubt- less, like their English congeners, they would be greatly disappointed if refreshments were not supplied by the messenger of brotherhood, who had travelled from Birmingham. Perhaps they were satisfied with the largesse bestowed, as the " begging-box " was rattled for a long time to pay the expenses of this Quixotic enter- prise. Mr Bradlaugh's amanuensis concludes his account with a naive confession that " during Bradlaugh's brief stay in Madrid, he enjoyed several pleasant interviews with Senor Emilio Castelar and many other prominent men, all equally desirous to do honour to the delegate of the English Eepublican party, and to welcome a leader whose ability and popularity has always been more readily recognised abroad than among the ruling classes in England. In this instance, also, it was the 204 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. New Yo7'k World, and not the English press, that gave the best account of these remarkable proceedings in the Spanish capital. After all these manoeuvres, it was urged that it would be most imprudent in Bradlaugh to return homewards through the Carlists' country, and therefore he travelled via Alar del Rey, and after some days' detention succeeded in obtaining a ship from Santander to Bordeaux." To read the above statement without a smile is a severe task upon ordinary credulity. Fourteen years out of the twenty set apart for the formation of the British Republic have passed away, and how much nearer are we to the goal ? The Spanish Republic soon died a natural death for want of Republicans. If the ruling authorities of Madrid were so simple as to take the self -nominated plenipotentiary from Birmingham ait serieux, they deserved to be swept away as political incapables. There is, however, an explanation of this Jiasco which borders on the ludicrous, and it shows the cleverness of Mr Bradlaugh in using the public as his tool to minister to his vanity and service. The real cause of this escapade has never been disclosed. If Mr Bradlaugh was ready to dupe the Republican puppets who clothed him with a quasi-authority, he did not dupe himself. Mr Bradlaugh, being well known at Judges Chambers, was considered by a legal firm to be a likely person to go abroad to take evidence in a pending suit where the Portuguese Government was concerned. A commission was appointed to take evi- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 205 dence, and it was necessary that the solicitors should either go or send a representative to Lisbon, and also to a place some distance in the interior. Mr Bradlaugh waited upon the solicitor who repre- sented the Portuguese Government, and inquired if he would object to his (Mr Bradlaugh's) representing the solicitor on the other side. (Mr Bradlaugh was not a qualified solicitor, and might have been objected to on that ground.) Mr Merriman was acquainted with Mr Bradlaugh, and raised no objection. " When will you be ready to start, and what route will you take ? " inquired Mr Merriman. " Oh," replied Mr Bradlaugh, " I shall be prepared to start within a few days, and I have decided to go across the Pyrenees." " That," rejoined the solicitor, " will not suit me. I do not want to fall amongst the Carlists. I shall go to Portugal by sea, and I will meet you at Lisbon." Mr Merriman went by steamer, and waited a fort- night for the arrival of Mr Bradlaucrh, but there were no signs of his appearance — neither letter, telegram, nor message reached Lisbon to say that Mr Bradlaugh was coming. The litigants grew impatient, and called upon Mr Merriman to proceed to execute his commission. He travelled to the town where the inquiry was to take place. The commission was duly opened before the Notary, who made his report that the English solicitor of the Portuguese Government was present, but no one appeared on the opposite side. The commission was 206 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. closed. The solicitor returned to Lisbon, after an ab- sence of three weeks. What was his surprise to find an account in a newspaper of the political travesty at Madrid, where his paid colleague was posing as a Re- publican delegate ! Mr Merriman returned to London, where he soon after met Mr Bradlaugh, who coolly told him that his political business was more important to him than his legal commission. How Mr Bradlaugh's employer was satisfied with his conduct is a matter which one would be curious to know. It may, however, be safely predicated that Mr Bradlaugh kept this morsel of secret history quiet from the National Republican League. This statement of undoubted facts presents matter of so grave a nature as to seriously imperil the political honesty of a mem- ber of the House of Commons, and it afibrds reason to doubt whether Mr Bradlaugh would not befool his Nor- thampton constituents in like manner as he befooled his Republican dupes, in the event of his being selected as a member of a Radical Ministry. In the particulars given above of the Spanish fiasco, I have merely described a series of facts which are known to only a few persons. At this point I pause, to give the facts from the pen of the other principal actor, whose written statement, which is set out in the next chapter, has been handed to the author by Mr Merriman. CHAPTER XV. De Bristo v. Hillel — The Story told hy the Plaintifs Solicitor—Brad- laugKs Connection with Hillel — His Alleged Connection with Messrs Lewis & Lewis — Engaged to take Evidence in Portngal — Ignores his Engagement, after being paid, and goes to Madrid ■ — Imposing upon his Republican Dupes — Superhuman Cunning- Seven Distinct Charges against His Integrity — Betrayal of Senor Castelar, etc. The facts alleged in the foregoing chapter were princi- pally gathered from the National Reformer, Mr Brad- laugh's own journal, and from information given to me by persons who had assisted in the scheme. The Merriman episode had been communicated to me by a gentleman of Mr Bradlaugh's own peculiar persuasion. Wishing to verify the matter upon independent grounds I sought out Mr Merriman, who, in reply to my in- terrogations, endorsed generally what I had already written in the preceding chapter. I did not inform Mr Merriman of what I had already prepared, and he was and is ignorant of what had been previously written. His statement was in substance so near the description already given to me, that I have not al- tered a sentence of the foregoing chapter. For the satisfaction of my readers, I requested Mr Merriman to commit the matter to writing. He complied with my request ; and my readers are in a position to judge for 208 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. themselves as to the conclusions I hereafter draw. It is as pretty an escapade as that visit to Madrid by another " Charles," who, two and a half centuries ago, rushed incog, to the Spanish capital in search of an Infanta. The story of Hillel v. the King of Portugal, accord- ing' to Mr Merriman, is as follows : — CI "The account of Mr Bradlaugh's journey and voyages from Birmingham to Madrid, and homewards, as told by Mr Headingley, may be true, as far as it goes, but is certainly not the whole truth of the matter, and I will therefore supplement that remarkable narrative by relating the omitted circumstances. " In passing, I am tempted to observe that the hero of the story is to be fairly held responsible for the suppression of the circumstances I will relate, because, although the book referred to purports to have been written by one ' Adolphe S. Headingley,' the facts he discloses were presumably given to the writer of that remarkable narrative by Mr Bradlaugh ; and I also find that it was avowedly printed by Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh, so that the latter could not have been ignorant of what the volume con- tained, and omitted to tell. " I have, under the circumstances, no objection to repeat to you that which is an amusing reminiscence of my professional life, and I place no restriction upon the use you may choose to make of the information thus supplied to you. " In the year 1873, I was acting as solicitor for the plaintiff in a Chancery suit, entitled De Bristo v. Hillel, and the defendant souo-ht and obtained leave to take the evidence of a Portuguese statesman at Lisbon, imder a Commission, of which I had, of course, what is called ' the Carriage.' In due course, Mr Eawes, of Lisbon, a merchant of the highest character, whose name is almost as well known in the City of London as in Lisbon, was appointed Com- missioner. The limits of time for taking the evidence were as usual fixed, and were as well known to the defendant as to myself and others concerned. The necessary notices were given to Messrs Lewis & Lewis, the defendant's solicitors, and I sent out to Portugal an articled clerk, who had the management, under my supervision,. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 209 of my Chancery business, to watch the interest of the plaintifi' at this examination. On the day fixed, Count Samodaes, an ex- Finance Minister of Portugal (who had voluntarily come all the way from his seat in a suburb of Oporto — a ten or twelve hours' ride by railway, and a distance of about two hundred miles) pre- sented himself to give evidence. The Commission was, in fact, formally opened at the Ministry of Finance in Lisbon, as arranged and notified. Mr Rawes was there, the plaintiff, by his legal repre- sentative, was there, the noble Count was there, but one person to the suit was not there, in person, by council, solicitor, or agent. The absentee was the defendant, who had sworia that the evidence of Count Samodaes was essential to his case. Nothing could, how- ever, be further done by us, and all the Commissioner could do was to report, in writing, on the face of the Commission, of the defend- ant's (Hillel's) absence, seal up the document, and post it to the Court. My client, however, had to pay the heavy costs of this judicial farce, which, like all subsequent heavy costs (save of £200, of which more anon), they were never able to obtain or recover. " Another and greater surprise, however, immediately awaited us. The defendant's counsel objected to the reception of Eawes' re- turned Commission, and coolly asked that a second opportunity should be afforded to the defendant to get the essential evidence of Count Samodaes, because our notice was in some trivial respect too vague or indefinite. Our counsel ridiculed the allegation, and urged with irresistible cogency that if the objection was hond fide^ it would have been taken as soon as it was served on Messrs Lewis & Lewis, and not postponed until after the expense had been in- curred by us. The Vice-Chancellor declared that the objection was absurd ; that the notice was sufficient, and we should then have had a judgment or order in the plaintifl"'s favour, but for one of those peculiar ' flukes ' -which oftentimes prolong litigation. A conversation appears to have taken place between the opposing counsel, in which it was urged, and seems to have been conceded, that Hillel would make a show of grievance if we pressed our victory, and so it was agreed that a second Commission should be sent out, to give him another opportunity of obtaining the indis- pensable evidence of Count Samodaes. " Agairi, at the great expense of my client, the same farce was played out. The second Commission was duly opened. Count Samodaes again put himself to the trouble and inconvenience of O 210 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. leaving his large estates (which he himself watchfully cultivated) and going to Lisbon to meet the terrible Hillel or his skilful advo- cates. My clerk was there, but again there was an absentee — the defendant, to whom the evidence of the Count was, it had been said, a matter of life and death. " This surprise was, however, not the greatest we were to en- counter. When the returned second Commission was opened in Court the defendant's counsel pertinaciously insisted that I had neglected something or other ; which allegation carried absurdity on its face, and was laughed out of Court, and here again followed a still more extraordinary arrangement. " The evidence of Count Samodaes having been so absolutely essential to the defendant, he plaintively urged his counsel that if another opportunity were afforded him of obtaining it, he would consent to any reasonable terms that might be suggested by the plaintiff, if the Vice-Chancellor would grant another — a third— Com- mission, for that purpose. The Vice-Chancellor peremptorily re- fused this, unless the plaintiff consented. A conference took place, and it was arranged that Hillel should have his third Commission, if he paid the plaintiff beforehand the sum of £200 towards his costs of what afterwards proved a third farce. " Now, let me explain that I was not present at Lincoln's Inn ■on the occasions when these Commissions were so granted. "Within a day or two — will it be believed — the sum of £200 was paid to me, and the Commission issued once more to examine Count Samodaes. " I now resolved to take the business more thoroughly into my own hands and resolved to follow that Commission to Portugal myself. " An incident somewhat amusing next ensued. I, of course, communicated with Count Samodaes, who wrote me a letter in English, in which he said, ' I have a great respect for your English Court of Chancery, but I have already twice travelled all the way from Oporto to Lisbon at its request. If it wants me again, it must come to me. I go immediately to my estate at Samodaes, near Lamego, to get in my vintages, and you must meet me in that city at your convenience.' "It is needless to say that the decision of Count Samodaes allowed of no argument against it. It was so reasonable, that com- pliance was the only course for us to adopt, and we made arrange- ments accordingly. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 211 "Now came upon us another surprise. I was sitting in my office in Queen Street, City, one day when the name came to me through the ' call-clerk's ' whistle, ' Mr Bradlaugh wants to see you particularly, and is in a hurry.' 'Send him in,' was the prompt reply. In walked the tall and burly form of ' Iconoclast,' and this was the conversation which ensued, as I distinctly recollect it. " ' Re Hillel,' said he, ' I hear that you are going out to Portugal yourself, next time.' ' That's true,' said I ; ' but what has that to do with you V ' Oh ! don't you know,' said he, ' Hillel's an old friend of mine ? I manage all his affairs. I am conducting this suit for him. Lewis & Lewis are only nominally the solicitors ; I do all the work. I thought you would have traced my hand and mind in the affidavits and papers.' " I could not repress a smile, but replied, — ' That may be as you say, but I can only deal with Lewis & Lewis, as they are the solicitors on the record ; and, in fact, I heard nothing, until now, of your connection with the defendant or the suit.' " ' Of course,' he rejoined, ' the business will go on in the same way, I having only called to ask you whether you will object to my api^earing before the Commissioner as Lewis & Lewis ? ' " ' Well,' I said, ' I don't know that I have the right to take such an objection, but I shall certainly not take it, if I have the right.' " So I supposed,' added he ; ' but I thought that I would see you about it, so as to avoid any difficulty or dispute.' " This point settled, we proceeded to talk about our journeys, the hotels we intended to stay at, and agreed to smooth all difficulties before the Commissioner, or rather, to allow of none being raised on either side. Mr Bradlaugh wanted me to travel with him, but this I declined. He was going across the Pyrenees ; I told him that I preferred the sea voyage from Southampton to Lisbon. He gave me the information that I must cross the Bay of Biscay, and that it was rough water there, etc. I answered that the mal de mer never had upset me, and that I thought I could endure a few hours in those always more or less troubled waters. It was then seen that we could not be fellow-travellers. Hotels then came up for discussion. Had I ever been in Portugal 1 ' No.' The Hotel Centrale of Lisbon he was recommended to — it was a little Langham. I had already taken advice on that score, and had fixed on the Braganza, which was a very fine hotel, and I added that although I should raise no objection to his status under the Commission, it would not look 212 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. well to be seen hobnobbing, as if we were not opponents but near friends, on mutual pleasure bent. " A detail or two of essential business had then to be arranged. On my arrival, I must call upon him — as it was thought that he, having the start, and as land travelling is quicker than sea voyaging, would set foot in Lisbon before me, and I was to introduce him to the Commissioner, etc. An hour or two after my arrival I walked from the Braganza to the Centrale, but no Mr Bradlaugh had been seen or heard of at that great establishment. Next day, a similar call and the like answer. So on, day after day, and no trace or sign of Charles Bradlaugh could be made or seen. No telegram and no letter came to me in explanation. At length I found that unless I started for Lamego, I should exhaust the time allowed for opening the Commission. The Commissioner informed me that I had not a day to spare, and that I had indeed run some risk already, as the road from Oporto to Lamego was then crowded by traffic, as the crisis of the vintage sale was then at its height. " Hillel and Bradlaugh must take their fate, I thought. Next morning, I arranged to start for Oporto, and Mr Rawes telegraphed his brother at that jjlace to hire a capacious waggonette, to carry some provisions, and sleep two persons for two nights, on their journey, as the interior wayside inns were not as sweet and clean as could be wished. I left word at the Centrale that I should sleep one night at the Hotel du Louvre, Oporto, and begged him to telegraph, and follow me by the first train after his arrival in Lisbon. No such telegram reached me in Oporto that night, as I had hoped, or the following morning, as I dared to expect. " Away then we went from Oporto for Lamego, a pleasant ride indeed at starting, for our three horses rode up and down the hills, lying open to view at our feet — or hundreds, sometimes many hundreds of feet — below us ran the shallow River Douro, and all around were hills and valleys graced by the deep verdure of olive trees, and by trailing vines, the rich and rare grape of which yields matchless port to the hon vivants all over the world. Then we came to the foot of some tall mountain, up which no horses could drag us, and no mule can take anything, unless across his back ; but here are our oxen awaiting us, and they, sure-footed and patient beasts, will draw us as we doze. Again we halt, and put up our oxen to rest and await our return. Horses are again in requisition, until we come to the second huge difficulty of carriage. This was at night, in I LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 213 a dirty village at the base of a mountain. There is delay. I grow anxious. Mr Eawes has gone away in the black distance. He comes home after a while, and says, — ' Mr Merriman, you have waited too long for that man Bradlaugh. Our oxen have been taken by some vine-grower, and I can't get another team.' 'You must, Mr Kawes!' I passionately exclaimed. 'If we don't get to Lamego to-morrow, we are done. The Commission will have run out. Get oxen : pay any price for them. Away he goes, and comes back for a price, not a trifle. He has got oxen ; my mind is relieved ; we start. "We get into Lamego mid-day on the last day. " Lamego is a jiicturesque old cathedral town, but a small place. I beat about under guidance, but there is no Bradlaugh, nor any message for me at the post-office or elsewhere. The Commission is opened ; Count Samodaes is there ; I am there ; the Commissioner is there : the farce is played a third time, and so the matter ends, Mr Hillel's £200 have been wasted, so far as he is concerned. "On my homeward way, I thought that I should like to get a view of Spain, and while in my hotel in the Puerto del Sol, I took up an English paper. Lo, and behold ! Mr Bradlaugh, going to Portugal via Spain, has made a personal acquaintance with some Eepublicans, who have off"ered him a banquet, and he has dismissed Hillel and his suit from consideration, under the temptation so placed before his ambition. " I am at home. In a short time afterwards, Mr Bradlaugh favours me with another call. ' How did you like your visit to Portugal ? ' he somewhat abruptly asked. ' Very well in some re- spects,' I answered ; ' but where were you ? You nearly landed me in a mess,' I added, with explanations to which he paid no regard. He merely observed, in the driest and most cynical manner, — ' Oh, I met the leaders of the Eepublican party in Spain, and they got vip a banquet for me. That was of more importance to me than Hillel's business, and you know that I couldn't have done any good in Portvigal if I had gone there." In a subsequent chapter the reader will find the story of Bradlaugh v. Lilly and Hedley. This litiga- tion took its rise from the investigation of certain epi- sodes in Mr Bradlaugh's East Finsbury Election cam- paign, where he indignantly asked his opponents, " What 214 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. causes and what men have I sold ? " The Rev. Brewin Grant took up the challenge, but the rev. gentleman was not aware of the Merriman interlude. I take up the gauntlet in regard to the Spanish Mission, and I allege : — 1. Mr Bradlaugh "sold" the Republicans by using them as puppets to clothe him with an authority to go to Spain when he had already (secretly) arranged to go to Portugal on business for which he had been paid. 2. He " sold " them by begging the money to pay his expenses, when they had already been provided for by his client Hillel. 3. He "sold" his client Hillel, by persuading him to pay Messrs. Merriman & Co. £200 as their profes- sional expenses to go to Portugal on a Commission (irrespective of the money received for his own ex- penses), when it was never his intention to go to Por- tugal on behalf of his client, but to go to Spain for his own glorification. 4. He " sold " the Republicans in England by spread- ing the report that he was a Carlist prisoner, who only escaped by his own prowess and by the fear inspired by his revolver, which he admits to have kept out of sight. 