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i Yorfnem Star Offlct, Friday \vit)ht. ihatfe have to apologise to our Readers and t< f «nt< for an unavoidable delay in the delivery
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s ef jfos edition of our present publica...
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ONW4RD AND WE CONQUER, B ACKWARD AND WE ...
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v <J^%^
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. >\ ' ^ ¦ \ f * V".-®|e HtKtfjtnt S' Mm...
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VOL. X . NO. 482 . LONDON, SATURDAY, JAN...
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IRELAND. KARItATIVE OP MALCOLM H'GREGOR....
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THE NATI0H1L LAND AND LABOUR BANK. Reckl...
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Tint Mimders of the Halifax branch of th...
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Transcript
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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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I Yorfnem Star Offlct, Friday \Vit)Ht. Ihatfe Have To Apologise To Our Readers And T≪ F «Nt≪ For An Unavoidable Delay In The Delivery
i Yorfnem Star Offlct , Friday \ vit ) ht . ihatfe have to apologise to our Readers and t < f « nt < for an unavoidable delay in the delivery
S Ef Jfos Edition Of Our Present Publica...
s ef jfos edition of our present publication , ac \ n accident , against which' no care nor forecovht could have guarded , occurred at the moo 4 t of our going to Press , bv which two of acfe paces of type were demolished , and , in con-« nce , the Papers which should have been d IU on Friday afternoon were delayed some s , l 0 urs , and posted by Saturday ' s day Mail .
Onw4rd And We Conquer, B Ackward And We ...
ONW 4 RD AND WE CONQUER , B ACKWARD AND WE FALL . TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS . h iJT BELOVfcO ? B « St > S , — [ ] If I was in the habit of exacting tribute from , !«* i , you mig ht presume that my anticipations would ' , ' jjjj ' is the annual rent-day approached ; bat as 1 e h ave ever held the payment of public leaders to be f tie falsest step that a people can take , 1 have infro the
„ ^ ed m ore odium m POOR GENTLEMEN i than ever fell to the lot of the most degraded public v arran t . [ i in truth , if I had sanctioned the exhorbitant pay-,. eat 0 f an over-grown staff of idlers , our cause ! w oldnoff be in precisely the same ' . predicament that r Mr . O'Connell and his unchecked drones have < broug ht the cause of Ireland to . ' The p'oof I would offer of the patriotism of those : « hom vour poverty starved into opposition it this ;
that one and all who have abandoned our ranks have taken refuge on some neutral ground , or in some h umb ug paying speculation , without the most remote reference to their professed principles , or , indeed , to any principles at all . I address you now titer a hug , and not an unnecessary , nor yet infelicitous , political lull . I have frequently told you that there is a PHILOSOPHY IN IDLENESS , which none but those who have seen the effect of exciteeentkeptup too long , and to an unnatural temperature , can understand . I have seen many battles lost by injudicious and ill-timed excitement . I have leen many elections lost from the same cause . Upon the other hand , I . have seen a well-timed agitation Jo wonders .
We have now arrived at the third stage of our political movement—the direction of public opinion ; acd upon our union and prudence in this stage depends our hopes of success . For now more than fifteen months unbroken harmony has prevailed in our ranks . I date this cessation of internal hostilities from the meeting of that wise Chirtist Conference held at Manchester in Decemkr , 1845 , and by which we paralysed the nerve of the FREE TRADE party , and cut off all hope of dissension from under O'Connell's feet . When the enemy fails to weaken our fortress , it unfortunately happens that we not unfrequeutry do it for ourselves ; and I was pained to learn , from a long report of a meeting convened to receive the Report
of the London delegates to the Land Conference , that a childish and very unmanly course of crimination and recrimination was pursued , about Mrs . A . telling iirs . B . that Mrs . C . was not what she ought to be , and Mrs . G . gave Mrs . L . ' s address to Mr . P .. and Mrs . J . told Mrs . L . that Mrs . M . the wife of Mr . M ., was a strumpet , and that the Director had a spar at Birmingham about a report that appeared in a paper of the enemy's , and then Mrs . T . insists upon hearing from the various localities visited by Mr . M . and ilr . C . whether in their speeches they did equal justice to the Charter and the Land , and then , why the wages ol the Directors was raised . I feel usured that the FUSTIAN JACKETS , THE
BLISTERED HANDS AND UNSHORN CHINS , who look for " a fair day ' s wage for a fair days work , '* through the anion of their order , will look with loathing and contempt upon such old women ' s rubbish . As for my own part , I candidly confess that 1 look upon the Land movement , as compared with the Charter movement , as a mere drop of water in the ocean ; but then I have sense and discrimination enough to see and understand , that , but for the Land , the Chartist movement would be confined to a few faithful , sanguine souls , who ever rely upon the realization of right , sooner or later . I now see mv wav more clearly than ever I have
done before ; I now see that all classes will henceforth dread any popular movement in this country , from the conviction that then the demand for the Land would not be confined to those only who have » hown their pride , their spirit , and self-respect , bj contributing to it ; but would become an irresistible epidemic , in which the middle classes wonld be compiled to join ; hence , I have the consolation of bowkg that I have put a ruffle to the shirt , as O'Connell used to say . I have the consolation of
knowing that by my own dogged perseverance in an twdeviaUag course , upon & novel subject , that 1 have led to the inevitable break up of LAND MONOPOLY—the worst of all monopolies . I have the con-Hiiation cf believing that the tyrants in power , who did not dread the promulgation of our political principles in Courts of Law , would not relish a five days ' speech from me opon the value of small farms and free labour , as compared with large farms and slave toil . Now , believe me , that this is no small check Bpoa tyraanv , and the tyrant ' s laws .
