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Northern Star (1837-1852), 5th August 1848, Edition 3 of 3, Page 1, A < tion, before you can arrive at a jus...

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    • I , thB MEMBERS OP THE LAND I 1° J COMPANY. j
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      I , Thb Members Op The Land I 1° J Company. J

      I , thB MEMBERS OP THE LAND I 1 ° COMPANY . j

      -Tfv Dear Friends, This -Veek I Publish ...

      _-tfv dear Friends , _This _-veek I publish your triumph and mine , lv and fairly obtained over our avowed _^ A _concede enemies ; and surely , when the _*]( _* ! and every newspaper at the command * f even * _facti ° > _is attacking me , you at least II not consider it a waste of time ta rea . * t _fflV defence , for I needed none , but your s _lectio . whieh consists not so much in _reli-^ e upon tne law as in reliance upon my

      _Vigour . " _forking men , you who "have been so often _^ _. _^ _. _a , juggled , deceived , and cheated , and _$ _ persecuted for complaining of your _. - _ ranees , have you heard , or is there upon r _^ iird , a single instance of the affairs of a fompany , established for the benefit of the _jvor alone , being conducted , n _ naged _, and _actuated for , as the affairs of your Company _kjvejbeen conducted , managed , and accounted ; r ? Now , once more observe this fact—that , had I been a Whig' lickspittle , and had I _dejtrsy _. il popular confidence , by robbing the people ' s Exchequer , every attack upon me trould have been met bv a volley of Ministerial

      abase , and I shoald have been told by my " Risht Honourable friends below me , " not to _^ wer tbe impertinent questions '; and , if a _committee was asked for , to inquire into the _ air , the front rank of Whiggery would have hri _. tl-d up like a porcupine , and repudiated the notion of devolving upon the House the Mv of inquiring into the PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF A GENTLEMAN . But , however , as 1 mean to take a week ' s reflection as to the course which I shall now pursue , and which has been left open to me by the resolutions of the committee , either to wind up tbe

      affairs ofthe Company , or to apply , under the sanction of their resolution , to Parliament for some new measure for the purpose df earning out the expectations and objects of tke promoters of the Company , I shall confine my present observations to portions of the e vidence , after I have made a passing commentary upon the bearing and import of the re _» lutioHs of the committee ; and , in order to do so , I must explain the grounds upon which tie resolution was passed , which leaves it optional with us to wind up the affaire or prosecute the operations of the Company .

      Mr Henley , trie Member for Oxfordshire , and than whom there is not a more shrewd , more honourable , or more dignified member in the British Parliament , was the proposer of that resolution , upon the grounds , as stated in his speech , that he would not consent to 250 persons having the plum , while 69 , 750 had been the means of securing the advantages for them ; and that , therefore , as no measure had been submitted to the committee which would

      embrace the objects ofthe Company , as at present formed , that he was not prepared to sacrifice the interest of those 69 , 750 , or to say , after hearing the evidence of Mr _Finlayson , that the scheme was impracticable ; but , on the contrary , he thought that every opportunity ought to be afforded to the promoters of the Company , to realise , as far as possible , the copes of those who had not yet derived any benefit : and as it was admitted that neither the

      Friendly Societies act , or the Bill proposed by Mr O'Connor , would embrace the present objects of the promoters , it was his decided opinion that they should be allowed to apply to Parliament for some measure which would te _* t the practicability of the scheme ; and , by using the term " wind up , " ifc , by no means , imposed the necessity of * doing so upon the Company , but left it optional _withfthem to do so , or to prosecute their operations under an Act framed to embrace them .

      Mr George Thompson said that he fully agreed in the spirit of the resolution , and that every opportunity should be afforded to the promoters ofthe Company to realise the ardent wish and very desirable feelings of the poor who chose to invest their savings in a plot of ground ; and he , too , thought that it would be a great hardship—nay , a great act of oppression , especially after the evidence of Mr Knlavson , to close the door against the 6 QX ! S 0 members who had not been located ; and .

      seeing that it was the unanimous opinion of that committee , after the most jealous and searching inquiry into every transaction , , connected with the management of the Company , that the whole affair had been conducted with the strictest honour , with great spirit , and with the most perfect good faith , he would not vote for anv resolution which would aet as a barrier to the ' hopes of 6 £ > , ? o 0 of his countrymen , who he thought had a just right to invest their monies as thev pleased .

      Mr Feargus O'Connor said , that the resolution of the honourable member for Oxfordshire , gratified and perplexed him ; it gratified him , because he understood it $ spirit and meaning as intended by the proposer , but the words— " to wind up , " although optional , would be seized by the Press , and the enemies of the scheme , as " imperative . ( " No , no . " ) He ( Mr O'Connor ) could perfectly understand the meaning and intention of the honourable gentleman and the committee , but he begged to assure them that the Press would make a handle nf tfce term .