5. He " sold " his patron by revealing, in public, sentiments alleged to have been confided to him by Senor Castelar respecting his political opponent. Mar- shal Serrano, which might have cost Castelar his life. 6. He "sold" the British Ambassador, whose office LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 215, he had usurped, by betraying information gained as to Sir Henry Layard having ordered a vessel by which the Marshal escaped. 7. He "sold" the Spaniards, by braggartly pretend- ing that he represented a bond fide political party, and as soon as the Catholics discovered that the self- appointed Ambassador was Charles Bradlaugh, the Atheist, the Spanish Republic was dissolved, and Castelar was exiled. These are the allegations I make against Mr Brad- laugh in connection with his Spanish Mission. At the risk of prolixity, I repeat, that when Mr Bradlaugh, in his dealings with Hillel, in engineering a Portuguese Loan, must have made the arrangements for going to Madrid, and it is evident that Hillel, his client, was the dupe who provided the money, unconscious of its destination. Two hundred pounds would not have been handed to Messrs Merriman & Co. for their ex- penses, without an equal amount being forthcoming for his own solicitors, irrespective of the law costs. Not only was the " Republican Embassy " Mr Brad- laugh's own private speculation, organised by his own tools, and paid for by himself, but he made it the occasion of collecting subscriptions from those who were kept in profound ignorance of the Hillel trans- action. The subscriptions obtained to defray his travelling and hotel expenses to and from Madrid — expenses incurred for the purpose of satisfying his egotistical ambition and vain - glory — were extracted 216 LIFE OF CHARLES BRAD LAUGH, M.P. from poor men, many of whom had not sufficient food with which to satisfy the empty stomachs of their families. On the 8th June 1877, he says, in "Answers to Correspondents " : — ■ "T. C. D. — At present Mr Bradlaugh is still per- sonally £23 out of pocket, for expenses incurred by him in connection with the Birmingham Conference, but of this £23, £5 has been promised, and will pro- bably be received." It seems laughable to read how a " movement " started as a business speculation could be gravely spoken of; but the Spaniards were told that it was a genuine spontaneous feeling in England to start a Eepublican party, in opposition to the official represen- tatives of Great Britain at Madrid. In one of the reports published on the 25th May 1877, in connection with a miserable little club where a dozen boosers could pass resolutions in favour of Mr Bradlaugh," I read, " That this meeting hereby accords its warm approval of the proceedings passed at the Birmingham Republican Conference, and more especially do we approve of the appointment of a delegate by the meet- ing to go to Madrid, as it will tend to show that the conduct of our Government in not recognising the Spanish Government, although legally and peaceably established, is not in accordance with the sympathies of the majority of the people of this country." This was a nice story to take to Madrid, and tell at a public dinner, organised in the belief that those im- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 217 pudent fabrications were based on truth. He had even at that conference refused to sanction the pro- posal of a Republican paper, of which it was proposed that he should be editor, on account of "the stigma of his opinions," and yet this "stigma" was what he took with him to the most bigoted Roman Catholic country in Europe. He went straight oif to Madrid with that "stigma;" and the horror which attached to Senor Castelar, as being his friend, was felt to be such by Christians of all denominations in Spain, that the record of Senor Castelar's embracing a blasphemer of God was of more value to the Carlists than would be ten regiments of soldiers and a fleet of ironclads. It has been truly said that from that octopus embrace of Castelar and Bradlaugh, the Republic of Spain was strangled at its birth. Mr Bradlaugh " sold " Senor Castelar by turning informer, and by publishing a private conversation, or by inventing what he alleges to have been a private con- versation, and then by publishing it. It is as follows : — ■" On the Army, my views were entirely opposed to those of Senor Castelar. Having heard superior officers openly using disloyal language, and having witnessed much in- subordination amongst the military, I asked Castelar whether there might not be chances of a military pro- nunciamento, with the intent of overthrowing the present Government ? " He answered indignantly, " No." First he said the army was loyal to the core, and next, that former pronunciamentos had only succeeded because 218 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. they had the excuses of pretences in favour of liberty. I suggested a possible danger from Serrano, and the military following he might have amongst the officers. To this Seiior Castelar replied, — " Serrano is not against the Republic, he is for Serrano." This means that Ser- rano was an unprincipled person, who sought only his own interests. Now Marshal Serrano was the King- maker of Spain, and he had the universal reputation of beinff the father of the coming- Kinaf, Alfonso. As it happened, Marshal Serrano succeeded to power, and he might have taken revenge for the contemptuous way in which his rival had made use of his name. Our Am- bassador, Sir Henry Layard, as an act of international courtesy, had interested himself in securing a vessel at a seaport for the use of Marshal Serrano, when escaping from Madrid. On Mr Bradlaugh's arrival at the Spanish seaport, he had an interview with the shipping agent, who told him of the fact, and showed him our Ambassa- dor's letter. The sham envoy published, on his return home, all that he knew, and sought to involve Sir Henry Layard in difficulties with the Spaniards. To make the matter more interesting, he suggests what might have been said by our Government, supposing that a Spanish Ambassador, in Loudon, should have chartered a vessel for the escape of a Fenian leader. What our Ambassador did was a mark of courtesy to one who had been the Prime Minister of Spain, which was something more than the act of a Fenian conspirator, who uses dynamite as his political weapon. It was an act of common LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 219 humanity, and not an international offence, to assist in the escape of a political refugee ; but Mr Bradlaugh thought it would damage the reputation of the Ambas- sador representing the British Government, and, there- fore, he gave all the publicity he could to the fact he had discovered. He told the Spaniards, at his banquet, that " If our minister " (of whom he said he knew nothing) " looks indifferently on your new Republic ; if he turns the cold shoulder on its earnest workers, I pray you, Spaniards, do not believe he represents the English people." Were people ever so gulled, either in Birming- ham or in Madrid, as on the occasion of this Republican fiasco of Mr Bradlaugh ? Assuredly the Rev. Brewin Grant was justified in his reply to the audaciously ironical query, "What causes and what men have I sold ? " Why, he has " sold " every cause, and all the men with whom he has come in contact. He has " sold " the cause of Radicalism by swallowing it bit by bit, to, if possible, secure ministerial honours ; and he has " sold " the working- men of Great Britain in tens of thousands by, in forrrid pauperis, begging from them their pence while he had thousands of pounds safely invested, and was in receipt of £1100 a year. CHAPTER XV I. Death of Mr Turherville — Inqtiest — Bradlavgh present at Inquest — Copy of Turherville^ s Letter — Turherville Legacy — Probate Action — £2750 to Mr Bradlaugh — Is it true that Mr BradlaugKs Daughters nursed their Mother ? Shortly before Mr Bradlau^h's visit to America, in 1875, an eccentric gentleman, Mr Turberville, brother to Mr Blackmore, the novelist, had the misfortune to have been poisoned, either by accident or design, and considerable sensation was evinced by those who had an interest in the gentleman's estate. One side insisted upon the theory of suicide, while the other insinuated that Mr Turberville had been murdered. It would not have troubled the inhabitants of Yeovil very much how this eccentric individual had taken his ticket to the land of the majority, provided he had not left a will, to the disappointment of his next-of-kin. The contents of his will were such as to create much dissension amongst the many legacy - hunters who, ghoul -like, gathered round the corpse of the unfor- tunate gentleman whose last hero was Mr Charles Bradlaugh. Little was known about the transaction until a local paper {Eastern Post, 4th Sept. 1875) pub- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 221 lished the report o£ a lecture by Mrs Besant, who had been called upon suddenly to take Mr Bradlaugh's place on the platform. The particulars, brief as they are, were as follows : — " Mrs Besant intimated that she had a message to convey from Mr Bradlaugh, containing a special apology for his absence, which was caused by his having been called away into the country on hearing that a gentleman had left him a large sum of money. This gentleman, Mr Turberville, had made Mr Bradlaugh his sole executor and residuary legatee. The amount, after deducting a few sums left to scientific societies, was about £16,000, which would enable Mr Bradlaugh to liquidate such debts as had been the result, directly or indirectly, of Christian opposition and intolerance. Mr Turberville went to Yeovil and made acquaintance with a druggist named Maggs, and it was stated that he fell in love with Miss Maggs and altered his will in her favour. Mr Maggs was in the habit of supplying the club, and Mr Turberville used to be doctored by Miss Maggs' brother ; but whether he poisoned himself, or was poisoned by someone, had not yet transpired. Mr Bradlaugh had gone to investigate the matter, and to attend the inquest ; but no altera- tion of the will had been forthcoming. In his last moments, Mr Turberville caught hold of the arm of the 'boots' at the hotel where he was living, saying that he was a villain, and knew about the will." Mr Bradlaugh attended the inquest, and took a very prominent part in the inquiry. His evident contention was to rebut the theory of suicide, as that would pro- bably have gone a long way to invalidate the many wills he had made, to the benefit of the next-of-kin. Those curious in such matters will derive information — which, after the compromise of the probate actions, I do not care to discuss — in the Standard, of the 10th and 11th September 1875, where the inferences of Mr Bradlaugh against the theory of suicide were plainly 222 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. shadowed. The position of Mr Maggs might have been serious if he had not been supported by the physician who gave evidence at the inquest. Mr Bradlaugh evi- dently suggested that Mr Turberville had been murdered, but the jury repudiated with scorn such an insinuation, and evinced their opinion by giving an ovation to Mr Maggs. The verdict of the Coroner's jury settled the dispute as to how Mr Turberville came by his death ; but after this was disposed of, the legacy-hunters set in force the machinery of the Law Courts, and covert threats arose on all sides, which no doubt hastened the settlement of six actions, instituted to dispose of the accumulation of money which caused so many heart- burnings. There is not in my possession much information which can throw light on this gentleman's career. It is said that the character of no man can be adequately analysed, until probate has been obtained for his will. The difficulty in this case arose from the voluminous nature of the Turberville testamentary dispositions. It may help to clear the air upon the subject, to quote a letter published in the National Reformer, which shows Mr Bradlaugh's side of the question. It is as follows : — " The following letter, printed during the case, speaks for itself ; we omit only one paragraph, personal to others : — " ' 22 Mydleton Square, Pentonville, 20th April 1875. " ' Dear Sir, — I executed my will last evening, in the presence of two witnesses, Mr Truelove and Mr Shackleton, both being pre- sent at the same time in Mr Shackleton's j^arlour, at 1, Lawrence LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 223 Street, Arthur Street, New Oxford Street, who live much nearer here than you do, consequently I had no need to trouble you to come so far, and, as your time is valuable, I am glad to have managed it so. With the exception of a few legacies, I have left all I am possessed of — viz., two or three little farms in Devonshire, bringing in, I am sorry to say, "only a very few hundreds yearly, and three little lots of land in "Wales, only about three acres, and a little money in Consols, etc. — to Mr Charles Bradlaugh, and made him sole executor and residuary legatee, as a slight testimony of my immense admiration of that most truly noble of the human race, who is so grandly content with jjoverty for the sake of truth, manifesting such admirable self-respect for the good of others; although, if he chose to become moody and sanctified, he might at once realise a large fortune, and touch the pinnacle of the highest (so-called) dignities of the realm. As this letter is additional evidence of the thoroughness with which I have made my will, and my determination to leave what I may be possessed of to one not within the pale, or pail (slop-pail) of " Holy Mother (rather grumpy Grandmother) Church," at whose hands I have received so much persecution, merely for claiming a right to tell the truth, and refusing to tell a lie by saying I believed what I felt convinced to be the most egregious balderdash and fudge, and to swallow that which^ is the fittest possible preparation for a lunatic. As this letter is evidence of the reality of my will, which I made myself, no one having been near me at the time, it will be no harm if you take care of it. I shall take my will and leave it at Mr Bradlaugh's house to-day, and I intend soon to write him to the same eflfect as I have now written to you. But I must close, having a good deal to do to-day, and wishing you an ever-increasing success in spreading your true gospel for the salvation of common sense. — I am, yours truly, H. Turberville. " ' Mr W. Eamsey. " 'P.S. — I have made several wills before, but never one that gave me a thousandth part the satisfaction this does, with which I am entirely satisfied, unless it may be that I have given away too much ill legacies ; but they do not amount to more than a twentieth part of the value of the whole, or not much more, at any rate.' " The postscript is rather significant, and, probably, had Mr Turberville lived a little longer, he would have 224 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. amused himself still more by creating fresh legatees, or adding new codicils, depriving Mr Bradlaugh of his ex- pectant £16,000. The inevitable probate suit took place. There the next-of-kin and other legatees were handi- capped by the unrivalled powers of litigation possessed by the great Atheistic beneficiary. When it came before the Probate Court, there was a probability of years of litigation. A compromise was arrived at, the details of which are reproduced here from an article which appeared in Mr Bradlaugh's journal. The article was headed, "The Turberville Case." " Many friends in the country will be interested in knowing that, by the decision in the Turberville Will Case, which is now finally decided by agreement, the sum of £2500 is to be paid to Mr Charles Bradlaugh, in four months from this date. Although this will not put Mr Bradlaugh entirely out of debt, it will I'elieve him of liabilities to that amount, and give him fair hope that he may soon be entirely free from the pecuniary burdens against which he has been strug- gling for several yeai's. " Mr Turberville died on the 17th of August 1875, at Yeovil, Somersetshire, and our readers will remember that an inquest was held at Yeovil. The Times of Thursday, August 3d, contains the following report : — " ' Henry Turberville, otherwise Henry Johns Blackmore, the deceased in the cause, formerly of Pilton, near Barnstaple, in the county of Devon, but late of Yeovil, in the county of Somerset, died at Yeovil on the 17th of August 1875, possessed of real and personal property of about £20,000. He was never married, and he left surviving him his bi-other, and sole next-of-kin, Mr Eichard Doddridge Blackmore, well known as a novelist. He made several wills, among others one in 1858, in which he named Mr Essery an executor ; one in April 1875, substantially in favour of Mr Charles Bradlaugh, whom he appointed sole executor ; and a third and last, dated July 21st, 1875, in favour of the plaintiff, Mr Thomas Charles Maggs, and his family. Mr Maggs, who is a chemist at Yeovil, was also LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 225 named sole executor. Each of these gentlemen propounded the respective will of which he was executor, and filed pleas in opposi- tion to those set up by the others, while Mr Richard Doddridge Blackmore contested the validity of all three instruments, and asked the Court to pronounce for an Intestacy. On the case being called, and before the jury were sworn, a conference occurred be- tween the several counsel and parties in the cause, and resulted in a compromise. " ' Mr Hawkins, in intimating the fact to the Court, said that if the case had gone on it would have occupied a great number of days, — possibly the remainder of the present and the whole of next week. An arrangement had been happily effected between the parties, and it was agreed that all litigation which had arisen out of the matter should terminate with the suit, and the will of the 21st of July 1875 should be proved in solemn form. " ' Mr Serjeant Ballantine observed that this arrangement was a satisfactory conclusion of the case, affecting, as it apjseared to him on the whole to do, a fair division of the property between the parties, but by it, no less than six other actions were settled.' " The will of July 1875 having been proved in solemn form, the Court pronounced for it, and allowed the terms of arrangement, which did not transpire, to be filed. The following were the formal terms, as filed in Court on the verdict : — " Westminster Hall, 2rf Augtcst 1876. " Maggs V. Blackmore. " All opposition withdrawn, plaintiff to have probate of the will propounded, without costs on either side, and to pay, within four months of probate, the following sums : — £2000 to Mr Blackmore, £2750 to Mr Bradlaugh (this includes £250 costs to Messrs Lewis & Lewis), £300 to Mr Essery. And thereupon Mr Blackmore, Mr Bradlaugh, and Mr Essery will release all claims upon the testator's estate. All actions in relation to the matters in dispute to be with- drawn. " Thos. C. Maggs. "RicD. D. Blackmore. "C. Bradlaugh. " R. A. Bayeord, for Mr Essery. P 226 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. " This agreement to be made a rule of the High Court of Justice, if either party so desires. " H. H. for Plaintiff. " S. S. for Defendant Blachnore. " C. Bradlaugh. " R. A. Batford." In the Headingley biography this subject is referred to (page 166) in the edition printed after Remington & Co. refused to permit their name to appear as pub- lishers, in the following words : — "It was only after this inheritance that Bradlaugh left his modest lodgings in the East End. With his two amiable and highly-accomplished daughters, whom, as Mr Morrison Davidson says, in his essay on 'Eminent Radicals,' to know is -to respect, he took up his abode at St John's Wood, within an easy walk of the house where Mrs Besant was then residing. Bradlaugh's little family was in mourning for Mrs Bradlaugh, who died after a prolonged illness, and his daughters, having nursed their mother devotedly, thenceforward made their home with their father." In the iirst edition of the biographical advertisement, no reference is made to Mrs Bradlaugh, who died at Midhurst, after having lived separate from her husband for some years ; and it is said her husband would not allow his daughters to reside with their mother, who, from poignant grief at being neglected, if not supplanted, in the house of her husband, sought seclusion in the country, where she watched and contemplated upon the tactics of her husband, at the expense of adopting habits LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 227 which, it is believed, tended to shorten her days. Far be it from me to lift the veil from domestic life, but scant reference has been given by Mr Bradlaugh as to his wife ; and doubtless, if the truth were known, she had reason to regret the introduction of Neo-Mal- thusian doctrines into her own home. It did not con- tribute to her happiness ; and if her memory were to be vindicated by those who could trace the life of a happy servant girl, fresh from her housemaid situation in Canonbury Square, and the time when she occupied her humble home at Hackney, and, later on, when she did her husband good service by entertaining and inviting friends for him at Elysium Villa, Tottenham, when he was dependent upon their support, it would be seen that Mr Bradlaugh owed much to a wife who, in her latter days, was quietly ignored. Possibly the day will come when the story of Mr Bradlaugh's matrimonial life, legal and conventional, may be written without wounding the feelings of his children, as undoubtedly the next genera- tion will be curious to know the practical effect of certain doctrines, as evinced in the family of their great advocate. CHAPTER XVII. His Connection with " The Elements of Social Science" — What the Book- teaches — Its Publisher — Mr Bradla^igh becomes the Paid Apostle of " The Elements " — Receives Large Sums of Money for A dvertis- ing Licentiousness — Incalculable Damage to Morality through His Teachings — Hoiv His Teachings affected His Wife — The Reason why He occupied an ostentatiously Cheap Lodging — A Few Ex- tracts from the Bible of the Brothel, the Bradlaughite Text-booh— Do Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant practise what They preach? — No more Marriages — Free Sexual Licence — Earned, probably, ^10,000 by teaching Obscenity, yet ahvays pleading Poverty — What Dr Agate says about " The Elements " — Joseph Barkei^s Opinion of Mr Bradlaugh! s Teachings, etc. Mr Bradlaugh has made the Population Question a plank of his Atheistic platform, and his name cannot be dissevered from the terrible orgies which the advocacy