ort space must now be devoted to the years which intervened between
the Education episode and the outburst of activity to be described in
the next chapter.

Social progress advances in waves, and outbursts of energy are always
succeeded by depressions. Up to 1899 the Society slowly grew in
membership until this reached 861. Then it slowly declined to 730 in
1904. This was symptomatic of a general lack of interest in Socialism.
The lectures and meetings were poorly attended, and the really important
debates which decided our educational policy were conducted by only a
few dozen members. Twenty years had passed since the Society was
founded. Of the Essayists Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb, Hubert Bland, and
when in England, Sydney Olivier were still leaders of the Society, and
so until January, 1904, was Graham Wallas, who then resigned his
membership on account of his disagreement with the tract on Tariff
Reform, but really, as his letter published in "Fabian News" indicated,
because in the long controversy over education policy he had found
himself constantly in the position of a hostile critic. It should be
added that his resignation has been followed by none of those personal
and political disagreements which so commonly accompany the severance of
old associations. Mr. Wallas has remained a Fabian in all except name.
His friendship with his old colleagues has been unbroken, and he has
always been willing to assist the Society out of his abundant stores of
special knowledge both by lecturing at its meetings and by taking part
in conferences and even by attending quite small meetings of special
groups.

In all these years a large number of younger members had come forward,
none of them of quite the same calibre as the Essayists, but many of
them contributing much to the sum total of the Society's influence. Of
these perhaps the most active was Henry W. Macrosty,[33] who sat on the
Executive from 1895 till 1907, when he retired on account of the
pressure of official duties. During and indeed before his period of
office Mr. Macrosty was constantly engaged in research and writing for
the Society. He prepared the Eight Hours Bill which approached nearest
to practicability (Tract 48, "Eight Hours by Law," 1893); in 1898 he
wrote for the Society "State Arbitration and the Living Wage" (Tract
83); in 1899, Tract 88, "The Growth of Monopoly in English Industry"; in
1905 "The Revival of Agriculture, a national policy for Great Brita