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1120 THE LEADER. [Satukday,
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THE KIND'S COLLEGE . CONTROVERSY. Sin,--...
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WHO IS TO GIVE IN? (To tlie Editor of th...
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A BAK E R' S H I N T. (To tho JMitor of ...
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flOTIOK TO OOBltKHI'ONIHWTB Koveral loit...
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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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Stiukk.S And Ti1k1h Remedy. (Vo I He- Li...
the evils each party feel from losses , prove a wrong somewhere . Hitherto , more knowledge , better organization , and more capital , have enabled masters temporarily to beat the workmen ; but knowledge will soon level all , past distinctions , and , in future , better organization of workmen , and more capital among them , will yet turn the balance , —and we may soon expect to see capital and labour at a dead lock in consequence . Strikes are but beginning , and the future will find both parties so equal , quick , and keen to their own interests , that with the change of every month ' s business , — or even every individual contract , up or down will go the wage , giving rise to interminable differences , and to a fearful derangement of all business progression . .
To this inevitable but certainly very undesirable state of things , the present pi'actical school of political economy offers ho remedy . Some , it is true , qualify their practical maxim by adding , the " best for each is to consider each other . " This , now , is but theory , and to apply it to practice would be to introduce that awful bugbear , communism , at once . And yet , is it not clear from these strikes , and from what we must needfully look for in future , that an amalgamation of interests only can preserve order and economy in manufacture , and increase of capital to the community ? Both sides theoretically acknowledge this fact , and yet neither master nor men are prepared to give up their individual and temporary interests for the general good .
We know very well , as a rule , the capitalist will not be content to take a good weekly wage , which would amply content any of his workpeople , in order to divide the profits made , to add to the wages and comforts of his hands ; nor , on the other hand , do the operatives , in any concern in difficulties , seem content to take any less than all they canpossibly get , to enable the firm to bear up against unavoidable loss from trade or speculation . Firms eloquently preach up mutual
interests to the operatives when they have something to gain ; and the hands are most willing and importunate to share in profits ; but neither are willing to share in reductions or losses . Hence strikes , and the loss of millions of wealth to the world ; which will continue , and grow worse by extension . To bring these days of tribulation to a speedy end , I have to offer a few words—the results of experience , to the men , and to the masters its warning .
The solution of this social difficulty is to be found in the principles and practice of co-operation ; in other words , the identification of interests . Do the working men want to prove this , and to receive the whole due to labour ?—their way is very clear , but , mark , not very easy ; they must work for themselves , be their own capitalists , masters , overlookers , tradesmen , and " hands . " In other words they , must co-oporate , build mills , erect machinery , work under economic arrangements , and conform to business rules and conditions ; and then they would reap their reward . Otherwise they never will ; as the lions wil l always claim the lion ' s share , and leave the jackall but the
scraps ! Do the working-men Hay this in impossible 1 Let them be content , then , as they are ; others do it , and if they cannot , it only shows they are in their own place . Co-operation ia , however , becoming a favourite scheme among working men ; unfortunately hitherto it has been considered only when immediately required , and during a strike ; but to succeed cooperation must bo thought of , and acted for too , before the time for its use . The people must leam to sow in November and March if they would reap in autumn . Corn will not spring up junk when , how , and where required , at a moment ' s notice ; neither will mills , trade , and co-operation . Brick , Htone , wood , iron
and steam would work junt as well for workmen an for capitalists ; and trade and profit would come to them as well as to others , if they would perform thenecessary conditions for huccchh . TIichc conditions are , imperatively , capital and labour beforehand ; knowledge and skill to conduct them , with time , and patience , and forethought . It does not always follow that oven then huccchh 1 h certain , but we know aa a rule it in , and henco the increasing wealth of tho manufacturing capitalist . How lias the capitalist become tho capitalist ? First lie Haven from poverty , invests in a mill , borrows upon his credit , extends , engages , and works to a profit tho bunt talent
he can obtain ; trusts and struggles on during reversea , and patiently pursues all improvement ; and ho intuit tho men if they wish the » aino result of capital to follow . But if tho working-men will continue to live and drink , and cheap trip to tho very top of their income weekly ; will turn a deaf ear and laugh at the warning 1 of thoHo who foresee their future evils ; will always weizo every tempting opportunity for temporary advantage in their power , getting all they can , and when they can got it ( let them not wonder at tho like treatment from imiHfcors ) ; if they will not subscribe and accumulate money when in good work , will ou > t eo-operate- in * I have Binco road fcluH to tho principal of a largo iirm , who told mo , ufter three yearn mioceatuvo Ions , ho consulted wilh his cashier to propone a voluntary reduction to tho men , to elicit thoir nympathy ; and wan dotorrod from doing ho , beoawso ho was aHBurad tho idea -would bo laughed at , em too ridiculous for entortainmcut .
