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T EvTLNCTIOX OF PAUPERISM. 3. ORGANISATI...
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**T EvTLNCTIOX OF PAUPERISM. ' fP BT PH....
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Total ... ... ... 25, 08[) ,4.?( The rou...
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Total ... ... ... 4,145,940,417 The aver...
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li'O-nt 810,072,522 200,400 families and...
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Total ... 24,929,925 Deduct this sum fro...
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* A Litre is .. . - J, 1.1S3 yints Er.gl...
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TIIE ADJOURNED INQUESTS ON TDIE CHILDREN...
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added that the wind had been blowing fro...
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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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T Evtlnctiox Of Pauperism. 3. Organisati...
January 27 , 1849 . THE NORTHERN STAR . 7 I ( I _i ii ' ' _.. = _* = ! ... ¦ i _.
**T Evtlnctiox Of Pauperism. ' Fp Bt Ph....
** _T _EvTLNCTIOX OF PAUPERISM . ' fP BT PH . _NrE _NAl ' _tLEOx _' LOlIS BOXArARTE . ~ r Chapter I . ' ¦ ¦ / The wealth ofa country depends upon the pros-! *; parity of agriculture _andindustry , the development ¦ j . ef commerce at home and abroad , and a just and equitable distribution of die revenue . There is not _$ . ono of these different elements of prosperity which _tlr is not undermined in Franoe by au organic defect , . ill ( . independent minds acknowledge it . They differ 0 only in regard to the remedies to be applied . _AGiucrLTt'RE . —It is averred that the extreme divisibility of property tends to ruin agriculture ; and yet thc re-enactment of the law of Primogeni-. lure , which maintained the great estates and favoured the cultivation of the soil , is now auiuif possibility . We in . iycmigi-atul . ntc ourselves in a ] H > litical ] K > int of view that it is so . _EiTIXCTIOX OF PAUPERISM .
_Lnui-sikt . —Labour , the source of all wealth , has neither system , organisation , nor aim . It is- like a machine working without a regulator , and totally _jinconeerned about its moving power . Crushing between its wheels alike men and matter , it depopulates the country , crowds the population into narrow spaces without air , enfeebles both mind and fcody , and finally , casts into the street when it no longer requires them , those wen who , to gain something , have sacrificed strength , youth , and existence . Like a veritable Saturn , " manufacturing industry devours its cliildren and lives but upon their
destruction ; must we , however , to ward off these evils subject it to au iron yoke , deprive it of that liberty on which it alone flourishes , and iuone word slay it , _ftecause it slays others , without calculating the immense Iieuefits it confers ? We believe tliat it will be sufficient to cure its wounded and avert wounds . Jt is urgent to do so , for society is no fictitious bebig . _Itisabodycomposedof fleshand bone which cannot prosper , unless all its component parts are in a state of perfect health . Wemustliave an cfficacioHS remedv for the evils endured by industry . The welfare of the country , the voice " of humanity , and even the interest t f _govei-ununt imperatively demand it .
Home Commerce—Suffers , because industry produces too much in comparison with the slender j-equit . nl it gives to the producer , whilst agriculture does not produce sufficient . Thc nation is thus composed of producers who cannot sell , and of famished consumer . * who cannot buy . This loss of balance causes the government here , as in England , to go to Chiua in search of some thousands of _conj-umer . ' _* , whilst there are millions of French , or English , who arc _strip-ied of everything , and who , if they could purchase sufficient food and clothing , would create a commercial movement much more considerable than that caused hy the most _advantag eous treaties .
Foreign Commerce . —The causes which affect onr exportation .-- are too closeJv allied witb politics to speak of them here . Itis sufficient for ns tosay , that the quantity of merchandise which a country _i-xports , is always in direct relation with the number of bullets which it can discharge against its enemies when its honour or dignity command it . The events which occurred in China , sufficiently attest that truth . We will now speak of
. France is one of the most highly taxed countries in Euro * . * . It might be , perhaps , the richest country ifthe public revenue was distributed in the most equitable manner . The levying of taxes may bo compared to the action ofthe sun ' s rays , which " absorb the moisture from the earth , to distribute it again in the form of rain over all places requiring water for fecundity or produce . When tliis restitution operates regularly , fertility ensues , but when heaven in its wrath , scatters the absorbed vapours impartially hi storms , whirlwinds and tempests , the germs of production are destroyed , and sterility results , for too much is given here , and too little there . Still whatever may have been the beneficial or injurious influence of the atmosphere , abnost always at the end of the year , the f . tme ' piantity of water that has been taken is _ri-tunied .
The distribution alone makes all the difference . When it is regular and equitable , abundance is created . When it is prodigal and impartial , scarcity is the result . The same effects are produced hy a good or a had administration . Ifthe taxes annually levied from the people arc expended in a non-productive manner , such as hi the creation of sinecures , the erection nf sterile monuments , and the support of an army in times of peace , more expensive than that which _conquered at Ausierlitz , then taxation becomes a crushins * burden ; it exhausts the country bv taking
without returning . But if , on the other hand , the national resources were employed in creating new elements of production , in re-establishing the equilibrium of wealth , in abolishing misery , in stimulating and organising labour , and , hi short , in curing those evils which our civilisation brings in its train , then assuredly taxation would become for our citizens , as a nunister said one day from the tribune , the very fast of all investments . In the budget we must find the first stalling point of any system which has for its aim the amelioration of the working classes . To seek it elsewhere is a chimera .
Savin- * - * ' Banks are no doubt useful to the better class of workmen , they afford them an opportunity vf making an advantageous use of their savings , or -upvrfuiitie : *; but to the numerous class who have no superfluity , and consequently no means of saying , ihe system is altogether worthless . To seek to mitigate the wretchedness of men , who have not sufficient food , by proposing tliat they shall annually put aside something wliich they " Lave not got , is ritber a derision or a fid I v .
