hing of a difficulty. If he does not happen to approve
of what the Executive proposes he can generally persuade a Business
Meeting to vote for something else!

* * * * *

At this same period, the spring of 1911, the National Insurance Bill was
introduced. This was a subject to which the Society had given but little
attention and on which it had not formulated a policy. It had opposed
the contributory system as proposed to be applied to Old Age Pensions,
and a paper on "Paupers and Old Age Pensions," published by Sidney Webb
in the "Albany Review" in August, 1907, and reprinted by the Society as
Tract No. 135, had probably much influence in deciding the Government
to abandon its original plan of excluding paupers permanently from the
scheme by showing what difficulties and anomalies would follow from any
such course. The National Insurance Bill when first introduced was
severely criticised by Sidney Webb in documents circulated amongst Trade
Unionists and published in various forms; but a few weeks later he
started on his tour round the world and could take no further part in
the affair. At the Annual Conference of Fabian Societies in July, 1911,
an amendment proposed by H.D. Harben to a resolution dealing with the
Bill was carried against a small minority. The amendment declared that
the Bill should be opposed, and in furtherance of the policy thus
casually suggested and irregularly adopted, the Executive Committee
joined with a section of the I.L.P. in a vigorous campaign to defeat the
Bill. This was a new role for the Society. Usually it has adopted the
principle of accepting and making the best of what has already happened;
and in politics a Bill introduced by a strong Government is a _fait
accompli_; it is too late to say that something else would have been
preferable. It may be amended: it may possibly be withdrawn: it cannot
be exchanged for another scheme.

I shall not however dwell on this episode in Fabian history because for
once I was in complete disagreement with all my colleagues, except Sir
Leo Chiozza Money, and perhaps I cannot yet view the matter with entire
detachment. The Labour Party decided to meet the Bill with friendly
criticism, to recognise it as great measure of social reform, and to
advocate amendments which they deemed improvements. The Fabian Society
attacked the Bill with hostile amendments, prophesied all sorts of
calamities as certain to result from it: ma