On this page
-
Text (3)
-
126 Jgt F* 3lffrfr*?» [Satprdav^
-
AMERICAN INTERVENTION IN EUROPE. As addi...
-
PROGRESS OF ASSOCIATION. MR. CONINGIIAM'...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Intramural Interments. A Deputation Wait...
that some years ago they ; provided a bnri jjn wmdjjidi was remote from buildings , but by the increase or The tow ™ it has now been included in the town itself , and Sis way many cemeteries ^ ve become , surrounded bv houses That being the case , and it being neo & saSTat burialgrounds should be . provided at ; ^ e SanL . of course there would be no very great difficult ^^ regarded the ric h At the poor , because the parish undertakes the interment of the poor ; but there is , with rcaVd to a vast mass of the middle classes of the people , affinity , as they would ^ have to pay a cons . derable sum for the interment of their families . And with reTard f ° 5 o the working' of the ^ plan that has been there is anotherdifficultywhich does
suggested , ^ , not belong to the locality , but which refers to the size of the parish ; because , while the new parishes , if I may so call them , consist of very large districts—most of them immensely populous—there are in the old parts of the town very small parishes , which , of course , would be neither able to go to the same expenditure , or take the same large and comprehensive view as these larger parishes ; therefore , there are difficulties belonging to the subject ; but I trust that the measure under consideration , when it is produced , may be satisfactory , and at all events we shall be ready to listen to any amendment that may be proposed . So far from its heinff the obiect of the Government to have any control
in these matters , they have quite enough to do already , and it is , I assure you , far from their wish to be incumbered with them . " . Mr . Cooper begged to ask whether his lordship had any objection to having the proceedings of the deputation published , with his lordship ' s remarks ? Lord J . Russell : I have no objection whatever ; but I reserve to myself the right of denying it if anything is attributed to me that I may not have said . The deputation then withdrew .
126 Jgt F* 3lffrfr*?» [Satprdav^
126 Jgt F * 3 lffrfr *?» [ Satprdav ^
American Intervention In Europe. As Addi...
AMERICAN INTERVENTION IN EUROPE . As additional evidence of the fact that the foreign policy of the United States is about to undergo a change , we cite the following passage from the address of his Excellency G . S . Boutwell , Governor of Massachusetts , to the two branches of the Legislature in convention on the 15 th of January , " You have , gentlemen , authorized the Executive to invite Louis Kossuth to thjs Commonwealth . This tiust will be cheerfully and faithfully executed . Your action will be regarded as an expression of the sympathy of Massachusetts for the distinguished exile , and for the cause of European liberty , which he so _ truely represents . The common sentiment of America is on the side of constitutional governments . Nor will this sentiment be satisfied , with an individual , unofficial expression . It will also demand , through the diplomatic agents of the
country , a distinct declaration on the part of Austria and Russia as to their future purposes . If these governments shall assert the right of iaterference in the domestic affairs of European nations , or shall decline to make a distinct declaration upon this point , it would seem proper for our government to give them notice that we assert on our part an equal right to interfere in favour of republican or constitutional governments , reserving to ourselves of course the power to judge the circumstances and the necessity of interference as events transpire . If , however , contrary to our expectations , Austria and Russia should assent to the doctine of nonintervention , our object will have been gained . We cannot , in any view of the subject , quietly submit to the absorption of the smaller states of Europe by the larger , and the final subjection of all to two or three allied despotisms . "
Progress Of Association. Mr. Coningiiam'...
