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Northern Star (1837-1852), 21st January 1843, Edition 2 of 5, Page 5, Untitled Article

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    • TEE SORTHEfiN STAB. SATtmDAY, JAKUABY 21, 1843. -Jl1^_ _ 1 ,_. '
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      Tee Sorthefin Stab. Sattmday, Jakuaby 21, 1843. -Jl1^_ _ 1 ,_. '

      TEE SORTHEfiN STAB . SATtmDAY , JAKUABY 21 , 1843 . -Jl 1 ^_ _ 1 , _ . '

      Untitled Article

      THE LAND ! THE OJO . T MEANS OP £ U , TAHOH 10 IHE SIABTI 3 G "WOBKEBS . ARTICLE IL Is last Tree ' s Northern Star -we discussed , at onsiderahle length , the general question of the occupancy aad employment of the ulnd , as s means of removing the dire poverty and destitution which has now become the lot of the labourers of England . "We then attempted to show that there is no other ¦ way < fi again profitably employing the machinerydjsplaced arfa ?/ labourer , bat by placing him once more upon the soil , and enabling )» " » to direct Ma energies to the production of food , and raiment , and shelter , for himself .

      In the course of that article we explained the grounds upon which wo accord onr meed of praise to all who endeaTour to form and direct public opinion in faTonr of this cheap , available , and really practicable remedial measure . Cfh this qnestien we are truly catholic "Whatever lends to advance the general question in public estimation , we bail with satisfaction , and are happy to co-operate with every one , Tio matter what may be his peculiar yolitieal or sectarian opinion , who endeaTours to exlist publio opinion in its f stout .

      In this spirit we accorded praise to Mr . J . G . [ Hahkhatx for hating been the first to introduce among 3 t tae Leeds operatives the small allotments , as a means of enabling them to raise their millwageB to something like a imsg-peinJ ; explaining ., however , that that praise was not for the mode Mr . Marshiij , has adopted in his employment of ths xaxd 3 but rather because his exertions and example are likely to lead , ultimately , to a much better application of the soil . At the conclusion of that article we intimated ihat we should return to a consideration of the question , and show what other parties , besides Mr . Wi-RSTTi fT , are doing on ass -xakd .

      In accordance with that intimation we resume the subject ; and the parties to whose exertions we at present wish to point publio attention , in connection with the occupancy and employment of the land as a remedy for poTErty and starvation , are the Socialists . In the first place , we must prsmise that the mode adopted and practised by the Socialists in their occupancy aad application of the soil , diners entirely and essentially from the mode adopted and practised

      iy Mr . WngHHx and bis brother Alloters . The principls of action amongst the Socialists is common and entire occupancy of enough of land to prodnce plehtt for conunsm enjoyment " : the principle of acii&n which guides Mr . Masshaix and iis brethren is to allot a small piece of ground , under strict and stringent regulations , to the underpaid labouring man , to enable him , by working over and aboTe his regular daily hours of toil , to eke out his scanty wages to something like the pcini of xmsG sustentation .

      "With the Socialists ths laed is the ground-work of all their contemplated improvements * It stands foremost ie their list of requisites to extricate the labourers from poverty , and the fear of poverty . To get vros tbs xakd , is their first , and main object . Possession of the soil , on which to employ their men energies , for their men benefit , is , with them , a sine qua non .

      It is tree they hare peculiar notions respecting && distribution of the wealth they may thus create . It is true that they hold to the principle of w community of property f that they hold that u all * th stuff Fth world belongs to all th'fowk i ' th world . " It is true that they hold that every man on the soil ought to do something towards its production of wealth | and that erery man ought to hare his share of the plenty so produced .

      Into the truth or falsehood , the propriety or impropriety , of this principle , we are not now going to inquire . It is to what they are doing with respect to the laxd question , that we . wish to direct attention j and this on _ general , not particular , grounds . The Socialists hold , then , with us , that the iakd is the onlg means of salvation for the starving workers Entertaining this opinion , they have begun to act upon it . They haTe organized themselTe 3 into a compact , for the purpose of obtaining land , so as to employ it for their oven benefit . They hare obtained possession of a considerable amount of surface ; and they axe &t this moment actively engaged in " an experiment , " in ihe issue of which the labouring classes are deeply interested .

      Last week , we gave particulars of the doings of Mr . Mat « hat . t . in the town of Leeds , which doings have excited no small amount of publio curiosity and attention . But those doing 3 , in the aggregate , amount only io the allotment of some eleven acres of land amongst a number of operatiTes in small parcels often or twenty rods each . The doings we sew direct attention to , amount , in the aggregate , to the possession and application of more than one thousand acres of land , and the expending of scores of thousands of pounds If the one be thought worthy of public attention , snrely the other is no less so !

      It must be remembBred , toe , that Mr . M ^ tnni , ias had no opposition to brook , no powerful interests arrayed against him to prevent M 3 progress , or discourage him in hia endeavours : while the Socialists have had a most powerful , unscrupulous , and ¦ unremitting oppesifera to face and beat down . Palsehoods ihe most "rile ; accusations the most outrageons ; calumnies "the most bitter , hate been industriously circulated respecting them ; and the worst passions of human nature haTe been stirrednp , by appeals to blind prejudice , and Bet to work destruction to the " new-fangled sect" who preached up ** labour for all ; and enjoyment of the frnits of labour by alL "

      In spite of all this , however , the " new-fangled sect" hat © gone on in the even tenour of their way ; and haTe obtained possession of one thousand acres of land , and laid out some £ 40 , 000 , for the purpose of pro-ring to the labouring classes of England that it is possible to bo combine Lajtd , Capital - and Labotjs , as to prodnce p £ extt of all the first necessaries of life fob all . Their operations are , stowedly , " an experiment . " It is an experiment deeply interesting to all ; bat doubly so to that class who xre at present doomed to almost unremitting toil and inadequate- remuneration .

