[36] During the debate on the second reading in the House of Commons, the writer one day counted twenty members on the benches, and a labor member called the attention of the Speaker to the fact that "in this hour of constitutional crisis only twenty brave men are found willing to defend the prerogatives of the realm!"
[37] Some of the Fabians, nevertheless, fought the bill, and their champion, Bernard Shaw, called Lloyd George's effort "The premature attempt of a sentimental amateur."
[38] In 1909 the Labor Party claimed credit for the following measures passed during the Parliamentary session of that year:
"(1) The grant of an additional £200,000 ($1,000,000) for the unemployed, and the extraction of a promise that, if it was insufficient, 'more would be forthcoming.'
"(2) The passing of the Trades Boards Bill—the first effective step against 'sweating.'
"(3) The smashing of the bill authorizing the amalgamation of three great railways.
"(4) A discussion, protest, and vote against the visit of Bloody Nicholas, the Tsar. The Labor Party's amendments secured 70 supporters, whilst only 187 members of the British Parliament were dirty enough to support the Tsar's visit.
"(5) The introduction of the Shop Hours Bill and the extortion of a promise that it shall be adopted by the government and passed."—From a campaign pamphlet, The Labor Party in Parliament, p. 20.
[39] See Wanted—A Program: An Appeal to the Liberal Party. S. Webb, London, 1888.
[40] See article by Professor Hobhouse, on "Democracy in England," Atlantic Monthly, February, 1912.