National and Social Reconstruction in Britain

MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN,--Standing here as a member of the Empire Club I want to say, first, that during the last three years there has been a deepening consciousness of the significance and meaning of Empire. A great Greek Philosopher, Aristotle I think, said that a city ought to be composed of such a number of men as can hear the voice of a single herald. So an Empire can be composed of such a number of people as can feel the thrill of a common emotion. An Empire cannot be created merely by commerce. We need a common history, the memory of great deeds, the common experience of joy and suffering. We all know that the British Empire was created almost in an unconscious manner. We do not think it was by an accident or a series of accidents, but it was a kind of instinct that came upon those men and women and drove them out to the ends of the earth to be the parent of new creations and the architect of unpremeditated institutions. And so, very frequently, the sense of Empire has lingered and tarried after the Empire itself has been created.

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Mr. Davies has the reputation of understanding men in a sympathetic way, and consequently of being able to discover the best that is in them. He was invited to Toronto largely on account of his successful work in downtown churches in various parts of Great Britain, notably in Edinburgh. London itself was called upon to give him up to Toronto. In the Metropolitan Church, even in the short time he has been pastor, he has endeared himself to his people through his thoughtful discourses and his delightful personality.

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Of course at home we were all proud, as you are proud, to be fellow-members of an Empire which embraces 12,000,000 square miles-one-fifth part, I suppose, of the total land surface of the globe-and has a population of 400,000,000-a fourth part of the total population of the world. But the very vastness of the Empire prevented the consciousness of unity. We were told very frequently at home, before the War-no doubt by men who desired that we should believe it-that if war should break out we should find that these ties of Empire were purely nominal They said, "O yes, you will find that Australia and South Africa will become independent republics; India will be ablaze with rebellion, and Canada will immediately secede to the United States of America." We did not believe it; but before the War, there was lacking the sense of spiritual unity. Then there came the outbreak of hostilities, and we saw the stalwart sons of Canada in our streets and in our camps. We thrilled, with you, to their deeds of heroism-those deeds which will illuminate the history of the British Empire. That is to say, we ceased to think of it as so many millions of square miles of territory; we thought of it then as a great spiritual unity-a unity which would be invincible in this great struggle for freedom and civilization.

I was reading, in that remarkable book by Mr. Harold Begbie on the life of Lord Grey, who was Governor-General of this Dominion, one of Lord Grey's favorite quotations; he used to write it on gift books:-"What is my country? My country is the Empire, England is my home-land." Now, of course a man has special partiality for the homeland, wherever it is. I come from one of the smallest nations of the Empire, and I used to say to my English friends that it was a very great pity that they could not all be born within the borders of the Principality, but that was not their fault, they could not help it, and it was not big enough for everybody to be born there. Even Lloyd George was not born there; he had the misfortune to be born in Manchester, but with that sagacity that is characteristic of him, he had himself transferred when he was twelve months old, and educated within the shadow of our Welsh hills. But the home is Canada, Scotland, England or Australia; the country is the Empire; and the history of three years has made the British people realize that. To me it is going to be a shaping factor in the history of the coming days, for this reason among others. It has been my privilege to have had churches in three great cities in Great Britain-downtown churches, in London, in Edinburgh and in Manchester-and when I recall the problems that confronted us, and baffled us very frequently, in our work there-problems of overcrowding, the horrors of sweated labor and of unemployment-and then turn and contemplate this land in which I have the honor of living today, with its undeveloped resources, I am personally grateful for the belief that Great Britain can solve these social problems for her citizens and still allow them to remain beneath the flag of the country. And Canada will be making her contribution, in common with the other countries, to the politics of Great Britain, especially the international politics. It is always very suggestive to me that when a colonial statesman goes home -when General Smuts comes from South Africa, Mr. Hughes from Australia, Sir Edward Kemp from Canada -then you find the British press clamoring that he be allowed to remain in the home-land, that he may occupy a seat in the British cabinet. It may not be possible, but there is a wistful longing in the old land for the closest possible union with these great British self-governing peoples who came to our side in the hour of our great necessity.

And now may I pass on to what I deem to be the most important social question that is facing Britain today, that is, the movement for the greater equalizations of status and wealth and opportunity. Everybody at home knows perfectly well not merely that there is need of industrial reconstruction-that would be a mere platitude -but the fact is that at the present moment there is a very dramatic and far-reaching process of industrial reconstruction. It is my belief that never again will wages be determined in Great Britain merely on the basis of competition. You know how things have been nationalized over there. It will be quite impossible for us to go back to the position that existed before the War. The problem which is confronting the great industrial nation is this: How can we develop freedom for the individual, for the social and commercial and industrial unit, without breaking the framework of national unity? In Russia before the War they had unity without freedom. In Russia today they have freedom without unity, and that unhappy people is apparently marching to a condition of terrorism through anarchy.