PROGRESS OF ASSOCIATION . MR . CONINGIIAM ' S LECTUJtK , AT PORTSMOUTH , ON THE FRENCH COOI'ERATIVE MOVEMENT . On Saturday evening , Mr . Coningham delivered a lecture in the Athenaeum , Pprtsoa , on the Cooperative movement in France in 1848-49 V The hall was well filled by an assembly composed of the elite of the working clasaes . The Reverend W . Ciiignelx , an Independent minister , occupied the chair . Mr . Coninoiiam commenced his lecture by showing the difference between production and distribution . He said , the requisites of production were two : labour , and the materials and forces supplied by nature . Unlike the laws of production , those of
distribution wero chiefly of human institution . Besides labour and natural agents , the primnry requisites of production , there waa another requisite without which no productive operationH were posaiblo , namely , a stock of the produce of labour , termed capital , which was often aupposed to bo synonymous with money ; but money , in itself , could afford no assistance to production . To do that , it must bo exchanged for other things . " What ' capital doos for production ia , to afford tho materials , & c , which the and to
work requires , maiutuin the lubaiirera during tho process . TheHO aro . tho ticrvicoa which present labour requires from past , and from , tho produce of past , labour . And , when one or more workmen poshobs wtock or capital BuflUsiuiu both to purchase the materials for thoir work and to maintain thoniHolvflS until it be completed , they tlu .-u tako tho wholo produce of their own labour . In tho cooperative Harm or factory , associated Jabpur , talont , and capital , uro employed in production ; in tho cooperative store they are employed in distribution , or trade '
^ After a piianing allusion to thri various uncial theories of auciont and modern times , tho Lecturer proceeded to deapribo some of the scones of tho eventful
vear 1848 , and to refute the calumnious accusation against M . Louis Blanc . He stated that the Reyolu , tion had given a powerful impulse to the social and cooperative movement . The Provisional Govern , ment , on the 25 th of February , issued the memorable proclamation by which the bight of every citizen to IiABOu ; r Was affirmed . . * , V On the 28 th , the decree for theCommission oi the Luxembourg was issued , of which M . Louis Blanc was appointed President , and M . Albert Vice-President . The Commission met for the first time on the 1 st of March . By the 20 th , the number of delegates to the bona fide Operative Parliament had increased to five hundred . . , immediate solu
The two questions which required - tion were—1 . A reduction of the hours of labour . 2 . The abolition of " marchandage' —the system of middlemen , sweaters , or piecework contractors . Both these demands were readily acceded to by the employers . . ' , . .. „ Mr . Coningham then gave some interesting details of the military organization of the Ateliers Nationaux of the Champ de Mars , which , soon became a cause of serious uneasiness to the Commitsion of the Luxembourg . These ateliers , as they were called , were established by a decree of the Provisional Government , which was never signed by M . Louis Blanc : indeed , it was issued by the other members of the Government during his temporary absence from the Hotel de Ville .
. . After the 15 th of May , the conferences ^ of the Luxembourg were interdicted ; but one leading idea had been brought prominently forward during the brief and incomplete discussions of the Commissionthe idea of Cooperative Association . , The Lecturer then gave a detailed account of the formation of the Tailors' Association of the Riie de Clichy , for the purpose of executing a Government contract for 100 , 000 uniforms ; which was , in fact , a
mere temporary expedient for employing the unemployed and famishing workmen . After three months ' trial , when the formation of a real Cooperative Association was becoming possible , the disastrous insurrection of June broke forth . On the 23 rd , the men of Clichy never quitted their work ; on the two following days , they were unable to reach the workshops ; but when , on the 26 th , the shops were again opened , twelve men only , out of 1600 , were found absent .
The ateliers of the Champ de Mars had been suddenly and violently disbanded by the intrigues of the Royalist party , who disappeared during those terrible days , and were fatal to the Republic . The People was conquered by Republicans—a dearlybought victory , by which reaction alone triumphed . Mr . Coningham summed up and concluded his lecture by showing : — 1 . That M . Louis Blanc was not the founder of the Ateliers Nationaux ; but , on the contrary , that the ateliers were organized as a military force to oppose the Luxembourg , or . to descend into the streets if necessary ( to use the words of M . Marie , a " white " Republican ) ; / ,
2 . That the plan of making Government advances for the purpose of employing the workmen originated with the cloth manufacturers of France ; 3 . That while the work of the Ateliers Nationaux was totally unproductive , the work of the tailors of Clichy was not only productive , but profitable ; And , finally , that the military organization of the Ateliers Nationaux ( founded by the Republican Doctrinaires ) broke out into open and bloody rebellion , while th ' e industrial organization of Clichy ( founded by Socialists ) remained firm and loyal in its obedience to the laws , and faithful in its adhesion to the cause of order . The Lecturer , who was listened to with the utmost attention , and was loudly cheered , then resumed his scat .
Mr . G . R . vine moved a vote of thanks to the Lecturer , and requested that he would consent to publish his address . Mr . Stroud seconded the motion , which was carried by acclamation , as well as a vote of thanks to the reverend Chairman .
