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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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THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY . Las ? week an important inquiry v / as made at Rickmansworth , under the direction . of the Court of Chancery and 14 th and 15 th A ietoria , for dissolving the National Land Company and Chartist Co-operative Land Society , and for disposing of its lands , properties , and buildings , the principal estates connected with which aye situated at OcoimorviUe , or Herringgate , three miles i ' roin Eiekmansvrorth ; at Minster Lovell , nearWitney ; at Redmailey , near Tewkesbury ; and at Lowlands and Snig ' s End , neat Gloucester .
The sittings to inquire into ih& subject have been held here at the Swan Hotel , before Mr . W . Goodchap , one of the official assignees of the Court of Chancery , assisted by Mr . Roxburgh , as counsel and assessor ; Mr . John Tucker , of the firm , of Tucker and Sons , and Mr . Woodthorpe , surveyor and architect ; Mr . C . Roche , of the firm of Symons and Roche , representing the allottees or occupants , who attended very numerously .
The report of the official assignee set forth that the inquiry was instituted under the direction of the Court of Chancery , to inquire into the eases of all those persons to whom lands had been allotted , but who had relinquished title or claimed compensation for loss or expenditure in respect of them , and to ascertain , by the best and most economical means , to what amount the value of the capital and labour expended by the allottees had exceeded the value of the occupation , and the ad - vances of aid-money , seed , and stock made by the company ; and to determine the sum by way of rent to bo paid for past
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occupation by each allottee , who should prove his title making all just allowances . The report , whicli went ^ nr foS ? kto the origin and constitution of the National Land Com I $ regarded the purchase and allotment of lands and thebSotin " for members by Mr . Feargus O'Connor , a * trwte 0 Tvto I ! it } mT M I \ Fear ^ O'Connor , that he hacl purchased tLe Oconnorvilie estate , consisting of 130 acres for 2 , 344 ? subject to an anmmity of 602 . par annum , conveyed byT C by Mi . W P . Roberts , solicitor , of Manchester , on the -round teWoWl S 00 U aft " a ballOt " f 2 ' ' and 4 ^ W £ fl ™ H \* "tCQ * moiro } hP ™ » lm of the comoany who had paid 2 U 03 . deposit , bamgtne value of one share in the noMmn ^ A « , i- ~ -n-. Lj .- _ _ i _ t t , _ . -
company . The members - who became located weue ' prin'MDally mechanics or weavers , totally unacquainted with a g ricultural pursuits , from Stock ort , Bradford , Manchester , Leeds S hXLf A T tw ° -a ? re Mlotfced meml ) ei ' ' Elding one share , Had allotted tnem a house , two acres of land , and Vol . ; the threeacre members , a house , three acres , and 22 ? . 10 s . ; and the fouracre members of two shares , a house , four acres , and SOI In tins way the estate was parcelled out-two acres being set apart for tue school at the head of the estate . The members entered on their locations on the 1 st of May , 1847 . Some are still in
possession , others have underlet . . During the period they re mained they received aid-money , cultivation -money , and bushels of wheat . Some sold their right of location , which latter was of the average value of from 40 L to 1001 . In some cases distresses were levied on the goods , chattels , and growing crops : and this state of things continued until the act of Parliament tor wnvang up this and other estates in a similar position was obtained , and which , among other things , it is the object of the inquiry to determine and adjust . J The allotees , with some exceptions , have proved their titles to the allotments ; and the amount of back rent to bepa ^ dbv them will have to be determined .
