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TO TI1K MEMBERS OF THE LAND COMPANY. ¦
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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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lli DiV ; v Friends , < fl , e Conference has now closed its sittings , jit becomes my duty to review the prohidings ;—it is a task , however , which I can-^ t commence without a few prefatory remits uponfthe novelty , the importance , and T j-deur of the whole affair . Novel , from the Lunistance of sixty intellectual , honest , ahle , ^ anil discreet working men assembling to a quiet rural district , from different parts pf England , Ireland , Scotland , and Wales , to fran sact their own affairs ; to perform that vrork fof themselves which their government js bound to do , pledged to do , and paid to do
. jjut has failed to do . Important , from the fact that it will con-YJnee the working classes of this country that ^ n , their own body they may choose repre ^ jentatives who , in their deliberations for the ^ ration of labour , are not likely to trench ^ on the rights , the just rights , of other classes ;—that is , that capital ; honourable speculation , superior intellect , dignity , and jnKg ritJXstand in no danger of assault from a irell-r equited , well governed peasantry ; whUe neslect of tbat peasantry threatens d ' anger to even * other class of society .
Grand , because the body who met in their o wn house , upon their own Jaiid , in a q » iiet jmal district , was in partv « $ f ] fc >^» of men who had been victims to theprind ples which ate now ' triumphant , and to the policy which their oppressors are now aiming to imitate . These , my friends , are grave matters for consideration—matters of themselves sufficiently important and extensive to change the constitution of the country if the Press
of the country ^ ras sufficiently honest to note it as the progress of the age . You must console yourselves , however , with the recollection and the assurance that no representative assembly , of any ountry in ( he world , ever went farther in the road of progress than it has been urged by the popular voice ; and that there never was , in any co -ntry , such a popular pressure behind the eovermnent train as there is now
To indulge ma railway figure ^ -formerly the government was the engine , and the country was the train ; but the public voice is cow the steam-power , the government is the luggage train ; and we have reversed the eng ine , and now propel the government . * assure you , now that 1 have had time to reflect upon the whole proceedings , I find that » new duty , an onerous duty , has been'imposed upon me , and my hope is that I shall be equal to the emergency , which , if weare prepared for , we may turn to national advantage ; but if unprepared , we may lose the striking , the lasting , the cheering benefits that 1 see in the horizon .
My friends , as it is my intention to write you a political letter this week , I shall reserve some topics for consideration which will come more seasonably in that document , and now to a consideration of your position , and the proceedings of Conference . As it is my intention to devote the whole of the October number of the "Labourer to the Land Plan , showing the bearings of the several departments , and their relation to the one great whole—namely , the security of the system—I shall confine my observations now to a review of what has been done by your delegates .
Firstly , then , as I look to the economical expenditure of your funds as of paramount importance , I beg to inform yon , that while governed by a strong desire to act generously and compassionatel y to all , your delegates have seen the greater necessity of being just to all , and , therefore , they have only voted an advaaceof £ 5 to a shareholder who brought his goods to Lowbands from Hull , under the erroneous impression that he had been balloted for that location , whereas his name is not in the list at all ; but the mistake having occurred , and he being ballotted for in another estate , the Conference voted him . £ 5 , to be refunded out of his aid money when located .
