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    nose worthy of infinite Benevolence : La what purpose appears more worthy than that of exciting- m us first an earnest desire , and , subsequently , the most strenuous efforts to mitigate , and eventually to eradicate this prolific source of evil ? Let us not deify error , but fortify our minds with the consolatory belief , that the omnipotence of truth will gain the victory

    over all error . But although it is evident that , when comhined in the mode proposed , men will be able to create a superabundance of wealth for alL , it does not follow that they will therefore take up their rest in mere worldly enjoyments , to the neglect ^ of their intellectual and spiritual interests . The consciousness that they possess the power at all times of satisfying their wants , will serve to correct the

    passion for accumulation which is now so predominant in some minds . We perceive that , together with those discoveries which , asStoefore observed , have thus given to the present generation such unbounded means of

    creating wealth , a thirst for knowledge has also sprung up among us , and a disposition to confer upon all ranks the benefits of education . As the case now stands , education unfortunately serves but too often to render the subjects of it but the more sensible of their abject condition , and to

    generate feelings of envy and hostility towards those who enjoy advantages which they cannot hope to obtain by legitimate efforts : hence the violent desire to change political institutions ,

    which is a stron g feature of the present times . The more I reflect , the more do I perceive the wisdom of that exhortation which prescribes to Christians a due submission , to the

    constituted authorities , he they of what character they may , except in cases where the authority of the magistrate comes m competition with the laws of God . it surely was not the design of our Saviour and of his apostles to inculcate

    principles of abject servility ; far from «• ; the spirit of Christianity is the spirit of liberty : and it is destined to subvert t yrannvr of every kind . Bat tt * e weapons of our warfare are not carnal ; the victory is to be achieved by a moral force . Generally speaking-, ^ aU cou ^ r iea , magistrates , ^ a . terr to ev" -docrs , and are not dfcpcsed

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    to harm those who are followers of that wfcicli is good . The fact is , that if serious Christians would but combine together to do all the £ © od to each other , which can be effected consistently with the laws as they exist , they would inevitably attain a far greater degree of wealth , and liberty , and ease , than is procurable by mere changes ia political institutions . And the errors and deformities of bad laws

    or of misrule , would be better exposed when peaceable and industrious communities could clearly shew how those causes tended to obstruct their progress , than by the clamorous and indiscriminate censures which popular meeting's are so ready to found often upon very defective information as to the real occasion of their sufferings .

    But I am becoming too diffuse , and must compress my remaining observations into the narrowest possible compass . It would be unreasonable to expect any man to change his habits of life , unless we are prepared to shew that some valuable and obvious good is

    attainable by the change . To the poor the gospel is preached ; and it is therefore to such as ofroau under the cares and difficulties and priv < itions which are attendant upon the present isolated mode of life , to those with whom the great business of life is to live , that we address ourselves with the best

    hopes of success . We see such ready to transport themselves to distant foreign lands ; to incur the dangers of the seas and of unhealthy climes , and even to plant themselves in the neighbourhood of

    savage tribes , if a hope is held out , that by such a change they will be enabled to reap the fair fruits of their industry , and escape from the burthens which in their own country press them to the earth . Now I venture

    boldly to affirm , that the very same amount of capital which is thus expended in seeking a new settlement , if employed at home under arrangements similar to those projected by Mr . Owen , would infallibly effect their

    purpose far more easily and securely than any , the most plausible scheme of emigration ^ Those who , like myself , have carefully studied the co-operative plan , aided by machinery , will not fbr a moment dispute ks power to increase , m a tenfold proportion ,

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    Mr . Owen 8 Plan . 453

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1823, page 453, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1787/page/21/