The principal object , however , which I have in sow addressing you is this , to rouse you IN TIME , K THE NICK OF TIME , to a DETERMINED « d UNALLOYED Chartist movement , with which moiler QUESTION WHATEVER ; neither Land , Ten Hours' Bill , Poor Law , or Famine shall be oited up , otherwise than as collaterals of the ONE GREAT QUESTION—THE PEOPLE'S CHARTO—and the mode by which the hands of OUR OWN , OUR HONOURED , OUR GLORIOUS CHIEF may be strengthened in the next struggle . I already discover the glimmer of & fribbling compromising policy , which is sure to be proposed , but , « far a » I am concerned , I shall abide by my former
rule—HE WHO IS NOT FOR US , IS AGAINGST US . And politicians are very like religionists—the Bore meagre the difference between sects , the ? eater the feud , and in good truth I have always found that the nearer political professors come to 0 ar cre « d , the more hostile they are to our faith . THE CHARTER AND NO SURRENDER fcast be our watch word still , and we must not Bow ourselves to be trapped here by a bit of local Inference , and there by a bit of personal recommen-« ion . A letter was sent to me last week , nibbling w a hit of support for Mr . Cochrane in Westrain-• j « r . with the intimation that , if published , ONE K . NDRED copies of the Star would be taken .
"id y & u ever hear of matchless insolence equal ) ° « ? My answer was , that if its publication *«» ed 1000 , 000 , 000 , 000 weekly for the next fifty •^ « should not be published ' in YOUR PAPER . -- tbjijjj of , nincompoop expecting to bribe me ' . ^ ' *• ' • ' an ( J y ^ I assure you that is the very % u ^ on * hich the press is conducted , from is a , , inKS" * ° " KeIso Chronicle ; " while it , * glory and my baast to « av . that not aline
fcv « r appeared in the " STArt" upon thoseterms . « te'l i " . u a circumstance that yoo ought to * ith t ' 8 U 0 U ' ^ know everything connected " ST * » ' ** rtyProfesainB Press . Shortly after the soa , waS 8 larted , two highly respectable per-^ appearance , came into ey private room ; ^ J Psjred much afflicted , and asked me if I had t & tir * 3 rep ° rt 0 f an ' 1 ac 8 t n P ° n tne hody of lst * r I enquired and found that we had ,
Onw4rd And We Conquer, B Ackward And We ...
they than offered me » Lugs sum to sappresa it ; at ' this I felt rather indignant awlputthe report into the fire , ttyinu , " Do yon suppose I keep a newspaper to traffic In jour wounded feelings * " The gentlemen looked gratefully surprised , and told me the price they had paid AT OTHER SHOPS for suppressimg to * report . On leav ing my room they enquired where they could pay up their subscriptions ; for a year ' s papers . I asked them what politics they were of ? They replied , "Tories . " I asked them if they would have thought of subscribing for so extreme a paper but for the circumstance tha t brought them ? They said , "No . " "Then , " said I , " You shall not subscribe . I am not U be bribed directly nor indirectly . " They shook hands , thanked me , and have since been my FRIENDS .
