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January 27, 1849. ^_ THE NORTHERN STAR. ...
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JS-Vl-JUSVXIOX OF PAUPERISM. SI nilKCa N...
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Chaptbr V. REVIEW. "' In the . summary v...
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THE ADJOURNED INQUESTS ON THE CHILDREN I...
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January 27, 1849. ^_ The Northern Star. ...
January 27 , 1849 . ^_ THE NORTHERN STAR . 7
Js-Vl-Jusvxiox Of Pauperism. Si Nilkca N...
JS-Vl-JUSVXIOX OF PAUPERISM . SI nilKCa NAPOLEON ' LOUIS BOXAPARIJS . Chapter I . : 5 ! he wealth of a counhr depends upon the pros-Jility of agriculture and ' industry , the development § f commerce at home and abroad , and a just and fjfBBtable distribution of the revenue . There is not OBO of these different elements of prosperity which iaoot undermined in France by an organic defect . All i > icpendent minds acknowledge it . They differ Cfily in regard to the remedies to be applied . -AoMcrtTtHi . —It is averred that the extreme divisibility of property tends to ruin agriculture ; Sad yet the re-enactment of the law of Primogeniture , which maintained the great estates and fiwoured the cultivation of the soil , is now an
impossibility . We may congratulate ourselves m a political point of view that it is so . . ' fencsiBT . —Labour , the source of all wealth , has anther system , organisation , nor -. aim . It . w like a BUchine working withoufa regulator , and totally unconcerned about its moving power . Crushing between its wheels alike men and matter , it depopulates the country , crowds the population into narrow spaces without air , enfeebles both mind and tody , and filially , oasts into the street when it no laager requires them , those men who , to gain something , have sacrificed strength , youth , and existence , like a veritable Saturn , manufacturing industry devours Its children and lives but upon their destruction ; must we , however , to ward off these evils
subject it to an iron yoke , deprive it of that liberty oa which it alone flourishes , and in one word slay it , fcecause it slays others , without calculating the immense benefits it-confers ? -We believe that it will insufficient to cure its wounded and avert wounds , ft is urgent to do so , for society is ho fictitious being . Itis a body composed of flesh and bone which cannot jrosper , unless allits component partsareinastateof jerfect health . Wemust have an efficacious remedy 'fte the evils endured by industry . The welfare of the country , the voice of humanity , and even the Interest of government imperatively demand it . ¦ Home Cojoibrcb—Suffers , because industry produces too much in comparison with the slender Wquital it gives to the producer , whilst agriculture 4 oes not produce sufficient . The nation is thus composed of producers who cannot sell , and of
ttmished consumers who cannot buy . This loss of faJanee causei the government here , as in England , i * go to China in search of some thousands of containers , whilst there are millions of French , or English , who stre stripped of everything , and who , tf they could purchase sufficient food and clQthing , would create , a commercial movement much , more Considerable than thai , caused by the most advantageous treaties . ; Foreign Commhrci . —The causes which affect « or exportations are too closely allied with politics la speak of themhere . It is sufficient for- us to say , that the quantity of merchandise which' a country exports , is always in direct relation with the number © f bullets which it can discharge against itaenemies when its . honour or dignity command it . ' The events which occurred in China , sufficiently Sttest that truth . We will now speak of
TAXATION . France is one of the most highly taxed countries in Europe . It might be , perhaps ) the richest country if the . public revenue was distributed in the most equitable manner . The levying of taxes may be / Compared to the action of the sun ' s rays , which absorb the moisture from the earth , to " distribute it again in the form Of rain over all places requiring water for fecundity or produce . When this restitution operates regularly , fertility ensues , but when jieaven in its wrath , scatters the absorbed vapours impartially in storms , whirlwinds and tempests , the germs of production are destroyed , and sterility results , for too much is given here , and too little there . Still whatever may have been the beneficial # r injurious influence of the atmosphere , almost always at the end of the year , the tame quantity of water that has been taken is returned .
