THE ENGLISH EXTREME LEFT.
IT has for some time been rumoured, and it may now be regarded as tolerably certain, that next Session will wit- ness the appearance of a new Party in the House of Commons. Some thirty Members of the extreme Left have determined to form an organisation of their own, and to make it the centre of their loyalty, and their first authority in all matters of Party discipline. The scheme is not altogether a new one, and we see no practical reason why, notwithstanding the avowed intention of Mr. E. Jenkins to have no part nor lot in it, it should fail to be carried into effect. The "eternal fitness of things" is not bound up with the existence of two Parties, and two only ; and before the days of Home-rule there have been times when a third has played a conspicuous part, and even exercised a determining influence, in English politics. Nor is it difficult to see that the present moment is unusually pro- pitious for such an enterprise. When a Party is without a policy which it can combine to support, it requires very great personal qualities in its leaders to keep it together, and to make it an effective instrument for purposes of legislation and debate. Lord Palmerston had those qualities, and though Liberalism was never such a tame, vapid, unrecognisable force as under his guid- ance, yet his own influence over his party enabled him to main- tain throughout its ranks a quiet enthusiasm and an almost unconscious coherence which passed very well for unanimity. Now it is no disparagement to our present leaders to say that there is no one among them who possesses the paralysing fascination which made Lord Palmerston at once so efficient and so dangerous a party leader. The consequence is that the natural process of disintegration, which is only kept in arrest by the pressure of some combining power—whether that power be a person or an idea—has set in unchecked, and the gap which separates Liberals like Mr. Cowen from Liberals like Sir William Harcourt is rapidly widening and deepening into an impassable chasm. The Left Wing has this great advantage over the bulk of the party,—that it knows what it means, and intends to get what it wants. The orthodox and official Liberals stand inert, or at most vaguely expectant, kept together by old associations and the ties of habit, and dimly imagining a possible future. But the Members of the Left are penetrated by ideas and enthu- siasms; they wish to see the franchise made uniform, the Church disestablished, education secularised, the game laws abolished, the land laws recast, taxation redistributed, the squirearchy overthrown. These are objects, whether they be good or bad, for which, at any rate, reasonable and serious men may combine to fight, without the feeling, which must have oppressed many a faithful Liberal warrior during the past three Sessions, that they are being led with all the pomp and circumstance of war to the top of a hill, in order that they may then be led down again. The Liberal leaders dare not make a bold advance, because they know that the mass of the Party is too timid to follow them ; and the Left, tired of empty manceuvring, which starts from nothing, aims at nothing, and leads to nothing, are resolved henceforward to pursue their own tactics, under commanders who are not afraid to be in earnest.
We have gone thus fully into the meaning of the Radical schism, partly because we sympathise to some extent with the motives of its promoters, but still more because we believe that they are making a great mistake. There is no reason, as we have said, in the nature of things, why there should be only two Parties in the State, and indeed, at first sight, such an arrangement seems so mere an accident, that it is-difficult to account for its durability. It is obvious that a flexible system, like that which prevails in France, where the Assembly contains at the present moment at least six groups, and often more, has advantages which are placed beyond our reach by the rude dichotomy of English Party politics. It gives far freer scope to conscientious conviction ; it avoids the mechanical discipline which is indispensable to a large Party, but which often proves fatal to individuality ; and by multi- plying the possible points of view, it widens the area and increases the educating powers of debate. How is it, then, that no third Party has ever been able to stand its ground in England The fact is beyond dispute. O'Connell's " Tail" soon fell to pieces, the Peelites were gradually absorbed among the Liberals, and the Adullamites have long since forgotten their rebellious exile in the Cave, and returned to their allegiance. The explanation is to be found partly in the traditions which exercise such a potent sway over public life in England, partly in the conditions under which our highly artificial system of Parliamentary government, is carried on. To begin with, for the last two hundred years there always have been two great Parties, and two only; and though that is in itself no reason why a third should not now be formed, it is a very serious practical obstacle in the way of its success. Parties, like other institutions, at any rate in England, grow, and are not manufactured. A political Party is with us not a mere voluntary association, with a programme, a com- mittee, and an annual report, like a Joint-Stock Com- pany or a Missionary Society. It more resembles an army (though the analogy is by no means perfect), with its half un- reasoning loyalty, its peculiar code of honour, its unrelenting discipline, its subordination of the individual to the cause. A number of men may be equally and enthusiastically certain that a doctrine is true, or that a policy is expedient, and by a temporary combination they may be able to work a great and lasting effect. But still they are not a Party, for a party re- quires party spirit, and party spirit is the product of a very complex sentiment, which is slow to grow and hard to sustain, and which thrives best where it can be nourished by historic memories. The Constituencies can understand a man who calls himself a Liberal or a Con- servative; he is immediately labelled, and takes his place in one of two great and well-understood classes. He may have his idiosyncrasies, and great latitude will be allowed them, so long as he gives this guarantee that he is not a mere crotchet- monger in disguise. But the moment a candidate refuses to be bound by the popular nomenclature, and declares that he belongs to the Party of the Future, he will arouse the suspicious hostility of that large class by whose votes the elections are turned. His new Party will be branded as a clique and its mem- bers as conspirators, and the ideas which he might have safely and effectively proclaimed in the guise of a Liberal will be found to have a foreign look, and to be capable of dangerous applications. N or will the House of Commons, already much disturbed by the Home-rule schism, welcome the advent of a fourth Party on the scene. The management of Par- liamentary business was difficult enough, and the results sufficiently disappointing, when there were only two leaders and two sets of " whips " to consult. When there are four, it is not hazardous to predict that the debates will become still more unwieldy, and the work of legislation still more baffling ; that the chances of compromise will be infinitely diminished ; and that the spirit of faction, which is kept under in great Parties, will acquire a perilous activity. We believe that the extreme Radicals are far more likely to make themselves felt, and to advance their cause, by remain- ing where they are. By voluntarily severing themselves from the Whigs, they lose their chance of leavening the Party lump. Yeast without dough is no better than dough without yeast, to a nation which wants bread. The Whigs often appear to be stolid and inert, but their sympathies, in the long-run, are on the right side, and they have wonderful tact in finding out when it is time to move. And when the time does come, their aid is invaluable. The immense social influence, the states- manlike traditions, and the air of dignity and moderation which they bring to the cause of Reform are of incalculable service in the practical settlement of agitating problems. Gratitude for the past and forethought for the future should combine to restrain the Radicals from breaking up an alliance so fruitful in its results, and so indispensable to their own success.
Previous page
