On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
^^ ===== LITERATURE. zz=^z= -— " - LITERATURE
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
j ^ S ocialisme—Pratique . Par Jean Pkrre Brevet , Paris j 850 : — ,. ,. = ' T his is another ana an important contribution to the literature Of soeialisnv ~ another attempt at the solution of . the social problem . & is necessary that our readers keep in remembrance the fac t that Brevets work was written long before the coup d ' etatfor however good his theories may be , it will of course be mpo ^ ssible to procure their immediate realisation , a contin-env Jvhich seemed probable enough at the time the book was
uritien . As the production of a working roan , Le Socialism P ratique is doubly interesting , inasmuch as one who has la bowe d for twenty years in the fields , and for a similar period of time in the workshop , must be better enabled 10 judoe of the p racticability of any scheme for the organisation of labour than the mere theoretician . The object of the writer of jhis work will be seen by the following extract from an excellent preface , by Emile Varin : —
«> . B' » t in our France , where every citizen is part of the sovereign names by direct sufferage the men who make the laws ; in order to obtain tv m eans of the universal vote , a majority of wise and honest lerislators , representing the interests of all and of each , whose laws , founded on good sense and equity are durable , and preserve the country from new and constantly recurring civil wars , it is needful for the safety of society that the electors he all healthy in hody and mind , and thus equally enabled to procure suitable labour according to their aptitude and physical and intellectual strength , by which may be satisfied all the wants of their material and moral life . And all merely political reforms , even the most radical are this
powerless to produce happy result . Thus the great stock-jobbers have never suffered much by them . It appertains to socialism alone to destroy usurious parasitism , and to enable the sovereign citizen really to enjoy the prerogative of sovereignty . This is why the great capitalists are terrified by it , and instinctively repulse it by every means in their power . Moved by the sufferers of the agricultural proletarian , the proletarian artisan , and the proletarian of the army ; animated by sentiments of sympathy with the general interest ; and penetrated with that robust conviction , which give 3 a persevering faith in the divine principle of democracy , citizen Jean Pierre Drevet , has coinposed this TOlurne , which he submits to his fellow-countrymen , and to every well-intentioned man . His design has been to make public his ideas of a new social
organisation , possible , practicable , realisable immediately , without the overthrow of things that be , without spoliation , without any struggle against esstablished rights and powers , whether they he just or iniquitous , Everything precious or unhappy occurriug to a country coming from a good or evil govermental administration , Drevet proves that liberty is sufficient for progress , and that all ameliorations , whatever would arrive to us successively and naturally , if each would give himself the trouble to study with care and ardour , the principal ijuestton of association , a question admirably known by the eternal drones of ihe human bee-hive . He acts by directing towards good that principle of association which , for thousands of year ? , has been turned to the prejudice of almost the whole human race . "
Howpver well in theory such may be , we cannot but regard as a great evil , even the dream of delivering mankind from social misery an'i degradation , without first overthrowing existing institutions * Avithout first being in possession of political power , and using tha t power for ihe destruction of the social tyrannies which keeps the people in their present condition . The monster crime of the 2 nd of December , his own exile , must have convinced citizen Drevet of the folly of the attempt to separate the inseparable branches of the ievoluiion—the political and the social . The men of ' 93 did not leave social progress to struggle in the grasp of the old social tyrannies . Hear Citizen Drevet himself on THE SOCIALISM Of ' 93 .
