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u to many app lications, we can ! lilr that Mr O'Connor will be
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* nt the soiree at the Globe Tavern, ^ i...
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' ' < TO THEI IMPERIAL jTS" ^; : L ^^^i^...
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^ , n A * ^ • ^^^^:M^; : ^^^i^ '¦ ^^ -° ...
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VOL. X. N o 514. LONDON, SATURMY, AUGUST...
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THE LAND PLAN AND THE LATE ELECTION. The...
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TO THEI IMPERIAL CHART jTS." '; Mr;Veryj...
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lip i KJSA . 3- \ ! J. '. ¦ ¦vr. 'tf' |....
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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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U To Many App Lications, We Can ! Lilr That Mr O'Connor Will Be
u to many app lications , we can ! _lilr that Mr O'Connor will be
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* nt the soiree at the Globe Tavern , _^ _i ay evening , to commemorate the IfGe oige Thompson , Esq ., MJ » , for „ JBE MEMBERS OF THE LAND P . _COMPANY . _^ PEAR FWKSDS , Conference has now closed its sittings , _becomes my duty to review the pro' f ; _- r ~ it is atask , however , which I _can-^ inence without a few prefatory re-. _^ p on _' the novelty , the importance , and ar of the whole affair . Novel , from the _f iance of sixty intellectual , honest , able , _^ nd discreet _workinsf men assembling
" jet rural district , from different parts Said , Ireland , Scotland , and Wales , to _^ t thei r own affai rs ; to perfo rm that _jtx themselves whicii their government _^ to do , pledged to do , and paid to do , _fjjs failed to do . _^ rtairt , from the fact that it will _con-^ he working clas ses ofthis country that , _'^ eir own body they may choose repre _^ _^ ves who , in their deliberations for the _Jn oflabour , are not likely to trench
silie rights , the just ri ghts , of other ' _^;— that is that capital , honourable _Ration , superior intellect , di gnity , and _g jtr _, stand m no danger of assault from a _Raited , well-governed pea _* antrv ; whil e r of that peasantry threatens danger to Jo llier class of society . aid , because the body who met ii their ' _jouse , upon their _^ own land , ia a q _«« iet ? _sd been victims to the principles " which y * triumphant , and to the policy winch
_pressors are now aiming to imitate . _biny friends , are grave matters for _^ st ation—matters of themselves sufficijj important and extensive to change _^ institution ef the country if the Press £ country was sufficientl y honest to j as the progress of the age . You < ft msole yourselves , however , with the _jir _fion and the assurance that no _resatire assembly , of any country in , _prld , ever went farther in the road of _^ 5 than it has been urged b y the popular I- and that there never was , in any ' _& , such a popular pressure behind the _^ m ait train as there is now .
_fcjakhfe in a railway figure;—formerly _Lvernment was the engine , and the Ut was the train ; but thepuhlic voice is W _* steam-power , the government is the \ r £ i train ; and we have reversed the _enf . and now propel the government . _Ijjsare you , now that 1 have had time to jssnpon the whole proceedings , I find that fc iduty , an onerous duty , has _lieen'imposed f 5 _ae , and my hope is that I shall be equal . _^ emergency , which , ifweare prepared for , iS vturn to national advantage ; but if _jjs _^ _red , we may lose the _striking , the Ekthe cheering henefits that 1 see in the
_Jriiends , as it is my intention to write _rjipolitlcal letter this week , I shall reserve _siujiics for consideration whicb will come _seasonably in that document , and now to jsderation of your position , and the pro-¦ ass of Conference . As it is my intention _kole the whole ofthe October number of "labourer ' tothe Laud Plan , showing the _csof the several departments , and their m . to the one great whole—namely , the ifrr of the system—I shall confine mv
_obrr _& _ons now to a review of what has been _sk vour delegates . fstly _, then , as I look to the economical Haliture of your funds as of paramount stance , I beg to inform you , that while _raied by a strong desire to ' act generously ii compassionately to all , your delegates ? aen tbe greater necessity of being just Sand , _therefq _^ _g _, _Jhey _^ have only voted an ace ofj £ 5 to a shareholder who brought ¦ sods to Lowbands from Hull , under the _3 sons impression that he had been balloted
: _ast location , whereas his name is not in : 1 st at all ; but the mistake havingoccurred , ih being hallotted for in another estate , : Conference voted him £ o , to be _reefed out of his aid money when located _, fee circumstance , to which I must draw the _& ided attention of all , is this , —that ifthe _srf the unlocated were lavishly , _impro-& _, and unjustly appropriated to insure the ifote comfort of those located , in order aare the good opinion and praise of those _'tieland , as a means of tempting others to
_& i in the undertaking , the Company ' s *« would be very speedily brought to a _«; while , upon the other hand , if injustice _Kflone to thoselocated , a justifiable charge _e tbe urged against the directors of the _z-wy . It is my pride and your protection , ' _tftTjthat by your great confidence and _naslc _o-operation we havebeen enabled io _re-Swy stringent rule at first adopted for the r _acure establishment of the plan ; and _fcrfoy member who has heen located has _Swe ated for a less amount of rent , and a _^ > anount of advantages , than was _presi _^ _jfy tlie rules , or entrusted to the discre-14 _<« the directors . These alterations we to
l _^ teai enabled make , from the fact of P princi ple of co-operation having far , far ftfel the fondest anticipations ofthe most _pj ' _-ne . and which has enabled us to give Nottees the advantage of that _co-operar the outset , instead of reserving the r _^ s from large rents and fewer advan-| _« asa sinking fund to be divided amongst _^ _anhers at the closing of a section ; for _^ ace , m the item of rent we have reduced _* of charge by about one and a quarter _^ « tt . on the first i . 100 ; and in the item of _^ iture _, consequent upon acts of hus-* at we have placed a portion ofthe amount * . 't instead of deducting all from the
- * > here , I mean to mention a fact _con-^ w ith this single " advance ! of £ 5 . It is _^ _tfiat the del egate who brought Mr _Gra-^* case before us , represented to us that he _^ _Nd for 12 cwt . of luggage being brought ' _. hj _wbands _, and should pay for its being _*& back to his home . I am strongly _im-^* _4 with belief in the old adage , which _H "fake care ofthe pence and the pounds _^ _kke care of themselves ; ' and with that _£ * 1 made it my business to inquire of the _jjf a master of " Tewkesbury forthe invoice ! ' ' s ham ' s goods , and from that 1 learned »? .. Uie _weight was 7 and not 12 cwt .
