but the power which economic forces bring
them. I disagree, and beheve that, in spite
of their theories, in defiance of their creed,
they are actuated by purely moral and religious
motives ; that they of all men, in their
work for Russia, are doing what Christians
call the Lord's work. My own faith and
belief in “ pacifism ” is unshaken. I still
think that salvation comes not from without,
but from within. Yet when I look at England,
I am not sure that if I had the power
I should at once abolish the police. And,
when I know that the overwhelming mass
of my Christian friends defend bloodshed,
violence, and horrors, wherever these are
ordered by Governments ; when I realise that
the high dignitaries of the Church in the
House of Lords are like dumb driven cattle
when men like Connolly and Pearce are shot
in Dublin, or when Dyer in the sacred name
of order slaughters unarmed Indians in the
streets of Amritsar; and, finally, when I see
and hear no protest from Christendom against
the wicked vicious treaty which has brought
suffering and death to millions of our fellow
creatures, and will bring further terror and
misery to millions yet unborn—when I think
of these things, I am constrained to ask, who
Page:George Lansbury - What I saw in Russia.pdf/21
This page needs to be proofread.
PREFACE
xv
