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Leader (1850-1860), 14th June 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 568

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      Untitled Article

      of adhering to the original purpose , they strive which ¦ will divide most profit among the members , and the average sum is about 30 s . annually upon a capital of the same amount . But one of the associations has outstripped all the others in point of prosperity . At the bypast term the dividend declared to each member is £ 3 5 s . 2 d . on a capital of £ 2 . Thi 3 is doing business to some account ; but we cannot allow ourselves to think that it is a proper mode of dealing ; for it is just giving a poor man an article at a high price , which he considers cheap , and then giving him some money at the end of « . year . This association , however , seems determined to go on to as great an extent as possible , as a house property was purchased for it some time ago , aud is now

      undergoing alterations so as to be occupied as a shop . — Glasgow Sentinel . Bobert Owen ' s Birth-day . —The eighty-first anniversary of Robert Owen ' s birth , was celebrated at the ' « Mount Pavilion , " Staten Island , on Wednesday , May 14 . The tried friends sat down to a substantial dinner , with Mr . Bass for their president , and Mr . Thompson as vice-president . After the dinner was over , the president called upon Mr . Edwards for the first toast , and that gentleman arose and proposed the health of Robert Owen , at the same time giving a brief outline of the early portion of Mr . Owen ' s public life , and he particularly dwelt upon the grand social experiment at New Lanark in Scotland , explaining clearly and eloquently

      the results of Mr . Owen ' s labours , and the causes that led him to retire from the management of that establishment : "At that time Mr . Owen was the most popular man in England , and was surrounded by and associated with the greatest men of the land . But the day had then arrived when he was to lose that popularity , and he did so by fearlessly developing great principles , proving to mankind that society was based upon a fundamental error , the explaining of which was sufficient to array the whole Church against him , and make all those with wealth and power to cling to it with the greatest tenacity . " He concluded by describing Mr . Owen ' s virtues , and showed how happy we should all be could we but imitate such an

      example . Mr . Sully cave the next toast , which was , " Liberty , Equality , Fraternity—The Social Reformers of all nations , may their triumphs be speedy throughout the world . " He beautifully illustrated the first three words , and explained that without Fraternity , both Liberty and Equality were comparatively useless . Fraternity , therefore , was the greatest of the three . Mr . Sully was followed by Mr . Weitling , who related a little of his Social experience in Germany and France , and described his gratification on meeting with Mr . Owen ' s works ; he also alluded to Christ as a great reformer , and was of opinion that many of the principles he promulgated would , if carried out , be good for mankind . Mr . Crabtree read a poem expressly

      prepared for the occasion , and Mr . Macdonald gave a brief review of Socialism , showing the enthusiasm that once hurried so many too far in advance , and the present cool , though steady adherence to those great truths that Robert Owen made known . The worthy president and vice-president made some appropriate remarks , and the meeting adjourned to the lawn outside the building . The remainder of the afternoon was spent merrily with dancing , singing , ' and conversation , and the company returned to the city by the seven o ' clock boat , and arrived at their homes in a rational time . The weather was delightful , the scenery beautiful , and the sea-breeze so healthful ,

      that each person seemed to enjoy himself as if it was one of the happiest of their days . — Boston Investigator . Thom , the Pout , and his Family . —In the centre of the Western Cemetery , Dundee , a small stone at prfsent marks the last resting-place of William Thom , poet of Inverury . Out of funds collected at the time of his decease it is said a monument is to be erected . The younger Jortion of his family , left entirely orphans by the sudden eath of Mrs . Thom , soon after the poet ' s , are placed with an uncle near Aberdeen . The committee in Dundee who hold the subscriptions collected at his death , which reached to about £ 300 , apportion £ 2 per month towards the little ones' support .

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      EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE . June 4 , 1851 . Sir , —You will , doubtless , agree with me that the want of education is the most frequent cause assigned by " the powers that be" for their refusal to allow the people the exercise of their just rights . That it is one of the greatest obstacles which Beformers hare to encounter is also a -well-known fact . In ignorance , priestcraft and intolerance find their greatest bulwarks and crime its recruits . The interests of society , therefore , require its speedy and complete removal . We shall also , I doubt not , agree that it is one of the primary duties of Government to put the means of education within the reach of every subject ; but as almost invariably this duty is neglected , it behoves all who have the welfare and prosperity of their fellow-creatures at heart to supply the deficiency as far as they are able . But the question arises—How can it be done ? Where are the funds to come from ? Who is to commence it ? My answers to these questions would be—Let all who feel a desire communicate with their friends and neighbours on the subject , and try how many they could persuade to join them in opening a night school where children and adults could attend free of cost

      and receive such instruction as the teachers might be able to afford . The expense would be by this system so small that there could be , I should imagine , but little difficulty in raising funds to meet it , neither would the tax on one ' s time be great if a few coadjutors could be found . It being the wish of myself and a friend or two to attempt something of this kind in the village where we reside—in an agricultural district—I have written this for insertion in your Open Council , if you can afford the space , hoping thereby to attract the attention of some of your more enlightened correspondents , whose suggestions I shall be happy to receive , and which may , perhaps , be of use to others as well as Your obedient Servant , Invicta .

