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Leader (1850-1860), 29th November 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 1138, Untitled Article

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      of the operatives employed in the mills of Sir Elkanah Armitage , which , in this instance , happily led to the formation of a joint stock association , composed of a number of small capitalists , workers , and traders . Yet this is only the first step to a more perfect system of organization , in which the distribution and division of produce and profit or surplus , after the cost of labour has been replaced , shall be adjusted on more equitable principles . It is a scheme , however , which offers the most direct and powerful inducement to the at the

      practice of self-denial and oeconomy ; while , same time , the Association becomes a moral , industrial , and self-supporting school for training the operative classes in habits of order and of industry . Under the competitive system , the rate of profit depends upon the ratio which capital bears to population . Where popu lation is in excess , wages consequently low , and capital deficient , capital will take the lion ' s share of the produce of labour , and , indeed , will always be invested in those countries which offer the greatest amount of profit and of security . By the extension of the principles of free exchange we become diin the

      rectly and deeply interested , not merely prosperity of our own country , but also in that of every other nation ; and , as society is compelled to sympathize more or less acutely , consciously or unconsciously , with the moral and physical disorganization of each one of its individual members , so we musb in like manner sympathize with the social disorganization of every petty State on the surface of the globe . As mankind becomes more perfectly organized , the existing social anarchy will gradually disappear ; and the power of individuals for good and for evil may be said to vary with the strength , or science ami morality , and the weakness , or ignorance and superstition of

      society . Among those who took an active part in the establishment of the Whit-lane Association , I may mention the Reverend T . G . Lee , a Nonconformist ; Peter Chappel , formerly a calico printer , now the keeper of a beershop in Deansgate , Manchester ; William Barnes , the manager ; and Peter Grundy , the engineer : the engine is one of eight-horse power , made by Gryton and Watts . The Board of Management consists of seven Directors elected annually by the shareholders , and the following is their first report for the half year ending June 24 , 1851 : — << yo TiIB SHAREHOLDERS .

      " CxKNTiiEMKN , —In laying before you our first half yearly ivport , we cannot congratulate you on profits * , as the suite of the trade has been unusually bad ; and , as strangers in the niaiket , we have found it difficult to get a connection , or to dispose of our goods at prices that would pay us , owing to the fluctuation in the price of cotton yarn . We cannot but consider that we have met with some difficulties in the market , owing to our being a company of working n . rn , trading for themselves , as we find by looking over the ledger of the warehouse in town ( Duke-street , Munehestt-r ) , that a great number of the . buyers huve been parties well able to purchase hirgf * quantitit s , but who have not done bo . Many

      of them have bought one , two , or three pieces , for the purpose of seeing the cloth . They havo acknowledged it to hi ' , good , and some of them are now giving larger orders ; m > that we consider a poiti <> n of our former dillii uluen overcome . The cotton and yarn market is now a great deal steadier , and in addition to that -we shall havcj a regular ugent in the town and at the works , who understands what sort of cloth will best tuke at all times , so that , with the itHftistance of the Jloard of Directors , he will be ready to say at what juice any nori of cloth can be made , and the time any order can be completed in . The Salesman we h ; iv <; engaged will give us security lor £ 600 , or any other amount which may be deemed necessary from

      lime to me . " Although we have got through many of our diillculties , it cannot as yet be supposed that we have Hurmounted them all . We havo a large stock of i . lot . h on hand , and but a small amount of money to carry on the concern with . Jlut should the market improve so as to enable us to clear off « large portion of our goods , « s we anticipate , we shall be better off . At . | ih <> same time wo consider that the Jloard of Directors should have at least u capital of £ 700 , Ite-idcrt a stock of yarn nnd cloth , to enable them to conduct the concern to the benefit of the bhareholdern . To meet the tsmergenciea of bud trade , experience has taught u « the necefluity of this ; and w <; hopo that every shareholder will do lm utmost to raise the required sum .

      " You are aware that wo had difficulties to contend within iho commencement , having no chimney on the ground to » uit our purpose . We havo had to build one , which cost us upwards of £ 20 , besides tho Iobb of time and iho extra consumption of coal

      occasioned by the old one . Twelve hundred pounds have been expended in machinery and fittings * whilst the ( £ 5 ) shares already taken up amount to about £ 1440 , leaving us only a very small amount of capital to carry on the concern , which could not have been done without the assistance of credit , and which might have been much better done with ready money " We find that the first * cut' was woven on the 20 th of February , 1851 , and from that time to the 24 th of June we have been enabled to weave 727 cuts out of 40 loomB , which have not been kept constantly going , owing to various circumstances ; 361 cuts have been sold , and 366 remain on hand , besides the stock of yarns . From this it will be seen that we have not been doing worse than our neighbours .