      Sir Benjamin Hall could not at all see the question in that light , or how the Press could so view it , as he presumed that the course would be to consult tbe shareholders , leaving it optional with them whether they would wind up the Company , or prosecute their operations under some new powers which Parliament mav be inclined to grant . "" Lord Ingestre certainly would not vote for the resolution if it had not been for the very satisfactory explanation that hadbeen given of in the

      it . import by the previous speakers , as present infant state ofthe Company he , for one , hsd no notion of saying , . that , under altered provisions , the plan was impracticable j but , on the contrary , the evidence of Mr Finlayson went to show that under an altered state of things it was practicable , and , therefore , as in his opinion the resolution left it open mth the promoters , either to wind the affairs of the Company up , or to prosecute the operations , he hoped the ' resolution would have the unanimous concurrence of the committee .

      Mr Walpole could well understand the difficult position in wbich the committee had placed itself it having passed the third resolution , which declared the illegality of the Company in it , present shape , and he thought that he could meet the objections of Mr O'Connor to the term " wind up , " by adding the following words to the resolution of the honourable member for Oxfordshire ; and as tbe committee had declared tbe illegalitv of the Company as at present constituted , and a . Mr O'Connor himself very frankly admitted the fact , he thonght it but justice ' to frame the resolution so that the parties concerned may be enabled so to construct the Company as to justify parliament in protecting it in its " altered position .

      Capt . Pechell said , that he would never consent to the terms " wind up " being inserted in the resolution , had it not been for the very satisfactory explanation given of those _^ terms , h y the several speakers who preceded him , but _5 i 5 in its present shape it left the matter optional with the promoters and the members , he could _ e no possible objection to it , with the addition proposed by the honourable _Member for Midhurst , Mr Walpole . . Mr _Monsell thoughthehad framed a resolution which would meet the views of the honeurable member for Oxfordshire , and the

      _w sh of the honourable member for -Nottingham . The honourable member then read the resolution , which , not meeting with the concurrence of the committee , was not put . The _^ Chairman thought that the best course would be to wind up the affairs of the Company , selling the Estates , and repaying the amounts subscribed to those who had not yet been located , and that under suck an _arrangement he had no doubt that ParliasieBfe woald give indemnity to the promoters , for the several penalties they had incurred .

      -Tfv Dear Friends, This -Veek I Publish ...

      Mr O Connor said , that the very sly and soothing speech ofthe chairman , reminded him of the very courteous appeal of tbe judge to the prisoner in the dock , when he asked him if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him ; but he told the committee that , as great stress had been laid upon indemnity for him , in order to secure his acquiescence in the winding up of the affair , that he did not care one straw for indemnity for himself , as compared with the indemnity for those who had confided in him , and he could assure the committee , that he would not only hand over all the property ofthe

      Company to trustees appointed by them , at a minute's notice , but that he would give 1 , 000 / . out of his own pocket , and forgive all that was due to him , to any professional gentleman that would frame such a Bill as would realise the object of the members , and that he would be sufficiently rewarded by still remaining their unpaid servant . But , in answer to the Chairman ' s very gratify ing assurance , of being able to sell the ' Estates not yet converted , he would remind the committee of this fact , that he knew no market to whicb he could take the joiners' work now completed for eighty-five houses , at Bromsgrove ; he knew no market to which he could take 600 , 000 bricks , burnt upon that Estate ; he knew no market in which

      he could sell tnat Estate , the hedges being every one levelled , the Estate now intersected with roads , and the cottages in course of erection ; so that the kindly and impartial proposition of the chairman would go to the deterioration of that Estate , to the amount of several thousand pounds , while the completion of that Estate , under his management , would realise several thousand pounds profit fer the Company , and as he ( Mr O'Connor ) was the person most likely to be sued for penalties , he begged to state , that if the committee bad not recommended that indemnity should be extended to him , that he would much rather pay every one of these penalties than be a party consenting to the winding up of the affairs , and which he felt himself bound to tell

      the committee that he never would consent to . He certainly not only felt puzzled , but felt it impossible to draw up a better resolution than that proposed by the honourable member for Oxfordshire , after the satisfactory explanation given by every member of the committee , of the term " wind up , '' and , therefore , he did not see how he could oppose it . Mr Henley said that his reason for proposing an act of indemnity for any legal penalties that might have been incurred , was that that committee had published to the world that which might invite informers to sue for those penalties , and he , therefore , thought that as the most open confessions had been made by Mr O'Connor himself , and _ fevery facility was afforded to the committee to arrive at those

      conclusions upon which the evidence would be published , and as there was not a shadow of suspicion to be cast upon the promoters , but , on the contrary , that all had been conducted upon the most perfect good faith , he thought , under those circumstances , that the parties in this case were equally entitled to that protection which had been extended to other companies similarly circumstanced ; and , again , he begged

      to assure the committee that from the outset his object had been to protect the interests of his poorer countrymen , who had invested their little savings in this speculation , and that the hon . member for Nottingham must see that the resolution proposed by him left it quite optional with the promoters , as to whether they would wind up or keep the Company open until the present members had all paid up their subscrip tions .

