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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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CLAIM FOR TITHE IN WHITECHAPEL . It seems that for some years St . Mary ' s , WhitechapeL , has escaped the infliction of tithes , whether by the discontinuance of the right , or the absence of any right , is not clear to us . But some few years ago the patrons of the living , Brasenoso College , Oxford , sought to enforce payment ; great agitation ensued ; and in 1848 , Mr . Champneys , the rector , emphatically declared that rather than the peace of the parish should be disturbed he would resign the living . In the session of 1819 , a
bill was introduced into parliament for the purpose of commuting all the rights to tithe into an annual charge of i . 000 / . to be paid out of the poor rates . The bill was opposed , and failed , from the right to tithe not having been legally established . As the patrons were determined to try the right , a requisition was got up by tho parishioners , and numerously signed , praying the rector not to resign the living , but to allow his name to be used for the purpose . The rector , after some deliberation , deferred to the wishes of the
requisitionists , and a bill in Chancery was filed against seven of the parishioners for one year ' s tithe only , thou ' gh eight or nine years' tithes were due , and they , frightened by a Chancery suit , shirked the trial and paid the amount , with 21 . 19 s . costs . Notices were then given to twenty other parishioners of similar proceedings , if they did not pay within ten days . They requested the rector , who was the nominal plaintiff , to give further time , and he at once withdrew the notices , promising further notices before proceedings were taken . At this stage , on the requisition of the twenty parishioners , a vestry-meeting , held on Thursday , was called . It was well attended ; and the following strong resolutions were unanimousl y passed : —
" That this vestry , being informed that a bill m Chancery had been filed against seven of the parishioners for tho recovery of certain moneys alleged to bo due as tithes , without any previous notice , and that many others of the parishioners had been threatened with like proceedings , and calling in mind the pledge given by the rector , in public vestry , on the 23 rd of November , 1848 , that he would sooner resign the living than plunge the parish into litigation , and it being credibly reported that the rector had stated that the fact was , these proceedings were taken by Braeenose College in his name , this vestry cannot but express its vehement indignation that such proceedings
should have been taken after tlie failure of the claim set up by the rector and college in the bill before Parliament in the session of 1849 ; that the lively sympathy of this vestry be , and is , hereb y expressed towards the parishioners against whom proceedings havn been takon . o * tu * oo . t © ia . o < l , * xv& aAmm . vnoy v > e assuvca of tlie support and aid of their fellow-vestrymen by all lawful means in their power;—That the rector having stated before a parliamentary committee in 1842 that his income was derived partly from fees in the church and partly from tithe , or , more properly speaking , Easter offerings , this meeting will refer it to the consideration of a cominittoe to ascertain by advico of
counsel or otherwise , and to report to a public vestry , what courso it is best to pursuo with respect to tho claim now net up , and that the following gentlemen [ reciting somo ten names "] constitute a committee to carry out tho foregoing resolutions ^—and That this meeting cannot without shame and regret observe the fact reported by tho committee of investigation , appointed on tho 23 rd November , 1848 , that the rectorial titho books , prior to 1730 , have been destroyed by previous rectors , and that the committee bo instructed to obtain from tho rector an accurate copy of the oldest collecting- book which now exists , for the information and uho of the parishioners . "
A resolution , corresponding ; with one passed on tho 20 th January , 1849 , in favour of the voluntary principle , was also carried ; and n vote of thanks to the chairman concluded tin ; proceedings . Injustice to the rector , it is but right to add that , with one exception , his conduct and character were spoken of in the highest terms ; and Mr . Black , Unitarian minister , stated that he was credibly informed the College , of Brnscnosc had peremptorily culled on him to resign , if he would not instituto proceedings to establish his alleged rights .