" What has been said has been so calumnious that it is necessary to make known the position of those on whom such critiques hare been made ; it is enough to say that these calumnies have only come from the privileged of that time , discontented at losing a portion of the black-mail which they levied upon all us ] ioor workers , whom they considered as these property ; thus pretentions ] were destroyed when the people raised the cry of liberty , a has les tyrant I Vive la Bepubiiquci Government of all for all ; protection for the weak against the strong ; or , in other words : bread for all , instruction for all , poor or rich . Such is the veritable aim of the revolution ; the true revolutionists desired nothing dee in ' 03 . It was , nevertheless , these demands on the part of the people dying of hunger , which caused so much rage on the part of the aristocrats of ' 93 . The
"ODles then possessed a third of the territory , the higher clergj a third , and the other third appertained to the poor people , who alone paid the taxes ; for the land of the nobles and the priests paid nothing . They believed that one who was not 01 the nobles or the clergy , could never fill any high station in the state , so much so that the nobles who had gone over to the armies of the Kings against France their country , said to the King ol Prussia when he was making preparations to invade France : " you need not take to many precautions for meeting the French army , since it is only composed of tailors and shoeriiakers , of people who were not born for arms , far less to command armies . " Hut alter having himself seen what the new French army could do , the King of Prussia said to the nobles who accompanied him : " these tailors and
shoemaker * whom you disdain do hetter than you . " The law of primogeniture existed with the noblesse : everything was given to the eldest . It was that unjust law which caused Mirabeau to revolt against the King and the nobility which disinherited him as cadet . He was ane of the first and most eloquent defenders of the cause of the oppressed ; but he loved not the people ; ail the good that he said was spoken only that he might arrive at fortune . As soon as Louis XVI . and his associates presented him with the corrupting vase full of gold , Mirabean abandoned the cause . of the people , a cause which had inspired so many beautiful pages and admirable speeches . He died in the arms of corruption , despised ty the people who had adored him . The nobles and the clergy possessed , then , > iot only two thirds of the territory , but almost all capital , and with that every
office , and all instruction . So many privileges exercised upon a people for centuries l \ a& assmed them of a ready obedience , fov 1 o the influence which they possessed over their domestics , their workmen , their debtors , their farmers , und the soldiers , was added all the power of religion , yet all that could not suffice to Preserve their privileges , which were so unjust . The number of Frenchmen who arose to combat them , animated by the holy cause of justice , found fourteen Armies to" vanquish , not only the priests , the nobles and the misled French soldiers who fought for the maintenance of the privileges of the aristocracy , but alorg with all these the coalition of foreign powers , that the nobles hud brought to defend their pretended rights . The cause of right has never been so valiantly defended as bv the soldiers of the Republic of ' 93 . It should not be forgotten
Uiat » he army was disorganised , that the nobles who were its chiefs , had deserted «* masse , with arras and baggage to the enemy . It was necessary to find soliliuw and officers among the people , who , until that day , had been esteemed incapable of accomplishing great deeds . It is useless to recapitulate all the bonders that proceeded from that new organisation : genius , courage , devotion , v "» tue , nothing was wanting . There is that in the history of the revolution from ' . SO to ' 93 . which shows as clearly as day , what may be done by a people tiiat lias obtained its rights , a people become proprietor , and called to enjoy the benefits of the new social order . It i * capable then of doing that which it never e ° uld on account of its masters . It must have been that the men who
accomplished such great things in ' 93 , were moved by a powerful sentiment . History lfi Hs u « how powerful was the aristocracy , that it shrunk from no attempt to Treat the march of the revolution ; it withdrew all its capitul to paralyse com-*»*«* , to bring labour to a stand-Mill , ( as was done in February 1848 ) . It iiiouopolist'd all their provisions , in order to conquer the people by starvation , tt'rich was not difficult , by forbidding the farmers to sell their grain , and the fej-iuera of the umtccracy were numerous , they forbid them also « o lake as-• Mnats . In these moments , when the soldiers of liie Republic , without shoes , bivouacked in the snow , with a little straw at their feet ; in these moments , when thousands of unfortunates died of cold anil hunger , there were meu devouring
totals that cost 300 franca a head . The men who governed them , and on whom t ! 'e privileged have desired to throw so many crimes , would they not have been more guilty a thousand ' times , if they had taken no measures to preserve the lives ° f the poor people , in order to please the nobles and the priests' ! What would it J'ave mattered that half the French people had died of cold and hunger , it would
