On this page
-
Text (3)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
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.
Untitled Article
future instrument of their calumnies , the word Communist . A doctrine of the Communists was ,, that all children should be admitted to enjoy the benefits of education , at the expense of society , as is now the privilege of the children of the rich exclusively ; on that doctrine the lying accusation was grafted ; that the 6 ommunists ¦ aimed at the destruction of the family . The Communists had described as the fortune reserved by Progress for Humanity , a social order in which the forces of society should be treated as a common fund for production , and the tresotTbceS for consumption ; but in which every individual should preserve his
independence , his personality , the freedom of his'affections , the choice of his friends ; should have his own apartments , his own domestic interior , his own hearth , an inviolable sanctuary ; with common rooms for reception , for recreation , for reading , —on the principle adopted practically at the Brunnen in Germany , at the Thermal establishments in the Pyrenees , in the grand hotels of our cities , in the clubs of London . But here was enough , and more than enough , for a text to the infamous accusation that the Communists desired a promiscuity of women and of children , and I know hot what abominable amalgam of confusion .
Unfortunately , this odious system of calumny was promoted by two circumstances . First , by the complexion itself of the word Communism , —an expression deplorably selected , as in truth it seemed to imply the idea of j > romiscuity , and which the Communists had the imprudence to employ before its precise signification could be known ; and , secondly , by the power of the calumniators , compared with the feeble resources at the disposal of the traduced . Two or three journals of a very limited circulation , a few books of very confined publicity : this was all the Communists had to oppose to the most formidable propaganda of falsehood ever organized .
Every one knows for what end the famous league of the Rue de Poitiers was established . Inspired by M . de Montalembert , th man of the'Jesuits—by that M . de Montalembert , to whomjiothing more was wanting but to become the man of Louis Bonaparte , to fill up the measure of liis dishonour—this league of the Sue de Poitiers opened a subscription , by means of which it succeeded in collecting nearly a million francs , on the pretence of " saving society . "
And this sum was spent in calumniating Socialism in general , and Communism in particular , by an overwhelming inundation of libels . In these flying sheets , whosoever was guilty of the crime of desiring any amelioration profitable to the people , was christened Communist : and to he' -Communist in these libels , edited by the pen of Basile , the hireling of Escobar , was to desire the equal division of the land and the agrarian law , — -although the Communists supported the principle of large farms ;—it was to desire promiscuous concubinage , although the Communists defended the principle of marriage ;—it was to desire the annihilation of religion , although the Communists had laid down as the basis of their social economy—the Gospel ; yes ! the Gospel !
lerriblo was the effect ' of these pamphlets , distributed in profusion , and given away in every town , and in every village , even to the remotest hamlets . On the one hand , many sincere and honourable , but nneducated men , were basely deceived as to the intentions and the principles of writers to whom wore attributed ( but not supported by a single extract ) these monstrous doctrines : and , on the other hand , a certain number of wretches , rejoiced to bo told that there was in nctivo existence a party espousing their evil passions , declared thoinselves of that party , whoso existence they were led to suppose . What was the result p Strange , indeed , and worthy to find a record in the annuls of calumny !
False denunciation created a reality out of a bugbear Spoliation was the doctrine of men incited by the secret police to alarm the bourgeoisie ; but who novor had a thought in common with that Communist school , essentially opposed to whatever , nearly or romotoly , resembled ngrnriunisni . I havn promised to rest my reply upon facts ; to affirm nothing without moors of my assertion . Hero is tho proclamation , dated February 25 th , 1848 , in tho hout of tho insurrection , which M . Cabot addressed to fcho Communists , and canned ito be placarded on nil tho walls of Paris : —
.,. " Lotus rally round the Provisional Govormnont proeidod over by JJupont do l'Euro , and which" replaces tho odious government reeontly Btairiod with ( ho blood oi ciUzona . Lot uh support this provisional government which doclaroa itself republican and riomoumtio : which adopts fraternity ., equality , and liberty for ith principles : and tho Pooplb for dovieu and watchword : and whidi diwuolvoH the Chambers to convoke tho National Assembly , which will give to Franco tho constitution oho domandn . " But lofc ua take cure ourselves constantly to insiut upon tho consoquoncoa of those principled * .
Let us demand that all Frenchmen be declared Beexhbek ; equal in duties and in rights , without any kind of privilege : all members of the National Guard : all electors and eligible to all the public functions , without any vue pecuniary conditions . Let us demand the natural and . unprescriptible right of association , of meeting * and of discussion : individual liberty ? without the arbitrary control ^ of any - man : ihe liberty of the press without hindrances , without cautionmoney , or stamp .