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HOLMFIRTll MECHANICS' INSTITUTION . Mil . Coudkn delivered a homely and sensible address at the annual meeting of the members of tlie Hohnfirth Mechanics' Institution , on Wednesday . On his way thither he received an nddrcurf from a number of working men . During- his speech he told the following capital story : — " I remember waiting upon a person holding the doetrinn , that tho poor may be too much educated , in Manchester , about HJxleen years ago , when 1 and others were engaged in the work " of Ht . arting tlie MaiiclieHter
Alhennnnii . 1 wn « employed in waiting upon tho principal lnorchnntH , iniinufiwturerH , and tradesmen of the town , unking for subscription . s towards (! ntabliMliing the Athenmum . One gentleman met mo with thin object ion— 'I think tho people are a good deal too much educated already . 1 don't think we shall l > o wife if they aro to be educated any inoro ; mid our property will bo in danger if thin from on . ' ( A laugh . ) Well . I ' met him by putting to him this qiioNtion ' Will you tell mo in what / period of tho worhl ' H liiHtory you would rather have lived than tho prowsnt mordoi- to hUVt > hml -, ¦„„ ,. vast , fortune * Hiifor than it jb now P' Well , he could no I , anawor me . ( Hoar , hear . )
I urged him to point out the period he would have selected — ' W ould you have preferred the last reign or the reign before , or the reign of George I ., or the reign of Queen Anne , or that of Queen Elizabeth , in order to have lived in greater security both as regards your person and property ? ' (' Hear , Iiear , ' and laughter . ) Why , he could not tell me . ( Hear , hear . ) And so I answered my own question , by saying , . ' You would be much safer if you lived thirty or forty years hence , but not if you were to go back to any time however remote . ' ( Applause . ) This is the tendency of these institutions ; and yet people are to be found who charge against them that they produce disaffection , disloyalty , and revolution . Now , disloyalty and revolution come to the people from misgovermnent ,
and misgovernment is more likely to be attempted upon an ignorant than upon an educated people . We have been well told that ' Oppression makes wise men mad . ' ( Hear , hear . ) And I remember this being very well applied by a man who was lecturing upon the corn laws at Bury—a man , perhaps , not highly educated , yet by no means destitute of shrewdness . The lecturer said— ' Oppression makes wise men mad . If it maks ' wise men mad , ' what mun it do wi' fooils , then ? ' ( Laughter and loud applause . ) I think , gentlemen , you will agree with the inference which the lecturer left his auditory to draw , that whatever effect misgovernment or oppression had upon wise men , it must produce worse and more disastrous effects when the ignorant and the fools come to deal with it . " ( Applause . )
It is worth notice , that among the speakers at the gathering , were the three ministers of the town—the Church of England Clergyman , and the Independent and Unitarian ministers .
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BENEFITS OF CO-OPERATION " . IliLUSTEATED BY THE LEEDS jFiOTTE AlfD PEOVISIOIT SOCIETT . We have received a valuable contribution from an esteemed Leeds correspondent , which we readily place before our readers , many of whom , in the bustle of politics , will be glad to see that the co-operative principle is not forgotten . ( To the Editor of . the Leader . ) Leeds , Peb . 1 , 1855 .
GentIiEMEN" , —Inyour sympathyfor the people's weal you have often indicated co-operation as a most profitable means for elevating the social condition of the gi'eat masses . The most sanguine friend to co-operation must , however , admit that its results have hitherto been pure adventure , and as such it becomes very desirable to chronicle every experiment , its success or failure , in order to test the principle itself , and to discriminate whether either or LotTi are tho results of principle , or the accidents of position and management . In this spirit I ( beg to forward to you the audited statements of the present position of the Leeds Co-operative Flour and Provision Society , as read at the eleventh halfyearly meeting , on the 20 th of January , 1853 , from June 30 th to December 31 st , 1852 , inclusive .
To render the results clear to your readers , I must explain , that when the society was founded , its object was to counteract the exorbitant charges of the millers of our locality , and to check a then very extensive practice ; of adulteration . It was , therefore , established as a fundamental rule , that a pure article should bo furnished " to members only , at as near prime cost as possible . " Tlie consequence was , that flour was reduced through tlie whole borough twopence per stone immediately , while corn continued the same price ; . As we furnished at cost price , our members have still had Hour at Id . to l \ d . per stone less thnn the public , besides the above general reduction .
. Certain irremediable difficulties attached to the early rules , and many disadvantages resulting thence ,. caused its prudent members to soon wish a change in the fundtunentul principle ) of cost price , an well as a great alteration in the arrangement , of working . Tho state of tho law prevented such changes , and until the Into net relating to Friendly Societies passed , during tho lust , session of Parliament , we felt it , useless to attempt amendment . That act , enabled us to sell to the public , at n remunerating price ; to accumulate , to extend , and to divide ; to sue and he sued ; and , in other words , placed us as a co-operative company in tlie precise- reliition of other trading companies—legalised our transactions , and protected us in carrying out ; the commercial principles alone found Honndly operative in all oilier commercial afluirH . Prior to the passing of the aci , enabling us to sell at remunerating price , and to sell to the public , it in clear ns & fiociety we could never , by rule , accumulate ; and if we broke the rule to do so , we had no legal protection . Still , there had been almost unavoidably some little accumulation , as in tlie half-pence mid furthiiigM per Ktone , tho committee always took the benefit of that which they could not split . In January , | Rf > 2 , we hud ne . ir 3000 members , who having puid 2 <) . v . per Hhsiroeach , would make the capital 3000 / ., hut tlie real worth of the . society had grown up to 435 ) 2 / ., being again of 135 ) 2 / . during five yours working at cost price .