Untitled Article
arTs o acv diS „„ V ""? "" " , Ut Cl ° ™ - They Were Poor toile ' * l » m the un ' theJ * " , t coi !* ™ % the attention of those who " had governed Ze forLl ' | , repUbliCanS Wh ° then g 0 Verned ' ™ ^ ink ilk . Thprln , nWh 0 kn 0 W not what " S <* , cold , and other calamities are They know no better now . But the good republican who then goZedS £ i r ft 0 CralS t 0 mke the people die of hunSef i «™ arrested the SdSTw ^ IfT tl ! C nlon ° P ° li 6 er 8 of m ™ y > «* conspirators who or . STh a ££ ? tl dei > fments > for in nesting the chief ofth , conspiracy , here 19 arrested the germ of a war which would devour millions of per on * , if the chiefs were left at liberty to organise it . . A man was in prison at Paris -he 11 * 1 the ¦ ** ! * $ f >>«¦ Hberty to ^ to
I ^ A , »• ° was rep Brittany , where he organised a band of rebels , Whose number in a short time exceeded ten thousand . If justice hud been done upon that man there would hit * been no need for many thousands of soldiers to perish . The aristocrat * cried loud enougli when one of their partisans was arrested or condemned , but they had not a smgle sigh for the two hundred thousand soldiers who perished in the war in Vendee . Then , do the aristocrats regard the soldiers as worthy of attenuon ? For the rich , a poor soldier is only good to kill . But on the other hand wnen one of theirs is arrested , - or condemned as a traitor , they cannot cry loud enough about the " drinkers of blood » nor h » ve pens enough to write histories Plaintive for him and calumnous for his foes . As they have kept all instruction to themselves , and as it is only the rich who have the leisure to write , and the
money to print their writing * , those who Have written history have nhvays deceived i » . They have told us that the republicans who defended the people were blood-thirsty brigands , and they have not forgotten to say to the people that tnose who fought for the aristocracy were martyrs and snints . We other * , poor children of the people are compelled to believe them ; we neither know nor understand what the aristocrats wish to leach us , and God knows that what they have taught us is to love our enemies and to curse our friends . Thus have priests lied in their sermons , and the rich in their histories . 0 you , our fathers , you who died the victims of your devotion for the iimelibratioi \ of the condition of the poor people , pardon us all the calumnies that the aristocrats have put into our mouths , may they be cursed , they and their descendants if they continue in
their desire to deceive the people , and be ye for ever blessed , generous defenders of Humanity ! Yes , the republicans of ' 93 took energetic measures to insure bread to all , and notwithstanding all their good intentions and their active surveillance , much misery still existed . But they could not be too severe against the detainers of food , hunger had made such cruel ravages . It . was necessary to punish severely the monopolisers of provisions . They made a law obliging all detainers of grain to place it in the hands of the government . "The bakers to make bread , so that each ' , rich and poor , may receive one pound per head . No person to have more , since the present is a time of dearth , but no one shall
want . We would not have the grief of seeing a great number of good workmen die of hunger ( it , the moment when others , who produce nothing , eat meals at a cost of 300 francs a-head . The butchers will do as ' the bakers : meat nhall be distributed equally to the poor as to the rich . , Ii is necessary thut the workers be assured that there is bread for them as well as for tha monopolisers ! The government being the tutor , the purveyor , and the councillor of all the governed , its dut" is to watch that no one dies of hunger . Workmen shall not gain less than fivo francs per day , domestics shall not serve for less than 500 francs a year . Those who wish to be served must pay generously , or serve themselves . '
It will he seen by the measrires in the interest of the poor , taken by the Republican government , that its intentioo was to ameliorate the condition of the wretched . All it did was to insure for them a happy future . But the rich aristocrats , who had always had the government in tiieir hands , and hnd never troubled ' themselves with the people except fo deprive them of a portion of the fruits of their labour , vowed ah implaceable hatred to Robespierre , to Couthon , to Marat , to Saint Jtist ^ and ' ' t 6 all those who had the most laboured in the Revolution ; because the rich , seeing tnemselves condemned to eat the same bread as the labourer , they could not pardon the democrats for having paid the people
to instruct themselves . Thus it is proved that those stern Republicans wished to deceive the people , and to make them more miserable . ' Yes , they wished to deceive the people by instructing them ; was not that a good means of concealing from the people the snares that were laid for them ! Arisios , the thought has never entered your mind to enact towards us similar farces ! It is through love for the people that you have left them , in ignorance , that you have put tho lamp under the bushel , it is for the happiness of the people that you have taken possession of all the well paid employments of the state , that you have seized upon the plans in the courts of justice , so that the poor shall not have justice against the rich .
