It
was clear, therefore, that the voting was not strictly on party
lines--one of the opposition, Charles Charrington, was fourth on the
poll--but that the Society as a whole approved of the non-committal
policy. The Executive Committee had been elected since 1894 by a postal
ballot of the whole Society, and on this occasion 509 members, over 62
per cent of the whole, recorded their votes.
The Executive had resolved at the beginning of the war to issue a tract
on Imperialism, and at the Annual Meeting in May, 1900, a resolution
was passed that it prepare for submission to the members "a constructive
criticism from the Socialist standpoint of the actions and programmes of
the various political parties."
Needless to say, Bernard Shaw undertook the difficult job, for at this
period all the official pronouncements of the Executive were drafted by
him. At the beginning of September it was announced as nearly ready, and
later in the month a proof was sent to every member for criticism, and a
meeting was called for the 25th to discuss it. This was the extreme
example of the practice at that time habitual, of inviting the
co-operation of every member in our publications. No less than 134
members returned amended proofs or wrote letters of criticism; and it is
recorded that only one of these was opposed to the whole thing, whilst
only nine preferred to have no manifesto at all; and another nine
objected to material portions.
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