Another main object of the inquiry has been to nay a visit to the estate and estimate its value and the present position of its occupants . . l O'Connorville is reached by a ride of about three miles from the Watford station of the London and North-Western Railway . Pne approach to it from the high road is by a long and remarkably narrow lane , running along one side of the estate fora mile up , with a tavern at its extremity . It is flanked on the other
side by Newland Wood , either end of the estate standing lu > h and exposed , and sinking into a valley in the centre , but presenting that aleak and unprotected position in winter such as would ba thought good only fora run over the country with foxhounds . Here and there , at intervals of five or six acres , are comfortable looking white cottages , surrounded by outhouses for husbandry , and small patches of wheat , potato , mangold-wnrtzel , turnip , tare , clover , and cabbage crops , all the produce of spade husbandry , the exclusive features of the O'Connorville svstem of
cultivation . This was the general disposition of things upon each of the three and four acre allotments . The produce , when in comparison with neighbouring farms , off the estate , where of course the plough is used , looked ruclo and ragged ; but this state of things may be accounted for by the very sterile nature of the land and the almost total want of the means of obtaining manure . It was upon allotments of two and three acres , thus laid out , that the experiment of the capability of the occupants living and paying rent proceeded , and the result is now looked
upon , even by its original promoters , as conclusive of the impracticability of the land plan . The cost of each of the cottages , consisting of four arid five roomed houses , is estimated at 100 ? ., but the value of them at this moment is considerably under that mark , the occupants of many stating that they are much in want of repair and that the rain enters the roofs . ' The expectation of the promoters originally was that the land might be made to produce three times as much by spade husbandry as by plough husbandry ; but without inquiry into the question as to whether this was a mere speculative theory , other causes seeming to have conspired to prevent anything like its realization . Observing strangers driving over the estate on the occasion
in question , the various occupants were naturally curious to know the object of their visit , and this furnished an opportunity for collecting from themselves information as to their position and prospects . A group of some twenty of them holding allotments assembled , and showed no disinclination to be communicative . The majority were dressed like farm labourers , and others not working on but holding allotments , and some living in London , were dressed like respectable tradesmen . These latter , it appears , having found it a hopeless case to live acd pay rent on three acres of land , had betaken themselves to
pursuits in the neighbouring towns and London , and by this means supported themselves and families , some of whom * lived on the allotments . A considerable difference of opinion was developed by these people in the expression of their opinion after iive years' experience of the land plan . Some declared that it was totally impossible for a man to maintain his wife and family and pay rent out of three or four acre allotments , while others as strenuously contended for its feasibility . Some asserted that they hacl been played upon and duped , under the captivating idea of enjoying a bit of land and communion of
labour . Others appeared to be of opinion that they had only themselves to thank for the deception , if any existed , in not using their own common sense when entering on the experiment , the generality declaring that Mr . Feargus O'Connor had held out preposterous expectations , and had broken faith with them , but that they " would not believe him' to be a rogue until it had been proved . " They attributed much of their want of success to the extremely isolated position of the settlement , being three or four miles distant from any market town or railway to which to take their produce , and to the difficulty that existed in obtaining manure for that produce , the fact being that the soil , instead of being a virgin , was an exhausted soil
, having been cropped for forty years without having its fertile properties renewed . Manure could only be carted at great expense to the spot , and in some cases bad cost as much as a guinea a load . ^ Latterly the feeling that previously existed against the political opinions of these people having undergone alteration , several of them , it was stated , keep up a , small interchange of trade with persons at Rickmansworth arid Watford , in the shape of exchanging farm produce for groceries and other articles ; but this is on a very limited scale . The neighbouring farmers will not employ them , and , indeed , almost make a laughing-stock of an O'Connorville agriculturist , saying , " They know too much for us ; we want men who whistle at the plough , not think ; !) and ridicule the idea of mechanics and
cotton spmners ever succeeding in agricultural pursuits ; and it is an ordinary thing with the farm labourer , when meeting an O'Connorville man on the road , to remark to his companion , " There goes a Charter . " The population of O'Connorville was estimated by those present to be about 170 persons . They stated that although they worked hard and lived hard they coul ' d not live on their allotments , but that combining their spade
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husbandry on the estate with pursuits off it they were much better off then the allottess on the other estates , but hacl the most , unproductive soil to deal with—the average depth of it bemg trom four to eleven inches deep and of a hard gravelly description . U is a curious fact that most of the allottees upon the land have been piying no rent for some years ; in lack , living on it and cultivating it rent free , and this arises from the circumstance
of no formal lease of the holdings ever having been made to them . Out of the thirty-six allottees only nine original ones remain , but there is only one allotment untenanted . I lie occupants state that if under the present inquiry they obtain tueir leases and Have their back rents allowed , they will remain on die estate rather than emigrate ; but as the act of Parliament contemplates a disposal of the property , the matter , as witn the otner estates , unless they are allowed to stay , is likely to end m a general » exodus" or ejectment of the occupiers , ine total rent paid at the commencement of the experiment was about £ 1 , 000 . A similar process of inquiry is to be applied to tne other estates in rotation , umior the order of the Court of Chancery and the act of Parliament . —From the Times
London . —One of the Ladies Shoemakers' Trades Society have resolved upon forming a working association as soon as their liuids amount to £ 50 ; their object beins ; to work together to manufacture for wholesale purposcsfbelievmp- that they can do much good for themselves without at present being burdened with a shop for retail purposes . Braditokd . —A new co-operative store is forming at Bradford ; the parties engaged in getting it up are merely waitin « for a copy of the model laws for the formation of co-operative stores , which are now in the course of being drawn up .
