Howard Evans (1839–1915) was a British Radical and
Nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
journalist.
A. J. A. Morris
Andrew James Anthony Morris (born 1936) is a historian.
He was educated at the London School of Economics and in 1974 was appointed Head of the School of Philosophy, Politics and History at Ulster College (now the University of Ulster). In 1981 he ...
has called Evans "an energetic, able journalist with pronounced nonconformist sympathies".
Youth
During his youth there was still a religious test for
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...
. One had to conform to the
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
to study there. As he wrote in his autobiography:
I wanted to go on and compete for an Oxford scholarship, but my father told me that if I wanted to go forward then I must conform to the Established Church. As he had brought me up to regard Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
and Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
and Bunyan as the great heroes of the Primitive Apostolic and Puritan faith, he was not surprised that I answered ‘Never! Never!’ Ever since then I have done my best to avenge that wrong, and have taken a keen delight in standing by other victims of priestly arrogance, which does the devil's work in the outraged name of the God of all goodness.
Evans wrote in 1878 that "I believe firmly that in politics as well as religion God has his own elect chosen out from the rest of the world to be the pioneers of progress".
His father introduced him to the
Chartist movement, and he was soon involved in the
Reform League
The Reform League was established in 1865 to press for manhood suffrage and the ballot in Great Britain. It collaborated with the more moderate and middle class Reform Union and gave strong support to the abortive Reform Bill 1866 and the success ...
. He led a group during the
Hyde Park demonstrations.
Agricultural reform
Joseph Arch
Joseph Arch (10 November 1826 – 12 February 1919) was an English trade unionist and politician, born in Barford, Warwickshire, who played a key role in unionising agricultural workers and in championing their welfare. Following their enfranc ...
has claimed that Evans "was the real author of the"
Allotments Extension Act 1882. Evans travelled the country for the
National Agricultural Labourers' Union
The National Agricultural Labourers Union (NALU) was a trade union representing farm workers in Great Britain.
Foundation
The union's origins lay in a meeting at Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, held in February 1872. Joseph Arch, a well-known ...
and believed that something must be done. He got a Bill drawn up and Sir
Charles Dilke
Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (4 September 1843 – 26 January 1911) was an English Liberal Party (UK), Liberal and Radical politician. A republicanism, republican in the early 1870s, ...
offered to introduce it into the House of Commons. However the Charity Commissioners did not like the Act, as Evans wrote: "The tricks resorted to by some of the trustees are simply infamous. In some cases they have let the land on a long lease so as to evade the Act; in others they have, contrary to law, charged exorbitant rents; in others they have, contrary to law, refused to let except to farm labourers, and sometimes only to farm labourers who are householders; in others they have ignored the Act altogether; in others they have illegally demanded half a year's rent in advance". Arch claimed that "I must say that Evans worked like a slave over this Act, and he wrote on it in our paper, and gave extracts from the Charity Digest".
Evans also wrote a poem entitled ‘The Franchise’.
:There's a man who represents our shire
::In the Parliament House, they say,
:Returned by the votes of farmer and squire
::And others who bear the sway;
:And farmer and squire, when laws are made,
::Are pretty well cared for thus;
:But the County Member, I'm much afraid,
::Has but little care for us.
:So we ought to vote, deny it who can,
:'Tis the right of an honest Englishman.
:Whenever a tyrant country beak
::Has got us beneath his thumb,
:For Justice then he ought sure to speak
::But the County Member is dumb.
:Whenever the rights of labour need
::A vote on a certain day,
:The County Member is sure to plead
::And vote the contrary way.
:So we ought to vote, deny it who can,
:'Tis the right of an honest Englishman.
:We ask for the vote, and we have good cause
::To make it our firm demand;
:For ages the rich have made all the laws,
::And have robbed the poor of their land.
:The Parliament men false weights have made,
::So that Justice often fails;
:And to make it worse, The Great Unpaid
::Must always fiddle the scales.
:So we ought to vote, deny it who can,
:'Tis the right of an honest Englishman.[Arch, p. 273.]
Journalism
He was invited to become editor of the reform magazine ''English Labourer''. He was later was given the editorship of ''
The Echo'', which for some time was the only ½ p newspaper in London.
Pacifism
Introduced to the
Peace Society
The Peace Society, International Peace Society or London Peace Society originally known as the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, was a pioneering British Pacifism, pacifist organisation that was active from 1816 until the ...
at a young age, Evans was a committed promoter of disarmament and of peaceful dispute resolution between countries. For 38 years until his death he was, at various times, secretary, vice-chairman and treasurer of the Workmen's Peace Association, which became the
International Arbitration League The International Arbitration League was a society of pacifists run by working-class men.
It was initially founded out of the British Workmen's Peace Committee, by the Nobel Peace Prize winner Sir William Randal Cremer and fellows from the recently ...
.
Known as
W Randal Cremer's right-hand man, he continued to support and promote peace through the League, and the
Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...
after Cremer's death.
Selected publications
*''Our Old Nobility'
''Volume 1''''Volume 2''(London, 1879)
''Sir Randal Cremer: His Life and Work''(1909)
''Radical Fights for Forty Years''(London, 1913).
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Howard
1839 births
1915 deaths
British male journalists