One circumstance , to which I must draw the undivided attention of all , is this , —that if the fnnds of the unlocated were lavishly , improperly , and unjustly appropriated to insure the immediate comfort of those located , in order to secure the good opinion and praise of those en the land , as a means of tempting others to embark in the undertaking , the Company ' s afoirs would be very speedil y brought to a dose ; while , upon the other hand , if injustice were done to thoselocated , a justifiable charge might be urged against the directors of the
Company . It is my pride and your protection , however , that by your great confidence and national co-operation we have been enabled to relax even- stringent rule at first adopted for the more secure establishment of the plan ; and that every member who has been located has tan located for a less amount of rent , and a larger amount of advantages , than was prescribed by the rules , or entrusted to the discretion of the directors . These alterations we lave been enabled to makefrom the fact of
, the principle of co-operation having far , far exceeded the fondest antici pations of the most anguine , and which has enabled us to give the allottees the advantage of that co-operation in the outset , instead of reserving the proceeds from large rents and fewer advantages as a sinking fund to be divided amongst we members at the closing of a section ; for "stance , in the item of rent we have reduced our icale of charge by about one and a quarter per cent , on the first i . 100 : and in the item of
"penditure , consequent upon acts of hus- oandry we have placed a portion of the amount 3 s reut instead of deducting all from the epitaL Now , here , I mean to mention a fact connected with this single " advance ! of £ 5 . It is this , that the delegate who brought Mr Gratam ' s case before us , represented to us that he had paid for 12 cwt . of luggage being brought to Lowbands , and should pay for its being taken back to his home . I am strongly impressed with belief in the old adage , which fays : 'Take care of the pence and the pounds * illtake care of themselves : ' and with that
Tie « r I made it my business to inquire of the station master of Tewkesbury for the invoice ° f Graham ' s goods , and from that 1 learned that the weight was 7 and not 12 cwt . Trifling as this fact may appear . I mention it iw this purpose , to show you that if an individual was paying the money on his own act ount he would have required the invoice , and ran see no probable reason under heaven , * nv I and every other person connected with tl ] e Company should not , as individuals , be as Particular about the Company ' s money as j * out their own . I know I am much more so , i hare Daid scores of nounds . in small sums .
° r which I have no receipts , and I have ^ ged for no item for which I have not a recei pt . , , * shall now draw your attention to a W tEAT FACT;—to a consideration of a part of principle , and no small part either—it afi part which refers to thinning the labour ar ket . Some persons may whimsically and arrowl y imagine that last summer and this "" nmer I merely reduced the over-stocked yet b y thirty-five located on O'Connor-/ " * ^ d fbrt y-five located here ; but it is not ^• necause the act of l ocatin g those secured 2 ° I ment from ** over-stocked : market of W r five hundred daily-labourers of all ^ - ** UtlOflR Tlftf A Ann * . J : _ u .. ?„!« .. » uuuxi
ttiarlr ? iT « c | icuuuig uctpnuiuus * edT V ut havine dx davs work in the ^ and a full wee s wag " es on Saturday 2 te i J ? WiU ** Under the mark if Y ° u esti * l * elve persons fully employed for every
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om , pantlocated , Sothat , during next summer , I shall not be at all astonished if the company is gmng full employment to twenty-four thousand , labourers , and more ; and if Parliament wiU give that aid , which 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 manufacturers better payment f OCCUpant lOCated . SO that , dllrinornov *' enlMimor .
or 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 our 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 satisfied competitive reserve for capitalists to fall back upon as a means of securing large profits out of reduced wages—I assert
that 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 improvement and capitalists ' profit ever increase in an inverse ratio , the irore destitute the poor , the greater the profit to the speculator in his wages- But upon the other hand , the greater the comforts of the poor , the larger the profits of the 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 be 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 , but the Btock only of the allottees ; and as each member , located andjiot 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 office a faithful account of the state of health , and value of stock to be insured , as well as a medical certificate of the health , accompanied with their own opinions of the life to be insured . ; while the duties referring to the state 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 be 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 famil y 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 Company consisted of speculators instead of occupants , that every tenement held under the Company would let for double the rent demanded by the Company , and that in all cases a premium would be given by the incoming tenant , which would go to secure the payment of the 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 be decided by 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 and 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 tbat 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 been 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 le n ient to others than those located , and no deduction to be made for interest out
of the 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 which 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 bodj \; 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 be 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 will 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 , te May , 1851 .
