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W THE RICH ANT) THE POOR.
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rrncF WHO WVE IN roL-SNESSWITHjO Tjf & B...
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^Ifc^ i I! THE MANCHESTER MKETTOO. <^hT ...
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AND NATIONAL TBADES' JOURNAL. ^X. Ng 525...
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TO THE PREfS GANG. You poor devils—I am ...
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GRAND SOIREE AND BALL IN HONOUR OF THE R...
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I! MANCHESTER MKETTOO. <^ THE MANCHESTER...
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TO MR J033BA HOB80W London, Ne*v8th, 184...
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SO XHE EDITOR. Sib,—In reference to the ...
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THE LAND AND LABOUR BAXK MD THE MANCHEST...
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THEO'COMNOKvBANK. TO THK EDITOB Off TBB ...
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TO THE EDITOR OB TUB MANCHESTER EXAMINEB...
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This Oppskssivs AnvEunaKMBST Duty.—A per...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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W The Rich Ant) The Poor.
W THE RICH ANT ) THE POOR .
Rrncf Who Wve In Rol-Snesswithjo Tjf & B...
rrncF WHO WVE IN roL-SNESSWITHjO Tjf B 0 T JR , AND TO THOSE WHO ARE LLISG TO LABOUR BUT COMPELLED ^ s tarve . * * " T ffl now alwut to mite you my last letvfore the representatives of the people W . ^ parliament ; and , curiously enough , ^ * h mem bers of Parliament are called ^ " " nresentatives of the people , yet do the ^ 7 * . constitute the only class in " society not
p" » nteil in Farliament . ut course no one r" ? ?; pver dream of calling fifty lords and Sr memhera of Parliament PEOPLE ~ in ? rt the term' people' has ever been used as of inferiority , except when those who re-^ disted the title have required the assistance ff ^ g people . However , you will see that I ixt included all classes at the heading of this fjtcT . and , as I believe that there are many iod n * men as well as many good poor men , fhave addressed all as friends . Moreover , I ^ diess vou all as friends , because my own i gart tells me that I would not do a cruel or jiniind act even to the greatest enemy 1
is « - Xhe object of this letter is to whet the apjetite of both rich and poor for a beneficial Ind salutary change of system . Heretofore , € rerr change of system has been based upon ^ j e sacrifice of one or other of those interests instituting the great whole of society . < rhus , in their day of rampant and undivided power , the landlords always made good any deficiency in their rentals by a slice from a peaker class ; hence , the Corn Laws were a « eneral delve into the pockets of all , to relieve the mselves from the consequences of the game
< jf muskets , in which the people were the losers . The Poor Laws , in their permanency —that is , except when they took sudden jumps ( upon which occasions they fell upon the unoccupied farms)—fell upon the tenants , go with tithe , when the tax was paid in kind ; § j with land tax—so with county rates , church xess , and all other rates ; they were incipient Item s , covered in a large figure of rent ; and ^ 1 paid hy an increased price ^—a fictitious mice—an unjust price , given to the produce 0 f the land—ay , to all the produce of the
| jud ; for , although corn was the one thing nominally protected , the protection of that article naturally led to " . the diminished proves of all other articles , and to their consequent higher price . Aiiain , the landlords , in their supremacy , cKpt the Irish * parsons of twenty-five per cent . of their incomes , and all this , I pray you ^ to . observe , was in consequence of the political power possessed by * those landlords , and their consequent ability to live as freebooters upon the weakness , the compliance , and the industry of the ruled , " who . dare not disobey their
Jaws . At last , however , the monied interest employed in commerce and manufactures became too active and powerful for the sluggish clodpoles . It was the war of a compact and disciplined body against ' a scattered and fugitive race ; it was the war of a strong , well-victu alled garrison against its unconnected invaders . A placard upon the walls , the bell man ' s ring , or an advertisement in the garrison journals , brought all the forces of the
garrison together , while the weakness of the country party precluded the possibility of its J resenting anything like a combined or discipined force to this marshalled army . Hence , the triumph of the active forces of commerce 23 d manufacture over the scattered bands of agriculture : and hence the transfer of Ministerial power and parliamentary influence from the latter to the former class ; and , as a neces sary consequence , hence the present distraction of all interests in the nation .
Agriculture was a strong pillar , a firm tev-stone , and its representatives were , for the most part , compelled to bend to sudden emergencies and exigencies . It was a reality ; but as soon as it was replaced by a fiction the vhole superstructure began to totter , and the representatives ofthe fiction were compelled to resort to fiction after fiction , until the walls « f the edifice separated , and the roof fell in . Hue representatives of fiction were not as capable as the representatives of reality of patching , tinkering , and mending ; and this nation is now brought to the very brink of ruin from the evil unjust , and . unequitable -distribution of the national resources , as well
as from the fact that those resources have been capriciously , and not beneficially , cultivated . For instance , each class cultivated the national resources in that direction , and to that extent only , which would best secure its own profit ; and , as a consequence , and a melancholy one too , we find the capital ofthe country , and the industry of the country , by degrees more and more applied to non-productive and class-remunerating purposes , than to re-productive and national-remunerating purposes .
Now I have explained the whole system for yon , and I will proceed to propound the only remedy which statesmen , philosophers , and learned men can possibly suggest . The great , the paramount object of the government of a -country should he , to cultivate the national Tisources ofthe country , and to see to the equitable—mind , not the equal—distribution of these resources ; that is , that , if in the pro-« ess of cultivation A is entitled to 60 ? . a year ,
-andBis entitled to 3 , OOOL a year . A should lot be stinted to 20 L a year , and B rewarded " * itii 3 , 0407 . a year—that is the difference hetween equal and equitable distribution . And I am now about to show you , and to prove to you , in defiance of the opposition of every man who ever wagged a tongue or held a pen , that tins country , by a proper cultivation of its resources , is still capable of making the rich richer and the poor rich .