      What , teen , are the Socialists doing ! is the very natural question that suggests itself . " How does the experiment" progress 1 "What are the iBdieations of success or failure that present themselves , as far as they liave gone ? In answer to these queries we are about to give the statement of a gentleman who has visited their establishment , and reported as to the condition in ^ hieh he ha s Jonna their affidrs . The reader must xmderBtandjhowerer , that this testimony is not from

      » Socialist . It is not a report drawn up by themselves , to serve their own purposes . It is the evidence of a Btranger who has visited their establishment casually ; one who is p olitically opposed to them . We say opposed to them ; for the -writer of the account which we are about 4 o grra is a Free ^ Trade r ^ according to the present definition of the term j and , as far as we are able to understand the Socialists , their principles and actions necessarily oppose and supersede the doctrines and plans of the Malthusian Economists ,

      It was in Ihe Morning Chronicle that the following account appeared . For some months past a number of papers bearing the signature of " One vho has whistled at the Plough" have ieen regularly inserted in that journal . The writer of them has shown that he is practically acquainted with the operation of farming ; and he has also proved himself to be no msaa wieldex of a pen . Many of his articles iave evinced great shiewedness , and common-sense jndgmect j » nd ~ M 9 descriptions are generally gra pile and interesting

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      He seems latterly to have been engaged in a tour throughout the agricultural counties of England , to note the degree of perfection or imperfection observable to a passer-by in their several modes of cnltivation . Under the head , "Notes from ihe Farming Districts , " has hecommunicated hia observations to the readers of the Chronicle ; and the paper we now give in answer to the question M What are the Socialists doing ! " form No . XVII of the Series : — A JOTJBXET TO HABMOHT HALL , IN HAMPSBIRE , WITH SOME PABTICTTLABS OF THE SOCIALIST COMVVmTS , ID WHICH THE ATTEKTION OP THE S 0 B 1 LITY , CEHTET , AKD CLEEGY , IS EAKSESTLY BEQUBSTKD .

      Having heard a remark made at the inn where I was staying for a few days in Salisbury , that two travellers , who had left behind them two cloaks and two walking-sticks while they attended to some business in the market * were Bnpposed to belong to the Socialist community at Tytheriy , in Hampshire , from the circumstance of their walking-sticks having engraved on the heads the resemblancfrof a beehive , and the words , "the working bees , " 1 was induced to make some inquiry about the distance to and situation of their Beehive . The correct information to be gathered in Salisbury was extremely scanty , and accordingly , on being told that the distance was only twelve miles to the village of Broughton , and that ihe community were located near that village , I procured & conveyance , and , in company of another gentlemw , set off for Hampshire . _ .

      This was two or three day&after the visit of the two members of the Beehive to Salisbury . It was a lovely day . If a-cotmtry with so good a soil , and eo poorly cultivated , could have afforded pleasure to a traveller at any time , it treuldhave done so on such a day as this . Bat the road lay through a section « f that bare country formerly described as visible from Old Sarnm , and there was nothing to be satisfied with bnt the excellent -roads , which , being of flint on a hard bottom are maintainftd at little expense . Leaving Salisbury , we had the seat of W . Wyndham , Esq % one of the members of Parliament for the borough , en our left ; and , for the next twelve miles , the entire distance , I saw nothing worth mentioning , save that a field of good turnips , and another of beautiful young wheat , would be seen as spots on a wide uncultivated common , much of the soil of which was quite as good as that sending up the joung wheat and the respectable

      turnips ; which turnips again might have been of a much better qnality but for the neglect which characterized their cultivation . I have Baid nothing more was seen worth mentioning . Bnt , at an inn called ihe Win \ eralow Hut , I received information that the wages of labouring men had been reduced to seven shiUingB a week by the largest farmer in that district , and that the other farmers were expected to follow immediately with a BimOar reduction ; and the common expression of those who were present , some of whom were tradesmen from Salisbury , and one the respectable landlady of the house , was to this effect : " God above only knows how the poor creatures are to be fed ! "What matters it to them that nour and bread be cheaper this year than last ! They could buy little of either last year , and they can buy as little this . Tbey must bny potatoes , not bread , and potatoes are but a middling crop this year ; they are good , but small . "

      We arrived at the viDage of Brongbton abont one o ' clock , and having put up our horse at the inn , we proceeded on foot to Harmony Hall . Broughton ib but a poor looking village , irregularly built , and surrounded by farmers which indicated that the Working Bees Community would have no difficult task to compete with them . The soil all around is quite deep enough for common cultivation . It is deeper than many of those parts in the Lothians , or Roxburgh or Berwick shires , where a rent of from £ 2 10 j . to £ 3 10 s . an acre is paid for a middling soil . The sub-soil is chalk ; and I believe that wherever there ib a sufficient depVh of Boil above chalk , that soil is , generally speaking , fertile . It might be shallow on some of the higher districts ; but all that I saw , and I examined it in several situations , varied from twelve to twenij-seven inches in depth . The chalk was a variety well adapted for lime , but , saving the Socialist community , little

      advantage was derived from it ; their lime-kiln was the only one I saw during the day ' s journey . The rent of the land about Broughton is from ten to fifteen shillings an acre . With other burdens , not borne by the Scotch farmers , it would amount to 20 s . or 253 . an acre . But while the tenants of the Marquess of Tvreeddale , the Karl of Wemyss , the Earl of Haddington , Sir George Clark , the Duke of Roxburgh , and other landlords , whose land I happen to be acquainted with , wonld pay from £ 2 103 . to £ Z 10 a . for such soils , and make a profit , the farmers of that of Hampshire find they have a hard bargain with the moderate rents they now pay . When I saw their style of farming , their wastefulness of fertilizing agencies , their insufficiency of manual labour , their want of economy in horse power , and the nnconquered foulness of weeds , which seemed to wage perpetual war with their crops and prove victorious , I was not surprised to hear them murmur and tell of hard times .

