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TO THE MEMBERS OF THE RATIONAL 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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I jj j ^ ' - ' " r . . ¦ . ~ Hand h * 'P « tbwn " r-at help tb » m » eI « B ;»'" utnts irn ^ r btmr If , jnri tbe detiltake the hind . Oct . " ^ BBRE -KOTHIKe HEW BSDER THB SUK . "
Gektlemek , jshall notagain call you , either " my friends' * i' jnv children , * until you are better behaved ^ joore dutiful ; but as the more fortunate , ^ at least many of them , imagine that the \^ saon ef land and a house constitutes a £ bto idleness ; , I address them by the proper ^ "Gentlemen . " ffiyie I have given you some old maxims , jj truth . of which man ' s actions establish , yje the enmity evinced towards the Land
ojjjj would prove that it is something new , or , A ] g&U tity tneir opposition proves a great JLgltfj namely—that it is impossible forman « live upon ^ ano ^ " * ^" s own country . Perf , g there is not upon record a more extract or novel piece of folly than thisasserzL except it be the folly of those who be-Tbe first objection to tne Land Plan was , Jut land could not be purchased : that rich ^ talists would club their monies , bid against aLro O'Connor , and buy up all the estates ^^ for sal e . WeU , that assertion , of itself , j Ldb lave proved thai hostility to the Plan , jljd their hostility was the best proof of its nlae toyen .
The next assertion was , that you were gxotjcs feorn under ground , reared in a hothouse—tended and unable to bear the open -tie next assertion was , that England was intended by nature to be a manufacturing fcos otry , while ALL OTHERS were intended to be agricultural countries , —that is , that yon yere to import the raw material—upon which you were to expend your slave labour—a distance of some thousands ' of miles—toSmanufac fme it cheaper than those who sent it to yon eoold ipanufacture it—and then to get back
I your food from other countries which would c ontecend to receive your superfluities in exjjauge for the necessaries of life . This was Baptist Noel ' s theory—the Reverend ? nd Hourerable Baptist Noel—whose rubbish was poked into every poor man ' s hsuse in the kinggom , and for which rubbish he was made Chapp lan to the Queen . My Friends , I cannot continue to address you as "Geatlemen , " because I am angry with ; , inasmuch asjyour ingratitude and indo-| jence are consequences of a vicious system . This Land Plan of ours has stood more attacks
—more * assaults—mere slander , vituperation and falsehood , than any plan that ever tjs propounded , and most of all from those tho were the most fortunate in being first located , and having the greatest-indulgence . shown to them . The very critical situation in tiich I have been placed by those parties sinc& August 1847—the period at which the last Conference assembled—must be obvious to pay man . The Press was open to the foulest fabrications , and the fabricator was an
INNOCENT—INOFFENSIVE—INDUSTRIOUS BUT JUGGLED AND DELUDED INDIji tfDUAL . Every ear was not open hut ! cocked—every skull wasja gan—every brain j » hs combustible matter—every prejudice was 3 g percussion cap—every tongue . was ahair-1 trigger—and every report was said to be an 1 explndon . g In the midst ' of these fabrications for four-S tea months , and coming , as they did , from gj those presumed to be best capable of judging , g tie wonder is , that every cottage has not been belled to the ground , and every allotment 1 taiantless . But what will strike vou as a
H pater wonder is , that I should have abstained 9 &nareplying to anyone of those numerous 1 ; fskications until I was placed in a situation of I laving them proved or disproved before the re-I pteentatives of the whale body . And , if any-I thing will convince you of my sincerity in the I undertaking , and my desire to elicit'truth , 1 ton will find it in the fact that I have invested
my money in it , and that I have relied iupon my ability to refute every slander uttered igainst the Land Plan by those who either sought a pretext for returning to drunkenness > ad dissi pation , or those who hoped to frighten me into an acquiescence in their every demand , I from a dread of exposure , to circulate which I fey were aware that the Press and the enemy 1 wild be but too ready .
I 1 shall now proceed to remind you of the 1 principle upon which the Plan was originally 1 teed , and I shall then show you the principle I span which it is now based , and from the con * I test you will be able to deduce this fact , that Hjpery single alteration has been favourable to life occupant By our first rules 5 L interest II « s paid upon the first 822 . 10 s . expended , and j ltteper cent upon all additional capital . So 1 fat b y the old rules , if 300 2 . was expended I inn a can ' s allotment , his rent would be 167 . 1 'year , whereas , by the new rules , his rent will lkl 2 Layear .
M B y the original rules , as laid down at the 1 Manchester and Birmingham Conference , the 1 Bstof aQ agricultural operations were to be de * 1 batted from the Aid Money . At Herringsgate , HLstbands , and Minster , not a fraction wasde-• k&i By the old rales there was no proviso against the payment of rent , when a half ysar was due , while none of the occupants hare It been called upon to pay rent By the old jjife there was no provision for loans , while ' M . has been advanced , besides the Aid jnnd , to occupants at O'Connorville and Lowtads .
