On this page
- Departments (2)
-
Text (9)
-
THE LMW
-
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHARTIST CO-OPERAT...
-
' ¦ » - ; Mbllw 4rf ' ift4ff '#l*tt ¦fin...
-
VOL. VIII. NO. 402. ' LONDON, SA.TUBDAI,...
-
MOLLY MAGUIRE TO MR. FARGUS O'CONNOR, ES...
- Untitled
-
Mmn Intellijpnrr
-
FRANCE. Tim late ArnociTr is Afmca.-Wo f...
-
CuoRtEt.—A meeting will bo held on Sunda...
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The Lmw
THE LMW
To The Members Of The Chartist Co-Operat...
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CHARTIST CO-OPERAT 1 YE LAND SOC ETY . "Mr _Dzav . Fbiesds , —The _subjectof the Land , and how to make it available sa a means of establishing •" a fair day ' s wage for a fair day ' s work , " has now become theaU-a _* osorbingcoiisiderationwitjh . the working classes ; and as you canvass the subject among yourselves , it behoves me , as the originator and founder of the plan , to feed you with the knowledge that you are prepared now to receiro ; going on _sraduallv _, as the whole question of agriciilture , of po . ii . cal economy , of wages , of representation , and of existence itself , is bound np in the question of the land . Tou will receive all tliat I say as mere
_sugviitkms for your consideration hereafter , and not as 'dictation ; " but as no other man has so much at stake as I have in the success of the project ; and as I niiuerstand the iflihject better than any one else who is interested in its success , you are bound to prefer my advice to that of any other person , when it fc supported by reason , by facte , and hy practice * You must hear in mind that to you and to allcon _** tccicd with our Association , the subject i 9 anew one ; and therefore yon will not receive anything as •' official , " except such documents as bear the signature of the whole body of the present managers . Vfc have thc power and the right to suogest ; but
_neither ihe power nor the right to alter or amend ihe rules , nntil such time as 2000 members shall 1 * enrolled , when the then directors , under the sanction ol the shareholders , can make such alterations as a majority shall deem to be requisite- I cannot make a plaything of the 3 dper week of the honest subscribers , any more than of thc paid-up shares of the wealthiest . My honour , my character , my "very existence is involved in the success of this measure , and in the purity of every transaction connected witli it . Ihave been looking
io spade husbandry and enough of land for every in . dividual io cultivate on his own account , as thc only means of escape for the working classes , erer since I was capable of judging on any subject : and never in my life did I contemplate any other means of redemption for you . In struggling with you Jbr the Charter , I have told you ten thousand times that if " the Land was locked up to-day , I would not give you a _fi-j for the Charter to-morrow . " I ventured to _tefl you that in the midst of the raging storm of IS 39 aud 1 S 42 . I repeat it now .
I have been much thwarted and harassed on this siiljjeet . "When the Birmingham Conference unanimously , and wisely , adopted the Land plan in 1843 , thc acrimony of the knavish for a season triumphed over the judgment of the prudent ; and I , among others , was compelled to " bide my time" till common sense had resumed its place . That time has now arrived . 1 and those who went with me have triumphed . Throughout the agitation ofthe subject , for our enemies always shrunk from discussion , much knavery and much more folly has been used by our enemies to take you off the right scent , that you may be mystified in the chase . Mr . O'Brien , has opposed
mc with what he is pleased to call " first principles ; " forgetting that without some _knowledge of lhe Land and its capabilities , that he must lack the most important knowledge of the whole subject : while he _jilaces' before ns not a mere problematical , but a frerfectiy impossible substitute . He proposes that Government should buy up all thc land of the eoiuiiry ; and that the _jxople should become Land _s-ri & to ilie Government . That is , in plain language , that tiie peop le should buy ihe Land for tlie Governtumt ; and that Government shonld be the director . Now , suppose that society was in such " an advanced _sfate" as to make this scheme at all attainable . I
would just ask where vie jmrehase money is to come firm ? In fact , his proposition is such a conglonieraaiion of land , currency , improrcd and improveablo value , fascinating principle , and impossible accomplishment , that it reminds one ofa dog with his tail in his mouth ; a thing without beginning or end : andwc must only pray that he may lave a lucid interval now and then , to see his own phantasmagoria . On the other hand , a man of the name of James Hill has propounded another scheme ; feat it is so thoroughly ridiculous , and its propounder flavin ; refused to meet in discussion upon it , it may
* considered as consigned to the tomb ofthe _Capulets text comes poor John Watkins , who would establish _insanity upon thc greater madness of poor O'Brien . Chis rhetorical hero ; this compiler of parables ; iiis wholesale dealer in fiction ; this traducer of _ktory , and contemner of facts , has been employed by he League , not to enforce any notions of his own , for ie lias none , but as a Dru 3 U 3 to pull mc down . Poor lung ' . I am going to slay him with his own jaw-bone _, _lere is his death warrant . Just read the Mowing as-sage from his letter that appeared in last week's JoyaVs , and theu judge ofhis respect for "justice " aid the" poor mau srights . " He says : —
g Xow , it was uot hy acts of Parliament that the present laiiilowners obtained possession of their land ; hat _origigjaaUv hy _conquest , hy gift or grant for pnblic services , and te tegMn and sale . That eiMvatSon by _vrt & ch their lands have been rendered more valuable from age to age , jjras _t-fftctcd by the proprietors , or their tenants , or those Whom they employed . A great quantity of the land was _Im-iWropriated cither by Saxons or Normans ; it was jcallcl common land , and was left for the use ofthe people . These commons the people hare still a right to—tlieir _Idaiuis to them cannot he denied , and ought not he relisted ; here is sufficient of them for their use , without _j treaehin _* - on the occupied soils , which no one , who holds
the right of property sacred , would do or think of doing . fTistrue that the present landowners have , in some instances , trenched on the property of the people ; but as ihe _jteople did not prerent them at the tone , they cannot ' tetover it now , without compensation to those who have reclaimed it ; or without violating the rights of occupancy jpr prescription . Slav , then , what do you think of that ?—and from % modern Athenian , too . Would not a sentence of Rasoniag _upoa _sa-d _* . nonsensical stuff be an . insult to your common sense ? I cannot reason npon ifc ; but iwltell Mr . Watkins the precedent that he has furnished . If some one should steal a pair of boots
¦ oni ilr . Watkins , and get them soled and heeled ; ind should Mr . Watkins discover the thief , all that be " owner by conquest" has to say is : " no , sir , 1 ate improved them ; and it would be unjust to take b . ! from . « w nam . " " But aa the people did not preeot them at the time , they cannot recover it now / ' . "fiat does the reader think of the justice of this 4 Independent English Chartist ? " Again , mark the stimation in which this Regenerator holds those for rhom he writes . He says : — Remember the late of the Gracchi , who did not wan * b make the land national property—who never thought k so absurd a thing ; bat who merely wanted the _comtac-lana distributed bj ? lot * o the people , and -were *« _iH-&> S ( One Of them WIS . at least ) that a rent should be paid in ii to the public ; but they were murdered by the
aris-* * _* _-acy , and the very people for whom they were stnigin ; joined in murdering them . So would it be again , nhe modern Britons are even more degenerate than is ancient Bomans . So , then , the modern Britons are even more deaerate t han the ancient Romans ! Isn't he a fit tan to write for slaves ? and * , a very fitting tool f or _Ml-eater aad the League ? I have now done with fool the second : and having > far cleared the rubhish , I shall proceed , toreiew the plan of the " Chartist Co-operative Land _Kiety . " _VTifh the rules as they now stand , I have - . thing to do , further than to obserre that sueh Iterations as appear prudent to the 2000 first en-• Iled shareholders , will , I am sure , he cheerfully 3 opted by them , and as cheerfully accepted by all ¦ ¦ _Se quent subscribers .