Let us especially demand the guarantee of all the rights and all the interests of working-men : the formal recognition of the right to live working , so that the father of a family be no more reduced to the terrible necessity of abandoning his wife and his children to go and die fighting . Let us demand the organization of labour , and the assurance of a fair livelihood by fair work . Let us demand the suppression of all taxes on objects of primary necessity . Let us demand the abolition of the humiliating , vexatious , and iniquitous institutions of the Customs and the Octroi .
Let us demand , for the people , education made general , gratuitous , common to all , real and complete . Let us demand institutions and guarantees for the happiness of wives and of chii-bbeh " , so that every man may have the possibility of marriage , with the certainty of being able to rear up his family in happiness and comfort . Faithful to our principles of fraternity , humanity , and moderation , let us cry , always , and in all places—No vengeance ! no disorder ! no violence!—no oppression towards any person ! But firmness , vigilance , and prudence : that we may obtain justice for all !
No attack upon property : but unshaken perseverance in demanding all means that justice may accept , to suppress paufeejsm ; : notably by adopting a democratic system of successively decreasing inequality , and successively increasing equality . Let us beware of demanding the instant application of our Communist doctrines . We have always said that we desire their triumph through discussion only , through conviction , through ,, the power of public opinion , by individual consent , and by the national will : let us remain faithful to our words !"* >
Well , now what does M . Mazzini think of this ? Is this what he thinks himself justified in calling the wild , absurd , and immoral dream , of Communism ? It will not do for him to come forward and say ,. thai ; if there are in France certain Communist opinions , avowable by honesf inen , there are others which deserve to be branded with disgrace , and that it is of the latter only that he meant to speak . For my own part , I protest , my hand upon my heart , I have never in niy life met in France , either the exposition in a book , or the profession by word of mouth , of the savage , absurd , and immoral Communism which M . Mazzini docs well to
repudiate , but whose existence he has done wrong to take for granted on the faith of libels black with falsehoods and calumnies , —a snare into which a mind like his might well have refused to follow the train of obscure and perverted intellects , for which it was contrived . Louis Ei ^ nc . ( To be continued . )
Untitled Article
PROGRESS OF ASSOCIATION . MEETING AT BRIGHTON . At the Brighton Town-hall , a largo assembly , mustering at least a thousand , consisting ' mainly of the mechanics employed at the workshops of the Brighton Railway Company , met on Thursday week , to hear the statements of Messrs . Newton and Usher , who attended as a deputation from the Amalgamated Society of Engineers . Mr . S . Laing , chairman of tho London , Brighton , and South Coast Railway , was present , and took part in the discussion . Mr . W . Coninghum presided , and stated that all doubt , if any existed , as to
the merits of the dispute , must have- been entirely removed by the " declaration" which tho roasters now required their workmen to sign , and which ho made bold to assert that none but a tyrant would have dared to attempt to enforce . ( Hear , hear . ) Ho then read tho " declaration , " which prohibits tho workmen from joining or contributing to any combination which Kecks to interfere with any master ' s arrangements . Evon tho organ of tho masters , tho Weekly Dispatch , had declared against them on this point . Mr . Coningham then wont into tho history of tho dispute , and
contended that ten hours' work was as much as ought to bo required of any man ; and that it was not tho Byntcin of piecework generally that wan objected to , but that pernicious practice by which employers attempted to got extra work at tho ordinary rate of pay . In tho Times , tho Daily JYeins , and other papers , wo frequently'Haw tho words , " EngineerH' Strike ; " but it was'not tho men ' s htriko , but tho masters' utrike , by which a great number of men wore ' also turned out of work who had nothing at all to do with tno dispute . Mr . Sirundern moved , and Mr . Handcock Hccondod tho resolution : — " That in tho opinion of thin mooting , any intorforonco on tho part of tho omployorH , or any atlom ' pi ; to control
the expenditure of their workmen ' s earnings ,-or to punish them for contributing towards objects they may not approve , is an act of injustice ( loud applause ) , and such as no body of artisans ought to submit to . " Miv Usher commented on the " declaration" of the Centiml Association of Masters . As « to signing it , the men .-would never do it ; they were determined to standby one another until the masters came and reasoned with them .
