J.R. Macdonald and others; to which a reply was sent, signed only
by members of the Executive, Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb, Hubert Bland,
J.F. Oakeshott, H.W. Macrosty and one or two others. Finally a rejoinder
by the signatories of the first circular was issued in the course of the
poll which extended over nearly a month. The membership at the time was
about 800, of whom 50 lived abroad, and in all only 476 votes were cast,
217 in favour of a pronouncement and 259 against.
It was said at the time, and has constantly been alleged since, that the
Society had voted its approval of the South African War and had
supported imperialist aggression and anti-democratic militarism. As will
be seen from the foregoing, no such statement is correct. A vote on the
policy of the Government would have given an overwhelming adverse
majority, but it would have destroyed the Society. In early days we had
drawn a clear line between Socialism and politics: we had put on one
side such problems as Home Rule and Church Disestablishment as of the
nature of red herrings, matters of no real importance in comparison with
the economic enfranchisement which we advocated. In the early eighties
Parliament spent futile and fruitless months discussing whether Mr.
Bradlaugh should take the oath, and whether an extension of the
franchise should or should not be accompanied by redistribution.
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