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      THE SOCIALIST CAUSE . London , June 10 , 1851 . Sir , —I shall commence this letter by thanking you for your past exertions in the Socialist cause , and by saying that the Leader almost comes up to what I should consider desirable as an outspoken organ of the new opinions , and far exceeds what I should have thought possible as a commercial speculation , calculated by the necessity of the case , so as to " pay . " On one great depurtment of sociul reform I conceive that you fall short most strikingly ; but when I consider that you must not too far shock Messrs . Brown , Jones , and Robinson , who advertise , or may advertise in the Leader—the snid Brown , Jones , &c , having wives and daughters who read , or may read , that paper—I suppose I ought not to grumble ; but wos not the review of " . Realities , " last week , too prudent ? Having said thus much , I proceed to the objects which induced me to write this letter . Firstly : Have you any idea of rcpublishing in a collected form , the letters of Thornton Hunt , on the theory of Communism ? They have been quoted in the Edinburgh Review , and much dwelt upon by friends and enemies , and yet they can only be got jit in the back numberB of the Leader . They lire not only , as I believe , the best statement , of the subject in the English language , but they are especially suited to catch and retain the attention of the literary class—the clasB which , uh yet , has paid least attention to Socialism . I should like to see them published in

      u hnndsome volume , by John Chnptniin . Secondly : You promised some time ago to give a series of papers in the Leader on the " Positive Philosophy of AugUHte Oointt * . " I know your facilities for procuring a clear and vivid presentation of this author ' s theory , and I must call upon you to fulfil the pledge . The nynopsis in Lewes ' n Bioiji aphical History of Vhilowjthy is , if I do not mistake , the only existing guide for the general public , and this has probably done much to instruct ; but I nhould wug gent that the tu ' . ries in the Leader consint of eight or nine long papera , jso thut u detailed account might be offered . Thirdly : Will any of your readers join me in

      asking for a statement , as popular as possible , of thte " extreme" development of Socialism accepted bymany of the most recent German thinkers ? Vague hints concerning this system are all that have appeared in English literature , and a notice of a work by Grun , in the North British Review is , as far as I am aware , the best information yet given . From all I can gather , Proudhon , amongst popularly-known Socialists * seems to approach nearest to the German ideal—but still to be far from reaching it . The names of Fuerbach , Bruno Bauer , and other such writers , are sometimes met with on the pages of reviews ; but the editors seem to be careful that nothing but the names shall appear . Will the Leader lead the way ? " So no more at present" from your grateful , but dissatisfied correspondent , W .

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      LIFE ASSURANCE . Birmingham , June 10 , 1851 . Sir , —With reference to your article on Life Assurance , in the number for May 31 , no reference is there made to one objection to assurance societies , which will probably always give the preference to hoarding with a numerous class , viz ., that their calculations are based upon the supposition that things will always continue as they are , so that their investments shall pay a uniform minimum rate of interest . Thus they should write at the bottom of their prospectuses , " Revolutions excepted . " Can any of your readers tell us what effect the continental revolutions have had on assurance associations in France and Germany ? Setting aside such a prospect for rotten " Old England , " however , what would result to the numerous English assurance associations , if the consequences expected by many should ensue from the influx of gold from California during the next few years ? I am , Sir , yours respectfully , X . O .

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      OBJECTIONS TO MARRIAGE WITH A DECEASED WIFE'S SISTER . Dover , May 10 , 1851 . Sir , —I am aware that , looking at this proposed measure from a purely rational position , the arguments in favour of its adoption as a law are indisputable ; but I am not so clear upon the consistency of those persons who , while professing belief in the divine origin , and , therefore , in the infallibility of the Bible , can still be its deliberate advocates . I am not induced to make a few remarks on this

      subject out of a spirit of opposition to their advocacyon the contrary , I consider it a just one as far as it goes ; but at the same time it must be observed , that I treat the legality of any marriage as an abstract question—a question of nature , apart from all books , churches , and traditions , and as an humble inquirer after truth I merely seek to learn how they can reconcile their opinions on this particular point with their religious faith . Doubtless some friend among your numerous readers will be ready to give me an explanation .

