I  hold  no  brief,  and  confess  to  no  admiration,  for
the  superior  oddity  who  can  work  with  nobody  and
who  has  no  capacity  to  compromise  for  orderly  progress
or  to  keep  step  with  his  fellows.  I  have  therefore
never  been  attracted  by  the  prospects  held  out  by  the
advocates  of  Proportional  Representation  and  their
peculiar  views  of  minorities.  But  if  the  tyranny  of
uniformity  and  conformity  cannot  be  broken  by  the
intelligence  of  constituencies,  let  us  have  the  evil  of
Proportional  Representation,  with  a  chance  that  a  few
oddments  of  independence  with  Parliamentary
ability  may  be  returned  to  break  down  the  iron  ring
of  party  obedience.  Parliament  is  a  place  for  co-
operation, not  for  individual  whims ;  it  is  a  field  where
the  work  is  of  a  rough-and-tumble  nature,  and  where
men  must  give  and  take.  But  when  that  is  pushed  to
extremes,  as  it  has  been,  it  becomes  a  dull,  flat  waste,
where  cheap  cleverness,  cheek,  and  dishonesty  hold  un-
disputed possession.
It  is  of  supreme  importance  that  the  Socialist  should
strive  that,  in  the  reconstruction  after  the  war,  Parlia-
ment and  public  life  should  be  restored  to  dignity  and
respect.  The  reputation  of  a  service  determines  the
kind  of  man  who  enters  it ;  the  dignity  of  an  institution
decides  the  homage  paid  to  its  decisions.
To  sum  up  :  The  authority  of  Parliament  must  be
restored  by  the  ending  of  Cabinet  dominance  and  by


50  SOCIALISM  AFTER  THE  WAR

making  its  assent  necessary  to  all  international  agree-
ments which  bind  the  country.
