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    he were to determine to go in for a little slice out of France , or Spain , or Holland , and were to charter a vessel in tbe port of London , or Bristol , or Liverpool , were to arm and man her with an unusually large crew composed of the most reprobate and lawless of the black sheep of any one of those towns , and were all the while to make the most open avowal of the purpose for which he was taking all that

    pains—why the paltry custom-house officers and the contemptible police with their staves in their coat-pockets , would walk on board and take possession of the ' gallant bark , ' and walk off her daring crew to the nearest station-house ; so the adventure would be knocked on the head . And it would be pretty much the same anywhere but in America .

    On that continent , almost without exception , the population is scanty in proportion to the territory occupied ; especially towards the bounds of each state is the authority ill defined . If you were to seek the exact opposite of an estate within a ring fence , it would be an American dominion . The habits of the people harmonize with this state of things . There is an absence of defined position in the arrangements of society , as well

    as in the territory . Numbers of strong men are continually transferring themselves from one occupation to another . The domocrntie government precludes the exercise of any arbitrary police vigilance , even more than in this country ; and that is saying everything . The consequence is , that it is perfectly impossible to restrain any given number of men who agree to rendezvous for a certain enterprise and to undertake ifc . If they attempted their blows within the territory of the United

    States , it would be not so much the Executive that would put them down , as the citizens , who are , like our own militia , or our special constables , the ultimate resort of the Executive . But the special constable cannot be employed abroad ; and a conspiracy whose object is centrifugal escapes any machinery by which the United States Government could control it .

    Dismissing from our minds , then , the notion that the Government of President Buchanan could have , restrained Walker as it would have done , we are driven to ask whether , after all , the new expedition to Nicaragua is anything so extremely shocking . It may be very inconvenient to persons who are planning peaceful transit routes ; it may be vexatious to Mr . Buchanan ' s Government , which desires to maintain the appearance as well as reality of good faith ; and it may be scandalous to our own exceedingly

    moral administration . We must , however , judge it not by English or United States standards . Walker is only one amongst many leaders , pure adventurers , contending for supremacy . If he had been regarded aa entirely alien to the people of Nicaragua , there would be no necessity for external interference : the people themselves would join to kick him out . That they do not do so proves that he has a party . He is to Nicaragua what our William I . was to England , only

    not yet victorious , with the exceedingly untoward circumstance that his Eiigland ia surrounded by great and powerful states which may put a stop to his romance . Still he is only one amongst a dozen rude knights-errant —JVho-areJiQpiHgJ . o _ c « j , Y _ e out empire with their swords . Ho is an Anglo-Saxon ; ho ia a professional man , with education ; and it ia more than probable that amongst that dozen he is actually the very best . Nay , it ia quite possible that if Walkeu were established aa the

    Dictator of Nicaragua , he would not only be ft more intelligent ruler than Fhainoia , but n better ruler than the region could obtain through domestic production .

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    CO-OPERATION AND THE WORKING CLASSES . Great credit is due to Mr . Holmes , of Leeds , for his efforts to popularize the - principle of co-operative association . We sincerely nope that the example of Leeds and Rochdale will oe followed , ultimately , in every considerable town throughout the kingdom . We will take the Rochdale Pioneers Co-operative Store , and condense the information supplied in the paper read before the British Association for the Promotion of Social Science . It was established in 1844 ; the funds were raised in pound shares , each member taking five , and paying

    instalments of not less than threepence a week ; deposits were received at five per cent , interest . Now , what has been the result ? The society began with twenty-eight members ; in 1856 it numbered sixteen hundred ; its funds amounted to nearly thirteen thousand pounds sterling ; the business transacted during the year was to the extent of sixty-three thousand pounds sterling , and the profits for the same period were three thousand nine hundred and twenty-one pounds , being thirtyfive per cent , on the capital , or six per cent , net oa the returns . At first , onl y groceries were sold ; butcher ' s meat , flour , coals , potatoes , clothing ,

    drapery , shoes , clogs , hats , and other commodities and articles of daily use were added . The operations arc conducted at a central and four branch stores , employing nine grocery attendants , three butchers , and two drapers , with servers , porters , book-keepers , and managers . In the meat department , four oxen , twelve sheep , one calf , and several pigs are killed weekly . For two per cent , all the working expenses , including rent , wages , and rates arc defrayed . Says Mr . Holmes , " Wages being generall y paid at Rochdale on Friday and Saturday evenings , about seven o ' clock , it ia a perfect wonder to see the numbers of well-dressed

    working men and their wives walking quietly into tlie grocers' shops , where , heginning at the lefthand countor in No . 1 department , they are supplied with goods , nay , get their tickets representing the money , and then move on to No . 2 , and so on to .. thOv-eightUTOor . jW . nt |»_ sl » opmniij _ then into the butcher ' s shop , the flour , tho ^ potntb ^ ano ^ tlie clothing rooms . " The tickets given represent the amount of money expended by each individual ; they are collected at stated times , and , after the payment of interest on the society ' capital , profits are divided according to transactions . Two and a half per cent , from tlie not profits is set aside to support a newsroom and library . Monthly meeting * take p lace to disousa

