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t fO THE KICH AND THE POOR.
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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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irnnSE WHO LIVE in idleness with-^ S LiBOiJR , **«> those who are ILLISG TO LABOUR BUT COMPELLED ? 0 STARVE . f f R }^ ow about to write you my last let-1 pfote * representatives of the people 1 tin Parlia 106111 ? and , curiousl y enough , ? n < rh members of Parliament are called 3 representatives of the people , yet do the * ] i constitute the only class in society not P ^ Llented in Parliament . Of course no one ^ PyT ever dream of calling fifty lords and ST manlwra Parliament PEOPLE—in i' ! t fte term ' people'has ever been nsed as cf inferiority , except when those who re-¦ A-Aei the title have required the assistance
p tie people . However , you will see that I tve induded all classes at the heading of this j ^ r , and , as I believe that there are many ! rwd rich men as well as many good poor men , i ha ve addressed all as friends . Moreover , ] aJdiess you all as friends , because my own JJs rt tells me that I would not do a cruel or unk ind act evea to the greatest enemy 1 isre . ¦ pie object of this letter is to whet the apatite of both rich and poor for a beneficial —j ^ ~« \ of
OJJO 5 MUUW « J » ,...-w - -J *»* .. IU » AlClCwUlUitt y ^ eiy change system has been hased upon ^ acrifice of one or other of those interests instituting the great whole of society , gins , in their day of rampant and undivided power , the landlords always made good any d eficiency in their rentals by a slice from a treaker class ; hence , the Corn Laws were a general delve into the pockets of all , to relieve t hemselves from the consequences of the game
of muskets , in which the people were the jo-eis . The Poor Laws , in their permanency ,-that is , except when they took sudden jumps ( upon which occasions they fell upon the unoccupied farms)—fell upon the tenants . 5 j with tithe , when the tax was paid in kind ; ta with land tax—so with county rates , church ( gs , and all other rates ; they were incipient item s , _ covered in a large figure of rent ; and jU paid by an increased price—a fictitious
jnce—an . unjust price , given to the produce of tie land—ay , to all the produce of the J aid ; for , although corn was the one thing nominally protected , the protection of that gitide naturall y led to 'the diminished produce of all other articles , and to their conse-< jaent higher price . Again , the landlords , in their supremacy , $ pt the Irish * parsons of twenty-five per cent . cf their incomes , and all tliis , I pray you to ckerve , was in consequence of the political pjuer possessed by those landlords , and their consequent ability to live as freebooters upon the weakness , the compliance , and the industry of the ruled , * who dare not disobey their lairs .
At list , however , the monied interest emp loyed in commerce and manufactures became % 09 active and powerful for the sluggish clodpoles . It was the war of a compact and discip lined body against ^ scattered and fugitive lite ; it was the war of a strong , well-victu alled garrison against -its unconnected invaders . A placard upon the walls , the
bellnan ' s ring , or an advertisement in the garrison journals , brought all the forces of the gsrrison together , while the weakness of the err antry party precluded the possibility of its presenting any thing like a combined or disciplined force to this marshalled army . Hence , the triumph of the active forces of commerce aad manufacture over the scattered hands of apiculture : and hence the transfer of
Ministerial power and parliamentary influence from tie latter to the former class ; and , as a neces say consequence , hence the present distraction of all interests in the nation . Agriculture was a strong pillar , a firm key-stone , and its representatives were , for the most part , compelled to bend to sudden emergaicies and exigencies . It was a reality ; hut as soon as it was replaced by a fiction the whole superstructure began to totter , and the representatives of the fiction were compelled to resort to fiction after fiction , until the walls cf the edifice separated , and the roof fell in . Ike representatives of fiction were not as tapable as the representatives of reality of
patching , tinkering , and mending ; and this nation is now brought to the very brink of rain from the evil , unjust , and , unequitable distribution of the national resources , as well as from the fact that those resources have & £ n capriciously , and not beneficially , cultivated . For instance , each class cultivated the national resources in that direction , and to that extent only , which would best secure its om profit ; and , as a consequence , and a melancholy one too , we find the capital of the country , and the industry of the country , hy degrees more and more applied to non-pro ductive and class-remunerating purposes , titan to re-productive and national-remunerating
purposes . Xow I have explained the whole system for you , and I will proceed to propound the only remedy which statesmen , philosophers , and lamed men can possibly suggest . The great , tk paramount object of the government of a Grantry should be , to cultivate the national resources of the country , and to see to the eqaitable—mind , not the equal—distribution « f tlcs 2 resources ; that is , that , if in the
pro-< £ s of cultivation A is entitled to 60 / . a year , 2 nd Bis entitled to 3 , 0001 . a year . A should M ba stinted to 201 . a year , and B rewarded * ith 3 , 0401 a year—that is the difference tereen equal and equitable distribution . And Ian now about to show you , and to prove to Jou ; in defiance of the opposition of every man * h ever wagged a tongue or held a pen , that £ is country , by a proper cultivation of ita ^ sources , is still capable of making the rich tidier and the poor rich .