      Leaving the village , we proceeded southward . For nearly a mile the lane in which we walked , hedged by coarse bushes- gradually ascended , and the soil on each side seemed wearing thinner and thinner . Having fortunately met a woman who directed us through a field towards the left , we followed a waggon ' s track , and in five minutes I was standing in a field of turnips which grew in drills , showing a bulk of crop and robustness of health quite refreshing to the eye , after the poor specimens of turnip culture i had seen i& that and adjoining counties . 1 observed to my companion that if these were Socialist turnipB" they promise well . But before going 'further , I should remark that I knew nothing of the Socialist property , nor of any

      individual connected with it . I had , like others , been reading wandering paragraphs in the newspapers about this community , some of which had not long before stated that the whole establishment was brosex up , that the members were dispersed , the property seized by creditors , and so on . My companion knew nothing of them bnt by hearsay . In fact , though living within twelve miles , he knew as much of China as he did of Harmony Hall , and that was not much . He was one of those jolly conntrymen well to do in the world , who believe the British army and navy caa , and ought to , thrash all the world , if the werld needs a thrashing ; who grumble when the tax-gatherer comes round ; who take in a paper which they seldomread . but who still crumble

      at the goveramenl—no matter what party is in power ; who think no times are so hard as the present times ; but who forget all grievances when the next hot joint comes on the table . Such was my companion . Little as I knew of the Socialists , I had been able to inform him that they did not wear claws , nor horns , nor wings , nor taik ; that though they were human in shape they were not cannibals ; neither did they steal little children and put them in boiling cauldrons just for the love of the thing . But though able to tell him all this , I was not able to obliterate the opinion which he had imbibed from the hearsay common in Salisbury , that the Socialists were an assemblage of the greatest vagabonds that a-too-lenient law had left npon the

      face of the earth . In short , some of the stories I heard in Salisbury are too ridiculouB , I might say criminally libellous , to be mentioned , Yet by many they were believed . My companion had never read for himself on any subject , and I was much amused with his account of what he had heard of the Socialists . He had a friend in Bronghton , on whom we called , and who gave us the first information of their property and personal repntatios : it Burpmed both of ns considerably . u Their property , " said he , •* consists at present of one thousand acres of land , and they are now in treaty for the purchase of another eBtate ; they bare paid down £ 500 of a deposit on it , and it will be theirs next year . " To this I rejoined , that 1 was completely astonished ; that I had never dreamed of their having such a property ; and begged to know

      how it was cultivated , compared with the farms I had seen in the neighbourhood . To this the gentleman replied ( and I may state he is a man of property and respectability in the village ) , that , so far as he eonld judge , they were cultivating it very welL " But , " inquired my companion somewhat eagerly , " What sort of people are they ? We h ^ ve heard such strange tale 3 about them , over our way , that I have been qaite at a loss what to think of such people being allowed to live among you . " " Why , " replied the other , " all that I have eeea of them , or have heard , amounts to this , that it wonld be a high honour to this parish if ono half our inhabitants were as decent in their behaviour as they are—it would in ^ deed . And more , it would be a credit to our gentry if tbey would employ people in as great numbert and to as much advantage on the land as they do . "

      u Lord bless me ! yon don't Bay so V exclaimed my friend from Salisbury , " and snob stories as we have heard of them ! Do you eay all this of them in sober earnest l "I do , " replied the Broughton gentleman . "Ab for their peculiar notions about properly , I don't agree with then ; but , bo far as saying they are well behaved people , setting a good example to this neighbourhood , I Bay it moBtrsineerely . " * ' Bat , " interrogated my companion , ** are they not all Deists thai believe there is neither a God nor * devil F '

      ~ If I understand the term Deist , " replied the other , f it means a believer in God . As to their oelief in religion I suppose they ate likeother people , of different opinions . One thing I know is that they come to our church , and some to the chapeL They at and hear the sermons , and go away again as others do . They never introduce religion sor politics into any conversation with us in tie village ; but I once talked to two of them on the subject of religion , of my own accord , and they told me tbey had the same opinions of religion now as formerly ; that there were no peculiar opinions among the boeialists , save

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      that each man might enjoy his ov opinion without molestation ; that they , the two . being believers iri the Christian doctrine of Balv 4 tion tlm ) Ugn Jesug Christ , attended a place of ^ whip , and that n » attempt was made by any me ? aber of the community to dissua . de them for going to church " *• Lord bless me ! " exclair my companion ; " you don ' t Bay so in earnest , do / ou \» ' ' * " £ K £ ? 9 Qired ? 1 for I had not been prepared to hear this favourable account of their tolerance , Tv wha i 1 ° 1 / CT ? * of them . Key don't like them , 1 should suppose /» *

      "The Methodists ai Baptists , and such like , make an outcry scat ^ t them , " replied the gentleman , ^ but our cl e ; .-gymaa of the parish churoh says nothing about j ^ m . All of us hereabouts were much alarmed whr j , we heard of fa ^ ^ ming at first ; but we look on them now as very good neighbours ; and as tb . ey set a good moral example to our population , and employ a good many of our poor , and as t ji 6 y never attempt to impose anv opinion on us , ^ have no reason to dislike them . One of them married the daughter of a farmer in this neighbo * jrhood , a short while ago ; the banns were put up in the parish church , and our parson married th '^ m . Ob , depend upon it , they are doing good here in a moral point of view . " " Lord bless me ! " exclaimed my Salisbury friend once more , on hearing this ; "did the father of the young 'Woman give his daughter to a Socialist ?"