Hie next question to which I beg your attention , is the mode by which allotments are to be henceforth transferred after location ; that is , after the Company shall have expended a portion of its funds upon improvements and
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cropping . In all such cases of transfer , the exchange must taka place , not with the sanction of the directors , because they cannot prevent it , or in any way interfere , but 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 Jthe 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 . nvnnninn- Tit nil T _ _ i > . p 1
Now , allow me to show you the wisdom and justice of this position . Suppose an occupant to be liable to any amount of rent , say £ 12 a year for land and house , and 1 / . 10 s . a year , for 301 . expended in acts of husbandry and given as capital . The occupant gets that 30 / . and his rent is 13 Z . 10 s . ; harvest comes , he lives upon or dis poses of the produce , pockets the capital , and expends no labour , upon the
allotment '; the purchaser comes in and must undertake the V 2 l . rent for land and the lZ . 10 s . interest of capital which / the outgoing tenant ha 6 appropriated . Thus the Company having but 12 Z . a year value in land to pay i 3 f . a year the reserved rent . So in case of loan and sale , the securities of the vendor might be let in for the amount advanced ; and ;' therefore > e 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 be 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 30 Z ., 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 evejy 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 land for 50 / . an acre—four acres are worth
401 . an acre , and four are worth 60 J . The man who rents the four acres worth 40 Z . an acre , pays Si . 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 6 Oi . an acre , pays 12 / . a year rent , or five per cent , upon the 240 J ., and thus you will find that the Company has its 201 . 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 pla n , 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 ^ ear ' s rent on the 1 st of May ; but , however ^ some will be valued at 65 ? . an acre , and some at 351 . making 100 / . for the two acres , just what 1 gave for it ; some will be valued at 60 / ., 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 give 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 part , 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 yenr to the Bank , —but B having only four acres , worth 35 / . an acre , or really 7 / . 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 ( if 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 / . a year ; now , the purchaser who gives the
larger amount for the better lot , forgets that he is paying 4 / . a year , or four per cent , upon 100 / ., over and above what he would have to pay if lie had purchased B ' s lot : therefore , to my mind , as the land is the best sayings bank 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 be 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 less 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 / . But , apart from that , each of those members in the land purchase department has paid 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 10 / . premium for four acres , that is 21 . 10 s . per acre ; a three acre member pays 11 . 10 s . premium , and , a two acre member 5 / . premium , and , in addition to this , each member , no matter to what class he belongs , pay 8 21 . 10 s . . towards mating out the
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C ™ 2 S |^^^ si ^« ; and 8 urvey-12 / . 10 s . —ftery three acre member , 10 / . —and every two acre member , 7 / . 10 s ., and his compensation is . that he does not stand the ballot but gets-hisi location upon the next estate ! purchased after he shall have paid up his money m full He suits himself as to the description of house , he gets the materials at the same , price as we do-wholesale ; he gets the land m the retail market at the wholesale price , and , as I don ' t dread a four acre duke , a threeacre lord , or a two acre ' squire , it is mv impression that that class will be made of 1 ii' ^* ' "
up the aristocracy of the trades , and will make room for their poorer brethren to take their place . But , apart from that , the old buildings and materials upon 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 Wey are to be located , they pay the difference ; if they have paid too much they receive the overplus back . To take another , and a n $ re interested view of the case , I will put-it thus : —I pledge , 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 those 500 members will have given the Company 5000 / ., at 10 / . a man : now , there is a very convenient Loan Fund , a very convenient Expense Fund , a very convenient Sinking Fund , to be distributed amongst the several shareholders ^ 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 should 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 , the 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 directfthe erection of their houses and the cultivation of their land , and see that they are dealt justl y ^ ,, a |^^ h . jyjll : not . mon 9-pohse an hour of my time . For all these 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 which 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 the fact of closing the Company would raise the price of paid-uii shares , and I never did intend that this Plan
should become the groundwork of speculation . Moreover , I am but one of five , and have but one voice in five , and my brother directors were one and all most violentl y opposed to the closing of the Company . Moreover , from the rapid manner in which liiembers 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 that 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 of Nottingham have now placed me in a situation to give wings to the plan ; and still further , from a' oonviction that all should
be allowed a sufficient time to deliberate , I voted for keeping 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-pence , which will establish his ri ght 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 b y 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 not one of which could or would offer * the
same guarantee , or the . same advantages , that the present Company guarantees ; and as for the opposition of those who may be disappointed in receiving a premium upon their paid-up shares , to them I offer noconsolation beyond my reprobation for an attempt to speculate in the labour and' sensitiveness of their poorer brethren . U pon the whole , I most sincerely thank Mr Orassbyfor his very
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wise-fand timely interposition , which caused unanimity arid saved thousands , from deception . The Company is now open till the 31 st of December , and every man who shall have paid his three-pence , together with the prescribed expenses , up to that period , will be ajmember of the National Land Company , and by | that time our name will be Legion , and in the following month 1 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 .