It has been the practice ' of the Press to pro-H&Uate the most atrocious falsehoods about tise intentions of the democratic party , and it ess been the folly of its readers to believe those * isnrdities . Chartism , in 1839 , was described by the * and by the Judges of the land , as the Political creed of robbers ; the intention of Partisan being , as stated by Judge Littledale , &
Warwick , on the trial of Lovett and Collins , * -to take possession of the Land , and give it to the people . Since 1845—that is , since the promul gation of the Land Plan—the same absurdities have been promulgated , while , as a jeplv . the Chartists answer— "No ; our purpose s , not to steal the Land , but to buy the Land at the improved value given to it consequent ^ pan the want of it , and the desire for it ; " and « « is laudable enunciation is now met with tha
^ yw , the Law so surrounds you with difficultfcs that you cannot , and you shall not pur-^ fce th e Land , because it is surrounded * itli the law ' s meshes and intricacies . * " Well , tf you speak about the value of the Land , and ^ t knowing your ability to purchase in 1839 , J ? u are plunderers—and if , in 1845 , you devise ^• e me ans of purchasing it , you are offenders ^ nst the l aw . Hence , you find , that let the Poor man do what he will Jie is opposed by the &s of the musketor the net of the law .
, Heretofore it has been the interest of classes tj conceal tbeir mode of warfare , each satisfied * '& those tactics which will place it in the pendant for a moment , but all afraid to ^ ulge i ! s > hole case , least in the develoj--* "&& the plundered should discover the weak-* « of faction . But at length this one-sided f ' has broken down , anil the people—that ?; the industrious of all classes—have dis-Jeered the utter incapacity of the representa-— Vi vj /** tJ
** - *** U UltU XUl / Oudlfllj . *<« w a . ««»»« •<* of luxury and idleness to legislate justly vt conourabl y ' for the producers ' of wealth . \ if ° ' Vjlny friendsjkeep this apophegm in j «? , and never for a moment lose sig ht of it . « y be a household phrase—that c " * «« impossible for those voho live upon f . Vm . is made b y Labour to represent the ^ oirer-as it is for the victim to hug the c «« 8 who would ta e his We ?
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in ™ ke ? P . that apophesm ever uppermost nib ? " fw ' " * " * after y ° P ayers * night , and before you rise in the morning , and ftea reverse the apophesiiH-and say , ihat it w as tmpgssible for the representativ es of Labour to legislate justly for the la-» lT- V ? " * ' at the same time ' kgMating oeneticiail yfor all other classes , —as it is to suppose that a man would rob himself . I shall now proceed to propound the remedy Hui 1 ¦ . \ n ™ ,, I Jrrfa c apop&egra ever uppermost
-theonly remedy—bywhichthe country can be saved from revolution ; the only remedy by which the landlord can he saved from ruin , the merchant from failure , the manufacturer from bankruptcy , the shopkeeper from starvation , the working man from death , and the whole of society from desolation . Sir Robert Peel has told you ' the science / tf agriculture is only in its infancy . ' Th e science of agriculture is only in its infancy ! . Observe , then , that all other
sciences , wnen discovered , if I may use the expression , and while in their infancy , were as naked as the science of agriculture ; and until applied to practice , were as undefined and unprofitable . The sciences of astronomy , of geology , of mathematics , and of chemistry , until analysed and practically applied , were dead letters ; until , at length , we see in the nineteenth century the stretching powers of those several sciences , applied to the most astounding purposes ^ and producing the most astounding results . So will it be with agriculture—because , even to my mind , who have
, I believe , devoted more time and reflection to the subject than any other man living , the develo pement of the science proves tomsona Monday niy ignorance of the previous Saturday j and if there is any crime which society is more chargeable with than another , it is the crime of omission in having neglected to develope to the simple understanding the most simple of all sciences and the most profitable of all sciences : simple , because the meanest capacity can aid in its developement- ; profitable , because its developement must lead to the most beneficial practical results .
In this question is involved so many points of detail , that you must consider my present lame and imperfect illustration of it a 3 a mere penfeather plucked from the eagle . The science of agriculture must be carried out in each country , according to the climate , the position , and character of the inhabitants . I am not talking how of a primitive state , but I am considering the enforcement of the science as a graft upon the present fictitious condition of the several countries of the world . I shall confine myself , therefore , in this , my first address upon the subject , to its application to this
country ; and even here I find myself enveloped in such a mysterious web of interest , currency , old associations , prejudices , privileges , immunities , prescriptive rights , and all the absurd conventionalisms which are whimsically enough denominated signs of civilisation , that I find it a herculean task . For instance , as regards the currency , in my mind far and away the most important question , even to the working classes , that agitates the public mind , although so apparftitly unconnected with the happiness , comfort , and very existence of those whose minds have been
studiously kept in criminal ignorance upon the subject . Alas 1 the working classes of this country , never understanding the fact , or never " thinking of the fact , that a fixed value attached to gold , while a varied value is at-: ached to produce , is as great an absurdity as if a manufacturer was to contract with his customers to supply them with a given amount of produce at a fixed price during his life , without reference to the rise and fall in the price of the raw material , the rise and fall in wages , the rise and fall in rent 3 , the rise and fall in taxation , and the improvement in
machinery ; while , at the same time , the available circulating medium of the country , required for the ordinary purposes of traffic cannot he represented to the amount often per cent , hy the unvarying metal by which , whimsically enough , trade , commerce , manufactures , must be limited . Without mystifying this subject of the currency , I can only say that , as far as my intellect can lead me to a selection of a choice of evils , I very much prefer the principles propounded hy the Anti . Gold Law League , to those propounded by Sir Eshert Peel , Jones Llovd , and the Times
And here , in passing , allow me to call your attention to the very whimsical , the very insolent and childish manner , in which a nation ' s interests are sacrificed to the versatility and duplicity of the press , and the selfishness and cupidity of individuals . The Times has turned about like a' weather cock upon this vital question of the currency , and the reason , as assigned by the best informed men in the commercial world , is , that Jones Lloyd , the
banker , has purchased that paper , and that he is making not Ies 3 than ONE THOUSAND POUNDS A DAY PROFIT by the contraction of the currency , occasioned by Sir Robert Peel's banking measure , and the consequent high interest—eight , nine , ten per cent ., and even more—that he is enabled to make of the confidence reposed in him , an amount of interest , however , no part of which is carried to the credit of those whose money he speculates with .
