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Northern Star (1837-1852), 23rd June 1849, Edition 1 of 3, Page unpag, Untitled Article

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    • . TO THE WOBKBTa CLASSES.
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      Untitled Article

      . My Fkiekds , . ^ rom the time ance wealth became accumulated in the hands of the few , to the great disadvantage of the many , the great diflfilty of your order has arisen from the fact , that every channel for the investment of the small savings of the people has been completely dosed and dammed up ; andfromthis cU-cum ^ J *! : " ™ : * ?»* «« ** ^ d fiight-? 1 wl « ch now exists in

      ^ S * * this ccranby . TVhen the hand-loom weaver could ply llM OTOl shuttle for his own henefit : and "When the commoner could milk his own cow , ¦ hear his own sheep , and eat his own goose , fed upon his own land—that great disparity Old not exist , and even the hired hand-loom weaver could calculate the exact value of his Jabour to his employer so criticall y , and with such exactitude , that , in those days , he might ]> e considered as co-partner with the capitalist . r

      Jn those days no stringent and repugnant Jaws were reguired to suppress and keep down the combination of the working classes against their masters ; neither did there then exist the necessity of expending hundreds of thousands and millions in strikes originated by the tyranny of m asters , and supported by the aggregated pence of the poor . In those days England was , in truth , MERRY ENGLAND , and the English people were a merry people . And the sophist cannot answer me with the argument , that the houses of the people , the condition of the people , and the clothing of the people have T > een considerabl y improved since those times

      which they call barbarous ; because my answer to such an argument would be , that if the apparent condition of the poople , their houses , and their clothing has been improved , their depewfence'has beeu increased , and their real domestic comforts haveheen abridged . However , as ifc is my custom to " meet every argument that may he urged against my several plans for the improvement of the industrious , I will meet the sophistry of the improvement of the people ' s condit ion , by the much greater improvement ihatnas taken place in the comforts and luxuries of all other classes * and as no man will deny that those who produce those luxuries and comforts should be partakers in them , I will ask those who should base their

      knowledge and their conclusions upon' legitimate contrast , to read the past history of England , and then to pass with me through the manufacturing districts , and from their own eyes they wnl be enabled to come to a legitimate conclusion as to whether the great locial improvements of which we hear have been national , or merely confined to class . Perhaps it may be necessary for me to state the cause of former equality , and existing disparity . The cause of former equality was , because man did man ' s work , and demand and supply were properly regulated ; and every man could then measure the fall value of his

      own labour by the standard of national requirement , which his master could not monopolise the supply of ; whereas , now , machinery does man ' s labour , supply is not regulated by demand , but by speculation , and no man—even the most sagacious—can discover the value of his own labour to those who employ him ; and hence arises that direful competition , that deadly hatred and want of union , which easts in the ranks of the working class es .

      Till very recently the State was the great capitalist , as , according to the 43 rd of Elizabeth , the State was compelled to supply the labourer with raw materials ; but , when capital had become possessed of machinery , and when the capitalist discovered that man's innate love of liberty made him prefer free labour to slave labour , this wise enactment was destroyed , and the heretofore free labourers were thrown into the slave market , where employment was governed by competition , consequent upon the substitution of artificial for manual labour .

      JTo \ r I am perfectly aware that the majority of the class to irhich I refer is dead and gone , while the survivors are feeble , old , and noneffective ; and , therefore , the existing race of labourers have no existing symbol by which they can fairly and legitimately establish any comparison between the past and the present . They have been conceived in the womb of slavery , born in slavery , nurtured in slavery , trained in slavery , and are , therefore , natural born slaves .

      However , although the living contrast between the past and the present does not exist , it is my duty to draw a comparisona fair and legitimate comparison—between things as they are , and things as they might ha Tlris country—as I have frequently told you—is governed by the E-ULE-OJF-TKREE principle , and the ' rulers of this country are wholl y and exclusively governed by those who amass fortunes from the unprotected labour of the industrious classes .

      The power of that capital may be now and then arranged under different banners . The Protectionists may marshal THEIR POWER , and bring it sectiouauy to bear upon the Government . The manufacturersthe representatives of active capital—can marshal THEIR POWER with more speed , and bring it to bear with more effect ; while the stockbrokers—speculators in human Hood and misery possess an amount of inexplicable influence , not only over the Government , but over all other classes ; while the people , who create flic wealth which creates the power of all other classes , possess not the slightest influence over class or Government .

      Hence , the working classes will discover that , however those several parties may light their sectional battles in the House of Commons , respectively urging public opinion as their greatest strength , they are , nevertheless , nnitedin their denial of every single legitimate demand of the same people . I use this argument to establish the fact , that the people make money for all other classes , and that the power of those classes is always arrayed aitainst the people . " the

      " The old and absurd theory is used for purpose of enlisting the people as an auxiliary forwj , to fight the battle of the morey-lords and the feudal-loi-as ; mid the money-lords being the active employers of labour , aHd the labourer being dependent upon the employer , he is enlisted a xeeruit in the capitalists' army , until at length our wily theorists and cunning philosophers have attempted to establish the belief , that there are only two veritable political parties : — The owners of land , representing patronage , and the owners of capital , professin ° " to represent independence .