      The fourth and fifth resolutions were then put and carried unanimously , and were reported to the House en Tuesday evening ; the conversation on which will be found in another part of the paper , together with a short comment upon it-Here follow the whole of the resolutions as passed by the committee : — 1 . That tbe proposed additional provisions to th _Friendly Societies Acts which _aj-e incorporated in tb e bin entitled " A hill to alter and amend an act ofthe 9 th and 10 th of her present Majesty , for the amendment of the laws relating to Friendly Societies , wiU not include the National land Company .

      2 . That the National Land Company i * not cens-st-nt with the general principle ! upon which the Friendly Societies are founded . 3 . That the National Land Company , as at present constituted , is an illegal scheme , and will not fulfil the eipe-tat-on- held eut bj the directori to the . hareholders . . 4 . That it appearing to this committee , by the evidence of _several _witneise * , that the books of _proceedings of the national Land Company , as well as the accounts of the Company , hare beea most imperfectly kept , and that the original balance shee ' B signed by the auditors ofthe Company hare been destroyed , and only three of those

      balance sheets forthe quarter ending the 29 th ef September , andthe _ 5 _ of December , 1847 , and tbe 5 th of March , 1818 , respectively , have been produced ; but Mr O'Connor havingexpressed an opinion that an impression had gone abroad that the moneys subscribed by the National Land Company had been applied to his own benefit—this eommittee are clearly of opinion , that _although the accounts have not been kept with strict regularity , yet that irregularity bas been against Mr F . 0 'C _ nor _* g _, _intereit instead of in his favour ; and that it appear , by Mr Or _. y ' s account , there is due to Mr P . O'Connor the sum of . £ 3 , 238 5 s Sid , and by Mr _Finlayson ' s account the sum of £ 3 .-00 .

      5 . That con-idering tha great number of persons interested in the scheme , aad tbe bona fides with which it appears to have beea carried on , it is the opinion of this _com-nittee , that powers might be granted to the parties _coacemed , if they 6 hall so desire , to wind up the under taking , and to relieve them from the penalties to which they may have incautiously subjected themselves . In submitting these resolutions to the bouse , it is the opinion of your committee that it shoald be left entirely open to the parties concerned to propose to Parliament any new measure fer the purpose of carrying out the expectations _andobjectsjeftha promoters of the Com . pany .

      Sow , my friends , I should state that on Friday week the chairman submitted a voluminous report for the consideration of the committee , and as I intend to give the evidence at great length you shall have that repert hereafter . It would occupy more than sixteen columns of the Star , but when you read it you will be able to judge of the animus of the official receiving 2 , 0001 . a year of your money . It is a tissue of nonsense from the _beginning to the end , and artfully commences

      by attempting to show that the object of the company was of a political nature ; and then he seizes hold of every unconnected sentence printed in the several prospectuses and in the several rules ; he selects garbled extracts from his own witnesses , and the committee having had three days to consider it , on Monday last were prepared to reject it unanimously , when the chairman was compelled to withdraw it altogether ; and , had it been submitted , I was prepared to propose the fcllowing Report as an amendment : —

      SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY ,

      DRAFT REPORT . The Select Committee appointed to inquire into the National Land Company , have examined and considered the matters referred to them , and have agreed upon the following Report : — That , in the month of April 1845 , Mr betaeus O'Connor proposed certain rules for the formation of a National Land Company to

      delegates , from different parts of the country , _assembled in London for that purpose ; the object beiDg to raise a sufficient amount of money in sums , varying from threepence to one shilling , and upwards , per week , to locate the members of the Company upon allotments of two , three , and four acres , witb a cottage upon each allotment ; and the sum of £ 7 10 s . per acrQ to be given to the occupants of the resDective allotments as aid money to assist

      -Tfv Dear Friends, This -Veek I Publish ...

      them in the cultivation ef the land , and the purchase of seeds and implements . The objects ef this Association , as stated by the propounder , wer e—Firstly . —To open a wide channel for the beneficial emp loyment of the surplus population of the country . Secondly . —To establish a better standard of wages in the free labour market than the distress and destitution arising from the nonemployment of a large competitive idle reserve affords . And , Thirdly . —To open n profitable market for the small weekly savings of the indsstrious poor .

      That , in the month of December , 1 R 45 , a Conference assembled at Manchester , consist ing ef delegates , elected by the several members in their respective districts , and at whicii Conference it was determined that the National Land Company should be enrolled under the Friendly Societies Act ; and that in compliance with the resolution of the Conference , application was made to" Mr Tidd Pratt on the 17 th of January , 1846 , with a view to

      having the National" Land Company enrolled , but that officer seeing legal difficulties in the way refused acquiescence ; and it further appear ? to your committee , that hope was then entertained of securing protection for the National Land Company by embracing it in the provi . sionsof a * Bill introduced to Parliament by T . S . Duncombe , Esq , the honourable member for Finsbury : and it further appears to your committee that , about August , 1846 , When it was understood that the bill or Mr

      Duncombe , as amended by Parliament , would not embrace the contemplated objects ofthe National Land Company that provisional registration was resorted to , and that heavy expense was incurred in preparing the necessary machinery for securing ( complete registration , it appearing to your committee that a sum of over two thousand pounds had been expended in the prosecution of the preliminary requirements .

