CHAPTER II

THREE GOVERNING IDEAS

Situation at the death of Queen Victoria 207 Comfort and security are not synonymous 208 Two problems absorbed public attention 209 Social and Constitutional Reform 209 A third problem, security, was overlooked 210 Social Reform intrinsically the most important 211 The urgent need of peace 212 Earnestness of public opinion 212 How it was baulked by circumstances 213 Limitations of popular judgment 214 Want of leadership 216 Strangulation of sincerity by party system 218 The artificial opposition of three great ideas 221