      In the adoption of this folly , mainly consists popular weakness . The landlords do not , as Ofold , represent the interest of the fanner , or of the labourer ; while they do represent the interest of the bishop , the parson , the naval and military officer , and the several drones , pensioned upon industry ; l > at , aslhave shown you , they no longer represent Hie fanner Mid ' who constituted their greatest

      the labourer , stren ^ h they no longer represent the farmer , -rSffiaSfitfES : S r SwrsiS SSES&SgS momc \™ the . tenant , they oD&pnaiwj

      iSsaSSSSS SSSSswas

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      purpose of grouping society , and exhibiting it in its proper colours ; but I will simplify this question of landlord , tenant , and labourer , for you , in order to explain the position of that link in the social chain . - Suppose a landlord to have ten thousand acres of laud let in farms , averaging two hundred acres each ; he has fifty tenants , whose wilL or rather whose votes , he commands ; allowing those , farmers to employ four men to the hundred acres , that is , eight labourers

      each ; making allowance -for hay time , seed time , and harvest , I have not put it down too High , and then this section of society stands thus : one landlord , fifty tenants , and four hundred labourers ; the landlord being the representative of the tenant , and making laws , which enable him to exercise exclusive control over those tenants , and in return giving those tenants exclusive control over the labourers , who have no power to elect representatives . Now , I think that it would be impossible to furnish you with a more faithful miniature of that class of societv .

      2 * 1 cxt comes the money class , and here the disparity is still more frightful . I have shown jycu ; that th ^ poUcy ^ f ^ ei ^ iandlbrd has estranged the affection and confidence of farmers and labourers , and now I come to the consideration of the money class . The capitalists catered for opposition to the landlord class as representatives of the old Tory system , and they endeavoured to persuade the people that there was the strongest identity of interest between capital and industry ; and

      that the power of the landlord class was the main obstacle to the remunerative employment of the industrious classes . During this struggle , the co-operation of the people was based upon antagonism to the landlords , who , as Protectionists , were represented as the great barriers and stumbling-blocks to industry ; and hence shopkeepers of every class and denomination , all who trafficked hi tradebutchers , bakers , tailors , hatters , mechanics , artificers and artisans—all entered this

      straggle blindfold , upon the presumption that they were fighting the battle of industry against aristocratic monopoly ; and the labouring classes of all grades Avere enlisted as the auxiliary force , upon the presumption that the destruction of landlords' monopoly would give an impetus to industry generall y . But as experience alone can produce wisdom , tho shopkeeping class and the labouring class have both discovered that they stand in the same relation to the money classes , that the tenant andthe labourer stand in relation to the landlord class .

      Let me now show the reasons for this antagonism of the shopkeeping and labouring classes to the money class . The shopkeepers have discovered that the only source of wealth of the capitalist , arises from the industry of the labourer , and that the represented capitalist has the power of accumulating wealth as if by magic , from a reduction of the wages of the labourer , and that that reduction constitutes the poverty- —nay , the bankruptcy—of a great portion of that shopkeeping claSS , upon whose co-operation , and by whose agitation , this capitalist class has been enabled to possess itself of a large amount of representative

      power . Mark , then / that the . dependence of the labouring classes of the PRESENT DAY , wholly arises from the fact that the poor man has no possible means of applying his little savings beneficially , with the exception of depositing them in Savings Banks , at £ 3 per cent ., and for which we now learn that there is no security but confidence in the managers ; while we ' learn that many thousands in Ireland have been wholly and scandalously plundered of their hard earnings by the failure of several of those banks .

      It may be urged that a prudent man , with a little money , may start in some little business ; but there are two answers to such an

      argument . . Firstly—He could not compete against large capitalists in the same branch ; and , Secondly—It Avould be to such a limited extent that it would not relieve the Labour market to any perceptible amount . And , with a knowledge of these facts , and the desire to overcome these difiiculties , I established the Land Company , with" the view of opening a veritable and productive field for the investment of the smallest amount of capital saved by the industrious poor ; and to this fact is to be ascribed the malignant hostility it has received from the interested money-lord and the blindfold shopkeeper . '

      _ _ „ . , . , It is an irrefutable fact , that the most shrewd and cunning men will prefer taking three or four per cent , upon money lent upon landed security , to five , six , or sevenper cent , upon any other security ; aud why ? Simply because the land is stable property , no matter what Jaws may attempt to alter its value ; and the security of other properties may be utterly destroyed by casualty , calamity , legislation , orworse than all , litigation .