      That in August , 1847 . a certificate was procured from the registrar , allowing the Company another year to perfect the necessary arrangements for complete reg _i stration ; and that Mr O'Connor , the propounder , seeing the heavy expense to which complete registration would subject the Company , as well as with a view of relieving the members from heavy expenses to which they would . still be liable under complete registration , introduced a Bill into Parliament on the 12 th of May , 1848 , the object of which was to legalise the Company , and thereby secure its more speedy operations ,

      as well as to secure the members against fraud . It has beea stated to your committee , by the propounder of the Plan , that he never anticipated the creation of so large a fund , or the enrolment of so large a number of members as has resulted from the experiment ; and that , from the fact of so many having joined , and so much money having been subscribed , has arisen his chief difficulty . The honourable member for Nottingham has confessed to your committee , that these circumstances have led him to a violation of several Acts of Parliament ; but as it appears to your committee from the report of Mr Grey , accountant , and Mr Finlayson , actuary—that a sum of 3 , 400 / . was due

      to Mr O'Connor by the Company , up : m the 15 th of July last , the day to which the accounts were made up , your committee is of of opinion that none of those illegalities were committed fer the purpose of practising fraud upon the members of the Company , but that , on the contrary , Mr O'Connor ' s views , whether sound or visionary , have been carried out with perfect good faith and integrity . , The question that has been referred to the consideration of your committee is so large and comprehensive that it does not feel itself called upon to do more than simply report upon the two branches submitted to it by the chairman—namely , The application of the funds ; and

      The practicability or impracticability of the scheme . Upon the first question your committee has already recorded its opinion ; while , as regards tbe second question—namely , the practicability or impracticability of realising the objects of the scheme—this question , your committee feels is involved in considerable difficulty . Firstly , —The difficulty of realising the hopes of the several members ; and Second ?*/ , —The difficulty—nay , the injustice , of subjecting those who have invested their little savings in the speculation to disappointment , consequent upon the want of legal protection .

      As regards the question of practicability , it must mainly depend upon the facility afforded for the realisation of reproduction ; and your committee is of opinion , that that facility will be in proportion to the security that shall be afforded to the property of the Company , with a view of making it available in the money market ; and your committee is clearly of opinion , that this object cannot be as effectually achieved while all the property of the Company stands in the name of a single

      individual , as it would be if that property was protected by law , and vested in responsible trustees . And with a view ef securing this primary object—of extending security to the property ofthe Company , Mr O'Connor has expressed his willingness , nay his desire , to discharge himself altogether of the trust now reposed in him , if means can be devised by Parliament to secure , for the members of _^ the National Land Compa _' ny , those hopes , in the expectation of the realisation of which they have invested their savings .

      Your committee are anxious that the hopes of the 69 , 750 persons , from whose subscriptions , hitherto paid , the 250 have been located , should not be altogether paralysed ; and it has not been made appear to your committee , by the eridence of any of those members not located , that they are over sanguine , but are still ready to bide their time patiently , in the event of such advantages being given to the Company as will secure its permanency , and their protection .

      Your committee must observe , that the evidence of Mr Finlayson , the actuary , upon the question of practicability or impracticability , was mainly based upon the prospects of reproduction ; and , in his opinion , that that question wholly depended upon , the vie w that lenders , whether individuals or companies , would entertain as to the security of the property , whether mortgaged or sold , * and he further

      stated , that if tbis security was rendered satisfactory that he could see no difficulty whatever in realising the principle of reproduction , and would not , in such a case , consider the scheme impracticable . Your committee is of opinion , therefore , that the interests of the 69 , 750 who have as yet derived no benefit from the scheme , should , as far as practicable , be protected , and with this view your committee would recommend , _ .

      Firstly . —That indemnity be extended to Mr O'Connor and the promoters , to secure them from the legal penalties they have incurred ; and .... , , n Secondly . —To base the National Land Company upon a softnd legal footing , making such alterations in the rules and constitution or the Society aa to Parliament shall seem fit ; and at the same time appointing trustees , in whom the property ofthe Company should be veBted .

      -Tfv Dear Friends, This -Veek I Publish ...

      Your committee does not feel itself called upon to refer to the several Acts of Parliament—the Lottery Acts and Banking , ' * Acts —the provisions of which Mr O'Connor has confessed to have violated ; and for which violation yom- committee would not have _recommendecUany exemption from the : _stipulated punishment , had it nofc _befcftf for the perfect good faith wHh _' . _vrhichihe'f-tMs have been administered .