_Cp as this fact may appear , I mention it _^ - _. " _" _s purpose , to show you that if an _indi-^^ _as paying the money on his own ac-W w' _« _uid have required the invoice , and * j . no probable reason under heaven , _U- _f' _^ ever ° ther person connected with yjmpany should not , as individuals , be as ii , _^ _^ _nt the Company ' s money as j _^ j _^ _eir own . I know I am much more so , 4 i- _P _^ scores of pounds , in small sums , _jj _/^ _ii-h I ha ve no receipts , and I have _t-p _W for no item for which I have not a G & i . _^ now < raw y ° ur _^ _-tentlon to a « to FACT l _~ to _» consideration of apart :., . _UrinruiU -... A „„ „ _,. _!! _narf _oltlipr—it . — _auituM
_'iUlftl r ' _p _* . - ———? 4 l _^ which refers to thinning the labour i _^^ - Some persons may whimsically and _jjj _, - Vlmaginethat last summer and this _Mwj _^^ y reduced the over-stocked _nS e- S- _^ _Srty-five located on _O'Connor-^ _j _, _J * * y-five located here ; but it is not _^ _tilov the actof _Seating those secured * % e ; VDent from the over-stocked * market of Wi ? five hundred daily-labourers of all JB artif _„ ? _, not _depending upon capricious
_M anH r ? ving _^ days work in tb 8 Hi- * a S 1 ! week _' wage 3 0 Q Saturday _*^ ti e under the mark if y ° u esti " me Persons My employed for eyery
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occupant located , s „ that , during next summer , 1 shall not be at all astonished if the company is giving full employment to twenty-four thousand labourers , arid more ; and if Parliament will give that aid , whicii I feel every confidence in anticipating , I will undertake to employ 200 , 000 labourers daily , and thus relieve farmers from the _payment of poor-rates , secure to manufacturersbetter
payment for their capital , shopkeepers better remuneration for their labour , and the honest workmen better wages for their services , and still more than that , the government a profit of two per cent , interest for all monies advanced , and . as a matter of course , the holders of that fund a better security for their monies than those who advance them upon national faith , secured by the thunder of our cannon and terror of onr arms .
Yes , my children , I _unhesitatingly declare that the days of class pre-eminence _* must end , and that the nation , and not a handful , must be the clients of the government . And I assert , without fear of contradiction , that the annual amount now paid in pauper-tax alone , for the mere purpose of keeping up a comparatively _satisflethiompetitive reserve for capitalists to fall hack upon as a means of securing Large profits out of reduced wages—I assert tbat if that amount , say five millions a year , and not seven , was capitalised at five per cent _, it would give us a hundred millions of money ,
and would give the government 2 , 000 , 000 a-year ( as they would raise it at three per cent _, and we would pay five for it ) and with that hundred millions I would make a paradise of all England , and Ireland too , and would make the present Exchequer a better security even to the National Faith Gentlemen . But always bear in mind , my friends , that the great difficulty which has heretofore
presented itself to the improvement of the working classes is this—that their im provement and capitalists ' profit ever increase in an inverse ratio , the _sore destitute the poor , the greater the profit to the speculator in his wages . But upon the other hand , the greater the comforts ofthe poor , the larger the profits ofthe shopkeepers , and they have the votes , the people who deal with them have the money ; and they have a right to the legitimate protection of those votes .
___ 1 pass on to the next other point for consideration—the establishment of a Company ' s Insurance Office . You will understand that , under any circumstances , each allottee will he compelled , by the conditions of his conveyance , to insure his house and premises in some office , or the trustees of the Company , in other words , will be bound to insure the property in the name of the Company , and not in the name of the allottee ; and for this reason , that , if insured by the allottee
the allottee only could draw the amount for which it was insured , while he would leave the Company minus a house and premises . We also propose to insure lives and stock ; the lives of members and non-members , hut the stock only ofthe allottees ; and as each member , located and ; not located , of the Company , will have a direct interest in the protection of the Company ' s property , the allottees upon the . several estates will have to appoint a committee of three or five yearly , who , amongst other duties will have to send to the insurance
ofbee a faithful account of thestate of health , and value of stock to be insured , as well as a medical certificate of the health , accompanied _witi _^^ eii _^ 5 _^ . ppiuion 3 of _^ e _^ life . tobeinsured ; _wmwthe duti _^ _rS _^ ngto-tif _# i & ate of health of parties not located , but wishing to insure , will devolve upon the District Observation Committee . "We propose insuring at a lower rate than
any other office , and for this reason , because in all other offices the capital of the Company is made up of profits derived from scales of payment regulated by capricious tables of mortality , and in those cases the profits above the required fund for contingencies are divided amongst the insurers . So it will be in our case for the most part , with this exception , that we establish a lower scale of insurance
for the benefit of non-members , while the members will receive the profit , all in the shape of reduction of their rent . For instance , when five hundred of a section is located , or three hundred , their fair proportion of the profits arising from the Insurance Company may he applied to the fining down of so much of their rent . Thus establishing the solvency of the Company better , if possible , than even now , with all the labour of a man and his family going to fatten the land , which in its natural state is worth double what we charge .
