“You will now ask to be told what the Fabians had been doing all this time.  Well, I think it must be admitted that we were overlooked in the excitements of the unemployed agitation, which had, moreover, caused the Tory money affair to be forgotten.  The Fabians were disgracefully backward in open-air speaking.  Up to quite a recent date, Graham Wallas, myself, and Mrs. Besant were the only representative open-air speakers in the Society, whereas the Federation speakers, Burns, Hyndman, Andrew Hall, Tom Mann, Champion, Burrows, with the Socialist Leaguers, were at it constantly.  On the whole, the Church Parades and the rest were not in our line; and we were not wanted by the men who were organizing them.  Our only contribution to the agitation was a report which we printed in 1886, which recommended experiments in tobacco culture, and even hinted at compulsory military service, as means of absorbing some of the unskilled unemployed, but which went carefully into the practical conditions of relief works.  Indeed, we are at present trying to produce a new tract on the subject without finding ourselves able to improve very materially on the old one in this respect.  It was drawn up by Bland, Hughes, Podmore, Stapleton, and Webb, and was the first of our publications that contained any solid information.  Its tone, however, was moderate and its style somewhat conventional; and the Society was still in so hot a temper on the social question that we refused to adopt it as a regular Fabian tract, and only issued it as a report printed for the information of members.  Nevertheless we were coming to our senses rapidly by this time.  We signalized our repudiation of political sectarianism in June, 1886, by inviting the Radicals, the Secularists, and anyone else who would come, to a great conference, modelled upon the Industrial Remuneration Conference, and dealing with the Nationalization of Land and Capital.  It fully established the fact that we had nothing immediately practical to impart to the Radicals and that they had nothing to impart to us.  The proceedings were fully reported for us; but we never had the courage even to read the shorthand writer’s report, which still remains in MS. Before I refreshed my memory on the subject the other day, I had a vague notion that the Conference cost a great deal of money; that it did no good whatever; that Mr. Bradlaugh made a speech; that Mrs. Fenwick Miller, who had nothing on earth to do with us, was in the chair during part of the proceedings; and that the most successful paper was by a strange gentleman whom we had taken on trust as a Socialist, but who turned out to be an enthusiast on the subject of building more harbours.  I find, however, on looking up the facts, that no less than fifty-three societies sent delegates; that the guarantee fund for expenses was L100; and that the discussions were kept going for three afternoons and three evenings.  The Federation boycotted us; but the ‘Times’