The distribution alone makes all the difference . When it is regular and equitable , abundance is treated . When it is prodigaland impartial , scarcity V the result . - " The same effects are produced by a good or a bad administration . Jfthe taxes annually levied from the people are expended : in a non-productive manner , such as in the creation of sinecures , the erection © f sterile monuments , arid the support of an army in times of peace , more expensive than that which conquered at Austerlitz , then taxation becomes a crushing burden ; it exhausts the country by taking
without returning . But if , on tho other hand , the national resources were employed in creating new elements of production , in re-establishing the equilibrium of wealth , in abolishing misery , m stimulating and organising labour , and , in short , in curing those evils which our civilisation brings in its train , then assuredly taxation would become for our citizens , as a minister said " one day from the tribune , the very lest of all investments . In the budget we must find the first starting point Cf any system which has for its aim the-amelioration of the working classes . To seek it elsewhere is * chimera .
Savings' Banks are no doubt useful to the better Class of-workmen , they afford them an opportunity © f making an advantageous use of their savings , or superfluities ; but to the numerous class who have no superfluity , and consequently no means of saving , the system is altogether worthless . To seek to mitigate the wretchedness of men , who have not sufficient food , by proposing that they shall annually put aside something which they have not got , is cither a derisionor a folly . What should be done ? Here it is—our law of Equality relative to the division of property ruins
agriculture . This inconvenience must be remedied By an association , which by employing every idle arm shall re-create great estates and increase cultivation , without causing anvTaisadvantege to . our political principles . Manufacturing industry continually draws the populations into towns , andener-Tatesthem . We must recal those into fields , who * re too numerous in towns , and invigorate their Blinds and bodies in the country , ; The working-classes possess nothing . Wo must make them proprietors , of the soil . They possess no wealth save in their arms . We must employ these , so as to make them useful to all .
The working classes are like Helots in the midst < £ a Sybarite people . We must then give a position in society , and hind their , interests to the soil , jfinally , the working classes are without organisation , attachments , rights , or prospects . We must give them both rights and future prospects , and ele-Tatc them in the scale of society by combination , . education , and discipline .
Chapter IT . To accomplish a project so worthy of the democratic and philanthropic spirit of the age , so necessary for the general well being , and so useful to the Sepose of society , three things are necessary t—1 st , A law . 2 nd , The advancemwit of funds from the widget . 3 rd , Organisation . 1 . THE LAW . There arc in France , according to official agricultural statistics , 9 , 190 , 000 acres of uncultivated lands belonging to government ; to-boroughs , or" individuals . These heaths , commons , or pasture lands jwld a very small wnt of eight francs an acre . j Ehey ar « hk » sunk capital , benefitting no one . Let fae chambers decree that all these uncultivated
lands shall belong in r ight to the working association , on - condition that they annually pay to the actual proprietors the same amount which they . * sceive now . Let them consign the idlo acres to the aale arms , and these two unproductive capitals will Sjring into life , the one operating upon the other . Then tho jneansvnll have been discovered olmitir gating misery by enriching the country . Bo as to aroid the reproach of exaggeration , we will suppose that two thirds of these nine millions of acres can be given up to the association , and that the tamainder may he either unarable or occupied by J & onses , rivers , canals , & c . There will remain $ 127 , 000 acres to bo cleared , / w This work would he rendered possible hy the creoi colonies
maa agricultural , wnicn wnen s ^ atterea all over France would form the basis of a single and 'ipitti organisation , of . which all the poor workmen Jtight be members although . not individual pro-. ¦ 0 2 . THB ABVANCB OF FBKDS .-s « jlfl . e necessary advance of money for the creation ^ jpjhese colonies ought to be furnished by the state . Jpgrding to our estimate , three . hundred millions of . eases or £ 12 , OOO , fJ 0 O payable in four years * would -ipseequired . . * ^ sifter the lapse of that time these colonies , by Igfding the means of existence to a great mass of < SWyyiu en , would be a direct benefit . It the end of tenqgars the Government mi ght levy a land tax of SigStmilhons of francs or £ 320 , 000 , without countjjwjathe natural increase of indirect taxes , which JJMms augment in proportion to the consumption wSn expands with tne general comfort of the ¦
% *» advance of three hundred millions of francs jlpua not then be a sacrifice , but a magnificent in-L ^ Bfjta & Bt of money ; and co uld the State on eontem-ZffSpsths grandeur of the object refuse it , whilst ^ SflaHUiy expending forty-six millions of francs in jffjfj ^ nt ing or punishing attacks made upon pro-IWTtjr , whilst sacrificing every year three hundred JgSpns of francs in teaching the trade of soldieriSfflj ^ feid whilst proposing an expenditure of one . jmafired and twenty millions of francs in the confjtr ^ pm of new prisons ? In short , the nation " whjflj £ jrithout grumbling gave two thousand mil iJunsJcithe Invaders of France , which withoutmuriammir paid one thousand millions to emigrants , -whssS ^ nthout alarm expended three hundred mil-JBgjjjjigta fortifications of Paris ; wfll that nation , ^ ifegififitato to advance three hundred millions in ^ sMjjfjfojo abolish pauperism , to relieve the coinmffipiyp SjjT the enormous burdens , imposed by WqggfefreLto augment the territorial wealth b " y znore thaa one thousand millions ?