good times ; but will strike , and doing nothing , live upon funds hastily subscribed , for a temporary end ; they will ever be beaten , and deserve to be so . Would the Amalgamated Engineers have been beaten as they were if they had beforehand purchased the concern offered to them so advantagoously at Liverpool ? and yet they set about raising funds , when out of worTc & nd . too late . * On the contrary , if workmen would co-operate , and create wealth , instead of merely consuming their funds on strike , they would be certain to succeed ; and if the people were always in condition to begin to work for themselves , there would be a final end to ^ strikesi ; the masters would not dare to contend against their reasonable demands . . Do the working-men doubt of
success , and doubting will not try ? .. " then , like the doubting spirits in the fable , they wiU never enter Heaven ' s gate , because " they doubt there is a gate to Heaven ? It is submitted they have not wealth to begin work . No man has to begin with , it is men that make wealth , and not wealth men . Do they say we have neither knowledge , nor talent , nor skill , to conduct such operations ? Then , in the name of goodness , let them stand aside , and give place to better men . Do they say we have no confidence in ourselves ? Then , working men , there is no hope of your ever succeeding ; without virtue and reliance you are doomed to slavery and degradation for ever—without pluck to help yourselves the gods can do you no good .
As a proof of what co-operation can do when rightly conducted , I will instance what it has done at the people ' s mill at Leeds . 3500 members have subscribed 35001 , to manufacture and sell flour ; and last year'they made a clear profit of 2800 Z .. After a bonus of 14 s . 8 d , per share divided , the share has grown to 40 s ., and this year will exceed the last . The months of September and October ( extraordinary from the rise ) yielded upon their business 1502 ^ . 17 s . 6 d . profit , above all expenses ! . ' Working-men , who are consuming capital ,
co-operation has done this to create it , and you might do the like by the like means . But the people's mill did not succeed always thus ; they have made many mistakes , and have had ( and may again ) severe reverses ; but look at the glorious results , bypatience , forethought , and skill in action ^ Could the full details of this experiment of co-operation be given they would but the more prove the wonderful power of co-operation , and the wonderful folly of the people if they will not conform to its conditions . What has been done may be done again , and if the people were agreed it is certain ,
1 . That they could soon subscribe ample capital ; 2 , they could build mills and erect machinery ; 3 , they could hire , pay , and work under able conductors ; 4 , they could manufacture against all rivalry ; 5 , they could trade , and realize wealth as well as others ; and they might become comfortable , and independent , and removed from strikes , and want , or the fear of it . The conditions performed , success is humanly certain : — At present , the working men do not choose to perform these conditions ; but letting others do it , who , as masters , often abuse their powers in accumulation , the men quarrel thereat , strike , and then subscribe funds , which they devour until exhausted ; and , beaten , work on until they stz-ike again , and "whine about tyrants and oppression , & c . & c . Is not this positive imbecility ? — away with such folly on both
sides . The national welfare is perilled thereby . Working men , away with this absurd trifling of strikes . Do you wish to be well paid , well treated , and well doing ? Co-operate—manufacture— -and trade for yourselves ! Do it well , and you must succeed . Masters , beware ; you may stretch tho string too tight , for if tho people do but awake to a sense of their power , farewell to your accumulation in future . The millers of Leeds laughed our co-operative attempts to scorn ; thoy don't laugh now . A . few more years , and we shall bo able to buy them all up , supersedo the capitalist , and put the master upon "decent weekly wage . " What will become of your fixed capital , if the people choose to erect mills , and to work for themselves ? You have no patent to retain trade in your hands . Beware !
In tho meantime , evil to both men and masters is certain , until there conns a better understanding , and a more national agreement for mutual interest . M asters may stand a little longer upon their dignity , and their capital ; and men may bo beaten onco or twice more , but this must end , and co-operation would soon hoIvo tho problem . In the meanwhile , I wish well to both . —Mont truly , &< :., John Homucb .
Stiukk.S And Ti1k1h Remedy. (Vo I He- Li...
* The uu ' n-oul , s at ; Preston , whon . out of work , aco talking of HU . bnci-i . biug aud bogiuuiug to co-oporuto .
1120 The Leader. [Satukday,
1120 THE LEADER . [ Satukday ,
The Kind's College . Controversy. Sin,--...
THE KIND'S COLLEGE . CONTROVERSY . Sin ,--Mr . Maurico has been dismissed from his professorship , at King ' s College , for attempting-to cant a doubt upon the doctrine of eternal condemnation , and advocating- the possibility of ultimate salvation for all . The promulgation of Mr . Maurice ' s idoan upon this subject , j ) r . « folf tells uh lias filled him with " intense alarm . " Mow wonderful must bo the construction of an intellect , which can regard the prospect of Divine mercy and forgiveness with " intense alarm , " and that of evoilriHting punishment with satisfaction ! I do not blame , however , the men ) dinmisHal of Mr .
