“In thus making our first attack upon the stronghold of the old Unionism and the new Toryism, we would have been contented with a very small measure of success, and we are much more than contented with the results obtained.  The lectures, except for a few days during the contest at Eccles, were extremely well reported, and even the ‘Manchester Guardian’ (the ‘Daily News’ of the manufacturing districts) came out with an approving leader.  The audiences throughout the campaign steadily increased and followed the lectures with close and intelligent attention.  In particular the members of Liberal working men’s clubs constantly declared that they had never heard ’the thing put so straight’ before, and complained that the ordinary party lecturers were afraid or unwilling to speak out.  Men who frankly confessed that they had hesitated before voting for the admission of our lecturers to their clubs were enthusiastic in welcoming our message as soon as they heard it.  The vigorous propaganda in the manufacturing districts of the S.D.F. branches has been chiefly carried on by means of outdoor meetings.  Its effect upon working-class opinion, especially among unskilled labourers, has been marked and important, but it has entirely failed to reach the working-men politicians who form the rank and file of the Liberal Associations and Clubs, or the ‘well-dressed’ Liberals who vaguely desire social reform, but have been encouraged by their leaders to avoid all exact thought on the subject.”

* * * * *

The lectures were given chiefly in sets of four in consecutive weeks, mostly at Liberal and Radical Clubs:  others were arranged by Co-operative Societies, and by branches of the S.D.F. and the Socialist League.  The subjects were “Socialism,” “Where Liberalism Fails,” “Co-operation and Labour,” “The Future of Women,” “The Eight Hours Bill,” “The Politics of Labour,” and so on.  Those arranged by Co-operative Societies were, we are told, the least successful, but it is hoped “that they will bring about a better feeling between Socialists and Co-operators,” a state of things which on the side of the Socialists was, as we have previously indicated, badly wanted.  It should be noted that much of the success of the campaign was due to friendly assistance from the head-quarters of the Co-operative Union and the National Reform Union.

There is no doubt that this campaign with the series of lectures on the same lines which were continued for several years was an event of some importance, not only in the history of the Fabian Society but also in English politics.  Hitherto the Socialism presented to the industrial districts of England, which are the backbone of Trade Unionism and Co-operation, to the men who are meant when we speak of the power and independence of the working classes, was revolutionary and destructive, ill-tempered and ungenerous.  It had perhaps alarmed, but it had failed to attract them.  It had made no real impression on the opinion