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3 . 0 RQA 5 I 3 ATIOX . The unorganised mass are nothing , united they are everything ; without organisation they can neither speak themselves , nor make others understand them ; they cannot even receive or act upon a common impulse . On the one hand , the voice of twenty millions of men , scattered over a vast territory , is lost in echo ; on the other , there is no language sufficiently strong and persuasive to spring from a central joint , and bear to twenty millions of consciences without reeognittd mediators the severe doctrines of power . The reign of castes is over . They can onl y govern now by the masses . It is therefore necessary to organise them , so that they may reduce their wishes to form , and discipline them , so that they maybe directed towards , and enlightened upon their real interests .
To . govern , means no longer to rule the people by violence and physical force , but the art of conducting them towards a more glorious future , by appealing to their reason and feelings . But since the masses need instruction , and the government require * to be restrained , and even enlightened , as to the interest of the greatest number , it is absolutely necessary that there should be in society two equally powerful movements : the action of power upon the mass , and the re-action of the mass Upon power . These separate influences * cannot act without collision , except through mediator * , who at once possess the confidence of those whom they represent , and tho confidence of those who rule .
. These mediators would posses * the confidence of the first , the moment they were freely elected by them ; and they would deserve the confidence of the second , the moment they filled an important place in societv ; for one may say in general , that man is that which the functions he performs obliges him to be . Guided by these considerations we wish to see created between the workmen and their employers , an intermediate class enjoying rights legally recognised , and elected by the whole mass of workmen .
This intermediate class would form the corps of managers or overseers .- We should like all the working-men to assemble in . their respective communes every year , ' and proceed to the election of thoir representatives or . overseers in the proportion of one to every ten workmen . ¦ Good conduct would be the sole qualification . ' Every manufacturer , or farmer , or . any tradesman whatever should be compelled by law to have a manager whenever he > mnloyed more than ten workmen , and to pay him douole the amount of a common workman . These manager * would perform amongst the working classes the same duty that non-commissioned officers do in the army , they would compose the first step in the social hierarchy , stimulating , thelaudable ambition of all by showing them a recompense easy to be obtained . •
Elevated in their own estimation , hy the duties they had to perform ; they would be compelled to set an example Of good conduct . According to this plan / every ten of the workmen would contain within themselves tho germ of-perfection . To ameliorate the - condition of men , you must always place-before them some attainable- . object , which may at once be honourable and . honoured . The question of giving an impulse to the mass , ' of enlightening them , ' of appealing to them , and of causing them to act , is found to rest simply in the relation which one hears to ten . ' .. <¦ .
Suppose there are twenty-five millions of men , who exist'by labour alone , there would be two millions and a half managers or of intermediate agents , to whom they could appeal with greater confidence , because they participate at once in the interests of those who obey , as well as in those who command . These managers would be divided into two classes . The first would belong to private-industry , the second would be employed in the agricultural establishments ; and wo repeat that this different mission would be the result of the right of direct taxation by all the working-classes .