I W , such are the alterations as to the ijtaner and future standard of rent , and as to J » 4 ba 3 been promised , and what ha 3 been ™ ae for those who have been located ; and now J amil proceed to review the alterations that « T t been made by the Conference in the pro-Irajmne submitted to tke country through the N orthern Star" and explained by Messrs Ia Grath and Clark . The original programme Proposed that occupants should be located by wausinsteadof by ballot , which wasillegal , and l ^ d no t be continued . The Directors , * ° * ever , having an interest in the working - ^ of the Flan , and anxious to preserve good ; kfth * ith the members , made the following altera tion : —
% tie original programme , if a man s allot"at cost 300 / ., and if he paid 100 Z . bonus , he t 0 "M still pay 12 L a year rent , or four per * " -npon the outlay , whereas by the altera-Hif he paya 1001 bonus , he will pay 81 a ff-srrent , being allowed four per cent , as the "toest upon his 100 / . ; and then , instead of sjp ^ a . lease fora life and ninety-nine years , he / f r eceive a conveyance of his allotment , at a / T ^ arge of 8 j / yearj thus making it a Jfwd ; and he will have 300 Z . of . property , * jnse built , and land purchased at wholesale " * »*«> mortgage , if he wishes , for 2001 , the
w h nas lhe 20 ? L naviD 5 300 / - secunty t . and the labour employed in itscultivaf re « h S aboveall > tne attachment to the Ui , m ^ ^ tne man wn ° P ays * te "" Y ^ rns the Company one-third of its fi l ^ ' accor « * «> g to Mr Grey and Mr in JT s eridence , there will be no difficulty dncinT , ? other two-thirds , thus repro-4 it et- whole o £ tie Company ' s capital mouj " ¦ "wdiatd y , and enabling us to carry j srif ^ " ^ speedily as wecan purchase tie iS ? , uiId houses > ^ d that will be just at tian * Z , bat ! ca « get the money , for in less faund « moaths l oonId buy ten miUion 4 e re » of land - although it was stated 1 ^^ ne to be had in the market , those ] nov ? sno * voh the position in which lepu " ? ted on the Bromsgrove Estate would t \ iT 5 ? Under this mio . I nn toll mifWn a
II " ^ tT ^ * tn e rent of a four-acre aUot-IrPferjifin w *^ ke , not including agricultural M ^ i tL which cf couree m a &tinfA I ftjtt 4 e to avera S reQt of four acres and a I ^ at Bromsgrove will not exceed 10 / ., so
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that . the occupant who pays 100 / . ' bonus will pay 67 . a year rent for his cattage and four acres , while I know men in the neighbourhood who are paying € / . an acre for land ; and I will now 6 how you why land at Bromsgrove , at any standard price that can be put upon land , is proportionately more valuable than the same description of land in another district . In the district of Bromsgrove , the whole population is a consuming population . It is in the centre of the mining and nail-making population ; perhaps the most densel y populated in the kingdom .- ¦ " > — .
The next proposition is , that . those who pay into the Bonus Fund , but who have not paid enough to entitle them ^ to location , shall be allowed four per cent . upon the . amouat paid , until it shall have been augmented to that point which will entitle them to location . Now this you . will gee ia a vast improvement upon the Land 1 Purchase Department In the Land Purchase Department the depositor was obliged tapayufip the whole of fiis purchase money , as we ^^^ gpd ^ aadS / . 10 $ . for legal ezpenEeyaw ^ swryeying , if he was a four-acre member ; where ^ fiow , he pays neither premium , legal expenses , nor surveying , and need only pay one-third of the purchase money to entitle him to a conveyance of his allotment .
Lest this 10 QJ . bonus should be considered a compulsory amount , let me explain it to you . I merely take the standard of 100 / . while , perhaps , the bonuses may not exceed 50 / . ; but then , the man who pays 50 / ., if that amount entitles him to a location , will have 22 . a-year deducted from his rent , as the interest of his 50 / . at four per cent- ; he will receive a lease for a life and ninety-nine years , instead of a conveyance of his allotment , and when he augments the 50 / . to one-third of what the allotment has cost the Company , then he will receive a conveyance , as you will see that this ensures the reproduction of the Company's capital without being subject to the legal expenses of mortgaging .