The appointment of schoolmaster is a question upon which I need say little—the resolution of Conference is so thoroughly in accordance with the rules of harmony , propriety , and common sense . No other party than the directors could possibly discharge this duty—if it was left to the allottees , some children would be educated , and some would be kept in i Enonmce from the spleen of their parents--u the ori ginal intention was observed , that the directors should nominate and the allottees should select , the rtireetorB would have acted most wisely in nominating as few as possible , and even about those few there would have been a contested election . Under the present arrangement the directors cannot
exercise any patronage ; under the pres-nt arrangement the directors elect , and the occupants have the power of dismissing—that is the wise arrangement—the prudent arrangement—the only possible arrangement by which education could be secured . There is only one other subject unconnected with the proceedings of Conference , but materially connected with the well-being of the occupants , to be mentioned , and it 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 have been broken in to agricultural labour . In harvest time and hay
time , say during five weeks , the labour of a man and his family will he worth 30 s . a week , or £ 7 10 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 ai JE 1 a week for four weeks , and if you put those suras together , they will make £ 11 . 10 s . earned , which will be over the rent of a two-acre occupant , and will make a good hole in the rent of the largest , while it will leave each forly . three weeks' work in the year , and the whole produce of his allotment for consumption and clothing j but I am shrewdl y of opinion that nil will find out , that if their labour is worth ^ Os . 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 " than the beautiful incident , so enormously puffed by the press , of Her Most 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 of the " beautiful incident " of my playing with , and kissing all the little children located in Lowbands ; but this 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 that occupant had received in cash , since his location , over £ 40 , over and above all the acts of husbandry performed for him , 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 r « tort . 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 , has resolved upon conquering-and , to ray great delight , I found him thiymorninjr serving the plasterers , determined to eara what 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 , the place begins to show the value of labour .
My friends , builders and carpenters examined the work here ; they have taken their opinions—not my opinions—back to their constituencies , and all that I as-ert , in the face of the world , is that such working men s cottages were never built—tbat 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 , tbe rust of yesterday is rubbed off by the sunshine of the morrow , and it must be always borne in mind that meg are not to jump , as if by magic , from the bastile or the cellar to a mansion ; or from slavery
to idleness ; hut 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 their 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 mav 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 they are dissatisfied with their new calling . Such is their solace , and the Company ' s protection .
I had the pleasure of entcrtiining 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 Lowbsnds , and I will venture to assort that there was never such a sight in Worces tershire or England before . Heft at half-past two , but W guests enjoyed themselves till four , making the buMng ring with mirth , eloquence , and song—Mr Shaw , of London , contributing no mean share to the hilarity of the night , for he 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 week , and that after paying the allottees their respective amounts of capital , 1 started for the
Newton-heath Camp Meeting , Lancashire , on Saturday night , was back again here at ten o ' clock on Monday morning ; and 1 assure you , so thoroughly exhausted , that I had fifteen hours sleep of it ; and when you think that I had to send an account to the office of every fraction paid here , and at Newton , to me ; and when 1 tell you that it is now seven o ' clock , and that I haven ' t dined yet , and that I have to start for Oxfordihire at six o ' clock to-morrow morning , and have yet to write another letter before I go to bed ; you will say that I have 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 Octobet number of the Labourer will contain a critical treatise
upon the whole Land Flan , and henceforth the first number of the Northern Star in each month will contain instructions for the allottees for that month , and shall be entuled "The Gardener ' s Calendar . " Hoping that William Grocott will read this letter to our Manchester friends , and that it will be read in each locality , and that the Star will be preserved , as a Mirror of Conference , I remain , my dear friends , Your faithful Friend and Bailiff , Feargus O'Connor .
