The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-10-02 00:00:00

POLITICAL EDUCATION.

PARLIAMENT has been prorogued, and all will
be still in the great legislative chambers at
Westminster, if not until February next, at
any rate until November. But though law-
making proper and debate under the presi-
dency of Mr. Speaker have for ceased for a
season, members will hardly have got away
from London to their holiday haunts ere the
wrangle and jangle of Parliament oat of Ses-
sion will commence. There will be Con-
servative demonstrations here, Liberal fes-
tivals there, and Home Rule gatherings else-
where. And hand in hand with the work of
platform politicians, whose one-sided elo-
quence will delight some and vex the souls
of others, will be seen shortly the endeavours
of the propagandists who seek to spread their
cause by educating the electors up to their
way of thinking by book, pamphlet, and
newspaper teaching, as well as through the
agency of clubs and other social associations
All this, however, will be distinctly party
work, labour to the end of strengthening the
followers of this or that set of politicians,
and giving them greater influence at the
polling booths, and consequently increased
power in the state. This is well enough in
its way, and highly important from the
standpoint of the many who are first of all
Liberals or Conservatives, Unionists or Irish
Nationalists, and afterwards thoughtful
lovers of their country. But there are those
who look outside the bounds of party, whose
aspirations soar beyond the confines of an
expedient policy of Caucus-defined reform or
of cut-and-dried Constitutionalism. There
are also springing up around vast numbers
of enquiring minds who are only just rousing
to a sense of their surrondings, and seeing
almost for the first time the significance of
the matters which come up for
.their grave
consideration and subsequent action as in-
dividual items in a great people-governed
nation. Every householder and every lodger
even has now practically an equal share in
the government of Britain, whether he be a
landed aristocrat or a humble toiler from day
to day. The "masses," as they are invidi-
ously styled, have to be rechoned with hence-
forth as well as the once privileged "classes,"
to use another well-understood but much-
abused term. It is highly desirable then,
that the multiplicity of recently-admitted
franchise wielders of Britain should have an
intelligent and intelligible understanding of
the science of polities. It is also eminently
desirable that every voter's view of politics
should spring from a sound, if not exhaustive
knowledge of the matter ; and that the so-
lution of political problems for their guid-
ance and direction should not be lefe.to biased
party professors. The ethics of politics
should be placed before them, a demonstra-
tion should be given of the laws, written
and unwritten, that regulate the govern-
ment of nations altogether apart from the
varying convictions of Liberalism and Tory-
dom. Give to, or place before, every voter,
and everyone who will hereafter become
such, the foundation principles of politics.
Then, if your voter will, let him by all
means ally himself, out of his own judgment
with that set of people who are most in ac-
cord with his reading of the political puzzle.
But give him first the opportunity of readily.
comparing, investigating, and choosing in-
dependently what school he shall attach him-
self to. Then he will be able to rehearse
the articles of his political belief in a clear
way, which, as things are at present, it is
difficult indeed for him to do. The majority
of ordinary persons could not, even though
the means of knowledge are expanding so
wondrously, answer the question, "Why are
you a Liberal ?" or Why are you a Con-
servative ?" without displaying prejudice as
well as ignorance. As things are, under ex-
istent circumstances, this is but what might
reasonably be expected. Our party sys-
tem encourages mystification and the propo-
gation of shibboleths and deceitful state-
ments. For self-preservation purposes it is
antagonistic to the stripping off of party
gilding, and giving to the people political
truth. Your Liberal strives to read history
through Gladstonian glasses, and presents
to his own gaze and that of those he comes
into contact with a distorted picture, in
which all the errors of Reformers are hidden
out of sight, and all mistakes of Toryism
exaggerated into disgraceful blunders or un-
pardonable crimes. Vice versa, the ardent
Conservative heaps abuse upon Liberalism
and all its professors ; lies every past national
calamity to the charge of their misrule, and
swears that there is but one right reading
of politics, and that is exemplified by the
followers of Lord Salisbury. Each strains
history to bring the other into disrepute,
either exerts himself to damage the other.
Thus it is that the best efforts of our best
statesmen are exhausted in party warfare
instead of being applied to law-making or
law-mending. Thus well-nigh all political
teaching is partly teaching first and, there-
fore only to be taken by he wise cum grano
salis. It is time the "masses," as well as
the "classes," grew tired of playing the fol-
low-my-leader political game, and began to
think, speak, and act for themselves. Under
the old regime Parliament led public thought
and initiated public opinion on matters of
national import, now Parliament acts and
moves and has its being as the people will
and dictate A Minister must have the
popular mandate before he can hope to pro.
cede with any measure of magnitude. How
all-important is it, then, that vox populi
should be dictated by a right understanding,
free from the suspicion of party bias I Party
action has so ursurped the function of indi-
vidual thought and independent inquiry,
that a candidate for the representation of a
place in Parliament is almost in every case
much more the selection of a clique than the
choice of the people. Two or three candi-
date's names are on the voting paper, and
for one of these the elector must state his
preference in the statutory way or forfeit
his voice in the representation altogether.
Caucuses or select bodies of the candidates'
ways of thinking have singled out each for
party purposes, and some one of these or
none, be they good, bad, or indifferent has
to be returned. But if voters would only
attend to their political education, party
would be regulated to the background, and
the stamp of understanding would soon be
seen on political doings, and we should have
not a mere supporting of men who have
climbed somehow or another into office, or
the following of this or that more or less.
reputable political combination, but a can-
tinual and honest striving for the wise appli-
cation of right principles to the end of good
and happy government. To that end we
can commend to the careful attention of all
new exercisers of the franchise a valuable
expositary book from the pen of Mr. Thomas
Raleigh, M.A., Fellow of All Souls, Oxford,
which, has under the title of "Elementary
Politics," recently been published by Mr.
Henry Frowde, of the Oxford University
Press Warehouse, Amen-corner, London.
This little work deals with the whole matter
fully and yet tersely, and withal in a most
unprejudiced way, enabling even the tyro to
get a good grasp of the why and the where-
fore of each ramification of the tortuous
political puzzle. From such reliable and
easily-understood teaching every reader
, should receive most valuable assistance in
I forming for himaslf a sound opinion, and we

should like to see Mr. Raleigh's book made
use of as a manual in the upper classes of
all elementary schools ; for if the yoke of
the people is to be the supreme law, every
care ought to be taken that the people be in.
structed to speak wisely and well.