. Mr . Nichols ( employed in the Brighton workshops ) agreed that piecework was a bad system , and so was systematic overtime , and those who originated the dispute had to complain of both . But in the Brighton Company neither obtained ; there was no piecework and the only overtime required was when cases of accident or emergency arose . Then why were notices served on the Company against what did not exist here ? Mr . Newton said , that if there was nothing to complain of in Brighton , the men would not
complain" The sole point in dispute in Brighton was , that the men felt inclined to assist those in other places who were not fairly dealt with , and the directors said they should not . But the fact of twelve men having been discharged and the rest put on five days a-week , showed that continuous work could not be secured in Brighton ; and as the men might next week leave and go to London , it was their interest to support the Amalgamated Society , which sought to get for the workmen as good regulations in other places as existed in Brighton . The directors could not surely complain of this ; and as for the manner in which
the men disposed of their wages , the directors had no more right to interfere with , that than the men had to interfere with the use of the locomotive for which they had been paid . The men had not refused to work overtime on emergencies , and the y had not claimed double time for doing so . They , then , had been neutral ; and if the company had not reduced the work to five days , in order to deprive the men of the means of subscribing a day s wages to their brethren , then t hey had observed a . neutrality . ( Laughter ;) But on the authority of . Mr , Fielding , he stated that -the reduction to five days was made to deprive them of the means of so subscribing . "
Mr . Laing theh ^ came forward , and was much applauded . He believed he was as sincere a friend to the working classes ^ as any one itf the room . He saw no reason why employers and employed should not meet and discuss these matters fully and fairly , for much of the feeling on both sides arose from misunderstanding . Some people imagined that the general feeling of the capitalist towards the workman was that of the tyrant towards the slave . This was a
mistake" There might be black sheep in the flock among rich men , as well as poor men , but tho greater portion of tho capitalists earnestly desired to elevate the condition of tho working men . Speaking for himself , as an employer of labour , he said honestly , that his sympathies were all with the working classes . His greatest pride was to know that ho had been a working man / himself ; and ho wished for nothing more than to see evovjy working man in a condition to elevate himself socially imd morally . ( Applause ) His belief was , that if they trusted to combinations and associations , they would bo grievously mistaken , If they entered into the history of trades unions ; they would find that in tho countr ies where the working moa stood hig hest , thcro were tho fewest of theso trades unions , ana that whoro they Avero tho most ready to confbino , their con-¦
dition was tho lowest . ( " What aro the countries ?' ' ) Tho country whoro the condition of the labouring classes stood highest , both for intelligence , and in a pecuniary way , was the United States of America . It was a well-known fact , that in tho United States combinations avovo iow . Again , in tho opposite oxtremo of tho scale is France . No man who has been in Franco would state that tho condition of tho French mechanic was as good as in England ; and in Franco they did almost everything by combination . Again , would any ono say that tho average standard of intelligence is as high in Ireland as in Scotland and America t Iroland had boon tho country of trades unions . Tho only place whoro ho ovor heard that a strike carried tho clay was 3 > ublin . And what was tho result P They drovo the
trade away and ruined tho town . " Tho real question was distinctly between combintion and self-reliance . What l >« d raised nil the present difficulty ? A council of seven in London wished to dictate to all tho employers and trades of tho kingdom what tho terms and conditions of employment should bo . Thoy Issued a general order to every establi s hment , including this Brighton Railway , without inquiring how far it was applicable , that p iece-work shall conso , and overtime bo paid double . Now , there might bo establishments where- overtime was carried to tho groatt'Ht extent j thorn might bo others whoye . well
piece-work wjih injuriously enforced . ' " Very . Urinpf public opinion to bear on thorn ; ff ° t () Mliu " cluster and denounce them , if you like . B » 1 ' y JHHUo 'general orders to pcoplo who had nothing to do with tho dinputo ? " Why were 20 , 000 men mid their families requiring support P No shop wns cloned until tho council of tho Amalgamated Society hud been called upon to withdraw thoir notices , which thoy refu 8 « d to do . Mr . Lahig then accused the Amalgamated Society * on tho Qvidoneo of their own account ^ of having p «« money to " pickets" of men to coorco or intimidate those who woro willing to work on terms whioli others had declined . Tho end of this prosorit etrUco would Do
Untitled Article
* This proclamation appears at length among tho ' J ? ib ( uiH JuntrfUuitives , in tho adniirablo work recently publiHhcd by Madame La Comtosso d'Ayoult , under the titlo of History of the Revolution oflBiiS , and by tho pseudonym of Daniel Stern .
Untitled Article
220 THE LEADER . [ BA ^ irRBAY ,
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), March 6, 1852, page 220, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1925/page/8/
-