THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. 
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read at the first sittings of the Congress of Bâle stated all 
this progress. The Times wrote on the subject : “ We must 
go back to the origin of Christianity or to the epoch of the 
barbarian invasions to meet with a movement analogous to 
that of the working men to-day, and it seems to threaten 
existing civilization with a fate similar to that inflicted by the 
northern hordes on the ancient world.” It was, in truth, the 
moment of expansion, soon to be followed by a no less rapid 
decay. 
The Congress of Bâle, which held its sittings from the 5th 
to the 12th of September, 1869, had nothing fierce about it. It 
borrowed from the beautiful country, which it had honoured 
with its choice, that idyllic character which all its meetings 
spontaneously took. The delegates, eighty in number, were 
received by the members of both town and country sections in 
Bâle at the Café National. A procession of about two thousand 
persons marched with music and banners across the town to 
the garden of a brasserie, where each took his place while the 
society of the Griitli sang. The address of welcome to 
the delegates was pronounced by citizen Bauhin, who was at 
the same time president of the Bâle sections and attorney- 
general of the canton—a combination of functions which 
appears to have caused no astonishment. 
After hearing the reports, the congress took up again the 
questions already decided at Brussels, namely, the question ot 
landed property and that of societies for strikes. They were 
naturally determined in the same way by fifty-four ayes against 
four noes, and thirteen abstentions. The following resolution 
was adopted ;—“The congress declares that society has the 
right of abolishing individual property in the soil and of assign 
ing it to the community.” It is a strange thing that no congress 
of the International ever yet concerned itself with houses and 
industrial capital, factories, buildings, machines, floating capital. 
In the speeches it is often said that the labourer ought to be 
the owner of the instrument of his labour ; but how, by virtue 
of what arrangements, and of what industrial organization ?— 
this seems never to have troubled them at all. 
M. Tolain spoke in favour of individual property. Your