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Ma y 8y 1852.] l:\ :.. /¦ ' ' .\; ' ^^%-...
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THE PARTS CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS IN 1...
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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.
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Patagonian Missionaries. Thebe Are Sever...
titat time , and fears for their safety beginning to he entertained , grounded chiefly on the circumstance that , as ships rarely touched . the tan coast they had little chance of receiving supplies , should their own resources fail , instructions were issued by the Admiralty in October , 1851 , ordering Captain Morshead , of her Majesty ' s ship Dido , to touch at Tierra del Fuego on his way to the Pacific , and ascertain , if possible , the fate of the missionaries . Captain Morshead reached the southern coast of Tierra del Puego - » . ««> . the 9 th of January in the present year :
and after some ten or twelve days of search , during wh ich signals were made , and guns fired it every likely point of the coast , traces of the missionaries were found at the place of their first landm 0- —Picton Island . On a rock by the side of a stream near the shore of this island , the searchers found written these words : — " G-o to Spaniard Harbour . " To Spaniard Harbour , accordingly ^ Captain Morshead went—a harbour on the coast of the Fuegan mainland , opposite Picton Island . He reached it on the 21 st of January ; and . here , on the same evening , near a "boat ling on the beach , in the near vicinity of
y a large cavern , were found the unburied bodies of Captain Gardiner and Mr ,, Maidment . Next day , at a little distance of about a mile and a half along the coast , two other unburied bodies were founa beside the other boat , supposed to be those of Mr . Williams , the surgeon , and John Pearce , one of the Cornish fishermen . The papers and other relics left by the unfortunate men were secured ; their 'bleached remains were buried ; three volleys of musketry were fired over their graves in token of respect , and the Dido continued her voyage .
The story of the mission , as gathered from papers found in Captain Gardiner ' s handwriting , was printed in the newspapers last week , and is by this time known to all our readers . * Driven away by the natives wherever they attempted to land , the missionaries went backwards and forwards for some time in their boats between Picton island and the Fuegan mainland ; and at last took refuse in Spaniard harbour as the only spot
where they could be safe .. Here they lived for eight months , partly in one of their boats which they hauled . up on the beach , partly in a cavern swept by the tide . After incredible suffering , three of them died of sickness ; the others were literally starved to death . Four months elapsed between the death of the last of them and the finding of their bodies by the crew of the Dido . What , now , are we to say of all this P We mayvery well say , at least , with Captain Morshead , that the mission was ill-planned . " There could What , now , are we to say of all this P We mayvery well say , at least , with Captain Morshead , that the mission was ill-planned . " There could
not be a doubt , " says the captain , " as to "the ultimate success of a mission nere , if liberally supported ; " ( mark that !) " but I venture to express a hope that no society will hazard another , without entrusting their " supplies to practical men acquainted with commercial affairs , who would have seen at a glance the hopeless improbability of any ship , not chartered for the occasion , sailing out of the way , breaking her articles , and forfeiting her insurance , for the freightage of a few Btores from the Falkland Islands . " Tliis is
porfoctly sensible , and every one , whethor a member of a missionary society or not , must agroo with it . But the Times , speaking for Englishmen in general , gives the speculation a different turn . " Misdirected energy . " " What havo wo to do with the Patagonians P" " Have wo no misery , no heathenism at home , that wo must waste our energies on a horde of savugos , soparato d from us by every lino of demarcation winch Providence can set between human boingsP " oucl ^ aro the phrases of the Times , commenting ° n this Patagoniaa traorody ! Shallow ! wo pay
I ? ro Pv » shallow!— -true , and not true ! in tUo iirat place , as wo have already hinted , the Hontimont involved in such phrases may >> o just , may bo wholesome ; but all tho quib-Wl » ig in tho world will not convince any one wJio knows what Christianity is , cither essentially or historically , that tho sentiment is not radically anti-Ohristian , Morodvor , it virtually assorts " -gainst tlio mission-supporting part of tho public «¦ < margo which fmifcs disprove TttloMopicdiuviiy , it