I shall now proceed to show the plausibility of that _ution of the plan which suggests itself as too fiat _^ _Hi and too full of promise to many good men who ? not _undeistand the subject : I mean the promise _gwe two acres of land , 3 cottage , and £ 15 in cash , 1 each subscriber who has only paid £ 2 10 s . _beabstraction of the large sum of £ 15 each from le capital , is what punles many parties : and to iisons who _will not judge the subject asa whole , the _ij _MUonatfiratsi _gnt is plausible enough . But you _osttakethe subject _asa whole : and bearinmind
e arguments that I used in propounding the plan , CoOTe *« " > n that adopted it . I treated the _JL _^ . _* _"f _^^ commodity , just as any other _^ that is to he bought and sold : and the reas on _thepnzde , is , because the plan of bringing land . _% wholesale _marfa _^ and selling H at wholesale ice m the _retodmarket . has never yet been atytei : but I hare yet to learn what statute of erup tion operatesi against the apph _* ration of com-. _jeial rules ( which govern the wholesale and retail _^ Of all other commodities ) to the purchase and
To The Members Of The Chartist Co-Operat...
sale of land . £ 15 abstracted from the original capital , some say , would render the property by so much the less valuable , when rented for the purpose of further purchase . I admit it ; and have laid it down that land bought at twenty-five years' purchase by the society should be sold at twenty years' purchase : partly in . consequence of the abstraction of this very £ 13 ; and partly because thc amount paid for the land and cottage of each holder would not be value for twenty-five years' purchase in the first instance . The difference between twenty yeara and twenty-five years' purchase in one holding of £ 5 yearly value , would be £ 25 ; thatis , the £ 5
yearly rent sold at twenty-five years' purchase would bring £ 135 ; aud sold at twenty years' purchase , it would bring £ 100 , or five years ' rent less . I must now presume that every man would be a good substantial tenant at £ 5 a year for two acres of good land , purchased at a value in rent of 15 s . an acre , a cottage , and £ 15 capital ; and , answering with my life if necessary , I would undertake to say that not one man in ten thousand would either fail in payment ofhis rent or let his holding to any other person . If the premises are admitted that an English
working man will pay £ 5 a year for such holding and £ 15 capital , aa I have stated , wliich none but a maniac will deny , I shall , in the first instance , deal with the question as the property of an individual , and sec the result . I shall take a sufficient amount for the location of fifty occupants , at two acres each , worth 153 . an acre . Two acres of land at 15 s . an acre , at twenty-five years * purchase £ 3110 Cost of cottage 30 0 Capital advanced 15 0
£ 82 10 Cost of fifty holdings at £ S 210 s . each £ 4125 Annual rent of fifty holdings at £ 5 each ... 250 Now , if any capitalist in England was to build fifty cottages on one hundred acres of ground , worth los . an acre , he would get £ 0 or £ 1 , or even £ 8 a year for each , without the inducement of the £ 15 at all : and could let them as fast as he could build them . So that one principal ingredient left out of tho calculation by cautious men is the important fact , that the people cannot otherwise get land at any price ; and further , that the exact amount that each mau can cultivate to the best advantage with his own labour is the most beneficial quantity he can have . No man
should have a sod more or a sod less than he can beneficially use . He loses so much of his labour for every sod too little , and he loses rent and taxes for every sod he has too much . I shall now proceed to strengthen my position by foots . It is a fact that men give in many counties in England at the rate of £ 8 , £ 9 , and £ 10 per acre , for portions of acres , as " allotments , " that have never let in large parcels for more than £ 1 an acre : and yet not ono occupant ofthe smallest allotment would give his bargain up for double the enormous rent paid . See what Mr . Linton , of Selby , has done ; see what Samuel Briggs , of Oxfordshire , has done ; see my work on Small Farms for what I did myself , in three years , with one bnil field . " ' *
Before I treat the subject commercially , I shall make a few general observations . I presume that a tenant will give £ 5 ayearforwhatcost £ 8210 _s . ; or , in other words , that we shall sell the £ 5 ayearfor £ 100 . "No , no , " says one and another . Now , I ask if there is any wholesale dealer in shawls , hats , tea , snuff , -wines , cloth , iron , or any other retail commodity that would uot make that much profit upon an expenditure of £ 8210 s . ? Methinks I hear some one
answering , " How many make less ; and how many fail , and make nothing 1 " To that I reply , that any person dealing in those commodities uuder tho same favourable circumstances that we could deal with the Land , would make double the profit ; for it must be always born- * in mind that we should , _ncrcr fail of tenants , and they must be presumed never to fail of customers , but always to bo turning their capital as fast as they can buy and sell .