Now , Brother Chartists , you will probably have asked yourselves , what ' s coming . I ' ll tell you—Now is the NICK OF TIME FOR AGITATION . Parliament , nay , all the Parliaments of the world , are about to meet . They are all , one and all , hampered by GOD'S DISPENSATION . Their weakness is our opportunity . I MUST TAKE THE FIELD AGAIN . AH the work to be done for my youngest child
shall be doae by contract , and is already contracted for . I will put your houses in order , I will then put the Bank on its first legs , and prepare for the jubilee of my eldest child attaining his majority , and by the 1 st of February I shall start on my holy mission , bmVwill not visit any place that does ^ not pro * raise me the TROUBLESOME PLEASURE of coming back with a fair proportion of Chartist wares —Petition Sheetswell filled . You see the WHIG
CHIEF-JUSTICE OF THE COMMON-PLEAS has not yet RUINED ME WITH EXPENSES , nor cowed my spirit . I hope to be at the opening of our own Parliament , at White Conduit House , on Monday , to receive the commands of MY LEADER and YOUR FRIEND : and no sabaltern ever more cheerfully , or scrupulously obeyed tbe commands ^ of his superior officer , than I shall obey his . This , my friends , is no small portion of our strength , that all HONOUR , none ENVY , Duucombe . He has withheld no balance sheet ; he has silenced no discussion ; be has relied upon no hired
staff ; he has exacted no tribute ; he has trimmed to no trimming policy for pelf and patronage ; he has not been all things to all men ; he has not " run with the hare and held with the hound ; " he did not use our strength for his own lucre and our undoing ; he joined us whenWe were weak , denounced , persecuted , despised , and contemned . His reception on Monday , therefore , will be such as will convince him of our confidence and love , and our enemies ol our devotion to our principles—which are his principles . We will be BID FOR ACCORDING TO OUR VALUE : let us not UNDERRATE .
OURSELVES ; let the purchasers understand that we go IN ONE LOT ; and that FREEDOM IS OUR PRICE ; and THE CHARTER THE COIN in which it must be paid . Every throne is Europe , thank God , is tottering from rottennesss , while the President of America is fast rivetting the people ' s chains with a National Debt , which Pitt looked upon as the bond of peace between the RICH OPPRESSOR and the POOR OPPRESSED . Ireland , from which I had some latent hope , has been paralysed by intermitting fits of treachery and famine , the magic of tbe old showman standing'in the way of any new movement . We must have our PETITION with OUR FOUR MILLION of signatures , and our Chartist
Convention to escort it to the DOOR OF THE SENATE HOUSE , as a reward to our chief , who will meet ui and cheerfully receive the national tribute of a people ' s confidence . Chartists ! we are the only moving , acting , active party ; we will not be beaten or put down by friend or foe , nor yet by a union of all the adverse elements . To your TENTS then , oh Chartists ! drawn from the INK BOTTLE . Away with your old women ' s rubbish about female virtue and strained morality . If indeed you hate vice , make it a crime by good example , and give to al an opportunity of developing their virtues , by rewarding them according to their merits . Your rulers live upon whoredom , drunkenness , lewdness , dissipation , gambling , and crime . MAKE THEM
VIRTUOUS ; REFORM THEIR SINS AND YOUR NEIGHBOURS CRIMES WILL VANISH . But , for God and the People ' s sake , let us have no more of your mock sentimentality . I don't promise that this will be the CLINCHING YEAR ; nor that will put MY HEAD ON THE BLOCK IF THE CHARTER DOES'NT COME , but , I say , let the next three months be the SIGNING QUARTER , and the NEXT YEAR WILL BRING FORTH FRUIT ACCORDING TO YOUR SCATTERING IN THIS OUR SEED TIME .
I remain , Brother Chartists , Your faithful and uncomprising Friend and Fellow-Labourer , Feargos O'Conxor ONWARD AND WE CONQUER , BACKWARD AND WE FALL . THE PEOPLES CHARTER AND NO SURRENDER !
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. >\ ' ^ ¦ \ f * V " .-®| e HtKtfjtnt S' Mm , AM ) NATIONAL TRADEJOURNAL .
Vol. X . No. 482 . London, Saturday, Jan...
VOL . X . NO . 482 . LONDON , SATURDAY , JANUARY 16 > 1847 . nnZu ^ J ^*™™ *
Ireland. Karitative Op Malcolm H'Gregor....