      ** Certainly , " returned the other , " Why should he not ?" " Because , " eaid my companion , " they have anew wife whenever they tire of the old one . " w Nonsense ! " returned the Broughton gentleman ; " ridioulous nonsense . They have no such practices , and , bq far as I ever heard , no such doctrines in theory . They propose , when tbey can get an act of Parliament for the purpose , to simplify the law of divorce ^ by allowing married persons to separ at e by mutual consent , after several repeated notices and repeated trials on them to try once more , and once more again , for certain periods of time , for some months each period , to agree ; if after those trials they are Btill desirous of being parted they may be

      divorced . As for any other laxity of principle I know none . The most delicate and well-bred condnct characterizes them so far as I know ; and nobody hereabout , however opposed to them , attempts to say a word against their moral character : that , as I said before , might be an example worthy of imitation to many in this parish . In short , the Socialists are very well but on one point , which concerns themselves more than anybody else ; on that point I believe them to be fatally in error ; and more , that sooner or later they will split and fall to pieces on it—I mean the community of property . There will always be idle men willing to talk and to live at the expense of the industrious . Your talking men are not commonly the best workmen , and seldomer still are they willing workmen . In fact , those of them that are really industrious men are pretty well tired of the numbers who come visitiug

      and living idly from distant parts of the country . Besides that , if they were all willing alike , they are not able alike , nor used alike to such works as cultivating a farm ; and I have heard that several of their carpenters , bricklayers , and such like , are but indifferent workmen when put to a job . In fact , the ignorance of most of those who came here at first of practical matters has led them into extravagant expenses . They have been imposed upon on every hand . Then , again , oonsider the folly of expending thirty thousand pounds , and upwards , on a building before improving their land . Instead of beginning Hke working bees , they have done quite the reverse . Tae bees begin by making honey , using any place for a retreat that may fall most readily in their way . There we have the working bees and the drones living alike on the common store ; building and building , and leaving the honey-making to the last . "

      Such was the account I received of the Socialist community in the village of Broughton , and it is given at full length , because of the opinions of others in the neighbourhood , who spoke to the same effect . When we reached the turnip field , as already said , I remarked to my friend that if these were " Sooialist turnips , " they promised well . They were Sooialist turnips , and we soon after found seven hundred Socialist sheep , which made my fritiid exclaim , u Lord bless me ! who would have thought it 1 " Winding down a gentle declivity , we saw a red three-storied brick building near some large forest trees . These trees seemed the commencement of a

      wooded district , which contrasted pleasantly with the naked country we had travelled over from Salisbury . Ab we approached the red-brick bouse we could observe that its outward form was tasteful and all its proportions substantial . It stood at about fifty yards to our right , while on the left was a farmyard , old and uncomfortable looking , with some ricks of wheat , waggons , pigs , and cattle . Adjoining the farm-yard was a new house , which might have been taken at first view for the respectable residence of a substantial farmer . This we found was built as a temporary residence for thoBe members who arrived previous to the large bouse being built .

      On every side of us we saw unfinished work ; heaps of bricks , piles of mortar , Iog 8 of timber , half-built walls , and broken ground as if in proeeBS of being laid out into gardens . No person being visible , we looked around us for some time ; at last I saw three dogs approaching , which I proceeded to meet , supposing that , as it was Harmony Hall , there could be no harm in meeting the dogs . They did not deceive me ; but one of" them belied the reputation of the place by saarling at the other two . They growled in concert , and then departed on some errand of their own to a dust-heap , where one of them finding a bone , produced a contention much in the same way as dogs do in the old world .

      We advanced to the open door , whioh Bhowed a spacious lobby , from which stairs went down , and stairs went up . I met % middle-aged female who politely told me some one would speak with us presently . Following her were three younger women , plainly , but tidily and respectably , dressed . My eye was following them up stairs , when I perceived a man befors me . He wore a cloth cap , and a respectable suit of clothes . After the preliminary courtesies , I told him that we had come to see the establishment , aad any information he choose to give as would be received as a kindness . We were then conducted into an office , where two men were titting , one aa if posting a ledger , the other writing a letter . All the London daily papers , and several others , were on the table . A book lay open , in which we were requested to write oar names , which jione , our guide , whose name I afterwards understood to be Atkins , or Atkinson , told us to walk "this way . "

      We descended to the basement floor , which , on tke other side of the house , looked out on a level with a lawn partly in process of formation . On this floor there were several large apartments ; one of them a dining room . Dinner was just over , and as a finale to it , the members were singing a beautiful piece of solemn music . Wo were not asked to go into their presence , but we went to the kitchen , after examining an excellent piece of machinery , which , through a tunnel , conveyed the dishes and the dinner from the kitchen to the door of the dining hall . A boy , who was passing , showed us how it worked , and presently several other boys appeared . All of them were so clean and neat in their clothes , so healthy in their appearance , and at the same time so respectful in their manners to us and to each other , that I could not help staying behind to talk with and look at them .

      In the kitchen there were three or four women , with a very large assortment of dishes to wash . J did not know what the dinner had been , but judging from the refuse of bits and scraps , whioh seemed to me to tell more of abundance than economy , 1 supposed they had all got enough of it . Tne women m the kitchen were like all the others , tidy and respectable in appearance . The only thing that puzzled me was , how th ? y should be so ' well as they were , with snch prodigious piles of plates , washed and unwashed , arovndi them . I can Eay nothing adequately descriptive of the fittings of this kitchen . At Brighton I was told that the London architect who superintended the erection of the whole , said that there were very tew kitchens so completely and expensively fitted up in London . 1 am sorry to say that such is to all appearance , and by all accounts the case .

      Outside the kitchen there were commodious washhouses , cellarage , baths , and a well-arranged place for each member to wash himself as he comes from his work beforegoing to meals . Ascending again to the next floor we entered a ball room , and going op stairs we saw the sleeping room ? , all as conveniently arranged as oau be under one roof . Upon the whole the hoase ia commodious , but I was much disappointed at seeing such a house . A village of cottages , each with a garden , would have surely been more appropriate for a working community , and much cheaper ; the sum expended on this building , not yet half furnished , is said to exceed £ 30 , 000 . Such extravagance previous to cultivating the land would Btagger most people on the question of the Bagaeity of the working bees .