What should be done i Here it is—our law of equality relative to the division of property ruins agriculture . This inconvenience must be remedied by an association , which by employing every idle arm shall re-create great estates and increase ' cultivation , without causing auy \ lisadvaiiiage to our _politic-il principles . Manufacturing industry continually draws the populations into towns , and enervates them . We must reeal those into fields , who are too numerous in towns , and invigorate their minds and bodies in tbe conntrv .
The working classes possess nothing . We must make them proprietors of the soil . They possess no wealth save in their arms . We must employ these , so as to make them useful to all . The workuur classes arc like Helots in the midst of a Sybarite people . We nuu > t then give a position in society , and bind their interests to the soil . Finally , the working classes are without organisa tion _, attachments , fights , or prospects . We must srive them both rights and future prospects , and elevate them in thc scale of society by combination , _i-ihieatioii , and discipline .
Chapter II . To accomplish a project so worthy of the democratic and philanthropic spirit of the aire , so necesxiry for the general well _1-eing , and so useful to the repose of society , three things are necessary : —1 st , A law . 2 nd , The advancement of funds from the budget . 3 rd , Organisation . 1 . the law . There are in France , accordinjr to official _asriculim-al statistics , fl _. _lflu _. 'JW acres of uncultivated lands _bi'Ioiiging to government , to _horousrhs , or
individuals . These heaths , commons , oi- " pasture lands vield a very small rent of eight _fraiics an acve . They are like sunk capital , benefitting no one . Let ihe chambers decree that all these uncultivated lands shall belong in right to the working associalion , on condition that they annually pav to the actual proprietors the same amount which they _m-eive now . Let them consign the idle acres to the idle arms , and these two unproductive capitals will spring into life , the one operating npon the other . Then the means will have been discovered of
mitigating misery by enriching tho country . So as to avoid the reproach of exaggeration , we will suppose that two thirds of these nine millions of acres can be given np to the association , and that the remainder may be either unarable or occupied by houses , rivers , canals .
After tlie lapse of that time these colonies , by anordin" the means of existence to a great mass of workmen , would be a direct benefit . At tho ond of i _? n years the Government might lew a land tax of tight millions of francs or £ _& 0 , 0 < 10 , " without counting the natural increase of indirect taxes , which always augment m proportion to the consumption which expands with the general comfort of the _f-eople . This advance of three hundred millions of francs would not then be a sacrifice , but a _magnificent invc > tiiient of money ; and could the State on _contem-I'hrthi'r the grandeur of the object refuse it , whilst - umually expending forty-six millions of francs in prcventiiig or piiiiisliiu-f attacks made upon
ltra-I ! " ' _y ' whilst sacrificing every year tbree hundred : ' "" n * of francs m teaching the trade of soldicri ns , and whilst propositi !* an expenditure of one I Wi" « w _* d and twenty millions of francs in the cou-I vhi ' - ? f , 1 CW l _' ' - _*"" _-- In short * the nation I _;* , _tthoui grumbling crave two thousand mil-I Sj \ -1 m : l , ! e _? rra ,, w * _**«« - ¦ ¦ - ¦ _™»«« t « _- « r-I _SrJw dol , e , tl , ou ' B ,,, d , ni ,, ions « _"i'iirrants , I _KMSH-f _" . _I' _?' ' three _hnudi-edinil-[ _S _^ _S _* ' ; will that na tion , four ; _-e- St i : V : U'L'e thl'ec Lmidre ( - " > aiions in 1 . muni , - 0 > _' . d * _*'' W- '"f _« , to relieve the comm » - < _£ and to . _™ _™ Vdcns , _in _. p _^ _. i ,,,-1 > _-Vh _^^
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3 . ORGANISATION . . The unorganised mass are nothing , united they are everything ; without organisation they can neither speak themselves , nor make others understand them ; they cannot even receive or act upon a common impulse . On thc one hand , the voice of twenty millions of men , scattered over a vast territory , is lost in echo ; on the other , there is no language sufficiently strong and persuasive to spring from a central point , and bear to twenty millions of consciences without ree _. _ynhsd mediators the severe doctrines of powor . The reign of castes is over . They can onl y govern now by the masses . It is therefore" necessary to organise them , so that they may reduce their wishes to form , and discipline tbem , so that they maybe directed towards , and enlightened upon their veal interests . 3 . ohgasISAtio . v . . .
To govern , means no longer to rule the people bv violence and physical force , but the art of conducting them towards a more glorious future , by appealing to their reason and ieelin- * s . But since tbe masses need instruction , and the government requires to be restrained , and even enlightened , as to the interest of thc greatest number , it is absolutely necessary that there should be in society two equally powerful movements : the action of power npon the mass , and the re-action of the mass upon power . These separate influences cannot act without collision , except through mediators , who at once possess the confidence of those whom they represent , and the confidence of those who rule .
These mediators would possess the confidence of the first , the moment they were freely elected by them ; and they would deserve the confidence of the second , thc moment they filled an important place 111 society ; for one may say in general , that man is that which tlie functions he performs obliges him to be . Guided by these considerations we wish to sec created between thc workmen and their employers , an intermediate class enjoying rights legally recognised , and elected by the whole mass of
workmen . This intermediate class would form the corps of managers or overseers . We should like all thc working-men to assemble in their respective communes every year , and proceed to thc election of their representatives or overseers in the proportion of one to every ten workmen . Good conduct would be the sole qualification . Every manufacturer , or fanner , or any tradesman whatever should be compelled by law to have a . manager whenever he employed more than ten workmen , and to pay him doublethe amount ofa common workman . These managers would perform amongst the working classes thc same duty that non-commissioned officers do in the army , they would compose the first step in the social hierarchy " , stimulating the . laudable ambition of all by showing them a recompense easy to be obtained .
Elevated in their own estimation by the duties they had to perform , they would be compelled to set an example of good conduct . According to this plan , every ten ofthe workmen would contain within themselves the germ of perfection . To ameliorate the condition of men , you must always place before them some attainable object , which may at once be honourable and honoured . The question of giving an impulse to tho mass , of enli g htening them , of appealing to them , and of causing them to act , is found to rest simply in the relation which one bears to ten .