IRELAND . KARItATIVE OP MALCOLM H'GREGOR . HO . X . Under ordinary circumstances an Irish fnneral is , I am informed , anything rather than a mournful or even a solemn ceremony ; while that of " waking the deceased , " as it is termed , partakes of the character of a festival . These remarks apply only to cases where death comei in the ordinary course of nature , and where the departed has " been prepared " by receiving " extreme unction , " according to the rites of the Catholic Church prescribed in such cases ;
and , those rites once administered , it is ^ considered rather uuhicky if the afflicted should recover . When life departs , the corpse is washed all over , and , if a man , is shaved , the limbs are then stretched , the nose pinched , tbe eyes closed , and the body laid out , dressed in white and bung round with white sheets . This ceremony performed , the family and friends of deceased relieve their hearts' sorrows by a good cry , and what is termed a ' * hullagone ; " after which tea is provided for the old women , and pipes , tobacco , and whisky for the men ; and in the evening , and during every evening , and all night . till the funeral takes place , the house is filled with men and women ; the old enjoying themselves with pipe and a glass and tea , and
the young joining in the merriest games and amusements . The deceased is looked opon with envy rather than compassion or sorrow in such cases ; as the spirit once fled , it is , if prepared for departure , resumed to be in another and a better world . The funeral also lacks that appearance of sorrow manifested by mourners less confiding in Heaven ' * mercy ; not so , however , when the deceased has been sent to his last account , " unhouseled , unappointed , unannealed , " as was the case with poor Phelimeen . Under such circumstances , the soul of the departed stands in jeopardy , and the surviving friends feel proportiojate grief , that worst of all pangs , the f "Cwtwi * i to tfcfl jfcrtft column . )
Ireland. Karitative Op Malcolm H'Gregor....
( Contimudfrom l « stnnd column . ) gnawing of perpetual doubt and suspens' -. Hence the funeral of Phelimeen , like the wake-ho'ise , was as melancholy a sight as can well be imagined . I arrived at the house of mourning in conii ,-. »< ty with Mr . O'Farrell , just as the melancholy eeiPtnony of " nailing down the coffin was about to be performed ; the bereaved and broken-hearted father -was with difficulty torn from his child ; his grief ha ' if ' . u till now partially suppressed and partially allay- d by the hope of revenge , which appeared the only palliative
for his sorrow ; but when the ghastly sighf was hid from his longing eye , it was as if the world - * f hope was shut out by the darkness of despair , fie tore his long white locks , threw himself prostrut .- on the coffin , and recounted his son ' s virtues au . i perfections , as if pleading to the Throne ol Grace :.-i his behalf , and it was only by the mild persuas : u of his priest that he could he induced to abandon his gripe of the coffin , when , turning round to tin- weeping relatives , he exclamiued , " Before you t . uc him from me , will you promise me satisfaction for his blood . '
An aged man whispered something iu hii . ear which the O'Donnell appeared to quaff at words of joy , he smiled wildly , and , in reply , exclai ; . ed , — " Take him so , and may the Merciful IV . ; her forgive him his sins . " The coffin was borne on the shoulder- of the nearest * relatives of deceased t « the lu u r .. t , whore it was met by a concourse of persons , of ImiU sexes on foot and on horseback , reaching more than a
mile m length . The melancholy proce ;> ion proceeded to the burial-ground in sullen uud sulky silence , as if the vast assemblage was simultaneousl y struck dumb—not a word was uttered , hut deep and sullen grief sat brooding upon every countenance , and ' , though the sun shorn ? forth wk'i nnusual splendour for the season of the year , its brilliancy was obscured by the impenetrable cloud > a grief—I subsequently learned from Mrs . Mahony that this Vf & 4 an evil omen , as the Irish have an old
ulage" Happy is the corpse that the rain raii . son , "Happy is the bride that the sun shines < n . " As soon as the venerable pastor had verfvimei the funeral service , and when he and ma : iy others , myself amongst the number , had bedewed the green sod that covered the virtuous peasant ' s grave , we returned to the O'Donnell ' s house , where - 'e found the father sitting by the bedside of the delirious Kathleen . He appeared to lose all thought of his own grief iu pity for her . As we cn ' ered the room she said , " Well , if Phelim is happy , why dont
you laugh and smile ; " and the old man smiled a ghastly smile , that seemed to mock the Inc-e tears through which it forced its way—then she-- 'uiled and said , " May Kathleen kiss Phelimeen ' s red Ups again , and sure you wo ' nt let the troopers take Inn away . " She then fixed her large blue eyes upon us , I ' m-the first time , and gave a heart-rending shriek , when a female who stood nt the bedside beckoned us away , and assured her that we were not tl . < : troopers
and were not come to take Phelimeen a -ay . We left tho house of mourning and wended our way to the home of the Priest , he appeared more composed , and had scarcely entered the house when he was hurried off to numerous" sick calls . " \\ hen 1 was alone with my friend Mrs . Mahony , I asked her what the O'Donnell meant by the term , " justice for his son ' s blood , '' when he had no hope from a Jury of Ids country >
" Why , come here , " says she , shuttin g the door aud placing her finger upon her lips , to eujuin mc to secrecy— " There ' 11 be a jury of the O'Duunells to night , at my brother ' s house , as he ' s an u Donnell and the next of kin to the poor boy that ' -j gone ^ but for your life don't breathe a word of it io mortal man . My brother is outside now , and ihem lhat sent for the Priest is the kinsmen and relations of the O ' Donnells , that ' s going to make their S ' . wls , ' that'll make the jury to see who shall iboot the murderer . " " Wellbut , " I observed , " will Mr . O'Farrell permit them ?