Maurice . That is a simple fact , evidencing a state of things a necessary result of existing circumstances . If holding a certain position , under the implied trust of inculcating particular tenets , a teacher thinks it right to advocate others , diametrically opposite , ' the powers who appointed him have obviously the privilege of discharging him . But , nevertheless , if , at a public school , doctrinal articles are taught so absurd and horrible , that humanity , instinctively recoiling from them seeks refuge in disbelief , or absolute denial of the whole doctrine , the public has a right to enquire into the question involved , and to have a voice in the matter . Mr . Maurice says that he has acted from a sense of " his duty to hundreds , nay , thousands , of young Christians , whose faith in the redemption of Christ , even in the being of God , was at stake . " For this
cause , to a Christian clergyman probably a sufficient one , he disputes that which few advocate and none believe . Infallible Dr . Jelf , however , clings to eternal damnation . It is his cherished hobby , and he will never abandon it—till death . The question may take some time to decide , but one may hope , without lack of charity , that the Doctor may eventually have cause to rejoice at finding himself in the wrong . The idea of the eternity of torment , even if awarded for the most horrible deeds , is alike repulsive to reason
and feeling . Ueason condemns it , because human crime is " finite , terminating with death , and punishment must be the atonement for wrong . Now if a myriad of years of torture compensate for but the smallest fraction of any aggregate of evil , the whole must receive its equivalent in less than eternity , or arithmetic is a lie , and two and two do not make four . If , on the other hand , no finite amount of pain can washout the slightest stain of sin , an eternity of agony willnot effect the result , and will be mere useless cruelty , not righteous compensation .
But faith , feeble theologians affirm , is distinct from reason . It must , then , be founded on feeling . Place , therefore , faitli and feeling in antagonism , and the issue must weaken either the foundation or the superstructure . Yet feeling revolts at this doctrine . "My brethren , " said a Scotch pastor , "let ' s pray for the puir deil ! " Here broke forth the genuine natural impulse of the human heart , bursting through the trammels of conventional theology . A demon only could delig ht in the prospect of ceaseless , hopeless torture to a human soul . Humanity shrinks from the thought , and can humanity be more charitable and merciful than the source of charity and mercy ? Yours , & c , E . D .
Who Is To Give In? (To Tlie Editor Of Th...
WHO IS TO GIVE IN ? ( To tlie Editor of the Leader . ) Sib , —Mr . Cobdon , with a frankness which , certainly under the circumstances , was highly creditable , has asserted that both parties in the great northern strikes are in the wrong . In such case , both parties ought to retrace their steps . But which party is to set the wise example ? Weak men can go wrong ; but it requires superior men to admit error , and correct it . r Pbf ! workmen one would like to see do it , for their
own credit ; but working-class pride is as strong as middle-class pride . As tho masters profess to have more knowledge , and are bound to set a bettor example than tho operatives , the public will look to them tp retrace the course which can only bring discredit upon both parties , and ruin upon one . Would noww influential , clear-sighted man liko Mr . Cobdon suggest to the employers that arrangement which thoy ought t <> agree to , and put an end to that war of industry , whicJj endangers tho reputation of the nation for commercial pood senso . Yours , fiir , respectfully , Onom an Ojl'Miativk . ' Hirminurlmm , Oth Nov ., 1853 .
A Bak E R' S H I N T. (To Tho Jmitor Of ...
A BAK E R' S H I N T . ( To tho JMitor of the ' Leader . ) Silt ,- —For tho last seventeen years a most efficient to * for tho regulation of tho making and soiling ot l »<* Iuih been completely inoperative , a period Hiirory l <> j enough for shortwoigbt and adulteration to luwo u play upon the daily bread ( especially of tho pooi ; ,. tho whole community . Ah a remedy , 1 would miy , ¦ that policemen should be appointed for certain I ' '" ' WlitU IJO 11 UUII 1 UJ 1 ( illUUMl »« J «« jjfj »»»««« wv .. » - " - - . , towns ? /
Hay a month «> ach , for particular <»• <»« ' '' to detect frauds , receive complaints , and « £ bringing thorn before tho magistrates for ad . m < i < m > It would inexpensively andjinunediately estiil ) Iihii » suitable and legitimate competition , greatly u ¦ the moral tone of tho trade , and advance itH g ' respectability ; object * , connidering tho «» w 0 J tlM > " f A \\ engaged therein , " worthy of tho earnest ««< ni who give thought or hop <> for better " »'"««• ,, I am , nir , youra respectfully ^ No ! ihiphnm , Novomiwr lf ><»« , Mil * . : z---- -
Flotiok To Oobltkhi'onihwtb Koveral Loit...
flOTIOK TO OOBltKHI'ONIHWTB Koveral loiters to Upon Council under eon » ulemtion .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 19, 1853, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19111853/page/16/
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