      Your committee cannot conclude its Report without again drawing the attention of Parliament to the subject which constitutes its chief difficulty—namel y , the protection ofthe interests of those who have subscribed their monies , and have as yet derived no benefit from the scheme ; and your committee must make a wide distinction between penalties incurred with the avowed intention of

      committing fraud , and penalties incurred from violation of the _lawlwhere no fraud has been committed ; and _further , hy calling the attention of Parliament . to the fact , that two acts of indemnity were passed to protect the promoters of the Art-Union against penalties to which they had subjected themselves for repeated acts of illegality , while the same society is now legalised , in ita former illegal constitution , with a view to the encouragement of art ,

      Your committee is of opinion that the Bill introduced into Parliament by the Honourable Member for Nottingham , would not extend such protection to the members of the National Land Company as was contemplated -, and therefore your committee , although appointed for the purpose of considering the provisions of tbat Bill , leave it altogether out of consideration , and would recommend the adoption of some measure that would secure the property of the Company to its members , and the realisation , as far as practicable , of those objects for which the Company was _established .

      Now , in the above Report , you will see that I have disguised nothing , and you will always bear these facts in mind . Firstly , —That when I originated the Company my words were , that I would present you with " a miniature of the full-length portrait of . what England might be made . " I never contemplated the growth of the Company to that extent which would require legal protection . It was established upon good faith and was to have been so carried on ; and when it promised to arrive at a monster growth you will find from my report , the several attempts that have been made to ensure legal protection and the manner in which I have been

      frustrated by the enemies of the poor , who , had it been established for your destruction , would have searched the musty archives of the world to find a precedent for its recognition . I will now call your attention for a moment to the evidence of Mr Finlayson , the actuary of the Savings' Banks—the actuary appointed by the Government under the Ecclesiastical Commission—the actuary of the principal Insurance Offices in the kingdom , and acknowledged to be the ablest and most finished accountant . The chairman , not content with

      having submitted my accounts to Mr Grey , who , a 9 I am informed , holds a situation in the Foreign-office , has a son in the Homeoffice , and a son in tbe Post-office , and a son in Tidd Pratt's office , and who examined my accounts , not as if I was an insolvent , but as if I was a fraudulent insolvent ; yet , after his minute investigation for more than three weeks , the chairman submitted those accounts to the further review of Mr Finlayson , and the result of which was that Mr Finlayson discovered that more than 100 .. more was due to me than was stated by Mr Grey . Eut for this gentleman ' s

      evidence—which is most material—I shall refer you to the " Labourer , '' with this single comment : —Mr Grey was examined as to the period within which all the members could be located , upon the principle of mortgaging each estate for two-thirds of its value . Mr Finlayson was examined upon the question of mortgage , and was directed by the Chairman to leave the committee-room for the purpose of making his calculation as to the time it would take to locate all the members , in case the

      property was sold instead of mortgaged , and that its value was stamped with legal protection , the Chairman telling Mr Finlayson to take two years ' as the standard of reproduction , allowing that only 230 cottages could be built and the property sold within that period ; but the Chairman , not liking the previous portion of Mr Finlayson ' s evidence , gave him the trouble of going into this elaborate calculation , but never recalled ( him to examine him upon the point .

      _Now , you will observe the bearing that this trick would have if any calculation was based upon it . I showed the committee that , in the first instance , I commenced operations , measuring them by the funds I had in hand ; while the ehairman would have limited my future operations by the standard of my past operations—that is , if I received 250 , 000 / . in driblets , in two years , that my operations are to be measured b y the same scale for every future two years , when I commenced my third year with my whole reproduced capital of 250 , 0001 . Now , let me explain this to you . When cramped

      for means it took me from May , 1846 , to May , 1847 , to . complete thirty-five houses and one school-house at O'Connorville—twelve months ; while , from March , 1847 , to June , 1848 , 1 built 215 houses , and three school-houses—that is , in fifteen months ; but you will see by Mr Finlayson ' s evidence , that the reproductive system mainly depends upon the legal value which shall be stamped upon the Company ' s property as security to money lenders . And now , what I undertake to say is this—and I defy contradiction from all the actuaries in the

      worldthat if the Company had been carried on in my own name , and vested in trustees approved of by the members themselves , and without any referenqe whatever to law that I would locate the 70 , 000 members in less than seven years ; aim * . if that legal protection was extended to the savings of the poor , that is extended to the roguish speculations of the rich , I would locate them in a still shorter period : and above al ) , I wish you to bear in mind that , with the means at my command , I would as easily build 20 , 0 Q 0 as 100 cottages within the same period .