ASSOCIATION IN MANCHR 8 TUR . A lecture waa delivered on Thursday week by the Reverend T . G . Lee , in the Mechanics' institution , at Manchester , for the purpose of pointing out the immoral tendency of the present competitive system , and of showing what tho working men should adopt and the public promote . Tho appended report is extractod from tho columns of tho Manchester Examiner . , Mr . Lee Hftid that somo might blamo him , being a minister , for treating upon such a matter , but his
answer was , that tho gospel ho preached was a whole gospel , and relbrrod to tho bodies us well as to tho houIh of men . The divine codu waa a higher system than time of human legislation , and took cognisance of human thoughts ; it regarded that man an a murderer who Uatod his brother ; required thorn to act towards otliors an thoy would like others to act towards them . With this law , tho system of competition wa » altogether at variance , and either tho law of heaven muat alter , or the system opposed to it must como down . But tho kingdoms of this world
are to become the kingdoms of God , and all human things were destined to revolve in harmony with the divine system which God has revealed . The com , petitive system set at defiance the law of loving their neighbours as themselves ; it led one man to rejoice at the downfall of another , who was thus benefited by seeing his competitor driven out of the field . When one man became a bankrupt , another would purchase his stock at a low . rate ; and then the purchaser would issue large placards inviting the public to come and reap a rich harvest out of the misfortune of his fellow-tradesman . It generated the feelings which actuated the slaveholder , by leading the master
to calculate what he could make out of the men , the women , and the children . It led to the disreputable practice of servants being employed in order to bribe customers to various establishments . It created a money respectability instead of a real respectability . If money were only obtained , whether it was by selling plaster 6 f paris for flour ^ or chicory for coffee , the man , when become rich , would be looked upon as respectable . He believed the associative principle to be in harmony with the doctrines of Christ . With regard to the practicability of associated labour , it was urged against it , as an obstacle , that the working men were too ignorant to manage business . He admitted the
truth of this remark to some extent , but he charged the blame upon the competitive system . It was a piece of hypocrisy . Gentlemen superciliously charged the working men with ignorance , and yet would not allow them opportunity for improvement . He believed that many of them were more qualified for business than some of the masters supposed ; and , at any rate , he should like to see them try if they could not manage to their own satisfaction . But another difficulty , which was said to be the cardinal one , was want of mutual confidence . The Manchester papers had dwelt much upon that topic ; but he hoped the men would try to establish confidence amongst
themselves . They must learn to submit to a "ruling spirit . They must elect a man -whom they could trust , and then obey him as their master . About 6000 mechanics were said to be out of work in Manchester ; and he would recommend them all to commence one grand establishment , and . pay the gentlemen back with their own coin . They might carry out the principle of concentration for their own advantage , instead of for their masters' . The profits of the forty-six or fifty establishments in Manchester would clear a profit of not less than £ 350 , 000 annually . Now , in Salford all the burgesses were shareholders in a gas company , which cleared £ 6400 a-year . In Manchester the
gasworks belong to all the burgesses , ana produced nearly £ 40 , 000 yearly . The shareholders elect a council , the council elect a committee , and these manage for the others . This was cooperation ; and the railway companies and banks were on a similar principle , and the working men might imitate them . It was said they were short of capital to carry on such workshops . Why , the working people did not know how rich they were . Mr . Lee then referred to the last report of the Manchester Savings Bank , and stated that mechanics had deposits to the amount of £ 52 , 000 ; the bricklayers , £ 21 , 000 ; the calico printers , £ 27 , 000 ; domestic servants , the chief
of whom were women , £ 116 , 604 . Many of these were doubtless in want of husbands , and would be glad to let their money aid the cooperation . The total of the various classes was £ 266 , 923 . 18 s . 9 d . The cotton-spinners had £ 50 , 000 . Let them cooperate and order machinery ; that would give employment to the mechanics , and produce for themselves the means of prosperity . The Manchester newspapers did not side with them ; they ought , therefore , to have a newspaper of their own . Mr . Lee then proceeded to point out several successful cooperative establishments , situate at Leeds , Bacup , Whit Lane , and Hey wood . In the latter case he said
they had turned over £ 11 , 000 in twenty-one months , and cleared £ 560 . It was his earnest desire that there might be no more strikes ; that no master should be coerc ed into giving a certain price ; but that matters of dispute should be left to arbitration . They must try to put a stop to those struggles . If the money which had been spent in strikes had been employed in cooperative labour , there would have been none of the present disturbance . He was quite aware that there were amongst tho masters who had closed their establishments Borne gontlemen of benevolent dispositions , but they were bound to carry out tho system . He thought that the churches had something to do with the question ;
they ought to recommend tho wealthy among them to bo willing to abide by an arbitration ; since , if they wore in tho right , and had a good cause , thoy had bo much tho lesa ground to fear iv decision being against them . Tho lecturer then gave eomo details of a plan for getting gradually into , tho possession of workshops . Ho suggested that they should endeavour to render all possible assistance to tho small and reasonably disposed masters ; that they should outer into an agroement with them to pay ftyo per cent , for the capital invested ; a certain suin to * management ; and then , at the end of tho year , the profits to bo divided , ono-half to tho owner , and tHo other to tho operatives , At tho decease of the owner , an equitable arrangment to be made with the widow
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 7, 1852, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07021852/page/10/
-