CHAPTER XIV.
I was now invited as the guest of many distinguished personages, and thoroughly enjoyed my life for the next few days. I found New Amazonian men quite as charming as the women, both as regards physique and culture. Beards were in great favour here, and shaving was decidedly at a discount, but a great length of hair was not coveted by anyone, and the beards were always neatly clipped.
At the different entertainments I noticed a great deal of promiscuity such as would hardly be tolerated in aristocratic English society. Not that there was ever anyone present who was not perfectly well-bred. But intellect was the principal passport to social privileges here, and we all know that intellectuality may languish in obscure corners in England, unless backed by strong personal or monetary interest, and that our class prejudices are unpleasantly strong.
A young mechanician whom I met at the house of one of the Prime Advisers was a universal favourite, and his modesty and good sense were admirable foils to the plethora of self-esteem which I have seen engendered in English “lions” for far less potent reasons. I was told that his inventions and improvements in matters relating to sanitary science were so marvellous and of so beneficent a nature, that he was to be rewarded with the medal of the Order of Merit, an honour which, it will be observed, was well worth having, he being only the thirtieth recipient within two hundred years.
It was not difficult for me to secure an interview with him, as mutual curiosity drew us together. If I had expectedhis conversation to savour of “shop,” I was strongly mistaken, for not a word of his own great achievements did he breathe, and he drew me out so skilfully, that half-an-hour passed in conversation with him before his professional instincts were at all aroused, and then it was in response to some reply I had made respecting the locality in which I resided when last I remembered being in my own country.
“Within fifteen minutes walk of the house in which George Stephenson resided!” he exclaimed in great wonderment. “I always understood that it was quite a humble affair. Surely it must have crumbled to dust centuries ago?”
“By no means.” I returned. “The cottage looked very pretty and picturesque the last time I saw it. It is tenanted by people who take a pride in the garden, and it would compare favourably in external appearance with any other cottage of the same size in England. It is known locally as the ‘Dial House,’ as it boasts a sundial of which some portion was the work of Stephenson himself. At the end of the house is a very well-stocked greenhouse, and the space of ground in which the great engineer had some lines laid for experimental purposes is converted into a kitchen garden.”
“It seems so incredible, that I can hardly take it all in,” said John Saville, with a smile which robbed his words of all possibility of giving offence. “Nevertheless, I would give much to be able to see the same place, and witness the actual scenes in which a great genius conceived the wonderful inventions which revolutionised the commerce and social relations of the world.”
“But you would not appear to venerate Stephenson’s inventions very much, since you have discarded them altogether in favour of other systems of locomotion.”
“True. But our electric-hydraulic-ways are in reality gradual evolvements arising from the basis afforded by a knowledge of locomotive travelling, as it still existed a few centuries ago. And we can never forget that for some hundreds of years railways were the chief factors of civilisation.”
“There is another thing which New Amazonians have discarded, for no sufficient reason it seems to me.”
“And that is?”
“Christianity.”
“There you labour under a mistake. New Amazonians did not discard Christianity. It was Christianity which declined to help them. When New Amazonia was first peopled by the colonists from Teuto-Scotland, the adult colonists were, as you doubtless know, all women. It was the intention of these women to govern their State with as much success as was compatible with the rejection of conventionality and traditionary laws. It had hitherto been their lot to be excluded from a great proportion of national privileges, which had been usurped by the masculine sex for ages. In casting about for the principal causes of their limitations of fairplay, they found, them, or thought they did so, in the doctrines of Christianity. One of the principal Christian writers indeed, seemed to be quite as much bent upon insulting, humiliating, and subjugating woman, as he was upon spreading the Christian cause. New Amazonian leaders found that they could not take an active part in public affairs without violating all the rules laid down for woman’s guidance and man’s encouragement by the Apostle Paul. It was a case either of Christianity and reversion to Slavery, or a sort of Unitarianism and Freedom, and they did not hesitate long as to what choice to make. They were not likely, being intelligent beings, to inaugurate a retrogressive movementby instructing their boys in tenets which constantly preached the inferiority and subservience of women, especially as they believed St. Paul’s utterances on matters feminine to be dictated more by spite than by honest conviction.”
“And what were their grounds for this belief?”
“Their reasons are easily explained. We have it on reliable authority that Saul of Tarsus, whose parents were Greeks, not Jews, but who had himself adopted the Jewish persuasion, was a man of very violent passions and prejudices. He hated the Christians, and took delight in helping to exterminate them. It was when in Jerusalem, bent upon some such mission, that he was introduced to the daughter of the Jewish High Priest, and fell passionately in love with her. To his intense mortification, his proposal for her hand was rejected, and he henceforth hated both women and Jews, becoming enthusiastically Christian by way of a change.”
“But, even if this be true, the fact that Paul is not believed in here would hardly account for the repudiation of the doctrines taught by the other apostles of Christianity.”