of Neo-Malthusianism has brought in its train. It is no business of ours whether or not, "personally and practi- cally, any scandal has attached to Mr Bradlaugh's name by his academic connection with vices which are abhor- rent to every undebauched mind. The Epistles of St Paul reveal throuMi a curtain the stain which links the classic Greek to the satyrs who caused the destruction of the Cities of the Plain. It has always been considered that boys who have read the history of the Ancients in the dead languages have become acquainted with a state of morals from which we shrink with horror, and many who are conversant with Latin authors consider the LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 229 pleasure dearly purchased by the filthy obscenity which is thereby instilled into the minds of youth. Were it not for such unexpurgated works, we might have looked for the time when those vices would have been •extinct by non-user, but the discussion of certain ab- normal crimes, lessens the repugnance which otherwise would be felt towards them. In like manner, the con- >^ nection of Mr Bradlaugh with the notorious " Elements " has produced a virus of sexual degradation which has permeated the very heart of modern life. This book teaches a moral pollution, and no woman can follow its teachings without becoming a prostitute, even if she , refuse to sell her person for money. Mr Bradlaugh a,chieved his success in life as the paid missionary for introducing its philosophy to the notice of the masses who have adopted its teachings. " The Elements " is & treatise which defends prostitution as a necessity, and erects prostitutes into public benefactresses. It depre- cates the scorn which Englishmen have always shown for those who were addicted to crimes without a name. It elevates seduction into a necessary function, to which the only objection is pregnancy ; and the whole is written with a view of explaining how, physiologically, Nature can be checked by mechanical Art. Its author is unknown, but Dr Charles Drysdale has shown every desire to be its foster-parent. He has stood sponsor for its morals. He has appeared before the magistrates to certify to the medical character of a like work, and his life appears to be devoted to spreading the 230 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. opinions of Neo-Malthusianism, in every newspaper to which he can gain entrance to advocate his specific, that poverty can be extirpated only by the Herodian principle of murdering infants. As much mystery is- attached to the authorship as, a generation and a half ago, was attached to the "Vestiges of Creation." But Dr Chambers was a Scotchman who did not care to provoke the rage of priestly Presbyterianism, while Dr Drysdale apparently courts notoriety. Whether the " G. R." of the National Reformer is Dr Charles Drys- dale of the Echo, is not as yet disclosed. He takes, by inference, the praise offered up to him as author of this Bible of the Brothel, and until he repudiates its author- ship, wholly or in part, a censorious public will persist in attributing the production of the most demoralising book of the century to his agency, if not to his pen. " The Elements " was published by Mr Edward True- love, about the time that Mr Bradlaugh commenced to lecture, after his mother had purchased his discharge from the army. Mr Bradlaugh was a frequenter of the second-hand book shop of Mr Truelove, then situated in the shadow of Temple Bar, where the Law Courts now stand. The author appears to have dreaded its appear- ance in Wych or Holywell Streets — its proper habitats — and had commissioned Mr Truelove to be its vendor. Mr Truelove was at that time a middle-aged man of strong Radical prejudices against all that savoured of respect- ability in politics, orthodoxy in theology, and decency in morals. His face pointed him out as a credulous LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 231 enthusiast, who could be used as a tool to foist a new work on the section to which he belonged. Mr True- love was by no means a man with a vicious tendency. He was too stupid for that. He was conscientious in his way, and a rich patron, who placed his name as publisher on a book which was likely to have a big sale, made him shut his eyes as to the class of work to which " The Elements " belonged. Mr Truelove placed the Bible of the Brothel before " Iconoclast," who was then very ambitious and very poor. As I have said else- where, the predecessor of " Iconoclast " — " Anthony Col- lins" — had given it a favourable notice in the Investi- gator, because he had seen only the Malthusian part in the "proof-sheets" sent to him by Mr Truelove prior to, its publication. A few months elapsed, and Mr True- love began to find a Pactolian shower of gold from Dr Drysdale's anonymous work ; and, besides the profits of publication, he received constant donations from his medico-philosophic benefactor. " Iconoclast " determined to rush in for his share of the good things which were dispensed to those who circulated " The Elements ; " and at this epoch " Iconoclast " was earning sundry half- sovereigns by selling his tongue to help such financial adventurers as Mr Albert Grant, who frequently re- quired noisy orators to attend the meetings of share- holders, and, as a budding promoter of " Limited Com- panies," " Iconoclast " was always on the look-out for anything which would pay. Whether he offered his services, or the offer was made to him by the Drys- 232 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. daleites, is unknown, but the fact was patent to all, that as soon as " Iconoclast " took up this subject, he found the financial patron who has ever since protected him. Just in proportion as he gave his time to the advocacy of the Population Question, so did the dona- tions roll in. From a modest sovereign, the amount grew to £5. It advanced to £10, which amount was frequently repeated. It rapidly increased to larger sums, which, I understand, have been no less than £100, and that on more than one occasion. With those stimulants to activity, " Iconoclast " divided his attention between the practice of Law, the demolition of Theology, and the advocacy of Malthusianism, until he abandoned the first as a profession, on account of the liberal douceurs he received from his patron. It was not the desire of personal moral pollution which actuated Mr Bradlaugh at the earlier stage of his connection with the " Elements," for, as a young man, he was believed to be singularly free from licen- tious habits. But his necessities impelled him to take the side which produced the most ready money, and tlie whole of this part of his career demonstrated that he undertook the task of agitating the Popula- tion Question as the paid hack of " The Elements." In this capacity, no one can estimate the injury he has done to the national morals. Vices which once entailed infamy are now considered, by the dis- ciples of Mr Bradlaugh, to be an evidence of correct breeding and good manners. If the theory of geo- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 233 metrical progression be correct as representing the increase of population, it is equally correct as to the progress of immorality. Whenever these principles are carried into practice, the chastity of men and the purity of women are at an end. When the National Reformer was projected, the editorship was divided between Joseph Barker and " Iconoclast." In a few weeks, Mr Barker openly protested against the immorality taught by his colleague. He denounced it as the revival of Sodom ■and Gomorrah. It was evident in the lives of the leading Secularists. Mr Bradlaugh's principal supporter in Sheffield was a Mr D h, a man who, as a Free- thinker, had, before his acquaintance with " Icono- clast," led an irreproachable domestic life, until the doctrine of " The Elements " was taught at the " Hall of Science," Rockingham Street, in that town. The contagion spread as the supplementary pamphlets on Malthusianism by " G. R." were distributed, and, in the case of Mr. D., ended in dethroning his wife, be- cause she was old, and in installing a young woman in her place. In ordinary cases, the wife would have been turned out, but to have done so would have been contrary to the humanity of the Secularists who adopted the new creed, the female members of which were taught the Mormon doctrine that elderly ladies who had lost their charms were to provide their lords with more attractive successors, with whom they were to live in peace, in the same house. This was no solitary case. Just in proportion to the success of 234 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. the mission of "Iconoclast," the happiness of once happy Secular homes became for ever blasted and de- stroyed. I do not say that Mr Bradlaugh designed such crimes. They were only the natural effects of his teachings, and even in the sanctuary of his own home, the moral retribution did not fail to appear. The earlier years of Mr Bradlaugh's married life were not reputed to have been unhappy, and I shall not here seek to recall the memories of a home where husband and wife found mutual cohabitation impos- sible. Before the advent of Mrs Besant, there was the French lady, " the Countess," who beguiled the tedium of expatriation from Paris, by accompanying Mr Brad- laugh on his tours, ostensibly to elicit sympathy with the French Republic. This " friendship " was viewed with scant satisfaction by the wives of the Freethink- ers, who had not had their moral sense debauched by reading " The Elements," and it was perhaps a conve- nient reason to allege economy as the cause of de jure Mrs Bradlaugh living separate from her spouse, who occupied an ostentatiously cheap lodging in Turner Street, at a rental of three shillings and sixpence per week, at the time he alleged his income exceeded £1000 per annum. In this three -and -sixpenny lodging he would be free from the visits of his ardent admirers,, who became too intimately curious as to his life, when they made their London excursions. At all events, as Mr Bradlaugh became the bribed advocate of the new Sexual Religion, he secluded himself as much as pos- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 235 sible from the gaze of the Secularists. He no longer accepted the humble hospitality of his disciples, but patronised the best hotels and gave himself airs which shocked his admirers. He never in so many words preached the Gospel of the Brothel from its authorised scriptures. Had he, or any such advocate, done so, he would have stood a fair chance of martyrdom ; for even the pollution of such works has not yet reduced English women, however abandoned, to a state which allows them openly to applaud vice. The most degraded prostitutes have some respect for a decent life, although such weakness strikes at the root of the doctrine of the Neo - Malthusian creed, as taught by those who pulled the pecuniary purse-strings, which set loose the venal oratory of Mr Bradlaugh. The agitation was apparently based upon the Popu- lation Question. When the orator had demonstrated that there were too many babies born, the natural infer- ence of his unspoken thought was, how to reduce the supply. The originator of the theory had a simple method, which consisted in delaying marriage for ten years. This prescription of the Rev. Mr Malthus was laughed at, and the Drysdale treatise was referred to as the Delphian oracle which should prescribe an unerr- ing remedy. Modern Christianity (which is essentially Humanity) had exalted self-denying chastity. Neo- Malthusianism brazenly asserted that chastity was a crime against the animal system. The cardinal point in the new sexual religion was that Nature directed that 236 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. as soon as puberty appeared in either sex, the intimate relationship of the sexes should commence, irrespective of age, marriage, or consequence. The book states that — " Every man who has not a due amount of sexual exercise lives a life of natural imperfection and sin," and that — " The commonly -received code of sexual morality is viost erroneous, and erected in ignorance of, and opposition to, natural truth ; the real natural duties of every human being (however social difficulties may interfere with the discharge of them) towards his reproductive organs, and the passions connected with them, consisting in their due and normal exercise, for which the social provision of marriage is quite inadequate. Nature lays one command on us : ' Exercise all thy functions, else art thou an imperfect and sinful being.' " Again, the new Gospel says : — " It is absolutely certain that Nature meant the sexual organs in either sex to have a due amount of exercise, from the time of their • maturity till their decline ; and no one who knows anything about the bodily laws can dovibt that every departure from the course she points out is a natural sin." It will surprise my readers to learn the new doctrine as to female purity. It is the keystone of Mr Bradlaugh's morals, and this is how it is described by the High Priest of Neo-Malthusianism : — " Chastity is considered one of the greatest of all virtues in woman, and in man too, though in his case it is practically less regarded. We have no longer voluntary nuns, but of involuntary ones there are myriads — far more, in reality, than ever existed in any Roman Catho- lic country. Millions of women pass a great part of their sexual lives, and immense numbers pass the whole, in total sexual abstinence, without any of the enjoyments of sexual pleasures or the happiness of a mother's affections. For all this incredible self-denial, which causes more anguish and disease than any mind can conceive, they have for their reward the barren praise of chastity." . . . LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 237 " Chastity, or complete sexual abstinence, so far from being a virtue, is invariably a great natural sin." . . . " Nature cares not for our moral code ; marriage has nothing sacred in her eyes ; with or without marriage, she gives her seal of apjarobation to the sexually virtuous man or woman in a healthy and vigorous state of the sexual organs and appetites, while she punishes the erring by physical and moral sufferings." Speaking o£ the exercise of the reproductive organs, the author says : — " Every one will jierceive that he is morally bound to exercise duly his sexual organs throughout the period of sexual life. Thus the young man, on entering upon puberty, will feel that Nature com- mands him to indulge, to a moderate extent, his sexual desires ; and when once he is fully convinced of the natural rectitude of this, he cannot fail to perceive the insufficiency and unnatural character of our moral code." According to this theory, the Bradlaughian code of morals teaches that as soon as a young man attains the age of virility he must indulge in what Christians call vice, but which Mr Bradlaugh's school designates virtue. But the same law is said to affect women as well ; so that, independent of marriage, every girl of sixteen would be no longer a virgin. The universal morality of the most savage tribes, from the dawn of history, has revolted at such an idea, and the brightest links in the srolden chain which connects, directly or indirectly, all the religions which have ever existed in the world, have been the sacredness of the vestal virgin, and the hallowed trust in nuptial faith. But this, to Mr Bradlaugh, and his coadjutrix, Mrs Besant, is a delusion which the new morality will soon show to be the relics of an effete creed. The Neo-Malthusians, who have abolished chastity, have 238 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. condescended to inaugurate a new ideal o£ marriage, as part of their system of " Sexual Religion." This is taught by Mr Bradlaugh, as one of the leaders of the Malthusian League, an institution which is graced by the effective patronage of Mrs Besant ; and it would be a gross in- justice to suppose that either of those illustrious advocates would speak on such serious matters, unless they were prepared to substantiate their arguments from personal observation, if not from personal experience. The author of the system having decided that marriage, as a state of permanent cohabitation, is a mistake, as there is a great disproportion between the sexes, proposes to utilise all unattached (that is unmarried) females by making prostitutes of the rest, after elevating their status and removing the stigma which at present attaches to a jille the Fleet Street Institution of Mr G. J. Holyoake was started to centralise a bureau for disseminating anti- theological literature, Mr Robert Cooper protested against the project of a private bookseller's shop being subsided for a party; and in 1855 he pointed at the then long career of Mr Truelove, whose opinions were equally as pronounced as those of Mr G. J. Holyoake, Mr Cooper told the party that he failed to see any reason why Mr Holyoake should be selected as an object for pecuniary gifts, when his co-shopkeeper, Mr Truelove, carried on a similar business with equal prominence to that of, and less personal assumption than, the proprietor of the "Institution." Twenty-two years afterwards, when the Holyoake dynasty had been shattered, and the Brad- laugh regime had been fairly established on the usurped throne of Infidelity, there was still the Truelove skele- ton shaking its bony fingers at the Egyptian banquet, where Thais reigned with her Lord, and the ghastly sight shocked the pride which, Haman-like, was felt Avhen Mordecai lived. Those who revolved around the triumph-car of Mr Bradlaugh, thought that the dignity LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 297 which would attach to Mr Truelove, if his action were heard in the Court of Queen's Bench, would materially tend to deterioriate and tarnish the imperial splendour of the "chief." To prevent such a catastrophe, it Avas decided to waste all the money possible on the defence of the "Fruits," and thereby exhaust the exchequer, by which the defence of treason and sedition could be maintained. How the project was carried into practice will be seen from a report, "Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant, and Edward Truelove" {National Re- former, 17th March 1878). " At a special meeting of the committee held at the Hall of Science, February 28, 1878, — Mrs Eenwick, present, in the chair : Present, Messrs Swaagman, Truelove, Le Lubez, Grout, Wayham, Eeynolds, Haines, Eenwick, Wade, Willis, and Bradlaugh. Madames Eesant, Le Lubez, Wayham, Grout, Willis, and Misses Bradlaugh and H. Bradlaugh, — "Mr Bradlaugh made a lengthy statement of what had been done in each case, and of the present aspect of affairs, of the amovmts disbursed, and was followed by Mrs Besant, who ex- plained what was being done with a view to Parliamentary action. "Moved by M. Le Lubez, seconded by Mr Eeynolds, — "That this comnuttee thoroughly approve the conduct of Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant in their appeal in the Court of Error. . . . That Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant be requested still to act as treasurers to the Defence Fund, and solely have the respon- sibilities and control of the expenditure, and of the conduct of Mr Truelove's defence, and of the appeal to the Quarter Sessions. (Carried unanimously.) " Early in December last we published a statement, showing £1142 then received, of which £400 was deposited as against the recognisances, and £873, 17s. spent in the Bradlaugh and Besant case, and £106 spent. This left a deficiency of £237, but as the 298 LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. judgment of reversal has swept away the old recognisances, the £400 has since been released. The account now stands : — Total Subscriptions received to March 12th, . £1292 5 Total expenditure. Queen v. Bradlaugh and Besant, .... £1065 Expenditure to date. Queen v. True- love, still pending, . . 197 Expenditure to date in ajspeal against order of Mr Vaughan on Knowl- ton pamphlet, , . . 