mittee published in "Fabian News" a
brief manifesto addressed to the members urging them to "Vote against
the House of Lords." It will be recollected that the Lords had rejected
the Budget, and the sole issue before the country was the right of the
House of Commons to control finance. Members were urged to support any
duly accredited Labour or socialist candidate; elsewhere they were, in
effect, advised to vote for the Liberal candidates. In April their
action in publishing this "Special advice to members" without the
consent of a members' meeting was challenged, but the Executive
Committee's contention that it was entitled to advise the members, and
that the advice given was sound, was endorsed by a very large majority.

At the Annual Meeting the Executive Committee, with a view to setting
forth once more their reasoned view on a subject of perennial trouble to
new members, accepted a resolution instructing them to consider and
report on the advisability of limiting the liberty of members to support
political parties other than Labour or Socialist, and on November 4th
R.C.K. Ensor on behalf of the Executive gave an admirable address on
Fabian Policy. He explained that the Society had never set out to become
a political party, and that in this respect it differed in the most
marked manner from most Socialist bodies. Its collective support of the
Labour Party combined with toleration of Liberals suited a world of real
men who can seldom be arranged on tidy and geometrical lines. This
report was accepted by general consent, and in December, when Parliament
was again dissolved, this time on the question of the Veto of the Lords,
the Executive repeated their "Advice to Members" to vote for Liberals
whenever no properly accredited Labour or Socialist candidate was in the
field.

* * * * *

But the dissatisfaction with the old policy, and with its old exponents,
was not yet dispelled. A new generation was knocking at the door, and
some of the old leaders thought that the time had come to make room for
them. Hubert Bland was suffering from uncertain health, and he made up
his mind to retire from the official positions he had held since the
formation of the Society. Bernard Shaw determined to join him and then
suggested the same course to the rest of his contemporaries. Some of
them concurred, and in addition to the two already named R.C.K. Ensor
(who returned a year later), Stewart Headlam, and