I shall now proceed to treat the subject commercially . Let me ask , how banking companies , that -discount bills at 4 and 3 § per cent ., with Bank of England notes , divide the enormous profits they make , but by the clubbing of their monies ? How do _Insuianco Companies , who compete with one another , vieing in the reduction of policies , divide men enormous _prents , except upon the principle of clubbing their monies ? And are all attempts to release the working classes from bondage to be branded as futile , ridiculous , and insane ? Bear in mind that I have always stuck to my _ttjfc upon the question of the Land : and as some other branches ofthe subject
will require illucidation , do * notlo 3 e sight of what I have aforetime and often asserted : firstly , that good land is cheaper at a proportionately higher cost than bad land is : secondly , that any man of common prudence and moderate industry , will pay the fee simple for auy amount of land that he can cultivate by Ms own labour in four , or at most in fire years . That is , that the man who takes two acresof landfor £ 5 ayear , andespeeially if he gets £ 15 to commence with , will , ia five years at the _farthest be able to pay the purchase money , or £ 125 , twentyfive years' purchase , for his holding , which would make it his for ever without paying any rent . This
may be at variance with ' 'first principles ; " but all I have to do is to get enough of land for the present generation from the plunderers of former generations , to teach the people the _^ alue of what they have lost : and when thepossessioa of two acres by a family shall " press too hardly '' upon thc people o f future generations , they will bave my " post mortem" consent in 10 , 000 years to make some other arrangement ; but I shall not expect to see it . One other branch ofthe intricacies by which we are told we are surrounded , is the folly of calculating afixed pricefor land , and a fixed rate of rent . Again , I say , that those for whom I write , and for whom the
Convention acted , must be supposed to have some brains . When we estimated the rent at £ 5 a year , we apportioned it upon the presumption that the quality of the land to fetch that rent would rate at or about 15 s . an acre : bnt as no one presumed when he took a share that he was to pay £ 5 . a year for land that was only worth 12 s . an acre , neither could anyone have supposed that he was to get two acres of land that was worth 25 s . an acre for £ 5 a year . Every man must have understood that , starting at a presumable value , a fair graduated scale of rent would be laid on ; and happy the man who gets the highest p riced land . Suppose the society purchased land worth 10 s . au acre upon advantageous terms , I presume that the rent would be £ 4 10 s . a
year ; and if they purchase land worth 20 s . an acre , I presume the rent would be £ 5 Ite ., making up the exact difference in the price inthe difference of rent : and when I get my allotment , if I have an option between £ 10 a-year for land worth £ 2 an acre , and £ 4 10 s . for landi worth 10 s . aa acre , I will take the best . I may fairly presume that about £ 1 an acre will be the highest prme at whieh land would be purchased . Our p » _£ » are fixed , and oiir object national ; but our deteds and rules , as I stated in the outset , do _** _** _£ ** immutability of the laws of the Medesand _^ Persians . What is best , safest , and most ¦ _J _^ jtaj will , I have no doubt , be adopted by 1 * _* _£ _* g themselves : always guarding against the remo test
chance of jobbing . , _Iwillnow _makeafew observations « pon flaw * of action by which the capital of £ 15 _* f _fJ _ISULm _thesoeWs _fuucls for _^ o _^ I have before treated the subject as if _^ _"S was the property of an individual : but as our p lan S aep 2 u on the _+. **(~* _JZ leased for ever , and as an individual _W _]™* _™ _keephis forproperty , l _^ f _^^ ZZ theheadofoneofournecessities . _^ _t _^ _mustsell or mortgage , to cany on the _buyg _^ subdividing system . I shall suppose , then , t _* _nat _*¦*
To The Members Of The Chartist Co-Operat...
society begins and finishes with 2000 members . This limitation will make most against my argument , as the more extensive the society the more rapid and easy the fulfilment of all the conditions . Suppose the soeiety formed , then , of 2000 members , having paid up £ 5000 , at £ 2 10 s . a share . Suppose tlie money to be paid ; and the thing promised , to be two acres of land that would let at 15 s . per acre , a cottage that has cost £ 30 in building , and £ 15 capital , for a rent of £ 5 a year . Here , in passing , I will observe , that the same rule that I have applied to the purchase of land will equally apply to the building of cottages . All wouldbe on the same plan ; while some may cost £ 40 and others £ 20 .
Thus , some may cost £ 40 where they are built at a considerable distance from materials ; some maybe built for £ 20 where materials arc on the spot . A portion of my care will be to look out for estates so situated . For instance ; in one of my previous letters I mentioned an estate of 113 acres that was to be sold , within twenty-one miles of London , and within one of a railway station . Since I wrote that letter , a friend of mine has purchased that estate for exactly £ 18 15 s . an acre . There are two quarries upon it , and as many old farm buildings as would build twelve cottages . There is one cottage on this farm with a little patch of land for whicli the tenant pays £ 8 a year . He has not the twentieth part of an acre . I have been all over this estate twice . There
is not one acre of waste upon it . There are now thirty-two acres of wheat , besides other crops ; and I have not seen as good wheat anywhere this year . I offered my friend £ 500 for his bargain , but he would not accept it . There are , however , " as good fish in the sea as ever were caught ; " and I mention this farm to strengthen my assertion with regard to the value of land in the market . I now return to the subject I left . Suppose that 2000 members have paid up £ 5000 ; and for facility of calculation I will take the even number of fifty as the number of shareholders to be located at a draft . Fifty allotments , at two acres each , would be 100 acres , which at £ 1815 s . an acre would
cost £ lS 7 o Fifty cottages , at £ 30 each 1500 Fifty occupants , at £ 15 each 750 Cost of locating fifty occupants £ 4125 Thus the cost of locating each fifty occupants would be £ 4125 , leaving £ 875 of thc paid-up capital in hand . The rent of fifty holdings , at £ 5 each , would be £ 250 . The society would sell the fifty allotments at a disadvantage , if soldiu a year ; and not to the best advantage if sold , in two years : but if sold at the end of three years , the estate consisting of fifty holdings would sell as high as the ground rent of a thriving
bank , or as high as a quit or crown rent * , because at the end of the three years the land would be worth much more than double what it originally cost : and instead of then selling for twenty years' purchase , it wovdd fetch more than thirty years' purchase . The price of land varies according to the security it presents to the purchaser . Thus , twenty years' purchase would be the price of land where it was let about the value * , that is , 5 per cent , for the purchase money ; twenty-five years' purchase would be tho price of ordinarily favourably let land , that WHS held at or about the fair value ; that is , 4 per cent , for the purchase money ; thirty years' purchase would be given for land where the tenant had either a good beneficial interest for ever ; or in case the farm would let at the expiration of his lease to a good tenant for
the same rent or something more ; that is , 3 J per cent , upon the purchase money . Thirty-fiveandforty years' purchase is not unfrequcntly given for land as the safest investment . For instance * . if A owns laud in fee ; that is , if it is his own for ever , worth say £ 100 a year , for which B only pays him £ 10 a year for ever . The security for the £ 10 is worth £ 100 a year : and B , the tenant , or any oue else , will give A thirty-five or forty years' purchase , because it is the very beat security iu the world . Precisely the same as regards funded property . Lenders take less than they will upon mortgage , because they can exchange it or sell it more easily . Now , you must understand all that ; and I trust that those who have never considered the land in a commercial point of view will understand it also .