We have not space within the limits of this notice to fully tiace ihe author ' s theories of social organization ; but ihe following quotation , relating to the evil of the merely minute subdivision of the lam ! , and showing the necessity for the application of the principle of co-operation to the cultivation of the land will be found interesting :
AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION . Witness the large capitalists , the bankers , all those who Yu . Ua the fund * us the government becomes more aristocratic abroad as at home , and who lower thorn as the government becomes more popular . Well , nil those gamblers of tho Bourse , all those insatiable vampyres who rejoice in tho misery of tho people , are themselves communists in the large town * , and above all in Pavis . They have a magnificent monument called the Bourse ' , which is common to all those who sell , who purchase rentes , even every species of merchandise . Do not be terrified , then , if in your commercial associations there be something in common for you , such as your church , your town hall , your roads , and your tolls . Since we are so near agreeing upon community , let us not be divided by the
aristocrats , who show those combinations to be impossible only with the view of turning your attention from them , and who try to frighten you , in order that we may not agree upon a remedy for our miseries . We beg you to examine if the remedy which we propose would augment your well-being , and if there is a possibility of putting it in practice . That done , you need take no other counsel than thut dictated by your wants . If the inhabitants of the communes do not enjoy the well-being they should enjoy , it is not in consequence of the want of territory , but rather the want of the means of cultivating that territory in such a manner that it shall produce all that it is capable of producing . Thu division of this territory , without the separations which are prejuJical to its working , so that its only aim is to maice a greater number of nronrictors , is good , because
the man , become possessor , becomes more moral , more interested , more responsible , and takes a more anxious interest in the prosperity of the country . It is not , then , the acquisition of a morsel of earth for each individual that is a shackle to the production of the land ; no , a thousand times not That , is useful —it is needful to give to each worker thu means of becoming propriPtor by his labour . But it is necessary to hnve the means of cultivation , to procure manure , which is wanting to almost every workman . The mechanic , who has only a small amount of work to execute , cannot procu . e all the instruments necessary to execute properly all the work that is brought to the workshop . Small proprietors are in the same difficulty . To cultivate a small portion of land , there are required the same instrument * as for a greater . To show tho truth of this
. nore clearly , suppose a proprietor possesses a certain portion of land , which he cultivates with four horses ; at the death of tiie proprietor , his land is divided amongst liia six children ; the division of the farm in » ix port- necessitated for each part instrument * of labour and buildings almost as t : o » 8 iu . erable as for the whole of the original farm . There beuin the difficulties , and even the impossibilities ; for if the first proprietor could mnke thu expenses to procure all the objects necessary for its culture , the production of the entire ) farm P «» 'l for tli « KC expenses , while each of the farm tools was used throughout the greater part of the year . It is not the same with that part or portion of each child , for a plqugh is needed for the ciiluvation of a hundred acres ihe same as for a thousand ; the same witlui harrow , carta , and a barn in which to pluCO thtt croni und the
