Download Category: British Lion - Fascism

FASCISM AND FREEDOM

Being an Account of the Origin, Principles, and Policy of the British Fascists
By “Phoenix”

If England was what England seems,
An’ not the England of our dreams ;
But only putty, brass, and paint,
‘Ow quick we’d chuck ‘er—but she ain’t
Kipling.

1. How the Need for Fascism Arose in England.

IN 1914, we were given definite proof of the triumph of the ideals of duty and sacrifice, and a terrific demonstration of the power and apparently endless vitality that can be contained in a united nation. The cost of this effort, however, was not to be measured in the lives of the fallen; nor the wounds of the maimed; nor yet was it to be reckoned in the crushing war debt and enormous task of regeneration which faced the English people. Rather was it to be found in the sum of all these, plus the most potent factor, the reaction and loss of national vitality which followed the expenditure of so much energy.

The natural consequence of tremendous exertion in the individual is complete collapse, and this was the condition of England after the Great War. Fundamentally, she was unaltered. Her power was unshaken, her territories remained secure, while her vast commercial and industrial organisation was ready to be transferred from the functions of War to those of Peace.

But the soul of England had received a mighty buffeting, and was in need of quick and sympathetic treatment. This was no time for quack remedies, and sententious words of little meaning—the physician in this case must be one to tell the truth, and apply the remedy, however unpleasant both might be. In spite of the obvious need for drastic and scientific action, however, the quacks were called in and each prescribed his own particular material remedy for this spiritual illness, each wondered for how long he might draw his fees, and how much these might be ; while each one avoided the truth for the whole period of his office. The natural consequence was that discontent, suspicion, disloyalty, and indifference to the national interests became increasingly apparent; while the ideals of Duty, Service, Honour and Sacrifice,—those qualities that are so impalpable yet so essential to the welfare of a nation—were gradually transferred to the limbo of forgotten things, only to be spoken of in whispers.

Communism In China – The Danger To The British Empire

RECENT newspaper headlines have brought it home to the traveller by tram or train that something is happening in China, that there have been riots and casualties, and that certain organs of the Press, as well as Members of the House of Commons who outwardly or covertly work for Moscow, have attributed all the mischief to the wicked British Capitalist.

These are just the tactics that those whose task it is to watch their machinations would recognise as emanating from the Red wire-pullers. They create a passing sensation, but leave an enduring and wrong impression in the public mind, which has all it can do to keep track of Test Matches and Gold Cups rather than concern itself with strikes and riots on the other side of the globe.
Yet these happenings may, and probably will, affect the life of every man, woman and child in this country. So far from being local events, soon to be forgotten, they may be the outward indication of great underground activities, the first symptoms of a movement of vast extent and pretensions, one of whose declared objects it is to encompass the downfall of our Empire, and our ruin.

For more than two generations people have talked of the Yellow Peril, and, regardless of transport or commissariat difficulties, have pictured to themselves hundreds of millions sweeping across Asia and Europe like the waters of a broken dam.

The Kaiser painted a fanciful and florid picture on the subject, symbolically inviting

all Europe to counter the danger—under his leadership, of course!

But nothing happened, except the Boxer trouble, which, like most risings in the East, flared up with unexpected violence, and as there was no force at the back of it to keep the revolutionary bellows working, was soon extinguished.

The Powers intervened, sent out an International Expeditionary Force under a German Commander, committed the outrage of sacking the Royal Palaces at Peking, did not distinguish themselves either in the direction of mutual cooperation or wise and humane treatment of the Chinese, and finally went away after demanding a huge indemnity. Some of them had the sense and forbearance subsequently to refuse their share of this, but the mischief had been done. The authority of the Throne had been broken, and in 1911 the Manchu Dynasty was replaced by a Republic.

Naturally, visionaries and sentimentalists all the world over hailed the event with satisfaction. China was now to awake from an age-long sleep and enjoy the advantages of Western culture.

DICTATORSHIP

SOME years ago a certain professor popularised a theory that a sick man can cure himself by repeating incessantly to himself that he is not ill. This art of carrying conviction by an incessant and parrot-like repetition, even in contradiction to the testimony of reason and experience, an art, the practise of which is one of the conditions of successful advertising, is well understood and practiced by our politicians of to-day. And thus in attacking Fascism its enemies have devised certain slogans, of which the most frequent and the most effective is the pronouncement, “Fascism is Dictatorship.”

To-day there is a numerous and rapidly increasing body of genuine enquirers who ask, “What is Fascism? It appears to be increasing everywhere. There must after all be something in it. We Would like to know more about it.” And the enemies of Fascism promptly give answer, “Fascism is Dictatorship. Dictatorship may be very well in foreign countries, the spirit of whose people has been broken by long periods of submission to the tyrannical rule of an absolute master. But the British have always resisted such tyranny, and resisted it successfully. They have always, been ready to fight if necessary in the defence of their liberties. If there are to be found here and there a few weak poor-spirited individuals; who are prepared to submit to the tyranny of a dictator, you at least have not so far lost that sturdy independence which has always characterised the people of this country as to entertain even the idea of a dictatorship, You would never submit to such a surrender.” And the enquirer replies, “No, certainly not.” And that is the end of the matter.