I am almost sorry that I entered this paper house with gildedj pillars and golden roof ; lowever , I now extricate myself from this fragile edifice with this one single remark upon its effects upon the landed interestof this country : —To ' keep Boney out / thelandlords promised something less than seven quarters of wheat , as security to the fundloid for a certain ticket as his share of the war tax : and
at the present price of wheat , and the present price of consols—noy that paper is convertible into gold—the landlord , instead of seven quarters of wheat , is giving thirty-four quarters of wheat ; and when the funds were 102 , and wheat at 40 s ,, the landlord was giving the government , the f undlord ' s agent , fifty-one quarters of wheat , instead of seven . Now , I have done with this fragile fabric , and I turn to the question of national relief .
Jn my several letters to Lord John Russell , upon the subject of Irish grievances , both in the Labourer and the Northern Star , I showed him that it was impossible to improve the condition of the tenant and the labourer , without , at the same time , improving the condition of the landlord : and , my friends , the great object of niy life has been to purge my party and my principles of the foul and ungenerous accusation , that we seek to elevate one class upon the ruins of another . Such never has been my intention or desire . I am no misanthrope , but , on the contrary , I have as great a resuect and as great a regard for the good and ' humane landlord , for the good and humane
manufacturer , and for th e good and humane employer of all classes , as I have for the good and humane working man . And now I proceed to unravel the great mystery of taxation and to -show you how a combination of the good and virtuous of all classes must inevitably make the rich richer , the poor rich , the government independent , and England the envy and admiration of the world . While the Chancellor of the Exchequer is looking for a famine loan for Ireland , and crushing commercial operations by abstracting the amount from reproductive employment and works ; while this head book-keeper of the nation is looking to the quarterly account of dissipation , destruction ; aud beastliness , as a means
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of propping the present system , and while he is relying upon the spleen , the self-interest , the cupidity and jealousy of parties . for the strength of political faction , which will preserve the ascendancy of his party—I will show you and him a clear , a simple , and irrefutable table , by which he may save the middle classes , the aristocracy and the working classes , the small item of five millions per annum , and give to the government a nett and permanent income of over ten millions per annum . of propping the nragpnf cvstom .... i ... i ; i , i . a
Now , I am aware that crotchet-mongering is an exploded thing , and that the fascinating propositions to raise hundreds of thousands a year , by a penny a week , or a penny a month , paid by the working classes , is gone out of fashion ; but hear my simple calculation , —see my simple table . The poor-rate is the most oppressive tax upon all classes , because the most undefined and varying , and because it increases in geometrical progression—the increase being always consequent upon the increased poverty of the parties called upon to pay it : —thus , for instance , when-the poor are poor , the rich are comparatively distressed , and increasing poverty increases its demand upon decreasing property .
If , then , in round numbers , we estimate this degrading , this respecMestroying tax at seven millions a year , we shall not , as an average , be much beyond the limit ; and what I propose , as a substitute for that seven millions a year , is , that five millions shall be wholly extinguished and abolished , and that the property now subject to the seven millions a year shall be subject to only two millions a year , and that the owners of that property shall be allowed to relieve their property of the charge of poor-rates altogether , by purchasing it as low as thirty vears' purchase—thai is , that
the landlord now paying £ 350 a year shall have his poor-rates reduced to £ 100 a year , and that he shall be allowed to relieve his estate of that burden by the payment of £ 3 , 000 , which is thirty years' purchase upon the £ 100 a year j and , ; in case any landlord should refuse so to relieve his estate , that then the government may sell the charge for poor-rates to any other purchaser , the purchaser having the first claim for the recovery of the interest— £ 100 a year . This would give the government £ 60 , 000 , 000 sterling , and would relieve the agricultural classes and all classes to the extent of five millions a year . And ,
now—For the table , showing its application ; and this I shall illustrate by a most simple scale , I will take fifty paupers out of the workhouse , consisting of five each family , father , mother , and three children , and I will presume , though I think I am under the mark , that each individual maintained as an idle , degraded pauper , in food , fuel , and raiment costs 2 s . a head per week ; and that the expenses of the establishment—poor law commissioners , and their motley staff , master , matrons , schoolmasters , chaplains , repairs , expense of building , and interest , prosecutions , persecutions
stationary , and the one thousand et ceteras—cost half as much as the food , raiment , and fuel , that is Is . ahead per week—hence we have a cost of fifteen shillings a week paid by the industry of the country to support five unwilling idlers . Now fifteen shillings a week is 39 / . a year , and fifty families comprising 250 individuals cost the country 1 , 950 / . PER ANNUM . Now , my friends , let us see to its better application , and it will not do for any man to say to me "We are willing to pay this seven millions a year to secure a degraded competitive labour class , and of whose miserv our anomalous profits are made up . " It will not do to talk to me about the intricacies and the
difficulties of the details , when every man ' s light is measured , every man ' s letter is stampedevery man's newspaper is stamped—every puff from every man ' s pipe is stamped—every man ' s quaff of ale , gin , brandy , wine , or whiskey is stamped—when every man ' s book is stampedevery man ' s dog , pleasure horae and carriage is stamped—every man ' s tea , coffee , and sugar is stamped—every man ' s loaf is stamped—every woman ' s dress , muff , stockings , bonnet , scarf , and boa are all stamped—when every man ' s title deed and [ . promissory note and bill of exchange are all stamped—when every brick in every man s house , every rafter in his roof , and the floor he walks upon is stamped—when all we see , all we feel and touch is taxed—when
man ' s birth , death , and burial , are one and all taxed as if he were born in the Custom House and buried in the Exchequer—stamped , body and soul , from birth to dissolution , that the rich and idle may live in affluence—surely it is not complicating or rendering confusion more confused , to give up those complicated details , in order that the industrious producer may live " in the sweat of his own brow . '' I will not have such answers as these ; and the value of the sound knowledge taught to the working classes , consists in the fact that they will not have them .