Suppose there are twenty-five millions of men , who exist by labour alone , there would be two millions and a half managers or of intermediate agents , to whom they could appeal with greater confidence , because they participate at once in the interests of those who obey , as well as in those who command . These managers would be divided into two classes . The first would belong to private industry , the second would be employed in the agricultural establishments ; and wc repeat that _tlTis different mission would be thc result of thc right of direct taxation by all the working-classes .
Chapter III . AGRICULTURAL COLONIES . Let us suppose that the three preceding measures have been adopted . The twenty-five millions of actual workmen havo their representatives , and the fourth part of thc agricultural area of France is their property , supposing thev did , as they most assuredly would in the end , purchase the actual proprietorship . In each department of Franco , and in the first instance , wherever the uncultivated lands were , agricultural colleges would be established , offering food , education , religious instruction , and work , to all who required them , and God knows the number is great in France . These charitable institutions ,
in the midst of a selfish world , abandoned to the feudality of money , ought to produce the same beneficial effect as those monasteries which flourished in the middle ages , in the bosom of forests , amidst warlike men and serfs , forming the germs of enlig htenment , peace , and civilisation . There being but one national association , the unequal distribution of the uncultivated land , and even the limited quantity in certain distirets , would be no obstacle . The poor of one department could remove to the colony ofthe next ; or cultivated lands might be purchased which , although unprofitable to individuals , might be advantageous to an association . The great benefit of combination arises from the equal distribution of aid , and the mitigation of misery , without that constant excuse of inhumanity being ' adduced , Oh ! the pauper does not belong
to my parish . " Agricultural colonies would have two ends to fulfil . " The first would be to support a vast number of poor by employing them in the cultivation of tinsoil , Ac . The second would be to afford a temporary refuge to the floating mass of workmen , whom the _' prosperify of trade once called into activity , ami whom its stagnation or thc improvements in machinery plunged into thc deepest misery . All the poor , all who were out of work , would find in these colonies means of employing mind and body for the benefit of the entire community . Thus there would be in these colonics , independent ofthe men , women , and children , strictly necessary for farm labour , a great number constantly employed in reclaiming new land , and in erecting new establishments for the old and infirm . The advances made to the association on its
ulterior profits would allow of the employment ofa considerable capital in these necessary expenses . When private industry required hands , it would seek them at those central depots , and it is clear that the workman who was always sure to find a living in the agricultural colonics , would not accept ot private employment , unless the latter presented greater benefits than the former ; hence a _reinunei-ative scale of wages would always be maintained . To stimulate an exchange , as well to excite the emulation of the workmen , a levy would be made on the profits of each colony , to create a capital for each workman . A real savings bank would thus be formed , from which the workman , at the moment of his departure could draw the balance due to him , which would be regulated in amount by the length of his employment , Ms zeal , and his good conduct .
The labourious man would be able to amass " , in a few years , a sum sufficient to ensure his living during the remainder of his life , even out ofthe colony altogether . To define our system better , wc shall have recourse to a comparison . A largo river flowing through a country is a general cause of prosperity " ; but sometimes too great an abundance , or a scarcity of its waters , give rise to inundations , or produce droughts . What ought to he done to remedy those two calamities ? The Nile furnishes ns with an example . —Vast basins are dug , in which the surplus waters remain , and from which they flow when there is too little , maintaining a constant level , from whieh results
abundaucc . Well , we propose a similar thing for the working classes , whose flow of industry may be at once a source of rum or fertility , according as its course is guided . Wc demand , for the floating mass of workmen , vast places of refuge , where their minds and bodies may he equallydeveloped ; refuges which , when the national activity is partially superseded , shall preserve the surplus unemployed labour to restore it again in proportion to the general demand . We demand , in one word , veritable labour _roservoii-s _, which would always maintain at its level the _industrr of the country .
Thc managers or representatives of the workmen would become the regulators of that continual _exclianco . The managers in private concerns , alive to alfthe wants of their employers , would share with the magistrates the right of sending to the agricultur . il colonics those whom they could not employ . The managers ofthe colonics , aware ofthe capacity of each individual , would endeavour to procure advantageous appointments in private
establishments for those who were required there . Several practical inconveniences might attend this exchange ; but what institution does not present the same in the beginning . This one would possess the immense advantage of augmenting popular instruction , of g iving thc mass a healthy employment , and of teaching them agriculture ; and would establish , as a general custom , that which the manufacturing of sugar from beetroot and silk manufacturing have already introduced , viz ., the alternate exchange of field labour for that ofthe factory .
The managers would be in the proportion of one to ten , as in private business . Above the managers there would be directors , whose duties would he to teach practical agriculture . These directors would be elected by the workmen and managers combined . Beforo thev were eligible they would require to produce proof of a practical knowledge of agricul-
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" { _^ _"ally _, above thc directors , managers , and _worxers there would be a governor for each colonv . « e would be nominated by the united directors _aiid managers . The adminstration would be composed of the governor , one-third ofthe directors , and two-thirds oi the managers . Every year the accounts would be published , laid before the general assembly of workmen , and submitted to the general council of the department for tlieir approval , who would likewise have the right to discharge the manager or directors who had exhibited any incapacity . ture . Finally . _-tWo t _^ , r „ ¦ _„ _,... „ „
Every year the governors of colonies would have to proceed to Paris , and there , under the presidenec ofthe Minister of the Interior , discuss the best means of employing their funds , for the general benefit ofthe association . Every beginning is difficult . Thus we have not discovered tlie means of creating these agricultural colonies economically witbout establishing camps where , in the outset , our workmen would be in barracks like our troops . It will be understood that as soon as the receipts surpass thc expenses the barracks would be replaced by more healthy buildings , erected according to a matured plan .
Accessory buildings would then be added to afford the members of the colony and their children both civil and-religious instruction . Finally , vast hospitals would be built for the infirm , and for those whose age made labour impossible . A severe discipline would reign over these colonies . Life would there he salutary but rough , for their object is not to hatch idlers but to ennoble men by healthy and remunerative labour , as well as by moral education . The workmen and their families would be treated in the simplest manner possible . Lodging , food , and clothing would be regulated by the army tariff , for military organisation is the onl y one which is based at once on thc comfort of all its members and thc strictest economv .