It has been the practice of the Press to prottuhinte the most atrocious falsehoods about the intentions ofthe democratic party , and it oas been the folly of its readers to believe those absurdities . Chartism , in 1839 , was described hy the Press and by the Judges ofthe land , as the political creed of robbers ; the intention of Chartism being , as stated hv Judge Littledale , at Warwick , on the trial of Lovett and Collins , —to take possession of the Land , and give it
to the people- Since 1845—that is , since the promulgation ofthe Land Plan—the same absurdities have been promulgated , while , as a "" eply , the Chartists answer— "No ; onr purpose is , not to steal the Land , hut to huy the Land at the improved value given to it consequent "upon the want of it , and the desire for it ; " and this laudable enunciation is now met with the * ry of , 'the Law so surrounds you with difficulties that you cannot , and you shall not purchase the Land , because it is surrounded Vith the law ' s meshes and intricacies / "Well ,
if you speak about the value ofthe Land , and Hot knowing your ability to purchase in 1839 , you are plunderers—and if , in 1845 , you devise the means of purchasing it , you are offenders Against the law . Hence , y ou find , that let the J oor man do what he will he is opposed by the * Sie of the musket , or the net of the law . Heretofore it has been the interest of classes to conceal their mode of warfare , each satisfied ** ith those tactics which will place it in the ascendant for a moment , but all afraid to divulge its ! whole case , least in the development the plundered should discover the
weakfl £ ss of faction . But at length this one-sided policy has broken down , and the people—that ^ the industrious of all classes—have dis > ^• ered the utter incapacity ofthe representatves of luxury and idleness to legislate justly 0 r honourabl y for the producers'of wealth . , Kow , my friends , keep this apopthegm in * ' »*¦> and never for a moment lose sight ol it . Let it be a household phrase—that (( "It is as impossible for those who Ute upon { profits made b y . Labour to represent the u dourer—as it is for the victim to hug the Wassin who would lake /«? life . "
^ Now , keep that apophegm ever uppermost in your minds , repeat it after your prayers at nigbt , and before you rise in the morning , and then reverse the apophegm—and say , ^ " That it is as impossible for the representatives of Labour to legislate justly for the la" bourer , without , at the same time , legkhtimj " beneficiall y for all other classesr-as it is to " suppose that a manvmdd rob himself . " I shall now proceed to propound the remedy
—the only remedy—by which the country can be saved from revolution ; the only remedy by which the landlord can he saved from ruin , the merchant horn failure , the manufacturer from bankruptcy , the shopkeeper from starvation , the working man from death , and the whole of society from desolation . Sir Robert Peel has told you * the science of agriculture is only in its infancy . ' The science of agriculture is only in its infancy J Observe , then , that all other sciences , when discovered , if I mav use the
expression , and while in their infancy , were as naked as the science of agriculture , and until applied to practice , were as undefined and unpr ofitable . The sciences of astronomy , of geology , of mathematics , and of chemistry , until analysed and practically applied , were dead letters ; until , at length , we see in the nineteenth century the stretching powers of those several sciences , applied to the most astounding purposes , and producing the most astounding results . So will it be with agriculture—because , even to mv mind , who have ,
I believe , devoted more time and reflection to the subject than any other man living , the developement of the science proves to me on a Monday my ignorance of the previous Saturday ; and if there is any crime which society is more chargeable with than another , it is the crime of omission in having neglected to dei'e lupe to the simple understanding the most simple of all sciences and tha most profitable of all sciences ; simple , because the meanest capacity can aid in its developement ; profitable , because its developement most lead to the most beneficial practical results .
In this question is involved so many points of detail , that you must consider my present lame and imperfect illustration of it as a mere penfeather plucked from the eagle . The science of agriculture must he carried out in each country , according to the climate , the position , and character of the inhabitants , lam not talking now of a primitive state , hut I am considering the enforcement of the science as a graft upon the present fictitious condition of the several countries of the world . I shall confine myself , therefore , in this , my first address upon the subject , to its application to this
country ; and even here I find myself enveloped in such a mysterious web of interest , currency , old associations , prejudices , privileges , immunities , prescriptive rights , and all the absurd conventionalisms which are whimsically enough denominated signs of civilisation , that I find it a herculean task . For instance , as regards the currency , in my mind far and away the most important question , even to the working classes , that agitates the public mind , although so apparentl y
unconnected with the happiness , comfort , and very existence of those whose minds have been studiously kept in criminal ignorance upon the subject . Alas ! the working classes of this country , never understanding the fact , or never thinking of the fact , that a fixed value attached to gold , while a varied value is attached to produce , is as great an absurdity as if a manufacturer was to contract with his customers to supply them with a given amount of produce at a fixed price during his life , without reference to the rise and fall in the
price of the raw material , the'rise and fall in wages , the rise and fall in rents , the rise and fall in taxation , and the improvement in machinery ; while , at the same time , the available circulating medium of the country , required for the ordinary purposes of traffic , cannot he represented to the amount often per cent , hy the unvarying metal by which , whimsically enough , trade , commerce , manufactures , must be limited . Without mystifying this subject ofthe currency , I can only say that , as far as my intellect can lead me to a selection of a choice of evils , I very much prefer the principles propounded by the Anti-Gold Law League , to those propounded by Sir "R obert Peel , Jones Lloyd , and the Times
And here , in passing , allow me to call your attention to the very whimsical , the very ' . insolent and childish manner , in which a nation ' s interests are sacrificed to the versatility and duplicity of the press , and the selfishness and cupidity of individuals . The Times has turned about like a weather cock upon . this vital question of the currency , and the reason , as assigned by the best informed men in the commercial world , is , that Jones Lloyd , the banker , has purchased that paper , and that he is making not less than ONE THOUSAND POUNDS A DAY PROFIT by the contraction of the currency , occasioned by Sir Robert Peel ' s banking measure , and the consequent high interest—eight , nine , ten per cent ., and even more—that he is enabled to make of the
