Page:Melbourne Riots (Andrade, 1892).djvu/61

Rh “Well, Thompson,” said he, addressing one of the men, “how do you like your first day's experience?”

“Oh, it'll be time to talk about that when we have been here a little longer. We haven't really started yet.”

“Very true; it is rather soon to ask you. But I suppose you already begin to feel as if you are breathing a very different air and enjoying far pleasanter associations than you can find in the hum and worry of city life?”

“Yes, I think anything is preferable to city life, even city death is better that it. But talking about the city, do you know how our comrades we have just left behind have been getting on lately?”

“We were just talking about Holdfast raising the necessary funds. Is it true that Sir Felix Slymer has expressed an interest in the undertaking, and thus caused the public to support it?”

“Yes, it is well known that Slymer did speak approvingly before the Bankers' Institute; and although his statements were not reported in the papers it got out somehow, and that seems to have given it a bit of a lift. For a long while Holdfast got very little encouragement, but when he had got several hundreds to join it, it got to be looked upon with more favour by the public; and although the papers tried to boycott it as much as possible, just as they are doing now, he wasn't long getting the whole of the five thousand shares taken up. Several other influential persons besides Slymer, are believed to be interested in the matter, although they are all keeping very quiet.”

“Waiting to see which way the cat jumps, I suppose,” remarked one.

“No,” replied Martin, “I don't think it is exactly that in all cases. Holdfast thinks that Slymer is quietly encouraging it to keep the discontented a bit quiet and to make it appear to the working classes that he sympathizes with their efforts; and I think he is not far out. I believe many others give it an occasional word of half-hearted praise for a similar reason. Of course, there are certain to be many standing out from a thing until they see it has become a success.”

“Has Holdfast had any definite communication from Slymer?”

“Don't ask me too much. You will hear something to surprise you shortly; but it would be a breach of confidence for me to tell you everything. I suppose you know that Holdfast wrote to a number of influential functionaries when he first tried to float his scheme, but got little encouragement from them. One noble Supreme Court judge, to whom he wrote, replied respectfully that he could not have anything to do with it, because he couldn't see how it could be successful as it didn't award dividends to the shareholders, and if a man wanted to get any good out of it he would have to work in it; another brilliant genius, with an ‘M.A.’ after his name, said it couldn't succeed unless the whole capital were subscribed by one or more wealthy philanthropists and bestowed on the society in the form of a charity; then another gentleman, a clergyman, was so busy thinking of going to England that he hadn't time to consider it, but would simply say he approved of it if it was a good thing; several others wrote in somewhat similar strains. But there was one reply,