These establishments , however , would not be military , they would only borrow from the army its admirable order , and that would be all . The army is simply au organisation . The working class would form an association . These two bodies differ in principle and object . The army is an organisation which , requiring to execute blindly and with promptitude the command of the chief , ought to have for its basis a hierarchy , beginning from above . The working classes form an association , whose leaders would have no other duties except to regulate and execute the general will , - its hierarchy ought then to result from election . That which we propose , then , has no connoxion with military colonies . So as to make our system moro palatable , we are about to glance at the probable receipts and expenses of an agricultural colony . The calculations aro based on official returns .
Every one will understand the difficulty of drawing up such a budget . Nothing can be more inexact than a detailed appreciation of the rent of land . Wc do not pretend to have foreseen all . The best provision , says Montesquieu , is to try and not sec too much . But if our figures may give rise to various interpretations , we shall not admit that it is so with the system itself . It is possible , notwithstanding the care we have taken in our valuations , that we have omitted sonic expenses and receipts , or estimated the produce of the soil too high . But these omissions do not damage in the least- the fundamental idea which wo believe to he just , true and fruitful of good results . The following simple reason will prove it .
Generally speaking , the rents of the land are divided into three parts , without counting fiscal duties . The first goes to support the workmen ; the second is the farmer ' s share ; and the third enriches the proprietor . In our model farms thc working class would have these three products for themselves . They would comprise within themselves workmen , farmers , and landlords , These advantages woidd be immense , nnd more especially so , because , in a well-established association , the _exjicnses are always less than in individual business . The first part would enable many poor families to live in moderate comfort . The second part would form personal deposits , as we formerly Btated , and the third would supply the means , " not only of erecting houses of refuge , but would unceasingly augment the capital of society , by the purchase of new land .
In that consists one ofthe greatest advantages of our system , for any system which does not contain within itself the means of constantly increasing is defective . It may lead to good temporary results , but when that effect is realised , the evil it sought to destroy is renewed , and it is as if nothing had been done . The Poor Law and the Union Workhouses in England furnish a striking example . Here , on the contrary , when the agricultural colonies shall be in full action , it will be always possible to extend their territory , to multiply their establishments , and to create new workshops . The sole obstacle to this increase will momentarily _sprins- from the demand for labour made by the individual manufacturers , of which thoy can . make a more advantageous use . The cultivated soil will
not be abandoned ou that account . The excess of workmen will enter the labour market , anil remain there until some new stagnation in trade drives them back upon the agricultural colony . Thus , whilst our law of equality divides property more and more , the working-man ' s association would reconstruct large estates and stimulate agriculture . Whilst manufacturing industry was attracting the people ceaselessly to the towns , the colonics would recall them to the country . When thero was no longer sufficient land at a low enough price in France , the association would establish branches in Algiers , or even in America . It might one day invade the world , for wherever thero was an acre of land to clear , or poor to nourish , it would be there with its capital , its army of workmen , and its incessant activity .
Let them not accuse us of dreaming of an impossibility . We have only to recall to mind thc example ofthe famous English East India Company . What is it but an association like that whieh we propose , whose results although astonishing are not so favourable to humanity as that which we call for with all our heart and soul . Before we penetrate so far into the future , let us calculate the probable receipts and expenditure of these colonies .
_CiiAriER IV . RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE . According to our suppositious , the working-men ' s association would have to claim two-thirds of uncultivated lands , or 0 , 127 , 000 acres . To ascertain how much these acres would yield , if subjected to proper cultivation , without any being left fallow , we have made the following calculation . The number of acres of cultivated lands in all France , is ... ... ... 19 , 314 , 741 The natural and artificial prairies .,. 5 , 774 , 745
Total ... ... ... 25, 08[) ,4.?( The Rou...
Total ... ... ... 25 , 08 [) , 4 . ?( The rough value of thc produce of these lands is , For thc arable soil ... ... 3 , 470 , 583 , 00 a For tlie prairies ... ... CGo , o 03 , 412
Total ... ... ... 4,145,940,417 The Aver...
Total ... ... ... 4 , 145 , 940 , 417 The average produce per acre , for seed or prairie lands , would raise to 165 francs per acre . On the otber hand , there are in France 51 , 5158 , 845 domestic animals of every kind , whieh give a rough produce of 707 , 251 , 851 francs , without comprising the value of meat consumed . Taking one with the other , each head of cattle produces fifteen francs , and as those animals are fed on twenty-six millions of acres , it will make two for each acre . We may say that the average produce of each acre is 105 francs , 105 from land , and thirty from thc animals . Our 6 , 127 , 000 acres put into cultivation or pasture , would yield from the rouwh produce of the soil 1 , 010 , 055 , 000 francs , and from the produce of animals 183 , 810 , 000 , making a total of 1 , 104 , 705 , 000 francs . Deduct from that sum the amount which these lands now
produce , viz ., 54 , 700 , 304 francs , and the territorial wealth would be augmented by 1 , 140 , 055 , 030 francs . Let us now estimate the expense . To assist our calculations , let us suppose that the lands to be cleared are equally spread over each political division of France . We would have then to divide the number of acres by eighty-six , which would leave for each department ? 71 , 241 acres . ,. , ,, Fixin" - twenty years as the time after which all these l : mds should be cultivated ; there would be for each department 3 , 562 acres to clear annually . The number of hands required for this work , could be regulated thus : one workman would on an _ivera' _-e clear three acres annually , as lie can do _twoofwood-Iaiidorfourofturf . Hut as we must likewisethat after the _se
calculate Sickness , and , - cond year the workman would bo obliged to a end to the cultivation ofthe soil , and assist the ag it . ultural families , who would be annually augmenting , we will suppose that only two acres are annualTv cleared . It would be necessary then to employ-1 _«* 1 workmen to accomplish the work mtwmy _>« - ami as there would be . cleared - _^ _ftX-l the colonv would receive every . year one bund * en and twenty families to assist in the cultivation of _ni _^ _SueSoprictor informs us tl » t « _nto I ' , « - « . < h . in where the pastures are replaced _uj ™ _r _« lr " - _" ° _^ » a " temi dnii " ti , c _'"¦' _* _-iESe the i . tm _. 1 of went , _jcars _, thc CO-
Total ... ... ... 4,145,940,417 The Aver...