      Mr . Atkinson conducted us to the new garden whioh contains twenty-seven acres . I was then introduced to a Mr . Scott , the chief gardener , whom 1 found to be an intelligent and thoroughly practical man . His operations of trenching and planting and indeed gardening in every department , were * extensive . Brickmakers were making bricks ; builders were building ; lime-burners were burning lime ; road makers were making roads ; the shepherds were with the sheep ; nine ploughs were at work ; a hundred acres of wheat were already sown , and more wheat land was being prepared ; a reservoir was being constructed to save all the liquid manure ; and in short , everything was being dene to improve the land which industry and capital could accomplish acd skill direct .

      Mr . Scott was having portions of some of the fields trenched with the spade . He paid the labourers £ 0 per aero for it , and expected them to work so as to make two shillings & day . I remarked that this was more wages than coranon . He said it was ; they only gave the ploughmen said other day labourers nine shillings a week ; bu $ . as it wat scarcely

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      possible to get a good workman in that part of the country , ho allowed a higher rate of wages to ' get them to work with some spirit . In answer to a remark I made about proselytizing their workmen to Socialism , he replied that they never made any attempt ; but if they did attempt it , he believed anything might be accomplished , any change might be effected , but a change in the old slovenly style of working : on that point he believed the present generation of Hampshire labourers to be incurable .

      It will be perceived by this that the members of the community do not themselves cultivate the land . Same of them work in the garden , but few of them I suspect , are fitted for out-door work . Their number was at the time I was there sixty ; thirty more were expected soon after . The quantity of land is 1 , 000 acres , held on a lease of ninety-nine years , at a rent of fifteen shillings an acre . They have the power of purchasing it within that time at a certain price : and they

      nave paid down a deposit on a neighbouring estate of three hundred acre ? . Taeir landlord is Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid . There is some fine wood on the ground , and an avenue of fine old yews , whioh for beauty and extent is perhaps not equalled in any other part of England . The community intend converting a portion of that avenue into a summer ballroom . Adjoining , aro large numbers of full grown trees , resembling the size and shape of the mainmast ; of a man-of-war .

      I saw in several parts of the woodlands that the vegetable mould was gathered into heaps to be carried and used as manure . On almost very estate in the kingdo m there is a n oh soil of this kind that might bo collected and carried away without any injury to the trees . Mixed with lime it is an excellent compost . I did not see the agriculturist , but Mr . Scott , the gardener , was conducting several experiments in the fields with the spade on alternate ridges with the plough . His manner of trenching was this :- — The earth was lifted two spadesful in width , and to the depth of about a foot . This was taken in wheelbarrows to the place where trenching was to cease , there to fill up the last opening . A pick was taken ,

      and the bottom of thd trench loosened to the depth of eight or ten inches . This loosened subsoil was allowed to remain . The adjoining soil , two spadesful in breadth , was then turned ovar , taking care to bury the weeds in the bottom . A second working with the spade in the same trench , turned up a fresh soil to form the surface of the new seed soil . The bottom of this second trench was loosened with the pick as that of the first , and the next was begun by again burying the top mould . They had a subsoil plough on its way from Smith , of Deanstone ' s factory , in Scotland . They were gradually introducing improved implements , bnt the greatest difficulty they found was to get the Hampshire labourers to work With them . Tuey had thirty of these labourers at work .

      I was told at Broaghton that about one-half of the members ate no butcher-meat , but lived entirely on vegetable diet . They at first brewed beer , but now they have curtailed that expense . One shilling a week is allowed for pocket money , but few of them are ever seen to spend even that in the neighbourhood . To conclude , I may remark that I believe their land to be well worth £ 3 per acre of rent , and they only pay 15 s . They have an excellent bargain , if they manage it well ; and whatever may be said of their Social crotchets , it must be said of them that their style of farming is of a superior kind . Those noblemen , gentlemen , clergy and others who dislike the Socialists would do well to show the working population that good farming is not necessarily an

      adjunct of Socialism ; else , perhaps , the working population will think the doctrines of those who pay beet , employ most , and produce the greatest abundance of crops , aro the best doctrines . This is no light subject . Missionaries of all religions in all parts of the- world , in all ages , have succeeded in proselytising moro by introducing arts and sciences , by teaching new means of acquiring wealth , than by preaching abstract theories . We have an eminent instance of this in New Zealand , at the present time ; and unless the landed gentry take a step in advance , or at least side by side in the samo road with the Socialists , they will find the labourers of Hampshire voluntarily converted to the new doctrine . Again I say this is no light subject . Let . the gentry and clergy look to it .

      One who has Whistled at the Plough . Such is the account given by the writer in the Morning Chronicle . He truly says " this is no light subject I" " A thousand aores of land ; " " a treaty for another estate ; " " £ 500 paid on it as a deposit ; " a field of turnips , refreshing to the eye ;" " seven hundred sheep eating them ; " w a building , said to cost £ 30 , 000 ; " " a dinner , judging from the refuse of bits and 6 craps , which seemed to tell more of abundance than economy ; " " a garden of twentyseven acres ; " " brickmakers making bricks ;' ' " builders building ; " " road-makers making roads ;" " nine ploughs at work ; " " a hundred acres of wheat sown , and more wheat laud preparing : " I ' faith , it is " no light subject I "

      All this land , these turnips , these sheep , this garden , these ploughs , and this wheat , are used for the purpose of providing A DINNER for the members of the bee-hive , which tells more of ABUNDANCE than economy ! Truly it is " no light subject !" " Dinner was just over ; and , as a finale to it , the members were singing a beautiful piece of solemn music " I We have often heard the saying " no sons , no 6 upper . " Recent experience has taught the labouring people , that the correct reading is " no dinner , no song ! " ! Here , however , was to be found both dinnee and song ! The reason why these were so found is " no light subject" !