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THE LAND PLAN AND THE LATE ELECflON . The following iB from the Talltt ( Catholic journal ) of last week , Aug . 21 : ~ ' Even the Chartists , sufficientl y destructive though they be , have thoughts in them considerably above destruction . They are beginning to be con-Btruetive ; they protest it is their wish to build up , and not to pull down ; ' by dimbb of a ' Labour tund thev are taking possession of the land ; they we labouring to find a remedy for their social evils by combining to create employment and new callings lor tnat ' aurplus population , ' of which * we have heard so much . Of this new movement , Fearguu U Connor , be he quack or no quack , honest or dishonest , is the leader , and will be a powerful exponent in the aew Parliament . '
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TO THE IMPERIAL CHARTISTS . ~ ° ^ My very dear Friends , r improved position renders any apology for my last month ' s devotion to the Land Plan unnscessary . In fact , you may now be left to your own guidance , without the sli ghtest danger to the cause of democracy ; and yet , I have longed to snatch an hour from the consideration of other questions interesting to you , to join in exultation over our vecent triumphs . I have read the newspapers , and from them I learn that what we contended for , and were imprisoned for contending for , the parties who imprisoned us are now contending for the same things ; and surely you ca ^ n ^ t expect , nor can our persecutors hope , that I ^ lilror-g ^ t ;^ . -.-. . . ; - ^ , ,. wholesale injustice to which we were subjected , in © ruthless manner in which we were oppressed ; and the foul vengeance that was taken of our frionds . If you can , I cannot ; and it is hopeless for the rep- S resentatives of faction to endeavour to intimidate me by saying that I will find my level in the Senate House . I was there before , and I found my level ; since I was there , thanks to your teaching , I have , learned what my level will be when I go there again .
I fancy , whether presumptuously or not . that T understand more of the Lahour Question , and more of the sentiments of the labourers . than the whole House put together , with the one exception of our leader and chief , who visited you and me in our FELONS DUNGEON . You never will ask me , you never will expect tne , to forget that Duncombe visited us , cherished us , and encouraged us in our captivity j and if you did ask me , I would not comply with your request . We never can forget that if others joined us when we were strong and prosperous , that
Buncombe seized the moment of our weakness to become one amongst us . I very much fear that you are now indifferent to your position , and that you will not yet make the most of it . Let me picture to you what that position is . All the Monarchies of Europe are trembling , from the corruption , that has been proved against those that support them . The league of kings is insufficient to destroy the league of people ; and yet that mind , now
matured and bent upon domestic reform , will , if not watchful , he diverted from the pursuit hy 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 a national debt , monarchy , and the ascendancy of capitalists , must be the result .
The foul conduct , the enormous treachery , and increasing brutality of the Fren ch aristocracy , are sowing the seeds of revolution in that country . The concession of a Constitution wrung from the Autocrat of Prussia , the godfather of our future king , has laid the foundation of republicanism in his dominions . The domination , the treachery , of Metternich , makes Austrian resistance , to liberalism indispensable ; whilst the position assumed by the reforming Pope opens the mind di Ital y , and prepares th » founders of civilisation for the ^ re-assumption of those rig hts of which modern governments have robbed them .
The republic of Switzerland s £ iwls in the scaTe between the Autocrat of Austria iiv . d ih < reforming Pope . The Autocrat of Russin look . to his wtaUb . and his consequent influence upon modern st ^ ej , backed by the ignowrfice of hu serfs , its liie guarantee of his power ^ ; while the aristocracy of England trembles under'the weight o < its own enormities : and yet , in these trying and embafvassiiie circumstances , I confidently look to your improved minds as the safeguard and protection against the usual appliances of monarchies , and ministries in distress .