“I think it would. You see, Paul was a man of great ability, who had had the advantage of studying under one of the greatest teachers of the age. His words carried weight with them, and influenced those with whom he associated. His writings and influence are inseparable from Christianity. Even were this not so, there is only too much proof given in History that of all bigots and fanatics, Christian bigots and fanatics are the most cruel, relentless, and implacable. Christ Himself would have repudiated a religion which has made His name an excuse for robbery, oppression, murder, and immorality.”
“You surely exaggerate enormously. All Christians disseminate the doctrines preached by Christ in Hisfamous Sermon on the Mount. The Ten Commandments especially are taught to all young Christians.”
“Yes, and a fine mockery it has been, to be sure! You will remember that one commandment adjures us to refrain from making ‘any graven image, nor the likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.’ We are forbidden to bow down to such things, or to worship them. And yet how small a proportion of Christian peoples ever obeyed these injunctions! Until the time of one Martin Luther, God himself was utterly set aside in the Christian churches, which were filled with images and shrines, before which deluded suppliants poured out their vain supplications. Christianity had been entirely supplanted by Idolatry, and existed as such only in name. Again, we are forbidden to take the name of the great Life-giver in vain, and yet what do we find recorded? Priests, calling themselves Christians, professed to have the power to grant forgiveness of sins in the name of the Almighty! Some of these sins were actuallyin futuro, and whether past, or still to be committed, their confession to a priest, accompanied by the gift of a sum of money, ensured a free pardon from Heaven. Of course, themoneywas always required, and those who were too poor to pander to priestly greed were remorselessly consigned to Purgatory. Murder, of course, was strictly forbidden, and yet the advocates of Christianity murdered and tortured thousands of people, simply because they presumed to differ slightly in opinion from those in office. Stealing was prohibited; but the priests were willing to take the last mite from the oppressed poor, rather than abate one jot of their lazy, sensuous privileges. As for the sin of covetousness, in whom has it ever shown itself more rampant than in the men whose chief energies were directed towards appropriating the wealth of all withwhom they came in contact, for the joint benefit of themselves and the Church?”
“I grant you all this. But it refers to a state of things which has long since passed away.”
“Has image-worship passed away? Do priests work for the pure love of God, or do they look upon their vocation as a means of making a livelihood more to their taste than some others? Is the priestly office the guerdon of merit and ability? Or is it still the perquisite of those who have money and family influence at command? Do priests exercise universal charity and kindly feeling? Have they given up thinking that none but themselves and a few like-minded individuals will be allowed to enter Heaven? Do they feel as much reverence for goodness in the lowly, as they do for grandeur in high places? Do they discourage the presence in their churches of disreputable persons, if these persons happen to be rich, and are able to be used as pecuniary aids? In a word, are the churches possessed of truly Christ-like qualities, without which none can be a Christian?”
John Saville had by this time worked himself into a perfect glow of enthusiasm, while I certainly felt correspondingly humiliated, for I was not in a position to return an affirmative answer to all his questions.
Did I not remember seeing a man who had not thrown off the effects of the previous night’s intoxication officiating in a prominent position, with the priest’s approval, in one of our Established churches? Have I not witnessed many another instance of priestly tolerance of evil for Mammon’s sake? Have I not recently met with a specimen of clerical intolerance which would do credit to the religious persecutors of old? Candidates for confirmation are requested to confess their crimes to themselves, and to turn from the error of their ways, before they can considerthemselves fit to take their stand as Christians. The sins and crimes are presented to the eyes of the penitents in the form of printed questions, and one of these questions runs thus: “Have you ever entered aDissenting Chapel?”
I saw this myself in the year 1889, and was compelled now to admit the conviction that to discard Christ and to discard Christianity may be two very different things. It seemed marvellous, when I came to think of it, how a thinking people like the New Amazonians should, after all these ages, have singled out Christ as the one pure and shining light of earth, so godlike as to be worthy of being at once translated to companionship with the Giver of Life, seeing that His professed devotees have, since the earliest times of the Church, done more to bring His cause into disrepute than all His enemies.
“You admit yourself worsted?” smiled Mr. Saville.
“I confess as much,” I replied. “But how comes it that you, a man, should so enthusiastically uphold the only Constitution in the world which has, so far as I know, successfully resisted man’s striving for supremacy?”
“Because I am thoroughly satisfied and contented with my lot, and because no country upon earth presents such advantages to her citizens as New Amazonia does. Our women have proved their capacity to govern wisely and well. Our Constitution has found imitators, proof positive that others regard our system with approval. Yet nowhere do we meet with such health and prosperity as in our country, for man’s political influence has in all ages proved corruptive and retrogressive. Our health is perfect, and we know that it is to the beneficent rule of our women that we owe our strength of mind and body. It would be suicidal on our part to wish to revert to a state of things which insured us nothing so much as sickly bodies. Forhow could we expect to be strong and healthy as we are if our mothers were reduced to the condition of the women some of us see when we travel?”