' . . ' . Chapter OT . 1 . AORICULTCRAI . COLONIES . Let us suppose that the three preceding measures have been adopted . The twenty-five millions of actual workmeahave their representatives , and the fourth part of the agricultural area of France is their property , supposing they did ,, as they most assuredly would in the end ,-purchase the actual proprietorship . In each department of France , and in the first instance , wherever the uncultivated , lands were , agricultural colleges would be established , offering
food , education , religious instruction ,-and work , to ail who required them * and God knows the number is great in fVance . These charitable institutions , in the midst of a selfish world , abandoned to the feudality of money , ought to produce the same-beneficial effect as those monasteries which flourished in the middle ages , in the bosom of forests , amidst warlike men and serfs , forming the germs of enlightenment , peace , and civilisation . . There -being but one national association , the unequal distribution of the uncultivated land , and even the limited quantity in certain distircts , would he no obstacle . . . . •?
The poor of one department could remove to the colony of the next ; or cultivated lands mi g ht be purchased which , although unprofitable to individuals , might be advantageous toan association . The great benefit of combination arises from the equal distribution of aid , and the miti ation , of misery , without that constant excuse of inhumanity being adduced , " Oh I the pauper does not belong to my parish . " .- . . .. Agricultural colonies would have two ends to fulfil . The first would be to support a vast number of poor by employing them in the cultivation of the soil , A * c . The second would be to afford a temporary refuge to the floating mass of workmen , whom the prosperity of trade once called into , activity , and whom its stagnation or the improvements in machinery plunged into , the deepest misery . . All the poor , all who were out of work ,-would
find in these colonies means of employing mind and body for the benefit of the entire community . Thus there would to in these colonies , independent of the men , women , and children , . strictly . ner cessaryior farm labour , a great number constantly employed in reclaiming new land , and in . erecting new establishments for the old and infirm .. The advances made to the association on its ulterior profits would allow of the employment of a considerable capital in these necessary expenses . When private industry required hands , it would seek them at those central depots , and :. it is clear that the workman who was always sure to find a living in tho agricultural colonies * would not accept pt private employment , ' unless the latter , presented greater benefits than the former ; hence , a remunerative scale of wages would always , be maintained .
To stimulate an exchange , as well , to excite the emulation of the workmen , a levy would be made on the profits of each colony , to create a capital for each workman .- A real savings bank would thus be formed , from which the workman , at tho moment of his departure could draw the balance due to him , which would be iregulated in" amount by the length of his employment , his zeal , and his good conduct . The lahonrious man would he able to amass , ' in a few years , a sum sufficient to ensure his living during the remainder of his life , even out of the colony altogether . ; To define our system better , wo shall have recourse , to a comparison . A large river flowing through a country is a general cause of . prosperity ; but sometimes too great an abundance ; or a scarcity of its-waters , give rise : to inundations , or proQuce . ) ..... ¦ mV . *» . UT 1 ...+ s . « , r . L + . . . V . & . f . \ nA fn . * A . naJw 4-1 . / . MA ¦ iwv vugui & inuvukuvro
uruugubs . " , w wuuuo w ; two calamities ? The Me furnishes m with an : example . —Vast basins are dug , in which the surplus waters-remain , and from which they flow when there is too little , maintaining a constant level , from which results abundance . Well , we propose a similar thing for . the working classes , whose flow of industry may be at once a source ; of ruin or fertility , according as its course is guided . We demand , for the floating mass of workmen , vast places of refuge , where their minds and bodies may be equallydeveloped ; refuges which , when the national activity is partially , superseded , shall preserve the surplus unemployed labour to restore it again in proportion to the general demand . .- ¦ ¦ = " ' ¦ :
We demand , in one word , veritable labour reservoirs , which would , arways maintain at its level the industry of the country . J ^ Tha managers or representatives of the workmen would become the regulators of that continual exchange . The managers in pr ivate concerns , alive to all the wants of their : employ « rs , would share with the magistrates the right of sending , to the agricultural colonies those whom they could not employ . The manager * of the colonies , aware of the capacity of each individual , would endeavour to procure advantageous appointments in private
establishmentsfor-those who were required there . Several practical inconveniences mig ht attend this exchange ; but what institution does not present the same in the beginning . This one would possess the immense advantage of * uffmenting popular instruction , of giving the mass a healthy employment , and of teaching them agriculture ; and would establish , as a general custom , that which the mamifacturing of sugar from beetroot and salk manufacturing have already introduced , viz ., the alternate exchange of field labour for that of the factory .
