238

THE  SOCIALISM  OF  TO-DAY.

tion  of  the  decisions  of  the  association  is  the  penalty  of  death.
The  association  is  essentially  secret.  Whoever  reveals,  through
imprudence  or  bad  faith,  any  of  its  acts  within  his  knowledge,
is  held  in  suspicion  for  an  unlimited  period  or  put  to  death,
according  to  the  gravity  of  the  matter  revealed.  Every  order
given  to  a  member  must  be  performed,  and  whoever  avoids
any  work  entrusted  to  him  is  looked  upon  as  a  traitor.  Every
member  must  regulate  his  public  conduct  so  as  to  conceal  his
relations  to  the  association  and  his  sympathies  with  it.  Every
member  must  undergo  a  noviciate,  he  must  furnish  positive
proofs  of  his  sincerity,  and  it  is  only  after  trial  that  he  is
allowed  to  present  himself  before  the  initiated  of  the  group  of
which  he  is  to  form  a  member.  All  these  precautions  are
taken  to  avoid  treachery.  After  hearing  the  new  member,  the
vote  is  taken.  No  one  is  admitted  a  member  except  on  a
unanimous  vote.
The  statutes  of  the  “  popular  ”  or  secret  tribunal  resemble
those  of  Nihilism.  They  commence  with  the  following
preamble  :—
“  Whereas  bourgeois  governments,  by  putting  the  International ­
  beyond  the  pale  of  the  law,  have  prevented  the  peaceable ­
  solution  of  the  Social  question,  it  is  advisable  to  establish
a  secret  revolutionary  organization.  Victory  is  still  far  distant.
The  bourgeois  continue  to  commit  their  crimes  ;  they  must
therefore  be  punished  ;  and  as  the  confederates  are  determined
to  carry  out  this  purpose,  they  have  commissioned  a  popular
tribunal  to  condemn  and  chastise  the  crimes  of  the  bourgeoisie.
The  members  of  the  revolutionary  tribunal  must  belong  to
the  International,  and  must  be  capable  of  carrying  out  the  duty
that  they  accept.  The  bourgeois  shall  be  punished  by  all
possible  methods,  by  fire,  sword,  poison,  or  in  any  other  way.”
The  ordinary  meetings  of  the  tribunal  take  place  on  the
first  of  each  month.  Their  object  is  to  receive  reports  of  the
reprisals  made  by  the  several  members  against  the  bourgeoisie,
and  of  the  advantages  offered  by  the  several  modes  of  execution
adopted;  to  examine  what  reforms  might  be  usefully  introduced
into  the  association,  and  to  give  instructions  to  the  members.
Every  member  of  a  group  is  bound  to  submit  to  it,  without  delay.