The Forsyte Saga Volume 2(141)

At this moment in his speech Michael himself became a somewhat shrinking asset, overwhelmed by a sudden desire to drop Foggartism and sit down. The cool attention, the faint smiles, the expression on the face of a past Prime Minister, seemed conspiring towards his subsidence. ‘How young – oh! how young you are!’ they seemed to say. ‘We sat here before you were breeched.’ And he agreed with them completely. Still there was nothing for it but to go on – with Fleur in the Ladies’ Gallery, old Blythe in the Distinguished Strangers’; yes, and something stubborn in his heart! Clenching the notes in his hand, therefore, he proceeded:

In spite of the war, and because of the war, the population of their island had increased by 2,000,000. Emigration had fallen from over 200,000 to 100,000. And this state of things was to be remedied by the mere process of recapturing to the full European trade which, quite obviously, had no intention of being so recaptured. What alternative, then, was there? Some honourable Members, he was afraid not many, would be familiar with the treatise of Sir James Foggart, entitled The Parlous State of England. (‘Hear, hear!’ from a back Labour bench). He remembered to have read in a certain organ, or perhaps he should say harmonium, of the Press, for it was not a very deep-voiced instrument – (laughter) – that no such crack-brained policy had ever been devised for British consumption. ‘Hear, hear!’) Certainly Foggartism was mad enough to look ahead, to be fundamental, and to ask the country to face its own position and the music into the bargain.…

About to go over ‘the top’ – with public confession of his faith trembling behind his lips – Michael was choked by the sudden thought: ‘Is it all right – is it what I think, or am I an ignorant fool?’ He swallowed vigorously, and staring straight before him, went on:

‘Foggartism deprecates surface measures for a people in our position; it asks the country to fix its mind on a date – say twenty years hence – a minute in a nation’s life – and to work steadily and coherently up to that date. It demands recognition of the need to make the British Empire, with its immense resources mostly latent, a self-sufficing unit. Imperialists will ask: What is there new in that? The novelty lies in degree and in method. Foggartism urges that the British people should be familiarized with the Empire by organized tours and propaganda on a great scale. It urges a vast increase – based on this familiarization – of controlled and equipped emigration from these shores. But it has been found impossible, as honourable members well know, to send out suitable grown folk in any adequate quantity, because confirmed town-dwellers with their town tastes and habits, and their physique already impaired by town life, are of little use in the Dominions, while the few still on the English land cannot be spared. Foggartism, therefore, would send out boys and girls, between the ages of fifteen, or perhaps sixteen, and eighteen, in great numbers. The House is aware that experiments in this direction have already been made, with conspicuous success, but such experiments are but a drop in the bucket. This is a matter which can only be tackled in the way that things were tackled during the war. Development of child emigration is wanted, in fact, on the same scale and with the same energy as was manifested in Munitions after a certain most honourable Member had put his shoulder to that wheel – multiplication a hundredfold. Although the idea must naturally prove abortive without the utmost good-will and cooperating energy on the part of the Dominions, I submit that this co-operation is not beyond the bounds of hope. The present hostility of people in the Dominions towards British immigrants is due to their very reasonable distrust of the usefulness of adult immigrants from this country. Once they have malleable youth to deal with, that drawback vanishes. In fact, the opening up of these vast new countries is like the progress of a rolling snowball, each little bit of “all right” –I beg the House’s pardon – picks up another little bit; and there is no limit to the cumulative possibilities if a start is made at the right end and the scheme pushed and controlled by the right people.’ Someone behind him said: ‘Talking through his hat.’ Michael paused, disconcerted; then, snatching at his bit, went on: ‘A job of this sort half done is better left alone, but in the war, when something was found necessary, it was done, and men were always available for the doing of it. I put it to the House that the condition of our country now demands efforts almost as great as then.’

He could see that some members were actually listening to him with attention, and, taking a deep breath, he went on: