Hi, Bob Forder here.
Charles Bradlaugh, Annie Besant and Charles Knowlton’s “Fruits of Philosophy”
When outlining Charles Bradlaugh's early career, I made the point that to Bradlaugh
and many free-thinking NSS members what we would call birth control
or family planning, and they would call Malthusianism or Neo -Malthusianism,
were core seminal issues. The term Malthusianism derived from the
work of the Rev, Thomas Malthus, who in 1798 had published his “Essay on the Principle of Population”.
His core argument was that the rate of population growth was far faster
than the increase in food production , and that if this was left unchecked
would only resolve matters through hunger, pestilence, starvation and general misery.
He did argue that it could possibly be staved off by late marriage, but explicitly ruled out
the adoption of contraceptive techniques, or checks, which he regarded as immoral.
Freethinkers, like Bradlaugh and Besant, were convinced by Malthus's analysis,
but not by his suggested cure,
hence their adoption of the term, in some cases, of Neo -Malthusianism.
In 1832, Charles Knowlton, an American doctor, published a small pamphlet under the less than
revealing title “The Fruits of Philosophy”. It contained a summary of what was then known
about conception and recommended preventative techniques.
He most strongly recommended douching, using a syringe to wash out the vagina after
intercourse with a chemical solution, He also mentioned withdrawal, the sponge,
and the baudruche, or condom, which, in his day, was made of fine animal gut.
Rubber had yet to be vulcanized. The pamphlets was also published in Britain
and sold steadily but in small numbers. In 1876 a new edition was published and
sold in Bristol by one Henry Cook. The pamphlet was published by Charles Watts,
one of Bradlaugh's closest allies, and the Secretary of the NSS.
Cook was arrested and charged with publishing pornography.
The charge seems to extend in part from some additional illustrations
Cook had inserted. Unfortunately we have no record of these,
but they may just have been anatomical drawings, enhancing
and explaining the text. This was all bad enough, but then Charles
Watts decided to stop publication to save himself from likely imprisonment.
Bradlaugh and Besant were appalled by what they regarded as a gross betrayal,
and there was a vicious falling out between themselves and their former ally,
with Watts resigning as NSS Secretary.
For Bradlaugh and Besant, this was not only a Malthusian issue, it was also
about press freedom. Consequently, they formed the partnership, founded the
Freethought Publishing Company, and took out a lease on a shop at 28 Stonecutter St,
which is just around the corner from Fleet Street. Here they republished
the Knowlton pamphlet with a new introduction. I quote:
"We think it more moral to prevent the conception of children than, after they are born,
to murder them by want of food, air, and clothing. We advocate scientific checks to population,
because, so long as poor men have large families, pauperism is a necessity,
and from pauperism grow crime and disease.
"The wage which would support the parents and two or three children in comfort and decency,
is utterly insufficient to maintain a family of twelve or fourteen,
and we consider it a crime to bring into the world human beings doomed to
misery or to premature death."
Well, Bradlaugh and Besant made no secret of their work. The pamphlet sold
500 copies on the first day, and copies were delivered to the local police station.
They were arrested and they appeared in court on 18th June 1877.
They were being prosecuted for publishing, quote, “a certain indecent, lewd, filthy, bawdy, and
obscene book" by the Solicitor-General, no less, Harding Giffard.
Bradlaugh and Besant both defended themselves. In Besant’s case it was almost unheard of
for a woman to do so.
As she pointed out in 1876 only 700 copies of "The Fruits..." had been sold,
however the Freethought Publishing Company had sold 125,000
in the three months before the trial. She provided data on
the problem of large families among the poor, arguing the child mortality rates
in large families were double that of smaller families.
She also claimed that Neo-Malthusian methods would allow couples to marry
earlier, reducing prostitution. Further,
all the information "Fruits..." provided could be found in other publications -
the difference was that the other publications were more expensive
and therefore unavailable to working people.
Note the irony.
Bradlaugh and Besant were being accused of immorality.
But what they regard it as their cause, was a deep moral cause, or even a crusade.
Bradlaugh added some further points - in particularly drew attention to the high
rates of infanticide among urban poor, claiming that in 1868 in London no less
than 16,000 child deaths were the result of mothers murdering their children.
In his final statement to the court Hardinge Giffard had this to say:
"I say that this is a dirty, filthy book, and the test of it is that no human
being would allow that book to lie on his table;
no decently educated English husband would allow even his wife to have it,
and yet it is to be told to me, forsooth, that anybody may have this book in the City of London,
or elsewhere, who can pay sixpence for it!
The object of it is to enable persons to have sexual intercourse, and not to have
that which in the order of Providence is a natural result of that sexual intercourse."
Besant and Bradlaugh were found guilty, but won their case on appeal.
However, for Besant there was a grievous cost.
Her estranged husband, the Reverend Frank, persuaded the courts that
he should have custody of their daughter, Mabel. He already had custody of their son Digby.
Despite their victory, the fact was that "Fruits of Philosophy" was out of date.
Besant and Bradlaugh attempted to address this through footnotes, but, following the trial,
Besant set about writing her own pamphlet entitled “The Law of Population”.
This sold an estimated 175,000 copies
by the time it was withdrawn in 1891, when she joined the Theosophists.
At this point, it in turn, was replaced by Dr. Henry Arthru Allbutt’s “The Wife’s Handbook”,
which was still being sold into the 1920s, and eventually sales certainly topped half a million.
One particular feature of both Besant's and Allbutt’s pamphlets was the
incorporation of illustrative advertisements, which may well have
prooved as instructive as a text itself.
What points can we make in conclusion? Well firstly
I would suggest that 1877 was a key moment in the struggle for a free press.
Second. Mistakenly, I think, some have argued that the Fruits of Philosophy case
cleared the way for the publication of other birth control tracts.
This is untrue. In the 1880s and 90's there are a number of other prosecutions with those
convicted serving prison terms, some with hard labour.
They included publishers like the elderly Edward Truelove and various booksellers.
Dr Allbutt himself had his registration removed by the General Medical Council.
Third. All the 19th century pioneers of birth control advice were
secularists, freethinkers and atheists. Later Marie Stopes endeavoured to
reinterpret or even rewrite history by suggesting that the birth control
movement wasdisadvantaged by its association with secularism.
This is a strange piece of overly creative thinking, since no Christians actually tried to act as pioneers.
Fourth. With the noble exception of Henry Allbutt, the medical profession was
as one in its hostility to the advocacy of contraceptive techniques,
so keen was it to preserve its image of respectability.
Fifth. In the wake of the Fruits of Philosophy trial, Bradlaugh and Besant helped form
the Malthusian League, which carried on the campaign for very many years.
It, the Malthusian League, can be seen
as a forerunner of the Family Planning Association.
Finally, I would suggest that this particular story spells out in the
highest relief, how the contribution of secularists and freethinkers to the
improvement of social conditions is so often overlooked and misrepresented.
If you want to read more about this, an easily obtained book is Roger Manvell's
“The Trial of Annie Besant and Charles Bradluagh”.
Thank you for listening.
If you want to contact me about this or any other aspect of secularist or NSS history,
my email address is r.w.forder@btinternet.com