I go back again to where I left off . Suppose that fifty occupants have been located at a cost of £ 4125 , and that they pay £ 250 a-year , and that there is left in the society ' s possession a surplus of £ 875 . Instead of selling the estate so let , and so certain to rise in value from the application of so much labour , I , if i was mine , and I had embarked as an individual in the speculation , would mortgage it for £ 4000 , instead of selling it for £ 5000 , or at twenty years' purchase . I would then add £ 125 of the surplus of £ 875 , to the £ 4000 borrowed on mortgage , and locate fifty more . Mind , this illustration applies to any other number as well as fifty ; and as I find that the
£ 875 of an original surplus makes seven times £ 12 o , the sum that we should add to each £ 4000 borrowed to make £ 4125 , which each fifty allotments would cost , it will be seen that the eight first allotments might be perfected without the sale of any of the land , while the society would stand thus : — 400 occupants paying £ 5 per annum each ... £ 2 , 000 Mortgage ** , on the allotments 28 , 000 As I am determined that this letter , whichhas cost me no little time or calculation , shall remain as a bone for the disaffected to pick if they can , I shall riddle the whole subject while I am upon it . Let me now presume that eight drafts , at fifty each draft , have been located in two years . That is , that the society
aasbought 800 acres , buiMOO cottage 8 , and given £ 15 to each of 400 occupants ; that £ 28 , 000 hasbecn borrowed on mortgage at four per cent ., thc interest on whichwouldbe £ 1120 a-year . Thcrentof 400 holdinsg at £ 5 each , would be £ 2000 a-year , leaving an annual profit in favour of the society of £ 880 per annum . And now what I do assert is this , and I will abide by the decision of any twelve men of common _seiiBe . 1 do assert , that whereas the first allotment , if sold at once , wouldbedearattwcntyyears ' purchase , or £ 5000 , though itwouldfetehit , thatatthe end ofthefirsttwo years it would fetch thirty years' purchase , or £ 7500 : so that at the end I will say of four years upon that amount of purchase alone the society would stand thus :
Original capital paid up ,.,.. _^ ... „ ......... £ 5 , 000 Borrowed on mortgage 28 , 000 Total - £ 33 , 000 Sale of eight estates , consisting of 50 allotments each , at 30 years' purchase of £ 2 , 000 a year £ GO , 000 Leaving a balance of £ 27 , 000 in the hands of the soeiety , after paying off the £ 5 , 000 original capital , and the £ 28 , 000 borrowed money . This calculation presumes that all thc allotments would have been tenanted forthe requisite period of two years , which , though not exactly the case , furnishes a fair illustration ; as some would be more and some less ; while what had been done to the most improved would be ample guide for hrpurchaser of what would be done te
the remainder . Now , this sum appears large ; but in accounting for it I am going to solve thc riddle which no one else will solve for you . You yourselves are too apt to be struck with wonder at the amount of power you possess in your united strength . Now , pray observe this fact ; and , if you treat all the reBt of my letter lightly , read the following with attention . I have estimated the increased value given to the land by the expenditure of 400 men ' s labour upon it for four years , at £ 27 , 000 . This is what is called the improved value . Well , if i 00 men work at one shilling per day eaeh , for one week , they will earn £ 20 ; if they work for 300 days in the year , the / will earn £ 000 ; and if they work at the same tate for fouryears , they will earn £ 24 , 000 . Now I v / ill solve the riddle further , by seeing if the slaYe-er dew WWW
To The Members Of The Chartist Co-Operat...
be satisfied with a less profit Irom the same amount of labour . Suppose , then , tliat tho 400 men work , four each , for farmers holding 100 acres of land : I ask any man living if each of those employing four men would not expect to make in thc four ycar 3 £ 240 profit , or £ 15 a year of a man ' s work ? Now , herein lies the difference . When the profits upon labour are thus distributed among a number of employers , the labourers never can see their value individually or collectively : and this is what they will not teach you . I make a savings' bank of the land ; and all the profit that I require above living is one shilling per day ; while Chambers and thc Malthusians tell you that you should savo more than that amount .
Add io this calculation the difference between the ralue of labour done for a slave-owner and labour done for oneself , and thc fact that every man will have some of hi 3 family to help him , and who will say that I have overrated the increased value of the soil ? or that I have not triumphantly refuted the absurd notion of " failure" ? " O _, but , " says some sage , " they may not improve the land . " Then they cannot have worked even four hours a day . But I contend that they would work like slaves until they had made the land their own "for ever . " To finish this branch ofmy subject , I now assert that the free labour of those 400 men . would be worth much more than five shillings a day per man and family ; and that would be just five times £ 24 . 000 , or one kindred
and twenty thousand pounds . Thus is the riddle of united labour solved for you . My impression is that not one acre need be sold ; and that tlie process of location would not be retarded * , that our object should be to enable the occupants of each division to _lidcomo purchasers for ever of their respective allotments ; and this I pledge myself each can do out of his savings in less than five years . All this , however , is matter for future consideration . I can only say that the more I consider the subject the higher do my spirits rise : and if I had 100 , 000 men in England associated in this holy work of regeneration , I would show the landed aristocracy , —whose " tool lam , " the power they possessed when a people were united .