      , 2 ^ OW , my friends , I beg of you to keep this feet in mind—that the substitution of machinery for manual labour has completely enslaved * the labour-class ; that no possible standard now exists to regulate that demand and supply by which the standard of wages was formerly fixed iu the independent labour market . That the provision in the 43 rd of Elizabeth " , which enabled every man to be

      his own employer , has been destroyed by interested capitalists , to enable them to make enormous profits upon antagonism and competition in the Labour market ; and that , not-Withstanding our enormous amount of taxation — eidit millions a year , or nearly as much as would pay a third of the interest of our National Debt , is annually- levied as poor rates for no earthly purpose but to keep up this unwilling idle c ompetitive Labour reserve , in order to depreciate the Labour market . but

      My friends , I hope 1 am not tiring you , ifl eurfeit you I am determined to reiterate and repeat my propositions for the restoration of freedom to ' your order , and I shall now pro-Cee Virdhj— To show you the difference between the mice of wholesale and retail articles ; and , Secondly—To showyou the only real Savings Bank in which the very poorest of thepoor may confidently , profitably , and beneficially invest Ss Zney vithout any , ( the sli g htest ) , risk or danger . How he may invest it for the purpose of establishing his free Labour field ; or low if profitably employed in the calling most to his taste , he may invest it upon a larger amount of interest , and upon better security , than has ever yet been presented to him

      Firstly , then , as regards the retail and wholesale price of commodities . Ihe woman who could not sip hercup of tea without sugar , and to whom the cup . of tea may be the neatest possible enjoyment , couId not sweeten ler tea , or have her tea at all , it she wascomnelled to take a hogshead of sugar or a chest of ea—while she is willing to give any price the srocer may demand for the wiwunt ahe re-£ of those two articles . The labourer who is fortunate enough to be able to buy a Lund of broken meat on Saturday night , P mA if ho were compelled to buy a whole Tor IShole Wep : d& the same applies t o

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      - ^^^^^^ v ^^ BMHa ^^ nMBMHHHMMBB ^ MMB the man who eats bread , drinks ale , smokes tobacco , takes snuff , wears clothes , boots , or a hat—he can buy in the retail market precisely what he may require , while he would not be able tobuy the same article wholesale , ' although he might then have the wholes ale profit as a retail dealer or a consumer . That is with regard to the necessaries of life when purchased by the consumer—and now let me treat of the Land and its wholesale and retail value

      The wholesale market is ' the only market open for the purchase of land , and when an estate of a hundred acres , or a thousand acres , is set up to auction , the man or men who would cheerfully , like the old woman , become retail purchasers of as much as would sweeten their cup of life , are wholly excluded from the market , and upon the simple ground that the opening of that market would increase the standard of wages in the agricultural Labour market ; and the landlords fear , that , under such circumstances , the tenants would not be willing to pay an equal amount of rent in the wholesale market , as their profit also depends upon the competition in that market , and the amount of rent is , an insignificant-item , as compared with the outlay for wages .

      The landlords , defer to the caprice of their tenants for two reasons : — Firstly . —Because on the subserviency of those tenants dependsthatrepresentative power which enables the landlords to divide all the patronage of the country amongst their own friends and relatives , managing their estates , as I have often told you , by the science of patronage , and not by the science of agriculture ; aud

      Secondly . —Lest rents should be -reduced if wages were increased : while they are so addicted to their present ante-diluvian notions , that they have not the sense to see that the very same effect would be produced by bringing THE LAND into the retail market , as I have described with respect to tea , sugar , and other commodities . Now , will not this irrefutably prove , that with an increasing population , the landlords preserve this barbarous feudalism in consequence of the political power it confers upon

      theirorder , and without any—the slightest—reference to national requirements , or even to their own interests ? And , however antagonistic the cotton-lord may be to the landlord , does not the fact of that class being virulentl y opposed to bringing the land into the retail market , prove to your order that , whilst complaining of your poverty , they aid in its preservation , and brutally resist any plan which promises profitable employment to the labourer , because upon his dependence and destitution is based his power , his . monopoly , wealth , and station ?

      I shall now proceed to a consideration of my second proposition , namely—as to the only available Savings Bank wherein the poor can safely , securely , and profitably invest their little savings . The artificial traffic market is not open to parties possessing small amounts of money . That market is completel y overatocked , . and the man with 501 . or 100 / . capital , would soon be driven out of that market , from his

      inability to give credit or compete with the larger capitalist ; while , upon the other hand , no competition can injure or diminish the profits of that man who gives his 120 / . for four acres of land , or his GOl . for two acres of land , and majnly , because his first and chief object is the support of himself and family , and therefore he is rather served , than injured , by eating dear food , as he grows it himself , and would receive a larger price for the surplus .