confidence reposed in him , an amount of interest , however , no part of which is carried to the credit of those whose money he speculates with . I am almost sorry that I entered this paper house with gilded ^ pillars and golden roof ; however , I now extricate myself from this fragile edifice with this one single remark upon its effects upon the landed interest of this country : —To * keep Boney out / the landlords promised something less than seven quarters
of wheat , as security to the fundlord for a certain ticket as his share of the war tax : and , at the present price of wheat , and the present price of consols—now that paper is convertible into gold—the landlord , instead of seven quarters of wheat , is giving thirty-four quarters of wheat ; and when the fnnds were 102 , and wheat at 40 s „ the landlord was giving the government , the fundlord ' s agent , fifty-one quarters of wheat , instead of seven . Now , I have done with this fragile fabric , and I turn to the question of national relief . Russell
In my several letters to Lord John , upon the subject of Irish grievances , both in the Labourer and the Northern Star , I showed him that it was impossible to improve the condition of the tenant and the labourer , without , at the same time , improving the condition of the landlord : and , my friends , thegreat object of my life has been to purge my party and my principles of the foul and ungenerous accusation , that we seek to elevate one class upon the ruins of another . Such never has been my intention or desire . I am no misanthrope , but , on the contrary , I have as great a respect and as great a regard for the good and humane landlord , for the good and humane
manufacturer , and for the good and humane employer of all classes , as I have for the good and humane working man . And now I proceed to unravel the great mystery of taxation , and to ; show you how a combination of the good and virtuous of all classes must inevitably m ake the rich richer , the poor rich , the government independent , and England the envy and admiration of the world . "While the Chancellor of the Exchequer is looking for a famine loan for Ireland , and crushing commercial operations by abstracting the amount from reproductive employment and works ; while this ' head book-keeper of the nation is looking to the quarterly account of dissipation , destruction , and beastliness , as a means
of propping the present system , and while he is relying upon the spleen " , the self-interest , the cupidity and jealousy of parties , for the strength of political faction , which will preserve the ascendancy of his party—I will show you and him a clear , a simple , and irrefutable table , by which he may save the middle classes , the aristocracy and the working classes , the small item of fire millions per annum , and give to the government a nett and permanent income of over ten millions per annum .
Now , I am aware that crotchet mongering is an exploded thing , and that the fascinating propositions ^ to raise hundreds of thousands a year , by a pijnny a week , or a penny a month , paid by the working classes , is gone out of fashion ; but hear my sim ple calculation , —see my simple table . The poor-rate is the most oppressive tax upon all classes , because the most undefined and varying , andbecausgjjsincreases in geometrical progression—the increase being always consequent upon the increased poverty of the parties called upon to pay it : —thus , for instance , when the poor are poor , the rich are comparatively distressed , and increasing poverty increases its demand upon decreasing property .
If , then , in round numbers , we estimate this degrading , this respect-destroying tax at seven millions a year , we shall not , as an average , be much beyond the limit ; and what I propose , as a substitute for that seven millions a year , is , that five millions shall be wholly extinguished and abolished , and that the property now subject to the seven millions a year shall be subject to only two millions a year , and that the owners of that property shall be allowed to relieve their property of the charge of poor-rates altogether , by purchasing it as low as thirty years' purchase—that is , that the landlord now paying £ 350 a year shall have his poor-rates reduced to JEiOO a year , and that he shall be allowed to relieve his
estate of that burden by the payment of £ 3 , 000 , which is thirty years' purchase ; upon the £ 100 a year ; and , ' , in case any landlord should refuse so to relieve his estate , that then the government may sell the charge for poor-rates to any other purchaser , the purchaser having the first claim for the recovery of the interest— £ 100 a year . This would give the government £ 60 , 000 , 000 sterling , and would relieve the agricultural classes and all classes to the extent of five millions a year . And ,
now—For the tnole , showing its application ; and this I shall illustrate by a most simple scale . I will take fifty paupers out ofthe workhouse , consisting of five each family , father , mother , and three children , and I will presume , though I think I am under the mark , that each individual maintained as an idle , degraded pauper , in food , fuel , and raiment costs 2 s . a head per week ; and that the expenses of the establishment—poor law commissioners , and their motley staff , master , matrons , schoolmasters , chaplains , repairs , expense of building , and interest , prosecutions , persecutions ,
stationary , andtheone thousand etceteras—cost half as much as the food , raiment , and fuel , that is Is . ahead per week—hence we have a cost of fifteen shillings a week paid by the industry of the country to support five unwilling idlers . "Now fifteen shillings a week is 39 / . a year , and fifty families comprising 250 individuals cost the country 1 , 950 / . PER ANNUM . Now , my friends , let us see to its better application , and it will not do for any man to say to me " "We are willing to pay this seven millions a year to secure a degraded competitive labour class , and of whose misery our anomalous profits are made up . " It will not do to
talk to me about the intricacies and the difficulties of the details , when every man ' s light is measured , every man ' s letter is stampedevery man ' s newspaper is stamped—every-puff from every man ' s pipe is stamped—every man ' s q uaff of ale , gin , brandy , wine , or whiskey is stamped—when every man ' s book is stampedevery man ' s dog , pleasure horse and carriage is stamped—every man ' s tea , coffee , and sugar is stamped—every man ' s loaf is stamped—every woman ' s dress , muff , stockings , bonnet , scarf , and boa are all stamped—when every man ' s title deed and : promissory note and bill of exchange are all stamped—when every brick in every man s house , every rafter in his roof , and
the floor he walks upon is stamped—when all we see , all we feel and touch is taxed—when man ' s birth , death , and burial , are one and all taxed as if he were born in the Custom House and buried in the Exchequer—stamped , body and soul , from birth to dissolution , that the rich and idle may live in affluence— surely it is not complicating or rendering confusion more confused , to give up those complicated details , in order that the industrious producer may live " in the sweat of his own brow . ' * I will not have such answers as these ; and the value of the sound -knowledge taught to the working classes , consists in the fact that they will not have them .
