The Labor enquirer., 1886-09-04
FREE SPEECH m ENGLAND.

FREE SPEECH IN ENGLAND.
Down with Frontiers-The Rich Thieves
Trcmble.
For The Enquirer.
LONDON, August 20.-The recent lnsid-
uous attempts on the part of the new
chief commissioner of police, Sir Charles
Warren, to put stop to Socialist open
air meetings on the ground that they
"obstruct" the ira ffic-although Curl
ously enough religious and temperance
meetings never "obstruct" resulted
in our comrade, John Williams, being
sent to Holloway gaol for a period of
two months. He was tried last week,
together with Mainwaring, a member of
the Social t League, who had spoken in
the same place (Bell street, Edgware
Road), on this charge, before Mr.. Edlin,
a Judge who recently obtained notoriety
through having let off a procuress named
Mrs. Jeffries, whose brothel was fire.
quented by the legislators and aristocrats
of England, with what was practically
a nominal fine instead of sending her to
prison. During the trial of our COM
rades this man acted in. the most arbi-
trary and unjust manner, refusing most
important testimony on our side, and
finally himself making speech for the
prosecution. winding up by instructing
the jury to return verdict against the
defendants. Before the verdict had
been decided upon by the jurymen he
came into court with a written sentence
on our comrades to the effect that they
each pay fine of e20-Williams is a
dock laborer and Mainwaring an artisan
and find sureties in heavy amounts
that they do not "obstruct" again. Will
liams, who is one of the most active men
in the Social Democratic Federation, re-
fused to pay the fine and determined to
60 to gaol-as he did before for the same
offense in the East of London twelve
months ago. Last year the authorities
prosecuted US for considerable time for
holding meetings at bod street, Lime
house, many of our men were fined and
Williams went to gaol for month. Sun
Of
speakers one after the other suffered ar
rest, till one fine dav $4,000 determined
men went down to bod street and blocked
it mpletelY-this time causing real
obstruction. Then when riot was i'm
minent, the authorities gave in, and ad-
mitted that we were right in holding
meetings and that Williams who had
been subjected to their tortures for a
month had committed no crime. 1t
would seem as though the authorities
need another lesson to convince them
that in England at any rate freedom of
speech must be maintained. TheV will
have it. The Social Democratic Feder-
alton is hard at work preparing for a
great demonstration which is to be held
in Trafalgar square on Sunday, August
29, to demand the release of Williams
and that the police cease to interfere
with our meetings at Bell street and
elsewhere. At the same time the Bell
street meetings will be continued and if
necessary other Social Democrats will
follow Williams to gaol. Public feeling
is setting in in our favor and we feel
certain of bringing the affair to sue
cessful issue.
Among those who will speak at the
Trafalgar square demonstration is M
Courtoux, leading member of the
French workmen delegation sent over
to this country by the Paris municipal
council, which is dominated by the So
cialists, to report on our trade unions,
exhibitions, etc. This delegation con-
sists of twentY-four of the best Paris
more different trades on which he has
to report. TwentY-one of them are So
cialists. They have visited the largest
of our regular SUNDAY open-air meetings
and Courtoux has spoken at two or
three. Everywhere they appear among
the English workers, who are fast losing
the miserable national feeling which
narrows and degrades men, they are
warmly received. On Monday, August
80, the day following the demonstration
the Social Democratic Federation gives
a banquet to our French brothers.
MainWaring of the Socialist League,
has obtained sureties and agreed to pay
the fine for which time has been
granted. The League does not believe
in active Revolutionary acton, but con-
fines itself strictly to edu catlonal propa
ganda. We Revolutionary Social Dem
ocrats, on the contrary, consider that
agitation on the question of forcing the
government to provide work for the un-
employed, which is decidedly Revolu-
tionary proceeding, is not only calcu-
lated to weaken the enemy, but is first
rate propaganda. For three years we
have agitated on this question with the
result that we have terrified the capital
ist class, secured the dismissal of Sir
Edward Henderson, the late chief Of
police, encouraged the unemployed
workers and STRENGTHENED our organiza-
ton. The present attack on p1blic