And the reply; “Fascism is Dictatorship,” has become a parrot-cry repeated mechanically by thousands who have no knowledge of Fascism and little interest in the subject but who are reluctant to admit their ignorance of a subject which is continually coming more arid more under the public eye.

The picture presented to the public is deliberately and dishonesty misleading and false.

On the One hand we are shown a picture of ‘Western Democracy, with a free and independent people, prosperous and happy, actively and zealously interested in the government of the Country, in which every man has an equal voice; a government carried on by men who are at once the efficient agents and obedient servants of the great majority of their people, and whose beneficent activities are the reflection of the sum of the national will.

On the other hand, we are shown a Fascist State, with cringing Millions cowering beneath the lash of a brutal despot, a megalomaniac who has snatched the supreme power in order that he may strut in the limelight with inflated chest, whilst his slaves stand in countless rows with uplifted hands and vociferate “Hail” and all the implications of this menacing picture are summed up in the single word dictatorship, which is made to imply the most extreme form of moral, social, economic, and poetical damnation.

THE SURRENDER OF AN EMPIRE
By
Sir Michael O’Dwyer, G.C.I.E., K.C.S.I.
late Governor of the Punjab

THE British people by superhuman efforts saved the Empire in the Great War; since then our Statesmen have been busily engaged in surrendering it. Ireland has under the treaty of 1921 become a hostile republic, in fact if not in name; Egypt and Iraq, standing on our Sea and Air routes to the East, are fast slipping away from our legitimate influence, though we rescued the first from the Dervishes and the second from Turkish tyranny; the great island colony of Ceylon whose prosperity has been built up by British enterprise and capital and which is protected by the British Army and Navy, free of charge, has in the last few years been given a pseudo-democratic constitution which enables the local political cliques to set at nought British Authority, strangle British trade and squeeze out the British Officials.

India still remains, but our position in India and our responsibility for the welfare of its 350 million people are now being abandoned. If that insane policy inherited from the Socialist Government and embodied in the White Paper, is carried through, and the present Government are straining every nerve to carry it through, India will he lost to the British Empire “after a period of transition”. (to. quote the Prime Minister’s words).

With it the British Empire will go down. For as that great Viceroy, Lord Curzon, said 30 years – ago, “India is the pivot of our Empire. If this Empire loses any other part of its Dominions, we can survive. But if we lose India the Sun of our Empire will have set.”

That is the great issue with which the British people are to-day confronted. Fortunately they are waking up to the fact that the Government without any mandate from the Constituencies are flinging away the glorious heritage for which our fore fathers shed their blood. The surrender of our position in India would be even more disastrous to the peoples of India whom we have rescued from anarchy, civil war, invasion, famine and pestilence, that to the millions in this country whose livelihood depends on the trade—£200 million per annum–which British enterprise and capital have built up to the advantage of Great Britain and India. The surrender which the: White Paper contemplates would in the words of Mr. Lloyd George he the greatest betrayal: in history. It can only be averted by prompt and vigorous action on the part of the British people: They have the last word. Let them speak it.

The National Government Fraud Economy At The Expense of The Poorest

MR. MANDEVILLE ROE, who has studied the Unemployment problem both in this and in other countries, shows that all the “scandals of the dole” are not on one side.

WHEN the National Government, after an electoral victory so sweeping ¬as to have no parallel in history, was returned to office everybody understood we were in for a period of most drastic economy. For- the nation now had two alternatives only, either to pay up for the crimes, follies, and blunders of the Labour Government, or to behave like a fraudulent trader and go bankrupt.

By supporting the National Government the British people decided to do the honest thing, however  unpleasant it might be. The National Government demanded sacrifices from all, and on that basis of equality of sacrifice the whole country was prepared for privations even as great as those demanded in War. The Government, however, has not even attempted to achieve equality of sacrifice.

What is Economy?

Some people seem to think that economy merely means saving money, regardless of how it is saved, or what material losses- are sustained in saving it. That is an utterly false definition, but it is unfortunately the one which the National Government has embraced with eagerness. As I once heard Mr. Pethick,Lawrence point out in the House of Commons, that neither the present administration nor the last wild riot of Socialism (led by the same Right Honourable Gentleman as lulls the present Government) gave a thought to this absolutely first principle of public affairs.

The abolition of the “genuinely seeking work” clause. I have elsewhere denounced that clause, and am prepared to denounce it again, because the need for such a clause indicates the utter failure of the whole system of Labour. Exchanges, which should be the clearing houses for jobs and men.

THE LEAGUE AND SMALL NATIONS

WE have received a copy of “The Independence of Small Nations,” a pamphlet issued by the British Friends of Montenegro, which gives the history of the absorption of that gallant little country by the Jugoslays.