Tha managers would be in the proportion of one to ton , as in private business . Above the managers there would be directors , whose duties would bo to teach practical agriculture . These directors would be elected by the workmen and managers combined . Before thoy were eligible they would require to produce proof of a practical knowledge of agricul-
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ture . Finall y , above the directors , managers , and workers , there would be a governor for each colony . He would be nominated by the united directors and managers . The adminstration would be composed of tho governor , one-third of the directors , and two-thirds of the managers . . Every year the accounts would be published , laid before the general assembly of workmen , and submitted to the general council of the department for their approval , - who would likewise have the right to discharge the manager or directors who had exhibited any incapacity .
Every year the governors of colonics would have to proceed to Paris , and there , under the presidence of the Minister of the Interior , discuss the best means of employing their funds , for the general benefit of the association . Every beginning Is difficult . - Thus we have not discovered the means of creating these agricultural colonies economically without establishing camps where , in the outset , our workmen would be in barracks like our troops . . It will be understood that as soon as the receipts surpass the expenses the barracks would be replaced by more healthy buildings , erected according to a matured plan . Accessory buildings would then be added to afford
the members of the oolony and their children both civil and religious instruction . Finally , vast hospitals would - be built for the infirm , and for those whose ago ^ made labour impossible . > A severe discipline would reign over these colonies . Life would there be salutary but rough , for their object is not to hatch idlers but to ennoble men by healthy and remunerative labour , as well as by moral education . The workmen and their families would be treated in the simplest manner possible . Lodging , food , and clothing would be regulated by the army tariff , for military organisation is tho only one which is based at once on the comfort of all its members and the strictest economv .
These establishments , however , Would not be military , they would only borrow from the army hi admirable order , and that would be all . The army is simply an organisation . The working class would form an association . These two bodies differ in principle and . object ,. : The army is an organisation which , requiring to execute blindly and with promptitude the convmand of the chief , ought to have for its . basis a hierarchy , beginning from above . , : , The working classw form an association , whost leaders wouldhave no other duties except to regulate and execute tho general will , its hierarchy ought then to result from election . That which we propose , then , has no connexion with military colonies . . Spas to make our system more , palatable , we are about to clance at the
probable receipt j and expenses of an agricultural colony . Tho calculations are based on official returns , Every one will understand the difficulty of drawing up such a budget . Ifothing can be more inexact than a detailed appreciation of the rent of land . We do not pretend to have . foreseen alL The best provision , says Montesquieu , is to try and not see too much . , . But if our figures may give rise to various interpretations , we shall not admit that it is so with the ystem itself . - It is . possible , notwithstanding the oare we have taken in our valuations , that we have omitted some expenses and , receipts , or estimated the produce of the ; soil too high . But these omissions ! do not damage in the . least the , fundamental idea which we believe to bo just , true and fruitful of good results , The following simple reason will prove it .
j Generally speaking , the rents of the land are divided into three parts , without counting fiscal du » ties ; : The first , goes to support , the workmen ; the second is the farmer ' s share ; and the , third enriches the proprietor .-In ' our mpdel farms the working class would have these three products for themselves . They would comprise within themselves workmen , farmers , and landlords . These , advantages would be immense , and mor » especially so , because , in a well-established association , ; the . expenses are always less than in individual business , . . : ¦ The first part would enable many poor families to live- in moderate comfort . The seqond part would form personal deposits , as wo formerly stated , and the third , would supply the means ,, not- only , of erecting houses of refuge , i but would unceasingly augment the capital of society , by the purchase of new land .