My valued friends , ~ I have now written you a long letter . To tliose who shall consider it too long , and they aro many—their name is Legion—let your answer be , that hundreds and ' . thousands of volumes have been printed upon the commercial traffic of Bills of Exchange , Insurance , Shipping , Policies , and other subjects , all and every one involving tho destruction of your rights , and the rights of labour , to establish a commercial code of honour forthe government of licensed thieves and plunderers ; and that this one letter is the only treatise upon the commerce of agriculture that ever has been written for the working classes , To you I dedicate it . Road it , and judge of your power , and blush for tho slavery that you have so long and so tamely borne . I trust that I have not been an unprofitable spectator of the world's transactions . I have read of revolutions . I have sep . n ono form of Government substitute : ! for
another form . I have seen Governments change hands . I have seen jubilees to commemorate those changes ; but I have not seen one particle of DDliefit conferred by one , or all , upon those who are doomed to perpetual slavery by their own divisions . I have taken part in all the exciting turmoils for thc las - ) twenty-one yeara . of my life ; and I have long since come to the conclusion that political equality can only spring from social happiincss . That is , that a sufficient number oi' tho population oi
a country must be cognisant of their individual value before they will struggle with life and limb for political freedom . I am aware that tlie mere brawling politician , who bellows nonsense about the "rights of man" and " political equality , " will ever have enthusiastic disciples : but they will always be too few to take the oppressor ' s knuckle out of the collar of the oppressed . I was mocked by those who deserted us in 1 S 30 , because I promised you the Charter with their aid . And had Attwood and the
Birmingham shopocrats remained faithful , we would have had it . This change , thank G od , they cannot mar , though they dread it even more than the Charter .: and with God ' s blessing , and ycur help , before I die I will see the knee of the capitalist bent at the shrine of Labour , instead of seeing the neck of labour humbled before the shrine of capital . Yes , T trust to see the day when the most valuable of all commodities , Labour , shall be estimated at its full price by its owner ; and then I shall have left the world , when I do go , better than I found it . Ever your faithful friend , _Feahous O'Connor .
P . S . —I beg to call your attention to the following communication from our friends in France , who appear determined to struggle on in the good cause . It will do for " Wiluasi _Wisn-I-Jur-GEr-ir , " this week . F . O'C . Nailors' Arms Inn , Rouen , July 22 , 1845 . Dear Sir _,--I have many times thought of answering the filthy trash of the Threepenny Lloyd ' s ; but being at a great distance , and postage being expensive , I have wide up my mind to answer the hungry growlers in the golden Jan . gU 3 _g-tf of £ 20 17 s . 3 d ., the value ofa bill you will find enclosed , Die amount of eight shares and expenses ; making in the space of one month £ 36 lis , 3 d . I have sent to you from this place . In answer to " William
Wish-I-may-Get-it , " I can only say that he has not got half thatl mean to give hiin from Rouen . Let the following meeting speak for itsolf : —A public meeting was held at the Nailors ' Arms Inn , on Sunday last , July 2 oth , at three o ' clock p . m ., when the large room was crowded to suffocation ; Mr . John Gebherd , sen ., was called tothe chair , lie opened the business of the meeting by introducing the district secretary , who had consented to deliver a lecture on the all important subject of tlie Land . The lecturer commenced by taking a rapid glance at the various societies that had been having for their object the removal of the sufferings and privations of the working classes . Most of . tliem , he said , had been destroyed for the want of unity of action and perseverance among themselves ;
leaving tho privileged and unprincipled to act , think , and judge for them : but he thanked God that a brighter day had dawned . The industrious classes and honest mechanics had found out that if a nation was to be free , they themselves must strike the blow . The lecturer then briefly explained tllO Six points of the Charter , and com-Uattd the many and unprincipled charges brought _agaiast the Chartist body . Having explained what persecution had fallen to the lot of those Chartists who had endea . voured to benefit the whole human race , he commenced the all important subject of the Land . The time had now arrived , he Baid , whea the subject of the Laud was become a national question ; : a question in which the majority of tho working bees was taking n very prominent and
important part " . He was proud . to see so many ot ? his countrymen and brother exiles meeting together tliat day , to give tlieir assistance to the movement which had for its object the locating of tbe honest artisan upon the soil of Mb native land . Many were the objections brought against the scheme by parties who seemed to glory in the distress attending the working man . He would say , " search the four great Books , and they would there find that the only qualification for a living was by the sweat of the brow . " The lecturer then read the laws of the Chartist Co-oi > crativo I _« and Society , and explained them as he went along . He rebutted the arguments of the enc lie
mies ot the pian . read several quotations from the Northern Star , and concluded by calling on the meeting to give the scheme their serious attention , and join the society ; for every member would then be doing his share to bring the present state of destitution to an end . Only let them get possession of the land they hadbcen robbed of , 3 nd they would soon find that England would be in realitj what she now is in name— "Great , Glorious , and Free !" The work of enrolment then began ; the result will appear by the amount of cash received . After a vote of thanks to the lecturer and chairman , the _meeting separated at tight o'clock , highly delighted . Several books were sold , and many promised to become members . ¦ i r r i * i * r * i * i * i _' n-f m i r ¦ _*»** ' _^*^ .. _¦¦«» _.. _r r -
' ¦ » - ; Mbllw 4rf ' Ift4ff '#L*Tt ¦Fin...
' ¦ » - ; _Mbllw 4 rf ' ift _4 _ff ' _# l * tt ¦ _fin' _& t * AND NATIONAL TRADES * JOURNAL .
Vol. Viii. No. 402. ' London, Sa.Tubdai,...
VOL . VIII . NO . 402 . ' LONDON , SA . TUBDAI , JOLI 26 , 1845 . _^ . _JESJSSZSZ Z—
Molly Maguire To Mr. Fargus O'Connor, Es...
