A BISHOP ON SOCIALISM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 154, 24 March 1908, Page 11

A BISHOP ON SOCIALISM.

■ /'POVERTY CRIES ALOUD." THE DANGLH OF EXTREMISTS. " j Biatfop Stretch; in addressing' tho Angh- ■ canlEiynod ,at Newcastle' (Now South Wales): /:TKelitlj;.;c6mraente<l .on Socialism - thus: — ; ; • '.'lbMs curious 'to watch tho: change which is coming vover people's minds in England, v; AJter; ; ;.saying <nico' ;tliings about,,Socialism■tv'hilb:'it is far; off,. somo. aro. beginning to bo' afraid of it now it seems nearer; ilow- :; oyerji ,ttiero;:is 'no; use in 'that; it "has got to bV:'|aced jatid' understood. There may -be .a • good ■ (leab'of exaggeration, ••but tho facts of life'.-are ■ grim onough. . Poverty i has found . ios ; (voice;, and it crics aloud; and. we liavo : ;thb>.po'6ror' part" of society' is;the more numerous, and. in a democracy, wiibii-Aire .'have been praising 'theoretically, v.- -'.jprabtically/.thalt the, power is rapidly peS^i"ifrom tho wealthy'few 'to the' poorer. - many j.and :tho poorer.many arb not-always, .. irihthe'i'b'est of tempers'.,. It..seems to ;thom they;have -been kept' out.of the good things ■ too lortj*; and so there aro muny. voices, and Bomc; apprehension. In America, Mr. Taft for' War, is reported' as. say-ih^:i-7-'Uiili?ss. effectivo,.social and . moral re-; forms . wel-O' secured, society as at present, . cohstituted must yield to a new order of things on a Socialistic basis.' ■ r. ■ i the sooner wo.realise the situation, . afiaHtiiit; there is nothing left for' the few to -'.usfe'^jjiiti : tho:'pdwerAof 'right; reason; and of . trutn',vif- they ;h'aye. .their iside; the bet-' tar ; it: r will-bo: for: all. ! There is no uso throwing' about ill-defincd .terms, which only . malcfcjtieople ,lose, their . tempers;-. .there is . it but patient investigation, and rfcasotiftble-argument. 1 • •.• >