lony would have its receipts nnd expenses progressively increasing . _i e o The receipts , without counting the first _govcrn-CmS _' , ; _W bo ComP 0 _« ed of the periodical _Soi _l « ° i ° 'V ««« s . «» d their annual ino _4 bun -n uV - ! ulmitt _"' _£ tl , at _™ acre vidds not nrod _, ? J tl ft " lnet 5 ' _-five fl _™< - _* . the lands would s . ri i aniount ' f _& , at thc end ° « - ™ ° ycais and after four years of cultivation . vield tl , o fi , ° _f _* ' _- h acre after bein ? cIe ; _* « _' _wuld hundtcd and thirty , and each succeeding vcar one hundred and mncty-fivc francs . As for the expenses independent ofthe first outlav thoexpenditurewouldbocontinuallvrenewed _. suchas tor the payment of 1781 workmen and 120 familic « the rent due to Boroughs or individuals , seeds , outhouses , management , and 7 , 124 beasts to purchase Besides there would be each year a regular increase in expenses caused by the maintenance of ono bun . „ m . „ _-.... _., _. .
_di-ed and _Uvcnty now families , and the erection of barracks to lodge them _. Each workman would receive the pav of a soldier , and each family , that of three workman . Clothing would be cheapor for thc working men than for the soldier ; but wo will calculate it at thc market price _, _hacti man would annually cost , including everything' three hundred and eighteen francs . Ihe managers would receive the pav of non-commissioned officers ; the directors that of officers ; and the governor that ofa colonel . Until the colony yielded profit , all the workmen would bo lodged in barracks constructed like military ones . These immense healthy constructions , built on a small scale , would contain ten men and their overseers , or one family . In many departments there are similar barracks near the sugar manufactories . In _making the cal-¦¦¦
culations which we have placed at the end of the hook , it would be found that with an advance of thieo hundred millions of francs , thc receipts and expenses of ouv colonies would at the end of twentvthree years be as follows : — Annual receipts francs 1 , 104 , 694 , 800 Expenses 378 , 022 , 273
Li'o-Nt 810,072,522 200,400 Families And...
li'O-nt 810 , 072 , 522 200 , 400 families and 15 * 3 , 100 poor workmen would be supported . France would be enriched by twelve millions of cattle . Finally thc government might lay on tlie rough income according to thc present rates , about _thirty-soven millions of francs .
_Cuafikk V . KEV 1 KW . In the summary view we have given of the benefits , wc have kept within tho truth for the cultivation of a fourth part of the uncultivated lands would not only increase by a quarter the rough revenue of France , but this increase of wealth would give to all branches of national industry an' immense Stimulus , which itis more easy to understand than explain in all its details . Not only _woiild these colonies prevent in twenty years , more than a million of human beings from languishing in misery , not only would they support a host of workmen in connexion with agriculture , but the annual exchange of 800 millions of francs worth of land products for others would increase consumption and improve tho home market . This demand would present an outlet for all the fruits of
industry more considerable than the most advantageous commercial treaties could effect , because the 800 millions of francs value , surpass by 150 millions the value of all our exportations , which only amount to 044 millions of francs . To make this reasoning moro apparent and to show tho vast importance of thc home market , let us suppose these agricultural colonies were not within our territorial Boundary , but separated from the continent by an arm of tne sea and a line of custom-house officers , and that they were nevertheless compelled to have no commercial dealings except with France . It is clear that if their agricultural produce realised profits of 800 millions of francs ; that sum would ba exchanged for various continental produce .
« e believe , that increased home consumption favoured by the general augmentation of wealth aud comfort , would remedy more than anything olse , those evils of which certain classes complain , and above all that it would diminish by one half , thc sufferings of the vine growers by making their food cheaper . In fact it may be presumed that these colonies from the nature of the soil , will produce grain and cattle , rather than wine . 15 ut by augmenting the quantity of wheat , and of flesh meat , thoy would lower the price of common necessaries , and increase consumption by putting them within reach of the working classes . __ On the other hand , the increased comforts of society would add to the number of those who could drink wine , and consequently improve general consumption . " '
France produces 36 , 783 , 223 hectolitres of wine , without counting brandy . It consumes ... . _ 23 , 578 , 248 Exports 1 , 351 , 077
Total ... 24,929,925 Deduct This Sum Fro...
Total ... 24 , 929 , 925 Deduct this sum from thc production , and there will remain 11 , S 53 _, 298 hectolitres unemployed . These figures demonstrate , not only tho mischief but the remedy . They prove the superiority of the home market over the foreign , for if through the means we have pointed out the stimulus given to the home market would only increase consumption , hy one-tenth part , which is not improbable , the increase would be 2 , 357 , 824 hectolitres which is double our exportation . tne otner
un nana , n our government succceaeu , and we aro far fromantiuipatmg it , in increasing our exportation , one-fifth part of that augmentation would only be 270 , 334 . Labour which creates easy circumstances , and those again which add to consumption , form the real basis | of a nation's prosperity . Tlie first duty , then , of a wise and able nunister , is to endeavour by improving agriculture and the coudition of the masses to increase home consumption which is now very far from its height . Speaking statistically , each inhabitant of France annnallv consumes 271 hectolitres of wheat and
barley which make 328 rations of bread per head per annum ; of butchers' meat twenty kilogrammes ; of wine seventy litres ; sugar 3 . 4 kilogrammes . This means humanly speaking tliat there are in Franco millions who eat neither bread , meat , nor sugar * and who drink no wine . The rich consume 305 rations of bread instead . of 328 ; 180 kilogrammes of meat instead of twenty ; and 305 litres ' of wine instead of seventy ; and fifty kilogrammes of sugar instead of three and twofifths . *
We do not produce sufficient , we do not consume onougli . Instead of seeking consumers in China let us increase our territorial wealth , Let them employ all the idle arms for thc benefit of all thc wretched and industrious , and lot them not forget that France , which has been so richly endowed by Heaven , contains within herself all . the elements of prosperity . It i 3 a stigma upon our civilisation to think that iu the nineteenth century thc tenth part of our population should be in rags aud perishing from want , amidst manufacturing produce which cannot be sold , and agricultural supplies which cannot be consumed .