. Now I hope | that I explain these matters to the meanest intellects . As to the legalisation of the Plan , the appointment of trustees , and the assignment of the property to those trustees , of those facts you are already in possession through the reported proceedings , and now I come to the consideration of a very important proposition , namely ;—
THE CLAIMS OF THE MEMBERS NOT YET LOCATED . 1 proposed , that in order to keep good faith , all who had purchased from balloted members should be the first located . This , however , was negatived , and , I think , most justly , upon the grounds stated by the opponents . They stated that the man who would not sell was as well , if not better , entitled to location , than the representative of the man who did sell . In this discussion the Directors took no part , further than urging the claim of the unlocated members . I proposed' compensation in
money , to be given at the period at which they would have been located , leaving it to the Conference . to say what the amount of com pensation should he . For instance , if an estate was ready for location in May , that those who were to be located upon that estate should receive their compensation in money upon the day onf which that estate was read y for occupation .. '; . Mr Bdwards , the delegate for Devonshire , stated that the members balloted were promised to be located wi&intbisyeaf . I stated , in reply , that if the money had come in at hall the rate
it did when that statement was made that all would have been located before now ; I showed that I had entered into a contract for 1 , 400 acres of land , which would have left over 200 acres , after locating all the balloted members —that the funds fell off frem 5 , 0001 , 3 , 0001 ,, and 2 , 000 / ., a week to 20 / . a week—that not one-third of the capital of the Company had been paid up , and that the defaulters , and not the Directors , were to blame . I further showed , and the Conference unanimously assented , that the interest of those members and of the Company would be best protected by
giving them compensation ; I showed that it would take lOS . OOOZ . to locate the balloted members , and that that amount would not come in as long as all others were debarred of a chance of location , whereas the compensation would be sure to be paid , and within a very short period , if the priority market was once opened . In this view the Conference acquiesced , when Mr O'Brien proposed that one-fourth of each estate should be assigned to the location of the balloted members , and to this proposition the Conference and the Directors cordiall y and unanimously assented ; and the effect of which will be the location of the balloted members
very much more speedily than they would have been located , if the location of all others was deferred until they were provided for . It was then proposed , by Mr Bentley , that 15 / . to two-acre men , 22 / . 10 s . to three-acre men , and 30 / . to four-acre men , should be the amount of compensation to be given , those members still holding their scrip and the amount paid for shares to be deducted from those respective amounts . In that case 2 / . 12 * . would be stopped from the 15 / . ; 3 / . 1 & . from the 22 / . 10 s . ; and 5 / . 4 s . from the 30 / .
Mr Edwards proposed that they should re ceive 5 / . a share and still retain their scrip , that is 12 / . 12 s . for a two-acre man , 18 / . 18 s . for a three-acre man , and 25 / . is . for a fouracre man , and this proposition was carried all but unanimously ; the effect of which will be that one-fourth of the Bromsgrove Estate will be assigned to the balloted members on the 12 th of May , and they will have the option of taking to their location or receiving the stipulated compensation .
I will make one observation upon this Bonug principle . I have sold to members , not balloted , four-acre allotments for 90 / ., they pay . ing the same amount of rent as if they were located by ballot and had not paid a farthing in the shape of bonus ; others have paid 100 / . and others 120 / . bonus ; whereas , if , under the new system , they had paid 120 / . bonus for an allotment estimated at 12 / . a-year , they would pay 7 / . 4 s . rent , whereas they are now liable to 12 / . rent besides the 120 / .
The next alteration that has been made is , to dispense with the Expense Fund—and I wish you to bear these facts strongly in mind . Firstly . —That , if oar capital was fully paid up , we would have a yearly income of 12 , 000 / . at four per cent . —and Secondly , —That I have made , and will make , five times as much out of the rubbish on every estate as will not only cover the Expense Fund , but constitute a large Surplus Fund for the location of the poorer members .
Thus , we have given another and a great advantage to the shareholders . I now come to the consideration of the most important point , and that which most earnestly and anxiously arrested the attention of the Conference—I mean the location of the poorer members who could not pay a bonus . By the provisions of the Act , under which the Company will be legalised , it is in our power to alter and amend the rules and Deed of Settlement as circumstances may require , and by economy upon my part , and confidence upon their part , lhave no hesitation in saying that I shall be able to locate the poorer members very ^ speedily without bonus at all , and much more speedily than under the old rules
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—and for this reason—because all theinbney made b y me upon the sale of farm houses , and the use of old materials , not valued in the purchase , will , as a matter of course , go into the Loan Fund , and constitute a stock from which the poorest will receive relief , and which—so far from diminishing the capital of the Company—will add to it , as assets to be distributed when its operations are completed . There is also another source from which the poorer members may be located—namely , the LOAN FUND . We may take example by the aristocracy , and the speculating of the democracy , upon this point . In London , Manches . ter , Sheffield , Birmingham , and every large town in England , persons put money into
RACING SWEEPS , and they draw for a horse , and if' SHYLOCK wins the race , the man who draws the Jew wins the money—that constitutes the SWEEP . So with the Loan Fund . The very poorest in the district may club their shillings , and the paid-up ; members may put into the Land . Sweep , and the man who is most fortunate may draw hia amount of bonus—or two , or three , or four , may draw , while none Io 3 e their shillings , because in turn they will have the benefit themselves—and more they may have a Shilling Sweep , or a Half-crown Sweep , and the man who pays ten shillings may have ten draws , and so with the man who pays ten half-crowns , while the mechanic , and those better off , may have Pound Sweeps . However , if there was neither
Sweep nor Shylock , what I contend is , that the very poorest of the poor will be located much more speedil y under the new , than under the eld , organisation—and I wish you to bear one fact in mind , that when we are legalised , many a man now located will pay a great proportion » f his purchase money to get a conveyance , while we could raise from 70 , 000 / . to 80 , 000 / .. upon the property that we are possessed of—thus enabling us to reproduce and locate our members much more speedily .