" Ogh , she replied , " God love your heart , they'll never dare tell him , hut it ' s a customary thing to make confession this season of the year . " After a moment ' s thought , I asked anxiously if the dame could procure me admission to her brother ' s house upon the occasion ? She hesitated for a moment , and then replied " Well now , stay a bit , and I'll speak to my brother aud as you ' re a friend of the good man of the house may be he'de let you go , but then you must be hid . " " I agree to any terms , " I answered . She left the
room , and in a few minutes returned and informed me , that I must go now with her brother and be hid in a little chamber inside where the jury would ait , and she ' de tell the priest that I went to see O ' Donnell , and maybe but I might sit up with him all night . This plan suited admirably , aud 1 started without delay with ray guide . Being a fiietidof the priest ' s , aud highly recommendeJ by the fluttering commendation of Mrs . Mahoney , my guide showed no reserve whatever . I asked him , " What the ceremony I was going to witness resembled ?"
He said " that all the blood relations uf the deceased would get word before nightfall to meet at his house , as he was first cousin to O'Douucll , that was all them that wasn't married or hadu 't families , and that thcy'de name a judge and jury that should hear the whole case , whether deceased came by bis death lawfully or not , and whether he owed the money he was asked for ; or if he foreswore himself by denying it as a means of cheating his accuser ; and whether those that took his life took it ia defence of their own , or killed him without just cause . "
" Well , " I observed , " supposing that he may be more reasonable than the outraged fattier , wouldn ' t it be more prudent to try the law first . " " No , " he replied , " the law would go by the oath of them that a Protestant judge aud a Protestant jury would believe again all the Papists and priests in the county , the Lord save us ! and sure you might as well think of carrying the mountain on your back as to think of getting a jury such as he'd have ( for sure , his attorney , Grub , is undersheriff ) to find him guilty ; and then , if he was acquitted—as he would be—we darent meddle with him after . "
" Well , " I observed , " and will he be shot or de strayed ?" "To be sure he \ riU » responded my guide . " My God ! didn ' t you hear even what the Protestant coroner said ? aud sure we ' re not to be shot like dogs , though we were robbed like savages ; but you ' ll see , when you hear all , that he won ' t have a hair of his head hurt if you that was no ways related to deceased , won ' t think he desarves it . " " Well , " said I , " who will do the deed ?"
" You 11 hear , " he responded ; " hut if they knew I let you in , thcy'de drive me out of the nation ; so you must lie where I'll sho ^ f you till all is over , and then I'll bring you back safe and sound here again . " ( To b 4 contt ' ntwd . )
The Nati0h1l Land And Labour Bank. Reckl...
THE NATI 0 H 1 L LAND AND LABOUR BANK . Recklessness , want of economy , indifference of the doubtful futnre during the prosperous present , have ever been the most unanswerable char ges brought by the wealthy , the wily , and the fortunate against the labouring classes . We are not prepared to defend this wholesale charge in the abstract , while we contend that the want of tbriftiness evinced by the many is a consequence of our institutions , both commercial and political , being framed and altered from time to time for the convenience , security , and protection of the hasty made capital of the wealthy , rather than for the accumulated savings of the daily labourer or slowly thriving shopkeeper . For instance , our giant trade and commerce preclude the possibility of the poor man becoming a competitor with the rich speculator , while our monetary system rejects hire as an ally from the impossibility of qualifying himself as a partner or participator from his daily or
weekly savings . The Savings Bank becomes his only alternative , the only depository for his daily or weekly parings , and from t he fact of this department being his only source , the government charges a large profit ia diminished iaterest for the convenience afforded by the institution , For instance , the speculator with thousands , or even with hundreds , in the commercial or money market can command the highest rate of profit or interest , while the poor man is reduced to the alternative of being his own depositor without interest , or accepting the highest rate that his gradual savings can command . Hence the man with a thousand pounds may secure four per cent , upon mortgage , the man with a hundred pounds something over three per cent , in Consols , while the poor accumulator during the process of saving , and who has not a sufficient amount to take advantage of any of these securities , receives no more thjan £ 2 . 18 s . per cent , secured upon his own industry and the dissipation of his thoughtless fellow . Iabourer . He is reconciled to this lower rate of
