When relations which were established by force have been sanctioned by
custom, and embodied in law, and sanctified by religion, they form a
soil in which many pleasant things may grow. In the vicinity of Vesuvius
they will tell you that the best soils are of volcanic origin.

Hodge and Sir Lionel meet in the garden which one owns, and in which the
other digs with the sweat of his brow. There is kindly interest on the
one hand, and decent respect on the other. But all this sense of ordered
righteousness is dependent on one condition. Neither must eat of the
fruit of the tree of knowledge that grows in the midst of the garden. A
little knowledge is dangerous, a good deal of knowledge may be even more
dangerous, to the relations which custom has established.

What right has Sir Lionel to lay down the law for Hodge? Why should not
Hodge have a right to have his point of view considered? When Hodge
begins seriously to ponder this question his manners suffer. And when
Sir Lionel begins to assert his superiority, instead of taking it for
granted, his behavior lacks its easy charm. It is very hard to explain
such things in a gentlemanly way.

Now, the exasperation in the tone of political discussion in Great
Britain, as elsewhere in the world, is largely explained by the fact
that all sorts of superiorities have been challenged at the same time.
Everywhere the issue is sharply made. "Who shall rule?"

Shall Ireland any longer submit to be ruled by the English? The Irish
Nationalists swear by all the saints that, rather than submit, they will
overthrow the present Government and return to their former methods of
agitation.

If the Home Rule Bill be enacted into law, will Ulster submit to be
ruled by a Catholic majority? The men of Ulster call upon the spirits of
their heroic sires, who triumphed at the Boyne, to bear witness that
they will never yield.

Will the masses of the people submit any longer to the existing
inequalities in political representation? No! They demand immediate
recognition of the principle, "One man, one vote." The many will not
allow the few to make laws for them.

Will the women of England kindly wait a little till their demands can be
considered in a dignified way? No! They will not take their place in the
waiting-line. Others get what they want by pushing; so will they.

Will the Labor party be a little less noisy and insistent in its
demands? All will come in time, but one Reform must say to