Ireland , in the next session , as of old , will he 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 Repeal have derivid 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 the new converts to Chartism—many of whom have adopted the principle in the hope of strangling it . Repeal means Ireland 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 the recent election , to the highest bidder—whether it be P pL , Bentinck , or Russbll . That , Englishmen , was my reason for insisting upon a discussion upon the Repeal Question every session of Parliament—in order that the virtue and csnsistency of the professors might be annually tested—and , believe me , as
experience is yearly teaching you , you will learn , in the long run , that the misgovernment of Ireland is the greatest grievance you have to contend against j while the juggle , successfully practised by the Irish leaders , has been the only grievance against which my countrymen have had to contend ; and yet . thinkif you can think soberly and deliberately upon go great an iniquity , upon so blasphemous a sin , upon such an act of patricide , think—oh , think , of men , contending for nationality , refusing to pledge themselves to reject the golden bait of the
oppressor . What would you say to me if I asked for , or if I would accept of , place , pension , or emolument from a cabinet opposed to my principles ? and what must you lay to the servile , slavish crew , who profess to be the champions of a reviled religion , the advocates of a persecuted faith , the stickler * for nationality , actually ticketing themselves for sale , and making merchandise of their country ' s misery ? What hope ,
I ask you , is there for Ireland , when her national cause is made barter , to secure the pre-eminence of ministerial beggars , to please the caprice of an hierarchy , or to satisfy the cravings of an impotent , incompetent faction ? Smith O'Brien ' s indomitable courage and integrity jeopardised his seat for Limerick , while the managers of Conciliation Hall allowed a Catholic counterfeit to walk , as far as they were concerned , over the course for Dungarvan . Yes , had not the proprietor of the Cork Examiner
given " The good men , the true men , " of Dungarvan an opportunity of testing their devotion , their fealty to the good old cause , the Master of the Mint , backed by the hacks of Conciliation Hall , would have ridden roughshod over the stillliving spirit of the borough . When I remember how I fought for the independence of that borough .
in 1834 , after our defeat in the House of Commons , and returned Jacob by my own exertion , backed by the independent electors , I mourn for the fate to which Conciliation Hall di plomacy has brought my country . But still , Englishmen ! although 1 am your representative , you will not gag me ; you will not shackle me ; while I represent you honestly you will allow me to represent my own country proudly . If ever thero was an election which has terminated
disgracefully to a nation , it is the recent general election in Irelaud ; when a five-pound note , paid to the lick-spittles of Conciliation Hall , was the best test of fitness for an Irish representative . 1 have been banished from that country for now these 15 years , and yet the insolence of leaders , the malignity of the press , and the cold indifference of the people , have not made me forget that I am an , Jw $ 'ji ^ f ^> v and when the time comes . I will provelp , 4 n ^!^ g ^^ A S raeu that an exile , expatriated for hi ^ j ^ p ^ Aaj ) . ^ ^ 'it been the cause of procuring more *^ gi ^ rtl |^ . \» i ^ / -i | \ J-( OmiiMtd tototyth ft& 0 M : % ^ ^ * ^ Sil ^
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In rep lv to wain- application ? , we can . pofltively thai Mr OConnor will be Lgnt at ! - ' r * rc llt * ^ ° ^ e Tavern , f jionda e vening , to commemorate the l on » of Gw > rae'Il » oiDpson . . JSsq ., M . P ., for L Tower H amlets .
To Ti1k Members Of The Land Company. ¦
TO TI 1 K MEMBERS OF THE LAND COMPANY . ¦
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AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL .
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l ^ j- ? 514 . LOND ON , SATURDAY , AUGUST 28 1847 ~ ~~^ i ^^^^^^ ======= ; :== ^^ - ¦¦ . - ¦*> ¦¦ -: ¦' . ' . . ; .,.. . * ^^ Five Shilling * and Sixpence per Qiiar ( e I '¦ ¦ = S = . . - - .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 28, 1847, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1433/page/1/
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