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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 , —6 r 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 thia inevitable but certainly very undesirable state of things , the present practical school of political economy offers no remedy . Some ,, it is true , qualify their practical maxim by adding , the " best for each is io 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 heedfully 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 b 3 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 can possibly 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-operate , build mills , erect machinery , work under economic arrangements , and conform to business rules and conditions ; and then they Avould reap their rewai'd . Otherwise they never will ; as the lions will always claim the lion ' s share , and leave the jaclcall but the
scraps ! Do the working-men say this is impoa-Bible ? Let them be content , then , aa the y are ; others do it , and if they cannot , it only shows they are in their own place . Co-operation is , 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 be thought of , and acted for too , before the time for its use . The people must learn to row in November and March if they would reap in autumn . Corn will not spring up just when , how , and whore required , at a momenta notice ; neither will mills trade , and co-operation . Brick , stone , wood , iron ' and Hteam would work jiiHfc as well for workmen an for capitalists ; and trade and profit would come to them as well as to others , if they would perform tho
necessary condition for success . These conditions are , imperatively , capital and labour beforehand ; knowledge and skill ' to conduct them , with tinio , ' and patience , and forethought . It doen not always follow that even then succohs in curtain , hut wo know : ib a . rule it in , and honco tho increasing wealth of tho manufacturing capitalist . How has tho capitalist become tho capitalist ? . First ho Haven from povorty , invests in a mill , borrows upon Jiin credit oxtomlH , engages , and works to a profit tho bout talent ho can obtain ; trusts and struggles on during reverses and patiently pursues all improvement ; and no must tho men if they wish the name result of capital to follow . Jiut if the working -men will continue to livo And drink , and cheap trip to tho very top of their income weekly ' ; will turn n deaf ear and laugh at the warning of thorn ') their future ¦ their luiure
who foresee evils _ will duniru «< . ; - •/> who toresoe evils ; wm alwayH seize every tempting opportunity for temporary advantage in their power , get Ling all they can , and when thoy can get it ( lot them not wonder at the liko treatment from masters ) ; if they vtWlnot fiubHcribo ami accumulate money when in good work , will not . co-oporato in
good times ; but will strike , and doing nothing , live upon funds hastily subscribed , for a temporary end ; they will ever he beaten , and deserve to be so . "Would the Amalgamated Engineers have been beaten as they were if they had beforehand purchasedtheconcern offered to them so adyantagoously at Liverpool ? and yet they set about ; raising funds , when out of « wZ ; and too late . * On the contrary , if workmen would co-operate , and create wealth , instead of merely consuming their funds on strike , they would \> e certain to succeed ; and if the people were always in condition to begin to work for themselves , there Would be a final end to strikes ; 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 will 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 mqn . Do they say we have no confidence in ourselves ? Then , working men , there ia 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 ; 35 Q 0 members have subscribed 3500 ? . to manufacture and sell flour ; and last year they made a clear profit of 280 . 02 . After a bonus of 14 s . 8 c ? . 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 k 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 1 thus ; they have made many mistakes , and have had ( and may again ) severe reverses ; but look at the glorious results , by patience , 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 doive 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 cortifortable , 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 strike again , and whine about tyrants and oppression , &c . &'c . Ia not this positivo imbecility ? — away with such folly on both Hides . 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—an d trade for yotir-Helves ! Do it well , and you must succeed . JVtastws , beware : vou mav strotch the strinor too titrht , for if beware ; you may strotch the string too tightfor if
, the people do but awake to a sense of their power , farewell to your accumulation in future . Tho millers of Leeds laughed our co-operative attempts to scorn ; thoy don't laugh now . A few more years , and we Hhall be able to buy them all up , supersede tho capitalist , and put . tho master ' upon "decent weekly wage . " What will become of your fixed capital , if the people- chooso to erect mills , and to -work for themselves ? You have no patent to retain , trade in your hands . Beware !
In tho meantime , ovil to both men and masters in certain , until there como a better understanding , and a more national agreement for mutual interest . MaHtors may stand a little longer upon their dignity , and their capital ; and mini maybe beaten once or twico inorji , but this must ond , and co-operation would soon solve tho problem . In the meanwhilo , J . wish well to both . —Most truly , &o .,. Joijw Hoj . mks .
