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ing' the results which Mr . Owen anticipates . To those who may have rejected < them without examination , the Committee would suggest , that Mr . Owen has already < tried an union of agriculture with manu- i factures ; that from his patience , his
experience , and his success , there is every reason to suppose that he would proceed with cautious steps in arranging- the proportions in which the two should exist in a new establishment ; that the effect of economical arrangement in diminishing ' waste and saving space and time , has never hcen tried in agriculture and domestic
economy upon so extensive a scale as that which is now proposed \ that the effects of a combination of labour upon a large scale are likewise not at all known in agriculture ; but that those who are acquainted with them in other departments anticipate the happiest results from them in that most
important province of human exertion : and that , above all , no one can calculate the increase of power and of happiness which may be derived from a well-regulated system for the formation of moral habits and a general improvement of the character of the working * classes . *
i * The Committee are desirous of availing themselves of the authority o £ that enlightened philosopher and sound moralist Professor Stewart , as in accordance with the sentiments they have expressed : — € i These views , with respect to the probable improvement of the world , are so conducive to the comfort of those who
entertain them , that even although they were founded in delusion , a wise man would be disposed to cherish them . What should have induced some respectable writers to controvert them , with so great an asperity of expression , it is not easy to conjecture ; for whatever may be thought of their truth , their practical tendency is
surely favourable to human happiness ; nor can that temper of mind which disposes a man to g * ive them a welcome reception , he candidly suspected of designs hostile to the interests or" humanity , One thing is certain , that the greatest of all
obstacles to the improvement of the world , is that prevailing ; belief of its improbability , which damps the exertions of so many individuals ; and that , in proportion as the contrary opinion becomes general , it realizes the event which it leads us to
anticipate . Surely if any thing can have a tendency to call forth in the public service the exertions of individuals , it must be an idea of the magnitude of that work in which they are conspiring , and a belief of the permanence of those benefits which they confer on mankind by every attempt to inform and to enlighten them . As in ancient Rome , therefore , it was regarded
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4 . The Committee ere aware of many objections which have been urged against Mr . Owen ' s system , but none of those stated , have appeared to them as founded in reason or in fact . 5 . The private opinions which Mr . Owen has been supposed to entertain on matters of religion form one of such objections .
This is a point on , which it has not been thought fit to require Mr . Owen to make any public declaration ; it is deemed sufficient to have ascertained that Mr . Owen is not kn , owh to have in any one instance endeavoured to alter the religious opinions of persons in his employment ; that the desires of his workmen to-attend their respective places of worship are complied with and aided to the utmost extent ; that a minister has long been paid by the proprietors of the manufactory under Mr .
Owen s management for performing divine service , in the Gaelic tongue , to the Highland workmen ; that Mr . Owen ' s own house is a house of daily prayer ; that he is the father of a large well-regulated moral family , that his conduct appears to be
free from reproach , and that his character is distinguished by active benevolence , perfect sincerity , and undisturbed
tranquillity of temper . 6 . Several other objections rest upon a supposition that Mr . Owen ' s plans necessarily involve a community of goods ; this is a great mistake or misrepresentation . In the establishment which is now pro * posed there would be no community of goods nor any deviation from the established laws of property . Mr . Owen , it is true , has expressed on a former occasion
some opinions in favour of a state of society in which a community of goods should exist , b \ it he lias never considered it as essential to the success of such an establishment as is now proposed , nor required it as the condition of his
superintendence . Mr . Owen ' s opinion upon this point need scarcely be regarded with apprehension by any part of society , when it is considered that the present laws of ** ' "" " ' ——^ i i ¦ ii n i m ii mi ¦—~ f~——— i i mi ^—— ¦ in . i i i as the mark of a good citizen never to despair of the fortunes of the republic , so the good citizen of the world , whatever may be the political aspect of his own times , will never'despair of the fortunes of the
human race ; but will act upon the con ^ viction , that prejudice , slavery and corruption must gradually give way to truth , liberty a « d virtue ; and that , in ' the moral world , as well as in the material , the
farther our observations extend , and the longer they are continued , the more we shall perceive of order and of benevolent design in the universe . "——Elements of the Philosophy qf the Human Mind , I . 27 , second edition .
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642 Intelligence . —Mr . Owen ' s Plan for Providing for the Poon i
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1819, page 642, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1777/page/54/
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