We have , then , fifty families of 250 people , costing the nation 1 , 950 / ., while living in a state of idleness and degradation . Now , see my provision for those fifty heads of families , converted into cheerful and profitable labour ers , snatched from degradation and thought lessness , and , as if by magic , elevated in the moral , social , and intellectual scale . Fifty heads of families located upon 100 acres of land , at two acres to the man , with a good substantial house and 20 / . capital to commence , would cost the
government—100 Acres of Land at £ 39 . an acre ... £ 3 , 001 0 0 Fifty Houses , at £ 70 . a houia ... 3 , 500 0 0 Capital , at £ 20 . a man 1 , 000 0 0
£ 7 , 600 0 0 Hence I show you that fifty paupers and their families , who cost the country 1 , 950 / . a year , may he located as freemen and as task labourers , working for themselves , for 7 , 500 J . Then , as to rent , if the government charged 6 " . rent upon the 150 / . expended , it would-be four per cent , upon the capital , thus relieving the country of 1 , 950 / . altogether , and the land of the occupants being security to the government for four per cent , upon the money expended .
Now , take the sixty millions funded by the sale of two millions a year poor rates , and divide it by 150 , the amount that it takes to locate each family , and you have four hundred thousand families , consisting of two million individuals , rescued from poverty and degradation , elevated to the rank of freemen , with a country worth living for , and worth dying for , educating their children , constituting a national militia , cultivating the resources of the country , exchanging their produce for the produce of the artificial market—giving an increased value to the labourers in that market , and an increased ' profit to the employers of that labour , instead
thus making machinery man s holiday , of man ' s curse—enriching the shopkeepers , disbanding cut-throats and bludgeon men , turning the sword into a ploughshare , and the bludgeon into a flail , dispensing with criminal law , each worshipping his God according to his taste , without the interference of a hired State Church parson ; an oasis in the desert , a trading colony discovered within the limits of our own island , taking and exchanging produce without double risk ; double freight , double insurance , double waste and injury , double wharfage and custom duty , double ] warehouse and lighter tax , double money-mongers' profit , and double " bubble , toil , and trouble . " Thus , J showyou ,
that , from this source alone , I give the government a netVrentalof two millions four hundred thousand pounds per annum , while I relieve the industrious classes of the payment of five millions a year , as a competitive labour tax . Observe , my friends , that the government will build a better house for 70 * ., with nil materials duty free , and a larger benefit from co-operation , than I { can build for 100 / ., and therefore I give the poor man a good house , lhe gov ernment can buy land without end , and-Merciful Providence ! -just think that it would only require eight hundred thousand ofthe
acres millions the poor have been robbed ° a ' 1 ° f atry out this My thia Go <* -Hke system . And then , when we are searching the world for our breakfast , our dinner , and our suppersuppose wheat was the most necessary thing to be grown in the country , and that those occupants were compelled to pay their rent in wheat at six shillings the bushel , or forty-eight shillings the quarter—that is two quarters and a half for six pounds—there ' s a million additional quartet's per annum at two quarters and a half to a man . "Oh ! but the wheat may fail , " quoth thetender hearted philanthropic political economist . Well , but if it does , I ans wer ,
potatoes , cabbages , turnips , parsnips , carrots , peas , beans , bacon , pork , beer , mutton , lamb , milk , and , butter , very good substitutes , won ' t allfail . "Well , hut , " says another , " the 800 , 000 acres now produce some wheat . " I say comparatively little . But I leave it all to you , and mine shall be every grain an increase—thus I would enclose your race-parks and your common lands now lying waste , for such a ' holy purpose as that , and thus warm up some of the cold meat in the larder for the new guests that are every day introduced to nature ' s tables .
