Parliament did not move. Neither Conservatives nor Liberals felt it their Job to correct these happen ings. 'Fortunately there were men who did. Robert Owen and the Earl f Shaftesbury—iconoclast and Awiatograt—were' yoked im an parently incongruous but "noble Darinership to, work the machinery of agitation. 'Through the whole dreary technique they went. "Lord Shaftesbury' was over 10" years old before his earnest efforts bore veal fruit' and he had to fight bored indifference, earnest discussion and even direct political action which unsuccessfully tried eliminate him by offering him the Viceroyalty of Ireland—in vain.
Fry elaborated the principles, of "reform technique. "She explained how it was necessary to show extreme tenacity, first' in rebutting arguments that the evil did not exist, then in proving that ought to be remedied. Even when ly [investigation had been undertaken growing belief in the art of getting nations to know each other by personal contact, British Constitution 'That disorganised entity, the British 'Constitution "had." been partly' described in books, but its actual working differed " greatly from the written recipe, The whims of electioneering demanded that issues put before the should be often plain ixvelevancie Defence of the bottom dog. was not a popular election ery 50 it seldom Botton dogs still necessary. to. be legislation and. finally of that legislation had to be achiev-
ed! apparently by Parliament, the And' selion the work was crown first results would be disappoint ing. The act would be negligently enforced, the penalties would not bbe adequate and there would "be back. danger of the bad old times coming
That was the history of social reform in England. It had been the offspring of various philanthropie. societies—for, despite cynicism which seemed "so. attractively Wordly in its contempt for idealism, Usinterested citizenship did exist.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.