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    SIR JAMES BROOKE AND BORNEO . Sir James Bkooke is once more in this country . Hi 3 territory of Sarawak , after the Chinese outbreaks , immediately recovered itself , and is now so perfectly in the hands of its administrators that the Rajah was enabled to leave at a few days' notice . We think that the grandeur of the work thus accomplished in the East by an Englishman is scarcely appreciated in Europe . Holding three distinct populations under his rule , and possessing as an armed force the most miniature battalions

    possible , Sir James Bbooke may now be said to rule over at least a quarter of a million of souls , for , in addition to the Sarawak provinces , several contiguous river territories acknowledge him as their arbitrator , if not master . At one of these stations a young kinsman of the Rajah acts as his representative , and maintains law and order among a hundred thousand persons ; he has a fort , of course , lightly mouuted with guns , and could stand a siege from any hostile or rebellious tribe ; but such a necessity has not arisen , and the moral influence of two or three

    Englishmen keeps a large and populous country under control . If we look for the secx * et of this extraordinary Government , we find , no doubt , that the Rajah is forced to work a machine of policy peculiarly fitted to his situation ; that Chinese malcontents are checked by the Dyaks of the interior , who might be let loose upon them , and that the Dyaka themselves , if disposed to relapse into their old practices of marauding and violence , would be at once overpowered by tlie Malays , who . , being intelligent and semi-civilized , acknowledge the blessing of an Englishman ' s supremacy . That this supremacy is sound , however , and likely rkable fact

    another , and the difference was as wide as that between hatred and sympathy , ignorant jealousy and enlightened admiration . The one could not do that which was impossible ; the other did that which was not very difficult to do , and did it well . The question of Sir James Brooke ' s status in Borneo is one of immediate and permanent public interest . He is , admittedly , the independent sovereign of a considerable territory , the key to those portions of the vast island uuabsorbed by the Dutch . Now , is it desirable to perpetuate this anomaly , or to bring the Rajah and the British Government into closer relations ? We believe we are

    right in saying that the settlement of Labuaa is still upon its trial , and that a period has been officially fixed within which its vitality must be made apparent , or the British flag will be hauled down . Such a retreat would be most discouraging , ill-timed , and unfortunate . But the success of Labuan might be placed beyond doubt were complete protection established for trade and commerce in those waters ; to this end a Government policy , favourable to Sarawak , ia indispensable . Sir

    James Bkooke may reign over a quarter or a million of happy and flourishing people , but he cannot be expected to mount guard over the whole coast , or to promote the interests of departments by which he is ignored . Large and varied questions connected with our Eastern policy are arising ; and while the subject is open there is no reason why we should neglect Borneo , a territory intrinsically of far more importance than Siam or Japan .

    to endure , is shown by the rema that the piratical communities of Serebas and Sakarran—the most formidable in the island —are rapidly yielding to it : Sir James Bkooke , indeed , has conquered the Serebas , and almost conquered the Sakarrans . Thus these tribes—petty maritime Pindarrees and Mahrattas—have been brought to habits of commerce and industry , and to recognise the equal law of Sarawak . * We could say nothing which , to those who have followed the history of European transactions in Borneo , could more vividly exemplify the greatness of the undertaking progressing uuder the influence of the English Rajah .

    Besides planting and fostering a new trade on a coast whence trade had been driven by piracy , Sir James Bkooke is creating a considerable market in the interior . It may be anticipated that , when hia projects are brought to maturity , a really important outlet for our manufacturing industry may thus be obtained . So far the services rendered by the Rajah to the community at home have been direct . But he has performed others of an indirect and not less important character . He has opposed the extension of tlie Dutch

    and Spanish restrictive systems , and has done more to keep the field open for Great Britain than all our remonstrances addressed to the Hague , and all our squabbles over treaties , since the State capitulation of 1815 , and the unfortunate surrender of Java . In Borneo itself , and in the Sulu group , ho has performed achievements of diplomacy very singular in their simple form , and possibly of great value in their results . We say possibly , since the work must be completed , if at all , by the Brit 1 slr"Go'ViSrnment : —Sir-J-AMjas-BitooKis ' s

    success in these matters has been somewhat undervalued , and the misapprehension may partly bo traced to Sir John Bowhino ' s , n 6 tice of his' mission to Siam . Rajah Bkooke wont as Envoy and failed ; Sir John Bowiuno wont as Envoy and succeeded . That point is indisputable . But Sir James went during one reign and Sir John during

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    No . 406 , January 2 , 1858 . ] THE LEADER . 13

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 2, 1858, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2224/page/13/