I have now fully explained the alterations that have . been made by the Conference . There are some , few errors , but not of importance , in the repert of the proceedings in . the "Star . ' Amongst others , it is stated that I said that the ground at Minster was cropped . I said no such thing , as the Conference will admit , I said that nothing was charged for the agricultural operations performed , but that the Aid Money was given in full . And now , my friends , I shall give you , consecutively , a verbatim account of every charge brought against me , and I will give it
without one particle of colouring , and in a form in which every delegate must acknowledge its truth . ' It may be , that they were brought forward . at different stages of the proceedings , but , I will give them to you consecutively . And I think , when you reflect upon my Scotch political tour , where I went to meet my political assailants , and when I tell you that * on Thursday night last , I addressed a number of my most virulent political assail * ants in the People ' s Hall in Birmingham , and that , having gained wisdom from past experience ,. I never was so well received in the most excited times in that town—and when 1 tell you that I had borne the most
unmitigated and continuous abuse , in every shape and form , from a portion of the located members , for the last fourteen months—I feel assured that you will read , not my defence , but their conviction , with pride and pleasure . There were deputies in the Conference from every estate , and I will begin with O'CpnDorville , represented by Mr Wheeler —while , in justice to him , I am bound tosay , that his statement was devoid of any , the slightest , acrimony , and was confined to a representation of the state and wishes of his brotheriallottees . You shall have each statement , and my reply , in the shape of a dialogue , and then you will understand it .
Mr Wheeler stated that at O'Connorville the occupants were located at a bad season of the year ; that during their first year bread was excessively dear ; that many had applied the Aid Money of the Company in liquidation of debts that they owed in their districts ; that there was a want of dung and a want of experience ; that one occupant lost two acres and a half of potatoes by the rot , which would have produced much more than four tons to the acre but for that calamity ; that the wheat harvest being bad , militated considerably against their prospects ; thathehad paid
attention to his crop , and produced twenty-four bushels from half an acre ; that some were in distress because they had expended over 200 J . in buildings and ether improvements ; that the want of leases to know their position was a grievance of which they complained ; also the difficulty of procuring water for cattle and other purposes , as it took two women , or one strong man , to work the pump put in by the Drectors ; and also the distance from a market town mi ght be favourable to Mr Sillett ' s position , but operated against theirs ; but from the experience that he now had , he
felt convinced that no man—the strongest man —could cultivate an acre of ground to its greatest state oficapability , but he felt assured that , in time , all those evils would be corrected , or correct themselves , and he believed there was a strong desire upon the part of the occupants to make the Plan succeed . " ' Mr O'Connor replied , that the occupants were located on the 1 st of May , at O'Connorville—that was a bad season . They were located at Lowbands in August—that wag a bad
season . They were located at Minster in March —that was a bad season ; and they were located at Snig ' s End in June , and that was a bad season—and , therefore , until he was enabled to add a few more months to the year , he should like to know when the proper season would be ? and that question was one of the propositions that would be submitted to the Conference , to name , not the month , but the very day of the month when they should be henceforth bcated .
"As to bread being dear , it was fortunate for those who got the Aid Money , and . their ground partially cropped , to have something to fall back upon , and he felt assured that Mr Wheeler would not charge him , or the Directors , or the Land Company , with that calamity . "As to the Aid Money going to liquidate the debts of those who were located , he would ask that Conference whether or no it was ever contemplated that the money of the Land Company should constitute a fund for the liquidation of the . debts of its members , and whether it was not properly decided that the Aid Money should be appropriated to the improvement of the soil , thereby increasing its value in the reproductive market ?