Let me ask , my beloved friends , what the result of such a holy undertaking—I will not call it experiment—would be , when you now witnessed that wonderful and admired peace which the MAN OF BLOOD has produced , through the anticipation of a hopeful future . Ah 1 I have shown you a system worth living for , a system worth dying for ; I have tested your morality , your wisdom , your peace-loving disposition , your self-respect and'hopefiil selfreliance , when the goal of independence is placed at the end of the most rugged find thorny course . And having spent a life in this—mine , mine own—project , I would sacrifice that life rather than see it strangled or
stunted jn its growth hy all the intricacies ot the law , or the terror of the bayonet . Then , to keep my table clearly before you , I show you how I relieve one interest of five millions a year , give to the government an annual income of 2 , 400 , 000 /*} and give to an industrious population of two millions , the free labour field , the free religious tabernacle , the free school house , the free ventilatien , the free air of heaven , and the free and untrammelled , though not injurious , liberty of man . This is what 1 pant for ; this is what I live for ; this is what I devote my every hour of thought and labour to : this is what I will die for rather than
give it up . I now turn to the consideration of my second proposition , namely , the g iving to the governnient an income often millions a year , f have shown you where the 2 , 400 , 000 / . is to come from in the shape of rent , and I will now show you where the balance is to come from ; and the value of the land , and the developments of the science of agriculture , so presses upon me"i with every thought , that no argument will-more full y prove | the value of the land thantt ' at which I am how about to ' propound . It is this : —That the tenant holding land under
a landlord upon his will , or at twenty-one years' lease , will give upon a lease for ever upon that land ten per cent , more than upon a capricious tenure . For instance , I hold a hundred acres of land as tenant-at-will . It requires draining , but upon such tenure I will not lay out my capital ; and my landlord , being either tenant for life himself , and having but a slight interest in the improvement of his heir ' s property , or being too poor , will not perform the work ; and the consequence is that the land remains cold , sterile , [ and unproductive , closed against the labourer , and in an iinprofitahle state .
Again , he requires a new house , or a larger house , for an increasing family ; hut he props the old one , as he has no security for a return upon his capital . Again , he requires more outbuildings—the very bank of the farm ; bat he will naturally do without them rather than invest his capital in so frail a tenure . He has money in the funds , or money in his bank , which he would not hazard upon the will or even upon the life of another , and very naturally prefers the certainty of three per cent
to the uncertainty of receiving a profit of ten , fifteen , or twenty per cent , upon the chance ol another enjoying it ; and thus the agricultural labour market is stinted in its fair , competitive , and most remunerative channel . That is the case of a tenant-at-will . Then suppose the case of a tenant holding for twenty-one years—this is his condition;—lie will not expend his money upon improvements , or freely upon agricultural labour : and if he does for the first fourteen years of his lease , he ' ll be sure to take it out of his land for the last
seven years , by very naturally hoarding as much as he can and very naturally spending as little as he can . Now another and a very striking reason why the science of agriculture has not progressed as rapidly as other sciences , is this fact—that those who make valuable discoveries in other sciences are amply rewarded for them , they have more [ jthan a life-interest , | ° they have a perpetuity in their discovery , because they
make a handsome retiring salary , and an ample provision for their families , out of their patent ; and I am as convinced as that I am now addressing you , that the diversity of mechanical intellects applied to this Land Plan of ours , with the perpetuity of tenure , will lead to more valuable discoveries and improvements , by a new race , in less than three years , than all the benefits that have been produced from this science , from the creation of the world till the present moment .
Having now shown you , very clearly and irrefutably , that the farmer who now holds money at three per cent ., would spend it all upon productive labour , that would repay him ten , fifteen , or twenty per cent ., if he had perfect security in his tenure ; and reminding you , that the Irish , landlords and the Irish council are now gabbling about a complicated scheme of what they facetiously term ' Tenant Right , ' but which is not less intricate than Penelope ' s web , 1 proceed to illustrate for you my second proposition , by which I propose to make the rich richer , and the poor rich .
There is not then a farmer in England who would not cheerfully give an additional Jten per cent , in rent for his land if its possession was secured to him for ever—that is , the man who now holds 100 acres of land upon the will of his landlord , or upon a short lease at a hundred a year rent , would jump at the offer that he should have it on lease for ever at 110 / . a year—thus I show you how the landlord
would not be injured ; how the farmer would be gratified ; how thelabourer £ would be employed ; how the government would be enriched j and how the nation would bo ennobled hy this plan , which would give to the government a property tax of ten per cent ., cheerfull y paid by the farmer , as it would be returned to him three-fold , and not lost to the landlord j but , on the contrary , many a landlord
who now has to make abatements , and many a one who cannot induce or force his tenants to pay , n ould ^ never have a column for arrears , as , this advantage onceconferred upon the farmers , I would have no objection to make the process of ejectment more summary , more speedy , and less expensive , as I feel assured that not one in a thousand would ever 6 e a dav behind in the payment of his rent . And , if I am told that this
system would bo as capricious as the system of the manufacturer , who undertook to supply his customers at a fixed price for life , I answer , that I am prepared to show ^ that that difficulty can be obviated by the substitution of a corn rent for a fixed money rent ; and that it is just that the tenant should pay his rent according to the scale of price of fluctuating produce , rather than by a fixed value in unchangeable metallic currency .
Now , to illustrate this proposition , let me call your attention to these two simple figures . I show that a man will expend more money , try more experiments , better cultivate , and more improve his own property , than he will another man s property ju 3 t as a man will take more care of his own horsed or of his own SLAVE , than he-will of another man ' s horse or of another man ' s SLAVE . Some men will ride or drive a hired horse beyond his powers , while he would spare his own horse , because he would have an interest in his life and health . He'll see his own horse done up and comfortable for the night , but , perhaps , never even inquire after the hired slave .