      The Land then , is , I contend , the only secure Savings Bank for the investment of the poor man's money , while the application of his labour to that land , makes him independent of any employer , and is the most healthy and remunerative occupation . As I wish to be most explicit upon the question of the application of free labour to tho Laud , let me simplify the proposition . The wages of an agricultural

      labourer may be averaged at 10 s . a week , or 261 . a year , and , at a pound an acre , that would give him twenty-six acres of land , while now he would be only too happy to give 15 / . or 107 . for fciur acres of the same ' land . Tims 1 show you that the monopolists of land are opposed to bringing it into the retail market , lest it should render its occupants independent of their will , and destroy their monopoly of political power .

      I may be told that the labourer would not have capital sufficient to cultivate twenty-six acres of land . I admit it ; but lie would have capital to cultivate two acres of land , and after paying a high rent , living , and supporting his family , lie would have , from the rudest system of cultivation , 261 . a year profit over and above rent , and support of his family . And now I will proceed to the developemcnt of my plan for securing real

      " FREEDOM FOR THE MILLIONS . " In the plan in which I have been engaged , I have been met on all bauds by legal quibbles and technicalities , by newspaper misrepresentation , middle-class vengeance , and , though last not least , the folly , the insolence , the fabrications , and falsehood of the most fortunate . I admit that the English people are a lawtrammelled people , and I admit not only the

      justice , but the propriety and prudence , of such a people endeavouring to protect themselves against the intricacies of that law , and to shelter themselves under its many coloured wing . And for that reason , it is my intention , as -applied to niy new plan , to place myself and those wholiave confidence in me , out of tlio grasp and the power of the law , and to place them and their property within the bounds of its narrowest limits .

      This , then , is one of my plans . I propose to purchase laud in the wholesale market , and to subdivide it into one , two , three , four , or more acres , and give it to the members retail at the wholesale price—the only additional expense being the legal cost of making out title aud the surveying ; and presuming that I purchased and had conveyed to me an estate of two hundred acres to-day , by this day week the proper roa < ls would be laid out , the allot merits would be surveyed , and every purchaser would be entitled to the quantity of land for the amount of the money he had investedthe only expense being , as I have described ,

      the necessary and unavoidable legal expense of purchase and transfer , and the expense of surveying . And suppose I purchase two hundred acres of land , or any quantity , at 30 / . an acre , the man who had paid 32 / . would receive one acre ; the man who paid Gil . would receive two acres ; the man who paid 961 . would receive three acres ; the man who paid 120 ? . would re ceive four acres , and so on , up to eight acres , which would be the largest amount that any one should have allotted to him ; and that quantity of land would then become the fee simple property of each occupant , none paym * a farthing rent as tenant , and none ) cin" ¦• Influenced otherwise than by his own will

      as a voter . . . »„ -,, I have put down the price of 32 / . an acre , presuming that it would cost 21 . an acre in legal expenses of purchase , surveying , and making roads j but I have made no deduction

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      or calcllafion for the amount that I would make i ^ jld ; materK | is } . upon a farm of two hundi ' e ^ u 9 res , \^| i ^ : ii ^ ii ' p . ' case would produce less iha ^ ajBOOZ ., } lbr - ^) . - an ; :-acre , thus reducing the prune cost of theJand , r-including legafes ^ penses | ndsufvey , ; to 28 ^ anacre—that is / iiF a man J ^ 4 32 / . an acrc , iie would receive back 4 ? . fronlthe saK- ' of old materials ; and I wish you to ]| bear this fact criticall y in mind , that those old materials , which are'on the spot are as vahu | ble , as I only estimate what are valuable aspewinaterials arc , and' also that I save the pric&pf '_ carriage , -which is one of the main items of ^ p ^ idithre . ' : . ' ' . Now , | j | ie way that I should apply those materials ^ oijild be , to pile as much'brick- or stone ,

      as it mayibe , as would- b ' uild- 'a ; cottage , and then seMhose materials to-tftose ; who were willing tMbuy them , infinitel y ^ blieaper . than they coa&purchase them in ahjf other market . Old sound ; timber I ' , would have sawed up into r ^ uiredpcantling for door frames , windowfrainesjjp ^ ers , joists , window sashes , and so forth jf ?>^ pBpie unsound timber would be apportioneulwks firewood : ; . ' and no man . b . ut = ; he ^¦ iSS ^ Asmsw ^ make any—the rudest—calculation of the value of all such materials ; and let it be borne in mind that they are not taken into calculation by the vendor ; while I show that they would average to the amount of 4 / . an acre , and 1 apply that to any estate from one hundred to one thousand acres .