A mill has been purchased for the purpose of grinding corn , the cost of which , and the machinery , amounts to 4700 / ., of which 1000 / . is owing . The sunk capital , 3700 / . from 4392 / ., leaves , of course , 692 / . floating capital to trade with at the beginning of the year . And now , gentlemen , and gentle readers , what think you has been the result of co-operation with this money during the last year , comparing it with any private concern , and managed however economically you will ? Compare any other results with this , and see how we stand . During the year passed , we have received in contributions from members , 306 / . ; and we paid out as bonuses from profit , 6791 ., yet the worth of the society ^ now declared as 5543 / ., showing a clear gain this year of 1524 / . ! The 20 s . share has become
worth 43- ? . 4 c / ., of which 5 s . 4 d . has been already paid as a bonus to members , 8 s . is now about being paid , and still 30 s . per share is left ; the members agreeing to fund 10 s . per share to carry on with , and to pay the other 1000 / . owing upon the mill . 692 / . trading capital has thus made 1524 / ., more than 200 per cent , per annum : rather good for co-operation , this ! But , readers , this is not the whole truth , —we have not been practising co-operation upon general commercial principles more than four months . We were only registered to sell to the public on the 14 th of December , 1852 j but previously , for three or four months , the shopkeepers had sold to the public , and lower than the public price ; we are now a penny per stone lower than the other millers , and still the last , month cleared 500 / . profit .
The Leeds Times , in giving the above results in their account of the meeting , queries , and asks , — " Is there not some mistake" in this result ? To this the Board can answer , the result is true , the money has been made , and we actually have it to the good . We are well aware that no private concern has , or could do , any such thing , even with twice the capital ; and if it be asked , have we any miraculous power t hat enables us to do what to others is impossible ? ^ ve answer , Yes , and our charm is co-operation .
Three thousand people agreeing to certain rules , are enabled to economise capital and labour , without which such arrangement would be impossible . It would take too much space to show our modes of operation , as superior to others—one or two instances , however , may be given . We have a certain number of shopkeepers , through whom only the plan can he obtained . These shopkeepers , being our servants , and paid by us , arei
obliged to conform to such regulations as are needful to the general good ; to order at such times , and receive in such way , as enables our labour , horses , and carts , to be most economically employed . Each shopkeeper , before an order can be given for goods , must first pay not less than ten pounds into the Bank of England ' s branch , upon showing the receipt of which , orders are taken , and supplied to the amount . We have thus no bad debts ! —no fraiid of cashiers , &c . &c , and you will
perceive that capital is thus furnished by the shopkeepers , and , before our stock can bo sold , there is always money to go on with . So well can this arrangement be worked , that we can actually turn over our capital , on tho average , once per week , and , during the last month , goods were puid for , sold , atid delivered , —( mark the order , ) to the amount of 4723 / . This rapidity of our return of capital , is one great source of our success . The amount gained , though great , upon the capital , is , in reality , but a very small per centago upon the amount of business done . Four per cent , upon our returns would realize , besides paying all expenses , more than 200 / . per cent , upon capital , and this result all men of business well know , in our present
mode of dealing , is perfectly impossible . To this result , I would beg the attention of both political economists and capitalists , in order to show how much might be gained by a better arrangement , and how much , nationally , we lose , from our present individual selfishness in action . Without an extensive common agreement , wo cannot economise either labour or capital , and without participation in benefits , we cannot have extensive agreement . True , there are niiiny evils and disadvantages experienced in the working- of ko many diflerently constituted minds ; and ignorance and prejudice to overcome , not needed where one trained mind has the power to command ; yet , notwithstanding this , all has been met . and we can present , this glorious ' economic result ; . The moral bearing of this experiment . should not bo overlooked ;¦— hundredn , who before know nothing of business , prudence , or management , have been grained to all ; and , though some errors , naturally arising , havo had to be paid for ,, rather dearly , the society will be all the heller for the advance that numbers of our members have thus made in intelligence . We havo turned over near 150 , 000 / ., uh a Society , without lmving made lO . v . in had debts . Who can vjiIiio tho lessons taught Uiuh in prudence , honesty , and forethought
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128 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 5, 1853, page 128, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1972/page/8/
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