Again , for the second illustration . The man who works for another , works slave labour , and will work grudgingly , and thinks the working day too long ; while , upon the other hand , the man who works task or job work , works cheerfully , expends his strength freely , and thinks the night too long and the day too short . To conclude , then—this ten per cent ., laid aa a tax upon property , would enrich every class ofsociety , and , Ibelieve . woulddoaw'ay withthe necessity of PoorLaws altogether , while it would leave the government over seven millions and
a half annually , which , added to the 2 , 400 , 000 / . made in the shape of rent , would produce an income of 10 , 000 , 0001 . per annum , and would enable the government to dispense with the Income Tax altogether ; a tax which , however intended as a levy upon profit , falls heavil as a duty on labour , as every man who pays a diret't income tax mskes a profit upon reduced wages , reduced household , or some other filching from the sustenance and comfort of the poor . Thus , my friends , I show you that I am not an enemy to my class , while I am the stern opponent of that ascendancy and dominion of class over class which compels the political government of the country to be tha filching agents for the strong , and the depredators and plunderers of the weak , if my
propositions are simple and understandable , there is now a sufficient amount of genius in the country , created by Chartism , organised by Landism , if directed by vigour , energy , and perseverance , to lead to the full developement of our national resources , to the equitable distribution of the profits , to the enrichment of all and the impoverishment of none . Then we shall live to see the day when the husbandman will cheerfully " live in the sweat of his own brow , " when he " is first partaker ofthe fruits of his own industry ; ' and when his brethren in the artificial market will look upon him as a helpmate instead of a competitor ; when we shall have religion without NATIONAL EXCISE PARSONS ; peace without blood ; education without mental
coercion ; TAXATION WITH REPRESENTATION ; and law for protection instead of coercion . Who does not think such a system worth living for ? who does not believe it worth dying for , to bequeath , as a legacy , to generations yet unborn ; Your faithful Fr end , Feargus O'Connor . [ I hope my friend , William Grocott , will read my two letters to my Manchester children .- F . O'C ]
^Ifc^ I I! The Manchester Mkettoo. <^Ht ...
^ Ifc ^ i THE hT
And National Tbades' Journal. ^X. Ng 525...
AND NATIONAL TBADES' JOURNAL . ^ X . Ng 525- LONDON SATURDAY ^ YEMBErT ^ 1847 w j ^ !?™ " ^ - ______ i *™ * Five Shilling * and Sixpence per Quarter
To The Prefs Gang. You Poor Devils—I Am ...
TO THE PREfS GANG . You poor devils—I am not a man . of blood nor yet a man of hate , and I have pity upon your families , and yet greater pity for those upon whose resources you must be ultimately thrown . I have received a letter from one of the most respectable booksellers and news agents in Salford , in these words , — Sir , —You aro playing the devil with the Examiner . Some weaks ago I used to sell six or saren quires of that paper , now 1 can ' t sell one ! Your obedient servant ,
And from all parts ofthe country I receive the lachrymose epistles from the agents who used , formerly , to make a good thing by the sale of the Dispatch and Lloy d ' s , but which journals , BLESS THE MARK—are now becoming waste paper , while the " workies" have discovered that the very atmosphere is tainted by their presence and the beer is turned sour . I assure you , my " Good Ruffians , " that even my devotion to my constituents , and my anxiety to serve the people zealously and honestly in
ParliamentjShall not save you from the caseation to which your assassin-like brutality so justly entitles you . Don ' t think that I am one of those whom you can play with!—whom you can take up and put down as you please 1—whom you can attempt to wound and then beg pardon 1 "I never seek the quarrel nor shun it when it comes , " nor shall I now be the first to cry " Hold ! Enough ! " I did not seek this controversy , but you grappled with my honour , and if you perish in the struggle you are your own destroyers ! Fkaugus O'Connor .
Grand Soiree And Ball In Honour Of The R...
GRAND SOIREE AND BALL IN HONOUR OF THE RETURN OF FEARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ ., AS MEMBER ? OR NOTTINGHAM .
The friends of Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., M , P ., having determined to hold a festival to celebrate the return of that gentleman as member for the borough of Nottingham , Monday hst was appointed for that purpose , and such was the anxiety of persons to be present on the occasion that the committee of management were under the necessity of taking the Exchange Hall and the Conservative Assembly Rooms for the above object . Long before thethao arrived for admission , crowds of persons bad assembled , and on the doors being opened , both places were immediately occupied by those who had been fortunate enough to obtain tickets .
'At the JSxcbange rooms upwards of COO persons sat down fr > tea , while those at the Assembly Rooms fell little short of that number . At about five o ' clock Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., attended by the Rev . Mr Linwood , W . P . Roberts , E ? q ., T . Allsop Esq ., & o ., entered the Exchange Hall , and tooklra scat at the crosi table , amid the most deafening shouts of applause * ver heard within those walls . Tea having been concluded , and while the necessary preparations for erecting a platform , < fco ., werebein » made , Mr O'Connor , attended by the several persons above warned , paid a visit to the Assembly Rooms , ynich he entered shortly after seven o ' clock , and tsok his seat in the centre of the gallery amid the uproarious acclamations of the company assembled telow .
Mr Charlos Roberts , of Nottingham , presided over the meeting at tho Assembly Rooms , and Mr Mott ovor that at the Exchange rooms . I Wo have received a very long report ; of the above meetings just as no were going to press , but we ase oorapeired to defer its publication Jill next week ]
I! Manchester Mkettoo. <^ The Manchester...
I ! MANCHESTER MKETTOO . <^ THE MANCHESTER MEETING . ^ ! MESSRS RIDBBi H 0 B 30 N , AJTD 0 ASTIEB . We have been requested to publish the following correspondence : — 10 BlCnijtU OABXLBR , XgQ , S Market Walk , IIuddcr 0 ft ? ld , Nov . 7 , 1817 . DffAR Sin , —William Rider is reported to have * said , at a late meeting at Manchester , that nhej ) 1 first went to live at Leeds 1 requested you to ktd ma £ 10 . ; that you demurred , or refused to do t & is , bat offered to-lend it to him ( Rider ) he being jmj & u sible
tfrjoo-\ This statement evidently H 3 p ! i « 9 that you dosfotetj i my trmf-w & rt ! me » g . Will you be kind enough to say , per rotura ) ot post , whether , in all our conneetion , both ofabr . j * . nesa-kindt & nd otherwise , you eror saw in me aught ? , that wouJd' indues ssch a fieSnjr ,- or prerent vo * lendin ? nwjSlOi jif convenient )? ; I am awry that your name shou'd hare been thus * dragged into a dispute I happen to have with other partieson $ utMogmm & r ; but 13 xn < not « heoffender r and when jou-are mule the mcanrwhoreby to cast ; a reflection ! ou-anotber man ' s character , I am saw yoa will dealoretne trato . Tosssrespectftlly ; J ' jsnui- jQ oBSdx .