      I have not space here to insert most valuable extracts from works of Lord Lauderdale , and other practical agriculturists , with reference to the value of small allotments . I will just insert , however , the following extract taken from an Oxford paper some years before I proposed my odious Laud Plan , and before its progress had affrighted the . traffickers in Labour out of their wits . Here it is : —

      CHEAP FOOD AND GOOD WAGES . The following extraordinary instance of what may lie accomplished by spade husbandry has been furnished by a correspondent who took the particulars himself from Samuel Bridge , in the presence of another gentleman , steward to a nobleman , and we have his authority for saying he will be happy to answer any inquir . es our friends may wish to make on the statement he has ' given . Samuel Bridge , of Stock Green , near Fockenliam , in the countjr of Worcester , has occupied four acres of very inferior stiff clay land , on the blue lias , for twenty-seven years , lie grows two acres of wheat and two acres of potatoes every year , and sells all his produce , even his wheat straw . The stubble from the wheat , and the tops from the potatoes , serve to hed down his pigs , and the manure from this source , and from his privy , is all that he gets for the use of his farm .

      The crops obtained are not at all extraordinary for the result of spade husbandry ; but it is very extraordinary that such crops , with so little manure , and from bad land , could have been obtained lor a quarter of a century together ; and , coupling the duration of the operation , with the ( juality of the land , it must be admitted that nothing more is needed to prove the superiority of the spade system over the plough system ; for although the same crops are obtained b . v the plough on good land , ' it is quite certain that the plough would fail to compete with the spade on equal qualities of soil . - The produce obtained on the average of a quarter of a century , by this exemplary man , is twelve tons of potatoes per acre , and forty bushels of wheat per acre , and the following account may be taken as a close approximation to the truth : Sold annually—21 tons of potatoes , at £ 210 s per ton £ C 0 0 0 80 bushels of wheat , at 7 s 28 0 0 4 tons of wheat straw , at 50 s 10 0 0

      ft £ 98 0 0 Deduct as under-Manual wages , &i Cs . 4 d . per acre per annum £ 17 5 i ¦ Seed potatoes for two acres 5 0 0 4 bushels of seed wheat ( being dibbled ) , at 7 s . fd 5 g 1 10 0 23 15 4 Subject to vent and pavochial payments £ 74 i 8 It may ho safely stated that the average of all this liuidiu England , under cultivation , does not yield £ 5 per acre gross produce , and also that 20 s . per acre per annum is more than is paid in manual wages ; whereas , in this case , of very inferior land , above £ 28 per acre gross produce is obtained , and £ i 6 s . 4 d . per acre per annum paid in manual wages j or , iii other words , you get by the spade , on small allotments , near six times as much produce , and employ four times as many people , as by the plough .

      It is only necessary to add , that this useful memhor of society has bought his four acres of laud many years since , and paid tor it out of liis savings . He lias also built himself a comfortable cottage and out-buildings thercoti , and is the owner of considerable property besides . It should be mentioned also , that , during two years of the ptriod of twenty-seven years , Samuel Bridge got his land xjloughcd gratis by his neighbours , but found the injury so great by the treading of tho horses , that ho reverted to the . spade , and says it answers his purpose better to pay for digging than to have it ploughed gratis .

      Now docs the above require a single word of comment beyond this ? that I would not purchase stiff clay land for the members of my Company . But if we . go further we find by Sillett ' s evidence , before the Committee of the House of Commons , that , after feeding himself , wife , and family , and paying over 20 / . a-year for rent , or interest of money , for two acres and a house , he has made profit over and above rent , living and clothing of 51 / . a-year , and expected to make much more now that he has got his land into good condition . But what would Samuel Bridge have made hadiie fed pigs with tho potatoes , and made manure of his straw instead of selling it ?

      Why , to a dead certainty , nearly double as much . But , however , leaving the question of cultivation , produce , and profit wholly out of the question , I will now deal with the Land as a Savings Bank , thus : —A man . investing 120 ? . in the Savings Bank will receive little more than 3 / . per annum , that is if the Savings Bank does not fail ; M'hile the man who gives 120 Z . for four acres of laud , will receive over 121 . a-year rent from a solvent

      tenant who will annually increase its value , and I put it down very lowly , thus giving him an increased interest of 9 / , a-year , and much better security for his 120 Z . ; and there is not a tenant so holding for whom I would not most cheerfully go security . myself , as not one would be a day behind with his rent during his term of occupation , while the purchaser or little landlord would be in possession of an independent vote .

      Isw let it 1 ) 0 understood that some occupants at Lowbands have refused 81 . an acre ; and that one at Minster Lovel , which cost 30 ? ., has let three acres , without a house , for il , 6 s , 8 rf , an acre , and I will warrant the occupant will be the best tenant upon the estate , as no man can conceive the attachment of an agricultural labourer for a piece of land to the cultivation of which he can apply his own free labour . Let me now call your attention to the opportunity which presents itself for carrying this plan into immediate and practical operation .