MOLLY MAGUIRE TO MR . FARGUS O'CONNOR , ESQ . _R-espjEcrsn Sm , —I give you great thanks for putting my letter to my children in your paper . A shoemaker of the name of [ we suppress the name ] takes a Northern Star ; and we meet by nights , when it arrives , to read it . The reason for my writing these few lineS _jto you now , is , thatyou will publish the letter I . ; 8 end inside to my children ; because , though I sent it to parties here that I thought would print it , they refused , because it puts the saddle on the right horse . Honoured sir—from my letter you will see , and the people of England will sec , what wc comp lain of ; and the people of England will see that it is not the Saxon either at home or abroad , but the Protestant ana Roman tyrants in Ireland that oppress us - . for , honoured sir , where they have power , there ' s not a pin to choose between them ; only thc little CatholicM Mworst . _aaho thinks , not _beinsa Pro-
Molly Maguire To Mr. Fargus O'Connor, Es...
testant , will mako the poor of iiis persuasion put «•> with his treatment without complaining . Honoured sir ,- —I am over three score and ten ; and I remember the rebellion of ' 98 , and Emmett ' s row , and the " White boys" of' 23 , when your honour was thc onlv man iu the whole county of Cork that stood up for the people at the risk of your life . I remember also how . you were obliged to fly your country ; as the mad-men that had the making of the laws would hang you if they caught you . Honoured sir , — 'We are tired of waiting for the relief that Lord Devon ' s Commission promised us ; and we see the Repeal is farther off than ever it was , while we get no account of the money wo send to get ifc with . Honoured sir , —I will trouble you no more at present , but subscribe myself Your humble and respectful servant , MOLLV _MkCUlRfi .
HOLLY ' S LETTER TO HER CniLBttES . My dear Children , —As the Lord Lieutenant , and thc Protestant Archbishop of Dublin , ami thc commander ofthe forces , and Fred Shaw , thc Recorder , all English Protestants and Orangemen , havedeeideiltoscndinoi-e police among you , to butcher you as they butchered the poor peaceable Irish women anil men at BalJinlmssig , and were acquitted by their ownpart . - * - , being a majority of tho jury ; and as these police sent here will be tried , if they shoot yon , by the noblemen and gentlemen , and asked for them to protect themselves against that punishment tliat tlieir own deeds makes them dread—you must be very cautious in what you do . My children , always remcmuei * the story of the bundle of sticks , and stick te _togetheii ! ' Do not go in threes or fours , or anywhere but where I fell vou :
for bo sure that bad men will get among you , or the nolico will bribe them with government money . What they will do is—they'll get some one to set a few of you badly armed to meet in some lonely place ; and they'll havo notices written themselves to show that tho meeting was planned by your mother ; so that ifc will all be put down to mc and my children : and then my children that is ignorant of the trick will to frightened , because they will not have any more confidence in their wise parent who never led them into any mischief . So that what you'll do is this : never meet but when I call you togtther , anil don't mind what others say to you : for you know the police will have no moro pay or blood-money when the county is quiet ; and therefore they'll keep ifc disturbed if they can . My children - . they call us murderers and butchers -.
but see thc way wc are treated . Look first at llathcormae _, where over thirty poor Catholics were inhumanly butchered by Archdeacon Rider , Major Collis , and Captain Bagley * . and when a verdict of " wilful murder" was returned before the four coroners of the county , by the whole twenty-three jurors unanimously , sec how an Orange Grand Jury , _ivithout hearing any witnesses , TimEW out the iu ! Surely the case called for trial , at any rate ; but there was no trial . ' . and tho murderers are still at large , walking about and Jiving on you , upon titllCS and half-pay . Ono of the murderers was actually invited by Lord Beerhaven , the high sher iff , to be on thc Grand Jury that , was to try himself ! My children , isn't that enough to make one ' s blood boil ? Remember , too , that our friends in Parliament have never
yet asked for satisfaction tor the umoceub blood that was shed at JRathcormac . And then look at the slaughtering at Ballinhassig fhe other day i See that the orderly of Mr . Kelly , the head killer , a policeman , was allowed to give evidence . His name is Richard Hickman . Thc police were all acquitted ! Shooting a poor innocent woman and six or seven innocent men , and wounding more , is " _justiiudle homicide" in Ireland , when the poor suffers : but when * a men man suffers , then it is "A FOUL MURDER ! " and " a dark stain on the whole nation !" You see , my children , how a respectable gentleman contradicted all that the police swore to about Tom Steele when he was in thc county here ; and that will show you that the police will swear anything : and sure it ' s for that they are paid . Then ,
my cliildren , see how Mr . Booth ' s brother and his wife implored him to give up his commission ; and all because they knew tliat his tyrannical acts had rendered him odious to the people . Whenever the _neople arc oppressed they are told to look to the law for redress ; . anil when they look to tho law they arc only insulted , by verdicts of "justifiable homicide . " If the Crown is forced to prosecute , an English Crown solicitor , paid by the Government , will take care to give the accused an Orange jury , and so let him off . What , then , arc wc to do ? Let any one read the account given by the Devon commission of onr great hardships , and ask himself what steps our rulers have takeu to remedy them ; and if they have taken none , we must either bear them , or remedy them ourselves : and 7 ioiv are we to remedy them ,
except by ourselves ? My children , you hear every day of war with England . Sometimes about a drunken little queen , they call Pomcroy , living thirty thousand miles off ; and a man of tho name of Pritchard , and this drunken woman was near having all Europe at war : and if our flag , —that is , the English flag , —is insulted wo must go to war . * but if the whole population of Ireland is suffering great want and privation , such as no other country ever suffered , wo must remain at peace and look to thc law when we are aro butchered , and then suffer on . One party tells us we ought to be quiet and happy , because we are not taxed ; and another party taxes us that wo may get our parliament back ; and tells us that it is the Saxons that oppress us . My children , we are taxed ; and it is