To Mr J033ba Hob80w London, Ne*V8th, 184...
TO MR J 033 BA HOB 80 W London , Ne * v 8 th , 1847 . Mr Dm * Eadv '—I aggrieved , more than Icat £ expres ? , that ay name should'be introduced into the * quarrels about ' , tho Land . However ,. your fetter de > taands an ansvreru If Mr Rider understood aoything uWored by mo at our interview-as * implying that I doubted your trustworlhiness /' b * was mistaken . In answer to your question ,. ' Whether ,, in all our connection , botib of a business- kind and otherwise , i erar saw in yo * aught that would induce such ' * feeling , or prevent my lending you-JelOi (* f convenient V ) I reply—Bfever . Since , it ee < ims , my name must ho miaed up in these disputes , it fe . but just that II also state , I an * sure thoseps-Kofiawho charge Mr O'Connor with air intention to defraud tho subscribers to * tae Lantf Plan * » f tWf monaj , do him great injustice . He i » much more likely to spend his own . money in their service , than to umtheirs on his own account . This will serve an an answer to-many persons wh » have asked my opinion on that pointi . Wishing that you > were ail friends acain ,. workingtogether for tho emancipation of Jabourjideprecatinj every attempt to cause suspicion in tho mimls of the working classes , as ts the integrity and honesty of purpose of Mr O'Connor or yourself r . and most heanily praying for the speedy and-- complete triumph of the ' Land Plan , ' I remain , my dear ' lad , ' ' Your « Old IQng „' Mrllobson , Richard- Oastibj ? , 3 , Market Walk , Haddersfield .
So Xhe Editor. Sib,—In Reference To The ...
SO XHE EDITOR . Sib , —In reference to the above correspondence , I havo only to repeat ( and « n outh , if necessary ) every wor-1 I stated at the Hall of Science ; . Mr flnbson . wich his usual sophistrjsseeks to cover tho real question in a cloud . Hobsosv would have it believed that he had funds , and tha * they wenttosupport and uphold the Star . My object was to show the reverse . To prove that he luD . aoxiusa to losk hy connexion with the Star . This I wished to show . That Mr Oastkr spoke jocosely no man can dispute who knows that gentleman .. ' His life has been spent in the labour of love—in helping the helpless . I lis not in his nature to sue tho shirt off any man ' s back ; he would rather put aneon the back of his veriest enemj—if enemies that co ^ d man can have . Wm Rider . P . S . I will not be sacrificed by Hobson ' a sophistry . My character is as dear to me as Mr O'Connoi'sor . Mr Oastler ' s : as for Mr Ilobson * 3 , (!) it is out of the * question . W . Rid ' sr .
The Land And Labour Baxk Md The Manchest...
THE LAND AND LABOUR BAXK MD THE MANCHESTER MECHANICS . TO TUB EDITOR OF THR KANCIJESTJ 3 P . EXAMINBE . Gentlemen , —In last Saturday ' s Extmiaer , the' Whistler' ' asserts that , through his writings , the mpchine maker ? havo withdrawn their money from the Land and Woour Bank . Such statement not beinij a correct one , I Loper you will allow me to contradict it in your next . Wo have withdrawn £ M ( but not through tha infkenca of the' Whistler . ') It was to pay our treasurer mnnuy that wo owed to him . The above sum was paid to my order at ai moment's notice and four per cent , wtih it . I should feel obliged to ' One who has Whistled at the Plongh' ifha would state the truth andcoth ^ nj ; more . Instead of whistling confidence away from us , he ha * whistled us into greater confidence with tli « Land Bank audits noble founder , F . O'Connor , Esq . We have £ 6 a » in the Land Hank and no idea of withdrawing it . I am , sir , yours , D . ScHomin , Secretary to the 4 th branch of tha Journeymen Stcam-Eiuiine , Machine . Maker and Millwrights *' Friendly Society , No . 2 , Gtay-street , Carruthei'sstreet , Manchester . Nov . 2 nd , 1817 .
Theo'comnokvbank. To Thk Editob Off Tbb ...
THEO'COMNOKvBANK . TO THK EDITOB Off TBB MANCHESTER EXAMINES . Sir , —In your paper of last Tuesday it is inserted that Joseph Heywood and ThornK-y had sent £ ?>> . last week but ona to Fergus O'Connor ' s , bank , belonging to the Middk'ton Christian Friendly Sick and Burial St > c : ety , held at the Wealcyan Methodist .-H-hoal , Middicton , and they have as yet received no answer or cheque . Now , tho truth is that we sent a twenty pound Bank of England note by the cost of theJ 9 th of ' September , and received a receipt on tlie 2 lsto £ September , or by r-turn of post , so that your correspondent neithpr knew the time we sent tho money or that we- ltad received the cheque . You say , owing to tho other society not having received a cheque , Mr Smithes has thought propi-r to make inquiry into O'Connor ' s bank before bo scuds thomoney . When Mr Smithes visited mo upon the subject , I showed him the receipts together with ail letters we hauV received upon the subject . P . S . —If your correspondent be a member of tboahova society , we hope he will attend ; at the next meeting , an 4 there substantiate his charges ; we have stated nothing hut the truth , which if your correspondent had done thesame , it would have been more to his honour and credit as a member of the above society . We hope you will insert the above in your paper of Tuesday next , under the- head of the Rochdale and Middleton news , as the false statement appeared in your last Tuesday ' s paper . Our desire is that the public may know the truth . We remain , lovcrs-of / truth and justice , William Thoeklsi and Joseph ITetwooe . Middleton , Oct . 31 . 18-iy .