      In July , 1847 , I purchased an estate at Mathoa of five hundred acres . It is situated iu the most beautiful and luxuriant valley , within two and a half miles of the fashionable and daily-increasing town of Great Malvera , and within eight of Hereford , by coach road . For that estate I paid 15 , 050 ? ., subject to an annuity of 300 ? , a-year , to a very old lady , the mother of tho proprietor . I paid 1 , 500 ? . deposit , and I paid for the valuation of the timber ; and the title , after a long —and the most searching—examination was

      declared to be unexceptionable . The conveyance was ready to be made , but , although Sampson was a strong man and Solomon was ; a wise man , yet neither of them could pay money if they hud it not , and for the very same reason I was precluded from completing the purchase . However , I will now show you how the matter stands , and the advantage to which your order may turn it . That Estate is again to be oilored for sale on the 28 th of June , and it is still in my power to complete the purchase , and to give it at wholesale price hi tho retail market to those who wish to

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      become the purchasers .: There are- ^ as I have . stated—five hun ^ a ' acre ^^ of primb Land ; for jtwenty-six acre ^ of ^ icK ; I ^ as ' bflered 105 ? . ! aii acre . The . pui'chasers . ^ tpuld ^ ' have . the [ benefit of a Savings . ^ BSnkVto ; t ] ie ; amount of 300 / . a year , a 8 rupoV ^ e . -d . eath of Mrs . Cliefe the . estate , would , be , ¦ released from 300 / . a ' -. year , to which beingiisubjecti a much less ,:. amouut of purchase money is required :. Andfletme . nowshow you distinctly how thematte ' r . stands . I have to pay 13 , 500 / .,

      which , with the-1 , 500 ? : I paid , would make 15 , 000 ? ., and for the repayment of that 1 , 500 ? . I am quite willing to give the purchasers a fair time to refund it ; thus there wpuld be 13 , 500 ? . to pay ,. somewhere less than 4 , 000 ? . for timber growing on the estate , and about 500 ? . for levelling ditches and putting it in order , makisg a total of 18 , 000 / . ; and if one" hundred members would pay J 20 ? . each , and qne hundred members 60 / . each , it would make that sum of 18 , 00 p / . ; and I would undertake , in less than two months , not only to return tho 4 , 000 / . paid for timber , but also .. to divide a the

      wt laKge : pi ^|| t anlongst members . Thus from the ijOCiOl . ' aione ' returriiHg the subscribers who had paid 1202 . about 23 / . of the money paid for timber , and the subscribers who had paid 60 / . nearly 12 ? . ; thus reducing the amount of paidup capital from . 120 / . to 9 % , and from 60 ? . to 48 / . ; and that without making any calculation for the usual profit of what is called LOP and TOP , all of which would , of course , be divided amongst the members . And then , I should state , that upon this estate there is a splendid mansion , with racing stables , hunters ' stables , carriage-horse stables , hack stables , working-horse stables , and every description of outbuilding , besides a mansion in thorough

      repair , which I am told cost 4 , 000 / . Then there are two farm houses and farm buildings , a garden , with garden house , and cottagebuildings from which I undertake to produce lowly over 3 , 000 / . or reduce the price of the Land by 6 / . an acre—that is , for the materials upon the 500 acres I would undertake to get 3 , 000 / ,, and in that neighbourhood , with a splendid market for vegetables within two miles and a half , and a market for everything within eight miles , and a railway in course of progress skirting the estate , I would undertake to let that Land in allotments at from 3 ? . to 4 / . an acre ; thus constituting the best description of Savings Bank for those who did not wish to occupy themselves .

      Close by there is an inexhaustible quarry of the very best stone , but Mr . Cvlungham , my able overseer , estimated that there were materials on the spot to build over sixtyjiottages . Let me now show the occupants of such an estate how they would stand , presuming that they had paid the whole 15 , 000 / ., and not taking the timber into account at all : 15 , 000 / . for five hundred acres , is 30 / . an acre , from

      the materials I undertake to make 6 V . an acre , which would reduce the price to 24 / , an acre—and from the profit upon the growing timber , I undertake to pay the legal expenses , and the whole cost of levelling the fences , knocking down the old buildings , and surveying ; giving my own time and experience most cheerfully for nothing , and employing only Mr . Oullingham and Mr . Doyle , to see to those necessary operations .

      Now , in two months after I got possession of that estate , I would , without any legal quibble or technicality , be able to make a free conveyance to every man who had paid for his land ; and thus , as if by-magic , I would have created two hundred real INDEPENDENT VOTEES for Worcestershire , and they would be voters whether they let or held ; aud I would undertake to secure every man , who did not wish to occupy , an interest of ten per cent , for his money , upon the best security that can bo obtained ; and I would undertake to set every trade , and every labourer in the neighbourhood , at full and profitable workprofitable to themselves , and profitable to those who employ them .