interest—Frrsriy . —By the fact that it is the only market open to him .- & cen < % . —That tt presents security . —Thirdly . -That it guarantees the power of with drawal in seasons of necessity , but even this power is restricted by coaditions sometimes harsh and inconvenient . Thus we establish the value of co-operation without indus % at one pound two per cent ., that being the difference between the rate of interest received by the poor saver and him who can command a sufficient amount to insure the highest rate of interest . We have been reminded to surfeit that the glory of Englaad consists in the equal opportunity afforded to all in tbe market of speculation . We admit the fact , while we assert that the sun of England ' s glory would speedily set if all men were mere agents for the transfer of property , and none were producer ^ of property . And it is in order that the latter class , which will ever be the large majority , may be armed with the power of co-operation as a means o placing them upon an equality in point of protection with the former class that we advocate the principle of co-operation , and propose to establish , the only medium by which it can be efficiently carried
out—The National Land and Labour Bank . We may be told that Joint Slock Banks , Railway Companies , Mining Companies , Steam Navigation Companies , and all other undertakings introduced to the world with a fascinating prospectus establishing a fictitious amount of shares , and a mere nominal amount of call , present the desired opportunity to tbe small capitalist . The result , however , of attempting to engraft this fascinating reality upon an unheeded fiction , has been the ruin of thousands ; and the effect has been as follows : —Many a poor man , jumping at the promise of high interest , and unscared by the phantom of future calls , has paid the required deposit , which an inconvenient call compels him to sacrifice altogether , or preserve as a forlorn hope , at the expense of future contributions , until the society ' s affairs are wound up , and he finds himself liable to all losses ; a few wily concoctors and solicitors taking his crippled child to nursej and thus fattening upon his credulity . Hence , we show thesimple value of Co-operation without industry , while we assert , witkout fear of contradiction , that the carrying on the necessary operations cf trade depending upon individual industry , is not restricted to three , four , five , ten , or even fifteen per cent . Indeed , the value of capital can be best appreciated by the enormous amount of wealth that its possessors have been enabled to accumulate out of hired labour .
Let us illustrate this position . A tenant holds a hundred acres of land at one pound an acre , and dear in its present state . It will require £ 500 , or £ 5 an acre to drain if , and then it becomes worth £ 2 an acre—thus returning the tenant twenty per cent , upon the expenditure of £ 500 , so that , had he given fifteen per cent , for the capital , he would still be a gainer of five per cent , by the transaction ; while , through that amount of expenditure in labour the district shopkeepers would be benefitted , through them the domestic manufacturer and merchant , and , through all , the government . But this source of speculation is stopped by the landlord ' s indifference to benefit his tenant , and the tenant ' s indifference to benefit the landlord ; whereas if it helongedto the occupier the work would be done . But how much more pointedly the fact will present itself to the reader , when the capital is applied to enable and encourage < he small husbandman to prosecute his own industry . The summary of these observations is that A Nation ' s Greatness
' s better secured by individual prosperity than by commercial traffic , which must restrict industry . The duty of a government is to increase the national resources of the country to the hig hest state of cultivation they will admit of ; and the way to insure this national good is , by the application of free labour , and the equitable ( NOT EQUAL ) distribution of its produce ; while the error of the present system is , that those who possess capital have the power of resisting the cultivation of our national resources 10 that particular standard which insures them the largest monopoly of the produce . We hold it to be an indisputable fact that the application of free labour , which means the labour of the small proprietor to the land , the cultivation of our mines , minerals , and fisheries , can alone develope the national resources , and at the same time establish a satisfactory standard of wages in the artificial labour market , while the higher rate superinduced by well requited industry in the natural market , could be borne by the manufacturer , the merchant , and trader , by the incalculable impetus given to domestic trade and commerce , through the increased consumption of the free labour class .