“But do you not find your social masculine disabilities somewhat irritating?”
“We do not labour under any disabilities of importance that I know of. We are not eligible for Political Office, but many men hold important and lucrative posts under Government, in which our administrative talents are given fairplay and in all other respects the educational, social, and elective privileges of the sexes are perfectly equal.”
“I am glad to hear such opinions from you. If you could hear the croaking that goes on in my country at the mere prospect of women being allowed to vote, you would wonder at the amount of prejudice and opposition which your ancestresses overcame.”
“Well, when you get back to your country, you must try to enlighten your own compatriots.”
“Suppose I were never to find my way back, how do you suppose I should fare here? Will the Mother soon be tired of entertaining me?”
“Not just yet, I think. But if your stay with us should prove likely to be permanent, you would yourself most probably desire to make some arrangement whereby you could secure a provision for old age. You probably have been trained to a profession of some kind?”
“No, I have not. I was brought up as the majority of young women in my country are brought up. It was supposed, I expect, that I should settle down in due course, that is, marry, and that an independent profession for myself would not be needed.”
“And you say that such folly is the common practice in your country? That accounts for many of the deplorable things you have told me. How can women be independentand free, if they have to rely upon others to keep them? Where is the woman in New Amazonia, do you think, who would care thus to sacrifice her position of self-reliant independence? Such a being does not exist, and I think that your women have themselves or their guardians to thank in great measure for all the disadvantages under which they labour. It will be rather awkward for you, though, if you cannot turn your hand to anything.”
“I suppose it would be awkward, if this were so. As it happens, however, I never gave myself up to an idle life, but gradually drifted into literature, and I could probably find employment on one of your numerous journals.”
“Certainly. If you are a graphic writer, you are sure of an appointment. Such writers are always welcome, and you must have so much to say. You will not need to cast about long for employment, should it be your lot to remain with us, and you will be able to earn as much as will make ample provision for old age when it comes.
“As you are perhaps aware, a small percentage of our earnings is always appropriated by the State, and a proportionate pension becomes our due as soon as we wish to claim it. If we claim our pension at the age of seventy or eighty, it is relatively smaller than if we wait until our hundredth year or thereabouts. We are usually not in a hurry to place ourselves upon the pension list, for our active period of labour ceases then, and this source of income is lost. Still, if we have filled responsible positions in life, and have been fortunate enough to accumulate wealth, we can, if we like, hand it all over to the State, in return for an augmented annuity. My own parents have done this, and are very happy and comfortable, with not a care in the world.
“There is also another source of profit which we enjoy. New Amazonia is one huge co-operative establishment, forwe are all interested in promoting its stability and prosperity. There is another condition, besides being compelled to have reached a certain age, before we can vote at elections. We must all, women and men, purchase a share in the country, and we are all very anxious to do so, seeing that these shares are always at a premium, and command greater returns than any other form of investment.”
“Surely this is a source of danger to the community. Could not some people, by purchasing a large number of shares, thus obtain the means of usurping undue power and influence?”
“Impossible! We are not permitted to hold more than one share individually. The idea is to make us all of equal station in the eyes of the law, and to ensure our individual interest in the maintenance of peace and order. When a State bondholder dies, the equivalent of her or his bond is divided amongst such legatees as may have been named in the will.”
“And if there is no will?”
“That never happens, for it is compulsory to make a will immediately upon becoming a State shareholder. Of course, if we wish the value of our Bond to revert to the State, we name the State as our legatee, and we are at liberty to alter our will whenever we please.”
“You seem to have no money here, other than the all-pervading silver unit. Is this your standard of value in all monetary transactions?”
“Yes; the unit pervades every business transaction, if not practically, at least theoretically. But it is seldom used to pay large amounts with; a paper currency serving our purposes much better than metal coinage would do.”
“Are private banks for business houses allowed to issue paper money?”
“No, none but State coupons are permitted to be issued.”
“Now, just one more question, and then I have finished. I am told that the State is the ultimate receiver of all manufactured goods, which may neither be retailed nor exported without first yielding the imposed percentage. Is it not possible for a group of speculators to force prices up, either by buying a vast quantity of goods from the manufacturers, and selling at their own price to the State; or, more probable, could they not buy in large quantities from the State, and retail at their own prices to the public?”
“Certainly not. The State would not deal with them. Nor would it permit any increase of prices not necessitated by the legitimate exigencies of trade. Speculators of the class to which you allude would find a sorry field for their operations here.”
I could not complain of the amount of information I had obtained from John Saville; but I should probably have been still further enlightened had not our hostess come to claim our attention in different directions. But before saying farewell for the night, he asked me to visit his parents on the day following, and promised me a little enlightenment concerning some domestic arrangements in which I was interested.