To sum up . The system which we propose is the result of all the ideas which have emanated from the most able political economists of the last half century . In Mr . Gouin ' s Statistical and Official Agricultural Report , page xxviii , the minister declares that the greatest progress to be obtained is by reclaiming the waste lands which do not yield more than eight francs per acre . Our project realises tliat idea . % . Everyone animated by a love for Ids species demands justice for the working classes , who seem to bo disinherited of all the benefits of civilisation . Our project confers upon them all that is calculated to ' improve tlio condition of man , comfort , education , order , and thc chance which is afforded every one of elevating liimself by his own merit and industry . . . .
. Our organisation tends to nothing less than the making , m tho course of a few years , thc poorer classes the richest association in all France . Now the reward of labour is left to chance or violence . The master either oppresses , or the workman revolts . According to ouv system wages would he fixed , as all human things ought to be regulated , not by force , but according to the just equilibrium established between the wants of those who toil and the necessities of those who provide work . In the present day all flock to Paris , wbich as a centre absorbs all the energies ofthe oountry ; our system without nijuring the centre , would carry liftto the furthest extremities by bringing into action eighty-six new systems , working under the direction ofthe _goyernmeu * . What is wanted to realise such a project ? Ono year ' s pay ofthe army , fifueu times the sum given to America , or an expense equal to that employed on thc fortifications of Paris . " *
litis advance would aftur twenty years , bring back to France ono thousand millions , to the working classes eight hundred millions and a revenue of thirty-seven millions of francs . Let the government put our project into execution , modifying it according to the experience of men well . versed in such complicated matters , and who may supply useful hints and cast new lights upon their . Let it take to heart the great national interests . Let it establish the comfort of the masses , on an immovable basis and it will become immovable itself . Poverty would no longer become seditious , when wealth was no longer oppressive . It is a great and holy mission and worthy : pf man ' s highest ambition , to strive to _silbdiie-human .-na-
* A Litre Is .. . - J, 1.1s3 Yints Er.Gl...
* A Litre is .. . - J , 1 . 1 S 3 _yints Er . glish _irei-tulitve .. .. 2 , 0 . 419 gallons-. Kilogramme ,, .. 21 b . i'oi -3 dvi ch'ns ,
* A Litre Is .. . - J, 1.1s3 Yints Er.Gl...
turc , to heal all wounds , to sooth the sufferings of humanity by uniting the people of the same country in one common interest , and by accolorating that future , whieh civilisation will sooner or later usher in _. In the beginning of the last century La Fontaine uttered this sentence , wliich is too often true , but always sad and so destructive of society , order , and _. . _.. _.
hierarchies . " I tell you hi plain French our enemy is our master . " In the present day the aim of every wise government should be to bring about a time when it might be said , * ' Tho triumph of Christianity has destroyed slavery . Tho triumph ofthe rrench revolution has destroved servitude , und the triumph of democracy has destroyed pauperism . "
CALCULATION OF THE EXPENSES _AXD RECEIPTS OF AN AGRICULTURAL COLONY . 25 Francs £ 1 . ; 1 , 000 _Frane * £ 40 . ; 1 , 000 , 000 £ 40 , 000 . AT THB E . _VD OF Till * _riKfST VJBAB . Expenses . * Francs . Receipts . 1781 Workmen at 318 francs 508 , 358 120 Families , one as three workmen 114 , 480 _l'JO Managers at 3 ( 1 francs 0 , 840 19 Directors at 1 , 800 francs 34 , 200 One Governor 6 , 000 Value of Seed 82 , 838 7124 head of Cattle , at 36 francs 30 cents 257 , 888 Outliou-es 100 , 000 Management 10 , 000 _*™\ . ' 31 , 807 102 barracks 21 , 000 120 ditt ' o for families " . * 12 , 000 Government Implements of husbandry 50 , 000 gift . To * al 1 , 203 , 272 1 , 293 , 272 " EXrEXSES KND OF SECOND YEAR . Expenses . _, Fraucs . Receipts . France . Same expenses as year preceding ... 1 , 210 , 212 120 New Families , 1 Director , and 12 , Maill , gers 11 ( 5 , 712 120 barracks i < - < _xjo Rent of new land _Sl _' 807 Implements 5 ; 0 l ) 0 Government ... * U 6 701 Management , & c _ J _^ 00 Produce of 3 , 5 * 32 acres ... . ' .. ... ' 234 , 530 _l-sra-SSi 1 , 078 , 231 _J-. _VO OF THIRD YEAR . Expenses as before 1 , 378 , 231 Governmont 851660 Addition 108 , 019 Produce of 3 , 562 aeres 4631000 Produce ot same at 05 francs 231 , 530 1 . 546 , 250 1 , 546 , 250 _'" *• E . NO OF FOURTH _YKAU . From Government 325 , 089 __ 3 , 502 acres , at 195 fraucs _WiiM <\ _-G-fPP- ? ' 1 , 546 , 250 Same at 130 403 060 Additions 108 , 019 Samo at 05 231 _^ 530 Total 1 , 714 , 200 Total 1 , 714 , 209 _ENU OF FIFTH _VEAU . Ex pnses 1 , 8 S 2 , 2 S 8 RcveiiHO of former years 1 , 714 , 289 Gradual increase 004 , 500 2 , 408 , 859 1 , 882 , 288 Profit 526 , 571 At the end of ten years the Re venue would be , 5 , 881 , 309 The _Lspcnses 2 , 722 , 383 Profit 3 , 158 , 926 At thc end of twenty-three years the Expenses would bo 4 , 402 , 573 The Revenue 13 , 891 , 800 -Profit 9 , 489 , 227 TAKE EIGHTY-SIX DEPARTMENTS AND THE RESULT WOULD BE * . — Annual Receipts 1 , 194 , 094 , 800 Expenses of 80 Colonies 378 , 622 , 278 Profit 810 , 072 , 522
Tiie Adjourned Inquests On Tdie Children...