Yes , I assert , without fear of contradiction , that if the _Comprny consisted of speculators instead of occupants , that every tenement held under the Company would let for double the rent demanded by the Company , and tbat in all cases a premium would be given hy the incoming tenant , which would go to secure the payment ofthe reserved rent . The next question to which I shall call your attention is the LOAN FUND . What we
propose is—that every occupant requiring a loan , and deserving a loan , shall receive an amount , to he decided hy the directors , relatively as regards two , three , and four acres ; and to secure the repayment of that loan the parties receiving it will be required to get two good nnd substantial householders to join him in a promissory note to repay the amount , with five per cent , interest , at such time as the Directors shall decide upon ; always taking care that the repayment shall be at such a date as will allow the occupant the full use and a real beneficial interest in it . And in
order to carry this view into execution at once , the directors have heen allowed to appropriate as much of the Expense Fund as _: in their discretion they consider necessary to the purposes of the Loan Fund ; but not a fraction to he . lent to others than those located , and no deduction to he made for interest out ofthe sum lent , but the interest to be paid at the time the promissory note falls due . The next question of interest to you , is the period at whicii the several occupants shall be liable to the payment of rent . It was not a question submitted to theConference , but it was
a resolution cheerfully acquiesced in by that body * ; that the directors should be empowered to name the day twelvemonth from the day of location as the period at which the first halfyear ' s rent would be demanded—that is , another loan fund of _half-a-year ' s rent—for instance , occupants are located , or their lands are in course of cropping , from the first of May , and if they are located during the summer , with a portion of work performed by the Company , they are under rent from the 1 st
of May , a year s rent will he due on _the'following 1 st of May ; they will then on that following 1 st of May have to pay a half year ' s rent , and that day three years they wiil have to pay a year ' s rent . Thus at the end of four years' location , they will be called upon to pay the half-year ' s rent chargeable , but not demanded , the November after their location . Now this will be a loan of half a year s rent from November , 1847 , to May , 1851 . _
The next question to which I beg your _, attention , is tbe mode by which allotments _?^ to be henceforth transferred after locat _'/ jn ; that is , afterthe Company shall have _expanded a portion of its funds upon _improYemeflts and
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cropping . In all such cases of transfer , the exchange must take place , not with the sane- * tion of the directors , because they cannot prevent it , or in any way interfere , hut with their cognizance and under powers devolved upon them as trustees for the Company to the following extent , that is to say—that all monies paid to an occupant by a purchaser as premium , must pass through the hands of the directors , and all monies expended by the Company will be reserved out of the purchase money , and placed to the account of the Company , the balance being paid over to the vendor , and the purchaser then , and not till then , being allowed to take possession .
Now , allow me to show you the wisdom and justice of this position . Suppose an occupant to he liable to any amount of rent , say £ 12 a year for land and house , and ll . 10 s . a year , for 30 l . expended in acts of husbandry and given as capital . The occupant gets that 30 ? . and his rent is 131 . 10 s . ; harvest comes , he lives upon or disposes of the produce , pockets the capital , and expends no labour _^ upon the allotment ; the purchaser comas in and must undertake the 12 / . rent for lafid and the ll . 10 s . interest of capital which the outgoing tenant has appropriated . Thus the Company having but 121 . a year _yalue in land to pay 13 J . a year the reserved rent . So in case of loan and
sale , the . securities of the vendor mi ght be let in for the amount advanced ; and therefore we have decided that in cases such as I have quoted , the directors shall stop the 30 / . advanced by the Company and all loans advanced , and which will he no injustice to either party , because the purchaser will only have to pay 12 / . a year for the land , and , of course , not the 1 / . 10 s . a year for the 301 ., which he did not get . It will be no injustice to the vendor , because he will take care that the purchaser covers his liabilities to the Company , whereas it is a necessary protection to , the Company and to those who advance money by way of loan .