In that consists one of the greatest advantages of our system , for any system which does not contain within itself the means of constantly increasing is defective .. - . Itonay lead to good temporary results , but when that effect . is realised , the evil it sought to destroy is renewed , and it is as if nothing , had been done . The- Poor . Law and the Union Workhouses in England furnish a striking example . Here , on the contrary , when the agricultural coloniea shall be in full action , it will be always possible to extend their , territory , to multiply their establishments , and to create new workshops .
The sole obstacle ; to this increase will momentarily spring from the demand for labour made by the individual manufacturers , of which they , can make a more advantageous use .. The cultivated soil will not be abandoned on that account . The excess of workmen will enter the labour market , and remain there until some new stagnation in trade drives them back upon the agricultural colony . Thus , whilst our law of . equality divides property more and . more , the working-man ' s , ; association would reconstruct large estates and stimulate agriculture . Whilst manufacturing industry was attracting the people ceaselessly to the towns , the colonics would recall them tothe country . When there was no longer sufficient land at a low
enough price in France , the association would establish branches in Algiers , or even in America . It might one day invade the world , for wherever there was an acre of land , to clear . or poor to nourish , it would be there withits capital , its army of . workmen , and its . incessant activity . - ¦ Let them not accuse « s of dreaming of an impossibility . We Lave only to recall to mind the example . of the famous English East India Company . What is it bus an association like that which wo propose , whoso results although astonishing are not so favourable to humanity as that which we call for with all our heart and soul i . > Before we penetrate so far into the future , let us calculate the probable receipts and expenditure of these colonies . -- ¦
Chapter IT . i ' BBCEIFTS AND BXPENDIIUBB . According to our suppositions , the working-men ' s association would have to claim two-thirds or uncultivated lands ,, or 6 , 127 , 000 acres . To ascertain how much these acres would yield , if subjected to proper cultivation , without , any being left fallow , we have made the following calculation . The number of acres of cultivated lands in all France , is ... ' ... ... 19 , 314 , 741 The natural andartificial prairies ... 5 , 774 , 7-io
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Total ... ... ... 25 , 089 , 436 The rough value of the produce of these lands is , For the arable soil ... ... 3 , 479 , 583 , 005 For the prairies ... ... 666 , 303 , 412
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Total .... ... ... 4 , 145 , 940 , 417 The average produce per acre , for seed or prairie lands , would raise to 165 franca per acre . Oh the other hand , there are in France 51 , 508 , 845 domestic animals of every kind , whick g iye a rough produce of 767 j 25 ii & 51 francs , without comprising the . value of meat consumed . ! Taking ono with the other ,, each head , of cattle produces , flueen francs , and as . those animals are-fed on . twenty-six millions of acres / it will make two foroach acre . We ' may gay that tlie average produce of each acre is 195 francs , 165 from land , and thirty from the animals . Our . 0 , 127 , 000
acres . put into . cultivation or pasture , would yield from the rough produce of the soil 1 , 010 , 955 , 000 francs , and from the produceof animals 183 , 810 , 000 , making a total of 1 , 194 , 765 , 000 francs . .. Deduct from that sum the amount which these lands now produce , viz ., 54 , 709 , 364 francs , and the territorial wealth wouldbe aiigmented . by ltl 40 , 05 o , 630 francs . Let us now estimate the expense . To assist our calculations , let us suppose-that the lands to be cleared areequally spread over each political division of France .
• We would have then to . divide tho number of acfe » by eighty-six , which would . leave for each department , 71 , 241 acres . Fixing twenty years as the time after which all these lands should be cultivated ; there would be for each department 3 , 562 acres to clear annually . The number of hands required , for this ' work , could be regulated thus :. one workman would oh an average clear three acres annually , as he can do twoofwood-landorfourofturf . But as wemust
calculate sickness , and likewise , that after the second year the workman would be obliged to attend to the cultivation of the soil , and assist the agricultural families , who would be annually augmenting , wo will suppose that only , two acres are annually cleared . It would be necessary then to employ 1781 workmen to accomplish the work in twenty years , and as there would be cleared annually 3 , 562 acres , the colony would receive every year one hundred and twenty families to assist in the cultivation of those cleared lands . ¦ ' , .