» " nas boon called—charity in behalf oi distant oI'JucIb—Joos not imply a corresponding diminution of charitable onorgy in bohalf of objects that "f ° ? oav . Tho ChriHtian congregations and « u » rehos that contribute most largely t ; o Xndinn ai African missions and the like , arc prooisoly
those that contribute most largely to all home charities too ; and those seven men who went to convert the savages in Tierra del Fuego were , we verily believe , men that would have shamed most of our philanthropists by their activity among the heathen in St . Giles ' s . And why , then , in the name of commpn sense , did they not stay in St . Giles ' s ? It is hard to say , in the name of common sense : but this at least we will venture to
say in a higher name , that " the quality of mercy is not strained ; " which , being interpreted , means , as we believe , that mercy , like other electric forces , will capriciously leap from point to point , taking and rejecting as it chooses , and that all this caprice only subserves decree and law . Ah ! if charity proceeded only in concentric circles , never dashing at distant points till all the vicinity were organized and beautiful , where had we ourselves been now P Let , the Times bethink itself ! On
the bank of the Thames , where the Times o ce now stands , there once wandered British savages ; the Italian and German missionaries that came to Britain to convert these savages doubtless left much work undone in their own Italian and German homes ; nevertheless * was not this " misdirected energy , " as it might then have been called , one of the things that have helped to make a Times newspaper , and all that is contemporary with it , possible P True , bur British forefathers were not Patagonians ; but the missionaries had to find that out *
Such criticism as toe should have to make on the Patagonian mission may be very well left to be supplied by the reflection of our readers . One thing only we will say in conclusion—and it is becoming that we , in particular , should say itthat those seven men , who were starved to death on Tierra del Fuego , were heroes . Ah ! and is there not a spirit in those antique Christian phrases in which they couched their heroism , that our modern forms of thought , our teeming funds-of fine opinion , have no ? as yet
produced anything to equal ? " Fearing that I might suffer from thirst , " wrote Captain Gardiner in his boat two days before his death , and after he had been without food for four days , " I prayed , that the Lord would strengthen me to procure some water . He _ graciously answered my petition , and yesterday I was enabled to get out , and scoop up a sufficient supply from some that trickled down , at the stern of the boat , by means of one of my India-rubber shoes . " God , " the " stern of the boat , " the " India-rubber shoe "
—what a meaning in that quaint conjunction of words and things ! In the power of such a mental conjunction , and in nothing else , lies what we call Religion . And what is characteristic of these days of ours is precisely this—that , while we see the " stern of the boat" and the " India-rubber shoe" plain enough , wo do not recognise tho " God "!
Ma Y 8y 1852.] L:\ :.. /¦ ' ' .\; ' ^^%-...
Ma y 8 y 1852 . ] l : \ :.. /¦ ' ' . \; ^^ % - . ' ; : li % kj > % ^ ; . ¦ 443
The Parts Co-Operative Associations In 1...
THE PARTS CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS IN 1852 . ( Letter I . ) ( To the Editor of the Leader ?) " Nothing can bo more absurd than to imagino that mon in ' general would work less when they Svork for thomsolvoa , than when they work for other people . A poor , indopondont workman will generally bo more industrious than evon a journeyman who works by the pioco . Tho one enjoys tho whole produce oi his own industry , the other shares it with his master . " Adam , Smith . In tho Leader of August 2 , 1851 , you did mo tho favour to publish my lecture on tho " Self-organized Co-operntivo Associations in Paris , " and you now ask mo for a report on their present position and prospects ; u request with which I willingly comply .
Having recently dovoted several days to visiting my old friends , I am happy to say that tho result of my lour of inspection is highly satisfactory . Homo of tho associations , the Coiffeurs and Limonadiers for instance , have l > ocn suppressed by the Government as political clubs ; but , with tho exception of tho Tanners , almost all tho bond fide operative associations havo been enabled to withstand tho political storms , which , ut onq time , threatened them with destruction .