      " There are one or two things that we earnestly wish you to take into consideration . " 1 . In the choice of your Board of Directors we would say , let them be men who do not work on the premises , as far as it is possible . *• 2 . We can confidently say that all the hands have attended well to their work , and have done their duty to our entire satisfaction . But in looking over the wage-book we find that we are paying rather unequally , and that a saving might be effected in Rome of the branches without injuring any one , and at the same time to the benefit of the company .

      •* In . conclusion , we can congratulate you on brighter prospects for the future , and more especially if it be in your power at the present time to find us sufficient capital to cover the vacant land in front of the mill , for which we shall have rent to pay very shortly . You are well assured that it is the desire of all parties to make your concern as large as possible , seeing that it does not take the same quantity of coal to a large engine in proportion to a small one , and involves no extra wages to engineer , bookkeeper , salesman , and many others that might be enumerated . "

      In the horoughs of Manchester and Salford there are two other associations besides those I have enumerated , and also a number of cooperative stores , or societies established for the purpose of supplying articles of clothing and of consumption , in retail , to subscribers at wholesale prices ; or rather at the mere extra cost of distribution , after payment of interest on the capital invested . In Manchester there is a branch of the Central Agency , in Charlotte-street , Fitzroy-square , which , if it succeed in obtaining the support and confidence ( which it ought ) of the operative classes , may render them most important and valuable services , both as a wholesale agency , and as a " Labour Exchange . "

      The Dyers in the boroughs of Manchester and Salford form a body numbering some 1700 members . They have established several Cooperative Stores ; and in their " Address to the trades of Manchester , and to the dressers , dyers , and finishers more particularly , ' * they state that " they allow pecuniary support to 270 unemployed men , who receive weekly sums , varying from 10 s . to 4 s ., according to membership , " which allowance to the

      unemployed who determine the rate of wages is made to prevent them from beating clown the wages of the employed . How much more beneficial and profitable would be the establishment of a " Cooperative Association " of dyers , for the purpose of employing the unemployed in productive labour instead of maintaining them in idleness—the prime minister of evil ! The Dyers state in their address that : — -

      " The subject of cooperation is not new ; it has been tried in almost every country by working men . It ban had its failures , like many other measure * which have been adopted for wise and benevolent ewln . Prom these the wise and practical men of the present day havtt learned lenaonH of prudence , and hence it is that almost all the cooperative stores , which are numerous in Lancashire , Yorkshire , nnd other parts

      of the country , are now in a flourishing condition . The principal cause of the failuren to which we allude , has not arifien from any defect in tho principle of cooperation , but from the apathy of th * working men themMclvea ; who have deposited their hard earnings , in many canes , with that class who huve no sympathy for them , uud who poBHess a power which they Beldom exercise for the welfare and happiness of those who live by the sweat of their brow .

      " In addressing our fellow men w « Lave to lament tho fact , that serious and general reductions hare taken place in their wages The man at the spindle ; the weaver nt the loom ; tho cutler at the frame ; tho smith at the anvil ; the joiner » t tho bench ; tho mechanic at the lathe ; tho tailor , tho ahoemnker , and every working man , nnd every working woman , with few exception * , havo been reduced in their waged . Reductions nnd strikt-s uru things of almost duily occurrence . This then being the case , how absolutely incumbent it is that a now fettling should be created among the operatives to assist each other , and thus prevent , an far as possible , that deterioration in their social condition which in rapidly taking place . No

      working man , therefore , ought to expend a sin £ ? ie penny without knowing whether such expenditure will confer a benefit or an injury on himself or his fellow-men . If working men would more aerioualv reflect than they appear hitherto to have done thev would soon learn that mutual co 5 peiation would be the most powerful lever in raising them to their proper social condition . If we look around we have undeniable evidences of the extent , power , and utility of cooperation . Our railroads , canals , banks and building societies , have been formed from the combination of capital . The united capital of many whether rich or poor , can-work wonders .

