 In May 1883 , Morris was appointed to the DF 's executive , and was soon elected to the position of treasurer . Devoting himself to the socialist cause , he regularly lectured at meetings across Britain , hoping to gain more converts , although was regularly criticised for doing so by the mainstream press . In November 1883 he was invited to speak at University College , Oxford , on the subject of " Democracy and Art " and there began espousing socialism ; this shocked and embarrassed many members of staff , earning national press coverage . With other DF members , he travelled to Blackburn , Lancashire in February 1884 amid the great cotton strike , where he lectured on socialism to the strikers . The following month he marched in a central London demonstration commemorating the first anniversary of Marx 's death and the thirteenth anniversary of the Paris Commune . 
