LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Conservatism and Liberty
SIR,—Colonel H. R. Pelly writes that ".individual freedom has proved to be incompatible with social justice.". That remark is just about a hundred years out of date. A hundred years ago there was probably something in it. A hundred, or even sixty, years ago we lived under a crust of affluent people with nothing to do except to air the notion that any kind of useful or manual work denotes inferiority. The impulse to break that crust was quite understandable ; but today the crust has been sufficiently broken, and "social justice" merely means that if I cannot afford to keep a yacht or a horse or a cask of sherry, then other people must be prevented from keeping them. Such sentiments would be bad form on my paa, as well as being socially idiotic. Our only hope is in such respect for personal property and personal freedom as still exists on this island. Even from the vote-catching aspect, " liberty " is not a bad election cry. The alternative, to heap .up all private property in a pile, and let the nearest to it grab what they can of it in the name of social justice—well, Colonel Pelly's guess is as good as mine as to what the result of that will be.—I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
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