" As to dung and cultivation—the Company paid nearly 320 / . for the best London dung ; and as to cultivation—with the exception of a head-land here and there—the whole of the land was well cultivated . No charge was made , and , in addition , 10 / . was expended on the erection of outbuildings , for each allottee . " With regard to the failure of the potato crop , ] he ( Mr O'Connor ) trusted that that Conference would pass a stringent resolution , making the Directers responsible for the jpo tato rot , the blight in the wheat , and every other casualty and natural calamity to which the allottees , and all other men , were subjected . But let him ask this one question—is a great national project to be damned by the failure of a single crop ? And then , mark what Mr
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Whaeler had truly told them—or rather understated—that if a man ' s potatoes had not failed , he would have had over ten tons upon his two acres and a half , which , at sixpence per stone , or 4 / . a ton , would have amounted to 40 / . ' ' : ¦¦ ¦ - Mr O'Brien . —Four tons to the acre ! I am prepared to show that a man may grow ten tons . Mr O'Connor . —I take it at the four , and if his crop had not failed , he would have had 28 / . above his rent , his house , and an acre and a half for nothing . Now , can any argument be more conclusive of the stability of this Plan , if it is not-all to be based upon the potato rot ? " "
"Then , as regards the 200 / . expended on buildings— ; MrWheeler . —I said , and on the land as well Mr O'Connor . —Well , admitted that the bulk was expended in buildings ; . and , as he often told them , the produce of the soil would soon buil $ f thj > use , but the house would . never cultivate the eoih '" " He would now come to Mr Wheeler ' s admission—that he had produced three quarters of wheat from half an acre , and upon that he would test the value of the Land Plan . Three quarters to half an acre is six quarters to an
acre , and at 50 s . a quarter , or 6 s . 3 d . the bushel ,. that one crop would return 15 / , to the acre , and turnips , or another , crop , rriay be sown in the same ground ; but taking it as the one crop , and estimating the rent of four acres at over what it will be if they reduced it to it per cent , upon the outlay , this would be the position of that man—he would have 3 / . above his year ' s rent , a five-roomed cottage , outbuildings , and an acre of straw and three acres of land for nothing ; and , I think , the straw
answers the complaint of the want of dung . " But Mr Wheeler has most ingenuously admitted the stability , the value , and the practicability of the Land Plan , when he Rays that no man can cultivate an acre of ground ; and when the delegates bear in mind that every farmer in the kingdom pays his rent , the interest of his capital , maintains and educates : his children , keeps hunters , drinks wine , and lives well upon the profit made on slave labour , when , as a matter of course , the free labourer will work harder for himself .
: As to leases , he begged to tell them that although averse to taking any such power upon himself until . trustees were appointedalthough he was entitled b y law to do 80—yet he would be prepared to name a day when he would give to the occupants , who were prepared to pay up their rents , leases according to the terms prescribed by that Conference . " As to water , Mr Wheeler was perfectly aware that there were two wells sunk to an immense depth , and that , subsequently , at the desire of the occupants , a pump was also sunk , to which he ( Mr O'Connor ) was opposed , well
knowing that at such a depth it would be expensive to repair it and hard to work it j but in order to show the position of . the allottees , as compared with the farmers in the nei ghbourhood , the farmers were obliged to go a great distance to fetch the water , while the allottees hadjit comparatively at hand ; and knowing the value of water and all other conveniences , he was prepared to say that when the members did their duty he would be prepared to make tanks / as he , had at Minster Lovel , and to' put pumps in every man ' s back kitchen . ' ¦ ' ' "The last pa&position that he had to comment
upon was , the distance from a market town . He begged to say that they were nearer a market town than Mr Sillett was—that they were within less than three miles of a market town ; but he would not confine his answer to that assertion , he would make it more complete , and it was this—that what was a potato , a cabbage , a turnip , a carrot , or any other food under the walls of a market town , waa butter , pork , bacon , cheese and other commodities , at a hundred , nay , a thousand miles
distant from a vegetable market ; while , in the one plan they had the manure produced for their consumption , in the other case they had none . In conclusion , he begged to tender his thanks to MrWheeler , for the very discreet and temperate manner in which he submitted his propositions , and , he hoped that he had answered one and all , to the satisfaction of Mr Wheeler , and the Conference . ( Cheers . ) Mr Wheeler said , that nothing could be farther from his intention or inclination than
to urge against the scheme what might be fairly charged upon circumstances and casualties that had occurred . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr O'Brien next made his representation as delegate for Lowbands , Snig ' s End , and the Cheltenham district . He said , that he had to lay before the Conference a true state of the pitiable condition of the allottees at Lowbands , and the first question t » which he would call their attention was that of draining . The Old drains , that were curved and crooked , were stopped up , and straight drains were made . That , in many instance !) , the water had ceased
to flow , and the main drains were so email and confined , that they were wholly useless . That the land was not cultivated previous to the allottees taking possession , but was merely scratched over . That the potatoes lait year , like the present , were a complete failure , and the poor creatures had nothing to live upon . That manure was promised them , and Mr O'Connor had promised them lime to mix with the soil that was taken out of the foundations , That , in many instances , the allottees got no dung at all , and scarcely any ra « re than four loads . That the wheat , generally speaking ,
was a complete failure , and so were the potatoes . That he had made a calculation of one ; man ' s return for 200 days' work , and found that it only amounted to 7 / . Us . He had ex pended 35 / . himself upon the improvement of the school allotment . He kept nearl y an acre in grass , and found it very profitable ; and , therefore , he would propose that , in future , a fourth of every man ' s allotment should be kept in grass . That the land was not of a good quality , and that Graham —one of the allottees who had before been referred to , and his family , were without shoes and clotheR .