The next question is , the mode of regulating the rents of the several occupants , and that , I think , the Conference has very wisely devolved upon me , and for this reason , because , during the time of operations I am very likely to understand the relative value of every half acre of ground . I learn the value , not of every field , but of every portion of every field , from the farmers in the neighbou rhood and from the labourers who have been working on the land all their lives . You may , however , wish to know the process . I will explain it by a table of eight acres , and that will apply to 8 , 000 . I purchase eight acres of laud for 50 / . an acre—four acres are worth
40 / . an acre , and four are worth 60 / . The man who rents the four acres worth 40 / . an acre , pays 8 / . a year for the land , that is five per cent , upon the 160 / . which they cost ; and the man who rents the four acres worth 60 / . au acre , pays 12 / . a year rent , or live per cent _, upon the 240 / ., and thus you will find that the Company has its 20 / . a year , which is five per cent , upon the eight acres that cost 50 / . an acre . Now that will put you in possession of the p lan , while , as a matter of course , upon large estates , the table of relative value will be more varied . For instance , here (
Lowbands ) I make no doubt that some allotments will be valued at 65 / . an acre , and my own amongst them , although it is the only one that there ' s not a sod turned upon , or a stone laid upon , or a penny spent upon , and yet I'll have to pay half-a-year ' s rent on the 1 st _^ f M _^ _rhut _^ " however , " some-will _., be ; valued at 65 / . an acre , and some at 35 / . making 100 / . for the two acres , just what 1 gave for it ; some will he valued at 601 ., and some at 40 / ., again making the hundred ; some will be valued at 55 / ., and some at 45 / ., still making the hundred , and you will see not only the
reason but the justice of this—how unfair it would be , because we bought the land wholesale , to g ive one man four acres of land , worth 65 / ., and another man four acres worth only 35 / ., and to charge an equal rent for both ; but , even independent of the injustice , view it in a commercial point of view—the whole , and not a _pjjrt , is liable to the depositors in the bank for four per cent . ; well , A having 240 / . worth of land for 10 / . a year , would be very good security for 8 / . a year to the Bank , —but 13 having only four acres , worth 35 / . an acre , or really 71 . a year , would be very bad security to
the bank , whereas A and B , rented according to the real value of the land , will be very good security for the joint amount . And here , allow me to draw your attention to a question which would have more properly come under the previous head , namely , sale of allotments . It is this , some men are captivated with the richest allotment , and they are right—but if I exercise my judgment wisely , and make a fair assessment of value , the very worst lot on an estate is worth precisely the same as the very best lot . For instance , A pays 12 / . a year for four acres of land—you'll observe I exclude house and capital , —and B pays 8 _J . a year ; now , the purchaser who gives the
larger amount for the better lot , forgets that he is paying 41 . a year , or four per cent _, upon 100 / ., over and above what he would have to pay if he had purchased B ' s lot : therefore , to my mind , as the land is the best savings hank in the world , and , as , to a certainty , B ' s lot in five years will be as good as A ' s lot , I would rather give the same amount of money for the worst lot , than for the best lot . However , that is a matter for the consideration of purchasers , but one upon which their eyes should be opened , whereas , with regard to the mode of assessing the value of allotments , there cannot be the shadow of a shade of a difference of opinion .
The next question to which I shall call your attention more particularly , is the LAND PURCHASE DEPARTMENT . Now , there was so much controversy upon this point previous to the meeting of Conference that I reserved explanation which would only lead to altercation in the several localities , until I had a clear representation of all sound opinions , from whom my plan , when explained as a whole , was sure of receiving calm deliberation , and through whom I could digest it for the several constituencies . To my mind , then , the greatest auxiliary to the Land Company is
the Land Purchase Department , and for this reason , that it gives us more wholesale advantages than we could otherwise possess ; for instance , we have 6 , 000 / ., and want an estate that is to he sold , the value of which is 10 , 000 / .,- we have twenty purchasers in the purchase department , who have paid up all demands upon them in full , say 200 / . each , or 4000 / . Their money then aids us in the purchase of the estate ; we are enabled to give the 10 . 000 / ., and get for the members land for 6000 / ., which , if bought in the lesser bulk , would have cost us 6500 / ., because , relatively ,
you will get lass land for 6000 / . than you will for 12 , 000 / ., that is , if you buy half the 12 , 000 / . worth of land , you will probably have to pay 7000 / . Hut , apart from that , each of tliose members in the land purchase department has p ? _Ad 12 / . 10 s ., or 250 / . in the whole , towards the expenses of the Company , or to the capital of the Company , because each , upon . _Entering , pays 101 . premium for four acros , that is 21 . 10 s . per acre ; a three acre _member pays 71 . 10 s . premium , and , a two acre member 5 / . premium , and , in addition to this , each member , no matter to what cla _< is he belongs , pays 2 / , _lOs-i towards _maViog out the
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general title , con _^ _pjtohlijpi _^^ ing , so that ey _^ r _| fo _^; acre ; m emhe _^^ _piiys 12 / . 10 s . —eyer _^ reeicre _^ membeiv lO / : —and every two here _^ ember , 71 . 10 s and his compensation is . that hedoesnoi ; stand the ballot , but gets his location upon the next estate , purchased after he shall have paid up his money in full . He suits himself . as . to the description of house , he gets the matemh at the same , price as we do—wholesale ; he gets the land in the retail market at the wholesale price , and , as I don ' t dread a four acme- duke , a three acre lord , or a two acre ' squire , vt is my that that class
impression will be made up of the aristocracy of the trades , and will make room for tlieir poorer brethren to take their place . But , apart from that , the old buildings and materials npon each estate are all gold to the occupants , as the materials should be otherwise bought , and the purchasers get none of those . If the amount paid by them should not cover the price given for the land upon which they are to be located , they pay the difference ; if they have paid too much they receive the overplus back . To take another , and a more interested view of the case , : I will put it thus _rr _^^ _lgdge my existence , that in less than twelvemonths from this time there ,
will be 2000 paid-up , members in that department , but I will estimate them at 500 , and I will take the three-acre department as the average—then tliose 500 members will have given the Company 5000 / ., at 10 / . a man now , there isa very convenient Loan Fund , a very convenient Expense Fund , a very convenient Sinking Fund , to be distributed amongst the several _shareholderSja very solid additional security for the bank . So that , upon the whole , I never was more struck with the necessity , of further knowledge upon this branch of the subject than on reading' the several hostile resolutions denouncing it in
different localities . Why I am the man , the only man , that sliould denounce it , and for this simple reason , that if I chose to devote my time to this department alone , I would undertake to realize an income of 30 , 000 / . a year _, and upwards ; and in that there would be no enrolment , no registration , no bother about Feargus O'Connor dying , as all the chances would be confined to the time between purchase and distribution , while I could transact the whole business by half a clerk , as the sums would be sent in large amounts . Some have objected to the project , lest it should
monopolise too much of MY time . Well , although I am against all monopoly , I at once and cheerfully concede the prescriptive right that the fustian 'jackets , the blistered hands , and un shorn chins have to my undivided time and attention , and God knows very little of it is spared to any other class , or to the management of my own affairs , which I am paying others to transact for me ; but , in order to answer the objection , I beg to assure my lords and masters , tlie working men , that the addition of this department will not occupy one hour of my time throughout the year _; it will take no more time to purchase an estate for
purchasers and occupants , than to purchase one for occupants alone ; it will take none of my time to have it surveyed , it will take none of my time to build their houses or cultivate their land , while from the pride that I have in the project , and in return for the confidence they repose in me , I shall certainly overlook and direct _' the erection of their houses and the cultivation of their land , and see that they are dealt justly by , and whicii will not monopolise ,., aa hsj _^«| _vmjtitime _.-s _? For _^ alliJthese reasons , then ? I sincerely rejoice that the Conference has expressed an unanimous opinion upon this question .
The next question to which I shall draw your attention , is that of closing the company . It is quite true that I had mentioned my intention of confining the Company ' s operations , as far as I was concerned , to four sections . It is equally true that I never presumed that they would reach even two sections , but my reasons for resolving to close at four were numerous , they arose from a variety of circumstances , all creating no small amount of annoyance , and each tending to increase my responsibility , but I am happy to say , that most , if not all , have been dispelled by that
protection and watchfulness with winch the inquiring mind of the working classes is ever sure to protect those who exert themselves honestly and zealously in their cause . At the time I mentioned my intention of closing the Company at the fourth section , there was a general outcry throughout the country at the step , but since then a notion , and not a very unfounded one either , has sprung up , based upon the presumption that tlie fact of closing the Company would raise the price of paid-up shares , and I never did intend that this Plan
should become the groundwork of speculation . Moreover , I am but one of live , and have but one voice in five , and my brother directors were one and all most violently opposed to the closing of the Company . Moreover , from the rapid manner in which _hiembers joined the fourth section , I saw that my house was not yet full , and that Labour ' s building should be sufficiently large to admit all who sought shelter or required shelter . Again , I have now two large packing cases of letters from individuals , assuring me tbat perseverance in my resolution would lead to heartburning and sorrow—that trade was so bad many were
prevented from joining — that a thorough knowledge of the Plan was only now being entertained , —and for all these reasons , but more especially from the fact that a fifth section will aid the other sections , and that a fiftieth section would aid forty-nine sections , and from the fact of the vanity that I entertain that no other living man will possess the confidence or have the perseverance to carry out this plan ; and from the fact that the avidity and anxiety to possess land would to a great extent lessen the _requisite inquiry into the pretensions and skill of those who would undertake to carry out the same scheme ; and , above all , from the fact that the good
men ot Nottingham have now placed me in a situation to give wings to the plan ; and still further , from a conviction that all should be allowed a sufficient time to deliberate , I voted for keepiug the Company open till the last day of the present year , which will be extensively announced , and within which period every man wishing to enter will have the power of paying three-peace , which will establish his right of membership , and leave him the future to establish his claim to the ballot . I have witnessed a strong desire that the Company should be closed from some parties who offer the most violent opposition
to the step ; and , upon the whole , my resolution was governed by a positive and a negative consideration ; positive , that it was better for existing members that it should be kept open ; negative for non-members , that it affords the best protection against the thousand-and-one schemes which would be instantly set on foot , and _aot oneof which could or would offer the sarne guarantee , or the _' same advantages , that Vhe present Company guarantees ; and as for the opposition of those who may be disappointed in receiving a premium upon their uaid-up shares , to them I offer no consolution beyond my reprobation for an attempt to _soeculate in the labour and sensitiveness of their poorer brethren . Upon the whole , I most sincerely _thaqk _tyr Grassby for his very
* Nt The Soiree At The Globe Tavern, ^ I...
unanimity and saved thousands from' _de-. _^ _Ption .: The Company is now open till the 31 st ' of December , and every ripm who shall have paid his three-pence , together with the prescribed expenses , up to that period , will be _afmember of the National Land Company , and b y . that time our name will be Legion , and in the following month I shall require a petition from every Land member and his family , praying for assistance , which in proper time I shall define and submit to the members .