      I think , as the chairman gave the House of Commons the benefit of Mr Grey ' s calculation , in reply to a gentleman who sits on the second Whig bench , that it is necessary you should have that gentleman ' s examination upon this point critically laid before you . Mr Grey said , that if two . thirds of the property of the Company was mortgaged , that the property would vanish altogether upon the eighteenth mortgage , and both his and Mr Finlayson ' s calculation of the expense of location , was

      made upon the presumption that only 230 cottages had been built ; and it was ako stated by Mr Grey , that as 6 , 0001 . in Exchequer Bills was in the hands of tbe broker , and not in the hands ofthe manager ofthe Bank , that , therefore , he had taken that 6 , 000 / . as a loan from the Bank to the Land Company . Now , thia was my comment upon the dissolving view taken of houses , rent , and Exchequer Bills , by the accountant .

      Firstly , —Twenty of my houses had vanished . Secondly . — Only two-thirds of the value of an estate _beiug mortgaged at four per cent ,

      -Tfv Dear Friends, This -Veek I Publish ...

      the rent of that estate , at the amount taken by him" ; over and above _payiHg _the interest upon tbe mortgage , would amount to £ , G , 3007 . per annum ; but I will give it to you in a plain sum . He presumed , in round numbers , that if all the members paid up , there would bs a capital pf 2 _* 7 O , O 0 _fJ .., and he presumed tbat 180 , 000 . or two-thirds of the value , might be raised on mortgage , the interest upon which , at four per cent , would be 7 , 200 / . a yej-r ; while the rent payable upon 270 , 000 ? . at five per cent , would be 13 , 600 / . a year , thus leaving a surplus of G _. 300-. a year , over and above the interest upon the mortgage ,

      Now , let us see how this would stand at the end of the one hundred and fifty years , at comp ound interest , that is merely the first year ' s interest—G , 300 Z . Atthe end of the one hun dred and forty-four years this sum would amount to 3 , 225 , 600 / , Now , that is only the first year ' s surplus over mortgage , —the second year's surplus , in one hundred and forty-five years , would amount to an equal sum , —the third year ' s surplus , in the one hundred and _forty-sixth year , would amount to a'likb sum ; 80 that if we multiply the surplus of rent over interest , for one year alone , by seven , we have the sum of twenty-two million five hundred and seventy-nine thousand two hundred pounds at the end of the one'hundred and fifty years ,

      But now 111 take another view , and see if I am not as good at dissolving years from the chronology of the accountant , as he is at dissolving houses' rents and Exchequer Bills . Now , leave out mortgage altogether , and we'll come to 13 , 500 .. a year , received as rent by the Company , and we find that that alone , within the period of one hundred and forty four _^ years , would amount to six million nine hundred and twelve thousand pounds ; and if we take the first seven years' rent , sinking one hundred and forty-three years' rent altogether in the one hundred and fifty years , the amount produced from the first seven years' rent would be forty-eight million three hundred and eighty-four thousand pounds . Now , if we

      calculate the rents paid for the period of one hundred years at compound interest , the sum would amount to more than weuld pay off the National Debt . So that , _instead of swallowing all up to . locate seventy thousand people in one hundred and fifty years , I could , upon the first seven years' rent paid , give away the whole rents after the seven years , locate the seventy thousand in the one hundred and fifty years , and leave a surplus of over twenty-seven millions after paying aid money—and presuming that each location cost me 300 / . upon an averrage , instead of about 240 .. New , what will the accountants and actuaries say to my c _ ssolving view of their figures , which are by no means as substantial as houses , crops , and Exchequer Bills ?

      The accountant having presumed tbat the 6 , 000 / . in Exchequer Bills in the hands of the broker , belonged tothe Land Company and not to the Bank , I beg to assure you upon the " true faith of a Christian , '' that not one single fraction of the deposit in the Bank has been touched by the Land Company . And now , although you owe me 3 , 400 / ., without a fraction being charged for my expenses for three years and a quarter , let me tell you that I have in stock , money , land to sell at Lowbands , Snig's End , and Minster Lovel , not available for our purpose , without counting the Bank at all , nearly nine thousand pounds _.-and perhaps the impartial chairman will cock his ears when he has seen the last two or three

      weeks' slender receipts in tbe " Star , " when 1 tell him that of that amount there is nearly 2 , 500 / . in cash . Now what will he say to that , when he finds the weekly expenditure increasing , the weekly receipts dissolving , and the cash advancing ? And if we add this amount to the money in the Bank I have still at my disposal between £ 23 , 000 and £ 25 , 000 . My friends , next week I will propose for your consideration a plan by which , according to the resolutions ofthe committee , I shall get rid of the two chief objections to the plan , namelylottery and the Bank ; and you may be sure

      that I will spare no expenditure of my own money in having the best legal advice , as to the modes of securing every hope that was held out to you , As Mr Sharman Crawford told me , and told others in my presence , there is not upon record a similar triumph achieved by a suspected person ; and I will tell you more , that if I had my choice , whether I would surrender my seat in Parliament , and work from six till six at the hardest labour , or give up my Land Plan , I swear before Heaven I would rather live upon workhouse fare , and work every day , than give it up ; and for this , if for no other " reason , because in my conscience and

      in my soul , I believe that if a physical force revolution was obtained by the working classes , ignorance of the labour question would perpetuate anarchy , bloodshed , and revolution ; and I tell you now , that if the National Assembly sitting in London had succeeded in destroying my popularity , and if the lies and fabrications of the Aberdeen delegate had led enthusiastic and ardent spirits into a revolution , which had been successful , that very National Assembly , unprepared with a proper solution ofthe Labour Question , wouldhave been the very first to have fallen victims to the vengeance of a maddened and disappointed people .