We have , then , fifty families of 250 people , costing the nation 1 , 050 / ., while living in a state of idleness and degradation . Now , see my provision for those fifty heads of families , converted into cheerful and profitable labour ers , snatched from degradation and thought lessness , and , as if b magic , elevated in the moral , social , and intellectual scale . Fifty heads of families located upon 100 acres of land , at two acres to the man , with a good substantial house and 20 / . capital to commence , would cost the
government—169 Acres of Land at £ 39 . an acre ... £ 3 , 000 0 0-Fifty Houses , at £ 78 , a housa ... 3 , 500 0 0 C « pital , at £ 20 . aman 1 , 000 9 0 i . 7 , 500 0 0 Hence I show you that fifty paupers and their families , who cost the country 1 , 950 / . a year , may be located as freemen and as task labourers , working for themselves , for 73 500 / . Then , as to rent , if the government charged 61 . rent upon the 1501 . expended , it would be four per cent , upon the capital , thus relieving the country of 1 , 950 / . altogether , and the land of the occupants being security to the government for four per cent , upon the money ex peuded . Now , take the sixty millions funded by the sale of t « o millions a year poor rates , and divide it by 150 , the amount that it takes to locate each family , and you have four hundred thousand families , consisting of two million individuals , rescued from poverty and degradation , elevated to the rank of freemen , with a country worth living for , and worth dyhig for , educating their children , constituting a national militia , cultivating the resourcesof the country , exchanging their produce for the produce of the artificial market—giving an increased value to the labourers in that market , and an in * creased ' profit to the employers of that labour , thus making machinery man ' s holiday , instead of man ' s curse—enriching the shopkeepers , disbanding cut-tliroats and bludgeon men , turning the sword into a ploughshare , and the bludgeon into a flail , dispensing with criminal law , each worshipping his God according to his taste , without the interference of a hired State Church parson ; an oasis in the desert , a trading colony discovered within the limits of our own island , taking and exchanging produce without double risk , double freight , double insurance , double waste and injury , double wharfage an < l custom duty , double ! warehouse and lighter tax , double money-mongers' profit , and double [ "bubble , toil , an 4 trouble . " luus , 1 show you ,
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TO THE PRESS GANG . You poor devils—I am not a man of blood nor yet a man of hate , and I have pity upon your families , and got a greater pity for those upon whose resources you must be ultimately thrown . I have received a letter from one of the most respectable booksellers and news agents in Salford , in these words , — Sir , —You are playing the devil with the Examiner . Some weeks ago I used to sell six or seven quires ot that paper , uow 1 can ' t sell one ! Your obedient servant ,
And from all parts of the country I receive the lachrymous epistles from the agents who used , formerly , to make a good thing hy the sale of the Dispatch and Lloyd ' s , but which journals , BLESS THE MAILK , are now becoming waste paper , whlei the " workies" have discovered that the very atmosphere is tainted by their presence and the beer is turned sour . I . nssure you , my "Good Ruffians , * ' that even my devotion to my constituents , and my anxiety to serve the people zealously and honestly in
Parliamentjshall not save you from the castigation to which your assassin-like brutality so justly entitles you . Don ' t think that I am one of those whom you can play with !—whom you can take up and put down as you pleiise !—whom you can attempt to wound and then beg parden 1 " I never seek the quarrel nor shun it when it comes , " nor shall I now be the first | to cry " Hold ! Enough I" I did not seek this controversy , but you grappled with my honour , and if you perish in the struggle you are your own destroyers ! Feargus OC ' onnor .
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TO THE EDITOR . Sib , —In reference to the above ewrespondence , I have only to repeat ( and en oath , if necessary ) erery word I stated at the Hall of Science , - H-. 'baon , with bis usual sophistry , seelw to cover the real q-iestion in a cloud , ilobaon would have it ; believed that he had funds , and that they went tor support and uphold the Star . My object was to show the reverse . To prove that he had motbjss- ff > MSB by connexion with the Star . This I wished t < r show . That Mr Oastler spoke jocosely ntur . aa can dispute who knows that gentleman . His life has been spent in the labour of love—in hclpiBg thai helpless It is not in his nature to sue the nliirt oft any man sback ; he would rather put one on the back of bis veriest enemj—if enemies that good mao can have .
P . S . I will not be sacrificed by Hobson ' s sophistry * My sharacter is as dear to me as Mr O'Connoi s-or Mr Oastler ' s , as for llobson ' s , it is out oftb . eoue 3 » tion . w , Ri
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THE LAND AND LABOUR BANK AND TIIE MAN . CHESTER MECHANICS . TO ME EDITOR OF THE MANCHESTER EXAMINES . Gentlumen . -In last Saturday ' s Examiner , tho' Whistler ' asserts that , through his writings , the machine nialcors have withdrawn their money from the Land and Labour Bank . Such statement not homg a correct one , I l . opa you will allow me to contradict it in your next . We haw withdrawn £ : 1 O ( but not through the influence of the Whistler . ' j It was topayour treasurer money thatws owed to him . The above sum was paid to my order at a moment ' s notice and four per cunt , with it .