TIIE ADJOURNED INQUESTS ON _TDIE CHILDREN REMOVED FROM THE TOOTING INFANT PAUPER ASYLUM . INQUEST _AfiT . PANCRAS . On Thursday afternoon , January 18 th , Mr . _O . J . Mills , the deputy-coroner for Middlesex , and the jury cmpannelled on the body of John Joseph Coster , one of the children who had died in St . Pancras Workhouse on his removal from Tooting , re-assembled at the Elephant and Castle , King' s-road , Camden Town , further to _prosecuto their inquiry . My . Joux M'Gauev , thc elevk to thc directors of the poor of St . Pancras , was first re-ealled . lie said—The engagement with Mr . Drouet for fanning
out the children was not a contract m writing . Mr . Drouet promised to appropriate a particular building tothe St . Pancras children ; there was to be necessary warmth with regard to the _bedding , aud they were only to sleop two in one bod . Mr . _Di-ouot , ill case of sickness , , was to supp ly all modieinoe , medical treatment , and nurses . The sum agreed to bo paid was 4 s . Od . per week . Before the directors agreed with Mv . Dvouct for that sum , they considered whether that was a sufficient sum , and found that it was Is . per week more than thoy could be kept hero for .
The Foreman . —And thus rob us ratepayers of ls . per week for each child . The ConoxER . —Tho question is whether any party should be allowed to mako a profit out of these children . There could be no doubt that every ounce ol food which Mr . Drouet could save would diminish his expense with regard to these children , and thereby increase his own profit . Evidence continued . —Tho first report as to Mr . Drouet ' s establishment- was on thc 8 th of June , when some of the children complained that thoy did not have so much to eat as in tho workhouse , and that several had run away . On the llth of July , a report was presented by Mr . Douglas , approving the cleanliness and general management of Mr . Drouet ' s establishment . On the 22 nd of August , a
report was received from Mr . Johnson , ono of the district medical officers—that he had been called to see the bovs Joseph Shorrard , aged eleven , and Henrv , aged " nine , who had been removed up here from Tooting . The former had a wound in his leg arising from a kick , which would not have been produced in a child in a sound 6 tate of health . Thc wound on the other child ' s head was alleged to have been innieted by tho schoolmaster . The children were staying with their uncle and aunt in William ' s Mews , and were both in a very low and emaciated condition . In consequence of the receipt of this report , the board of directors sent down Mr . _Robinsoii , the workhouse surgeon , and Mv . _Joliusou _, to Tootiug , to examine the St . Pancras children . Mr . Robinson ' s report bears date August 28 th , and after enumerating fiftv-oight cases of ophthalmia and other diseases , chiefly eruptions , contains the followinc ? _imnoi'tnnt paragraph : — _ . .
" I did not fail to notice , from the examination of the above boys , that they had undergone a change , certainly not for thc better . The general characteristics were wasting of tho limbs , debility , boils , _A-c . Although some fifteen or twenty , upon leaving thc workhouse , -were moro ov less indisposed , I am prepared to say they were not so delicate gonerally as they arc at present . As to thc cause which may have operated to produce this alteration , perhaps recent removal from friends and change of air , may have contributed , but the symptoms arc decidedly characteristic of bad food or an insufficiency of food . With regard to the cases of the two children—Shcrrard ( one of whom is since dead ) Mr . Johnson has reported , audi need not add anything to that report , I think a great deal of severity—not to use a harsh term—has been exercised by the masters and others in authority , as well as some out of authority , towards the boys . " H . C . Robinson , " _Sui'o-oon to St . Pancras Workhouse .
The Cohoxer . —Now , what resolution did tho board come to in reference to this report of their medical officer ? , , Mr M'Gaiiey . —Mr . _Di-ouefc was directed to attend the board , and having had both Mr . Johnson ' s and ¦ Mr : Robinson ' s reports read to him , he pledged himself to institute a most rig id inquiry into any alleged ill-treatment of thc children . The first report of the committee who went down to Tooting , after thc outbreak ofthe cholera , stated that fiftyseven children had been taken ill , and that eleven had died . That they had met Dr . Addison , of Guy ' s Hospital , and other medical gentlemen , and that every care had been paid to the children , and steps taken by Mr . Drouet to alleviate the disorder . The Coroner Baid , this report entirely differed from that of Mr . Grainger , the medical superintending inspector of thc Board of Health .
Mi-. M'Gahey said , that thc circumstances had materially changed between the Tuesday and the Friday , thc day Mr . Grainger went to Tooting . The St . Pancras children wero removed , under tho advice of the Board of Health , on Saturday week last . _„ _,-,-. r . Mr Thomas E . Baker , one of thc directors of the poor , said he had had twenty-four years' experience of tbe cholera as a military surgeon in India , and had seen hundreds of cases . Had visited the children several times . When I first wont some of thc bovs _eomi-himod that they hau not had enough to eat Wc made no examination of the boys with their clothes oft' . I considered the ventilation of the dormitories generally good . # Thc CouoxKit . —It is a most singular fact , that , whilst all these children who havo been farmed out at Mr Drouet ' s have fat and ruddy faces , indicating the most robust health , under their clothes thenbodies presented a most poor and emaciated
appear-, lI Mr BuiEn continued . —I am not aware that the children had Hour used for making their porridge at Tooting . „ _, „ _, . ., , , _, The _CoKOXER . —The fact is that such gruel was nothiiio * better than bill-stickers' paste ; and there can bo = iio wonder , under sueh a diet , that the children have _pot-bellius-and arc emaciated . Can you tell the jury the cause of the outbreak of cholera at Tooting I Mr . Baker . —When I went down on the Tuesday I went into the school-room , and I was at once struok with the atrocious smell , and directed the master to open the windows , which face the _northeast . Tho master said it would be so cold , and
Added That The Wind Had Been Blowing Fro...
