Fox of France

The new Fagin, the old butcher, was talking in a safe room with Hubert, the secretary of the French embassy.

"Mr. Fagin, fundamentally speaking, the emancipation of the British workers can only depend on the awakening and hard work of the British workers themselves. For now, there is only so much help we can provide. As far as the current situation is concerned, I It is suggested that you can accept this modification and change the name of 'Textile Workers' Union' to 'Textile Workers United Club'. In order to avoid related legal issues. In addition, considering that the club will have a lot of legal activities in the future, Fei Jin this Name, I advise you not to use it lightly. Do you have any other names that can be used?"

"Then it's better to just call it the Textile Workers' Party. As for the name, I'll use the name on my identity certificate, Gwen Pullan." Fei Jin said, "As for the temporary resumption of work with those guys, after the police After the department releases our comrades, we can talk, I know, bread has to be eaten bite by bite. But if we change our name, can we really avoid the British government's attack?"

"Of course it's impossible. It's just a step up for them. It's never a loophole in the law that makes them afraid. Especially in a country like the UK that practices case law. The key is your struggle, which brings them They are willing to compromise only when they are under pressure. For example, in our France, the status and income of workers are significantly higher than those in the UK. There is no child labor in France, because children of school age must receive compulsory education. The income of our French workers is also Far higher than that of Britain, why? Is it because our French factory owners are extraordinarily benevolent? Of course not, this is because French workers have demonstrated their strength in the French revolution. Therefore, those factory owners naturally Respect powerful workers. As long as you can maintain your organization and increase your strength, they will no longer dare to act recklessly." Hubert replied.

"If that's the case, I don't think the 'United Textile Workers' Club' is strong enough." Fagin, no, it should be Gwen Pullan, said with a smile, "We might as well just call it the 'All England Workers United Club'."

"Ah, bread should be eaten bite by bite, Mr. Poulan. I suggest that you should consolidate your basic plate for the time being, set an example for other industries, and then consider this next step. As for the near future, I know that there are some rich people who are interested in There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the issue of suffrage, and they want something to change in that regard. My personal suggestion is that you can take this opportunity, besides fighting for wages and the like, to start advocacy for universal suffrage."

In this era, Britain already has an electoral system, but these electoral systems have a very direct double threshold of property and origin. Therefore, in Britain in this era, the proportion of people who have the right to vote and to be elected is only about 2% of the total population. This proportion is even lower than the active and passive citizens created by Lafayette and others in the early days of the French Revolution. Active citizens account for an even smaller percentage of the population.

In the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, members of the House of Lords must naturally be nobles. The House of Commons, that is, members of the House of Commons, also has various restrictions on elections. The first is the setting of constituencies. The setting of constituencies is a big question. In the UK, the constituencies in the election of the House of Commons were mainly based on regions, not population. As a result, a large number of rural constituencies appeared, while densely populated cities could obtain fewer places.

This kind of small constituency set up on a geographical basis is very beneficial to conservatives, or to be more specific, to landowners and land aristocrats. The grip of these people in small patches of countryside is deeply entrenched. So a strange phenomenon appeared in the British Parliament, that is, the members of the House of Lords are often rotated, but some seats in the House of Commons have become hereditary instead.

This phenomenon also appeared in a certain country in East Asia in later generations. At the beginning, a country in East Asia was forced to adopt a universal suffrage system because of its defeat in the war. As a result, the left-wing Socialist Party suddenly became stronger. So the country immediately adjusted the constituency settings, changing the original large constituencies into small constituencies, and then, basically every constituency elected hereditary MPs. There are two or three kittens and puppies.

Today's British electoral system actually makes many wealthy business owners dissatisfied. Because there are not enough people in parliament who can directly represent their interests. Although they can also spend money to buy those landowners, wouldn't it be more delicious if they can spend less money and buy it directly by themselves?

So now, a group of factory owners are also clamoring to change the election plan. It is hoped that the number of MPs in the House of Commons will be allocated proportionally to the population. This proposal is now in full swing in the UK.

"Fighting for universal suffrage? How much does that do us?" asked Gervin Pullan.

"Universal suffrage is a job." Hubert replied, "Look at us in France. As long as there is no crime or special mental defect, any adult man has universal suffrage regardless of his property. Under the circumstances, no member of parliament would dare to introduce such a rude bill that prohibits workers from organizing unions across factories. We even stipulate that there must be unions in factories.”

There is one thing that Yu Bell did not explain clearly, that is, the trade unions in French factories may not really be able to represent workers. To be more precise, considering the high mobility of workers in French factories, trade union organizations basically only represent those "skilled workers" with less mobility, or in other words, the so-called "worker aristocracy". But there is no need to explain this clearly to the British.

Gwen Pullan was completely unfamiliar with such things as elections, so he thought for a while and replied: "I don't quite understand the matter of universal suffrage. I need to learn more and think about it. I'm sorry, I'm I can't give you an answer right away. Oh, by the way, do you have any books you can recommend for me to learn about these issues?"

Hubert was not surprised by this result. The new Fagin is not as knowledgeable as the old Fagin, but it is not without reason that he can be arranged by the old Fagin as his successor, because he is very stable.

On the other hand, Hubert also believes that after careful consideration, today's Gwen Pulan will support this direction. Because it is indeed in their interest to do so.