I should feel obliged to ' One who has Whistled at the Plongh' if he wouldsUte t ! ie truth and noth ' ns more . Instead of whistling confident away from us , ha haswhistled us into greater confidenco with the Land Bank , andits uoble founder , P . O'Connor , Bsq . We liavc £ 3 sO in the Land Bank and no idea of withdrawing it . I am , sir , yours , D . Scuofield , , Secretary t » the 4 th branch of the Journeymen Steam-Engiue , Machino Maker and Millwrights ' FrUndly Society , No . 2 , Gray-street , Carruthers . street , Manchester . Nov . 2 nd , 1817 .
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Tits OmsKssivB Abvsuiiskmest Butt . —A peraon may advertise in omnibuses , cover ilta walls with placards , occupy the sheets with vans , and , in faei , use every menns which his irgenuity can deriso fer the purpose of making knowii his wares , and paj no duty ; but if he DHtsa lint in a r . ew . - > up r , already doubly taxed , he immediately pays the guyewment la . Gd . If a poor girl wants a situation , a ti |» o when every farthing is of vital importance to heri she pays tho samo amount of duty ns a nobleman would da for advertising nn estate of the value of £ IW , QQQ i and tta k wsi ; c £ l—Shejiild Turn *
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that , from this source alone , I give the government a nett&ntalof two millions four hundred thousand pounds per annum , while I relieve the mdustrious ^ lasses of the payment of five millions a year , as a competitive labour tax . Observe , my friends , that the government will build a better house for 70 / ., with all materials duty free , and a larger benefit from co-operation , than I ( can build for 100 L and therefore I give the poor man a good house . Hie government can buy land without end , and-Memful Providence ! -just think that it would only require eieht hnmlrprl ihn ^ nA t . W . fW »« . u . ; — - . .
acres ofthe millions the poor have been robbed ° / iV 2 Ut thlshol >' ' thUGod-likesystem . And then , when we are searching the world for our breakfast , our dinner , and our suppersuppose wheat was the most necessary thing to be grown in the country , and that these occupants were compelled to pay their rent in wheat at 8 ix shillings the bushel , or forty-eight shillings the quarter—that is two quarters and a half for six pounds—there ' s a million additional quarters per annum at two quarters and a half to a man . « () h ! but the wheat may fail , " quoth thetender hearted philanthropic political
economist . Well , but if it does , I answer , potatoes , cabbages , turnips , parsnips , carrots , peas , tieans , bacon , pork , beef , mutton , lamb , milk , afi ^ Jratter , ' very good substitutes , won ' t allfail- * Welr , kit , " sarjs another , " the 800 , 000 acres now produce some wheat . " I say comparatively little . But I leave it all to you , and mine shall be every grain an increase—thus I wouldenclose your race-parks and your common lands now lying waste , for such a holy purpose as that , and thus warm up some of the cold meat in the larder for the new guests that are every day introduced to nature ' s tables .
Let me ask , my beloved friends , what the result of such a holy undertaking—I will not call it experiment—would be , when yon now witnessed that wonderful and admired peace which the MAN OF BLOOD has produced , through the anticipation of a hopeful future . Ah 1 I have shown you a system worth living for , a system worth dying for ; I have tested your morality , your wisdom , your peace-loving disposition , your self-respect andhopeful selfreliance , when the goal of independence is p laced at the end of the most rugged and thorny course . And having spent a life in this—mine , mine own—project , I would
sacrifice that life rather than see it strangled or stunted in its growth by all the intricacies ofthe law , or the terror ofthe bayonet . Then , to keep my table clearly before you , I show you how I relieve one interest of five millions a year , give to the government an annual income of 2 , 400 , 000 / ., and give to an industrious population of two millions , the free labour field , the free religious tabernacle , the free school house , the free ventilation , the free air of heaven , and the free and untrammelled , though not injurious , liberty of man . This is what I pant for ; this is what I live for ; this is what I devote my every hour of thought and labour to ; this is what I will die for rather than
give it up . I now turn to the consideration of my second proposition , namely , the giving to the government an income of ten millions a year . I have shown you where the 2 , 400 , 0002 . is to come from in the shape of rent , and I will now show you where the balance is to come from ; and the value of the land , and the developements of the science of agriculture , bo presses upon me ! with every thought , that no argument will more fully prove Jthe value of the land than that which I am now about to propound . It is this : —That the tenant holding land under
a landlord upon' his will , or at twenty-one years' lease , will give upon a lease for ever -upon-that land ten . per cent , more than upon a capricious tenure ; For instance , I hold a hundred acres of land as tenant-at-will . It requires draining , but upon such tenure I will not lay out my capital ; and my landlord , being either tenant for life himself , and having but a slight interest in the improvement of his heir ' s property , or being too poor , will not per form the work ; and the consequence is that the land remains cold , sterile , [ and unproductive , closed against the labourer , and in an unprofitahle state .