      As 1 have told you a thousand times over every human being who is born into this world has duties assigned to him , and 1 believe that the duty assigned to me , is to raise up those that fall ; to comfort and assist the weakhearted ; to abandon-every thought of selfaggrandisement ; and to swear , as I have often done , that , as long as 1 live , I will never accept of place , pension , or emolument , for any humble service I can render to the poor ; and that I hope I 6 hall have courage enough to resist the taunts , the folly , and the nonsense of enthusiastic cowards , who would induce me

      for their own base purposes , to jeopardise the fate of confiding mill , ens , by placing myself in a position , in which I believe not an honest working man in England would wish to see me . I predicted the inevitable result of Free Trade , and my Land Plan was meant as an antidote to the poison ; and I shall now conclude this letter with the following passages in my second letter to the Irish Landlords , written from my dungeon in York Castle , on the 17 th of July , 1841 , and you will then see whether or no the condition to whieh I prophecied Free Trade would reduce Ireland , has been ve « rified ornot . Here are the extracts ' - —

      " My Lords and Gentlemen , this is the week for trying the system-made rogues and murderers in Yorkshire , and as the paper for which I write is expected to chronicle their trials , I must now take my leave , witha caution to _bewiire how you allow your brains to be haunted with the new science called ' Political Economy . ' It is , believe me , but a phantasm which haunts the unpraetised fool in his

      dreams of artificial _beatitude It is a delusion , all ; a proposed corrective for social disarrangement ; a substitute for social _economy , which means the most pleasant , the most easy , the most beneficial application of man ' s labour and ingenuity , to the conversion of raw material—and , above all , of the Land—into produce for man ' s subsistence , support , comfort , and enjoyment . "M y Lords and Gentlemen , believe me , that you _' _must take the whole system into calcula-

      -Tfv Dear Friends, This -Veek I Publish ...

      tion , before you can arrive at a justconclusioil as to the probable result to be produced by passing events . You must look at all the circumstances , and from the whole , and not from any flattering or fancied portion of tbem , you must draw your conclusions . __ Let me assist you . " Take class legislation and gunpowder fop your dividend , and political economy for your divisor , and the _resul tin your quotient wiil be a large surplus of fictitious money ; a large surplus of manufactured goods ; a large ' surplus population , ' rendered useless by machition , before you can arrive at a justconclusioil as t , ie _pr _obable result to be produced by pa-sing events . You must look at all the ' !____ , * __ yl -. ?/ - *¦ _ 4 __ . _ i __ l _ _ _ J ___ 1

      nery ; a large surplus of non-consuming , unreguhited producing power ; a large army , _* large navy ; a large church establishment ; a large law establishment ; a large police establishment ; a large regal establishment ; a large poor law establishment ; a large oligarchical pauper establishment ; a small , centralised , gorged , slave owners' establishment ; social ruin ; an empty exchequer ; little trade ; discontent ; crime ; insecurity of property ; gaols

      full of ' political offenders '; starvation ancf revolution . As a superabundance of fictitious money presses hard upon and reduces the value of real capital , so does fictitious labour press hard upon and reduce the value of real labour . And as the bankrupt fails in the midst of surplus wealth , so does the operative starve ia the midst of abundance—neither having th © means of acquiring the drug . Thus you see merchants failing in the midst of affluence , and the people starving in the midst of plenty .

      " You must return from an artificial to 3 more natural state of society . You must give to the labourer the power of regulating the supply of his own produce , according to demand , and , above all , if his elevation in society be , in truth , your object , you must let him see the sterling labour stamp upon hishandy work , instead of finding it effaced by the counterfeit enterprise and speculation stamp of' o _ t merchants' — ' our traders' — and ' our slave owners . '

      "My maxim to-day is the same as that which I laid down for you in 1831— 'A fair day ' s wage for a fair day ' s work . ' Give that , and use your political power for the conversion of machinery into man ' s holiday , instead of being man ' s curse ; and then , in the eloquent and statesman-like words of Mr Butterworth , one of my illegally incarcerated brethren , you may ' go to bed by steam , rise by steam , and dress yourselves by steam , provided steam does not take the bed from the poor man , and leave him withoutclotl . es to dress with . '

      " My Lords and Gentlemen , many a halfwitted fool has gained even a posthumous fan . by one sentiment not containing a twentieth part of the philosophy of the above . Search all your writers upon ' Free Trade , ' ' Political Economy , ' and ' Commerce , ' and I defy you to equal it from the catalogue of their united folly , or from the heap to pick one such grain from the chaff . " My Lords and Gentlemen , ' Political Economy'has no " Finality ; " and , believe me , that the political economists will never rest satisfied

      till they make you tenants in your own houses , stewards to your own estates , and beggars from the Pole , the Turk , the Russian , the Prussian , and the American , upon your own land . They wish to place you upon the shopboard , making breeches and coats , which the foreigner may or may not purchase according to convenience ; while they would make you dependents upon the foreigner for that which you must have three times a day or starve , or do that , which I am quite sure yon never could bring yourselves to , as you have transported thousands upon thousands for the same—STEAL .