If I were to say that there are no ominous signs in the industrial situation in Britain, I would be a speaker of smooth things. I believe there are some very serious ones. You will find many men who are preaching the dangerous doctrine of syndicalism, of concurrent allegiances, of sabotage. The fact is that with democracy there is a discontent with democratic government. I believe that democratic government has never been tried-certainly not in Great Britain; it has only been partially realized. But if you go to the workingman of Great Britain you will frequently find that he is impatient with the results of what he calls democratic government.

In view of these facts, I want to suggest to you three very hopeful features of the situation-features which make me perfectly confident that Great Britain will be able to solve this most important problem.

The first is this: The leaders of labor in Great Britain are men who can be absolutely trusted. I know very many of them personally. I have known Mr. Arthur Henderson, the most trusted labor leader in Britain today, for fifteen years; I knew him before he entered the House of Commons; I have been in his constituency with him, and spoken upon his platforms; I have met him in conferences and committees; I have very frequently worshipped with him in the House of God. Of course he has made mistakes, as every man must make mistakes who has been called to occupy a prominent position in a world that is in transition. It was a blunder, in my judgment and in the judgment of many of his friends, when he attempted to occupy that dual position as member of the British War Cabinet and Secretary of the Trades Unions of the country. But, gentlemen, may I say to you that he carries the most serious sense of responsibility into his most influential position as labor leader in Great Britain at the present moment-and it would be impossible to overestimate the importance of that position. He has a profound loyalty to the British constitution. He is a man who is absolutely fearless in following his convictions, whether he is dealing with the opponents of the labor party or with the intractable followers in his own camp. I have mentioned Mr. Henderson as an illustration; but there are others of whom I might speak. What I want to say is this, that if labor will follow its leaders, I believe we shall find in Great Britain autonomy and freedom, coupled with a deepening sense of loyalty to the old constitution.

Another hopeful feature is here: During the last three and a quarter years the classes have been brought together as never before. They know each other as they never knew each other. They respect each other as they never did before. Extraordinary circumstances have driven men to occupy unexpected places' and form unexpected companionships. Sometimes there has been tactlessness, too; on the whole, it has been in the nature of a revolution. This War has burned some phrases clear out of usage; one is that despicable profanity which we used to hear in the Old Country so continually-"the lower classes." I worked among the lower classes the best part of my life, and thankful I am to have done so. When I heard a man talk about the lower classes before the war, it always seemed to me to be an ill-omened phrase, dark with human pride; but if a man talks about the lower classes today, it falls upon my ear like the shiver of doom. The lower classes-where are they? They are in the trenches; side by side with other classes, it is true -"dukes' sons, cooks' sons, sons of a belted earl"; all meet together and get to know each other and to respect each other, not only abroad but at home. They have felt the burden of a common bereavement; they have known the thrill of a common heroism and devotion. Lest I should seem to exaggerate, let me read to you two utterances made in the House of Lords in the last two or three months. The first is from Lord Selborne:--

"The real solution of the industrial question is to be found in the increase of the strength of the trade union organization, in the recognition and acceptance of their status, and the assumption and acknowledgment by them of their responsibilities."

Why, it is only five years since the directors of railways in Great Britain refused to recognize the existence of trades unions. I know many employers of labor in Lancashire and Yorkshire; I do not know a single employer of labor who is not profoundly grateful today to have trade union leaders with whom he could deal. It brings a sense of stability into the relations between Capital and Labor. Or, take this statement by Lord Salisbury, in the House of Lords:

"The working classes will make many mistakes. Very likely they will be adverse to many of your ambitions. All these things are small matters. I earnestly hope that they will believe in us. I am quite sure that in the long run their good sense will prevail; but whatever happens, we intend to trust them, my Lords, and I believe that they will return the trust."

Now, the third hopeful feature is this: That already there is a revolution taking place; and this revolution is taking place without any breach of the ancient traditions of the country. By the Franchise Bill just put through the House of Commons, 8,000,000 new names have been placed upon the register. The position of women is of course assured now in political life. We are going to have the most comprehensive educational scheme ever conceived by British statesmen. It is going to cost a lot of money, but we know perfectly well we must have it. We must educate those who are going to be the masters of the nation, for the reform of the House of Lords is only a matter of time and method now. I believe that the next House of Commons will have at least 200 labor members.

