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844 HtfyV 3Lt&btX ' + [Saturday,
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ASSOCIATION IN AMERICA. [We have receive...
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Public Opinion. Glancing At Things In Ge...
nounced , we see nothing in it ; for , if the thing is to be done , it is better that there should be no mistake about it . " The Londonderry Standard prefaces an explanatorypaper on the new Tenant Right Bill thus : — " The Conference , which was expected with so much interest , took place on Wednesday week , at the Imperial Hotel , Dublin . Mr . Sharman Crawford was accompanied by twelve members of the House of Commons , among whose names we are sorry to see nono from the North . Twelve or thirteen more have written , promising their support to the bill : Lord Castlereagh is one of these . — " We have , now , therefore , something tangible , anddennite , and hopeful to present to the tenant-farmers . ' The Northern Whig asks where the blame will lie , if Ministers prosecute the Irish Bishops : —
" The parties who procured the enactment of the bill , took very great pains to believe it should remain a dead letter . Probably their intention was that it should so remain ; but , at all events , the leaders of the movement , so inauspiciously entered on in this country , have not allowed the sincerity of their declaration to be tested . With a wrong-headed precipitancy , and an intemperate zeal which we must regret as much as we condemn , they have gone far to deprive the Government of every excuse for leniency , and have rendered it almost impossible for them to escape a conflict with the Executive . " " Tithe-hunting and Land Monopoly" occupy the Norfolk News : —
" We do not hesitate to affirm that any law or usage which gives to an individual member of the community , whatever his rank or position may be , the absolute and unqualified right to control , for a long series of years after he shall have quitied this world , the destination of vast territoiies , overlooks the primary and essential principle to which all rights of property are subject . That which was given originally for the support of many thousand families , cannot , without a gross violation of a most sacred principle , be placed at the uncontrollable disposal of any one man , for the simple and obvious reason that those thousand have a right to live given to them by a charter of infinitely higher authority than any human law . All regulations , therefore , affecting the transfer or devolution of property , should be reconcileable wi ; h those original and indefeasable rights which are pi ior and paramount to all human laws . "
The Leeds Times attacks the Universities : — "The inveterate tendency towards pries : ism in both universities , but especially in that of Oxford , will not be thoroughly checked until the whole system of study is so modified as to take freely the impress of the pervading spirit and character of the age , and admit the new knowledge , now in form or substance , which the active and inquisitive intellect of our own times is continually accumulating ; and until the Shibboleth of a religious test is abolished , and the doors of the . * e groat national institutions , and the paths To university preferments and distinctions , are thrown open to men of every faith . " In an article playing " the dispassionate critic " on both parties , the . Dublin Commercial Journal gives the following passage : —¦
" It is hard to say which is right ana which is wrong . We iiritl the Prime Minister agitating an empire to crush a name ; and the Bishops convulsing a kingdom to maintain a title evidently incoi rcct . " O ; i the prospect of the Reform Hill to be passed in the Greek Kalends of " next session , " the Bedford Mercury somewhat earnestly recommends the acceptance of any modicum however small , of any concession however minute : —¦ " Now we are aware that our advice will be scouted by our sanguine li . i'lical friends , ( iive them Universal Sufl ' iai ^ c , and they think therewith to make a political
heaven , and with nothing else will they be satisfied , lint they must excuse ; us if we are not so sanguine . Much observance and much thought have considerably dimmed the bri f . , Iuiicns of that Utopia which we once hoped to obtain by political change ; and we have learned that more depends upon the : character of ; i people than upon political organizations . The whole object of the reprebcnt . it . ive . system is to secure the wisest and best , to govern ; but , what if there be no wine and good ? Or if the people are to > stupid or wicked to know iliem ? Or if tlie people know them , and are too corrupt to chouse them ? . Let . us thoughtfully consider these questions . "
In its nummary of news tin ; Scotsman , after stating the annihilation of 1 . 1 ic ( Constitution by the Kmperor of Austria , nays that the object of the report ; demanded from the Ministers in tin ; last of the epistolary oidmaiices is plainly not to " carry out . the Constitution , " but to " write its epitaph " : —