That nmepence was all he had received since he went there as schoolmaster , and that the poor creatures were obliged to sell . He was convinced himself of the practicability of the Plan when once set fairly going , as he believed even Mr O'Connor had fallen far short in his statements of what the Land was capable of doing . Then old Farmer Lee—so often referred to by Mr O Connor-who was actually obliged to pickup stones off his land
and sell them to buy coals . Mr O'Connor replied , and said that he was sorry that the last delegate had not made his representation in the same spirit that Mr Wheeler made his ; nothing was more easy than to trump up a statement based upon figures and calculations 5 and nothing waB more unjust than to attempt to excite the feelings of tlat Cenference by false and unfounded representations ; and he ( Mr O'Connor ) would now proceed to show that , without an exception , every statement made by Mr O'Brien was unfounded .
"Firstly . As regards the drainage . It was a curious charge , or rather a curious assertion , to . say that crooked curved drains were prefer ? able to straight drains ; but the fact was , that nob a single old drain was stopped up—that all the drains ever made were straight drains , marked out with a line , and pipes put into
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them . And as regards the main drains , there they were visible to the eye ; and what he as-Berted was , that on the best drained estate in t j njrland , there were not as good main drains . Ihey were open drains and well made . The pipe drains discharged into them , and when one failed to work by the passage being stopped , nothing was more easy than to discover where the stoppage was , and to repair it . And Mr o isnen had not stated that tiles were given to every man , and drawn for every man , who chose to make more drains ; nor had he stated the impossibility of cultivating ground , - . building houses , and draining at the same time ; nor was , it stated , or even contemplated , that the land should be drained . He next came
to" The failure of the potatoes last year . Now tins was not true , as the potatoes at Lowbands last year were , in nine cases in ten , boasted of as being a splendid crop , and he had himself seen nve or six pounds produced from a single root-Then as to ^ . . "The tillage of the ground , and its character . I he moment a , man > located he thinks he becomes a farmer by magic , and Mr O Brien , who told us yesteiday that three months ago his hands were as delicate as any lady ' s in the land , is not only a better farmer than me , but is prepared to speak to what he never saw .
But what he ( Mr 0 Connor ) asserted was , that Lowbands was considered the crack farm in the neighbourhood—that the tenant who rented it paid 336 / . a year rent , and the farmer who bid within 20 Lof whathe ( Mr O'Connor ) gavefor it , must have been as great a fool as himself . " Then as to the cultivation . It was ploughed most of it three times ; it was dragged ; it was crushed with a patent crusher ; it was fine
harrowed , and after that any lumps that were then left were broken by what in Ireland they call "beetles , '' that is , large wooden mallets with long handles , ( and so well was it cultivated that those who saw the farm in March said they would not have known it in July . Nothing is more easy than to make those kind of statements , but there were many present who saw the Land , and he defied any to contradict a word that he had asserted .
"Then as to their being-promised dung and . lime to mix with what came out of the foundations—it is a pure fabrication . Dung was not promised , and he ( Mr O'Connor ) had recommended the allottees to buy a couple of waggon loads of lime themselves , and mix it with the foundations , and five or six only did so . But now he would come to Mr O'Brien ' s assertion , that some allotments got no dung , and some others not more than four loads Now these were the reports—the malicious reports—which all men anxiously circulated , and which it was difficult for a single individual to
refute . But let the Conference hear and mark the fact . There were about forty acres pared and burned , and when Mr O'Brien alluded ' to the allotments that got ' no manure he had not the candour to tell you that pared and burned ground neither gets , nor wants / any manure but the ashes , which is the best of manure . He did not tell you that a half acre of Land was planted for each allottee with potatoes , and a half-quarter of an acre for each allottee was manured for cabbages and Swede turnips ; and he did not tell you that that quantity for each allottee was manured to an extent that
astonished the farmers in the neigbourhood , that the potatoes were planted with the spade , and in tie best manner , andthat the ground for the cabbages and Swedes , besides being ploughed and harrowed , was all digged . He did not tell you that very nearly the remainder of each man ' s allotment was highly manured with ashes and guano , and sown with turnips , and that if the turnips were bad it was because of the lateness ot the season . He did not tell you that upon 110 acres of the Land that was not burned there was 1830 double horse-loads of the best manure—all stable and cow
dungeither put upon the Lander behind the cottage upon each allotment . He did not tell you that there were nine tons of guano and hundreds oF loads of ashes put upon the land or distributed amongst the allottees . Now what I assert , and I defy contradiction , is that there was not a farm in England in a higher state of cultivation , or more highly manured , than the Lowbandsfarm . And I state it in presence of those who saw . it , and I defy contradiction . Why the dunghills were the talk of the country . " As to the 71 . Us . for the 200 days' work , the calculation was too minute—it was something he could not grapple with . Then , as to
Graham , and his family being without shoes and stockings—it was arank falsehood . Graham hold four acres , and was a credit to his class . He worked on Lowbands as a labourer , and when he came there he ( Mr O'Connor ) had to lend Mm six shillings , to buy a shovel and a pickaxe , and , to his credit be it spoken , he was almost the only man who did not get the loan money j and he said , his rent was there whenever it was called for ; and when hs saw him he was well-dressed , and his mother was wellndressed , and it was miserable to make these exciting statements , which were totally without foundation .
