out the duty of an
Opposition being to oppose. Of course it isn't. The duty of the
Opposition is to criticise and to improve, if they can...."

And so Ashley Earls and Gerald Luke joined the group of Improved Tories,
not as members, but as critics. It was they who induced the others to
join the Fabian Society. "You can become subscribers ... that won't
commit you to anything ... and then you'll be able to attend all the
meetings and get all the publications. It'll be good for you!..."

The supply of political guests was not of the quality they desired. The
eminent politicians were either too busy or too scornful to accept their
invitations. F. E. Robinson was impertinent to them until he heard that
Mr. Balfour was interested in their proceedings ... had even asked to be
introduced to Roger Carey ... and then he offered to address them on
Young Toryism, but they told him that they did not now wish to hear him.
They had taken Robinson's measure very quickly. "Police-court lawyer!"
they said, and ceased to trouble about him. Mr. Balfour never attended
the group, but they consoled themselves to some extent by reading his
book on Decadence and arguing about it among themselves. If, however,
they were not able to secure many of the Eminent Ones, they were able to
secure plenty of the Semi-Eminent, far more than they wanted, and for
half a year, they listened to politicians of all sorts, Old Tories and
Young Tories, Liberal Imperialists and Radicals, Fabian Socialists and
Social Democrats, heckling them and being heckled by them. At the end of
that six months, Gilbert revolted against politicians.

"These aren't the people who really matter," he said. "They don't start
things. We want to get hold of the people with new ideas ... the men who
begin movements and the men who aren't always wondering what their
constituents will say if they hear about it!"

Then followed a term with men who might have been called cranks. Bernard
Shaw declined to dine with them ... he preferred to eat at home....
"Voluptuous vegetarian!" said Gilbert ... but he talked to them for an
hour on "Equality" and tried to persuade them to advocate equal incomes
for all, asserting that this was desirable from every point of view,
biological, social and economic. Following Bernard Shaw, came Edward
Carpenter, very gentle and very gracious, denouncing modern civilisation
in words which were spoken quietly, but which, in print, read like a
thunderstorm. Alfr