not the baxon that taxes or that oppresses . The Land is what we wakt at a fair rent * , and wo ask no more . And is not the Catholic landlord and the Catholic middle man , as big , and a bigger , tyrant and oppressor than the Protestant ? And why is he to bo excused ? only because he gives a pound to the Repeal rent out of the £ 100 that he drags from yon ! Wo are taxed because our members of Parliament give the Government their support upon condition of treating us as they please ; aiid the shoneens that return them get protection from the members . If Ireland was at war , our members would not vote for the money to carry ifc on , unless they got jobbing and picking at home outof us * , for there is nothing to be fleeced but the poor Irish Lambs . Yes , my chililren ; let bad men call you what they may , I only
ask any just man of common sense to read Lord Devon ' s report , and . call you other than Lambs if he can . ' : My children : If they give us a commission to inquire into all the murders that they call " JusTin-ABLE HOMICIDES , " and tho justifiable homicides that THEY call " murders , " I will undertake to prove that the peoplo have been inhumanly butchered , while all law nas been violated by those who have unhappily fallen victims to that vengeanco wliich the law denied to the oppressed . My children : Is it not murder when the rent is paid up , and more than paid up , to drag a whole innocent and industrious family from their hovel ro _pehisu nr the _hoad side ? Is it not murder to shoot the widow ' s son , her only prop in old age , coming out of his widowed mother ' s door ,
because AC refuses to pay tithes ? Is it not murder to shoot poor Johanna Holland , at Ballinhassig , the innocent young wife of an honest Irish labourer ? Ah ! my children ; if the grave could speak , the victims of domestic butchery would far outnumber those of Saxon misrule . ' But then , our own burden at homo must be made more easy to bear , by keeping-our thoughts always upon those afar off . We can , by the union ofour own powers , do _something for , ourtelvesat home : but we are-weak and powerless against those parties that are in England . My children : listen to thc parental advise of your fond and aged parent . Be not too fond of taking away life ; and , above all things , abstain from exciting drinks ; as one drunken man , may , in his madness , commit onr whole family . Hold no intercourse with thc English lord-lieutenants
and his orange council ' s " protective force , Thoy are sent down to butcher you in cold blood , or to hang you by stratagem anil falso swearing : therefore , my children , avoid them ! Whoever of my children shall be seen conversing with them , or in company with them , I will disinherit forever , as they are degenerate and cannot love their country or their country ' s cause . My children , love j ustice and fear not : hate oppression , and swear one to another that you will not longer bear it , either from the foreign foe or thc domestic tyrant . Be united ; bo firm ; be cautious , my children ; and when you have triumphed , those who now mock you will say , that Lord Devon has roused a spirit in our breasts that makes us blush for what we liave too tamely borne . The world has been told that we live worse than English beasts ; and that we endure privations that no other people upon the face of die earth could endure ! O , my children , shall we
be thus branded as willing slaves by those who five upon our sweat , and prosper by our disunion ? No , my children ! Tho God of Nature and of Justice cries aloud against our oppressors , - He is our God . We are " the people of his pasture , and the sheep of his fold . " My children : wemust have the land for the value , and pay no tithes . My children : if an _inquost is held upon a landlord or magistrate who have oppressed the poor , there is great weeping , aud wailing , and pomp and ceremony ; and always a verdict of « ' wilful _mukdbb ; " and moro _prtice to guard their brethren : but if scores of poor men are butchered , policemen are examined and a verdict of justifiable homicide" is returned ! and no sorrow over my murdered children , although the parsons tell us tbat " all men are equal in the sight of God . " My children : if wc have been made worse than brute beasts by conquest , _*„•« «« st gain our freedom by the same
Molly Maguire To Mr. Fargus O'Connor, Es...
means That God may bless and prosper you , ray _X _? cWldren ; in all your righteous undertakings , * Molly Maouibb .
Ar00108
Mmn Intellijpnrr
Mmn Intellijpnrr
France. Tim Late Arnocitr Is Afmca.-Wo F...
FRANCE . Tim late ArnociTr is Afmca .-Wo find bv the Paris papers of Tucsdnv , that it was a marshal ot Prance , a duke , tlw Goveru _or-Gcucral of Algiers , in line , Bueeaud , who planned and ordered the immortal atrocitv of the Dahra . Poor Colonel Pelissier was onlv the stoker of the grand engineer—a poor hangman who would linvc been bi'OKen or snot _, for disobedience of orders . The fact has not crept out through any of those crevices which the inquisitive press is ever opening for tlie public to spy through . No ; it is written , avowed , nay , claimed openly by the genius who lidded a new invention to the art of war . The official J / ym _' ttur _.-Uiiei-icii , in a . long article , defending tlio conversion of the cavern of Dahra into an oven for the baking of upward */ of BOO niei ) , women , and children for the vultures _.
who carried away iheir flesh piecemeal , states that Marshal Bugcaud , foreseeing the flight of the tribes ' into their caves , ordered Colonel Pelissier to do exactly what he did . Tlie Paris papers say that the article has been written by Bugetiud liimself ' , the commentaries arc those of our African _Cn- & ir , and wc believe tlie assertion . " The _responsibility ot Marshal Bugcaml for this horrible affair , " says a pvivate letter , ' * is held here to bo established by one word— -emcule—whicli occurs in the Moniteur Algerien . ' Marshal Bugcaml was , ' " say those commentators , * tlic author of the massacre in the Rue Traiisiionain , Paris , iu April , 183-1 , when the entire of the inhabitants of the liouse Mo . M in that street were—men , women , and children—butchered by tho ruthless 35 th Regiment acting under his orders . The recollection of this feat in an oneute suggested to him no doubt this new atrocity . '"
SPAIN . The Press . —A decree issued by the _-sovernment , abolishes trial by jury in the case of offences committed by the press . " The journals protest against if , but iu vain . The press is now as completely under martial law as any town in Catalonia . A dispatch , received nt _Barcelona f ) _io Mth , from flic general commanding at Igualada , announces the complete dispersion of the insurgents near ' fora , after an hour ' s lighting . A second gathering , near Ccrvera , has ? been equally dispersed , ami the submission was general .
