§ 30

In my peregrinations, which became more and more absorbing as my spirit grew more bold, I listened eagerly, not as an eavesdropper, but as one keen to learn. One evening, it was winter—I heard a discourse on “Happiness” by a craftsman, one of those living in the new houses I have visited. He was an old man who had lived in the dark, narrow dogs’ kennels of the dark, dirty city which is no more—the city of discontent, of bad government, of callousness. He spoke earnestly, but not with rhapsody. What he said was convincing from the cool sincerity of his diction and manner. “Happiness,” he said, “is rooted in the soil of LABOUR; in doing, not theorising. In being so occupied as to leave no time for a morbid outlook. The old saying, which I did not, and few seemed to understand, ‘Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might.’ We were taught not to do that. We were taught to work as little as possible, to receive much, and give almost nothing. Good workmen were under a ban. If some of us wished to do our utmost we were bullied and suspected. The industrious of us were pushed aside by the idle. Bad, dishonest workmen were applauded, they lived on the labour of their fellows. We were taught to make other nations labour for us—to sell bad goods for large prices.

“The standard of work was lowered. Cheap German goods were encouraged in the markets. A balance of our wages (a large one) went to support trades unions. The good workman grew poor, the bad grew rich. It was a state of things which took all the strength of an honest man to combat. Honest men grew rare and more rare. Dishonesty flourished. Leaders became fanatics. They were of our class. Ignorant of cause and effect we were, but they were noisy, they spoke platitudes, their arguments (if arguments they could be called) were founded upon catch words which sounded wise, but were foolish. They pretended to work for the great cause of Liberty and Equality. They did nothing of the kind. They feathered their nests from our labour and grew rich. They were well paid for the cause they preached. Liberty was dragged more and more into the far distance. We thought we had been slaves; we found we had been free. We found we were being mastered by unscrupulous men. We grew more and more suspicious, more and more hostile. We thought revolution would put things straight. Taught, that the Government was weak (which was not far wrong), that anarchy would give us what we wanted, that if we defied the Government, if we used German methods of might against right, we must win. To starve our country into submission was a method preached to us which, in our hearts, we were unwilling to believe. If we did not obey we were threatened. Those of us who would not stood the chance of starvation. The great railway strike of 1919, wicked as it was, because it very nearly approached attempted murder of innocent people, failed. That strike it was that opened our eyes. Surely we were being led on the wrong road! Faith in our leaders left us. They began to hedge. We saw that. Then we knew they were false and untrustworthy and we broke loose from them, which, having done, we began to find who were our friends. We came to the conclusion that we must get to work again and be honest once more. We did so, and on every side found helping hands. Hence the city of Liberty and Peace in which we live now. We know we were ignorant, we resolved to learn. We knew we had been idle and greedy. We knew the life we had led could not make good citizens or happy ones. We resolved to labour, to give up coarse excitements in leisure time.

“We tried it. We formed our own Union, which had for its motto, ‘All Labour is dignified,’ but it depends upon the labourer to make it so. ‘Help yourselves and you will be helped,’ is such a truism it seems needless to quote, but there are many truisms of which we need to be often reminded. We know now that reform must come from the bottom. If the foundations are rotten the veriest palace will fall. We know that in us lies the foundation of the State. Before the State is reformed we must reform ourselves, and this we are doing. When it is accomplished we shall be fit to take part in the rule of our country, and we are on the road to do it, in the meantime we are learning the difficult task of Self Rule, and in that, even if it be labour to do it, it is lightened by the vision it provides, and the happy conscience it engenders. Now, we are children of Liberty, before we were cripples and chained to doctrinaires and wind-bags.”

The tone of this discourse, of which is given only an epitome is, as it were, the text of all that is working its way, and the means employed in its success my dream will go on to relate.