Newton Montgomeryshire . — A number of friends in the town are establishing a co-operative store , and have written to the Central Agency for rules and and instructions , ' which have been sent . We arc glad to find the men of Newton alive to this principle , for this town being the birth-place of iiobert Owen , should not , by any means be behind the lar * o towns of England in co-operative rmrsuits .
Yeadon , YoKKSHiitE . —The Working Man ' s Co-operative Association of Yeadon have commenced manufacturino- the following goods : superfine woollen cloth , fancy tweeds , marble streaks , scarfs , shawls , and handkerchiefs , which they warrant to be honest and good . The various co-operative stores over the country should patronize this and other associations , especially when the articles manufactured are of such general use as the necessarily arc . If this were done lull employment bo given to a number of men in ctiftcrcnt parts oi the country , and consumers might depend upon obtaining genuine articles of usg ; at the same time they would promote the principle of co-operation in all its phases ,
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METROPOLITAN POLICE . From the Edindurgh Review . ( Concluded from our last Saturday ' s / Star of Freedom . ) We now come to the Holford House Burglary . Mr . Holford having gone to America , left his house in the Regcnt ' s-nark under the care of servants . About two o ' clock in the mormn < v of the 14 th of October , 1850 , the butler heard some persons effecting an entrance into the dining-room . He awakened the other servants , and , having armed themselves , they went out on opposite sides of the house and suddenly attacked the four robbers , one of whom was knocked down and secured the other three escaped .
Several shots had been fired ; one servant , armed with pistol with a spring bayonet , had discharged it across a small bush at one of the robbers , at so short a distance that the bayonet actually touched him . Traces of blood were found and it was supposed that the man had been mortally wounded ' , and having run some way had been unable to go further , and had been thrown into the Regent ' s canal . The fact , however , was that in the darkness and confusion , the burglar had tripped and fallen just as the trigger was pulled , and had received no injury that his hand the end of the
except , striking bayonet , had been slightly cut , as well as grazed by a couple of shot and blackened by the powder , and the blood came from another of the robbers , who had been severely wounded in the head and neck by a random discharge of small shot . The third man was unhurt ; and nothing was found on the premises but a hat with some very small holes in it . The mode in which the police detected and arrested these three men , will illustrate our previous remarks , and show the working of a system which deans information over a wide area , and combines ' it for practical application . e
Next morning the prisoner was brought up for examination : he gave his name as William Dyson ; but among the criminal population names are assumed one day to be discarded the next , and afford no clue to the identity of the individual . The first step taken was to place among the crowd some keen observers to watch , not the case , kit the spectators . As the examination proceeded , and the feelings of the listeners became excited by the dramatic way in which the story unfolded itself and their varying emotions were more openly manifested it was noticed by the policy that tvro women were watchmo- the
proceedings with an intensity of anxiety which betrayed a personal interest in the issue . Slight as the chance was it was not neglected , and they were immediatel y marked for observation . After the examination , one of these women went to a beer-shop , the other to see Dyson in the House of Detention where he had been remanded . She soon rejoined her cornea ' nion , and botli were tracked across the river to Southward there they separated ; but from house to house the persevering detectives followed the trail of each , until they readied their respective homes . ^ Localknowledgebeingnow wanted , the Southwark , or M division was called into action . The woman who had to the
gone prison was recognized by them as the mistress of a house-breaker , commonly known by the soubriquet of « the Doctor . ' fhe other was soon after ascertained to be living with , and the active assistant of , a notorious ruffian of the name of James Malion . rhis of course directed suspicion towards Mahon . and now was telt the power gained by a systematic watch over the criminal population . All the prisons within the metropolitan police district are visited each week by an intelligent constable trom every division : besides which it is the custom , whenever an offender is arrested and taken to the police station , that he should be brought out of his cell , and placed in such a position that
every man of the division as he went on duty , had a good view of him , so that in time their faces became perfectly well known . Moreover , a patrol visits the thieves' houses of resort every night , and records in detail all those whom they find there . When it was circulated through the division that one of the Holford House gang , probably " the Doctor , " had been arrested