To The Editor Ob Tub Manchester Examineb...
TO THE EDITOR OB TUB MANCHESTER EXAMINEB . Sir , —Having just been looking over the Manchkster Examines ot Saturday tbs 3 « tli of October , I there find , is an article si-. 'ned < by ' One who has Whistled ; at the Plough , ' tho following * sentence . ' We have been tha cause of many societies , not banking their money in th » Land and Labour Bank , and hnrs also bean instrumental in causing the mechanics to withdraw their money from that bank ; ' andias you presume to be actuated in jour desire to benefit the puilic by asserting the truth , I hereby request that you will girti insertion to the following , so that in your zeal to be tiie benefactor cf-the public you may not lend tiuim into an error by jmblisimiff a . falsehood . The mechanic * of Manchester have not withdrawn their money from the-National Land and Labour . U . mk , neither do they intend , to withdraw it , or any portion thereof , unless compelled by the present staw of trade to do so , for tho support of their members out of employment ;
and , for jour futwre consolation , I bug . to inform yon , and through youi tUopublie , that insteutV . of withdrawing , tho No . 5 Manchester Branch deposited £ > 0 in the hands of Mr Feargus ttftJonnor , on Tuesday , when he was in Manchester , and that several others ass about to followin thsir steps . Now , sir , tho mechatscs' society , above all others , haw reasons to endeavour to stop the supplies of their oppressors , inasmuch as they . lmve , and that-very recently , had-a specimen of the fcrty of placing their mgncy in the banks wher « their employers may get a . couple of others to go bond with tlymi for , say five oHen thousand pounds , perhaps , of theyvery money deposited by the op . vn . tWes , which enables tliem ' to dictate terms to their workmen , which , should theyrefuse , they are iuiracdiately turned out of employ , $ ml spies and inforutera sent in amo & 'jst tliein , and supported too by the msney deposited in those banks by thfl . operatives themselves ; the result of which is that wet-have to put our , hands
into our pockets to protect aur officers from tha information of such wretches . ' . vitness tho Hanius . Conspiracy ease , which has cost us near two thousand pounds , besides being the auuse of death of an own cousin , Alfred Chcesoboroush , to me , a- d a good member of the mechanics' society . No , no , sir , so far as our branch is concerned , wewiU not , if we can help it , allow our trades' unions to be bjuken up , and thus lay ourselves completely at the tROK-y of our employers . Trade societies , sir , I hope will , continue to form a barrier against the oppresssor until justice shall bo douo to all . Indeed , it is' to be deplored that the capitalists force their hands to resist-JKJiluctioii after reduction taking place . Witness the amount of money loettin . the follow lag strikes : — Cotton , spinners of Manchester , in 1 SU > , expended , or rather ,-lost , A'iM . eOO ; again , in 1 S 2 G , £ 207 , 000 ; since thai ,-time , £ 175 , 000 ; suinners of l'reston , £ 71 , 31 i ; tc-. in , of Preston , £ » ii ? , i ! gO ; Glasgow cotton fpinners , it , fj ! 0 ; loss to town of Glasgow , jg
- iMyioo ; loss tu , oonnty oFLniiarks & lr-e , SflO . COO ; strike in the potteries , api ) , «« o ; Leedimcefefttucs * strike , which lasted t « olve Hion & is , £ < . 3 i , » o »; wool combers of liradtorJ , ten monies , £ 40 ' . ( Ju : ); collars strike , £ 5 o , U ( IO ; total , ^ 2 , 2 lO « H 9 , And whilst tho cap itnlistcan make use ofthe law , to crush the producer , HieproiUuurcan never make-use tw the law to prcAret himself—witness tho Oiasgow cotton spinners and . Dorchester labourers . Now , sir , dp . sou really think iliat if wo lent our money to the LcwA and labour Hut * , «« d th < M > y eased tho labour « ai- '* et , and oadoavowed to get each oiout mem . bers aspod house and four seres of land , that the ina * ter class wuld thus turn ua ant . without-a dread that wo should , betake ourselves to the cultivation ot the soil . Hoping you will iKsertO » ab-vem your papei ot next Sataftft . and let the , truth be told , I » m , Mr , one of the trustees of thft fourth branvh ot the mechanic ! , * socie » v Gkokqe Samuel Orvuun . 5 , Ch ' urch-strect ., Bochdale-road , Jlauehester .
This Oppskssivs Anveunakmbst Duty.—A Per...
This Oppskssivs AnvEunaKMBST Duty . —A person may advertise in omnibuses , cover tho walls with placard ' s , occupy the streets with vans , and , hi fact , uso every means which his ipgenuity can devise for tlie purpose of making known his wares , assd pay »& duty ; but if he puts a '< " ¦ : iu a ncwvwp r , already dotiOly taxed , he immediately pays the goveuuuc-rill Is . C-i . If a poor girl wants a situation , a time when every farthing is of vital importancejo her , she pars the samo amount of duty as a nobleman would oa for advertising nn estate of the vaiuc of $ iM ) , 0 Cl ? i and this is justice !—Sheffield Zt ' mes ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 13, 1847, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_13111847/page/1/
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