SWITZERLAND . The Diet . —During the sitting ofthe 17 th the Helvetic Diet discussed the question relative to the revision of the federal compact . A majority of eight against the expediency of discussion caused it to bo put olf till next year . The principle of a total revision ofthe compact had , therefore , only gained the concurrence of the five most radical cantons—Berue _, Argovia , Basle ( country ) , C'lavis , and Vaud ,
CAPE OF GOOD _HOl'E . An arrival from the Cape of Good Hope , bringing the dates down to the 28 th of May , reached London , on Monday morning , lij this conveyance there are accounts from Natal , whieh are not very favourable . The Boers appear to be greatly dissatisfied at tho delay tliat has taken place in arranging tiie land claims , which , by keeping up a degree of uncertainty respecting ultimate occupation , has much ; retarded improvement . In tho meantime , tlio restraint which has been imposed upon tho Boers has given confidence to the aboriginal tribes in tho vicinity , who are now in consequence , threatening _^ serious aggressions , ami rendering thc situation of tho frontier farms insecure and dangerous . In
illustration ot this state of things wc give the following extract from a paper published in the colony , called thc Nutulier : — " Tho Kafirs arc intruding , though unobserved , and large numbers arc already assembled atthe \! mcoinas , _Hovu , Natal , Hmgcni , _Tafclkoppen , _Maritzburg _, 'f ugcla , Mooi River , and Biggar ' s Mountain . The- / have as yet committed no murders , but those inhabitants who live somewhat scattered appear unwilling to await this occurrence ; they have had a too sad experience of that people , and they now prepare themselves for a movement which will more closely resemble a total abandonment of the country than any other event since the first settlement of tho emigrants . The whole ncighbourhod ofthe Umcomas * will be abandoned * , the half of the people at Mooi
RlVCr ai'O about to depart ; and active ' trekking ' preparations arc being made irom the Bushman ' s River to the Tugcla , so ti . at within two or three months Pictcrmaritzburg will probably be the only inhabited place . Everywhere farms arc already seen abandoned ; buildings and plantations returning to their natural state ; and if our government should slumber a few months longer , it will lind no bona fide occupied lands at all . It would be unfair to assert that this removal is solely attributable to a spirit of rebellion against the British government . AVe know very many , whom wc could name , who had firmly resolved not to leave their dwellings , should it he at all practicable to stop without any serious sacrifices ; but what do they now sav ? Those who had no
occupied places say , ' first of all wo could not occupy our places on account of the disturbed state ofthe country —and were obliged , forthe purpose of mutual protection , to live in companies on the occupied places , until we should eventually bo enabled to take _possession of onr own lands ; the proclamation of the governor deprives us of all claim to any lands ; wo now wait from day to day , from month to month , and from year to year , and cannofciearn whether anything at all will be acceded to us ; in thc meantime wo are left destitute of all accommodation and business , and will shortly become bankrupt _; we are only hep-tin leadiug strings , and will eventually find ourselves deceived ; it is betfer . toberclieved from that
suspenseat once , to renounce all hope , and to seek an asylum elsewhere , where we may at least be more secure . *" Those having occupied lands , say , ' _wedartnotmake any improvements on our own places ; we do not know whether the terms upon which wo will eventually obtain tho same will be acceptable ; whether the extent of land allotted to each place will be consistent ; whether we shall have to live intermixed with the Kafirs ' ornot , and when our neighboursleave , wo will besides be too much exposed on our distant farms , and may be suddenly attacked by small and predatory bands and butchered , whilst our nearest neighbours will not learn the fact before the lapse of some days , - we are therefore compelled to leave . '"
INDIA AND CIIINA-OVERLAND MAIL . The usual Extraordinary . 'Express , in anticipation of the Overland Mail from India , reached London at au early hour on Tuesday morning , with advices from Calcutta of Juno 3 rd ; from Bombay [ via Madras ) of the same dato ; and from China of the 12 th April . The news brought by this conveyance is of comparatively little political importance ; whilst the only local event ot interest is thc passing of the new Tariff Act . Rumours were _current of preparations for the renewal of hostilities in the Ferozepore districts at no remote period ; but there appears to be but little probability that they will havo been needed . In Lahore no pretext had arisen for fresh dissensions . The Ranee had been induced to withdraw her
patronagefrom _Ghooktb Singh , who had , it will ho remembered , been promised the Wuzeership , and had appointed her brother Jewahir Singh to that office . He has < been denuded ofhis cash , and is at liberty to retire again to the hills * , an alternative of winch he will t probably avail himself , if the result of his late _sacri- ¦ Bees : shall have proved moderately instructive . . Meanwhile the functionary by whom he has been sup- planted is not without his apprehensions . From I Affghauistan we learn that Dost Mohammed has re- _linquished , for the moment , his designs on Peshawur . . Tliere has been a counter-revolution in Nepaul , which i was begun by the assassination ofthe chief , who had 1 advised the old King ' s abdication , in his presence . > . Deprived of this powerful and influential adviser , tho o
young usurper was forced to yield the musnud to his is father , and public affairs have accordingly reverted d to the position in which they . were before the 10 th . h December last . From Cuina we have some few items of important at intelligence . Au attack has been made in the streets te of Canton , by a body of Chinese , upon the Hon . Mr . ir . Montgomery Martin , Mr . Jackson , the vice consuk uk and the Rev . Mr . Stanton , the colonial chaplain , in . Thc gentlemen were a good deal maltreated , and it it is said that Governor Davis lias addressed a strong ing remonstrance to tho " provincial authorities" on tho tho subject . An extraordinary transaction has occurred red at Shanghai , where a European resident , claiming ing thc appellation ofa "British merchant , " is reported ted to have built a lorcha , or boat , of sixty or seventy nty
tons burden , for the purposo ot levying a kind of i of black mail" from the native smuggling boats bring , inging opium up tho river . This vessel was intrusted _sted to the management ofa Chinaman named Fowqua , ivn , formerly a Canton shroff ; 'but , the Mandarins , having _ving discovered the scheme , arrested this individual , ana ana pufchim to thc torture , when he denounced about lOOt 10 O * persons as his accomplices ! After having been sub- sub- * jeeted to cruel torture for about a week , hewas _he-i he- _, headed , and about twenty ofhis confederates , who what had been seized , underwent a similar punishment . aent .. The greatest possible excitement , as may be belicv «* ** UveA ,,
was occasioned , and in the midst of it the _Britishritishi merchant—the cause of all this cruelty and _bloodshedlsbedl —withdrew from Shanghai . Such is the story asry as _*» given in _^ the China Mail . Koloongsoo has been era- evacuated , and it is said that some disturbances took took : place at Amoy on the occasion of the departure of _thuof _thea British troops , though their exact nature is unknomuKr . ro .. From Singapore news has arrived of tho total loss _ofloss Olll the barquoiC . Qlumbian , of Liverpool , Captain _Waktanakein _, by 8 _triking- " ptt a . sunken rock in the Gaspar Strait 8 . trai _* hM The crew _and-pagaengers reached Singapore in safetj safety *' in the boats ; . The passengers sent a lette r of _thankihanks to tho captain for his good conduct on the _octMi _^ _imkasioik
Cuortet.—A Meeting Will Bo Held On Sunda...
_CuoRtEt . —A meeting will bo held on Sunday _afday ato temoon , at two o ' clock , at No . 0 , _Princes-street / treet / tt _loi-m a branch pf tho _Chartiibt Co-operative _IgfiS L _jW ooewty .
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), July 26, 1845, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns4_26071845/page/1/
-