" What the final result of tins open perfidy and auda ciouM defiance of public opinion on the part of nionarcliH will be , c . ui scarcely be doubtful to pci . sonu who have Htudied the history of the last sixty yearn . " 'I'rcuun . u / i' ' . v il . tctcr i'hjituj I ' ost is very angry with the Irish ( , 'ul . holies for breaking the law , and treats Lord John Russell vei y scornfully for not having the pluck to enforce ! the law . It , applauds the The . si"er- \ Vnlpole piovihot s , and thus perorates : -
" Lord John Kusucll has not the courage to enforce obedience to the 1 iw -hence we may lake it . for grunted that so long as the present Ministry exists , at . least mo far as Ireland in concerned , the law is to be considered u dead letter ; thus the honour of the Crown is tarnished by the dictum of a foreign Sovereign being allowed to impcrncde an Act of Parliament panned by tho Jirititm Legislature . " JouruuliutH in Ireland , with any eluima to
independence , see nothing but evil as a result of the Ecclesiastical Title Bill . The Dublin World places . Lord John in a dilemma . Here is one side : — " But suppose the constitution trampled down , the Catholic blotted from the panel , and an Orange attestation established as the passport to the jury-box , would even Protestants sign their own death-warrant and say ' guilty' —how many squadrons of dragoons and regiments of infantry would protect the twelve household hearths—what posse of police , backed by artillery , would guard the prison-van that bore a Primate ? Would Government beg his Grace to stay the raging ocean—from persecutors would they turn suppliants—would they become beggars or butchers—would they point a new moral for the future census—or would they rely on the compassion of their victim ?"•
Eulogising the Queen as " worth allied to rank , and " power sublimed by virtue , " the PrestonGuardian indulges in an exquisite alliterative sentence : — " We believe this to be the case with our Queen and her Consort , both of whom have conciliated the affections of the people by the exhibition of domestic , social , and political excelle " acies , such as if exhibited by royal personages generally , would effectually dissociate the ideas of thrones and thraldom , sceptres and scourges , in men ' s minds , and render republicanisms , remote theory . " * * " Let royally be brought into more frequent communion with the people ; let it see how the masses from whom its splendour is derived , work , and live , and endure ; and the result will be a mutual appreciation and confidence , affording the best guarantee for the maintenance of authority on one hand , and the extension of liberty on the other . "
"All about nothing ! Under this modest title the Wolverhampton Herald publishes above two long columns of sprightly gossip upon things in general ; traversing a multitude of topics , from "his infamous Majesty of Naples " to the yachts Titania and America .
844 Htfyv 3lt&Btx ' + [Saturday,
844 HtfyV 3 Lt & btX ' + [ Saturday ,
Association In America. [We Have Receive...
ASSOCIATION IN AMERICA . [ We have received the following communication from one of the most enlightened and consistent of British Socialists , William Pare . It is an extract from a private letter by a lady now visiting the " States . " Mr . Pare ' s introductory letter was inserted in our last Open Council by an error of the printer . ] New York , March 4 , 1851 . My dear T , —We have just returned from a visit of three days to the North American Phalanstery , near lied Bank , Shrewsbury County , New Jersey .
This society is formed on Fourier ' s principles , which aie carried out as far as they can be under the circumstances . It has existed seven years , and is still going on prosperously , by which I mean they are producing more than they consume . Last year they realized a profit of two thousand dollars , after paying all expenses . They have just finished a large building , with very superior arrangements for cooking and washing . They arc also taking advantage of a little waterfall on the estate to put up a waterwheel , which will work a force-pump , and so convey water into every part of the building .
Their . sources of income are , first , a Com Mill , wheie they not only grind their own wheat , but that of their neighbours , and buy from the latter a great deal of Indian corn , which they manufacture into what is called fancy grains ; they make the best hominy in the State , and have a greater demand than they can supply . This mill is worked by steampower , which works a Saw Mill for preparing the timber for their buildings , all of which are of wood . They send a <> ood deal of fruit to New York market . In tho . summer they have a great number of visitors , which they find profitable though charging only half a dollar a day for boaid and lodging . We were treated the same as the members , the food plain , but good of the kind .
At breakfast ( which we could have at six or halfpast seven o ' clock , a . m . ) there was tea , coffee , hominy buckwheat , cakes , bread and butter , and cold meat . The same at . twelve o ' clock for dinner , with tho addition of potatoes and stewed peaches . Tea , at half-past six , was another edition of dinner , minus the ; potatoes . The estate contains about 700 acres , and is heavily mortgaged at , 7 per cent , interest . This is a heavy burden on them ; but they , nevertheless , seem eonlident of ultimate success . It , is a joint-stock company , likeour railways . All the property in in . shares , I think , of ten dollars each .