12 10 1274 10 Balance, £17 15 It will be seen from the above financial statement that only the small balance of £17, los. was available for Mr Truelove's defence, although it was equally im- portant with that of Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant. And in the event of the removal of an indictment by certi- orari, there is a rule of the Court that security for costs must be given ; consequently, in the case of Mr Truelove, there was the fatal absence of money by which alone a cause celebre can be maintained. The writ of procedendo (to remove the indictment back to the Central Criminal Court) was permitted to issue, and Edward Truelove was sacrificed in order that the dignity of the "chief" and " chiefess," who were then blindly worshipped by a party, which had on former occasions stood behind in bye-gone years, lending a helping hand to real martyrs who fought real struggles against real inquisitors — priests and politi- cians — who had prosecuted Woolstone, exiled Paine, robbed Shelley of his children, immured Carlile nine years in 1, and prosecuted and imprisoned some fifty men and LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 299 several women who had written, pubHshed, or sold the Oracle of Reason, or who had spoken, like Southwell and Holyoake, against the theological dogmas o£ the Christian religion. Immediately after Mr Truelove had been sacrificed and imprisoned, Mr Bradlaugh conceived of another plan by which he managed to extract yet more money from the scanty earnings of his political and atheistic dupes. To keep his name prominently before the public, he com- menced a series of petty skirmishes with the authorities, which were to him invaluable. From the beginning of his public career, his great ambition has been to obtain popularity — obtain it, has been his motto, honestly if you can, but if not, in whatsoever way you can. To be denounced by the press was, at least, an advertisement ; to be ignored was, to him, ruinous. Concurrent with the "appeals" to Middlesex magis- trates for alleged illegal seizure of obscene books, and the appeal to the High Court against the conviction of the publication of the " Fruits," the case of Besant v. Besant intervened. The scanty funds subscribed for the defence of Mr Truelove were encroached upon to meet this action, which was instituted by the Rev. Mr Besant against his wife (Annie Besant) for the custody of his daughter, upon the ground that the association of Mrs Besant with Mr Bradlaugh, and the advocacy of immoral doctrines, by Mrs Besant, as contained in the " Fruits of Philosophy," rendered her morally unfit to train a girl in the principles of a virtuous life. Mr Besant did not 300 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. admire obscene pamphlets nor unmentionable instruments for preventing the necessity of procuring abortion. Pos- sibly the Rev. Mr Besant forms a unit of that class who admire the intellect and the work of a Mrs Somerville and a George Elliot, but who abhor female discussion on such subjects as the Contagious Diseases Act, and who abjure the shrieking sisterhood when it emanates from the Salvation Army. Although an agreement had been entered into between Mr and Mrs Besant that the latter should retain their daughter, Mr Besant, on " Fruits of Philosophy" being published by Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant, applied to the Master of the Rolls for the sole custody of his daughter. Instantly the cry went forth from the Old Street Dancing Academy — I beg pardon, the "Hall of Science "^ — that Mrs Besant was about to be robbed of the custody of her daughter. Affidavits were filed in opposition to Mr Besant, and the case of the poet Shelley cited, as well as the self- inflicted martyrdom of Byron, whose wife considered him to be an unfit person to have the custody of "Ada, sole daughter of my heart and name." But the women of England had little sympathy with the lady who preferred the friendship of Mr Bradlaugh to her legal husband, whom she had sworn to " love, honour, and obey." There was a special meeting of the " Defence Fund " (28th April), when it was decided that the ex- penses of Mrs Besant would be defrayed from the "Fund" subscribed for Mr Truelove's defence. The following resolution was passed : — LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 301 "The moneys subscribed to this Fund will be applied to con- ducting the defence of Edward Truelove ; to defraying the costs of Mr Bradlaugh's present appeal on the Knowlton pamphlet ; and to enable Mrs Besant to defend the right of the custody of her daughter, and to carry the question, if need be, to the highest legal tribunal " In the case of Mr Truelove it was not necessary " to carry the case to the highest tribunal." It was sufficient to carry it to the "lowest tribunal." As a reason for Mr Truelove's being unjustly dealt with by the " chief " and the " chief ess," they can allege only that he served in the ranks of their party long before either of their names were connected with questionable literature and the Old Street " Hall of Science." En passant it may be incidentally remarked, that the question of the custody of Miss Besant was decided by the Master of the Rolls (Jessel), who, on Mrs Besant's appearing in Court for the purpose of reciting some ornamental pleading which had, presumably, been pre- viously prepared for her, told that lady that she would not do herself justice by arguing her cause in person. On her insisting on her rights she was informed that such facilities as are granted to those who are too poor to engage counsel, and who are ignorant of the practice of the courts, would not be extended to her. When the case was heard. Sir G. Jessel decided in favour of Mr Besant, and he spoke to the effect that, for the welfare of the child, it was neces- sary to remove her from the guardianship of a mother who would, from her association with an obscene book,. 302 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. and the advocacy of immoral doctrines, find every decent drawing-room closed against her ; and, consequently, it was only an act of common justice to her child to have her removed from associations which would of necessity corrupt and demoralise the mind of a young girl. As soon as the "Fruits" trial was concluded, and the sale of the obscene pamphlet suppressed, Mrs Besant caused it to be publicly notified that Dr KJnowlton's book was, physiologically, obsolete, and that she had written a work in substitution of it. Mrs Besant's work, which has commanded an immense sale, is disposed of at the oflBce of the National Reformer, and in a few "refined" shops in Holywell and Wych Streets, where chaste persons can purchase, on payment of a fancy price, virtuous photos, and other unspeakable articles. A few practical proofs of demoralisation, arising out of the perusal of the class of " literature," from which Mr Brad- lauo-h and Mrs Besant have realised thousands of pounds, may be gathered from the police reports of orgies which took place in one of the Secular Halls in Leeds, and which were indulged in by the Infidels of the Erotic School. The following is taken from the Leeds Daily News of 6th September and subsequent dates in 1878 : — " The Leeds Infidel Hall belongs to a company of shareholders, most of whom are Secularists — Infidels. The music licence was o-ranted ; but the detection of those scandalously lewd, vicious, and criminal orgies exposed the concern, and their licence was revoked by the magistrate at the trial, their own barrister, after hearing the evidence, first suggesting that it was clearly forfeited, and offering only to bow at once to that decision ! They had held LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 303 several midnight orgies at the Infidel Lecture Hall aforesaid, and were preparing for another in that place, which had been 'let' and taken 'for the purpose,' during the night, August 30-lst, from ten to three o'clock. No ladies were to be admitted. A few ' ladies ' — i.e., common prostitutes — did get into the orgies ; but it seems they were not welcome guests. Some of that class of women, seemingly, were the first to discover and denounce that scandalous Society. It was superseding even their bad trade by something still worse. A 'bawdy and obscene book' was calculated ' to incite and encourage ' men and women, old and young, to do as they liked licentiously and have no children ! But this disgusting 'school' has 'developed' a stage past that — teach- ing the filthiest men to do also xoithont women! (p. 21). They met frequently at certain places, some of them dressed in womevJs clothes, and (were) known among the filthy 'school' by womerHs names; and that a number of them were actually paired together, as ' George and his Fanny ^ etc. A letter was sent to the Chief Constable, with the intention of getting them stopped and the ring- leaders punished, who were seducing young men and boys for their abominable purposes (p. 20). The loolice, from an anonymous letter, got some vague idea that improper proceedings would be carried on ; and Mr John "Ward, Superintedent of Detective Police, an active and intelligent officer, proceeded to investigate the case. ' The police knew then, as others can now see, that the Infidels had gotten warning.' Thrown upon their own resources, the detectives, as is usual in such cases, arranged that certain persons should go to the hall that night, pay admission-money like others, but care- fully observe what was going on ; and, having seen and heard what they could, should come out and report to the officer of police, who had several of the force nigh at hand. Those witnesses, when coming out of the hole during the jsrogress of the orgies, had given to them by Bancroft at the door the word ' Eachel,' to be used as the ' Open Sesame ! ' at the door when they returned. Their report of what was going on was such as determined the officer to make a raid into the hole at once, and he and his few men did so. They expected that imi^roprieties might be carried on among dissolute men and u'omen in holes and corners about the place, but were shocked to find that these horrible orgies were for purposes difierent, but not less vile and detestable. 'Why were they not all of them arrested upon the spot V 'It was 304 LIFE OF CHARLES BEADLAUGH, M.P. impossible ; it would have needed nearer forty policemen to have done that, than only about the four then present.' On Monday, September 2, 1878, in the Crown Court, Town Hall, Leeds, before the learned stipendiary magistrate, W. Bruce, Esq., Detec- tive Superintendent Ward stated that, in consequence of informa- tion received, he, along with Detective-Sergeants Napp and Tinsley, and Detective Eddy, visited the North Street Lecture Hall about half-past twelve o'clock on the morning of the 31st ult. The door was fastened, but on making use of the password, 'Eachel,' the prisoner Bancroft admitted them. Upstairs in the hall they found about a hundred persons — three women and the rest men. A number, about twenty or more, of the men were dressed in females' clothes. There were two dressing-rooms, - one on each side of the stage, and persons were going into and out of them. A man named Strong was present in charge of a box containing, spirits — gin and whisky. He saw a large stone bottle, and also some glasses which had contained beer. Some of the men were only partially clothed, and one man, who was dancing in the middle of the room, had only a cloak and a girdle on. As h& danced the cloak flew back and exposed his body. While dancing,, one of the men dressed as a woman purposely fell, and a number of other men threw themselves upon him while on the ground, and indecent familiarities took place. During the dance the dancers kissed and conducted themselves indecently towards each other. The prisoner Pratt was in the room the whole of the time, and Bancroft came in occasionally. The prisoners were remanded until Thursday. Bail was applied for, but objected to, as the par- ticulars of the case were too monstrous to admit of such a thing,, and bail was not allowed. Pratt was sent to jirison for one calendar month, and Bancroft was find 60s. and costs." If the foregoing Saturnalia is attributable to any- thing, we owe it to the dissemination of such works as the " Fruits of Philosophy," and the " Elements of Social Science." The Bradlaugh and Besant prosecution has, let us hope, finally put a stop to the worship of Priapus in this country. Whenever possible, Mr Bradlaugh and his business partner have conveniently ignored the sub- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 305 jcct; but, like Banquo's ghost, it cannot be laid. In the interests of those who repudiate with unutterable horror the debaucheries which naturally flow from the teachings of the vile book and pamphlet which have been so often praised by Mr Bradlaugh, it is necessary to quote what "Saladin," the editor of the Secular Re- view, has written in reply to a defence put forward by a Mr Symes, a curate of Mr Bradlaugh, and who en- deavoured, through the medium of a pamphlet, to rescue the reputation of the " Dirtites " from the aspersions hurled against it by the Leeds newspapers. In the Secular Review of 26th June 1886, "Saladin" wrote: — " On the unspeakably obscene character of the orgies of the Leeds Branch of the National Secular Society there has never been the expression of two opinions. So revoltingly filthy was the Secular Hole Pandemonium, that when the barrister of the orgiests learnt the character of the offence charged against those for whom he had to plead, he threw up his brief in horror. The solicitor likewise abandoned his iinsavoury clients in disgust. Moreover, the magistrate remanded the prisoners, bail not being allowed, as the ' particulars of the case were too monstrous to admit of such a thing.' There is one Joseph Symes, a vice-President of the Na- tional Secular Society. (By-the-bye, it is a great honour to be a vice-President of the National Secular Society, especially since one or two of the vice-Presidents can hardly spell their own names, such learned and illustrious Yreethinkei-s are they ! ) Well, this Joseph Symes has a fine nose for the nasty. He is at present responsible for a rag at the Antipodes that the post-office and other decent authorities are attempting to suppress as obscene. Joseph Symes went about hysterically and foaming at the mouth as the spokesman and defender of the Secular Saints who had indulged themselves d la mode the City of the Plain. And yet, in a crazy and vulgar pamphlet which he issued, the champion of Dirt wrote : 'The scandal is one of the gravest nature. . . . The promoters of the meeting. . . .. U 306 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. ' Fancy dress ball and those at it, are a disgrace to humanity ; the hypocrites and pions scoundrels. . . . infamously committed the vile deeds. . . . unmentionable crimes and inhuman villanies.' Even Mr Symes could not deny the ineflfable prurience of the ' entertain- ment ; ' but he contended that the culprits were not the Infidels, but the Christians, whom he politely refers to as ' hypocrites and pious scoundrels.' Let us see how much the Christians had to do with the matter. Stead, the tailor, who let the hall, was a member of the National Secular Society. Pratt, to whom he let it for his ' benefit,' was ditto, and to the nude dancers he sold, in the hall, the whisky without a licence. Low Infidelity is always execrably low ; the Secular hall at Leeds is not by any means the only one which has been used as an vmlicensed public-house. Bancroft was also a Secularist. These three worthies alone seem to have been resjjonsible for the origin and conduct of the 'entertainment.' Where' do the Christians, the 'hypocrites and jiious scoundrels,' come in ? We are no Christian ; but the zeal of partisanship shall never blind us to the claims of truth and justice, and we assert that the Christians had nothing whatever to do with the matter. To say, as has been said, that Stead and Pratt and Bancroft (poor innocent creatures ! ) did not know the vile purpose for which they had let the hall is simply a lie. While the infamies were being enacted they looked after their rent, kept the door, sold the beer, and protested not. Moreover, they had had previous experience of the same thing. This xvas not hy any means the first time the hall had been let for ' entertainments ' a la mode the City of the Plain. When the attention of the two editors of our contemporary was drawn to the mxttter^ they did not dare to denounce and repudiate it. They attempted to evade and ignore it. They were content to miss this splendid opportunity of exposing the frightful licentiousness of those tvhom their friend Mr Symes alleged to he Christians! They simply referred in the most vague way to ^coarse'' attacks. Any statement that is unpleasant to these two worthies is sure to he ' coarse ' or ^foul- mouthed^ or ' brutal^ or something of that sort, they being so gentle and cultured and refined! " We have much more to say on this subject, being thoroughly in possession of the facts; but we would rather say no more, and duty demanded that we should say no less. But let the provocation come, and we shall make still uglier revelations as to Leeds than we have yet done, and prove that that of Leeds does not stand alone LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 307 among the Secular Holes which have Iconoclast* for their President and the 'Elements' for their Bible." The Leeds orgies is the legitimate outcome of the ■"morality" taught by Mr Charles Bradlaugh and Mrs Annie Besant. Mr Bradlaugh, however, is as careful to avoid advocating the teachings of the "Elements" in his seat in Parliament as he is to abstain from the re- sponsibility of leading his political dupes to Trafalgar Square, when he well knows that a resolute government would at once prosecute him if he dared to carry his political theories, or what were his political theories, into practice. In November 1887 the honourable member for Northampton took good care to be absent when his courage might have been put to the test by the Social- ists who were anxious to congregate, in defiance of Sir Charles Warren's Manifesto, in Trafalgar Square. Mr Bradlaugh, in answer to his admirers who wished him to "lead the way," relied on the flimsy excuse that he would be engaged on a lecturing tour, and that on the particular Sunday in question he would be lecturing in Hull. He could not forego his Hull engagement by sending his business partner in his stead, as he had, on a former occasion sent her to deliver a lecture when he found more impf)rtant and interesting employment in watching his interests at the Turberville inquest. Very possibly it escaped the memory of Mr Bradlaugh that when in America, he, on hearing: of the dissolution of Parliament, instantly threw up his lecturing engage- * Mr Bradlaugh is President of the National Secular Society, 308 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. ments and re-crossed the Atlantic in pursuit of his own poHtical interests. It was, of course, an easy matter to send a telegram from Hull to London deploring the action of Sir Charles Warren, and to write an article to tell the demonstrators that he would take care the sub- ject should be discussed in Parliament. But the fact was alike patent to the Conservative Standard and the Repub- lican Reynolds s Newspaper, that Mr Bradlaugh's tongue had been held to bail by the promised reversion of a place in a Liberal Cabinet ; and the work which he is deputed to accomplish as the price of his promotion is that of carrying out the behest of Mr Gladstone's Whips, to whom he is now as obedient as a properly broken spaniel. The change of front was first noticed by the Socialists, who justly estimated the soundness or want of soundness of his political consistency or inconsist- ency. But Mr Bradlaugh professes to ignore those extreme politicians, while he whines at the exposures he so constantly receives from the free-lances who direct the political columns of Reynolds. Well does he know that Reynolds is read by the followers of St Crispin, who can influence the electorate of Northampton, and he relies upon a clever but discreditable arrangement with Mrs Besant, whom he uses as a buffer to keep the leading Socialists from openly attacking his position ; and since the Christian editor (Mr Stead) of the Pall Mall Gazette has described this Lady as "that great and good wor)%an " (so " good," by the way, that she recommends to her sex chemical mixtures and syringes. LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 309 for purposes which are not, after his late midnight gyrations, unknown to Mr Stead) the honourable mem- ber for Northampton ought to be able to steer his poli- tical barque till he reaches the long-desired haven, where quarterly salaries are paid punctually to renegade pat- riots from the Consolidated Fund; and, possibly, when " Iconoclast " blossoms into the Right Honourable Sir Charles Bradlaugh, and luhen he draws his official salary he may relinquish the dirty money representing the profits which accrued from the sale of books which are the standard works in the library of every brothel. CHAPTER XXI. Mr Bradlaugh becomes jealous of Mr Footers Popularity — Determines to crush Mr Foote at the Leeds Conference of 1876 — " B. VJs'''' Criticism on the Conduct of Mr Bradlarigh at the Conference — Freethinkers utterly disgusted with His Ungovernable Temper — Letter of Mr Robert White to The Secularist of Hth June 1876, reflecting upon BradlaugKs Vulgar Behaviour and Tyrannical Conduct at the Conference — A Letter from Mr Foote to Mr Brad- laugh alleging that the latter is Mean, Ignoble, Malicious, Slan- derous, Unscrupidous, etc.— Wind-up of the Conference. Mr Foote is the editor of the Freethinker. He is a gentleman who carries into practice the dictum of the freethinking Lord Shaftsbury, the author of the Char- acteristics, that " Ridicule is the test of Truth." Thomas Woolstone in his "Discourses on the Miracles" first put the apothegm into practice amongst scholars, and Thomas Paine carried the principle out to its fullest extent in strong, logical reasoning. Nearer our own age, Charles Southwell shocked our fathers with his irreverent com- ments on Scripture, and at the end of another generation G. W. Foote followed his record, and met the fate which attends the wanton outrage of honest convictions. In 1876, Mr Foote had not graduated in what the Christians call "pictorial blasphemy." He was then, as now, an earnest worker in the Secularist cause. With more than -LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 311 the average abilities of an aggressive speaker, he took fair rank as a polemic debater, and sought fame on the same plane which has gained reputation for Mr Bradlaugh. Had Mr Foote been a docile valet to his leader, and had he solicited his patronage, he might have formed the fourth person in the Atheistic Quaternion. He had youth, ability, ambition, and boundless energy on his side. He far surpassed Mr Charles Watts in intellect, and if he had not the imposing presence of Mr Bradlaugh, to forward his mission, he had a character for hard-hitting, while he secured the respect of his Christian opponents. He had, however, one fatal gift which caused him infinite trouble, and it led to endless difficulties with his party. He pos- sessed that peculiar spirit which Mr Holyoake lacked, and which was but slowly developed in Charles Watts. He was independent, and absolutely fearless in confronting the leader of the Party. He had the courage to go his own way, and when he disapproved of the policy of Mr Bradlaugh he openly opposed it. He committed a grave offence. He acquired popularity amongst Freethinkers almost equal to the " chief." It was necessary to shelve him ; for, by the audacity of youth, Mr Bradlaugh might find himself superseded. When those elements of division existed it did not require much opposition to cause a division in the Secular ranks. It was fifteen years since Joseph Barker had been extinguished. Dur- ing this period, every other Secular aspirant had been driven out of the party, or permitted to remain on the implied condition of obeying the " chief." 312 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Mrs Harriet Law had been a popular advocate who fought like Hal o' the Wynd for her own hand. She had a good following till she was ignored. Mrs Besant had •come on the scene, and there was not room for two ladies as Secularist advocates. Mr Foote seems to have incurred the displeasure of Mrs Besant, and as one of the Vice- Presidents of the National Secular Society he had become obnoxious to the President. Jealousy of the growing reputation of Mr Foote might have been forgiven in a woman, but Mr Foote's popularity was fatal to good relations at the presidential board. There was to be a Conference of the National Secular Society at Leeds, and the President determined to arraign his colleague before the delegates who were there assembled. It must be understood that the National Secular Society is supposed to be the inner arcana of Freethought, and no one is capable of initiation unless on the implied condition of recognising Mr Bradlaugh as the leader of the party. But the society bears only the same relation to Free- thought that communicants do to the congregation of the Church of England. For every enrolled member, there are at least fifty more prominent Freethinkers who do not admit the necessity of organisation, but who are always eady to fight when required. At this conference Mr Bradlaugh determined to crush Mr Foote by refusing to recognise any voting power except that proceeding from his nominees. In a report of this Leeds Conference, penned by a singularly brilliant writer, "B. V." * who, * James Thomson, author of "The City of Dreadful Night," etc. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 313 for several years " devilled " for Mr Bradlaugh, and pro- vided him with whatever material which might be necessary to meet his antagonists on the platform, and in the press. " B. V." wrote as follows : — " The Conference or Annual Meeting of the Society, calling it- self the National Secular Society, was highly noteworthy from a business point of view. The report was the president's, not the executive's, and was read by the president, not by the secretary. This report was mainly concerned with congratulating the National Secular Society on the good work of other people, not only in Britain, but also in Italy, India, Australia, Japan, and America. The society, however, through its plenipotential executive, had done certain remarkable things. It had generously charged itself with the labour and expense of getting up a petition against royal grants ; an object, be it observed, quite beyond and apart from the distinctive scope of the society. This petition, after being hawked about the country for the greater part of a year, pushed by agents in most towns and districts, had gathered the astonish- ing number of 104,033 signatures, including those obtained after lectures, and those constrained by the imperious threatenings of Mr Bradlaugh. As the petition was really a sensible one, it would most likely have attracted half -a-mil lion signatures in a mouth if started by any reputable and influential politician. The society, always through its executive, had, moreover, authorised a Secular Song and Hymn Book, several Tracts and a Text Bool; of which three numbers had already been issued. The report was received with cheers, but no resolution was moved for its adoption, it being probably considered an imperial manifesto not to be subjected to the indignity of a popular vote. "After the report came the balance-sheet, also read by the president, who appealed to the honour of the reporters to consider it private until the delegates and members present decided as to its publication, and then appealed to these not to have it pub- lished, as it might be seized on by their adversaries as a proof of apparent weakness. But could any weakness be more real ? The society resolved, as at the last conference, that its balance-sheet should not he exposed to the eyes of the profane, and rejected a pro- 314 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. posal to send a pnnted copy to every member, the president perti- nently asJcing, Where will you get the money to do it ? " The great Christian societies, in their annual meetings, publish exact and detailed reports of the numbers of their ministers, mis- sionaries, teachers, agents, communicants, scholars, stations, chapels, schools, etc., of the number of copies of books and tracts circulated, and of the receipts and expenditure. Their publications are really theirs, paid for out of their own funds, sold when sold for their own profit. The National Secular Society, in lofty contempt of such Christian examples, applauds without question or comment a presidential report, which gives no information whatever as to the aihliated societies, or the number of its members, allows itself to be burdened with the responsibility of books %chich it has not examined, and which are published by some of its officials for their own profit, and decided to keep its balance-sheet dark, the same being not to bear the light. The Hymn Book and the beginning of the Text Book have been severely criticised ; not a word is hazarded in their defence. Very natural curiosity has been ex- pressed as to the amount of consideration they received from the executive, the number of meetings at which they were discussed, the number and names of the persons at such meetings ; not an atom of information is furnished on these points ; no minutes of these important meetings are produced. Mr Foote charged that three or four persons in London could saddle with the responsi- bility of whatever they chose to do, and this was not denied. A balance-sheet is read, showing the society to have expended about twice its income, and to be heavily indebted to the president, who in his turn avowed himself indebted for the amount to the treasurer ; and the larger part of this excess (over £35, as stated by Mr Bradlaugh in last week's National Reformer) is for the petition against royal grants, a matter with which the society, as a society, has nothing whatever to do ; yet not a question is raised on this statement of accounts, not a suggestion j^ut forward as to balancing expenditure and income. 'The balance-sheet was passed amid applause,' says Mr Bradlaugh's paper; it is so grati- fying to this society to leam that double its income has been spent for it by its irresponsible executive. In fact, this state of things shows so much prosperity that the society afterwards authorised the executive to appoint a paid secretary, if it pleased, although too impoverished to send copies of the balance-sheet to its members. LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 315 " The president, not in his report, incidentally stated the number of members at 1192, a total so enormous that it must strike terror into the slaves of superstition, a total which would make a good audience at the Hall of Science, or a fair congrega- tion for a Dissenting minister in a country town. It is true that I could by no means reconcile this vast total with the numbers of subscribers given in the balance-sheet ; but the report in the president's paper tells us what I did not hear the president tell the meeting, that ' if all members paid up their subscriptions there would be money in hand.' If this is correct a lai-ge portion of the members must be in arrear, for the deficit is very large in proportion to the income. As non-paying members are but an incumbrance to the society, it would be interesting to know how many must be deducted from the foimidable total of 1192 in order to arrive at the efficient strength. And even this amount would include those who joined the Society simply to attempt its re- construction, and who will resign if it remains as it is. So far as I could learn, no distinction was made in the voting between members who had paid and members in default. By-the-bye, as the only authentic record of the life of a society consists in its minute book, it may be that there is no avithority extant for either hymn book, text book, or petition, since the president, in asking power to appoint a paid secretary, said that comislaints had been made that the minutes were not kept. Moreover, as it has been held that when no quorum is specified, a meeting is only valid when composed of all the members of any corporate admini- stration, and as no quorum has been specified for the executive, and the full number has never been present at any meeting, it is more than doubtful whether any of its meetings had power to do anything in the name of the society. On the whole, the busi- ness-like procedure of the meeting, the shy balance-sheet with its flourishing deficit, the huge roll of members, must have filled with envy and longing the hearts of the Freethinkers present who had not joined the National Secular Society. "Such envy and longing could not but be increased by the subsequent proceedings. It was projiosed to postpone the election of officers until the society had been reconstituted. The president boldly declared that the revision of the constitution had no more to do with the election of officers than the price of salt, in face of the obvious fact that the revised constitution might appoint an execu- 316 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. tive very different in powers, and numbers, and organisation from the old. The president, likewise, who tried hard to do every- thing himself, with the slightest and merely formal assistance of the rest of the meeting, proclaimed that the executive appointed at one conference had power to lay down a programme for the next conference, from which it would have no power to swerve ; and said that, if this were objected to, the conference could vote that the executive should not have such power in future. In other words, he told the National Secular Society that it is ab- solutely governed by its own executive, which, being absolutely governed by himself, the president, the constitution is as wide and satisfactory as Charles Bradlaugh can wish. This new dis- covery in the delegation of power, by which the delegate has authority, not simply to do all that he is expressly appointed to do, but all from which he is not expressly restrained, is a great achievement of genius, which, if consistently applied, will revolu- tionise all government and business. According to it, if you give a man a jjower of attorney to act for you in a certain matter, he is thereby further empowered to turn you out of your own house, and take possession of your property, unless explicitly inter- dicted beforehand from doing so. The National Secular Society, with that capacity for business which marked it throughout, resolved to elect its officers, i.e., its absolute masters for a year to come, before considering its own reconstruction, and with admirable submission to these masters and their supreme lord, the president did not make the slightest effort to limit their despotic powers, or its complete subservience. So noble and indomitable is the spirit of Freethought when thoroughly disciplined in the school of Mr Bradlaugh. "Mr Bradlaugh, having been re-elected president, favoured his subjects with a royal address. He expressed the hope — he gener- ally does whenever he has a chance — that he would soon represent them in another assembly, though why such a Caesar should pre- fer being one of the most insignificant among 680 in ovu' National Palaver to being the sole dictator of his National Secular Society, it is not easy to discover. He said : ' I ask you, whatever you may do, to try and give me an executive that will work with me, because an executive who do not work with me will be utterly useless to me.' Nothing could be more frank ; the desired council is one useful to the president, whether useful to the society is LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 317 a matter of small imjoortauce. He went on : ' It has been said^ and said very truly, that I am a little overbearing in the way I use the power you give me. If I had not, I ask, where would your movement be ? ' Although the president himself admits its truth, I must call it a monstrous slander to say that he is a little overbearing ; in overbearing, as in other things, he is never little,, but always lavish, regardless of cost. If he had not been over- bearing, where would the movement be ? Surely very much in. advance of where it is now. Instead of general dissatisfaction and disorganisation there might have been orderly and amicable work- ing ; instead of a National Secular Society of 1192, including members in default, we might have had one numbering 50,000 ; instead of a Hymn Book and Text Bool-, which all impartial and intelligent Freethinkers will repudiate with scorn, we might have had books of which all would have been proud ; instead of a balance-sheet so jjaltry that we are ashamed to publish it, we might have had one which would have commanded the respect of our opponents. Where would our movement have been 1 he asks ! I ask, where is our movement as represented by the National Secular Society and its executive ? " Then came the election of vice-presidents. . . "Followed the interlude of Mr Foote's nomination and rejec- tion. In this the president played brilliantly his part of infallible Pope and absolute autocrat. Mr Foote had been guilty of high treason in publishing criticisms on the acts and speeches and writings of Mi' Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant, and in proposing re- forms in the constitvition of the society. But Mr Bradlaugh pre- ferred not to meet him on these jaublic grounds ; it was much easier and more prudent to exaggerate certain petty personal de- tails into monstrous dimensions. Instead of vacating the chair while engaged in personal conflict with Mr Foote, so that an impartial person might have presided over the terrible fray, he stuck to his post, using and abusing all its advantages with the utmost violence. He was accuser, witness, inquisitor, judge, all in one. He was a king of France of that ancien regime he denounces with pen and tongue, holding a bed of justice ; he was Judge Jeffeiies trying a rebel. He continually interrupted Mr Foote vith an insolence and an arrogance equally disgraceful and lu- dicrous. When Mr Foote wanted to reply to statements made after his first speech, the dictator decreed, 'I don't allow you to> 318 LIFE OF CHAELES BRADLAUGH, M.P. speak again.' He coerced his society with the lofty threat echoed by Mrs Besaiit, ' If you choose Mr Foote, I resign.' The resvilt of this admirably fair trial was that, including proxies, and after exertions dating from the New Year, Mr Bradlaugh was able to command 377 votes against Mr Foote, being rather fewer than one-third the total number of Mr Bradlaugh's society. Of course Freethinkers not of the society could not vote, and these, by the very fact of their not joining, show that they are not content to come under the Bradlaughian denomination. " Thus was Mr Foote righteously punished for rebellion against the autocrat ; thus did the great society, sorely constrained by its ruthless master, expel the foolish young man who had been strenuously trying to convert it from an impotent sham into a potent reality." The account of this conference in the National Re- former is full of heroics as to the position of Secularism, and the prospects of the Party ; but the malcontents who had dethroned Christ refused to place Mr Bradlaugh in his stead. The authority assumed by the president was resisted, while his ungovernable temper disgusted those who cared more for the cause than they did for its advocates. When Mr Bradlaugh thundered forth his edicts, and said he " would nail down " the words of his colleague, the^ conference found that it had got a master, and not a servant. When he used the epithet that his opponent was a "liar," the members were indignant at his conduct, and that hour saw the last vestige of even apparent unity in the Secular ranks. A gentleman who was present, Mr Robert White, Stalybridge, wrote a letter which contains a prophetic reference to Mr Bradlaugh's episode at the Speaker's table some six years afterwards, which shows how that celebrated scene of the " Oath- LIFE OF CHARLES BRAD LAUGH, M.P. 319 taking" had been rehearsed for years prior to its taking place, and affords confirmation of what Mr Bradlaugh has so frequently said he would accomplish when setting his foot on the " rung of the ladder " of a Radical Cabinet, he would, following the precedent of Danton, if not of Cromwell, get himself declared first President of the British Republic. It appears in the reference to an anonymous statement made at or before that conference in the form of a query, " Who would have taken his place before the ' Speaker's chair ' in the House of Commons ? " I refer my readers to the following portion of a letter by Mr White, in the Secularist of June l7th, 1876, who was complaining of Mr Bradlaugh's treatment of Mr Foote : — LEEDS CONFEEENCE OF THE NATIONAL SECULAE SOCIETY. To the Editor of the Secularist. " Sir, — The following is among the rough notes of the National Reformer of June 11th. ' We have had a good deal of stray talk lately at district conferences and smaller meetings, not to speak of private letters as to the crushing onslaught which was to be made at the conference on the society's hymn book, and we believe a few vials of wrath were to be poured on our own head by some non-angelic opponents, on account of the text book, so far as it has gone.' If the writer of the above really heard what is there stated, it must have been from some person who is far more eager to tell Mr Bradlaugh what societies have done, or ought to have done, than take part in any work himself, and whose desire is far keener to fill a large chair when the president of the National Secular Society is near, than to speak the truth about district conferences. " There were two resolutions passed at the last quarterly con- ference of the Manchester and District Secular Union, which liaA^e 320 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. appeared in this paper, and were to have been read at the Leeds Conference ; but owing to the disgi'aceful attack of the j^resident of the National Secular Society upon Mr Foote, by which he wanted to ^ 7iail him do^vn,' and in which he roared out so fiercely the word ' liar,' there was no opportunity to introduce both resolu- tions, as half the time of the conference, or nearly so, was occupied with this shameful occurrence. It is utterly untrue that there was talk at our district conference of making an onslaught either on the society's hymn book or text book. It was resolved to ignore the society's hymn book and have a new one compiled either by the National Secular Society, or by our Union in conjunc- tion with the Yorkshire Lecturing Circuit. Although many have bought the parts that are out of the text book, few have read them, as they are as dry as bread without butter, and as uninviting as oatmeal porridge without milk. Consequently there was very little talk at our ' District Conference or smaller meetings, or in our private letters,' about the text book. Mr Tyson was on his feet twice to bring forward the proposition about the hymn book, but tinfortunately the last time he got up, Mr Holyoake happened to move in his chair ; this was sufficient to make the president cry out, ' Mr Holyoake will address the meeting.' " It was really sickening to see how Mr Bradlaugh fawned on Mr Holyoake, and it was disgusting to witness how he treated others who proposed or said anything he did not like. Many who honoured and loved Mr Bradlaugh before the Leeds Conference have now, on account of his tyrannical conduct, lost all respect for him. " He allowed Mr Tyson to vote for his own election as presi- dent of the National Secular Society ; but when he was going to vote for Mr Foote's election, he was told by Mr Bradlaugh that he could not vote because he was ' not a member of the National Secular Society.' Either Mr Bradlaugh knew, or might have known, that this statement was false. Mr Tyson's name ajajieared in the official organ of the National Secular Society — the National Reformer of April 30th — as a member of that society. Except he knew that Mr Tyson was not a member, he ought not to have said so ; if he knew he was a member the case is still worse. I hope Mr Brad- laugh will not condemn Mr Foote for anything that is in this letter, as I am responsible for all it contains. Doiibtless he will be much displeased with it, and call it personal, forgetting that he generally commences the attack in the diseased organ of the National Secular LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 321 Society, and then refuses the right of reply, which I have not given. him the opiJortunity to do. "Instead of wasting the time of the conference, M'hy could not- Mr Bradlaugh have arranged to have a select committee — say six of his, and six of Mr Foote's friends — to settle the dispute ? But no, a quiet settlement was not to be entertained ; he must completely annihilate Mr Foote, and if the members of the N. S. S. persisted in electing ' this young man,' he would give back his trust. If Mr Bradlaugh had done this, into what a state of confusion the affairs of the Secular party and of the whole world would have been thrown for the next thousand years ! Who would have taken his place before the ' Speaker's chair ' in the House of Commons 1 " I never read nor heard of a conference like that which was held in Leeds, on June 4th. I believe it stands alone in the annals of the world. As I sat and watched Mr Bradlaugh use his iron hammer with such vigour, I thought he would have made a more mighty blacksmith than Wat Tyler himself. " It is not surprising that men like Joseph Barker, Dr Sexton, and Bishop should leave the party rather than be bullied as Mr Foote was. Better far be bound down by superstition than have the name and not the reality of freedom. " Many persons, I had almost said Secularists, look upon criti- cising the words, actions, or condiict of Mr Bradlaugh as an un- pardonable sin. They look upon him as being above criticism. These persons are not Secularists ; they are Bradlaughites. They give up the worship of a Spiritual God for that of a man. They condemn kings and priests, but support tyranny and dogmatism. I urge upon all true Secularists the advisability, nay, the necessity of preventing one man from riding upon the shoulders of the party, to gain his own ambitious ends ; and of upholding the right to difler in matters of opinion, the right to criticise in matters of importance, and the right of speaking out when occasion demands it. — Yours truly, Egbert White, " Secretary of the Manchester and District Secular Union, '• Spri7io Bank, Heyrod, Stalybridge." The president achieved his object. He expelled his youthful rival, who (after he had tried to stand on his- own feet, but found he could not) has repaid his tyranny X 322 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. with support, and has held his position as becomes a vahant soldier fighting an unpopular foe. Defeated, he was not disgraced, and the rejoinder he made is worthy of notice. In a letter to the Editor of the National Reforvier, Mr Foote said : — " The long-expected conference of the National Secvilar Society has come and gone. Hundreds of Freethinkers spent time and money to attend its sessions, instead of availing themselves of the holiday occasion to leave the smoke and filth of great towns for a breath of fresh air and a glimpse of Nature's beauty. And