* As to the proposition of Mr . O'Brien— ' that one quarter of each allotment should remain in grass '—though a practical agriculturist , he appears to have lost sight of an important fact , which is this—when I buy an estate , all the grass land is in a lump , and all the tillage land is in a lump j so that I should find it rather difficult toselect an acre of grass out of four acres of stubble , or four acres of ploughed ground .
"He would now deal with the assertion of f Farmer Lee being obliged to pick stones off his land to buy coals . " And if ever there was _ a malicious insinuation , this , ^ he would prove , was one of the most malicious . Now , what was the fact ? and it was a singular thing that he ( Mr O'Connor ) was , most providentiall y , in a situation to answer insidious statements which appeared to carry weight upon their face . Now . here was tho fact . When he ( Mr
0 Connor ) was at Lowbands . with Mr Crawford , in June , Lee brought them out to the roadside , and showed them a large heap of stones that he had gathered off the land , and said that the road surveyor had contracted to buy them , and he asked him ( Mr O'Connor ) what they were worth , observing , — ' You see that will pay some of the labour on the land . ' Now , he would ask , if there could be trumped up a more paltry , but apparently a more pathetic story ?
" But now he would come to the real and the irrefutable position of a four-acre man at Lowbands ; and he felt assured that that Conference would be thunderstruck when they heard it , and then heard their complaints . The four-acre men had received 502 . in hard cash . The allotments were cultivated in 1847 ; each had half an acre of potatoes , aud a portion planted with cabbages and Swede turnips . A large proportion of the remainder sown with turnips , and the remainder in the most perfect state for putting in wheat . In October , there were four bushels of wheat sent to each , from Minster Lovel , of the very best description of seed , for a change . Mr Kershaw . —Only three .
Mr O'Connor . —Well , three . I thought it was four ; but that was enough of seed for an acre and a half . They got two cwt . and a half of guano in bags . They had a quantity of dung behind their houses . They had fully a year ' s firing behind the cottage . Every allotment was divided by a French furae hedge ,
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and divided fro : r . the r . ^ ail by a French furze hedge . There was a double iow of pear-trees and apple-trees , of the very best description , planted at each side of every road , and not one ' sixpence had been paid by any of them , and now they grumble ! ( Shame , shame . ) And now he would establish their character for industry . He would ask Mr O'Briea whether it was true or false , that a number of those French furze hedge-rows , which are tender , and require to be well weeded , are choked up , and smothered with weeds ? Mr O'Brien . —I am sorry to say , it is too true , in many instances .
Mr O'Connor . —Then , Good God , ' is ifc not clear that nothing can be done for those men ? And is it not clear that as one scabby sheep infects the whole flock , that a few of those idle fellows may throw discredit upon the whole Plan ? And he fcegged to remind the Conference that there were but a few of the vermin , but that the vermin had the ear of the enemy . He would now sum up the grievances of the men of Lowbands .. The four-acre men , like all others , had their ground highly ' cultivated , and highly manured . Half an acre of potatoes , cabbages , and Swedes , almost ready for
use—nearly a pound a-week in money—three bushels of the best seed wheat—two bags and a half of the best guano—their allotments divided with furze seed—a double row of apple and pear trees planted—a house , rent freefirewood behind the door , and two years crops —and not fone single fraction paid . ( Loud cheers . ) Now , then , while in this state , they were consulting amongst themselves as to whether they should pay any rent or not . Thus scheming as to how they should rob the poor , Mr O'Brien .-I deny that , They certainl y consulted an attorney about it . ( Laughter . )
Mr U Uonnor . —Well , that looks something like it . But what he told them and their attorney , and that Conference was , that , under those circumstances , he would eject every man who did not pay his rent ; and that Conference would bear this fact in mind—and it was the great fact—that the danger to such a Company as that was the management of its affairs being entrusted to an individual , who , at the expense of honour , would seek popularity by silencing the complaints of those who could be won and kept silent by misapplying the funds of the
Company to their use , while those who are unlocated were robbed and deceived . ( Hear , heap . ) In that consisted the strength of this Company , that he , who had the principal management of the monies , could always answer the complaints of the growling by aa appeal to his own integrity . ( Hear , hear . ) It was a well known fact that Company ' s money was considered a legitimate source of plunder for all ; but while he gave his own money , and his time freely , he was economical—nay , stingy , of the monies of the poor ; and he would illustrate this from what he had done for some of the