      We advise the labouring people generally to endeavour to find oat that reason ; so that they may again eat and sing ! We suspect that an attentive inquiry will show that reason to be in the fact that the land is occupied by , and worked by , those . who eat the dinner and sing the song ! The Governor of the Establishment where this ABUNDANT DINNER , ( with a song after it !) was found , has deemed it necessary to oorreot one or two trifling inaccuracies in the writer ' s statement . He explains : —

      " Firstly , the regulations of the establishment do not permit of persons coming ' visiting and living idly from all parts of the country , ' Secondly , a very large sum was expended in farm-stock and improvements of various kinds ere any builipgs were erected . These latter have not cost mote than half the sum stated ; and it must be understood that a large proportion of them ue intended for the accommodation of pupils in infant , elementary , and polytechnic schools , which are now forming . Thirdly , very many of the members are at present occupied oa the land ; and it is intended that all shall be partially so occupied . There are other inaccuracies of a minor kind , which it is not deemed necessary to notice . On the- whole , however , the account Is the most correct and Impartial yet given to the world by a stranger . "

      This , then , is what the Socialists are doing . They are occupying land , building dwellings , growing turnips , feeding sheep , sowing wheat , eating abundant dinners , employing labour , paying better wages , and introducing amongst their neighbours an improved system of farming : while their moral example is such as to win golden opinions even from those who have been taught to regard them as the vilest of the vile . At this result of their endeavours so far we must express our most unbounded satisfaction ; with a fervent hope that entire success will attend their future exertions .

      In this expression of satisfaction , however , let us not be mistaken , We do not identify ourselves with the peculiarities of the Socialists . We know that they have some crotchets about" external circumstances ;" and about men being "the creatures of them . " We know also that they have some notions out of the common way , on the questions of Marriage and Divorce . With these , however , we have nothing to do . It is with the occupation and employment of ths Laud to the production and enjoyment of an ABUNDANT DINNER that we wish to direct attention . An

      abundant dinner is an " external circumstance" that we can understand ; and we can also understand that that " circumstance" has a good deal to do in " forming the human character . " To obtain that abckdant Di >^» a for the labouring man is an object of the first importance with us : and it is because that abundant dinnbr has flowed to the Socialists from their having the power to grow their own wheat , , and feed their own sheep , and eat both when grown and fed , that we ask the labouring people to look on at what they are doing !

      The labouring poor must bear m mind that it is not necessary that they all turn Sooialists to enable them te do as the Socialists are doing with the laud . Tbey can-obtain possession of ihe land , and use it , too , to the propuction of an abundant dinneb , for themselves without embracing all the peculiarities of Socialism .

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      We do not [ know that the turnips at Harmony are any bigger , ] or the sheep more fat , or the dinner mote abundant , because , and only because , the inmates of ^ Harmony Hall hold the doctrine that " man is the creature of circumstances . " We suspect that manure and labour had more to do with the "eyerefreshing" jcrop of turnips ; and that the turnips had more to do with the fatting of the sheep , than the bare doctrine of "external circumstances . " Land and labour will produce food : if

      these be in the possession of the labouring people , and if they use them so as to produce an " abundant dinner , " and have sense enough to eat the dinner when it is produced , depend upon it it ! will not be necessary for them to become sectarians of any denomination to enjoy it ! If they produce for themselves a good dinner , and eat it , they may sing after it , without being Socialists ; unless , indeed , Socialism consists in producing , eating , sad singing . '

      Tae above ! account is cheering to the labourers . By it they may see what can be done under most disconraging circumstances . No single sect of men have had a tithe of the opposition to contend with that the Socialists have had . In spite of all , they have secured for themselves " an abpndant dinneb . " That" abondant dinneb" will the labourers generally secure to themselves , whenever they get upon the land ! They will get upon the land whenever they have so operated upon public opinion , as to have it in favour of such an employment of the productive energies of tho soil , and the physical energies of the labourer , as shall end in the production of a good dinner for himself first , and a " biting-on ' ' for whoever may come afterwards .

      To the formation of that public opinion , then , should a portion of their time be devoted ! The question , as we said last week , is making rapid advances . The publication of the above account by the Morning Chronicle is abundant evidence of that fact . It is our duty , and the duty of the poor themselves , to help ; it onwards . To the Socialists we say , Go on ! Produce more turnips , more sheep , and more wheat ! Show what can be done with the land . Introduce the most improved modes of cultivation . Make the most of your bargain I You are engaged in " an experiment "

      whioh , in its issue , may advance or retard the cause of the poor very materially . It is an important problem you have set yourselves to solve . Its solution may have effect upon the world at large . It behoves you , therefore , to be circumspect and mindful . Be iso ! The world will now watch you ! The publio eye is opened upon you ; and if you are not careful , rancour will seize upon some false step of yours , and prevent publio confidence being reposed in you . Your card is a thousand-fold more difficult to play now than before 1 Look well , therefore , before every leap you take !

      We had intended , before closing this article , to have indulged in a friendly remonstrance with some of the Socialists , respecting their " insane" and unaccountable policy towards the Chartists ; and to have addressed some recommendations to both parties as to a future course of conduct towards each other . Time and space , however will not permit us to enter into this branch of our subject . It must be reserved for another opportunity ; when we hope to be able to shew that both greatly mistake their true interests when

      they suppose that their proper positton is in Antagonism to each ! other . Tne end sought by both is the same : there is only a difference as to the means : and while the Chartists ought to have no objection to the Socialists using the means they are doing to give to the world a practical example of what can be done for the ^ eople on the land ; so ought there , on the other hand , to be no objection , bat , on the contrary , aid , from the Socialist to the Chartist , in the obtaining of that power which will enable both to accomplish their end , the Salvation of the starving workers by means of THE L 4 . ND !

