THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL.  155
extreme  left”  The  English  kept  to  what  was  possible  under
existing  circumstances.  Should  all  religions  be  condemned  as
hostile  to  the  emancipation  of  the  labourer?  The  congress
refused  to  pronounce  upon  the  question,  the  subject  not
entering  into  the  circle  of  their  inquiries.  Ought  only  working
men  to  be  admitted?  The  French  wished  to  exclude  inexorably ­
  “  the  brain-workers,”  the  lawyers  and  the  Journalists,  “  all
those  fine  talkers”  who  make  a  trade  of  agitation.  The
English  and  the  Germans  opposed  this.  It  would,  in  fact,  have
been  to  expel  all  those  who  had  created  and  were  directing  the
International.
The  congress  also  refused  to  adopt  any  particular  plan  of
social  reorganization,  and  limited  itself  to  formulating  general
principles.  It  thought  that,  by  means  of  free  co-operation,
power  and  capital  would  at  length  pass  into  the  hands  of
working  men.  However,  it  urged  trades  unions  not  to  content,
themselves  with  seeking  higher  wages,  but  to  unite  in  order  to
obtain  “  the  complete  emancipation  of  the  labourer.”  A  wish
was  expressed  in  favour  of  the  independence  of  Poland  ;  but  a
motion  “  to  stigmatize  Russian  despotism  ”  was  not  admitted.
It  was  also  decided  to  aim  at  the  general  reduction  of  the
normal  working  day  to  eight  hours.  Children’s  labour  could
not  be  entirely  prohibited,  but  it  must  not  exceed  a  few  hours
a  day,  the  rest  of  the  time  being  devoted  to  education,  which
the  employers  were  bound  to  provide.  A  portion,  however,  of
the  children’s  wages  might  be  deducted  to  pay  their  teachers
Finally,  resolutions  were  voted  in  favour  of  direct  taxation  and
the  suppression  of  standing  armies.  This  was  a  reminiscence
of  the  Peace  Congress.
In  1867  the  International  began  to  make  its  power  felt
Its  victories  date  from  this  epoch.  The  Parisian  workers  in
bronze  had  formed  a  union  since  the  year  1864,  immediately
after  the  abolition  of  the  law  forbidding  coalitions.  In
February,  1867,  they  struck  work,  and  the  employers  resolved
on  a  “  lock  out,”  which  threw  five  thousand  workmen  out  of
employment.  Three  of  their  delegates  went  to  London  to  ask
aid  of  the  International.  The  assistance  they  obtained  was
scanty  enough  ;  but  the  employers,  thinking  that  money  was