      "Now , do not think the picture overpainted . Do not reject the advice because it comes from a * DESTRUCTIVE . ' Do not despise it because it comes through the only paper in England which dares to support the labourer against his every enemy—from the monarch on the throne , who gives assent to laws for his ruin , down to the policeman who executes those laws—do not . And ever bear the alternative in mind—REFORM , or TRANSFER . That you may come to a righteous , a just , and a sound conclusion , is the devout prayer of " Your obedient and very humble servant Feargus O'Connor .

      Now , my friends , you will be able to judge for yourselves as to the realisation of my anticipations from Free Trade , unaccompanied by prudent and timely concessions ; and now I beg to assure the landed _aristocracy of England , that they have not yet seen the commencement of Free Trade , and , as I have frequently told the manufacturers , , _* tBey have " eaught a Tartar ; " they hoped _^/ . their influence over Government to stop Free Trade at their own door , but they have yet to learn that the people , daily acquiring wisdom , will insist . upon the plum—RECIPROCITY—being put into the Free Trade pudding .

      Next week 1 will write you my ! views upon the Land Plan , in p lain and simple language , and I will also furnish you with an unerring and irrefutable calculation , proving the utter inaccuracy of those submitted by Messrs Grey and Finlayson , the most accomplished accountant and actuary in the kingdom . But , my friends , I am not one to be staggered b y the calculations of arithmeticians , for , as Mike Sullivan told the priest , that " Little Mike was the divil at his prayers , ' ' I ' the divil at the figures . But , in the meantime , lest a single individual who has set his heart upon the Land , should suppose me capable of wavering , I beg to assure all that I am determined to continue

      my operations ; that am deter . med to devote every hour of my time , and e _* iery farthing of my money—even to beggary—to carry out the Land Scheme . And next week I shall also submit a plan to the trades of England , pointing out in a clear and unmistakeable manner the means b y which industry—in less than five years—might secure for itself such a Government as would insure to every labourer "A fair day ' s wage for a fair day ' s work "; a Government which would stand in no danger from the assault of the dissatisfied , the vengeance of the hungry , or the machinations of the artful . I remain ,

      your faithful friend and representative , and unpaid bailiff , _F-sargus O'Connor

      A < Tion, Before You Can Arrive At A Jus...

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      1 _W AND _ _JATIQNAL TRADES' JOURNAL _' . __ VOL _^ L > 563 . LQNDO _^ SATURDAY _, AUGUST ? , 1848 . _nZ _^ Jsi _lSS _^^^

      Thomas Driver To Feargus O'Connor Esq.. ...

      THOMAS DRIVER TO FEARGUS O'CONNOR ESQ .. M . P .

      Tuesday Morning , 6 0 Clock , August 1 st , 1848 . Mv Dear Sir , —It is little I am going to say , but I wish you to continue your prudential course in politics—it is highly approved of by your friends and admirers ( at least , amongst all that I am acquainted with ) . If it be possible , do not , dear sir , commit yourself into the hands of those , whose tender mercies we know full well ; you would be esteemed a prize , iu appreciable ralue ot far more worth tban the quashing of half a million of proletarians .

      Yesterday , the postman brought me a newspaper--the Manchester Times , of Saturday , July 29 ih— : and , from its contents , I shrewdly guess that it is an ari . tocratical present , made at thie particular crisis in these Northern Counties ( to confuse , misguide , thwart , pervert , and mystify the doings of all rumoured things ) , whicb , I doubt not , will be extended to hundreds , perhaps thousands , in the liberality of their distribution . But the boon is wasted upon me , for I will not exhibit its pages to its favourite partisans to chuckle over , nor to any who cannot read , the purport of its intention by being thus distributed gratuitously .

      Your liberty , dear sir , is of inestimable value to all who are interested in the general welfare of honest labour and its reward ; this the Gagging Bill party know right well . Never mind the non-publicity of your Parliamentary speeches . We know our man ; our confidence will not he diminished on that account : we know to what quarter to attributeilii * let ; but I am not sure that your letters are not opened and inspected , so shall conclude , trusting that you will see a copy of the above newspaper . Farewell .

      Persons Apparently Killed By Lightning H...

      Persons apparently killed by lightning have been restored by promptly immersing them in cold water or by dashing water upon tha hod **" -

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  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 5, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_05081848/page/1/