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      would not be voting In the dark !—( hear , hear , « , * disapprobation ) . If the Conference were deternuW to act in tots way . be felt beund as an Englbhm ^ and claiming a right to think and act for hlnurelfS say that rather than he would give up his indepen ! dence , he should henceforward recommend | w there should be two parties , and that they toonu carry on their Conference under diffirent aaata —( hear , hear , hear , and much disapprobation ) , u ought to be borne in mind that the Charter was onlyj outline ef the proposed Bill , and that it wanted fliitj , up . Ob the other hand , the Bill had been filled ^ 5

      with very great care , ana u adopted , it would foe tt £ glory of the land—( b . ear , Jhear , and no , no ) . Wby j «* allow the members of the Association the same priviw which the advocates of the Charter demanded for thja ? selves ?—( heat , hear ) . If it was to be said , " you ran * come to us first , " he must Bay no—( hisses ) . As a clergy m&tx ot the Church of England , he could converse ifw ! a Dissenter on the principles of Christianity , without any sacrifice of his ewn convictions ; but if the Dissents asked him to turn to his way ef thinking , he would nc * do so . Neither on the other hand would he g « b the Dissenter to coma to him . He wanted liberality i » reli well elseaud he

      gion as as everything , rejoin ^ nay that with respect to the brethren in the Church there was & disposition , when they saw a man dete / mined to think for himself , to allow him to do so . gj wanted to lower the taxes ; bat he would do it in . fair way . He wanted to reform the Church ; batfcj wished to do it in accordance with scriptnral resioa He wished to extend the elective franchise , and m every man in possession of bis civil rights ; bat h * sought to do that by peaceable and legitimate meuj . and he weuld be no party to anything that could te 2 te disorder or to destruction of the national instituttont —( hissing and much contusion ) . "

      If any man can wish for more evidence of % insincerity of the Sturge party , when they talk of " uniou between the middle and working classes , than is afforded by this speech , we wish him joy of his stupidity . As an attempt at argument we bsT& seldom read or heard a speech which was more sue . cessful in the answering of itself . Ab a cover for the deep designs of the Sturge men , it is , though the best effort of the party , a perfect failure . The Rev . Gentleman " saw no reason why they should be bound to a p 3 ticular document , because it happened to hav& been introduced fire years ago . "

      Did this very sentiment furnish to the Rev . Gen . tleman no argument against their being" bound to a particular document , because it happened to hity been introduced , " the previous evening ! Surely a five years acquaintance with a document should , at least , even in the estimation of a Sturge man ss gsod a reason for adhering to it as a firg minutes acquaintance ! How futile , then , is the argument ( 1 ) which so overturns itself ! But look tX the dishonest perversion of facts contained in these few words . It was not because the Charter had been five years before the publio that the supporters

      of the amendment wished it to be made the basis of discussion ; but because its provisions were familiar to them . They knew all about them ; they knew that they did contain an embodiment of the great principles for the success of whioh Mr , Spencsr , and the rest of the Sturge men professed anxiety ; they knew that it had obtained the confi . dence of the working classes favourable - to those principles ; they knew also that it had obtained tbs confidence of many among the more honest of the middle classes favourable to those principles ; they were sincere and earnest in their desire for a union

      of all those among the middle and working classes who do hold them , for the furtherance of those principles ; and they concluded naturally and rightly , as all parties honestly seeking- union must have concluded , that they were more likely to effect that union by taking , as their basis , a common ground , over which both had travelled and were familiar with , than by taking a new ground of which neither knew anv thing at all but what Mr . Biggs and Mr . Spencer might be pleased to tell them about it .

      This course must have been approved and adopted by all parties desiring to effect a union between tke middle and working classes for the legislative establishment of the great principles contained in iig Charter ; but this course was not approved ui adopted by the Sturgemen ia the late Conferences therefore the Siurgemen in the late Conference had no desire to promote such a union . In his laudation of the " five hour monster , " Mr , Spehceb expressed his wish that every delegate had read it . If it had been the wish of bis party for the delegates to be acquainted with the

      contents of the Bill , they had the means of gratifying their own wish . The Bill was printed , and might have been put into the hands of every delegate , ai the same time with his caxd of admission . And , considering the stand which the Sturgemen intended to take upon the Sill , it ought to have been so presented to each delegate . Each delegate rroula ihea have had an opportunity—a very indifferent one to be sure—but still some opportunity of reading it , of acquainting himself with its details , and of noting its great superiority over the Charter , so muen dilated on by the Rev Speaker . Bat this didn't

      suit the Sturgemen at all . Their object from the first was to avoid everything upon which a leal union for principle could be effected . And we verily believe that if thsy had thus furnished each delegate with a copy of their Bill , and if , upon examination , the Bill had been actually found to provide honestly and fairly for the enforcement of the great principles , and it had therefore been cordially and unanimously adopted by the delegates to the exclusion of the Charter , they would have been filled with disappointment and consternation ; they wovHi have been agonized with fear lest the delegates

      should be able to bring the people into like modes of thinking * , and so effect that " union" which in their very hearts we believe they dread . We havfl no doubt that if this had been so , or if the Chartist delegates , determined on " union" had even swallowei the " pig in a poke , " and taken the monster ss ' A was , we should have had the Sturgites themselres the very loudest of all parties ia denouncing these delegates for inconsistency , for fioklenessof mindt and for bad faith to their constituents , in the hope that by this means they might split up the people into sections , and so prevent the" union . "

      " He contended that they had as much right to a name as any body else . He did not see why any person should be compellad to call himself a Chartist . '' Here again , the perversion and the sophistry which form the cloven foot of party peeps out from under the Rev . speaker ' s argument The question of the " name" was not at all before the Conference . It was the thing they were talking of ; the documentthe embodiment of principles . About names there had been , as yet , no discussion ; nor had they been at all introduced , except as the Reverend speaker and a few of hia " Sucking Pig" friends had log *^ them in , nohns volens , to form a cover for theil policy .

