The Four White Days | Page 5

He pledged the vast gathering that before night
he would show a way of getting the coal. All he required was a vast
orderly crowd outside St. Stephen's where he was going almost at once
to interrogate Ministers upon the present crisis. There was a question
on the paper of which he had given the President of the Board of Trade

private notice. If nothing came of that he would know how to act.
There was little more, but that little to the point. An hour later a dense
mass of men had gathered about St. Stephen's. But the were grim and
silent and orderly.
For an ordinary afternoon sitting the House was exceeding full. As the
light fell on the square hard face of John Hampden a prosy bore prating
on some ubiquitous subject was howled down. A minute later and
Hampden rose.
He put his question clearly and to the point. Then he turned and faced
the modestly retiring forms of Mr. John Hayes and his colleague
Rhys-Smith, and for ten minutes they writhed under the lash of his
bitter invective. As far as he could gather from the very vague reply of
the Board of Trade representative, the Government were powerless to
act in the matter. A gang of financiers had deliberately chosen to put
money in their pockets out of the great misfortune that had befallen
London. Unless the new syndicate saw their way to bow to public
opinion---
"It is a business transaction," Hayes stammered. "We shall not give
way. If the Government likes to make a grant to the poorer classes---"
A yell of anger drowned the sentence. All parts of the House took part
in the heated demonstration. The only two cool heads there were the
Speaker and John Hampden. The First Lord rose to throw oil on the
troubled waters.
"There is a way out of it," he said presently. "We can pass a short bill
giving Parliament powers to acquire all fuel and provisions for the
public welfare in the face of crises like these. It was done on similar
lines in the Dynamite Bill. In two days the bill would be in the Statute
Book---"
"And in the meantime the poorer classes will be frozen," Hampden
cried. "The Leader of the House has done his best, he will see that the
bill becomes law. After to-night the working-people in London will be

prepared to wait till the law gives them the power to draw their supplies
without fear of punishment. But you can't punish a crowd like the one
outside. I am going to show the world what a few thousands of resolute
men can accomplish. If the two honourable members opposite are
curious to see how it is done let them accompany me, and I will offer
them a personal guarantee of safety."
He flung his hand wide to the House; he quitted his place and strode
out. Hayes rose to speak, but nobody listened. The dramatic episode
was at an end, and Hampden had promised another. Within a few
minutes the House was empty. Outside was the dense mass of silent,
patient, shivering humanity.
"Wonderful man, Hampden," the First Lord whispered to the President
of the Board of Trade; "wonder what he's up to now. If those people
yonder only knew their power! I should have more leisure then."

V
Outside the House a great crowd of men, silent, grim, and determined,
waited for Hampden. A deep murmur floated over the mass as those in
front read from Hampden's face that he had failed so far as his
diplomacy was concerned.
His obstinate jaw was firmer, if possible, there was a gleam in his
deep-set eyes. So the greedy capitalists were going to have their pound
of flesh, they were not ashamed to grow fat on public misfortune.
Hampden stood there by the railings of Palace Yard and explained
everything in a short, curt speech.
Only those who were in need of coal were present. But there would be
others to-morrow and the next day and so on. Then let them go and
take it. The thing must be done in a perfectly orderly fashion. There
were huge supplies at King's Cross, Euston, St. Pancras, in Caledonian
Road, amply sufficient to give a couple or so of hundredweight per
head and leave plenty over for the needs of others. Let them go and

take it. Let each man insist upon leaving behind him a voucher
admitting that he had taken away so much, or, if he had the money, put
it down there and then at the usual winter's rate per hundredweight. The
method would be of the rough rule of thumb kind, but it would be a
guarantee of honesty and respectability. There were but few military in
London,