Apart from the dark reflection that this event casts upon the actions of certain politicians, the most important thing which is revealed is that the League of Nations, formed with all its high ideals of safeguarding the rights of small nations, has either been unable or unwilling to interfere in this instance.

While it is obvious that the Montenegrins, being no longer a nation, and therefore having no representation in the League, would find it difficult to raise the question at Geneva, it is not surprising that the delegates have no desire to broach a subject likely to disturb the international peace and quiet which is their object of existence.

It almost seems as if the League, in its disregard of Montenegrin claims, has justified the belief that it is an organization which only results in making wrongs and injustices eternal by agreement and treaty!

AS SEEN FROM THE WINDOWS OF GENERAL HEAD QUARTERS OF BRITISH FASCISTS.
THE CINDERELLA OF THE SKY

PROBABLY few people to-day would deny that flight is becoming a matter of prime national importance, and that instruction in it will be essential, not only to the personnel of our forces, but even more to the ordinary “industrial ” man or woman. Transport problems, and population problems aggravating them, have become so acute to-day that there is only one outlet for all the traffic that will be necessary in the future. That outlet is the sky.

Universities and Aviation

With the wide acceptance of the Kellogg Pact, and the signature of the Optional Clause, we are justified in the hope that war between civilized nations will become a matter of dead history; but in the meanwhile we have military training being continued. Surely it must be obvious that that military training should be adapted to take, account of the new factor of flight.

Do We Desire To Bind Ourselves

THE absurd publicity which has been’ attached to the name Fascist recently, greatly owing to the publicity of the “Colonel Barker” case, has opened the eyes of some people to the large number of British Fascists who are to be found in this country.

The fact that “Colonel Barker” was never connected with the British Fascists did not seem, at the time, to be fully realised. Nevertheless it was a fact. Some five years ago, when the British Fascists were first inaugurated as the only body capable of adequately dealing with the Communist menace, it was only to be expected that one or two hot-heads should creep in among the seriously minded Patriots who form the nucleus of the organisation. But it did not take General Headquarters long to find out who these hot-heads were and to weed them out. This, of course, did not suit the books of those who were so dismissed, and the result was an almost Gilbertian body, who called themselves the National Fascisti, who guarded their Headquarters with wooden swords, whose language on the platform was forceful, but a trifle illogical and who adopted a uniform as closely approaching that of the :Italian Fascisti as it was possible to get. To give them their due, they did gradually settle down: at one time British Fascists General Headquarters were glad to see that they took their responsibilities a little more seriously.

Red Whitewash

WE have no connection with Communists. No, they are Red, we do everything by Parliamentary means, we mean no harm to the Empire, we would support it (do not inquire into the years 1914—1918!) we go to Buckingham Palace and accept the King’s hospitality; we may differ slightly as to how the country should be run, but, after all, every man is entitled to his opinion AND WE HAVE, TURNED THE COMMUNISTS OUT OF THE LABOUR PARTY,”

Coincidences may occur, as “Sapper” said in one of the “Bulldog Drummond” books, in which the hero had seen one puncture to his car many times, two frequently, three occasionally, but four wheels at the same time ¬NEVER! There is a limit to the belief of the most credulous in coincidences, and this really takes the prize.

The British Workers Delegation visited Russia for the Tenth Anniversary of the Revolution in November, 1q27, and published its report in “Soviet Russia To-day,” published by the Labour Research Department, 126 Buckingham Palace Road, S.W.1.
A National Committee organised the delegation, consisting, among others, of the following:–

THE NEED FOR BRITISH FASCISM
By the Editor – in – Chief

WHEN endeavouring to assess the comparative strength of the forces of Law and Order as against those of Revolution in England, it is not inadvisable to avail oneself of a fine evening in London to take a rapid view of the contrast in the lives of those living at opposite ends of the social scale.

A ride on the top of a ‘bus costs but little and thanks to a clear road in the City one can run from Hammersmith through the West End, East End, past the Docks, and out to Eastern Suburbia in a couple of hours. It is instructive and gives food for reflection.
The bus keeps to the main streets, and the first impression received is one of general prosperity. There is a prodigious amount of wealth in the shops, and even in the East End the people in the streets are well clad and look well fed. In the suburbs one is struck by the numbers playing tennis and otherwise getting some exercise after a grilling day in office, by the rows and rows of small, neat houses of recent construction, and by the general air of well-being that pervades the localities passed through.

Then comes the question, on what is all this apparent prosperity based? Is it secure?
All this complex human machine is dependent on British water-borne com­merce, on British industry, and on British prestige throughout the world.

The very food these millions eat is nearly all imported, only about half of it comes from Imperial sources, and the money to pay for it comes from the goods we manufacture and sell. Is all well with British trade?

Read the daily newspapers and see they are full of cause for heart-searching, if not for apprehension.