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ESSAYS IN PERSUASION

PART

a swing of the pendulum in former days, butuntil their mistakes have mounted up to theheight of a disaster. I do not like this choice ofalternatives.

That is the practical political problem whichconfronts all those, in whichever party they areranged, who want to see progressive principlesput into effect, and believe that too long a delayin doing so may find the country confrontedwith extreme alternatives.

The conventional retort by Labour orators isto call upon Liberals to close down their ownParty and to come over. Now it is evident thatthe virtual extinction of the Liberal Party is apractical possibility to be reckoned with. Atime may come when any one in active politicswill have only two choices before him and notthree. But I believe that it would be bad poli-tics and bad behaviour to promote this end;and that it is good politics and good behaviourto resist it.

Good politics to resist it, because the pro-gressive cause in the constituencies would beweakened, and not strengthened, by the disap-pearance of the Liberal Party. There are manysections of the country, and many classes ofvoters, which for many years to come willnever vote Labour in numbers, or with en-thusiasm, sufficient for victory; but whichwill readily vote Liberal as soon as the weatherchanges. Labour leaders who deny this arenot looking at the facts of politics with un-clouded eyes.