ctuite . I ln *? injj thus shown the certain ruin of" the proprietor who would iittMiipt by hiimelf to cultivate > tn inlinite simal siiure of his mother earth , lh « author nfcei-e ^ to detail ins lynn- dy : We propose to make of the territory of the commune one single farm , which will be cultivated by the inhabitants of the commune , who could and would work on the communal farm . It would be composed of all the properties , each of w !; ich wouiel be traced by the purchaser , who would faithfully represent all the territory of the commune , in order that the place of each propriety be visably deigned , and tho name of the proprietor inscribed , with a number in a booh containing the details and the value of e : » ch of the portions marked on the commune map . The labour will be regularised , so that each season will have its product , and each labourer receive his part . Tho < o who aro nut possessors , as those who are , will have assured work throughout : he ye . u . The worker * of tho
Untitled Article
or . ov ™ 1 o ivi ( e V llt 0 «^ l « or brigades , which will choose one or nit SI If , T ° A « *» b brlsnd- «»«»«» «* " •»• * como proceed o 1 , f T ° U ( farm ' and to W e " A IcrR to ' cach < ^ * ' [ Z cltZ It * ? r * and d ° " : l 1 and 8 Uch 01 * - » ttsse » * ° ** * no anceoM e rn ustahui « penorn , a « d more according 0 the ini" I ? L ° i i . ? »^ ™« the commencement of each season to dificuHciinrl vntn aii * i fuuiiiieiiceineni oi cRcn season to Sed b
ISii »* e th * , Zt T asures prop <) - v the coini » iltce - *** ^ to e-nder an I coult T ? ' ? ropO 8 ition > a «* «»• committee shall bo compelled gate ^ haU doZd W T " ^ ° t ™ **•«*«¦ th e majority of th . dde-S b Led bv 1 n hC COmnmne < The ( lai 'y ^' ° ' * " *•*«« . £ SSrfS ¦? » = i ^ s = ^ r is "i' : zz ^ i ?*; ' ! " * - ¦ «»<»~*"« ZJsxfc
There has crrtainly , been great resistance made to all i . mov .-11011 .. " ! any « f t' » e sciences , but far more than any other in that of mecUcine . Ihis . is quite natural , and yet nowhere is reform so much nwded us m the practice of medicine . It is a « reat error to suppose that the opposition tochange proceeds principally or altogether from ihe medical practi . iot . er * . it j s not so ; the opposition from we great mass of the people iliemeelvu is U more formidable and dime
u . U to overcome . If a " medical man deviates but one iom nun the estHbl » h « d . purse , lie only succeeds in inspiring his palenis wuh distrust or con . en . pt . Still , w « would by no means » ave it mlerred tlwt the members of the medical profession , a a body , or , indeed , many of its individual members , have very m-eat soiujitude for reform in ihe practice of medicine . The majorit y of th <; m have never really thought on the rules by which they were giuaed . They act . not by the dictates of reason , but simply from tradition . We have a notable instance of this in their treatment of apoplexy , lhis disease is occasioned by the burstiiiL' of n bloodves * el in the interior of the head , by which blood is thrown out upon the brain . The pressure of this extravasated blood imoii the brain causes complete insensibility . If a surgeon be called in to a person in this state , the first thing he dops is to bleed himBut
. hemust . dothWinerel y because it has always been done , and not because of any sound reason . His object , avowedly , i > to remove the pressme from the brain , but if he bleed till doomVday , he will not thereb y succeed m removing the exiravasuted blood That can only be taken up unuluall y by the absorbants , and if the p * tient is weakened , by bleeding , the power of nature to effect thi * is destroyed , and \ he man diet . How very rare indeed it is that a person rallies ftoman apopletic fit after " having been bled . Were
the medical wiseacres clairvoyant , and able to ' foresee the approach of an ftflack , prewow * bleeding would , by relieving the tension of the cerebral blood-vessels , ward off un attack , and secure the existence of those threatened ; but failing this power of seeing into the jmddle of next week , it would be well if they would 5 tay their blood-letting , and give nature a fair chance . We »; ive this ns an instance of the danger we incur by suffering medical knowledge to be a monopoly . We hope to see the day when a knowledge of the laws which regulate our physical life will be deemed one of the
