s my rates and taxes,' he shouted, 'an' I've got as much right to
express an opinion as you 'ave. I votes for who the bloody 'ell I
likes. I shan't arst your leave nor nobody else's! Wot the 'ell's it
got do with you who I votes for?'

'It has a great deal to do with me. If you vote for Protection you
will be helping to bring it about, and if you succeed, and if
Protection is the evil that some people say is is, I shall be one of
those who will suffer. I say you have no right to vote for a policy
which may bring suffering upon other people, without taking the trouble
to find out whether you are helping to make things better or worse.'

Owen had risen from his seat and was walking up and down the room
emphasizing his words with excited gestures.

'As for not trying to find out wot side is right,' said Crass, somewhat
overawed by Owen's manner and by what he thought was the glare of
madness in the latter's eyes, 'I reads the Ananias every week, and I
generally takes the Daily Chloroform, or the Hobscurer, so I ought to
know summat about it.'

'Just listen to this,' interrupted Easton, wishing to create a
diversion and beginning to read from the copy of the Obscurer which he
still held in his hand:

'GREAT DISTRESS IN MUGSBOROUGH.
HUNDREDS OUT OF EMPLOYMENT.
WORK OF THE CHARITY SOCIETY.
789 CASES ON THE BOOKS.

'Great as was the distress among the working classes last year,
unfortunately there seems every prospect that before the winter
which has just commenced is over the distress will be even more
acute.

Already the Charity Society and kindred associations are relieving
more cases than they did at the corresponding time last year.
Applications to the Board of Guardians have also been much more
numerous, and the Soup Kitchen has had to open its doors on Nov. 7th
a fortnight earlier than usual. The number of men, women and
children provided with meals is three or four times greater than
last year.'

Easton stopped: reading was hard work to him.

'There's a lot more,' he said, 'about starting relief works: two
shillings a day for married men and one shilling for single and
something about there's been 1,572 quarts of soup given to poor
families wot was not even able to pay a penny, and a lot more. And
'ere's another thing, an advertisement:

'THE SUFFERING POOR

Sir: Distress among the poor is so acute that I earnestly ask you
for aid for The Salvation Army's grea