what has resulted from this self-denial and devotion ? Has the Secular party "been solidified ? Have old animosities been allayed by judicious con- cessions and courteous demeanour ? Has the pain of old and festering wounds been mitigated by a timely application of healing balm ? Have dissensions been removed or the causes of them in anywise counteracted by unifying influences ? To these questions but one reply is possible, and absolute and peremptory, NO. The result of the conference is that you are again made the despotic master of the society which calls itself National ; that you have as your practical executive a few pei'sons nominated by yourself, and whose wills are therefore not likely ever to clash with yours, and that you have succeeded in procuring the expvilsion from office of the only vice- president who manifested indejjendence of opinion and a desire to make the society in reality what it is, at present but in name. This result is doubtless gratifying to yourself ; indeed, I have heard from more than one of your friends that your present ease and content- ment contrast strongly with the feverish anxiety which marked your bearing before the conference gave you another twelve months' lease of power ; but not even the most microscopic and hopeful vision can detect any result that might gratify those who share not your lust of rule, and who would fain see the Secular party united and organised for national and rational purposes. "The means by which you reached this end would have been dishonourable in a private man, and are doubly dishonourable in a professed leader of the party of progress and a preacher of a new moral faith. Not content with doing your utmost, and persuading or commanding your friends and servants to do their utmost, ever LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 323 since your last return from America, to injure my reputation and diminish my influence, you have condescended to a still lower depth of meanness. My criticisms on your public acts and utter- ances have all been publicly made ; I have never crawled slander- ously behind your back and praised you to your face, as do some of those whom you fondly imagine to be your friends, because they find profit in ministering to your vanity. But, regardless of this, you stooped to a mean and disgraceful use of ignoble weapons of attack, and assailed me and my friends personally, instead of meeting us on public grounds ; and this you did while hypocritically protesting your devotion to liberty and justice. Not even this, however, was sufficient to satisfy your inordinate love of unquestioned power. After stimulating the passions and prejudices of your friends at the conference by an artful appeal to the lowest part of their nature, and a use of language which even Dr Kenealy in his wildest jmr- oxysms of malice would disavow ; after accusing me of treason against your sovereign majesty, and terrorising your dutiful subjects by the threat that you would resign if I were re-elected ; after brutally interrupting me in the midst of my defence whenever my remarks weighed heavily against you ; after fulfilling in your own person the functions of accuser, advocate, witness, judge, and jury, and meanly occupying the chair while your own case was being tried ; after permitting further witnesses to be called for the prose- cution when my defence was completed and the mouths of my supporters were stopped ; after all this, you deliberately proceeded to rule the voting in your own interest by admitting without question all votes in your favour and rejecting without justice a large number in mine. One delegate you allowed to vote for your election as president, and refused him, on technical grounds, the right to vote again for my election as vice-president. Another delegate you denied the right to vote, on the ground that he was not projierly qualified, although you had isublished his name as a member weeks before in your own paper. And a third, whose A'otes you refused because of some informality in the signing of proxies, was so in- censed that he cried out to your face that his society had been 'dodged out of its votes.' Every one of these delegates whose rights you set aside would have voted for me, and you knew it. A just man, an honourable man, would, in such circumstances, have strained every point in his opponent's favour instead of in his own. You strained every point in your own favour, and I leave you to 324 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. di-aw the obvious and inevitable conclusion. The voting, as recorded in your own paper, stands thus : For Mr Foote's re-election, 51, against 292, not including the 85 proxies providentially brought by your friend Mr Watts, and which you generously requested him not to use as soon as you found that a favourable majority would be otherwise obtained. The number of votes that would have been recorded in my favour, had you not thus ungenerously, nay, basely interfered, is 184, exclusive of the Stalybridge votes, of which I have not yet discovered the precise number. " But after all, this vote was not so much a vote against me as for you. You plainly told the members of your society that they must choose between you and me, and they doubtless sur- mised that Mrs Besant and Mr Watts would cast in their lots with their 'chief.' As the case stood, the wonder is, not that I obtained a minority of votes, but that I obtained any votes at all. Never before did so many Secularists virtually inform Charles Bradlaugh that he might go to Jericho if he would not worh witk others whom they approved. Your dynasty must be weaker than you thought. Perhaps yovir temporary and dearly-bought victory at the Leeds Conference in more than one respect resembles the last victorious plebiscite of Napoleon the Little, which was so soon followed by the crowning disaster of Sedan. "Your malicious slander cast against my dearest friend, I was blamed for not repudiating ; but in truth I dared not trust my- self to speak of it. It was characterised by some of your own supporters as ' brutal,' seeing that the mouth of the slandered man was stopped. My friend may be left to make his own defence, and to inflict upon you, as he assuredly will, condign retribution. When last he and you met, you respected him sufficiently to proffer your hand, but he disrespected you sufficiently to decline it. His name Avill live when yours is forgotten ; his memory be treasured when yours has fled. I would rather touch his hand dead than yours living ; and I, and those who love and honour him, shall love and honour him the more since your reviling has supremely attested his worth.* "Your fulsome fawning on Mr Holyoake at the conference was too transparent to deceive those gifted with sight. Metliought your friendship did protest too much. You declared that you and * Mr Foote here refers to James Thomson, "B.V," LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 325 he had knit hands till death, but I recollect that you said almost exactly the same thing fifteen years ago. Your threatening letters to Mr Holyoake before his withdrawal from this paper, demanding an interview within forty-eight hours, are sufficient proof of the hollowness of this truce which is called friendship. Mr Holyoake falls a victim to your machinations, because age and infirmities have weakened his power of resistance. He has abdicated his former proud position, and accepted a lieutenancy under a general whose plans he disapproved and persistently deprecated in his days of mature strength. Your strategy may be admirable, but you can scarcely expect us to believe that it was guided by love. " I have called your victory at the Leeds Conference temporary and dearly bought, and such you will find it. You have demon- strated what 1 had asserted, that the Society which calls itself National represents but a small section of the great body of Free- thinkers, is, in fact, but an insignificant band pledged to work and shout for you. There are worthy men amongst its members, I admit, and these will in time free themselves from present de- lusions ; the rest may follow where you lead. Independence under your leadership is proved to be impossible ; the democratic j^ro- fession of your lips is belied by your habitual practice. This, many who admired and respected you before you fully revealed yourself at Leeds, have been reluctantly and painfully compelled to admit ; and their admission will bear fruit. Already societies whose delegates and whose sense of honour you outraged at the conference are preparing to withdraw from the National Secular Society, and to prosecute their own especial work independently of you and your society. They may wait to see if the new com- mittee will produce good, as there are three members of it, Mr Gimson, Mr Cooper, and Mr Slater, fairly representative of out- side opinion. But if this committee produce no good, as from its first report there is reason to fear, you may depend on seeing another National Association instituted, which will almost certainly exceed the present in strength and usefulness, and which quite certainly could not be inferior in either of those qualities. "Your twelve years' acknowledged leadership of the Secular party has proved your utter incapacity or unwillingness to or- ganise it for practical purposes. Every small measure of organisa- tion that we now possess has been achieved without your advice or instigation. What single scheme for the good of the whole 326 LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. cause, for its solidification and homogeneity, have you ever origin- ated ? "What scheme have you ever assisted, except so far and in such ways as ministered to your own profit and aggrandisement? Our party is less organised now than when you assumed its leader- ship ; mushroom societies are constantly siDringing up, but what account can you give of the old ones ? The very Freethinkers' Benevolent Fund, of which you make such boast whenever occasion off'ers, was stronger in Joseph Barker's time than now. What Secular Society is there in London where you have a platform always open, and where you, or such persons as you permit, lecture every Sunday to hundreds of people ? Where is Secularism to be found, as an organised thing, in Northampton, which you aspire to represent in Parliament, and where presumably your influence is most potent? How have you promoted the building of Secular Halls, in order that our party might assemble weekly in decent places like the poorest Christian sect ? Where is our literature ? You cannot say there are no purchasers, for you trumpet their numbers every week. What books have we to com^mre with those which issued from the Freethought press in the days of Robert Owen, Richard Garble, Thomas and Robert Cooper, Josejjh Barker, and G. J. Holyoake ? Your last presidential address makes men- tion of but two, both of which will probably at no distant date be either used as waste paper or preserved as curiosities. And what has your great society done during the past twelve months ? It has procured signatures for a petition against royal grants, which is not strictly apjiropriate to a National Secular Society ; issued six tracts, and jjresented a testimonial to brave Mr Washington, in the form of a teapot, on which are conspicuously engraved your name and the names of two of your vice-presidents, selected for immortalisation. This is all, and what an all for a great National Society ! "The present state of our jaarty is a practical condemnation of your leadership, and your recent triumph will not serve to conceal this. In a private correspondence between us last summer I told you that you were subordinating every thing to a mistaken view of your own best interests, suppressing men of independence and ability, and playing with the Secular party as Napoleon the Little played with the French Democracy. I repeat this now with in- creased emphasis. Your policy and the progress of Secularism are incompatible. You may still retrieve your reputation as a leader LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 327 if you will be wise in time. If you will not, my retribution will surely come without further personal struggle. Henceforth I re- solve to ignore you and to labour solely for the effective organisation of Secularism. When our party is strong enough to manage its own affairs, to decide its own policy and choose those who shall execute it, and to repel insolent dictation ; then will my vengeance be com- pleted. The greatest blow I can strike against you is to strive to make our party too powerful and proud to submit to your tyranny." Thus ended the Leeds Conference by a disruption of the Secularists. It was the signal for the breaking up of the organisation. From that hour the harmony of the party was at an end. Those who remained were pure and undefiled Bradlaughites. They were no longer members of a party ; they were followers of a " leader " — the " chief," Charles Bradlaugh. Mr Charles Watts had been used as the tool to overthrow Mr Foote. Within a year, he was himself spurned as an outcast because he refused to go to prison in order to give eclat to the "chief" and the " chiefess." The subjects protested against by the members of the conference were the unauthorised adoption and publication of books which committed the party to opinions against which the majority revolted. Mr Bradlaugh succeeded. Nemesis followed speedily in his track, and the prosecution of the " Fruits of Philosophy " completed what the Leeds Conference of 1876 inaugurated. CHAPTER XXII. Mr Bradlaugh and the Press — Working up Lawsuits against the Press — How His Early Lawstiits were conducted — His Sham Attack against the Yorkshire Post and a Hull Newspaper — Contesting East Finshury — His Action against the Clerken- WELL Chronicle — Resigned His East Finshury Candidature — How He proceeded against the Clerken^'Ell Chronicle — The Material Parts of the " Statememts of Claim" — Interrogatories administered to Mr Bradlaugh — He failed to ansiver Them — A Hostile Biographical Sketch of Mr Bradlaugh published in the Beaconsfield Standard — ^1 Withdrawal, an Apology, and £bO demanded — His Demands slighted. His Letter published along icith a nfiore scathing Biographical Sketch — Mr Bradlaugh has always been afraid to fight a Stalwart Foe — His Action against the Rev. Brewin Orant — Mr Grants Preparations for the Fight — 7%e Charity Organisation Society in league with Mr Bradlaugh — Mr Bradlaugh issues a Writ against the Rev. Brewin Grant — Mr Grant having learned from the Columns of the National Re- former, that Mr Bradlaugh was exceedingly Poor, applied for " Security for Costs," in the event of Mr BradlaugKs Defeat — Mr Bradlaugh replied by Affidavit that He earned {in 1876) J'lOOO a year, that He received ^100 Annual Interest from. Investments in Stock, and that He was about to receive £2600 in a Present — Copy of Affidavit No. 1 — Extracts from National Eeformer showing that Mr Bradlaugh was pari passu trith His Affidavit pleading Poverty — Is again interrogated as to His Means — He further ad- mitted to have ^£6000 invested in Italian Securities, and to have a Journal in England icarth £2000 — Copy of Affida.vit No. 2 — 3fore Extracts from His Journal, the National Reformer, doicn to 25th December 1887, icherein He alleges that He is absolutely unpossessed of Capital — According to Mr BradlaugKs Affidavit, He is possessed of £IZ,Q00, and according to the National Reformer He ^'- earns His Dinner the Day before He eats It" — What has Mr Bradlaugh done for those for Whom He professes to have helped ? — What has He done with the Moneys subscribed to His everlasting " Funds ? " — Is it Mr Bradlaugh of the Affidavits or Mr Bradlaugh. of the Begging Column of the National Reformer that is to be believed! — Who now is the '■'■ Foid-mouthed Scoundrel" and Who is the '■^ Infamous Liar?" The Law of Libel to most men is a study in juris- prudence which, amongst the ordinary class of the com- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 329 munity, it is better to ignore. Mr Bradlaugh has never held this opinion. His reputation, such as it is, has been built up by libel actions, and he has derived considerable assistance in stifling hostile criticism by the terrors of a threatened lawsuit. His party has been served by this wholesome fear. At one time an Infidel was con- sidered to be game for every Tory journalist to flesh his maiden pen in with sarcasm and denunciation. Even the majority of Liberal editors considered themselves justified in attacking a Freethinker, upon the ground that the nearer the kin the more bitter the hatred. Upon the prin- ciple that a good libel action is the making of a news- paper, Mr Bradlaugh felt that to be plaintiff" in a suit for defamation of character was an excellent way of bringing his name before the public. On his first en- trance into life as an agitator, the Press ignored him as not being sufficiently interesting to amuse their readers. As an ordinary lecturer, he would never have been noticed. Mr Bradlaugh was perfectly well aware of this fact, and, at the very outset of his career, he sought notoriety by challenging the clergy. When the clergy took the bait, they brought with them their congre- gations, whose " entrance moneys " paid expenses, and procured local publicity for the Infidel lecturer. Hav- ing arrived at the dignity of being recognised, it was not long before supercilious sneers or open denuncia- tions followed in the colunms of local newspapers. This was the opportunity sought for by Mr Bradlaugh. No sooner did eligible paragraphs appear, than Mr Brad- 330 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P, laugh demanded an apology ; or, as alternative, threat- ened an action for libel. Almost invariably the forensic demand, whether delivered on the platform or by letter, was couched in an ambidexter fashion, which to those accustomed to the game, was strikingly amus- ing. It mitigated by its generosity the utter annihila- tion which it threatened the erring scribe. An instant retraction was demanded, along with £50 (as agreed damages), to be paid over to such charity as should be in- dicated by Mr Bradlaugh. If the person swooped down upon had courage to resist such an attack, the whole af- fair ended in smoke. If he were timid and vacillating, then it was no difficult task to work upon his pecu- niary feelings ; he was soon terrified into paying the for- feit of £50 as liquidated damages. Mr Bradlaugh, as a lawyer's clerk, knew his advantages in working up lawsuits at cost price. To a poor parson, or a pious deacon, the terror of having a lawsuit which might cost £100 in fees to his own solicitor, irrespective of a hostile verdict, was sufficient to make him cave in. To a newspaper proprietor, the matter was more serious. A modest libel action can hardly be fought under £200, independent of the " damages " which may be given by a jury, some of whom may have smarted by a report in the journal, from the pen of the local Paul Pry. It makes little difference — winning or losing — as to out- lay. The costs of the defence have to be provided for, and even lawyers who are in political sympathy with the local newspaper, demand their fees. With a pauper LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 331 plaintiff, it is "Heads I win, tails you lose." The legal training of Mr Bradlaugh would convince him that in most cases he would obtain nominal damages — say one " farthing," as in the " Razor " action, where the plaintiff got neatly shaved. Even if the verdict in the action would not carry costs, the defendant would have been obliged to get up his case as well as if a substantial verdict were expected, while, should the plaintiff not recover damages, the defendant knew he would not recoup the outlay he had been put to. Mr Bradlaugh did not, on all occasions, bring his actions in person. Where he felt certain of victory, he, in order to obtain heavy solicitor's fees, invariably percolated his numerous lawsuits through a lawyer, reserving for himself the ornamental pleading in court. Notwithstanding this fact, in all the actions for libel brought by Mr Bradlaugh, he has never obtained a substantial verdict before a jury. In several instances defendants, worked on by fears of expensive litigation, have succumbed to the £50 demand, but Mr Bradlaugh has invariably retired from the field whenever a defendant has shown that he was determined to fight. This was clearly shown in the attack made on the Yorkshire Post. The pro- prietors of this influential journal were not to be intimidated by his threats, or cajoled into silence by the suggested "blackmail" of £50. They pub- lished in their newspaper the proposed Interroga- tories and the Pleadings by which they intended to 382 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. justify their words. From their nature, Mr Bradlaugh discerned that the solicitors were assisted by a clergy- man, who would provide their counsel with matter for a cross-examination which would not be pleasant. The Yorkshire Post was severely left alone. The same tactics were, with a like result, exhibited to a Hull journal. The latest and most successful fiasco was the action brought against the proprietor and editor of the Clerk- enwell Chronicle. It was the most remarkable exhibi- tion of the peculiar qualities of Mr Bradlaugh, which illustrates the success he scored by having to deal with a timid man, from whom he extracted the customary £50 as a solatium for resigning his claims to repre- sent East Finsbury, where the " Hall of Science " is located. The story of this lawsuit is not without a moral. In 1885, in anticipation of the General Elec- tion, the Freethinkers started the cry of Bradlaugh for East Finsbury. Mr Bradlaugh accepted the mandate, not that he was going to throw Northampton over, or that Northampton was going to reject him, but as a protest from the archiepiscopal electors of the " Hall of Science " district against the refusal to allow him to take his seat in Parliament. He caused it to be intimated that when elected he would resign his seat in favour of Mr James Rowlands, who at that time was his most obsequious political follower. The Clerkemvell Chronicle was a local newspaper which supported an- other rival Liberal candidate. It protested against the LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 833 blackguardism displayed by the mobs which met at the " Hall of Science," and systematically broke up all rival political assemblies. In one of" his addresses, Mr Bradlaugh boasted of his political integrity, and de- manded of his audience an answer to his question of " What Movements have I sold ? " Unfortunately for him, the challenge was taken up by his old antagonist the Rev. Brewin Grant, who indited a series of letters in reply to this boastful query. The first communi- cation which appeared in the Clerkemuell Chronicle abounded in disagreeable reminiscences. The second was still stronger in its language ; but, instead of replying to the charges, Mr Bradlaugh made his usual demand for an apology and £50. This was followed by a Writ of Summons. The proprietor, fearful of the risks of an action, stopped publication of Mr Grant's articles, although the author offered to indemnify the proprietor against all risks. The columns of the Clerkenwell Chronicle being closed, the Bev. Brewin Grant's articles were widely circulated in the district which Mr Bradlaugh was contesting, with the result that after a violent speech he resigned his candidature in favour of his nominee, Mr James Rowlands, who, as soon as he was elected, took every possible step to shake off all per- sonal obligations to his leader, and started as an independent Radical politician. The behaviour of Mr Rowlands was considered by Mr Bradlaugh to be an act of the basest political ingratitude. In the meantime, the actions against Mr James 334 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. Lilly, the proprietor of the Clerkemuell Chronicle, and against Mr T. E. Hedley, tlie editor, were proceeded with. Mr Hedley, was only a nominal defendant, who had no control in the conduct of the defence. Mr Bradlangh refused to sue the Reverend Brewin Grant, or permit his name, as writer, to be substituted in place of that of the proprietor of the newspaper. He, Mr Bradlaugh, knew Mr Lilly to be a timid man, and, what was much more to his purpose, perfectly able to pay damages. He was by profession a stockbroker, who varied his occupation by investing in newspaper property, and in a number of City barbers' shops, where his name was sedulously concealed ; but the managers of his Army and Navy Toilet Clubs acted as touts for bill-discounting, after the style of ^ the West End tailors who dabble in usury. He employed a lawyer, who was more anxious to preserve his client's pocket than to defend his politics ; and, although the Reverend Brewin Grant was asked by the defendants to provide instruc- tions for defence, he was not permitted to control the legal proceedings. Mr Grant very naturally said, "If I have to be responsible for damages, I must conduct the defence in my own way," but this was not con- ceded. Under these circumstances, it is not to be wondered at that in the many actions for libel which Mr Bradlaugh has brought from time to time against newspaper proprietors, etc., the defenders should have sought the aid of Mr Grant. In the action Bradlaugh V. Lilly and Hedley, the following are the material parts LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 335 of the Statement of Claim, tog'ether with the Interro- gatories administered, with their answer : — "On the 17th day of October 1885, the defendants falsely and maliciously wrote and jirinted in the said Clerhenwell Chronicle^ of and concerning the plaintiff, an article headed as follows, ' "What Movements Have I Sold ? ' Answered, in which were the words following: — 'He' (meaning the plaintiff) ' had a Northampton Life, 1868, published and widely circulated as a leaflet when he was candidate for that borough. This ended with, " Such then is the man who is now soliciting the suffrages of the Electors of Northampton " (October 25th, 1868, p. 258). All this was incorporated into an article by himself on himself. He had an American Life done up to herald his dollar stump in the United States 1873, after his election for a borough which he had nursed twelve years, and which he " served " five months out of six years.' " "On the same day, and in another jjortion of the said article headed as aforesaid in the said newspaper, the defendants falsely and maliciousfy wrote, printed, and published of and concerning the plaintiff, the words following : — ' The Pai'liamentary Life, which is the padding out of an American penny tract into a seven-and-six- penny book, is nominally issued by Mr Adoljihe S. Headingley, but is written under the verbal insjiiration of the hero of the tale, Mr Charles Bradlaugh himself. Instead of publishing it himself, though he heralded, advertised, and puffed it, he secured the name of Remington, who afterwards returned it on his hands, when the " Free- thought Company Limited " offered the remainder for half-a-crown. The name of Adolphe Headingley was put to the book, to save Mr Bradlaugh's modesty, that he might not too prominently appear as his own biographer. If we may judge by what he does print, the " kind praise " which he omits for excessive laudation must be rather odorous. But in these Lives he is himself practically author, printer, and publisher, though in one he hides behind Headingley and Rem- ington. Both devices were a ' sell ; ' the names of Adolphe Headingley as author and Remington as publisher were to throw the public off the scent. " On the same date, and in another portion of the same article, .... are certain words, as follows : — 'Amongst the first and foremost of these vile and orthodox scoundrels are his own father and his father's friend, the late Rev. G. Graham Packer ' . . . . ' The charges against 336 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. his fatlier and his father's friend, on which he has long traded for pity and applause at their own expense, and for his own glorification, are in effect that these two combined with others and drove him from home, because of his conscientious convictions, for which he courage- ously endured the infliction of trouble and poverty. These charges, we are happy to say at the outset, are as false as the self -laudation, for courage and conscientious martyrdom to gain sympathy, adherents, and help were specially obtruded in a debate at Sheffield in June 1858, the report of which debate ]\Ir Bradlaugh endorsed as accurate.' " " On the same date, and in the same article, etc the words following : — 'What movements have I sold'? (July 26, 1868, p. 51). ' This is the anxious inquiry to which we answer not in full but in part. The list would be a long one. There are two difficulties in our way : first to select the cases of sale out of many illustrations and proofs, on each point the specimens to be employed. By " sold " we mean betrayed opportunely, forsaken, used and abused, alternately villified and flattered, and such like ideas. We extend the word "movement" to cause, person of a representative character, relation,, position having just moral claims.' " " On the same date, and in the same article, etc the words following : — ' The f ovirth form of Bradlaugh's accusation of his own. father for his own glory. A fourth account is given directly in Brad- laugh's own name, in a letter to the Reaso7ier, edited by Mr G. J. Holyoake, at that time his honoured leader and helper, and afterwards " sold " and shouldered out by his admiring and grateful pupil.' " These were the libels complained of, and the State- ment of Claim contained the usual legal innuendoes incorporated with the extracts. In this action Inter- rogatories were exhibited by the Rev. Brewin Grant, which were answered very briefly. I quote in extenso the 9th to the 15th, with the answer made by Mr Bradlaugh. 9. " Did you not, in lecturing tours in the United States, avoid the advocacy of Freethought ?— secure and boast of opportunities of lecturing in Christian churches, pulpits, halls, and colleges ? Did you LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 337 not in the lecturing tours practically drop Freethought and adopt Kepublicanism ? " "10. In your candidature for Northampton, did you not profess and say that if returned to Parliament you would go there not as an Atheist but as a Radical ? " "11. On your return to Parliament, did you first assert that taking an oath by God, in whose existence you did not believe, would not bind your conscience, and afterwards assert your willingness to take an oath by God, and that it would bind your conscience, and insist upon your right to do so ? " " 12. Have you not frequently denied the existence of God, in- sulted the name and idea of God, or how otherwise ? And have you not, by taking solemn oaths, called God to witness your actions ? " " 13. Have you not sworn loyalty and allegiance to the Queen, and have you asserted that you will not be loyal to this German Royalty?" " 14. Have you not pledged yourself to do all in your power to secure the abolition of Perpetual Pensions ? Did you not waive and drop the advocacy of the same to please Mr Gladstone, or how otherwise ? " " 15. Have you not, in your published writings and speeches,, pi-aised Mr Gladstone as being noble and high-minded, and profess great admiration for him, or how otherwise ? Did you not adopt and insert in your journal, or some or what publication edited or published by you, a representation of Mr Gladstone as Pilate vainly washing his hands over a human sacrifice in which you were the victim ? " To these Interrogatories Mr Bradlaugh made the following reply: — " I object to answer the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Interrogatories as irrelevant and impertinent. As to the 12tk Interrogatory, I further object to it on the ground that it asks matter of an incriminatory nature, and also that it asks me to express an opinion on the legal efi"ect and theological meaning of the act of oath taking." The foregoing gives a fair account of the conduct of the action ; but it never came to trial. Had it done so, far more searching interrogatories would have been 338 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. administered in cross-examination, which had been pre- pared for the trial, and which I give in extenso in the next chapter. Mr James Lilly, thinking that the cheap- est way of extricating himself was to pay the £50 demanded, handed his cheque for the amount, and, with a very questionable apology, succumbed. Mr Hedley, however, although tempted with the management of one of Mr Lilly's Army and Navy Toilet Saloons as a bribe, refused to be a party to the settlement. Sub- sequently to his row with the Clerkemvell Chronicle, a short-lived newspaper, which appeared under the pre- tentious title of the Beaconsfield Standard, published a hostile biographical sketch of the fighting Atheist. No sooner did it appear than the inevitable demand for an apology and £50 was made. A letter, of which the following is a copy, was sent to the directors of the Primrose Press Agency : — "20 Circus Eoad, St John's Wood, London, N.W., October 28th, 1885. " James Martiii, Silas Nicholls, and Charles Sutton, Esqs., Directors, ^ Primrose Press Agency Coy., Limited. " Gentlm., — Drawing your attention to the issue of the Beacons- field Standard of October 24, published by you, and to the infamous allegations contained in it, that I teach — ' 1. That chastity is a crime. 2. That unbridled sensuality is a virtue,' I have to ask you for the immediate and complete withdrawal of these utterly foundationless allegations, and for a full apology to be printed in your paper for the shocking libel ; and I have to ask further that you pay a sum of £50 to the funds of St Thomas's Hospital, as some mark of the ■sincerity of your regret. — Yours obed. C. Bradlaugh." LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 339 The directors of the Beaconsfield Standard not only refused to publish an apology and pay the £50, but they, in their next issue, printed the above letter, along with a harrowing attack upon Mr Bradlaugh's char- acter. The letter, which was intended to finally put a stop to the publication of any particulars in connec- tion with his career, served merely as an impetus to the directors to go on inserting scathing articles on the junior member for Northampton. The writer of the articles evidently penned them with the object of chal- lenging a prosecution, so that he might thereby have the pleasure afforded him of cross-examining Mr Brad- laugh upon certain facts relating to his private life which are not referred to in this luork. Mr Bradlaugh is at all times possessed of sufiicient penetration to diagnose a journalistic weakling, for while he shrank from contact with firm and resolute antagonists, he pressed his attack against the wealthy and timid Mr Lilly, barber-shop and newspaper proprietor. The direc- tors of the Primrose Press Agency were left masters of the field. They were the victors ; Mr Bradlaugh was the vanquished. Under the circumstances, Mr Brad- laugh entrenched himself behind the coward's fortifica- tion — an active retreat ; and this, after all, was possibly the best course he could have adopted, for it would have somewhat tasked his forensic acumen to parry with the questions which the reader will find in the following chapter. Before leaving this subject of libel, it will be well 340 LIFE OF CHAKLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. to refer briefly to the action Bradlaugh v. Grant, which, in a rash moment, was instituted by the Atheist against the Christian, on the ground that the latter uttered, at a public meeting in the North of England, slanderous words calculated to damage the reputation of the so-called Inlidel leader. Mr Bradlaugh insisted that Mr Grant's utterances and innuendoes were defama- tory to his character. Possibly they were, but Mr Grant was not of that opinion. From the then gene- ral aspect of affairs, one would have been justified in surmising that there was nigh at hand a prospect of those two disputants settling their differences in a court of law, where each litigant would have had afforded to him the advantage of having his grievance duly con- sidered by a jury, and weighed by a judge. The Secularists were delighted to learn that Mr Bradlaugh had issued a writ against the Eev. Brewin Grant ; and they, in their simplicity, commenced to raise such funds as they were led to believe were required for legal expenses. The dupes who provided the "funds" were given to understand, from the columns of the National Reformer, that the Rev. Brewin Grant would be finally put to silence by a verdict and crushing damages in favour of the plaintiff. Mr Bradlaugh, " the friend of the poor working man," was by no means moderate in the valuation of his reputation, when he estimated the damage done to his "char- acter" at the trifling sum of £5,000. Mr Grant made preparations to meet his antagonist. He determined LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 341 to enter court, plead justification, and dissect, in cross- examination, the entire career of the plaintiff. Mr Grant had not sought after such an encounter ; but, the opportunity having been forced upon him, he resolved to put to the test the unrivalled armoury of facts accumulated by a lifetime of observation of Infidel tactics. Mr Grant was familiar with every dodge concocted at the " Hall of Science " for the glorifica- tion of Mr Bradlaugh. For several years he engaged himself in detecting Infidel sophistries, and in denounc- ing Infidel immoralities. To him, no more fitting op- portunity could present itself than that of meeting in a court of law the high priest of low infidelity. He took the full measure of his antagonist, and prepared to act in court as his own counsel ; for he well knew that it would be difiicult to procure the services of an advocate who would wade through " literature " which, when not clothed in blasphemy, fumed with obscenity. In response to the appeals of his son, Mr Henry Grant, some eight hundred clergymen contributed a limited subscrip- tion toward the legal expenses of their brother ecclesiastic. At this juncture, Mr Bradlaugh availed himself of a strange ally. Being an Atheist, he could not appeal to the Bishop of London to put his foot on the defendant in the action ; but through his friends the possessor of thousands of pounds safely invested made his peace with the Charity Organisation Society, and appealed for help in his extremity. Seeing that the C.O.S. had been so often denounced by the Eev. Brewin Grant 342 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. as an unmitigated swindle, its chiefs, naturally enough, joined in the hunt against the parson who dared to stigmatise its employees as a gang of impostors. The society was assured that Mr Grant's expenses incurred in defending himself could not possibly exceed £150. The answer which Mr Grant vouchsafed, was the pre- sentation of documents showing that he had then ex- pended £200. It became evident to the society that Mr Grant was prepared to reveal to the British public the character of Mr Bradlaugh in such a manner that every statement against Mr Bradlaugh would have been proved with that deliberation which legal evi- dence demands. On the 10th October 1876, the writ was issued by Mr Bradlaugh's solicitors against the Rev. Brewin Grant, which proved that Mr Bradlaugh was determined to have his character vindicated against the aspersions of the cleric, who, on so many occasions, had met him in debate, aiid who was then prej)ared to meet him in the law courts. As the columns of the National Re- former continually evinced to the numerous and be- nighted followers of the high priest of the "Hall of Science" that their "chief" was in almost abject poverty, not knowing, very frequently, how he could earn or how he could obtain his to-morrow's dinner, Mr Grant concluded that he should run an exceedingly bad chance of being paid his costs in the action, in the event of his victory over the poor plaintiff of the three- and-sixpenny lodging. Accordingly, on the 31st No- LIFE OF CHARLES BKADLAUGH, M.P. 343 vember, the Rev. Brewin Grant filed an afBclavat, where- in he stated that the plaintiff had "no visible means of paying the costs o£ the defendant, should a verdict be not found for the plaintiff." It reply to Mr Grant's affidavit, Mr Bradlaugh, who had hitherto been poorer than a church mouse, made an affidavit, from which I extract the following : — "I, Charles Bradlaugh, the above-named plaintiff, do solemnly promise and declare that the evidence given by me to the Court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. " 1. That I have read the affidavit in the case made by the above- named defendant, in support of an application for security for costs in this action, on the ground that I have no visible means of paying the costs of his defence in the event of a verdict being found for him against me. " 2. That this action is brought to recover damages for slander of a very serious nature, wherein he charges me with having comjjromised a suit, in which suit he alleges that I charged persons with having committed murder. He also charges me with being a person in in- solvent circumstances, and having absconded to avoid the payment of my debts, which is an indictable offence under the bankruptcy laws, I, at the time of such alleged absconding, being the proprietor of a newspaper. " 4. I say that it is not true that I am a person without means and unable to pay the costs of the defendant to this action in the event of a verdict being found for him. I say that I am entitled to be paid a sum of £2,500 of the estate of the late Mr Turberville, deceased. . . . I am also in receipt of an annual income of £100 from investments made by me in stock. " 5. I am also in receipt of an income of at least £1,000 per annum from my avocation as a lecturer, authoi', and journalist. "6. I am the proprietor, editor, and publisher of a newspaper called the National Reformer, which produces a net annual profit to me of about £500 a year, which forms part of the said income mentioned in paragraph 5. 844 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. CH. BEADLAUGH. "7 and in addition, I say I have ample means to pay the costs of the defendant, in the event of a verdict being found for him. " 8. That I believe the defendant has no real defence to this action on the merits. "I certify that, under the power to\ me given in this behalf by the Evidence Amendment Act, 1870, I have satisfied myself that the taking of an Oath by the above- named Charles Bradlaugh would have no binding effect on his con- science, and that the said Charles ' Bradlaugh made the promise and declaration j^rescribed by the Evi- dence Further Amendment Act, 1869, at No. 8 Bartlett's Build- ings, in the City of London, this 20th day of November 1876, Before me, / ED. LETTS, A Commissioner to administer Oaths in the Supreme Court of Judicature." This affidavit not only astonished the Rev. Brewin Grant, but it literally appalled him. Mr Bradlaugh, who was in a perennial state of impecuniosity, "earn- ing my dinner the day before I eat it," and "living in a poor and humble lodging in the east of London," now affirmed that he earned £1,000 a year; that he was entitled to £2,500 from the Turberville estate, and that he received annually interest to the amount of £100 from capital (at least £2,000) invested in stock. Practically, Mr Bradlaugh affirmed that, on the date of his affidavit, he was worth £6,500. Can it be pos- sible, thought the Bev. Brewin Grant, that Mr Brad- LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. 