The Labor enquirer., 1886-12-18
nonpor,s GRAND DEmoNsTRATlon.
Hyndman Reiasey some Of the Incidents
and Forecssts tho Re.ults Of
the Meeting.

suffrage bill, declare, with one accord,
that on no previous occasion has there
been SO large q crowd assembled, nor
any meeting ever before held which
seemed SO fully in sympathy with the
views of those who convened it.
How many people were PRESENT. 1t
is difficult to saw. The capitalist press
is directly vague. Estimates vary be-
tween 100 900 and 10000. After | had
spoken myself from the balustrade l got
orto higher emineDce whence | could
see the whole square packet with lis
eners, while masses of people not only
filled up the roadway on either side,
but extend. down Northumberland
avenue, on towards Whitehall, and
through every thoroughfar1 in the
neighborhood l have never myself
seen anv concourse in Trafalgar 'quare
at all approaching to it in magnitude.
Walking, too, in and out among the
crowds, and listening to the converse
tion here and there, 1t wss at once clear
that the overwhelming majority ofthose
present were workingmen; everyone
showed that their feelings were entirely
with US. This was more distinctly man
ifested when the resolutions were put:
Thousands on the extreme verge OF the
crowd, who could only Just see For"
on the placar /, held u2 t'.eir hands in
our favor. though thew could not have
heard word that had been said. They
were eager o give Us this proof of their
SUPPORT. Wnen the Against" was put
no hand was held up at either of the
platforms.
The truth as 10 the demonstration is
open to all the world. Let the landlords
and capitalists be wise IN time, and yield
to the Just claims of the producing
classes of Great Biitain.
That the government and the police
should have combined to make Them
selves ridiculous was, of course, very
fortunate for US. 1t is n1w well known
that Sir Charles Warren, acting in con-
cert with Mr.. W. II. Smith aud Mr..
Henry Matthews. did order guns to be
brought into Trafalgar square, and had
whole corps d'armee Of Iorse and foot
to support his artillery. This was all
done-such contemplate towards are
the rullIg classes of to-dav-to overawe
a legal and constitutional assemblage of
their unarmed fellow-cltizens. Happily,
the sense of humor has not yet de-
serted Englishmen altogether. When,
therefore, our letter TO Sir Charles War
rem was published, offering him Social
Democrats as special constabes to allay
his panic, and notifying him that We
were ready to provide special guard
for the dangerous playthings which re-
cent experience has shown are more
likely to do mischief to those behind
than to those in front of them" a huge
roar of laughter rang from one end of
Great Britain to the other, and. being
echoed throughout Europe, and even
from America, the big guns and their
escort were at once Withdrawn. The
big guns were laughed out of the square.
The South African Bobadil sang small
in Scotland Yard. And we English
Social Democrats, who have gone
steadily on, regardless alike of abuse or
of fattery, held our great unemployed
demonstration of November 81, 1885, in
the same orderly fashion which has dis
tinguished all our other meetings since
December, 1880.
What really imposing sight they
and their bands and banners presented
few of our comrades can themselves
know. They were in and Of the crowd.
But they may indeed congratulate them
selves on their organization, discipline
and enthusiasm. 1t was the peaceful
army of the people marshalllng itself for
the battle and the victory Of the near
future. Every such demonstration
teaches US more than its predecessor
Every time that our Branches muster,
and array the crowds of sympathiEers
who follow them, teaches the workers
how 10 combine and shows them their
own strength. If all political factions
are against us, We are against all polit-
icaI factions. So much the worse for
them. We flourish they decay.
And now how do We stand2 We
have given the governing classes q
chance of doing a small uodicum Of jus
tice to the workers before destitutlyn
and misery drive them to acts of des-
perauon. We have proved conclu>ively,
alike on lord mayors day and last Sun.
day, that Englishmen now, as ever
throughout their history, will go to the
extreme limits of peaceful agitation in
their attempts TO gain that to which
they are justly entitled. We have
shown hey yond lhe possibility Of DIS
pute, save by those who are corrupt or
prejudlced. that the Social Democrats
voice the discontent and formulate the
aspirations of the overwhelming major
ity Of the workers Of London and of
England. We have forced the so-caled
governing classes-who will neither
govern themselves nor give place to
those who can-te study. if only to de-
nounce, the truths of scientific Socialism.
We have breathed courage and hope
into the hearts of the oppressed aud