      •• The profits arising from the cooperative store during the first quarter will be returned to the funds of the Dyers' Society , Let it then be remembered that this institution is that of the working men . Rally round it every week , and manifest your interest in its success . Show b y your efforts that your united capital can also be made as productive as that of any other party in the community . Never forget that the principle of cooperation is unbounded in its application . The success of our present undertaking will necessarily lead to a further application of the principle which may ultimately tend to elevate you considerably above your present condition , and stimulate your fellow-men to walk in your footsteps . " *

      Working men of England , do not forget that while the population of this kingdom has increased twofold during the present century , the wealthproducing power of machinery and chemistry has increased fiftyfold , and will continue to increase indefinitely . Are you , the labouring population , therefore , twenty-five times better supplied with the necessaries and comforts of life than you were

      fifty years ago ? Have your children been placed in those favourable circumstances in which they ought to have been placed , and which Robert Owen has proved to be indispensable to the formation of a virtuous character ? Are not the gaols , on the contrary , overflowing with juvenile criminals , trained from the cradle in ignorance and in vice ? Can the system of " laissez-faire" be the

      true " Science of Society" ? Kings , Priests , and Legislators , when the People Bhall demand an account of your stewardship , which sooner or later they will , what then will be your reply ? The most ample means are at your control to create a superior character , a superfluity of wealth , and a good government for all , amidst the most desirable external circumstances . William Coningham .

      Romance of Histout . — The most casual survey of history will show how tyrannously the emotions have coerced judgment—how the romance of history has blinded justice—how nations have been ciupeu by their own sympathies . What do we mean by calling Charles I . a Weened martyr , knowing , a 11 tne wh . le that he was a martyr to Ins own untruth , anu why do . we forget , in the misfortunes of this Charles Stuart , the collective misery of the English people - OlUUri ,, Lilt ; tmictuvc -. « - o , _ . j .-. ---- . " , » . r . nllill » his end

      , Simply became he was a king , and aPPjJ ™" like the fifth act of a tragedy ! Why w l ^ vai 1 ^ held up to execration , and Charlotte Corday *« ^ miration ? In each case the crime was th ^ BBfn r ; d assassination ; the motive was the same ¦ France of an enemy . But Kava . lac slew a g . g ^ Charlotte Corday slew the squalid , hatciui . i In the one case , sympathy ih with the ^ inlll . victim ; in the other , with the . ^ " ^ l , ^ these But , before the bar of moral judgment b ™ " 7 tjA assassins are guilty , or both ure guiltless .

      Quarterly Review , No . 28 . rwain B aflil A TlOBtt FlUGHTENED BY A MoWB . —J ^ P * . _„ Hall , in his Fragment * of Voyages and M ™ ' jjJuiBh the following anecdote of a ti K er kept at t im Keaidonoy at Calcutta :- » But ^ £ B ° 2 ck , or far more than our poking lmn up w » f mU tton , tantalising him with shins of beet or lL b ^ finei dy was introducing a mouse into his cage . . flp idir , ever exhibited moro terror at the flg '" , < m fleeing » than this magnificent royal tiger betray . du ^ ^ mouse . Our mischievous phm was w and animal by a atring to the end ot a «» b moment ho thrust it close to tho tiger ' * nose , y d when th « saw it , he leaped to the opposite mule , hinl , e f mouBO was made to run near bun . he ja inB ucU

      into u corner , and stood trembling »»? " ~ oftigcd to an county of fear , that we wer « "lwl J ^^ c * * o deaiat in pity to the poor \™ u- hore the uniimiBted on hi » pushing over the . pot for v » n r « lHconscious little mouse ran backward ^ him <» For along time , however we f ^ J V help ofaHq «> ' move ; till at length , I behove by J of paoinj we obliged him to fltart ; b » l '" A dotour to av > J leisurely ucrooa his den , or of making * a kin dof tho object of his alarm , he f cntra ^ ng hia b «* »» flying W ao high a . ^^^ Tkam ^' contuot with tho root of n »» Cl » Pa $ sion » of Animals . __ — i

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      _¦ - — ¦ — ' - _ . ;| nrt . »" * ' — a T " l 11 ~ rj ^ Ma » che « t ^" there is an " ^ JJ hat * * ' ' In Salford a very promising association oi

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      2138 tRt ) t % t& \ lt % * [ Saturday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 29, 1851, page 1138, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1911/page/14/