Again , he requires a new house , or a larger house , for an increasing family j but he props the old one , as he has no security for a return upon his capital . Again , he requires more outbuildings—the very bank of the farm ; but he will naturally do without them rather than invest his capital in so frail a tenure . He has money in the funds , or money in his bank , which he would not hazard upon the will or even upon the life of another , and very naturally prefers the certainty of three per cent .
to the uncertainty of receiving a profit of ten , fifteen , or twenty per cent , upon the chance of another enjoying it ; and thus the agricultural labour market is stinted in its fair , competitive , and most remunerative channel . That is the case of a tenant-at-will . Then suppose the case of a tenant holding for twenty-one years—this is his condition;—he will not expend his money upon improvements , or freely upon agricultural labour : and if lie does for the first fourteen years of his lease , he'll be sure to take it out of his land for the last
seven years , hy very naturally hoarding as much as he can and very naturally spending as little as he can . Now another and a very striking reason why the science of agriculture has not progressed as rapidly as other sciences , is this fact—that those who make valuable discoveries in other sciences are amply rewarded for them , they have more || than a life-interest , 'they have a perpetuity in their discovery , because they
make a handsome retiring- salary , and an ample provision for their families , out of their patent ; and I am as convinced as that I am now addressing you , that the diversity of mechanical intellects applied to this Land Plan of ours , with the perpetuity of tenure , will lead to more valuable discoveries and improvements , by a new race , in less than three years , than all the benefits that have been produced from this science , from the creation of the world till the present moment .
Having now shown you , very clearly and irrefutably , that the farmer who now holds money at three per cent ., would spend it all upon productive labour , that would repay him ten , fifteen , or twenty per cent ., if he had perfect security in his tenure ; and reminding you , that the Irish landlords and the Irish council are now gabbling about a complicated scheme of what they facetiously term ' ' Tenant Right , ' but which is not less intricate than Penelope ' s web , 1 proceed to illustrate for you my second proposition , by which I propose to make the richTicher , and the poor rich .
There is not then a farmer in England who would not cheerfull y give an additional Jten percent , in rent for his land if it » possession was secured to him for ever—that is , the man who now holds 100 acres of land upon the will of his landlord , or upon a short lease at a hundred a year rent , would jump at the offer that he should have it on lease for ever at 110 k a year—thus I show you how the landlovd
wpuld not be injured ; liow the farmer would be gratified ; how the labourerjwould be employed ; how the government would be enriched ; nnd how the nation would be ennobled b y this plan , which would give to the government a property tax of ten per cent ., cheerfully paid by the farmer , as it would be returned to him three-fold , and not lost to the landlord ; butM the , contrary , many a landlord
who now has to- make abatements , and many a one who cannot induce or force his tenants to pay , would . ' never have a column for arrears / as , this advantage once conferred upon the farmers , I would have no objection to make the process of ejectment more summary , more speedy , and less expensive , as I feel assured that not onein a thousand would ever be a day behind in the payment of his rent . And , if I am told that this system would be as capricious as the system of the manufacturer , who undertook to supply his customers at a fixed price for life , I answer , that I am prepared to show ^ that that difficulty can be obviated by the substitution of a corn rent for a fixed money rent ; and that it is just that the tenant should pay his rent according to the scale of price of fluctuating «
roauce , rather than by a fixed value in uncbangeable metallic currency . Now , to illustrate ' this proposition , let me call your attention to these two simple figures . I show that a man will expend more money . 2 L - Ore e TF lment 8 > ^ tter cultivate , and 3 r ° . ehlS own P ™ P <* ty , than he will another man ' s property ; just aS a man will i ! wT ? hl ? own horse > or <> f hi * own SLAVli , than he will of another man ' s horse or of another man ' s SLAVE . Some men will ride or drive a hired horse beyond his powers
while he would spare his" own horse , because he would have . an interest in his life and health . He'll see his own horse done up and comfortable for the night , but , perhaps , never even inquire after the hired slave . Again , for the second illustration . The man who works for another , works slave labour , and will work grudgingly , and thinks the working day too long ; while , upon the other hand , the man who works task or job work , works cheerfully , expends his strength freely , and thinks the night too long and the day too short .
Fo conclude , then—this ten per cent ., laid as a tax upon property , would enrich every class of society , and , Ibelieve , woulddoawaywiththe necessity of PoorLaws altogether , while it would leave the government over seven millions and a half annuall y , which , added to the 2 , 400 , 000 / . made in the shape of rent , would produce an income of 10 , 000 , 000 / . per annum . and would enable the government to dispense with the Income Tax altogether ; a tax which , however intended as a levy upon profit , falls heavily as a duty on labour , as every man who pays a direct income tax makes a profit upon reduced wages , reduced household , or some other filching from the sustenance and comfort of the poor . Thus , my friends , I show you that I am not an enemy to my class , while I am the ui wai
BMM-M upjjoiiuut ascendancy ana dominion of class over class which compels the political government of the country to be the filching ageHts for the strong , and the depredators and plunderers of the weak . If my propositions are . simple and understandable , there is now a sufficient amount of genius in the country , created by Chartism , organised by Landism , if directed by vigour , energy , and perseverance , to lead to the full developement of our national resources to the equitable distribution of the profits , to the enrichment of all and the impoverishment of none . Then we shall live to see the day when the husbandman will cheerfull y " live in the sweat of his own brow , " when he " is first partaker of the fruits of his own industry ; ' and when his brethren in the artificial market will look
upon him as a helpmate instead of a competitor ; when we shall have religion without NATIONAL EXCISE PARSONS ; peace without blood ; education without mental coercion ; TAXATION WITH REPRESENTATION ; and law for protection instead of co _ ercion . Who does not think such a system worth living for ? who does not believe it worth dying for , to bequeath , as a legacy , to generations vet unborn ?