most important branches of popular education . There will , even then , be needed those who will make the treatment of disease their especial study , and these female , as well as male —for we regard the non-existence of female medical practitioners as one of the most monstrous evils of our barbaric " civilisation , " —but thero will be sufficient general knowledge of the subject to enable the public to guard against the ignorance of boih legitimate and illegitimate professors of the hailing art . Until the importance of medicine
as a branch of general education shall be recognised , we should welcome and tncourage every effort made to instruct the people on this subject by means of the press , and without agreeing with all the opinions he expresses , or looking upon his method of treatment as perfect , we can conscientiously recommend Air . Skehon ' s book to ihe attention of our readers , as tt bv 110 means despicable contribution to the m « dicu ! literature of the people . The information contained in it will amply repay its perusal . ,
Counsel to Invlntors of Improvements in the Useful Ams . By Thomas Turner , of the Middle Temple . London : F . Elsworth . We ate well aware that talent for invention exists to a verv largtt extent among certain portions of the working clasps , iioiabiv mechanics . We are aware also that the productions of their talent in many instants yo 10 enrich lite men of money , without the
inye ntor hem * in nny Way benifuted . On tins class of persons Mr . Turntr . has cm ; fcrrf . d an important ueiiitii by thv publication of this work . Here may be found , clearly set forward , various points of law bearing upon inventions and improvements . Not only are the rights of inventors explicitly detailed , but the value , classification , ami history of inventions are fully gone into . Our scientific Iriemis will find -Mr . Turner ' s work extremely inteie .-tiug , while at a book of reference it is invaluable .
Echoes or the Heart , liy John George Watts . London : Wiilougliby and Co . 'lhe . se I ' or-ms are ( he outpourings of an earnest and a onerous soul , and as mi--. Ii can scarcely fail to obtain a hearty welcoim I ' hey breathe throughout a true love for human liberty and proeres- " Lie hr > t pte .-e , enuiled " The Workhouse Gite , " » a welt-drawn picture oi one ct . our most hiwiless social tyrannies- . Few working men . but will fc « l pleasure in reading " this small volume of poeiiealeffusio . i ihe " Lchoes ofuhe 1 W" of one of the . r own order .
Untitled Article
conteSf ? 5 TY hli ; ^^^ -We understand that it is in 5 tIv wKn frnnfirfT ^ l ° ™? teUmm tU « mOT 8 the P ™* nilg Ifth . w f »^ i ground > aml enict u row ot" raili » s's ' movement Z ZH' wi * f ? 1 h 08 P ita * - Thi * wl 11 bc ll ^ ™« \ dsm i f I " ' u ° ? btles 8 ' lead l 0 a S ° ^ w « v being formed from iNelson-stNet to the whole extent of the hospital property . American Survky of tiik China Skas .-TIus service , we understand , ia to be performed by the United States steamer Alleghany , now fitting out at the JNavy-yardat Norfolk . The Allcyl . any was originally built with uunter s ' submerged wheels , " but side wheels have now been substituted , awl she luw undergone extensive repairs and alteration ? , with a view to increased efficiency , and will be despatched as soon as these are completed .
Monument to Colonel GARDiNER . —The committee for erectinj ; a monument to Colonel Gardiner lu \ T > agreed that the must suitable spot tor the erection is at the bottom of the lawn in front of Bankton floutsa close by the Tranent station of the ttorth British Railway . It . i » prooosed that the monument shall be of aa obelisk form , thougu ' the es > ict model is not yet agreed upon .
Untitled Article
fi ==:== THK _ STAB _ 01 ? MEED ( I M . ' , „ _______ ¦ ¦
^^ ===== Literature. Zz=^Z= -— " - Literature
^^ ===== LITERATURE . zz = ^ z = - — " - LITERATURE
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Oct. 16, 1852, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1700/page/13/
-