lite appointment of schoolmaster i & a _queslioa upon wbich I need say little-the resolution of Conference is so . thoroughly in accordance" with the roles of harmony , " _ffohiiety , and common _lenae . No other party than the- directon _' could possibly di « - cbarge this duty—if ft ms left to the allottees , some children would be ' educated , and some would be kept m _ignorance fronvfche spleen of their _paTftntsit the original intention was-observed , that the directors should nominate-and tbe allottees should select , the directors wouldi have aetsd most wisely-in nominating as few as possible , and even about those few there would have boen a contested elec _£ _oi > . Under the present arrangement the directors _canaot
exercise any patronage ; wider _ths-pres nt arrangement the directors elect , and the occupants ba 7 _& the power of dismissing—that is the : wise _arrangement—the prudent arrangement—ihe only _possiblfe arrangement by which education _couJd be secured . There is only one other subject unconnected with the proceedings of Conference , but materially connected witb the well-being of the occupants , to he mentioned , andit is this ; that our arrangements have placed the occupants in a position of perfect independance for the first year , and I will now show you the facility with which they may pay their rents after the first year , and when they bave been broken in to agricultural labour , ln harvest lime and hay
time , say during five weeks , the labour of a man and his family will be worth 30 s . a week , or £ 110 s ., and remember , that every man is a good man in harvest , and every woman is then a man . In the spring of the year , the labour of a man and his family may be lowly estimated at dSl a week for four weeks , and if you put those sums together , they will make £ 11 . 10 s . earned , which will be over tbe rent of a _two-acre occupant , and will make a good hole in the rent of the largest , while it will leave each foriy-tbree weeks' work in the year , and the whole produce of his allotment for consumption and clothing _; but I am shrewdly of opinion that all will find out , that if their labour is worth 30 s . to a farmerit is worth something more for themselves .
I shall now state a few interesting facts that transpired at the Conference , more " beautiful incidents " tban the beautiful incident , so enormously puffed by the press , of Her Afost Gracious Majesty being graciously pleased to kiss the infant Marquis of Lome , the heir apparent to His Grace of Argyle , while not a word is said ofthe " beautiful incident " ef my playing with , and kissing all the little children located in Lowbands ; but tbis is the " beautiful incident . " Mr Hornby , who most zealously and ably represented his located brethren at O'Connorville , stated as follows : —That the occupants there , thirty-five in number , had amongst them from 150 to 200 pigs ; and when the question of complaints ,
made by one occupant from Bradford , was discussed , Mr Smith , the delegate from Bradford , showed that tbat occupant had received in cash , since bis location , over £ 10 , over and above all the acts of husbandry performed for hira , and without any _deductions for seed , or anything else . Ay , replied Mr Hornby , but I beg to state that he bought two heifers with part of that money . This retort , as you may suppose , was received with roars of laughter . Now , another fact , connected with this location , is this , that a man , of the name of Renham , of whose
success I entertain serious doubts , ! ias resolved upon conquering—and , to ray great delight , I found him thisjnprning serving thV plasterers , determined to earn _wfiaf he" could—in fact ; apart from" the little annoyances consequent upon the transition trom a city to a country life , I am gratified beyond measure at seeing the devotion , the industry , and the resolution , of the occupants here . Some men will pay the fee-simple of their allotments in less than three years , and already , tbe place begins to show the value of labour .
My friends , builders and carpenters examined the work here ; they have taken tlieir opinions—not my opinions—back to tbeir constituencies , and all that I _assert , in the face ofthe world , is that such working men ' s cottages were never built—that so much work was never performed for a fifth more moneythat better materials were never used—and that greater happiness was never within the reach of the several occupants located—and , with scarcely an exception , all confess it . . Indeed , the rust of yesterday is rubbed off by the sunshine of the morrow , and it miist . he always borne in mind that men are not to jump , as if by magic , from the bastile or the cellar to a mansion ; or from slavery
to idleness ; but by industry each will conquer every obstacle , and by perseverance all will be happy . Mr Woolff Moss , and his ' . opposite neighbour , have got the only bit of lean upon the estate , but tlieir allotments shall be made as good as their neighbours , and their rents will be in proportion to their value ; but again i caution you against presuming that every man , of every vocation , and some of whom may never have trod a field before , is to succeed , as if by magic , or to be charmed into happiness ; while they have the gratifying resource that they will receive over £ 100 for the £ 5 . 6 s . 4 d . paid , if tbey are dissatisfied with their new calling . Such is their solace , and the Company ' s protection .
I had the pleasure of entertaining the delegates , and a number of friends , at supper on _Friday night , in our own school room , for 1 am one of the occupants at Lowbands , and I will venture to assert-that there was never sueh a sight in Worcestershire or England before . Heft at half-past two , but my guests enjoyed themselves till four , making the building ring with mirth , eloquence , and song-Mr Shaw , of London , contributing no mean share to the hilarity of the nyht , for be is a most charming companion . Now considering , that for a fortnight before the occupants were located , that I was up from five till twelve , and that I had no easy duty during the Conference weekand that after paying the allottees
, their respective amounts of capital , I started for the Newton-heath Camp Meeting , Lancaslure , on Saturday night , was back again here at teu o ' clock on Monday morning ; and I assure you , so thoroughly exhausted , that 1 had fifteen hours sleep of it ; ami when you think tbat I had to send an account to the office of every fraction paid here > . and at Newton , to me _; and when I tell you that it is now seven o'clock , and that I haven't dined yet , and that 1 have to start fov Oxfordshire at six o ' clock to-naorrow morning , and have yet to write another letter before I go to bed ; you will say that I bave performed my share of the duty ,, as I am _determined
that no failure shall be a consequence of my indifference , or want of perseverance . The Octob « . _i number of the Labourer will contain a critical treatise upon the whole Land Plan , and henceforth tbe first number of the Northern Star in each month will contain instructions for thc allottees for that month , and shall be entitled "The Gardener ' s Caleudar . ' Hoping that William Grocott will read this letter to our Manchester friends , and that it will be read m each locality , and that the Star will be preserved , as a Mivror of Conference , I remain , my dear friends , Your faithful Friend and Bailiff , Feakgus O'Connor ,
' ' < To Thei Imperial Jts" ^; : L ^^^I^...
