own expression, of the "moral factor" in the problem of pauperism. It may be said at once that the general impression left upon the mind by the Report is that it is a gospel of materialism which is certain to defeat its own objects, because character, as the antithesis of pauperism, is essential to material well-being.
The Authorship of the Report and its Sponsors.
The authors of the Minority Report are not disposed to let the grass grow under their feet, and are prosecuting a "crusade against destitution," with the Report as their war-cry. The movement is god-fathered by the distinguished names of Sir John Gorst, Mr Bernard Shaw, Mr H. G. Wells, and Mr Sidney Webb. Mr Sidney Webb, indeed, is something more than a godfather. He is joint-author of the Report, of which he speaks frankly as "our Report." Lord George Hamilton, the Chairman of the Royal Commission, has recently pointed out that Mr and Mrs Sidney Webb have claimed the copyright of this public document, which they could not have done if the other signatories had contributed even a line to its pages. The position is novel. Never before, so far as we know, has the Report of a Royal Commission being written in great part by one who has neither been appointed to the Commission nor has been present at its meetings nor heard the evidence. A question arises whether this will be taken as a precedent in the appointment of future Royal Commissioners, and whether such appointments will be considered to be dual appointments. The preliminary manifesto of the "crusade" appears in the June (1909) number of the Rev. R. J. Campbell's paper, The Christian Commonwealth. Mr H. G. Wells gives it his benediction.