      But , if it bad even been a question of names , thfr argument of the Reverend Gentleman is again ft two-edged one . If he objected to the name of the Charter , surely his Christian prinoiple should hara taught him that others had an equal right to objset to any other name . And since he must know that uniou can be obtained only by one of two courses ] sameness of view , or concession , his Christian principle should have again taught him , that if honestly desiring union , the minority should bo prepared at all times to concede to the BJajority every thing which might not involve a sacrifice of the thing to be united for . Now it was admitted by Mr . Spencer , and by all the Sturge men , that the Charter does contain an embodiment of their

      principles . It was admitted by Mr . Stubok in bw opening speech , that the only prejudice and objection was against the name ; that the thing was tbe very thing Which they desired ; that they considered "a union with the working classes" necessary for its attainment ; and that they had , therefore , invited them to this Conference for the purpose of obtaining such a union . We say that under such circumstances bad it been a question about names , then Christian principle should have instructed themf that inasmuch as the name was not the prinoiptei and that the principle might be as well recognized under one name aa another , it was their dnty , rather than to jeopardise the union , to concede the point to the majority . So that if it ha « even been a question about names , the obstinacy *»

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      THE" SUCKING PIG V AND THEIR DESIRE FOR "UNION . " There is matter in the speeches and discussions of this Conference with whioh we might yet occupy many columns more than we are disposed to devote to it , in confirmation of the correctness of the views we have always taken , aud the justness of the suspicions we have always expressed of the motives and purposes of the Sturge-men and their adherents . Indeed , we might begin and go through everyone of the speeches made by them on the motion of Mr . Lovett ' s , at which we laid down the subject last

      week , and through j the whole of their proceedings afterwards ; and evjary single squeak of every single " piggy" might bej seen to furnish evidence of the same truth ; the truth , that their " talk" of union was mere hypocritic cant , and that their purpose was , as it is , and has ever been , to sever the working olasses into two bodies ; carrying away the weak-minded , the short-sighted , and the bad-principled , after the free trade phantasy ; and leaving , as they hoped , the remainder too . weak to effect any useful purpose . We say that evidence of this shines through all their Conference acts aud speeches , and

      all that they have done and written since . But the task of analysing such a mass of ill-covered sophistry , plain contradictions , and clumsily concealed personal malignity as showed itself at the Conference , is one for which we have little stomach ; it is rather too extensive a piece of dirtines ? . We take , therefore , a sample from the sack ; and that the sack may be well judged of we take the best sample , the speech of the Rev . Mr , Spencsb upon Lovjsit ' s motion for making the Charter the basis of discussion in the preparation of the Bill which they were met to prepare . Mr . Spekceb said : —

      "He saw no reason why they should be bound to a particular document , because it happened to have bees introduced five years- ago—( hear , hear . ) He wished that 6 very delegate had read another document , which be would call tne " People ' s Bill of Rights , ' - and he thought they would find it an improvement upon the Charter ; more liberal , more generous , more for the people's good , and more for the protection of their rights , than the Chattier—( hear , hear , and ' * No , no . " ) He contended that they had as much tight to a name as any body else—( hear , bear . ) It was said that there was a prejudice on jthe part of the association in favour of a name—( hear , hear . ) He certainly did not

      see why any person should be compelled to call himself a Chartist—( hear , hear . ) He was in favour of Complete Suffrage , aud he would do his utmost to catty out tbe details necessary for its enactment , but be objected to a body of men coming there and saying , that they should not consider the principle under any other name than the People's Charter . ( Hisses . ) He was present at the last Conference , and the members of the Complete Suffrage Association conceded almost every thing to the advocates of j the Chatter which could be asked of them , bat nothing was eonceded in return . ( Cries of no , no . ) He repeated the truth of the assertion . But did tbey repent what they had done ? Ne .

      They thought that what they bad done was right . He trusted that he had the interest of tho working classes at heart as much as any man living , and hia hope for them in this movement was the union of their own body with the electoral body ; the infusion of fresh energy , fresh life , aud ; fresh blood from another class . ( Cheers . ) Let the working classes have their own field . He thought the members of tbe Complete Suffrage Association could render them much service ia working separately ; but if they remained one party , and that a divided one , ] the effect of the new movement would be lust fox ever . ; ( Hear , hear , and no , no . ) He had beard the Bill to which so many allusions had been

      made , read over , accompanied with the explanation of the accomplished banister who had drawn It up , and he was surprised at the ' opinion expressed by one gentleman who advocated tbe Chatter , who could not have seen much of the Bill , ] that it was bad in the preamble and in its clauses . ( Hear , bear , hear , from Mr . O'Connor ) . He ( Mr . Spencer ) had brought his common sense to bear in judging ; of tbe bill ; and he muBt eay that he did ] not think the opinion be had alluded to , was a eorrecfc one . He had read the Chatter , too . He bad heard it 1 explained , and if gentlemen would only consent to have tbe Bill ef the Association ,

      which had been drawn [ up with great care and at a great expence—if thejr weald consent to have it discussed , then , at the end they would be able to say whether they thought the bill or the Charter the most valuable —( hear , hear , hear ) . He could not understand why it was . contended that the Charter should be the basis of discussion . Every body knew what the Chatter -was , but every body did not know what the bill of the Complete Suffrage Association was—( hear , hear ) . If they condemned a measure about which tbey knew nothing , he would ask } whether they would not ba blindly following blind ! leaders , and whether they

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  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 21, 1843, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct465/page/5/