The industrious man who has comtributed a long life ' s accumulation of property for others must start at tbe announcement of our present prime minister *—" That the criminal law is a problem yet to be solved . ''— " That the sanatory condition of the people is miserably deficient , " and " That our whole system of education requires deep consideration and improvement . " Now we hold that governments , and governments only , are answerable for the law ' s inequality and imperfections , for sanatory deficiency and educational regulation ; and we further hold that free and well-requited labour would render our criminal law , now a problem , if not obsolete , at least a thing of rare application to an improved and moral society . That the free labourer can best educate his own children , ventilate his own house , and preserve his ovtn and famil y ' s health . In the free labour market we estimate a man ' s labour cheaply , very cheaply . at £ 50 per annum , and thus , if we have a million of paupers whose strained labour is now worth £ 10 . a year each , the nation loses £ . 40 , 000 , 000 per annum , added to an expense of seven millions per annum wrung from the labour of the industrious , for no other purpose than to keep up an idle reserve at other people ' s expense , for the capitalist to fall back upon as a means ol reducing and keeping down wages in the artificial market . Here then is a national sacrifice to class gain and individual monopoly . In order , then , to illustrate our plan for creating a free and independent labour class , whose industry shall be applied to the cultivation of our national resources , we propose to establish The National Land and Labour Bank
upon the following principle : —viz . That it shall consist of three departments j—a Deposit Department ; a Redemption Department ; and a Sinking Fund Department ; and we shall now treat of those several departments each under its proper head .
Deposit . ' The Deposit Department to be open to all who wish to vest their monies upon the security of the landed property of the National Co-operative Land Company . and bearing interest at the rate of Si per cent , per annnm . The capital deposited to be regulated by the following scale : —that is to say , —that for every £ 60 payable as rent-charge by the occupants , over and above the amount necessary to pay the interest of £ 4 per cent , on the Redemption Fund , the directors will be empowered to receive £ 1000 , thus leaving a sinking fund in this department , over and above the company's liabilities , of two and a half per cent ,
Suppose , for instance , an estate producing £ 600 a year over and above the Company ' s liabilities of £ 4 per cent , ( upon the amount in the redemption department ) to be occupied by the members ol the company , who will each have received a conveyance in fee of his allotment , subject to a rent-charge proportioned to the purchase money and outlay ; upon this estate , conveyed by the trustees as security to the bank , the directors would be empowered to raise £ 10 , 000 , and would be liable to £ 350 a year interest at 3 per cent , upon the borrowed capital of £ 10 , 000 . Each depositor of any amount not exceeding £ 10 would be entitled to draw that amount on demand . A depositor wishing to draw any amount from £ 10 to £ 20 , must give one week ' s notice . From £ 20 to £ 50 , a fortnight ' s notice ; and from £ 50 , to any amount , one month ' s notice . The amount of deposit at any one time not to be less than two shillings and sixpeace .
Redemption Department . The Redemption Department to be open to the members of the Land Company , and who , whether occupants or shareholders , will be entitled to deposit their funds in that department upon the following conditions : — That each shareholder may deposit any amount not less than threepence at one time , and for which he shall receive interest at the rate of four per cent , per annum . This fund will be applicable to the purchase of Land or fining down of th « occupants' rent-charge , at the rate of four per cent ., or twenty-five years' purchase—that is , that a depositor having £ 25 in the redemption Department when he is eligible for occupation , will be entitled to a reduction of £ 1 per annnm from his rent-charge—that is , the member who , if not a depositor , would be liable to a rent of £ 8 a year , will , when he has paid up £ 25 , be entitled to receive his allotment at £ 7 rent . We state £ 25 , but the depositor of any sum under that amount , down to £ 5 , would be entitled to apply his deposit to the reduction of his rent at four per cent . The additional half per cent , being guaranteed in consequence of shareholders who deposit their monies in the Redemption Department not being allowed to withdraw more than one-half the amount deposited , and king obliged to give a month ' s notice before they can draw any portion of their deposit from that department , which hovrcver would be equivalent to ready money as a transfer of the deposit less the month ' s interest ( th « lender receiving the interest ) could be effected .
Sinking Fund Department . The funds of this department would consist of two and a-half per cent , in landed property over and above the liability of three-and-a-half per cent payable as interest to the depositors . The profits from this department to be added to the redemption department , and equally applied to the purchase or reduction of the rent of shareholders who had keen depositors in the redemption department ; and to be applied in aid of tbe location of the poorer occupants , to be repaid by them in easy and convenient instalments . We shall now proceed to consider the LIABILITIES AND CONTINGENCIES consequent upon the deposit department , and the Company's means of meeting them . We will presume that ifc ? 5 , 000 , or one half of the whole sura in the deposit department , was liable to be withdrawn on demand . The Company should , consequently , be prepared with that amount , to meet any contingency , and which it proposes to do in the following manner ; that is to say . by the application of the Company ' s floating capital for carrying on building and other operations , and which would be always vested in a Bank , paying two and a-half per cent , as at present , and would be constituted of fuuds paid upon account of shares , and not belonging to any ol the three departments . The remainder of the funds in the several departments would be applicable to the purchase of land , erection of houses , and location of occupants .