added that the wind had been blowing from the north-east for several days . Here was tho secret Tho windows had been closed , and the children had themselves produced the poison which destroyed them , That , in my opinion , was the main causo . Mr Edward Pitt , agent to the directors of the poor of St . Pancras , was called to show what the computed cost of tho children was in the workhouse previous to their removal to Tooting , which amounted to 3 s . 7 d . per week . _Joux _"Woodhousk , one of tho boys , was next examined . —He said : I was sent to Mr . _Drouetls from St . Pancras workhouse in May last . I know . deceased , Joseph Coster . Wlion he went to Tooting he was in good health . He had tlie itch after he had
been at 'looting about two months . None of the St . Pancras boys had the itch when they went there . Coster had sores all over his ribs , and many other boys had sores about their backs and arms . Some of the boys had bruises about their bodies by being knocked about by Mr . Harding , the schoolmaster . A boy named Harris was violently beaten by the schoolmaster with a thick stick for telling his mother that he had been previously ill-used . A nurse , who overheard the conversation , told the schoolmaster . The sticK with which the boys were boatcn was thicker than that candle . Harris complained to Mr . Drouet of having boen violently beaten , and Mr . Drouet told Mr Harding he would not allow it . Several boys ran away , and when they were brought back they had their heads shaved as a punishment . When the gentlemen came to visit us we had clean shirts put on . When the gentlemen askod us if we had enough to eat , we all , except two or three , said
"Jvo . " We had not enough bread to cat . We only _hacKbread every other day for dinner . I do not thinli wc had the proper quantity allowed . We . did not all havo » knife and fork at dinner , and thoso who had not got them , ate their dinners tlie best way they could . Wo always ' liad gruel for : breakfast , and I think it was made with flour and water . I never had broad and niilk there . We always had meat on Sundays , Tuesdays , and Fridays , but I don ' t think any of tho boys had a proper allowance of meat . Tlie soup days are the best dinners . The St . Pancras food is far better than at Tooting , and we get more to eat hore . I would sooner be here than at Tooting . Some of the Chelsea boys were beaten by the schoolmaster for telling the gentlemen of the Chelsea Board they had not enough to eat . Those boys names aro Rowo and Cutler ; but Cutler is now dead . After such complaints were made the boys were put upon short diet . Wo had no difference in our clothes in thc summer and the .
winter . We had no flannels on until tho day before wo came home from Tooting . I went out to work at hay-making in the summer , with twenty-four other boys , in Mr . Wakins' fields . I received no wages for it , nor do I know if any one else did . Thc boys sometimes slept three in a bed , and when they wet the bod they are put four in a bod as a punishment , andhad to lay on cold oilcloth , with a straw bed underneath . I havo known boys so hungry , that they havo got over the palings to eat the stuff out of tho pig-tubs and tho wash given to the pigs . Thomas Woods , another boy ten years of age , said I would sooner be at St . Pancras Workhouse than at Tooting , because I did not get enough to eat there . Wo did not have enough bread there . When the gentlomen came and asked us if wo had enough to eat , I
said "No . " I know where the hog-tub was , and have seen boys go and pick things out of it and eat them because they wore hungry . Jane _Alvobd , aged sixteen , examined . —She complained ofthe insufficiency of food . We were not warm enough , as the clothes given us were not suf ficiently thick . I was afraid to complain of not having enough food , because the girls said , if I did Miss May , the matron , would box my ears . If I was to go back there again I should like more meals . When wc washed we had no towels , and had to wipe ourselves on our pinafores . None of the St . Pancras g irls could cat Mr . Drouet ' s gruel , as it was made so salt ; and it was made of Hour and arrowroot and water . Wo had _di-v bread and water instead . We had bread and milk ' in St . Pancras workhouse . roborated tlie
Isabella 6 ' aiucow , another girl , cor evidence of the Jast threo witnesses . In answer to the coroner , Mr . M'Gahey observed , that Mr . Drouet for somo timo refused to take the girls on account of some interference on their part , and h « begged to read to the coroner and jury the following letter from Mr , Drouet , by which they would see that the Poor Law Board were responsible for the St . Pancras girls being sent to Tooting : — " Tooting . Nov . 16 , 1848 . " Sir , —Richard Hall , Esq ., Poor Law Inspector , in company with — . Tufnell , Esq ., one of her Majesty s inspectors of pauper schools , have this day visited this establishment respecting the pauper girls of St . Pancras coming here . I am directed by _tliem to inform the _dh-cotora of St .-. Pauor _.-uj tllfct thoy are satisfied 1 have accommodation to receive thc pauper girls now in thc workhouse . _ . " It will therefore rest with the directors to
inform me when they wish them received . " I am , Sir , your obedient servant , " To Mr . M'Gahey , " B . T . _DliOUJiT . " Clerk to the Directors of St . Pancras . " Tho Coroner observed , that this clearly showed that thc Poor Law Board did exercise an authority over Mr . Drouet ' s establishment . There being no further evidence , Mr . Mills , in addressing the jury , said , he thought that the evidenoe clearly indicated that
there wero two parties really culpable , viz . —the manager of Mr . Drouet ' s establishment , and those who had placod tho children there , if the jury wove clearly of opinion that the cholera , of wliicfi they had died , had been produced either from want of food , or from the nature of the food , or from any other treatment they had reeeived at Tooting . The room was ' at eight o ' clock cleared of strangers , and after a discussion lasting nearly two hours , the jury returned the ' following special verdict unanimously ;—
"Wo find that John Joseph Coster died from malignant cholera , that disease occuring in him at a time when he was suffering from the effects of inefficient diet , deficient warntth of clothing , and impure air at Surrey-hall , Tooting . And the jury add to their verdict an expression of their regret that tlie _direetOl'S of the pour of St . Pancras did not bir . d Mr . Drouet , tho proprietor of Surrey-hall , to fulfi 1 his duty to such a large number of children as the
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 27, 1849, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_27011849/page/7/
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