Your faithful Friend , Feargus O'CoNNon . [ I hope my friend , William Grocott , will read my two letters to my Manchester children .-F . O'C ]
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GRAND SOIREE AND BALI , IN HONOUR OF TIIE RETURN OF FEARGU * O'CONNOR , ESQ ., AS MEMBER FOR NOTTINGHAM . . Ttie friends of Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., having determined to hold a festival to celebrate the return of that gentleman as member for tho borough of Nottingham , Monday last w » 9 appointed for that purposp , and such-wag the anxiety of persons to bff present on the occasion that the committee of management were under the necessity of taking the ? Exchange Hall and the Con-eryative Assembly Room 3 tor ' . the ahove ol > ject . Long before the time ? arrived for admission crowds of persona had assembled , and on the duon being opened , both places were immediately occupied by those who had been fortunate enough to obtain tickets . At the Exchange rooms upwards of 600 per « on » sat down to tea , while those at tho Assembly Rooms fell little Bhort of that number . At about five ? o ' clock Feargus O'Connor , Esq ., attended by the ) Rev . Mr Linwond , W . T . Roberts , Esq ., T , Allsop r &c ., ; entered tho Exchange Hall , and took h' 8 * ea ; at the cross tuble , amid the most deafening shouts of applause ever heard within those walk Tea having been concluded , and while the necessary preparations for erecting a platform , &c , werebeinjj made , Mr O ' Connor , attended by the < everal per * sons above named , paid a visit to tho Assembly Rooms , which he entered shortly after seven o ' clock , and took hU seal in the centre of the gallery amid the uproarious acclamations of the company assembled tolow . Mr Charles Roberta , of Nottingham , presided over the meeting at the Assembly Rooms , and Mr Mott over that at the Exchange rooms . [ We have reoeived a very long report of the above * meetings just as we were going to press , but we are compelled ta defer ita publication till next week 1
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THE MANCHESTER MEETING . MESSRS RIDER , IIOBSON , AND OASTLER . "We have been requested to publish the following correspondence : — 10 RICHARD OABTLKR , ISQ , 3 , Market Walk , Ilnddersfield , Nov . 7 , 1847-Dear Sir , —William Rider ia reported to have said , at a late meeting at Manchester , that when I first wont to livo at Leeds I requested you to lend mo
£ 10 . ; that yeu demurred , or refused to do this , but offered to lend it to . him ( Uider ) he being responsibletovou . This statement evidently iraplissthat youaoubtcd my trustworthiness . Will you be kind enough to say , per return of post , whether , in all our connection , both , of a business-kind and otherwise , you ever saw in mo aught that would induce such a feel ' in ? , or prevent you ! endlu < r me £ 10 . ( if convenient ) ?
I aia sorry that your name should have been thus dragged into a dispute I happen to have with other !> arties . on ptiblic grounds ; but I am not the offender , and when y ou are roade the meana whereby to cast a reflection on another nun ' s character , 1 am euro you will declare the truth . Yours respeotfully , JosnuA Hobswj .
T Fo The Kich And The Poor.
t fO THE KICH AND THE POOR .
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70 MR J WIIUA . E 0 BS 0 N . ™ r , , , t !»»»*»» Not . 8111 , 1847 . Mr Deau Lad , ' -I am grieved , more than I caa expres 3 , that my name should be introduced iuio Ike quarrels about \ the Laud . " However , your lettet demands an answer . If . Mr Rider undewjood anything uttered by mo at our interview as' implying that 1 doubted your trustworthiness , ' he was mistaken . In answer fr ) your question , ' Whelhor , in all our connection , both of a huainess kir . d and otherwise , I ever saw in you aught that would induco such a feeling , or prevent my lending you £ 10 . ( if conye-
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THE O'CONNOR BANK . to tat EDiToa or Tire suvchesteh examinee . Sir , —In your paper of last Tuesday it is iuserttd that Joseph Heywood and Thornley had sent £ 2 » . last % veek but one to Feargus O'Connor ' s bank , nelimging to the Middli-ton Christian Frii-ndlj Sick ami Burial Sect ty . hold at the Wesloyan Methodist Schoal , Hiddiiiton , and they have as yet received no answer or cluquo . Now , tho truth is that we seat a twenty pound Bank of England note by tue voat of the 19 th of September , and received a receipt on Uiel'lst of September , or by r--tura of uost , » o that your correspondent tu-itlier kuew the time we sent the money or that we had received the cheque . You say , owing to tho other society not having received a cheque , Mr Smithes has thought proptr * to make inquiry into O'Conno . ' a bank before he tends th « money . When MrSmltliei visited mo upon the subject , I showed him tho receipts together with all letters we ha 4 received upon the subject .
P . S . —If your correspondent be a member of theabo'ra society , we hope lie will attend at the next meeting , an 4 there substantiate his charges ; we have stated nothinghut the truth which if your correspondent had done the same , it would have been more to his honour and credit ag a member of the above society , We hope you will insert tho " nbove in your piper oC Tuesday next , under the head of the Rochdale and Mid . dlcton news , as the false st-itement appeared in your last Tuesday ' s paper . Our desire is that the public may know the truth . We remain , lovers of truth and justice , William Tbohnut and Joseph Heivtood . Middleton , Oct . 31 , 1817 .
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TO THE EDITOR OF TIIK MANCnESTSB XXAMlNEtt . Sir , —Having just been looking over tlio Manchester Examines of Saturday , tbe 30 th of Ostobcr , I tleru iind , U an article fi ^ nod by ' One who lias Whistled at the Plough , ' the following sentence . ' We have bucn the cause of many societies not banking their money in the Land and Labour Bank , and liavoalso beou instrumental in lausiug the mechanics to withdraw their money froin that bank ; ' and as you presume to be actuated in your desire' to benofit tho public by assorting the truth , I hereby request that you will giy » insertion to the following , so that iuyoui- zeal to be the bonuthctor of tlii public you may not lead them into un error by publishing a falsehood .
