Essays in Liberalism / Being the Lectures and Papers Which Were Delivered at the / Liberal Summer School at Oxford, 1922
Being the Lectures and Papers which were delivered at the Liberal Summer School at Oxford, 1922
LONDON: 48 PALL MALL W. COLLINS SONS & CO. LTD. GLASGOW MELBOURNE AUCKLAND
Copyright 1922
Manufactured in Great Britain
The papers contained in this volume are summaries—in some cases, owing to the defectiveness of the reports, very much abridged summaries—of a series of discourses delivered at the Liberal Summer School at Oxford in the first ten days of August, 1922. In two cases (“The State and Industry” and “The Machinery of Government”) two lectures have been condensed into a single paper.
The Summer School was not arranged by any of the official organisations of the Liberal party, nor was any part of its expenses paid out of party funds. It was the outcome of a spontaneous movement among a number of men and women who, believing that Liberalism is beyond all other political creeds dependent upon the free discussion of ideas, came to the conclusion that it was desirable to create a platform upon which such discussion could be carried on, in a manner quite different from what is usual, or indeed practicable, at ordinary official party gatherings. From the first the movement received cordial support and encouragement from the leaders of the party, who were more than content that a movement so essentially Liberal in character should be carried on quite independently of any official control. The meetings were inaugurated by an address by Mr. Asquith, and wound up by a valediction from Lord Grey, while nearly all the recognised leaders of the party presided at one or more of the meetings, or willingly consented to give lectures. In short, while wholly unofficial, the meetings drew together all that is most vital in modern Liberalism.
In some degree the Summer School represented a new departure in political discussion. Most of the lectures were delivered, not by active politicians, but by scholars and experts whose distinction has been won in other fields than practical politics. One or two of the speakers were, indeed, not even professed Liberals. They were invited to speak because it was known that on their subjects they would express the true mind of modern Liberalism. Whatever Lord Robert Cecil, for example, may call himself, Liberals at any rate recognise that on most subjects he expresses their convictions.
Various
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K.C., M.P., Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1918. Minister of Blockade, 1916-1918. Representative of Union of South Africa at Assembly of League of Nations.
The Two Views of the League
The Negative and the Positive
The Spirit of the League
The Mistake of Versailles
The Two Causes of Unrest
Hon. Litt.D.; Fellow of All Souls’ College, Oxford; F.B.A.; Professor of English History in the University of London; Chairman of the Institute of Historical Research.
Balance or League?
The Theory of Balance
The Change since Castlereagh
Where the Line is Drawn
Basis of Security
The Alternative
Director of Military Operations—Imperial General Staff, 1915-16.
Washington
A General Defensive Pact
The Appeal to Public Opinion
The Breakdown of Germany
The Illusion of a Loan
Assistant Secretary Board of Inland Revenue, 1916-19. Member of Royal Commission on Income Tax, 1919.
The Two Parts of a Budget
A Century of the National Debt
The Capital Levy
Difficulties of Valuation
A Desperate Remedy
P.C.; President of National Liberal Federation since 1920; M.P. (L.), Tyneside Division, Northumberland, 1906-18; Parliamentary Secretary to Board of Trade, 1911-15.
The “New Circumstances” Cry
Tariffs and Wages
Members One of Another
The Dyestuffs Act
The Paris Resolutions
Science and Experience
K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.; Chief Commissioner, North-West Frontier Province, India; Deputy Commissioner of various Frontier districts; Secretary to Frontier Administration; Foreign Secretary, 1914-19; negotiated Peace Treaty with Afghanistan, 1919.
Frontier Raids
Frontier Policy
Afghanistan
Internal Unrest
The Rise of Ghandi
The Present Situation
After-War Mistakes
The Hope of the Future
Professor of Modern History in the University of Manchester, 1913 to 1921.
The Growth of the Civil Service
A Check upon Bureaucracy
The Cabinet
Modern Changes in the Cabinet
Representation of “Interests”
Devolution
The Liberal Bias
Retrospect and Prospect
State Ownership: For and Against
Trusts and Monopolies
Distribution
The Case for Profit-Sharing
Industrial Publicity
A National Industrial Council
Professor of Sociology, London University.
Women’s Wages
The Question of a Single Minimum
Trade Boards Holding the Field
M.A.; Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge; Lecturer in Economics; Secretary to the Cotton Control Board from 1917-1919.
The Causes of Trade Depressions
The Scale of Relief
A Model Scheme from Lancashire
The Moral Obligation of Industries
The Present Machinery of Relief
M.A., LL.M., C.B.E.; Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; Secretary of Coal Conservation Committee, 1916-1918; Secretary of Advisory Board of Coal Controller, 1917-1919; Secretary of Coal Industry Commission, 1919 (Sankey Commission).
The Liberalisation of Industry
The Question of Royalties
A National Mining Board
The Mystery as to Profits
Member of Acquisition of Land Committee, 1918.
Housing
Rating Relief for Improvements
The Lesson of the Slums
A Rate and a Tax upon Site Values
P.C.; M.P. (L.) North-West Cornwall; Financial Secretary, War Office, 1908-10; Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1911-15; Financial Secretary to Treasury, Feb.-June, 1915; Secretary to the Board of Agriculture, 1915-16; a Forestry Commissioner. Chairman of the Agricultural Organisation Society.
The Destruction of a Policy
Employment and Wages
Access to the Land
Independence
Co-operation