Expenses . The expenses of the Banking Department are amply provided for by the payment of one shilling per year , per share , payable by the shareholders in the Land Company , and the surplus in the several departments to be applied to the benefit of the shareholders upon the winding up of the section to which they belong .
Mode of Securing the Means of Meeting Liabilities . The Land Company proposes to locate its members upon two acres of land which shall have cost £ 18 . 15 s . peracre , or £ 37 . 10 a . ; to , erect a house which sballcost £ 30 , and to expend in improvements , and give to the occupant , the sum of £ 15 , making a total of £ 82 . 10 s ., andfor which preliminary expenditure the Company charges £ 5 a-year ; and five per cent upon all monies above that sum expended in the purchase of the Laud and the erection of a house that is , if the land costs £ 30 an acre instead of £ 18 15 s ., and the house £ 60 instead of £ 30 , the occupants will pay £ 5 per cent , upon £ 22 . 10 s . the additional price of the Land , and £ 5 percent , upon the £ 30 , the additional price of the house , making a total increased expenditure of £ 52 . 10 s „ thus make ing the rent of occupant in the latter case £ 712 s . 6 d . per annum ; the same scale being applicable to any priced land and any priced house in a descending as well as an ascending ratio—that is , if land shall be purchased at a less amount than £ 18 15 s , an acre , £ 1 per cent , in rent shall be deducted from the reduced price of the land . Suppose , then , the occupant , whose land shall have cost £ 30 an acre , and whose house shall have cost £ 60 , and who shall have received £ 15 capital , that occupant will have cost tbe Company £ 135 , less £ 2 10 s . the ori ginal amount paid for the share—thus making the Company ' s expenditure £ 132 10 s . without taking credit for any portion of the £ 15 capital expanded in operations of husbandry or other improvements which increase the value of the holding . For this £ 132 10 s . the Society receives £ 7 12 s . 6 d . in the shape of real-charge , or within a fraction of 5 r per eent . apon the outlay , without any margin for the increasing value secured upon the expenditure of a man and his family ' s labour to that amount of gronnd . In the case of a man holding f our acres of grouad , and whose house would cost £ 80 , the Society ' s profit would be reduced to about 5 } per cent , upon the outlay . This scale shows the equity of the standard upon which the rent of allotments has been established , and , perhaps , may be met with the assertion , that it is a high per centage upoa the outlay , and which assertion we meet thus—Firstly , —Withont co-operation the occupants could not procur * a single allotmeat . Secondly , —An individual carrying oat the scheme would charge rent according to the retail value , amounting to about £ 15 per « ent ., regulated only by the convenience and desi'e of the poor occupant to have a field whereon to expend his own labour . Thirdly , —The individual would not convey the convenient allotment in fee , aad consequently the occupant woald be liable to a periodical iacrease of rent as a tax upon his own industry . Fourthly , —All profits consequent upon saving of rent over interest is divided equitably amongst the several shareholders . Fifthly , —A small proprietary class is the enly possible means by which the fair standard of the price of labour can be established in the artificial market . The on y means by which porr rates and workhouses can be made annecessary ; The only means by which the national re sources can be fully developed and profitably cultivated ; The only means by which famine—save that which is the will of God—can be averted ; The only means that can render man indifferent to foreign production ; The only means that can give an impetus to home trade and home industry ; The only means that can secure a national militia , who will fly io the cry of " My cottage and my country are in danger !"; The only means by which education can be encouraged , health secured , and violation of the laws of society , be considered crime The only means by which the arts and sciences of Britain can be made to vie with those of any other nation upon earth . The only means by which tbe good in each man mav b » developed , and his evil propensities kept in subjection by the wholesome cbastisewen f public censure and disapproval .
Tint Mimders Of The Halifax Branch Of Th...
Tint Mimders of the Halifax branch of the Chartist Land Company , arc requested to attend a meeting to be hold at the Workman ' s Large Room , Ball Close-lane , on Sunday next , at two o clock , to choosa a committee and two auditors , and a scrutineer , and to transact other bu 4 iness conaecttKl with tho Corap » nv . All nierabsrs that are in arrsars , aro requested to pay up Conference levies , local expenses , or otherwise , and the Secretary particularly requests that each person will bring or send him the name of hut trade and reiirlence if he has removed since he entered . The Chair to be taken at halt-past two o ' clock . ., ,. „ , Li . wkr' Warlbt . —A meeting of members Chartist Co-operative Land Company will Sunday next , Jan . 17 th , at ten o ' clock in aoon , to elect a secretary and other officers .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 16, 1847, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_16011847/page/1/
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