The mechanics of Ma « ch « stor hare not withdrawn their money from tho National Land and Labour IS . ink , neither do they intend to withdraw it , or any portion thcrecf , unlfss compelled by the present state of trade to do so , for the support of their member * out of employment j and , for your future consolation , 1 beg te inform you , and through you thepublic , that instead of withdrawing , the No . 5 Wunclicnter Branch deposited £ ' 20 in tho hands , of Mr Fwjrgus O'Connor , on Tuesday , when ha was ia Manchester , and that several other 3 are about to follow in their steps . Now , sir , the nu'cbanics' society , aboveall otJiors , Lave rasaons to endeavour to stop the supplieg of their oppreisors , inasmuch ns they liavo , nnd that very recently , had a specimen of tbo ib-ly of placing their money in the banks wliort their enploycrs may get * couple of others to go bond with them for ) say five or tea thousand pounds , perhaps , of the very money deposited by tho operatives , which enables tliera to dictate terms
totheir workmen , which , should theyvefusc , they tire immediately turned out of employ * and spies and iiiformero sent in amongst them , and supported too by tho monojr deposited in those bunks by the operatives themselves ; the result of which is thut we Uuve to put our hands , into our pockets to protect our officers from the information of such wretches . Witness the Newton Conspiracy case , which has cost us near two ' thousand . ; pounds , besides being tho c : vase of death » f nn owiu cousin , Alfred Chei'Scbaroush , toue , U' A a good member ofthe mechanics' society . No , no , sir , so far as oupbranch is concerned , > re will not , ifwecau help it , alloiv » ur trades' unions to be broken up , and thin lay ourselves completely at the mercy of our employers . Trudu locieties , sir , I hope will , Gviuinnii to form a harriesagainst the oiiprcsssor uiijtil justice shall be dons to all . Indued , it i 3 to be deplored that the capitalists forua their hands to resist—seduction alter reduction taki ! n » place . Witness the amount of money lust in the f .. llow ° " ing strikes :-Cottou upinners of Manchester , in l&iu ^ expanded , or rather lost ,, jg-jsj . aou ; again , in 1 & ! C . £ 2 ot
( W , ) O ; since thai tiuw ,, mfi . Mtl ) ; spinners of l ' res . ton , ^ 74 , 313 ; town , of l ' ruston , £ iiii , «< jt ); Ulasgow cotton ^ miners , 17 ; 6 : ' 0 j has to town of Glasgow j 6-2 OD , O 00 ; loss to eaunty of Lanarkshire , 5 iiO . i . uu ; strika in the potterus , -vSO . UOO ; Leeds mechanics'strilw , ' which lasted tflelve months ,, fil 5 > 7 ,. ! Ot ; wool combers . oilirnd . tor . ! , ten inontoB , £ 40 ., i ; u « ; colliers strike ,, £ 5 ( . , 0 « i >; total . £ 2 , 210 , 009 . And whilst ths capitalistcqai maka me ol the law to crush v . e producer , the product r can nen-r mnlto use <» the law to protect himself-uluwss tho Olasgow cotton spinneys and Dorchestcn labourers . Aov » , sir , do . you lieally think that if we lent uur money : o the Land ; and , Labour 13 anl > , imd tUer . tb f cased tha abour market , aixd < mdeavouved to got e . wb of our mem « burs agtod- . huuso mid four seres of lani that the master class vt »» Mthus , turu us out , without a cread that wo should b . etak . 0 owseivcB to the ciilisyation oi the noil . Hopius you will insert tha ab ve in your paper ot next Saturday , and let the truth bo toljl , l am , Sir , one of the trustee * , of tha fourth brani- h ot tU « mechanics ' sos&ty , GEC * aE S ^ aaEi . Uffobd . J ,. Church-street , Rochdale-rwd , JJauchester .
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fh ? Sn " »*»* '• my nsmo mijst he mixed up in ™ £ ffi 5 P ' ltM l » Dl !»* ' «»* I « ' «<> state , Iani ? * W * 1 cha W Mr O'Connor with att PiSfflot , etrau the subscribcra to 'the Land Plan' of the r money , do him ereat injustice . He is service , than te use them on his own amount . This will servean an answer to many persons who have asked my opinion on ihat point . Wishing that you were all friends again , tfcikini together for the emancipation of labour ; deprerating every attempt to cause snspjeion in the minds of the working classes , as to the integrity and honesty of purpose of Mr O'Connor or yourself ; and roost heartily praying for the speedy and complete triuraphof the 'Land Plan , ' , I remain , my deaf 'lad , ' Your Old King , ' Mr Hobson , Kichabd Oastler , S , Market Walk , iluddersfield .
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... '¦ ' - ¦¦ ¦ ¦) - / ¦ ' ) - . ? - | v ¦¦ ¦ ¦ > ¦ ¦ JUSi ^^^ r "'""""" " - ¦ ¦¦ - — --- — -. — , ¦ . ' ¦ ' ¦ } '' ^ . L ' '' '" '' ¦ - - ^^^ JMpMM ' ¦ / iifT ^^ ' -- " ¦ " ' ¦ ¦¦¦ ^• j" -: — ¦ - . -- ¦¦¦ ¦¦ ..- - - ¦—¦•¦• , ¦ - , — .-. ¦¦ , - ¦¦ •¦ - - -: ¦¦• . •¦¦ : ¦•• ¦ ¦ ¦*•¦¦ - ¦ - . ¦¦¦ AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL .
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J ~ j- - " ' LONDON , SATURDAO WEMBEin ? l 847 ^ STlSSSSr ; ~ ~ ' ' ' rive 8 hHHu » awJsixpencc per Quarter
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 13, 1847, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1444/page/1/
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