From Crow-Scaring to Westminster: An Autobiography. Edwards George

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СКАЧАТЬ would employ me, although I was an efficient workman. I was a horrible Radical, setting class against class! Strange to relate, in those days the Liberals were looked upon as being out for destruction. To be a Liberal was looked upon as belonging to a most discreditable party. They were classed as infidels, wanting to pull down Church and State, and disloyal to Queen and Country.

      To-day the same things are said about the Labour Party. We of the Party are called all kinds of names. But those who make the statements know they are untrue.

      I tried everywhere to get employment, but none could I find.

      At last Mr. Ketton of Felbrigg Hall offered to find me work on his home farm, but he had no cottage to offer me. Felbrigg was six miles from Wickmere. I accepted the employment and for eighteen months or more I walked night and morning this six miles, a journey of twelve miles every day! Whilst living here my wife's mother died. I had kept her for sixteen years, her only income being parish relief. In 1878 Mr. Ketton found me a cottage at Aylmerton and I settled down comfortably once again as a farm labourer.

      At this time agriculture was sorely depressed. The labourer's wage was rapidly being reduced and reached the miserably low figure of 10s. per week, and in some districts 9s. per week. The labourers had left their Unions and were in a most helpless position. This was brought about by many causes, one being the great falling out amongst the leaders. Arch had the misfortune to fall out with all his best supporters. Mr. Henry Taylor resigned his position as General Secretary. Mr. Howard Evans and Mr. George Mitchell had left him. Mr. George Rix of Swanton Morley had resigned, and he took with him a large district and formed a Union which he called the Federal Union. In fact, in every county, with the exception of Norfolk, the Unions became defunct. The Kent and Sussex Union went smash, the Lincolnshire and Amalgamated Labour League became defunct, and all that remained of Arch's Union were a few members belonging to the sick benefit department, the funds of which were being fast depleted.

      Under these circumstances the political power placed in the hands of the labourers but further enslaved them and made them easy victims for the Tory party. Happily for me I had at last got under a Liberal employer, who not only was favourable to the men, but showed his sympathy with them by paying them 1s. per week above the rate paid by other employers, and I was able to breathe freely without any fear of victimization. My employer also assisted me by lending me books and papers on political problems. He also put every kind of work on the farm in my way to enable me to earn extra money. I at once settled down to study even more closely than I had done before. Thirsting for knowledge, religious, social and political, I set about adding to my library. I became a close student of theology and took great interest in many of the theological subjects which were disturbing the Christian world at that period, such as the doctrine of eternal punishment, and I soon became what was known then as a Liberal in theology. When I purchased a new book, I never read any other until I had read it through and thought the matter out for myself. I never accepted a thing as a fact just because someone else said it was so. Included in the new works I bought at this time were Canon Farrar's Life of Christ, the same author's Eternal Hope, Dr. Dale's work on Conditional Immortality, Mr. Robertson's book entitled Eternal Punishment, not Eternal Torments. I also read very closely Dr. Parker's books. Taking the other side, I also became a regular reader of the weekly periodical the Christian Commonwealth, which was published about this time to counteract what they termed the heterodoxy of the Christian World. Strange to say, this paper became a thousand times more heterodox than the Christian World ever could be, for it became a strong advocate of the Rev. R. J. Campbell's New Theology.

      My close study of these matters marked me out for trouble. In fact, Job's description of man seemed to apply to me in every respect, for I seemed to be born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. I was called up before the Quarterly Meeting of my Church for what some of the elder brethren termed heterodoxical preaching and I was regarded as almost an infidel. Never, however, was a more false accusation made against anyone, for my faith in the eternal Truths was never stronger. But I had a strong supporter in my friend Mr. James Applegate, who himself was a progressive in thought, and the matter blew over and I was left to go on in my own way.

      At this time there was a deal of discussion on the Single Tax Movement as advocated by Henry George. I became interested in this and purchased his books on social problems, Protection or Free Trade, Progress and Poverty and The Condition of Labour. These I closely read, sitting up late at night. Many a time have I gone out at eleven o'clock at night and wiped my eyes with the dew of the grass in an endeavour to keep myself awake. I managed to get through all these books during the winter and became a convert to the principles contained therein, and thus became an advanced thinker on political and social questions. I think Henry George's books did more to mould my thought on social questions than those of any other writer. About this time I also purchased Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations and Thorold Roger's Six Centuries of Work and Labour. These I soon mastered in all their details. I was thus enabled to take a very broad view on all matters pertaining to Labour and was able to see more clearly the cause of all the gross injustice that was inflicted on my class. I became convinced that if there was a revival in the Labour movement amongst the rural workers, the leaders would have to lift the men's thoughts above the question of the mere raising of wages and would have to take political action and seek to remove the great hindrance to man's progress. I made one mistake. I thought and was convinced that the Liberal Party would do these things, and I was strengthened in my belief by a speech made by the late Mr. Joseph Chamberlain about "ransoming the land back to the people." In my political innocence I thought all politicians were sincere. I was, however, to live to see my faith in some people shattered.

      During this year I received again one or two offers to go on a lecturing tour, all of which I declined. I was not, however, to remain in the shade and inactive long. The men again began to be restless and were anxious to have another try at organizing.

      CHAPTER V

      DARE TO BE A UNION MAN

      IN the autumn of 1889 the men in Norfolk began to want to form a Union again. This time they appealed to me to lead them in the district in which I lived. For some weeks I refused to take any leading part, but was willing to join a Union. I had only just got settled down comfortably after my terrible eighteen months of bitter persecution, and was just anxious to remain quietly at work. I had no wish to enter into the turmoil of public life. But at last, through the men's constant pleadings, I yielded to the pressure. On November 5, 1889, eleven men formed a deputation and came to my house and stated they represented a large number of men in the district who had decided to form a Union and they wanted me to lead them. I questioned them in order to ascertain if they had seriously thought the matter over. They assured me they had. I also informed them that in my judgment no Union would stand which had no other object than merely to raise wages and that they must go in for something higher than that. I then asked them what Union they wished to form, or did they wish to link up with Arch's Union which was almost defunct. They expressed a wish to form a Union on the same lines as Mr. Rix had formed his, and I was asked to write to Mr. Rix to come over and address one or two meetings and explain the rules of his Union. This I did. Mr. Rix agreed to come, and two meetings were arranged to be held within a fortnight, one at the White Horse Inn at Cromer and the other at the Free Methodist Church at Aylmerton. Both meetings were packed and were addressed by George Rix and myself. Large numbers gave in their names for membership. It was decided to form a Union on the principle of the rules as explained by Mr. Rix, to be called the Federal Union, Cromer District. The objects of the Union were to be as follows: To improve the social and moral well-being of its members; to assist them to secure allotments and representation on local authorities and even in the Imperial Parliament; to assist members to migrate and emigrate. Ten shillings per week to be paid in strike and victimization pay. Legal advice to be given. Each member to pay 1s. per year harvest levy to enable a member to have his harvest money made up to him in case of a dispute. Each member to pay a contribution of 2¼d. per week, or 9d. per month, 8d. per month to be sent to the district and 1d. per month to be kept by the branch for branch management.

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