The Labor enquirer., 1884-08-09
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{ LDrDon. July Il. .-s'ou no doubt have
q idea that there Is treat agitation Just
nov over The refut " Of the house Of
lord to pess the Franchise bill. Well, 50
thess i In the bos pms Of the cauns
moneers the fellows who run or msnu-
flctsre what Is called public opinion.
The public thst is he workers who,
amidx the nj wealth their labor has
creafed sre struggling for q crust Of
breed l6r themselves tnd their families,
No becoming every ay more engrossed
with the thought Of how they are to
procure that crust. That is Just what
the machine made statesmen. Chamber
lain, Dixie and the res want to prevent
them thinking about So they get up
the shout "Down with the House of
Lords, = in the hopes that the starving
will fora while forget their empty bellies
and cease to be 4dange rous."
Now it is not at all certain that the
house of lords is not willing to be abol-
ished. The intelligent men amongthem
begin TO see that as hereditary and
privileged legislators their time is up,
80 they are not unwilling to dof their
battered coronets and ridiculous robes
and come down into the political street
and take their chances in electoral strife.
Now this is just what the "men of the
people" the great radical blood-sucking
capitalists don't want; they say the
house of lords must be reformed by
filing it with radical CD peers. This is
not q joke Of mine; some Of the radical
papers suggest it. These radicals know
that with their wealth, their influence,
yes, and their superior manners, added
to the we'll known servility of the aver
age Briton in the presence of rank, they
would stand no chance on the hustings.
An abolished house of lords would come
down and probably lick them on their
own ground. The chance is We shall see
q lot of sweaters Of labor raised to the
level of the peerage" as SO many more to
tighten the hold Of the labor-robbers on
the throats of the workers.
. But you will say, what are the workers
saying over it all! Well, they are very
quiet. which is grand sign. 1t shows
they are thinking. Once our workers
begin to think, it will not be long before
they find out the frauds of which they
and their fathers have been victims, and
then / augur bad time all around for
the great thieves. We see proofs of this
already in Scotland and England. In
Skye, Harris and other ports of the north
landlordism has recieved.its first blow,
and in Lancashire sturdy resistance
has begun against that relic of medieval
ecclesiasticism, tithe rent, to be followed,
we believe, by an anti-rent agitation. 1t
is quite time.
In recent tour made in the west OF
England saw land which had lain idle
two years, because it could not be culti-
vated at a profit and pay rent to the
landlord and tithes to the church; yet
we have to import food | In the mining
districts saw miners working for the
starvation wages Of So week and less
yet Goals are no cheaper to the consumer
In fact it is becoming more evident every
day that the mass of the British people
are living on sufferance in their own
country. They own nothing. The land,
mines, water, all but the air is now in
the hands of a few, who control the ex-
istence of us al.
AS the eyes of the people are opening
so Socialism makes progress. Two years
ago people in high places laughed at the
idea of Socialism making any progress
in Great Britain, but they smile no more,
princes and princesses, archbishops,
cardinals, professional philanthropists
and other parasites of society are 'hust-
ling around to see what the people want
and finding themselves entirely. help
less, they get up concerts, and picture
exhibitions and talk about Heaven and
the will of God and the rest of the stock
of nonsense by which the people have
been blinded. But all this doesn't
satisfy the cravings of hunger, and SO
thev stand On the brink Of revolution.
helpless and imbecile, like the crowd on
q sea shore while ship goes to pieces
on the breakers.
The accounts from all over the .coun'
try as to the condition of the workers
are distressing, but no one in authority
: SEEMS to grasp the situation hence the
cry of Down with the House of Lordsp
which is meant to serve as q red herring
to draw the people off the true trail, the
causes Of the prevailing social and econo
mical depression.
Yours fraternially, 3 ..-
G. w. FITZGERALD. ;