1 hey are governed by an executive ! council , consisting of u president , secretary , treasurer , and four or five members . For working , the people me divided into groups ; each group choosing one of their number for : i chief , who in responsible- for the work bein <' properly done . The cooking group consists of three women and one ; man who is the head . " Very proper , " you say , and 1 ugwn ; with you ; because , a is his fitness , not his sex , ( hat , places him there . There are men and wo men in the washing group ; there u women lakes the lead . ( iive all equal chances ; let those reign who are moat worthy .
len bourn is considered u day ' s work . Kaeli member bus u book , mid enters daily how many bourn be or whe htm worked , and in whut group . Thia work ie pouted to bib or her credit once u mojuth by tho
secretary . These books are kept in one particular place , and are open to the inspection of every mem ber at all times . This plan is found efficient : no on attempts to cheat . The married people h ave a sit ting-room and two small bedrooms opening from it " for which they are charged about eight dollars per annum . These they are expected to furnish , and keen clean . They are paid , for everything else they do and mustTpay for all they receive . ' Women who have babies are not expected to do anything but take care of them , their husbands paying for their board . Those who have no incum ! brance of this kind , or whose children are old enough to go to school , join some of the working groups and are pecuniarily independent of their husbands ' which , from all I heard and saw , seems very favourable to connubial bliss .
Half a day ' s labour is found sufficient to maintain each person . They may do more or less , there is no restraint upon them ; they are paid only for what they do . Some work a day and a half , others half a day in one group and a half a day in another . Even the President forgets his high station , and becomes a Avorkcr under other chiefs . He is at the head where he is fit : where he does not excel , he is satisfied to work under the direction of others .
I never saw so interesting an exhibition , of the democratic spirit anywhere as here , or one so much to my mind . Every month they have a meeting to settle their accounts , make changes in the groups , & c . & c . At the end of the year they see what they have exported and imported—calculate what is the value of food consumed by a definite number , and what they have gained by their labour , and by this fix the rate of wages , and the charge for board for the next year . They have different rates according to the work and the skill of the worker . In the house , washing takes the premium , cooking next , waiting and sewing lower .
Each individual is valued , by the group in which he or she works ; for instance , if one woman can iron three shirts better than another can iron two in the same time , she is paid more wages by the consent of that group . If any consider themselves undervalued , they change till they are appreciated , If any wish to visit the outer world , they can go , by paying their own expenses , but must return within the year or forfeit their membership . Fortunately for me , one of these absentees returned the day I arrived , and offered to introduce me to the Phalansteriiin mysteries . We went first to the school , where I found about ten boys and girls drawing a vice , from a copy on a blackboard ; a definition of the same was written underneath . The
school-master ( who is also dancing-master ) teaches three hours in a morning , after which he assists in keeping the books ; he is succeeded in the school-room by a lady , who teaches the girls sewing . Most of the members hold a plurality of ofliccs ; they say it answers very well , by changing they can work longer without being tired , and can more easily supply the place of an absent member . My chaperone was very communicative about every thing except the rate of wages , and the price of their board . On this subject she was silent , in spite of my bints and questions . I could not see any reason for secrecy in a case like this . No matter ; I gained the information I required from a young man who sat next me at tea , who had lived here from the
commencement or the community . He said when they began they gave high wages , some of the men had two dollars a day . At the end of the year they found that they could not go on at that rate . They had to reduce wages . Now a few of the men got one dollar and a-half , some one dollar , others half a dollar . The women vary from one dollar to half a dollar . All over fourteen arc charged one dollar and a-half per week for board , washing and sewing extra . . — 1 -H- - - — - ^ - — « » - . » * ^ V ¦
^^ At lirst there was a good deal of quarrelling ana many left . Now they agree very well , and arc very particular who they admit as members . The candidates must be there a year on probation , then tnoa by a juiy of twelve ; if they have a majority in then " favour , they are admitted ; if otherwise , they must retire . There is a store , at which tho members can purchase their clothes at cost price . The women wear a short dress and trousers , w they are working , on account of convenience , 1
reserving their long petticoats for drens occaMO '" They appear to work very hainioniously together . I must make honourable mention of one to whom was introduced in the kitchen . There , she was subordinate , acting under male supremacy , but as nurse and doctor she stood unrivalled and alone . They attribute it to ber skill that , in a population ( 100 they have never bad a death , except that of tw babies ; though they had 2 . ' 5 ill of the smallpox i once . Sbe treated them bydropathically , with l » w
loot success . . .. Altogether I was very much pleased with my vim The system adopted here , while it secures to t ! iu ; 1 ' j advantages of combination , neems more favourable individual development and independence than anything of the kind 1 have bouii . It in very m l y ( inOl u ( . the Quuceiiwood experiment ; and I like V > m hotter than a German community I vi » ite « » °
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 6, 1851, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06091851/page/8/
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