      Now , just see what two hundred men cau < lo for themselves . But Avhile I thus map out the estate into allotments of two and four acres , I have not the slightest objection to subdivide it into smaller parcels , to suit the means and convenience of those who would not bo able to pay for two or four acres j and in order to prove that I have confidence , at all events , in myself , and to avoid all legal

      quirks and quibbles , the amount sent to effect this purchase should be advertised in the " Star" each Aveek , and every farthing should be strictly accounted for ; while the subscribers to the fund who wish to conceal their names , which is a horrible proof of tyranny , may have the amount acknowledged as J . X ,, T . Y ., or any other initials , while the corrcct name and address would be inserted in a book kept for that purpose .

      As I have told you , the sale of tins estate is to be re-opened on Thursday , the 28 th of Juno , and if my proposition moot with that confidence and response which I think it deserves , I will ' then be able to answer the exultations of the brutal Press that rejoices in the incapability of Mr . O'Connok completing this purchase for the Land Company . To me , the realisation of this object would be a source of great trouble and expense , which , however , would be more than compensated by your and my triumph over our exulting foes . But , my friends , you must bear in mind that while I mention the Matlion Estjito for

      tho purpose of developing tho circumstances connected with it , nevertheless I am not at all confined to that purchase , but am open to bid for any other estate that may be ofil-rod for sale , -while I cannot recommend any that would be more profitable than Mathon . It is for you , however , to put your heads together and say whether you can safely invest your money in confidence in me , to be applied to the purchase of land , on which you may profitably expend your oavh labour , or by which you may establish a Savings Bank , which

      will give you four times the amount of interest for your money , and . with better security , than any bank—Savings Bank or other—can offer . I trust that I shall have a respouse , and such a response to my proposition as will enable me to complete the purchase of this splendid estate , which , as all must allow , is situated in tho very garden of England . But that response must be given at once , and addressed to "the Directors of the Land Company . '' So that you will understand that 1 am jiottp be driven from my purpose when I undertake to secure real

      "FREEDOM FOR THE MILLIONS . " Now observe , that when I tell you , the sale is to be re-opened on Thursday , the 23 th inst ., and ask you to give an immediate response to my proposition , I do not mean that you arc to—or that you can—send me the amount of purchase money by that time , but what I mean is—jn order to prove my confidence in you—that if you acquiesce in my proposal , I will re-purchase tho estate , and then subscribers will have till September to pay up ; and I would undertake , during the month of October , lo complete every singlo particle of work that was to be done upon the estate , with the exception of felling the oak trees , which could not be done till May , as otherwise we Iiou ( I lose the bark , which make ? a great por-

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      taon of the ^ profit ; but in Noveinber ... every man would have his allotment a&signdd ^ to _ him . . ,,. "' ¦ ' Now if I wished to take my own money . ' out of the Land Company , and to expend it in a trafficking speculation . 'for myself , I would undertake in ten years to be one of the richest in&i in the kingdom , but I never hare bused , a si ^ gfe actwn . of mibp ;" upon selfishness . Hqw-4 ^»; V-: Ivhaye .--now "' ' p |) ijiied ' ' out the means by

      which those with a JitUe ' money , <> "d not wishrj irig to cultivatetlie IJaiid tliemselves , may establisli-their best Savings Bank , aiid ' how those wishing co cultivate the Land may establish perfect freedom . The men of Lancashire ^ Yorkshire ; and : Nottinghlinij ai-tv perfectly ; aware that ; Land is taken by the poos ' -poop l ^ ' not by the acre , but by the square y ; u- ; i , .--nd at rents varying from 20 ? . to 40 / . ' an afive / aud : that the landlords of those ¦ allotments are ' called pious CHRISTIANS and AN GELS" * while I , who ' propose to give Land v . ortii 50 ? . an acre for a rent of 21 . a year , or 4 ? . per cent ., ' . am called INFIDEL and DEVIL . v

      There is one thing that I wish tho working classes critically to understand . It is this . : that for many years Land has nor boon so _ cheap in the wholesale market as it . is now , ' while whatever it may fetch in the " A lioJosale market , does not in the slightest degree ullecfc its value in the retail market . And there is another consideration—it is this : that those persons purchasing allotments would h : > . ve the whole of their , building and other operations " performed upon the co-operative principle , ,

      that is—all the timber , and slates , t \ nd ¦ ironmongery ! arid' everything else , woul

      an acre . How I do wish that I could make you- —the working classes—understand this SHOPKEEPING- VIEW of the Land Q . ueatioa ; and how I do wish to be able to bring the sane mind of this country to enforce the proper developement of our national resources upou the minds of our rulers ; but as I have often told you , as long as the monopoly of Land

      constitutes the monopoly of political power , and as loug as the monopoly of political power upholds the monopoly of patronage , so long will the privileged few offer every opposition to the enfranchisement of tho dependent many . Wo are not very far from a General Election , and it would give mo no small pleasure to see two hundred independent voters walking into Worcester , with their eyes and ears open , and able to open their mouths according to the dictates of their will .

      Now let me take a squinting view of the means of winning twenty-five of the English Counties . Under 30 / . worth of Land will qualify a man as a forty-shilling l'roelundei-, and , therefore , 30 , 000 ? . would purchase enough of Land to qualify a thousand persons ; that would bo for one county : and if you multiply 30 , 000 by twenty-five—the number of counties that I state — it would require 750 , 000 / . to enfranchise 25 , 000 voters at 30 ? . each : but I mig ht go further , and say , that

      with the exception of very few counties , five hundred voters would hold tho balance of power in each county , which would give the whole fifty comities . " Aud thus , I show you , that you hug your chains , and deserve slavery , as you spend in drunkenness and dissipation in one single week—ay , sometimes in one single day—as much as would , if legitimately expended , give you ten per cent , lor your money , and put you in possession of every county in England .

      Now , how cau you suppose that a gentleman will place himself up as a target , to bo shot at by every class , for his devotion to your order , when that order prefers continuous drunkenness and dissipation to immediate freedom . Now , let me provo to . you , hicontestibJy , that you are your own oppressors . I wonder how much money it has cost the Trades of this country to carry on hopeless strikes aud struggles against their powerful masters , while for 750 , 000 ? ., expended not in unprofitable strikes but in profitable representation , they might have been in possession of :

      representative power , and have a larger interest and better security for their money than they now receive , or ever have received . But what's every man ' s business is nobody ' s business , and the great competition , jealousy , and disunion of those Trades , . constitute the strength and the power of their oppressors . The hatter says , " What have I to do with the carpenter f but the carpenter will not bo as good a customer to the hatter when idle , t \ a when employed ; and so with every other trade . While , if industry were represented , those very Trades who expended 7-50 , 000 ? . iu purchasing >

      " FREEDOM FOR THE MILLIONS , " would the very next year receive three , four , ay , five millions more in the shape of wages , while the ) pay nothing . in the shape of protection . Now let me ask , who will deny this ? Surely , those who are securing " Freedom for the Millions , " attherate of 23 ? . a head , will not deny it ; ' and surely every sane man will at once understand , that what 5 s to bo done FOR the people must be done B Y the people , and that real Freedom can only be secured by real co-operation .

      This is a very long letter , but I hope not ; ui unprofitable one , and if it is unprofitable , it is more so to mo than to anybody else ; however , I never grudge time or trouble if any amount secures the co-operation of any portion of the : industrial classes . 1 trust , however , that 1 shall have a hearty response , and then I will go on winning real "FKEEDOM FOB TUB lUiLLl OiVy , " seeking out those counties where the balance of power- can be most easily aocured , aim where even I , the founder , would not endeavour to , aud could not if I tried , inilucnce the vote of the most dependent .

      All those who have paid amounts into the Bonus Fund , not sufficient to entitle them to location on the Uromsgrovc estate , will receive the amounts they paid by return ot post , and postage free , upon application to the Directors , addressed to tho Company ' s Office ; while those who wish to appl y them to the purchase of a portion of the Mathon property , or any other property that I may purchase , will also communicate their intention to tho

      Directors . And lot it bo borne m mind , m order that there may be no mistakes or afterclaps , that it 1 purchase an estate of two hundred acres , or any other amount , it will be divided into allotments of from one to eight acres , and each allotment will have its relative value placed upon it , as it would be impossible to purchase two hundred or one hundred acres of ground of the same quality and value ; so that if I paid 3 QL au acre in the wholesale market , some jiliotmonts may be worth 40 ? . an acre , and somu

      20 / . an acre ; but I would take care not' t <> purchase any bad ground , none , at all events , yielding stones as its most profitable crop . Then the estate would be surveyed into th ;; number of allotments under the different heads , from one to eight acres ; the legitimate value would be fixed upon each , and the subscribers of those several classes would . ballot amonsrst themselves for priority of choice , and the rent would be fixed according , to the relative valmf the allotments . ( Continued loth : Eighth ntiqe . )

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      « UJgaa— The Fmxci . a report of tiio Distressed XeetLV woman ' s Society was not promising ; the total income of the society in 1847-8 was £ 508 ; last . year , only £ . 50 . An ' earnest appeal was made to the publie for support , lest a society doing so much gco I should entirely decay ,

      . To The Wobkbta Classes.

      . TO THE WOBKBTa CLASSES .

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      ; . ^^_ ^ ¦ . -S ~ MS ^ AND NATTONAT , TRAJB ^ JirOTTBMJE : : r -r .

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      P L «« ¦ ¦ VOL . XII . . 609 . ONDON SATURDAY Ml ^ SlRp ^ PBliDi »¦•*¦•* - — - 1 W 1 WVH ! PJUUIUfAl , UUlJJGy , lOqU . - . Fire . SKUlihgB and Sixpence per « imric

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), June 23, 1849, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1527/page/1/