occupants at Lowbands . Before they were entitled to the Joan , he had lent one £ u 10 s . of his own money , another £ 10 , another £ 5 , another £ 5 , and another £ 5 . One had honestly paid him the largest portion of the £ 5 he lent him ; another who never worked a day , got the ' Aid Money , the Loan Money , and £ 5 from him ( Mr . O'Connor ) , and cut off to America . "Now , Gentlemen , in conclusion , I invite every man who has any—the slightest—complaint to urge to come forward and state it before this Conference , and I will answer it , not by sophistry but by facts ; while I apprise
you that , hencetorth , the rules you lay down shall be strictly abided by , as it is better that you should ride us , the Directors , with spurs , than allow us too much latitude ; and , notwith . standing all the odium that has been cast , or attempted to be cast , upon , this Plan by the rascals who have been most fortunate , and who have the servile Press at their command , I swear that I would rather have four acres of the Company ' s Land , at the Company ' s rent , than sit behind a desk or stand behind a counter at a salary of 4 / . a week . And those idlers who want to sellto go back to the gin
, palace , will not understand that they themselves are depreciating the value of their own property in the market . ( Hear , hear . ) Do not talk to me about the Small-Farm system ; I took five Members of Parliament to Lowbands in June . Mr Sharman Crawford , a practical agriculturist , was one of them . They were not only delighted but were astonished and amazed beyond measure , and such a sight of teeming abundance was never seen in England upon the same amount of land . But yet I am chargeable wiih the potato rot and the wet harvest . Well , the same may be said of
Snig ' s End , which some viper says was badly cultivated ; that , teo , was like a garden in July , and , but for the potato rot , would have astonished even the occupants . Now , I trust I have satisfactoril y and calml y replied to ^ every assertion of Mr O'Brien ' s and that this Conference will affirm it . ( Hear , hear . ) And another word and 1 have done . It is this , that those who sell now in this dreary month of November , when May-day comes will only be too happy to add what he can get within the time to what he got , and to go back agaitt to his allotment /'
Mr Kershaw , who appeared hs a deputy from Lowbands , then made hi « statement . He said that it cost him 6 s . 9 d . for nails and gimlets for building his pig sties — that ha ; had sold pigs to the amount of between 5 / . and 6 / . —that it had cost him 6 / . to buy coals to boil food for pigs—that he now had pigs for which he refused between 71 . and 8 / . —that hisharvest was yet unthrashed , and that the allottees were in a miserable condition , and none of them could pay rent , and he has paid so
much for seed and straw , and five shillings for two pails , " Mr O Connor : "The position of the Lowbands deputy is truly awful . I cannot say a word about the 6 s . 9 d ., it is very minute ; the money received for the pigs has , of course , gone to the stock of capital . He has over 11 . worth yet , and all his harvest , and he is not able to pay 6 / . rent '; but as to the cost of seed , surely there never has been a failure in any crop to the extent that would not return the amount of seed sown or planted "
Next came Mr Beattie , the deputy from Minster , who claimed 3 / . 15 s . above the Aid Money , for work performed upon his allotment ; and . this part of the proceeding is so interesting , that , although it occurred upon two separate days , I shall give it continuously , not to break the thread . Mr Beattie gave the most melancholy account of the condition of the allottees at -Mirnter ,
and especially of his own . He stated that his allotment had not been cultivated since the days of Adam ; that his privy had been raised by a flood ; that he had to employ seven men to remove huge roots and Btones ; and that he had expended all hia Aid Money , and was now in a state of utter destitution ; that nothing had been done to his allotment , and that he did not know what to do , ( Continued to the Fourth puge . )
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¦¦¦ I ^ l GLASGOW MUNICIPAL EJECTION . VRIUMPH OF THE CHARTIST CANDIDATE " OVER THB LORD PROVOST AND M P . FOB GLASGOW . On Tuesday last , Mr James Mcir , at the request I )' ' a numerous body of eleotors , con ' eated rhe second ward agaicat Alexander Hastie . Luni Provost , and Member Ot Parliament for Glasgow ; raid .-. hbountx every influence was used and money lavishly expenrfed by the honourable tnemb r to secure' is return , Mr Moir was piaeed at the head of the pull . At the close at . four o ' clock , the numWa were—Moir , 180 ; Gilmour , 176 ; and Haetie , 169 . The return of our old friend James Moir , h- | given great Bstistaotion to tho Chartists of Glasgowj and will be hailed with dolight by the Chartists of Borland and Scotland generally .
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Petrington . —Cholera still prevails in this town and the neighbourhood . Last week one death oc curred—that of a Mr Robson , an officer of Excise * Three or four new cases have been reported , some of them with faint hopes of recovery .
To The Members Of The Rational Land Company-
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE RATIONAL LAND COMPANY-
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/^ fir , * AND NATIONAL » i ) ES' JOURNAL .
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VOL- XI . No 577- LONDON , SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 11 , 1848 . Vl ««^^ SSSTi - - , - ¦• • ¦¦ :- ** \ , rive Shilling * awd atxpeace per Quarter
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 11, 1848, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1496/page/1/
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