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THE KINO'S COLLEGE CONTItOVKltttY . Snt , —Mr . Maurice has been dismissed from his pr <> - foHHorHlup , at King ' s College , for attempting to east a doubt upon the doctrine of etornal con ( loiiina , ti <> i » , and advocating the possibility of ultimate salvation for all . The . promulgation . of Mr . Maurice ' s ideas , upon this Mibjoufc , Dr . , ftilf tells uh has filled him wftU "intonno alarm . " How wonderful must bo the construction of an intellect , "Which can regard the prospect of Divine mercy and forgiveness with '' intense alarm , " and that of everlasting punishment , with satisfaction ! I do not blamo , however , the mure dinniisHal of Mr .
Mauriee . ' 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 haye a voice in the matter . Mr . Maurice says that he has acted from a sense of " his duty to hundreds , nay , . thousands , of young Christiansj whose faith in the redemption of Christ , even in the being of God , was at stake . " For this causej 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-. Reason - * condemns it , because human crime is finite , terminating with death , arid 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 riot make four . If , on the other hand , no finite amount of pain can wash out
the slightest stain of sin , an eternity of agony will not 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 , faith 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 delight 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 'I Yours , &c , ¦ ¦ ED .
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WHO IS TO GIVE IN ? { To tho Editor of the Leader . ) Sir , ;—Mr . Cobden , with a frankness which , certainly under the circumstances , was highly creditable , has asser ted 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 . Tlio workmen one would like to see do it , for their
own credit ; but working-class pride is as strong as middle-class prido . As the masters profess to have more knowledge , and are bound to sot a better example than the operatives , the public will look to thorn to retrace tho course which can only bring discredit upon both parties , and ruin upon one . Would some influential , clear-sighted' man like Mr . Cobden suggest to the employers that arrangement which they ought to agree to , and put an end to that war of industry , which endangers the reputation of the nation for commercial good sense . Yours , sir , respectfully , ONCJS AN Ol'KBATJVK . Birmingham , t > tli Nov ., 18 fi 3 .
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A BAKE lt'S HINT . ' ( To tho TSditor of tho Leader . ) Sin , —For tho last seventeen-years a most efficient law for the regulation of tho making and selling of !> " *" has been comp letely inoperative , a period suroly lonj , enough for Hhortweight and adulteration to linvo m play upon tho daily bread ( especially of tho poor ; , i the whole community . As a remedy , I would m $ W ¦*" that policemen Hhould be appointed for certain F '" <)( ' say a month ejich , for particular towns or dwuj * - *" . to * detect , frauds , receive comp laints , and ' ^ M ™ brinirinir them before the magistrates for adjm !«•«¦ estaiuiH .. » ¦>
1 { , Would inoiponsively amljhrunecl ^ tcly . w * ocmitab ' lo and legitimate competition , groatly « i v « the moral tone of the tnwlo , and advance its B ^' rospoctability , - objecte , considering the , nany tho rny " engaged tliei-oin , Worthy of the earnest oflort who tfive thought or ' hopo for better thmgH . I am , Bir , yours respectful ^ ^ NoI . I 1 i ) k 1 »»» . Nflvombcr lfitli , IHC'J .
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jvoticj . ] to con ! ti : firoNDi ; NT . s . Several loLlon to Onon Council under ooM-idcrotlon
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* I linve ' einoo read tlii . s to the principal of a largo ( inn , wlio told mo , iiflcr three yeavH huccchhi ' vo Iohh , ho conHultod with his mnhier to propose a voluntary reduction !;< , ) ( lie men , to elicit Mi < iir Nyinpathy ; and wiih < 1 oI , (« it
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* Tho i ; urn-outH at I ' mston , wlien out of work , are talking of subscribiiijq ; arid bi ^ innin /^ to co-oplirato ;
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1120 THE LEADER . [ SATtTRPAY ,
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 19, 1853, page 1120, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2013/page/16/
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