      In Lev . xviii . C , we read , " None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin ; " and St . Mark in his Gospel , x . 8 . says , " They twain shall be one ilesh , so then they are no more twain but one flesh , " and consequently the wife ' s sister is strictly sister to the husband . Here the query arises—Does death dissolve the relationship ? If so , where is it so stated ? or if it is not so stated , are we to take it for granted , and why ? Proceeding from a different view , we have in Lev . xx . 21 , " And if a man shall take his brother ' s wife , it is an unclean thing , " &c . Might it not be implied from this , that it is also an unclean thing to take a sister ' s husband ? Hoav else

      can the words " Covet thy neighbour ' s wife" extend to coveting thy neighbour ' s husband , which they evidently do ? If it were granted that the sentence does include the sister ' s husband , then how could it be argued that the interdiction comes no farther than the termination of the Jewish dispensation us to him , but still continues as to the brother ' s wife ? Standing on exclusively Scriptural ground , my object ia to ascertain whether there exists decided Scriptural justification for mnrriago with a deceased wife ' s sister , and if there dops not exist such justification , to obtain proof that there ia also an absence of prohibition . Yours very truly , Rl ( 'HAKI ) FllIKNl ) .

      Ddjreu Council. «^^

      dDjreu Council . «^^

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      _ flN THIS UKPA 11 TMKNT , A * AM . Ol'INIONS , I 1 OWKVKR KXTUKMK . AUK ALUIWIIll AN KXrillC . H . HlON , TIIIC IC 1 MTOU N J £

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      There in no learned rnun but . willeonfeaB ho hnl . li much profited by runtime eoiitrovemiefl . his nensen uwnke . ned . and ! us jiKl ^ iru'nt . Ml mrpcucd . li \ then , it be nroll Ublefor turn to " r «» i < J , why should it not ., wUeiuit , be tolerable for hia udvurmny to write . —Milton .

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      N O N-lt K SISTANU K . June 10 , 1851 . I 6 m , — I think the " dangerous and unwholesome I doctrine" of non-rcBiHtunce may bo disposed of very I ummarily , somehow in this fashion : — " Man was /

      evidently intended to live in society ; society is impossible without rights ; and rights can only be guaranteed to their possessors by the * pains and penalties' attached to their infringement : and , therefore , society is , and must necessarily remain based upon the * forcible resistance to oppression . ' " The principle , then , of resistance may be considered as fully established . The amount needed in any given instance must depend upon the exigencies of the case , and may vary from the " gentle Force " required to remove an intruder from one ' s house , to the " deeds of bloodshed " , of a battle field .

      I wish to convince your correspondent * ' Farewell , and . all othets who hold his doctrine , that his doctrine leads to an evident absurdity . The principle of non-resistance is violated equally by the imprisonment of a ruffian , and the slaughter of Waterloo ; and if this ruffian is not to be interfered with , then society is at an end . Yours sincerely , E .

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      668 ff |) £ Ht&fr £ t * fl 3 ** * " ** _ _ ... _ ¦ - ii i i | - ir , - , -- ¦ - ——^—^— ¦ r-m-- M !¦<¦¦¦ !¦ jii i i _ u ___ l _ j

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      MONKY MARKET AND CITY INTELLIGENCE . Saturday . Consols , which have been steady , graduall y rose from 073 to 98 on MohtUy to 98 ft to j on Wednesday and Thursday . Consols yesterday reached 97 | to J ex <| iv . The duel nut ioiiH have been : —Consols , from 97 i | to 98 A ; Hank Stock , 211 \ to 212 . J ; and Exchequer Uilln , from 4 ^ h . to 4 (> h . premium

      There was n further advance in Peruvian yesterday ; the Five per Ccntn . were done at 88 and 88 ^ for money , and 8 HA , 89 , 88 J , and 89 for the account ; the Deferred , at . 4 ' 2 , 4 ' 24 , i , und £ . The other triiriBaetioiiH in » hc official liftt were—Hiicnos Ayr <« , 56 ; Ecuador , « ljf ; Mexican , ' M ' i and g ; Portuguese Four per Cents ., 3 > ' 4 and i ; lUisaian t ' our-and-a-Half per Cents ., 1024 ;

      Commerriai Slmxa.

      Commerriai SLMxa .

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 14, 1851, page 568, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1887/page/20/