And so, gentlemen, although I have suggested to you that there is peril in the present situation, and although there may be sharp collision between conflicting interests and classes, yet, judging from fair criteria---from the fact that the people of Britain are still dominated by a simple and serious sense of duty; that they have felt together a great suffering, and have thrown themselves into a great purpose; that they have come to know and respect each other-we may confidently hope that once again the Motherland will stand before the world as an example of how democratic freedom may be realized without any breach of the traditions of the state.

I am very frequently asked this question: "What is the attitude of the British people today-the man in the street, who is the only man really that counts, because by him this war is to be won, or lost-towards this war? Well, there never has been a time when there was less pacifism in Great Britain than today; and there never has been a time when there was a greater hatred of war than today. I get in a third-class railway carriage whenever I can, because I pick up all my social philosophy there; they know a great deal more about it than the members of the House of Commons. I am quite sure of that. If you talk to a compartment full of men in any railway train, some of them, perhaps all, would say to you, "We've got to see this job through once for all." Quoting Lloyd George, they would say, "There's got to be no next time." Or they will say, "This is a war to end war."

The leaders of the trades unions met in Nottingham a few weeks ago, and that important and influential conference, whose importance cannot be overestimated, recorded the most emphatic vote it has ever given in favor of the prosecution of the war. Now, how has this come to pass? It is not because of any outbreak of hatred against Germany. I do not find that. It certainly is not because of any desire to be superior, or to prove ourselves superior to the German army. It is due to the fact that there has been a great apocalypse. The British people have come to see that they are fighting a desperate struggle against something sinister and evil, against something that constitutes not only a national but also a moral menace, against something that makes it impossible for one nation to live side by side amicably with another nation.

I was in my study one morning, a bright, beautiful morning it was, when I heard the pulsation of airplanes in the air overhead, and I went out to the lawn in north London and saw thirty German airplanes sweep down upon the city. It was a wonderful spectacle. They came in perfect formation. It was the last word in scientific discovery and invention. What was the result of that invasion? Well, one result was that in one school in the east end of London forty-think of it-forty little children were blown to pieces so that in many cases their parents could not possibly recognize the poor little mangled corpses. And Germany actually thought that it was going to break the morale of British people by doing deeds like that! Mr. Chairman, I attribute the stiffening of determination in Great Britain to such deeds as this. We have come to see that there is no hope for civilization, there is no possibility of freedom or of a settled social order, unless this miasma of hatred and brutality and greed-which is Prussianism--can be exorcised from civilization.

I had thought of saying something about temperance, but I must leave this for the present, except to say there has been much misunderstanding and a great deal of exaggeration. I only wish to assure you, gentlemen, that Great Britain has made a tremendous advance in temperance reform already. The friends with whom I worked over there for temperance reform, I may say in passing, are at the present moment, the majority of them, feeling their way towards state purchase as a step toward local option, and then, perhaps, national prohibition. But after the war we shall have a new attitude on the whole question of sobriety.

And now I have just another word to say. I ask your sufferance now while I speak of what, to me, is the most important movement in the life of Great Britain. Goethe used to say that you can divide human history into two epochs--the epoch of Faith and the epoch of Unfaith; and he said, "There is no exception, the epoch of Faith is the fruitful epoch; the epoch of Unfaith is the barren epoch." I refer to that here because in Great Britain there is taking place at the present moment a spiritual awakening. I do not know at all how it is going to express itself. It won't be along traditional lines. I believe there is an impatience of many things that have been made synonymous with religion. There certainly is a growing impatience, almost an indignation, at the unhappy differences which have separated church from church. But, believe me, the old materialistic idols are being shattered. You will never hear Britain again talk or toy with the hideous philosophy of the superman. We have seen it, and it is nothing but degraded savagery and barbarism. Now, take as a type-an unexpected type--Mr. Wells, who says--and I believe he is right, "I speak for hundreds of thousands of people who are with me." You know that ever since the war broke out, Mr. Wells has been preaching, with the urgency and the fervency and the passion of a Salvation Army Captain, the great discovery of God that came to him. Yes, that is going to be a tremendous factor in shaping the future.

When I was in Edinburgh there was a tradition that always appealed to me. Those of you who have been to that city know that every evening four buglers blow out "The Last Post" over the darkening city. It is said that one of the buglers long ago was murdered at the post of duty, and the tradition is founded upon that fact. On the 31st day of March every year, the anniversary of the murder, it is said that those who listen intently in the streets after the four buglers have blown "The Last Post" can hear the call of the fifth bugler-the ghost of the bugler. Mr. President, the world today is listening to the call of the spiritual bugler. It is ringing through Britain, and there is a response there; and if--as I believe will take place--Britain responds, then she will be led out of these perplexities and days of tumult and confusion into the haven of a material and mental and moral well-being.