_^; ' ' < _^^^ i _^ ¦ _^^ _- _° _^ _^* * ' - . J _^^& _fi _^^^ - _^^ r , _^ ;¦ Y _^ yZ _^^ jr _^ s _^^^ " _7 _^^> i _^^^^ - ¦ _" - j ' ¦¦ ¦ ...:: ' _^ V ' v _^' . _> _- -I ' : ¦ ' ¦ _"" : '¦ ¦ _"W- _' M'i ' vi !' ' - '¦ ¦ '¦ ' _' _^ - _^ t - _"^ C _^^ er-J _^ _l _^ C _^ , ry _***^& r _*^ " _- _^^^ _£ _JZ _^ J . ¦ - - . ¦ ¦ :. , . ¦ ¦ _-:, ; _-X-- _\« _$ _3 £ j _£ ? i ¦'¦ $ _mMMWM _^ _mjrf _.-... - - _^ m _^^ _% _^ J _.- _~ :.. _^ r . s _?* _i _® J _* _mmmm __ _-- : S- .- •' : ¦ _"V * - - : _-- _^ -- " 7
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_^ , n * _^ _^^^^ : _M AND NATIONAL _, _mri _^^^^^ _^
Vol. X. N O 514. London, Saturmy, August...
VOL . X . N o 514 . LONDON , SATURMY , AUGUST _^ W _fcC _^]^^ - — | — - .. i . ¦ : _--..... ¦ ¦ ¦ _y _.-ii _» . ; _- ' _? _- >» _T » it < M « tf _}!> _g « 5 a _. J ; _vty . ' _. _ff _r-- " t . _WJIff ?' . " )
The Land Plan And The Late Election. The...
THE LAND PLAN AND THE LATE ELECTION . The following is from the Tablet ( Catholio journal ) of last week , Au _£ . 21 ;—' Even the Chartists , sufficiently destructive though they be , have thoughts in them considerably above destruction . They are beginning to be constructive ; they protest it is their wish ' to build up , and not to pull down * , ' by meaKa of a ' Labour Fund ' they are taking possession of the land ; they are labouring to find a remedy for their sooial evils by combining to create employment and now callings for that ' surplus population , * of which we have heard so much . Ofthis now movement , Foargus O'Connor , be he quack or no quack , boneat ordia . honest , is the leader , and _wiHlw a powerful exponent _iutta & w Parliament , ' .
To Thei Imperial Chart Jts." '; Mr;Veryj...
TO THEI IMPERIAL CHART L _jTS . " '; Mr ; Veryj >& h _? RiENgs , _; _^ . ...., . j . _„ .. . ' . v Your-improved position raderV auy . ' apology tor my lastmonlb ' s _derotiofiTt _^ the Laud Plan un . necessary . -Infact ,-you may no * be left _toTybur own guidance , witbqut-the _slightesivdahger to the C 8 use of _demosracy ; , ahdyet , / I hayelonged to ' snatch an hour from / -the consideration of othe _* _quelrtions interesting-to you , " to join in . exultation over ow recent triumphs . I . have read the newspapers , aid _fromithctnllearn , that _. what : WjLcpi . _foraaffiffl & _^ . a ...., _„ ., „ :.-.,.,.. _* . ., f . Y . THR IMDfO * r _/>« V 1 M 1 nc
tended , _pfcf _^ tyf _^ _s _^ _toi _^ aii _* _irt _, how :: c 6 M | S for the same * Hing 8 _;^ 8 M , _s | _Ett « y , | _OT . cannoi _^ n _^ nor can our pe / _ft 3 utbrrhope ,-fhii I will forgetr _^ ser wholesale _injustics'to w 5 iieh we were subjected , _thff ruthless manner in _< whieh we' were- oppressed , audi thc foul vengeance lHat was taken & f our friends . _K _yos } can , I cannot ;> ' atid if \ s hopeless for the rep' resentativesolfaction to end _' _iavour to intimidate mey by _aaying that I wfii find : rcy leVcI ift the Senate House-. I wa 3 there before , and I ' _foiiii _& my level ; siiWB I was there , thanks _to-your' _teaching . I bare learned what my level xffl- he _t _flieto' 1 g » there again-.
, i I fawey _,. whether _presumptiously-or _wotitba * S an * _Jderstatid'moreof the Labour C { Jkestio » _V-a * _Vl ' inft % o _£ _Jhesentiiaents ofthe _labourers _^ _lian _thewhbfe-Hbuser ' put _together ; . with the one _exception of ou * Ibadbr ' ami chief , who-visited you and _asfe in ou ? 1 _FftlJONS _DWNGEOIif .. You never will ask -me , ybu'iievW will expect me _* _, fe > forget that _DulfctfMBte _irisited'USy . _cherished-UBj-and encouraged us sn our cKptftity ? ' and if you-did ! asfe me , I would not' comply with . your _request-. Wa never can forgeV that if _otttets _* joined us- when' vw were strong and _ptrosperousyth _'
_at-DuNOOoiSEsseizedialte moment of ouj _* ' _weakness't < _K become oneamongst us . I very _maoh' fear ' _thkfyou are now indifferent to your position , . and _tUafc you will- not yet- _maite- the most or it . Let me pu > ture to _yow what that position is . All the _Monar- ' _ichies of Europe-are-trembling , from _tha-corruptibntbatbas beam proved ! against those tMi 1 support '' them . The-league-of kings is insufficient- to destroy the league-of people ; and yet that _mindy-now _^
matured-and bent upoa domestic reform _^ will , if not watohfuli ,. be- divested from the purauit ' ' by foreign diplomacy .. The whole world : is-now turned topsy turvey , _» and out of universal chaos I look to the improved-mind of England , as the- means of producing order and rule . America has . weakened herself by her desolating and treacherous war against the Mexicans , and ai national debt , _monarchy , and the ascendancy _, of capitalists , must be- the result .