My first visit , ' on tho morning after my arrival m Paris , wus to tho pianoforto makers , Dotir ofc 0 ' ° , in tho Rxje St . Denis ; in which I found that tho only change which had tokon placo wjib tho rotironiont of tho book-keeper— -ho hud resumed his original'occupation aa u cabinet-maker on Ids own account . They uro now thirty-two in numbor , with a steadily increasing trade , and havo novcr boon out of work , nor oven on short Uino . Thoy now find thai ; their capital is too small for ofneiontiy <; nrrying on the ordinary business of tho establishment , and aro thorcforo about to
increase the amount of their shares from 40 / . to 801 . In 1851 they sold one hundred and thirty-three pianos , at an average price of 261 . ; . and in the first quarter of 1852 , the sale of pianos has risen to 38 , in spite of the coup d ' etat . In 1851 , their profits amounted to 430 £ , which wore divided in equal proportions among the associates , who work ten hours a day au pieces . Wages range from four to ten francs a day . They have had no disputes , and they all agreed that it would be now impossible for them to return to a state of servile dependence upon the will of others . By limiting" tho hours of labour , by sharing the amount of work among the whole of their members , and distributing production more equably throughout the year , they
have been enabled to employ themselves fully and regularly . Instead of being worked to death by systematic overtime , under marchandeurs , or piece masters , and then turned into the streets , they have preserved tbeir health , and gained time for study and recreation , and for the fulfilment of their social duties , as well as for the enjoyments of domestic life . They are now self-employing , self-reliant men , no longer mere operative drudges , the property of masters who not only claim a right to do what they like with tbeir own , and to monopolize the whole profits of labour , but might compel their workmen , with the alternative of the workhouse or the gaol , to sign away their birth-right as freemen , and to Write themselves down slaves ,
although branding their employers as tyrants . The most important , perhaps , and certainly the most successful and prosperous of the Paris associations , is that of the arm-chair and sofa manufacturers , Auguste Antoine et Cie , in the Rue Charonne , which is constituted in a peculiar manner . Most of the French co-operative societies are registered en now , collectif , by which all the members become personally responsible for the liabilities of the association . But this
establishment is managed by a permanent committee of nine members , who alone are responsible ; the rest of the associates being commanditaires , and liable only for the amount of their respective shares . The gerant , or manager , however , has to pass through the ordeal of an annual election . He receives a fixed stipend of sixty pounds a year , with an ~ allowance of twenty-four pounds for his travelling expenses . The caissier , or bookkeeper , has five francs for every day that he is
employed . Each of the associates is required to work fifty-five hours a week , under the penalty of a fine , but no one is permitted to work more than eleven hours a-day . Wages , which are paid at the end of every alternate week , range from 361 . to 80 Z . a year . Twenty per cent , ( one hundred francs ) is deducted from the first twenty pounds earned by each member , and placed in the fond social . The hundred francs aro refunded to him if the member retire from tho
association . Profits and losses are divided in tho ratio of the annual rate of wages . Ten per cent ., however , is deducted for the "fond de retcnue indivisible , " and forty per cent , for the "fond de reserve , " besides four hundred francs taken from the first profits of each of the associates , which aro capitalized , ancl form one of the elements of their success . The association opens a credit for each of its members , to the amount of his first hundred francs deposit , paying in cash for tho goods supp ied every three months , uud
at tho same time deducting from his wages a per centage sufficient to cover tho expenditure . This operation is performed in a regular manner , by means of a printed form , or bill , drawn , accepted , and endorsed ; and tluiH the society is enabled not only to givo employment to tho tailors , hatters , shoemakers , and tho marcJiands de nouveautds in tho faubourg , who supply the wants of tho women and children , but , its credit being good , and its notes in request , it acquires by this moans a fond de rotdement , in cash or bullion , which incroaaes its commercial power .
Apprentices havo to pass through a noviciate of from three to six months , before they aro admitted into tho association , which is now composed of 112 members , of whom 16 aro carvers ; and in addition to those , 110 women and young persons avo employed in polishing 1 , & c . When I visited thorn at the beginning of April , they had work sufficient for 15 additional mombors , but unfortunately their shops woro full . This asHOoiation was founded by six working mon , on tho Kith of November , 1848 , with a capital of 50-1 ) francs £ 50 centimes ; namely , UJ 5 francs in money , 309 frs . 00 conts . in tools , &« ., and 5 < t frs . 2 OcontH . in goods ; and , at dillbront times , has obtained from tho government loans to tho amount of" . 1000 / ., repayoblo with intemifc , at 35 per cont ., in fourteen years .
Tho following extract from tho annual balnnco-shocfH , which arc , without exaggeration , models in the art ; of book-keeping , will show a rug-uhir and progressive improvement down to tht ) present moment . Tho followinf * was their " Avlif" or creditor account on tho 31 « t December , 1849 ;—'
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 8, 1852, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08051852/page/15/
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