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0 s . 7 * d . ; superannuation , . . ; accouchments' £ > 147-funerals , £ 2 , 274 8 s . lid . ; loss by fire , £ 102 7 s . kd ' In eight years , £ 14 , 161 17 s . 3 d . The actual stock is £ 4 , 064 10 s . l | d ., being an increase since January , 1852 of £ 391 2 s . 4 id . Invested an toad and houses , £ 3 , 723 ; at five per cent , £ 107 3 s . 8 d . ; in shares in building society £ 57 17 a in Bank of England , £ 100 ; in banker ' s hands , £ 76 5 s bU making a total of £ 4 , 064 10 s . l £ d . There has been invested by benefit society , taken from stock , £ 3 , 480 , of which there has been repaid , £ 250 , reducing the amount to £ 2 , 230 . From the repayments received in the "building society on accounts of investments made , £ 493 has been advanced , makm <* the investments £ 3 , 723 , extending over a period of thirteen vears and a half . Originally invested by benefit society , £ 3 480 leaving a profit of £ 243 , besides the incidental '
£ 94 Od 9 d UNITED PATRIOTSNATIONAL BENEFIT 4 Nn FREEHOLD LAND AND BUILDING SOCIETY . The columns of the Star have from time to time reported the progress of this valuable and ably-managed Institution From the statement of its aitairs on the occasion of the members celebrating their ninth anniversary , we learn fhit ir . the Benefit Society there have occn registered 2 , 680 members During the last year 617 members joined the society 177 members left , and twenty-one died , making the increase 419 There has been expended to April , 1852 , for sickness £ 9 544 /\ rT 1 Jl - ,... » n-Hnwm 1 A- / -t nit __? fi 4 / "V . I / % 1 -t ' . 5 " * " " *•
expenses solicitors ! and surveyors' fees , &c , being paid . The monthly r e-payments on the money adduced , amount to £ 37 £ JS lid the quarterly payments to £ 109 9 s . 2 d . ; the repayments are again invested , and the stock increased thereby . In the building society , since February , 1852 , to July , 1852 , £ 817 has been invested , making ta total of £ 2 , 518 10 s . 6 d . The monthly income averages £ 160 .
These figures indicate the safe character and nourishing position of this popular society . We have now to notice another step in its onward march . Lately the Society has taken new ofiices at the corner of George Street , New Road St . Pandas , and on Saturday last , was laid the foundation stone of what will be a large and handsome building in the rear of and attached to the dwelling-house &q of the
Secretary , llie new building itself contains a large hall calculated to hold some five hundred persons , together with a number of ofiices , committee-rooms &c . The building which promises to do great credit , both in design and execution , to the contractors Messrs . Randall and Young ( members of the society ) will "be Imlit of stone—partly Bath , partly Portland . The front , including a handsome portico , will face on to
George-street , and will greatly improve and embellish that neighbourhood . On Saturday last was laid the foundationstone , with the usual formalities , by Mr . Benjamin Bond Gabbell , M . P ., in presence of the Secretary and other officers of the Society , together with a number of friends and neighbours . Mr . Beale of Piccadilly , surveyor , delivered an appropriate address , in . the course of which lie detailed the
society s progress ; and . elucidated its merits and claims upon the support of the public . Mr . Cobbell , responded in an excellent speech . Subsequently , a silver medal , bearing an inscription setting forth the Society ' s esteem for , and admiration of , the philanthropic character of Mr . Cabbell , was presented to that gentleman , and drew from him another feeling address , in the course of which he expressed the warm interest he took in the society ' s progress , and his earnest desire for the multiplication of such admirable institutions . Having other engagements , the worthy M . P . then retired . Immediately afterwards , the company sat down to an excellent
dinner provided by the esteemed and hospitable secretary , Mr . AY . D . Rufiy . The viands were of tite best , and in abundance . Mr . Linton , of the New-road , right nobly filled the chair , supported by Messrs . Rufiy , Beal , Morgan , Davis , Hutchings , Harney , &c ., &c . The duties of Vice-chairman was ably performed by Mr . Dyke . On the cloth being removed , toasts , speeches , and songs followed each other in rapid succession . Mr . John Harney spoke to the good old sentiment— " The people , the source of all power . " Mr . Mr . Beal spoke several times in the course of the evening with much force and eloquence , especially to the principal toast— "Success to the United Patriots' Benefit and
Freehold Land and Building Society ; also the health of its indefatigable founder and secretary , Mr . D . W . Rufiy . " Several other toasts were done full justice to . At a late hour the company retired- delighted with their worthy host ' s entertainment , and united it one cordial aspiration for the onward and unceasing progress of the United Patriots . It is expected that the new hall will be opened to the public in November or December next .
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 4, 1852, page 11, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1694/page/11/
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