The-foul ' con duct f the enormous treachery , and * increasing brutality of the French aristocracy , aresowing the sseds of revolution in that country . The concession of a Constitution wrung from the ? - Autocrat of Prussia , the godfather of our _futuresking , has laid the foundation of republicanism ia-. his dominions . The domination , the treachery , of Metternich > makes Austrian resistance to liberalism indispensable ; whilst the position assumed by tbe reforming Pope opens the mind of Italy , and prepares the ; founders of civilisation for the re-assumption of thoserights of which modern governments have robbed them .
The republic of Switzerland stands in the scale between the Autocrat of Austria and the reforming Pope . The Autocrat of Russia looks lo his wealth and his consequent influence upon modern states , backed by the ignorance of his serfs , as the guarantee of his power ; while the aristocracy of England trembles under the weight of its own enormities _; and yet , in these trying and embarrassing circumstances , I confidently look to your _improved minds as the safeguard and protection a _^ _aiiu-t tha usual appliances of monarchies , and ministries in distress .
Ireland , in the next session , as ol old , will be the .-ministers' great difficulty ; but the difficulty will consist , not in ruling the people aright , but in satisfying the expectations of Irish representatives . The press tells you that the principles of Hepeal have derived a great accession from the recent elections—but I tell you that the professions of the new converts to that measure , are like the professions of tbe new converts to Chartism—many of whom have adopted the principle in the hope of strangling it . llepeaE means _Irelasd for the Irish ; a Conservative Repealer means patronage for the church , patronage for the landlord , patronage for the aristocracy , and exclusive privileges for the exclusive classes .
Ireland was not more thoroughly sold to the-Whigs in 1837 , than Ireland has been sold in _thfr recent election , to the highest bidder—whether it be Peel , Bentinck , or Russell . That , Englishmen , was my reason f _» r insisting upon a discussion upon- the Repeal Question every session of Parliament—ia order that the virtue and consistency of the _profes--sors might be annually tested—and , believe me , asexperience is yearly teaching you , you will learn , itt
the long run , that the misgovemment of Ireland . is the greatest grievance you have to contend against , while the juggle , successfully practised by the Irish . leaders , has been the only grievance against which _» my countrymen have had to contend ; ami yet _. thinkif you can think soberly and deliberately upcu sogreat an iniquity , upon so blasphemous a sin ,. upon such an act of patricide , think—oh , think , of . mca , contending for nationality , refusing to pledge themselves ' to reject the golden bait af . ( lie
oppressor . "What would you say to me if I asked _forj . or _. if I would accept of , place , pension , or emolument from a cabinet opposed to ray principles ? and what Must vou say to the servile , slavish crew , who prof . jss to he the champions of a reviled religion , the adv jcates of a persecuted feith , the sticklers for nationality , actua ly ticketing themselves for sale , and snaking mpivhandise of tbeir country's misery ? Wlr it hope ,
I ask you , is therefor Ireland , when her national cause is made barter , to secure the pre-enVamice of ministerial beggars , to p lease the caprice ci an hierarchy , or to satisfy the cravings of an im ;/ oient , incompetent fac iion ? Smith O'Brien's ii _uloniitable courage and integrity jeopardised hi ~ _> seat for Limerick , while thc managers of _Conciliation Hall allowed a Catholic counterfeit to walk , rs far as they were concerned , over the course for Dungarvan . Yes had not thc proprietor of the Cork Evaminer
" The good men , the true-men " of _Bmigarvati an opportunity of _testing their _devatiou > tt _« ar fealty to the good old c . _aust , the Master ¦ ofthe ; Mint , backed hy the hacks , of Conciliation .-. Hall , would have , ridden _rouglishod over the _still-, living spirit of the borough . \ Y . tea I _remembachow 1 fought for the _indepeudeufte of that _bovouj _^ _isv in 1834 , after our defeat in the _liouse of Coinmgnis »
and returned Jacob by my m % exertion , backe _& hy the _independent electors , _^ _aiQuni for the f _& e to which Ccwciliation Hall diplomacy has brou _^ _ii my country * But still , _Esgljslysien , _although \ am your _representative , yau . will , not gag mc ; , v , oa will not si . 3 flkle mc ; while I represent you hqns & _tly you will allow me to repse _§ ent my _owucouufry . proudly . If exer there was an election whicii li 3 § , terminated disgracefully to _^ na . ti . oa , it is the t « eni general _, election in _Ireful i . when a _five-pcaptl note , paid ta
_tholick-sp ittles of Conciliation aftU _. _vrasthe best test of fitness for an Irish _repswentative . _Uavn _bsen banished from that cousAry for now these la years aud vet the insolence of leaders , the malignity of the press , aud the cold _^ difference of thc people , havo not made me forgot that I am an Irishman ; and when tho time coroes _. I _willprcve to my country . Qen that an exile , expatriated for his devotion , lm beeu the cause of procuring more _signnures tot ( C ' ontmid to the Fifth FmJ
Lip I Kjsa . 3- \ ! J. '. ¦ ¦Vr. 'Tf' |....
lip i KJSA . 3- \ ! J . ' . ¦ ¦ _vr . _'tf' | . ,: . I . t
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 28, 1847, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_28081847/page/1/
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