■ ' CLEARLY EMPIRICAL. . , l - : ; ■ . i : • ( ; : .■ MSSihetihies: Socidlism is used as a term of political'cconomy, and is concerned with ■ disaivßnnji vwhat/is': tho most- economical 'unifc.ibf production, distribution, ■ managcorii The.,teridency. ha_s. cleariy. be6ri' in f many cases to enlarge this unit, sometfliefe' successfully, sometimes with ■ > d6iiibtfuj v;sjiccos3. : v '. Tho' Socialist,. as such, will ,generally bo found: in favour of tho cn- , I^^e&i^bt^o\vmi^7.'Thja.larger' the bet-'-cases■ ho .will .call himself _-a . 1 StatfcScipialist/'jind,iirgq'that, tho'State, it-:--solfi should bo the -universal working unit. Shell the decision of ■ tho Hull Labour Congress,''which startled England. Practicallyit; will be found-that there is no measure common to all. In ono case an.-'indi-.. . th'|-icdtripariy, in ■ another the .' municipality,-, -..noW'tne State,' now the Commonwealth,- now' . . tK'b*'iEmpirb; may be found tHo, most useful: • For irtstance the Empire may bo the-, best uhifc'ifbK.dbfonco.'.but 'it does:.not. follow that : the.best -agriculturp.- •We .; : oiifsbifes -fibavolately, changcd-;, from.- Stato ; - cohtrol' of roads to-municipal. Yet Sydney .. rSVe|)ayorfi/Would-hardly'say .that .municipal . cprit^l-;i cleotric ~lighting/was.-perfection. Tho 't['iiestion-is ; clearly empirical,. ono. yAich • can be;solved only by experiment. Cost and cffnvcutencb will decide.- .Thoro is. nothing 111 ■ this-,td,lose our heads about and very much . to-call fori cool judgment.: • yi'lJlit 'Socialism is. also used m a - much jnoro -debatable ;senso'. than-.this.. It'r '6fteii;:assumo3.' ( a'political - shape, arid, it ' re'sMves,-itself .-into.: this : question. Suppose...• : tlib!ji&ftiority; of 'a,'community bccomes couvihced:( of., the usefulness: of; tho largest -posand -succeeds ~ in" capturing tho political i machine, ,to:.what extent _i§ that, - mi'ißHfcyi.entitled to. force'iVcbiiyictioh'iipon--' thfljUnconvinced,minority by foj-co of legislatiOliVl'which- Ayill : ncce.ssarlly appear to i that. ' less' penal 'and. "tyr'anrious,.' • '-Tliifltji'.vveilod ' under'-thodisguise -of, the' -. phraso: that :'majorities ■ must-.; rulo'—:tlns might-, bo simply ■ reversing - proceedings, a., 'renewed supersession- of right by power,' : 'tlio hands .of ,-th'o,.'tyrannical • force which was so 1 strongly, objected to by tho many when in tho hands of tlid ftntvi .The truth in both eases being that • it-.-is\-not\nearly so-'important by: whom a power is:e;:ercised as how tho power is exercised.}, ''-Power,' said i King-Alfred mora - than a.-thousand; years ago, 'is : nover- a good . liiilesS.-ho -bis good that hath 'it;'/. A, majority ; is : hbt;neccssarily. go'od. -'Tho. abuse-of power : by; a; majority would'as surely bring its re-, venges. as.the abuse of power by a minority. . It-might'take longer,, but when tho penalty. . -. might' ■ be : more ;• terrible /and .".more', '• .' it 'isnot :on ; the" face of it reasonable to tako for granted that power /will -'be. abused; becausb it, is,' in thfe handsi of themany, for it was certainly, not: always-rightly.-used-when it was in tho hands-of'the lew.' , - , JVILD AND FOOLISH UTTERANCES. ' '. 'Ithis^no':,'doubt ' true - that;.'. generally,' n - sy6torii:. must bo judged by its . final term, ari'd- lhat; many of/the''utterances of cstrem--istsidre: sb'Avild arid foolish as to -be:.alarm-' .injg.'.li-Th^y,:arc: angry,:, and .'man's, wrath v.drkcth.not God's righteousness:' Tho re-. : Eult; .is' a:very natural tendency to hold tho: wholo body of Socialists answer-ablfe-Ifor'.tlic words of; the extreme left,, and. to..;judgo from their declared aims, the of; .the, whole movement, whitin makes man angry. . >.. ' ..?JIW£ s 'arS ''n6^ ; ;loriger;;-doalingvTrith.-j'phil6^;' .. Boj)Kifea;-'6f,:'goverrimcnt'j . but; with 7 its ;: tice;-sThe■ days 'of '•privileged ,'- aristccracies : .a're-;:ttonoV V Thero is no : use nowadays com- '/■ ptowfi^^is,;^plo - .not, the, 1 law.tiS/'aTOiirsbd.'.-: ,'Thof people' !make -laws,' w-liich-js - a., far 'graver.; thing -than 1 theoretic, l;'ripiyl^g'e\;j-- : :Tho .only aristocracy , that can' ~ final test:is one thajt" jus- : tifieS; its-i'dxistenco, .by. showing: fearlessly in. •'v\rotq,,diid>'deea .;:its -"-belief.'in. the victory of ■ whatMs l 'n'oblest w arid'best,"'by. proving-jtself;-•npst'truly ; unselfish—most practical in ser-,'. 7icfe. •': ; ■ ;:> ! t ■; ;; - . -{..fJFor .'the Socialism, which" is an experi>nental, side of political- economy, we .can safely-.trust the\ brains and the pains of tho, w'bHi";.'arid to tnat survival of the fittest to". sulTive, , ,. l 'and the death of the unfitting for . its': plirposo .which-is a note-of the stern": . cbriditibnk .-under• which the suitability: of -a '. process is necessarily tested before it show 3 its value.--. '\Yhat:is proved to'-be anti-social must.-goi for:thb:State,lives .and thrives j n vii'tiifliMi-its social forces. -.But we must not be in. a. hurry,'.'to-decide'that'what we do not iko: 13, necessarily anti-social. Wo' all want",! . wha't'!-is-best, it. .w'ill: riot : come without our offortj-we niay make, iriany mistakes—we are none;,of:us infallible,.but in 'the end the best ■ will : .darry its' own conviction." ■ 1