345 laugh, who ever and anon informs his clientele that he is in a chronic state of poverty and debt, is really worth £6,500, or has he become insane, and irresponsible for the contents of his affidavit of the 20th November 1876 ? Laying down, in utter bewilderment, the plain- tiffs affidavit, the defendant takes up the plaintiff's journal, the National Reformer, to verify, as far as possible, the contents of his affidavit. Not much con- solation to be derived from such passages as these : — " You (Bishop) of Lincoln) and youi- colleagues, in your splendid palaces ; I in two small rooms in a back street of East London. You and your titled co-workers, not only with personal incomes of thousands, but with huge funds placed from day to day at your disposal ; I poor, in debt, and earning my dinner the day before I eat it. (Charles Bradlaugh in National Reformer^ "I came back to Europe reluctantly, for I went to the United States to earn money to jjay my debts, and I am compelled to return poorer than I left. (Charles Bradlaugh in National Reformer, 9th January 1876, p. 26.) " He had been asked, ' Why do you go to America ? ' He went to pay his debts, because he would not stoop to wipe them out by be- coming bankrupt. {National Reformer, 23d May 1875, p. 327.) " Many friends in the country will be interested in knowing that by the decision in the Turberville Will case .... the sum of £2,500 is to be paid to Mr Charles Bradlaugh .... Although this will not put Mr Bradlaugh entirely out of debt, it will relieve him of liabilities to that amount, and gives him fair hope that he may soon be entirely free from the pecuniary burdens against which he has been resolutely struggling for several years. {National Reformer, 13th August 1876.) " Why did your Church, with its enormous wealth, permit a man like Bradlaugh, poor and in debt, with only a few earnest workers to encourage him. {National Reformer, 18th April 1875, p. 241.)" After re-reading in the columns of the National Reformer several poverty-stricken and dupe-beguiling 346 LIFE OF CHARLES BRADLAUGH, M.P. sentences couched in sympathy-provoking language, simi- lar to or more pronounced than the foregoing extracts, the Rev. Brewin Grant concluded that no better course than that of again feeling, through the medium of an affidavit, the financial pulse of the friend and leader of "the horny-handed sons of toil," who was the poor occupant of "the two small rooms in East London," could be adopted. Once more the defendant applied the affidavit test to the purse-strings of his foe, and alleged that he had carefully read Mr Bradlaugh's affidavit, and that he believed Mr Bradlaugh wished, in his declaration, to convey an erroneous impres- sion in regard to his property and means of liveli- hood. Mr Grant went on to say that he believed, in the event of Mr Bradlaugli's being ordered to pay the costs in the action, he (Mr Grant) would be unable to obtain them from the defendant, as the columns of the National Reformer prove conclusively that Mr Bradlaugh is without means. In his affidavit, Mr Grant cited several of the " poverty " passages which frequently appeared in the National Reformer. In reply to the second affidavit of the Rev. Brewin Grant, Mr Brad- laugh filed an affidavit, from which the paragraphs in the lithograph attached hereto are taken. Thus it will be seen that the poor and half-starving "Iconoclast" has affirmed by affidavits that he is pos- sessed of at least £13,600 ; and he well knew it was unnecessary to state the amount of his entire wealth, in answer to the defendant's summons. With the idea roking language, simi- le foregoing extracts, that no better course ;li the medium of an lie friend and leader 1," who was the poor US in East London," ,hc defendant applied mngs of his foe, and read Mr Bradlaugh's Ir Bradlaugh wished, an erroneous impres- and means of UveU- \f that he believed, ig ordered to pay the ,nt) would be unable mt, as the columns of conclusively that Mr his afBdavnt, Mr Grant isages which frequently mer. In reply to the •win Grant, Mr Brad- lich the paragraphs taken. poor and half-starving davits that he is he well knew it was t of his entire wealth, nmoiis. With the idea 1 t^j^(5Z^*-t^;^i .," that I have here dealt with the matter more in detail. After this, what chance have I that Mr Bradlaugh will go on with the action of which his writ is the earnest?* Believing in the right- eousness of my cause, I am desirous that Her Majesty's High Court of Justice should efiectively finish what I have so imperfectly begun. C. R. M. * It is only because the exposure which Mr Bradlaugh is sub- jected to in my book is as nothing to the exposure to which he will be subjected if he seek the arbitrament of the courts, that I am anxious he should proseciite me. PRINTED BY C. R. MACKAT, LONDON. D. J. GUNN & CO.'S CATALOGUE. Just issued, demy 8vo, 480 pp., cloth, cold lettered, price I OS. 6d. post free, LIFE Charles Bradlaugh, M.P, CHARLES R. MACKAY. " Who, ia the secret, deals in stocks secure, And cheats the unknowing widow and the poor." —Pope. " And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down, and gave up the ghost." — Acts V. S' LONDON : D. J. GUNN & CO., 84, FLEET STREET^ E.C; Just issued, cr. 4to, clotli, gilt lettered, price 7s. 6d. post free, ABSOLUTE RELATIVISM; OR, jTHE ABSOLUTE IN RELATION. Ey WILLIAM BELL McTAGGART. This work consists of a Prolegomena which is a vidimus of the entire field of Mental Science, and of an exhaustive chapter on Materialism and another on Idealism, setting forth a compendious and exhaustive exposition of the two great primary schools into which philosophical thought is divided. We regard the work as an able and valuable contribution to the philosophic discussion of the day. — The Open Court (Chicago). 64 pp, in wrapper, price 6d., post free 7d., "SEXUAL ECONOMY," AS TAUGHT BY CHARLES BRADLAUGH. By Peter Agate, M.D. (and Addendum by Saladin). Contents : Introduction— The Two B.'sand "The Elements" — Bradlaugh's Quarrel with Joseph Barker — Sexual Religion — The Neo-Malthusian Doctrine of Marriage— PaljEO-Secular Views of Social Evils — Palaio-Secular Medicine — The Palaeo-Secularist Malthusians — Pateo-Secularist Society — Addendum, by Saladin. Price 2s. post free, elegantly printed in colours, SONGS BY THE WAYSIDE OF AN AGNOSTICS LIFE. Just Issued, 64 pp., in pictorial wrapper, price 6d., by post 7d. each, Parts I., IL, III., IV., V., and VL of WOMAN: HER GLORY, HER SHAME, AND HER GOD. By SALADIN. London : D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.G. Now Ready, 96 pp., in pictorial wrapper, price is., post free is. icl., CHRISTIANITY AND THE SLAVE TRADE. By SALADIN. Price is., post free is. id., THE C01SrFESSI0:N^AL: ROMISH AND i\NGLICAN. Aft Exposure, By SALADIN. Contents : — Introduction — Licentiousness of the Pre-Refor- mation Church — Lechery of the Confessional — Ritualism : " The Priest in Absolution " — The Anglican Confessional — Ineffectual Efforts to Suppress Romanising Tendencies in the Anglican Church — Confessions of an Escaped Nun — Extracts from Dens and Liguori — Examination of the Church's Claim to have Fostered Learning: Her Attempts at Continency even more Ruinous than her Self-in- dulgence — The Relative Criminal Statistics of Catholicism and Protestantism — Appendix. 64 pp., in wrapper, post free 7d., DID JESUS CHRIST RISE FROM THE DEAD? The Evidences for the Resiirredion Tried and Found Wanting, By SALADIN. Price los. 6d, post free, OUTLINES OP MENTAL PHILOSOPHY. By J. D. MORELL, LL.D. London: D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.C. Just issued, price I2s. 6d., post free, A MANUAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. By J. D. MORELL, M.A., LL.D. Price 2s. post free, HANDBOOK OF LOGIC. FOR YOUNG STUDENTS. By J. D. MORELL, M.A., LL.D. Cr. Svo, bevelled boards, red edges, published at 4s. 6d, reduced to 2s. 6d., post free 2s. gd., PHILOSOPHICAL FRAGMENTS. Written during Intervals of Business. By J. D. MORELL, LL.D. Bound strongly in cloth, gilt lettered, price is. 8d. post free, THE HYLO-IDEALISTIC PHILOSOPHY. BY WILLIAM BELL McTAGGART. (Late Captain 14th Hussars. ) This volume should be read by all interested in the problems of philosophy ; for the highest advances of modern thought are here laid bare to their inmost recess, and in a style and diction that he who runs may read. Cr. Svo, cl., gilt lettered, price 2s., post free, POEMS : GENERAL, SECULARISTIC, AND SATIRICAL. By LARA. This little volume contains many charming pieces of poetry, having the true and genuine ring proclaiming poetic genius. — Keyiiolds's. London : D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.C. MISCELLANEOUS PAMPHLETS. BY &ALAD1N. New Edition, price id., post free ij4d., A VISIT TO MR. SPURGEON'S TABERNACLE. Full Account of the " Dipping " and other Holy Tomfoolery. With portrait and fac-siiiiile of handwriting of Mr. Spurgeon. New Edition, price id., post free 'i.yi^., A VISIT TO THE GRAVE OF THOMAS CARLYLE. X\. (With Portrait.) Just ready, price id., post free Ij4d., THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS. Being choice references to the writings of the Holy Ghost. Now ready, price id., post free l/^d., ROBERT BURNS: WAS HE A FREETHINKER? (With Portrait.) Appendix : — The Prize Poem in Connection with the Dumfries Statue to Burns. Price id., post free 1%^.^ HELL: WHERE IS IT? In this bitterly sarcastic, aftd yet grave and erudite brochure, the bottom is completely knocked out of " the Bottomless Pit." Price id., post free i}id., ANANIAS, THE ATHEIST'S GOD. Addressed by Saladin and Lara to Charles Bradlaugh, M.P. Price 2d., post free 2^d., XTTITCHCRAFT IN CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES. In neat wrapper, price id., post free i^d., T71R0M THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. Price id., by post i>2d., loocopiesfor distribution post free 5s. 6d., GNOSTICISM : What it Is. Saladin's Reply to the Arch- bishop of York. T/ie above, in one vol. , handsomely bound in cloih, gilt lettered, price IS, 6d. , post free is. 8d. Crown 8vo,, handsomely bound, gilt lettered, gilt edges and vignette title page, price 2s,, post free, MOODS AND MEMORIES. BEING MISCELLANEOUS POEMS By William Maccall. Among_ the numberless volumes of minor contemporary verse which are characterised by nothing but emptiness of subject and monotony of treatment, it is really exhilarating to come across a little book like this, which is, as it were, warm with the pulsation of individual thought, and impressive with an Impressiveness of personal presence. — Manchester Examiner. London : D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.C. 3o8 pp., cloth, gold lettered, price 3s., free by post for 3s. 3d., GOD AND HIS BOOK, By SALADIN. " You have earned the thanks of all who really think. You have hastened the coming of that day when there will be found in the world's creed this at least : — Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to try to make others so. And, when that day comes, those who by thought or deed have added to the sum of human joy will be the saints, and on that calendar will be found your name." — R. G. IngcrsolL " I have dwelt upon its vast research, its sound criticism, its caustic humour, its sledge-hammer vehemence, its scathing satire, its occasional pathos, and its bursts of eloquence. As a work of art, it manifests true genius of a very high order, is never dull, is often stirring as a trumpet, or the flourish of a red flag in a Spanish arena ; and I say it advisedly that never book has issued from the press so calculated to strike at the foundation of that idol temple miscalled the Church of God." — [iilian, " ' God and His Book ' is the heaviest iconoclastic broadside that has been fired at the Jewish God and the Bible by any modern Freethinker. Christians may get angry at it ; but their system of religion cannot escape conviction under the powerful indictment drawn by Saladin." — Truthsccker, N'c'o York. " There is not a dull page from beginning to end. There are gems from the byeways of recondite erudition and slag from the newspapers of yesterday — all, by the touch of literary magic, welded into a mass of forcible but eccentric illustration, tearful pathos, sublime poetry, soaring eloquence, and sardonic laughter." — "^ University Man " [st-e S. R., Feb. jt'i, i8Sj). " It will be admitted by all impartial critics that Saladin has done his work well. To many his fierce and relentless advocacy may cause grievous pain Yet even the most sensitive critic will concede that the impeachment is the work of a scholar and thinker, who is intensely in earnest, if deplorably wrong." — Watis's Literary Guide. " This latest attack on the effete word of God is one of the ablest and most scholarly that has been issued For a masterly and merciless exposure of the ' divine book,' and the divine frauds of the authors, we commend Saladin's work to all our readers." — The Thinker, Madras. "The only gentleman of real genius the Secularists ever had was \V. Stewart Ross (Saladin), a true poet, a man of fine sympathies, a slashing and brilliant writer." — Rev. Z. B. Woffendale, in Light of the World. " The author is a scholar, a dialectician, a thinker, a poet of high order His honesty is transparent on every page Saladin is a unique figure in the theological battlefield, and the figure is as picturesque as it is unique." — Ohiliam Chronicle. London : D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.C. HISTORICAL PAMPHLETS, BY SALADIN, THE DIVINE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE : A Reply to Cardinal Manning. New Edition, i6 pp., price id., post free i}4^d. THE ICONOCLASTS. In neat v/rapper, price id., post free i>^d. THE COVENANTERS. In neat wrapper, price id., post free i>^d. THE INQUISITION. Part L, i6 pp., price id,, post free i>^d. THE INQUISITION. Part II,, l6 pp., price id., post free rpHE DANCERS, SHAKERS, AND JUMPERS, Part I,, X l6 pp., price id., post free ij^d. THE DANCERS, SHAKERS, AND JUMPERS. Part II., l6 pp., price id., post free iX*^- TPIE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS. Part I., i6 pp., price id., post free i^zd. THE PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS. Part II., l6 pp„ price id., post free l^d. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. A Letter to Cardinal Manning. Part I., i6 pp., price id., post free i>^d. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION, A Letter to Cardinal Manning. Part II., i6 pp., price id., post free l>^d. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. A Letter to Cardinal Manning. Part III., with Addenda, "The Christian Heaven" and " Chivalry." i6 pp., price id., post free i^^d. Or in one vol, handsomely hound in cloth, gilt lettered, as., post free 2S. 2d. London : D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.C. VAce 2s., post free, LAYS OF ROMANCE & CHIVALRY. By W. STEWART ROSS ("Saladin"). Some of these effusions are of a very remarkable character, and indicatiC that Mr. Ross has a genuine vein of poetic inspiration. — Daily Telegraph. Mr. Stewart Ross shows great power of dramatic expression.... The work will be welcomed by all who can appreciate poetic energy applied to the interesting and thrilling incidents of the earlier and more romantic periods of history. — Aberdeen Journal. IMany of the poems are characterised by a spirit and ringing martial vigour that stirs the blood. — Daily Chronicle. A book of romantic, historic verse, aglow in every page with the energy of a true and high poetic genius. — Glasgow Weekly Mail. The poems contain many fine thoughts, expressed in powerful language. — Newcastle Weekly Chronicle. The author gives ample proof of his varied talents, and has no small share of the minstrel's magic pov/er. — Aberdeen Free Press. There is much that is excellent in the work. . . . . Mr. Ross is apparently a scholar, and might make a success in some other walk in literature. — Liver- pool Daily Post. Mr. Ross is a poet of undoubted pov/er. — Hull Miscellany. The poems are characterised now by vigour, now by grace, and now by pathos. — Nottingham Guardian. Mr. Stev/art Ross is not only a poet, he is a scholar and a thinker. — South London Press. The language is chaste, vigorous, and thi-illing ; the thoughts and figures beautiful, impressive, and elevating. — Bacup Times. We have no_ hesitation, indeed, in saying that there is a true poet's fervour, a genuine originality of manner, and much fineness and richness of expression in these productions. — Newcastle Daily Journ.^l. The " Lays " are of great poetic merit. — Wakefield Free Press. As to the success with which Mr. Stewart Ross has hit on the salient points of the various incidents there can be no two opinions; while there is an easy, bold swing in most of the poems which will certainly help to make them popular. — Brighton Herald. Price Sixpence, post free Sevenpence, THE PILLARS OF THE CHURCH ; Ok, the gospels AND COUNCILS. By JULIAN. Paper covers 6d. ; superior Edition, cloth, lettered, is. 6d., AND PLACES ELSEWHERE. By W. B. McTAGGART, late Captain 14th Hussars. London : D. J. Gunn & Co., 84, Fleet Street, E.G. Just Issued, cr. 8vo, 96 pp., cloth, gilt lettered, on red edged, superior paper, price 2s. 2d,, post free. By W. STEWART ROSS (Saladin). Contents : — Isaure — The Poet to His Old Coat — Maggie Hay — The Declaration of Sanquhar — The Suicide — Lament of Wallace — Ulalume — A Nightmare — Leonore : A Lay of Dipsomania — Awake ! — Mabel— Arisbe — Rudolf — Reveresco — A Reverie — The Landlord's Black-eyed Da ighter — One Foot in the Grave — The Journey — Song of Winter — December Thirty-first — Robert Burns (Prize Poem). Opinions of the Press : — Mr. Stewart Ross has the fervour of a true and natural lyrist. This qualiiy IS exhibited to advantage in some of his smaller pieces, such as the Ode to Burns and the poem entitled "The Declaration of Sanquhar." — Scotsman. Mr. Stewart Ross, as we before have had occasion to say has decided poetic ability, and his muse seems to inspire him with a certain fantastic and weird imagery which may remind his American readers of Edgar Allen Poe — not in its rhythm or subjects, but in its passionate utterances and romantic exaggeration. — The Open Court (Chicago)." " Isaure" is pathetically and touchingly told ; a story of intense passion, in the telling of which the author at times rises beyond himself and shows us of what he is capable. — ll'akejield Herald. The v/hole twenty-one poems are cultured, fresh, fragrant, thoughtful Every verse reveals the thiuker, observer, reformer Every page gbws with passion and throbs with life. — Oldham Chronicle. In most of the poems will be found a vein of true inspiration, ringing music, deep feeling, fine thoughts, grace of utterance, and real pathos. There are here both strength and originality.— C.r/Orrf Times. Mr. Stewart Ross possesses the genuine poetic faculty, and much of what he has written will assert its claim to more than ephemeral existence. — Northern Ensign. Mr. Stewart Ross has already shown in his " Lays of Romance and Chivalry " that he is not only a poet, but a scholar and .1 thinker. And some of the effu- sions in the present volume maintain his reputation, for there runs through them a genuine vein of poetic inspiration. The thoughts are fine and are expressed in powerful language. He has, throughout, the enthusiasm of a genuine lyrist. Perthshire Advertiser. Mr. Stewart Ross is a poet of no mean capacity. There is something original in every one of his effusions, which contain many sublime touches as well as many pathetic scenes. There is something horribly tragic in his descriptive poem, " Leonore: A Lay of Dipsomania." — Yorkshire Gazette. _ The poems are characterised by grace and pathos, and this further contribu- tion of Mr. Stewart Ross's is calculated to greatly enhance his reputation. — Sussex Daily News. Some of the poems are very beautiful, others fearful in their intensity and passion, others grand in their majesty of conception. — Workington Free Press. Poetic effects.. ..marked by a vigour of handling, they lilt along so rapidly thu the reader's attention is irresistibly fixed upon the subject and the pictut- es^ueness of its surroundings. — Somerset Herald. " Isaure " — fress Opi7iions (cojitinued) : In "Isaure and Other Poems" the reader who has pierced the "inward seeming " of W. Stewart Ross will recognise a writer of rugged yet withal polished ii-idividuality, of passionate sympathy with the human race, of strong emotional ferment, and of uncompromising hostility to all that is false and per- nicious. — ll-'aits's Literary Guide. Mr. Ross has both oratorical fervour and poetic taste. He possesses, too, a wide range of thought which enables him to treat various subjects in various styles, both as regards form and conception, Perhaps he is most successful in his verses on " Mabel," into which he infuses a healthy passion, and through the whole of which he sustains his character well. — FifesJiire journal. Some of the poems may merit commendation, notably ' The Declaration of Sanquhar " and the lines, "Robert Burns." Mr. Stewart Ross is evidently a thorough Scotsman, proud of his country and the deeds which have been per- formed by his countrymen. — North Biitish Advertiser. Can play upon the human heart as upon a harp.. ..The weird imagery, the mad passion, the hot rush of emotions, carry the reader away into the realm of dreams. — Northampton Guardian. Mr. Stewart Ross is a man of versatile talent, and his verses show that he has the literary faculty highly cultivated. There is something wild and weird about them. — Tnithseeker (New York). A m.ost interesting and able little volume, largely touched with the fire divine. — Weekly Dispatch. "Isaure and Other Poems" are inspired by an imagination so vivid and strenuous, and so unrestrained by common intelligence, that they are really not safe to read suddenly or in large instalments. — Pall Mall Gazette. Whatever subject she (the Poet's Muse) touches upon, she usually e.\presses herself sweetly and gracefully, sometimes with a fine, flowing, forceful sweep of vigorous language, — Perthshire Constitutional. Some of the passages are exceedingly powerful ; and, as a whole, " Isaure " must be set down as one of the author's greatest poems. — Ditiii/ries Standard. This dreadful sort of thing, which moves the marrow in one's bones, crops out again and again. It reaches a climax in " Leonore : A Lay of Dipso- mania," in which a drunkard is depicted as murdering his wife, stealing the ring from her hand for drink, and leaving the grave in such a state that — " Next day I saw a prowling bitch. With ears erect and tail a-switch. Crunch at a human arm." — Brighton Herald, These poems of love and war are of the highest order. They sound the deepest depths of the heart, and thrill the whole being. For genuine pathos, thrilling sentiment, impassioned appeal, for culture, weight, beauty, for real humanity, far-reaching wisdom, and classic purity of style, they leave nothing to be desired.- — Batley Times. I think you have the soul of a true poet, and often attain to the lilt of the genuine music. — Ge>'ald Jilassey. Bristles with pseans of freedom, red ripe from the heart. We recommend those who wish to see what the poetry of the future philosophical period will be like to read this charming, eccentric, and talented little work.— CorA Examiner. Rich in the magical music of words and smooth-flowing verse which consti- tute the power of poetry. — Londonderry Standard. The poems written in Scotch dialect are stirring and good. — Literary World. "Isaure "is a weird sort of poem, with some really strong passages. The leading idea is to show that death is no bar to love, and cannot prevent a spiri- tual union of the living and the dead. — Birmingham Daily Gazette. There are one or two delightful tit-bits for young lovers to ruminate over. ... .There is a realism in "The Poet to his Old Coat " which many a student will realise afresh. — Aberdeen Daily Free Press. 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