A Iarn'e landed proprietor informs us , that under tbe old system of agriculture , of wheat , corn , and fallow alternating , it was necessary to employ on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres , eight domestics , six thrashers , and twenty harvest men . Under the new system , where the pastures are replaced by green crops requiring weeding , one hand more would be required each year . We have calculated two beasts per acre in France . The colony would , then annually purchase double the number of cattle to the acres , which they had cleared during the preceding year . Thus during tfae ioierTal of twenty years , the co-
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%$ ™ £ ^ n receipts and expenses progrc The receipts , without counting the first poverncS , in va ? , 5 , ! 5 t > 2 »« e « , and their annual in-ZTiZZIa V - * adm , ""» g that each acre yields wltlontt x ninet - r-fivefr » nc 9 ' " lands would 2 ?^ f Id ! f / mount - ** Pl a * ^ e end of three years , and after four years of cultivation . » „ m » l ! * * ajvea ° hacreaftcr bein 2 cleared would yield the first year sixty-five francs , the second one hundred and thirty , and each succeeding year ono hundred and ninety-five francs . ^ As for the expenses independent of the first outlay the expenditure would be continually renewed , such as for the payment of 1781 workmen and 120 families uie ent to
r uue Boroughs or individuals , seeds , outhouses , management , and 7 , 124 beasts to purchase Besides there would be each year a regular increasein expenses caused by the maintenance of ono hundred and twe nty new families , and tho erection of barracks to lodge them . Each workman would receive the pay of a soldier , and each-fanul y , that of threo workman . Clothing would be cheaper for the working men than for tho soldier ; but we will calculate it at the market price . Enoh man would annually cost , including every thing , three hundred and eighteen francs .. The managers would receive the pay of non-commissipned officers . ; the directors that of officer *; and the
governor that of a colonel . i J'J ^ e colony yielded profit , all the . workmen would be lodged in barracks constructed like military ones . These immense health y constructions , built on a small scale , would contain ton men and their overseers , or one familv . In many departments there are similar barrackf near the sugar manufactories , In making the calculations which we have placed at the end of the book , it would be found that with an advance of three hundred millions of francs , the receipts and expenses of our colonies would at tho end of twentythree years be as follows : — Annual receipts ... ... francs 1 , 194 , 694 , 800 Expenses ... , „ 378 , 622 , 278 ' Profit . ... ... .. ; ... ... ... 810 , 072 , 522 296 , 400 families and 153 , 166 poor workmen would be supported . ) ( France would be enriched by twelve millions of cattle . Finally tho government might lay on the rough income according to the present rates , about thirtr-seren millions nt franna .
Chaptbr V. Review. "' In The . Summary V...
Chaptbr V . REVIEW . "' In the . summary view we have given of the benefits , we have kept within the truth ; for the cultivation of a fourth part of the ' uncultivated lands would not only increase by a quarter the rough revenue of France , but this increase of wealth would give to all branches of nationaliiidustry an ' immense stimulus , which it is more basy to understand than explain in all its details . Not only , would these colonies prevent in twenty years , more than a million of human beings from languishing in misery , not only would they support a host of workmen in connexion with agriculture , but the annual' exchange of 800 millions of francs
worth of land products for others would increase consumption and improve the home market ' . This demand would present an outlet for till the fruits of industry more considerable than the most advantageouscommercial treaties could effect , because tho 800 ' . million ' s of francs value , surpass by 156 millions the value of all our exportations , which only amount to 644 millions of francs . To make this reasoning more apparent and to show ' the vast importance of the home market , let us suppose these agricultural colonics were not within our territorial boundary , but separated from the continent by an arm oftho sea and a line of custom-house officers , and that they . were nevertheless , compelled to have no
commercial dealings except with France . . . It is clear that if their agricultural produce realised , profits of 800 millions of francs ; that sum would be exchanged for various continental produce . '" . ' .. ' . . - We believe , that increased home' consumption favoured by the general augmentation of wealth and comfort , would remedy more than any thing else , those evils ? of . which certain classes complain , and above all that it would diminish by one half , the sufferings of the vine growers by making their food
cheaper . - \ ' . ' '" . In , fact it may be presumed that these colonies from the nature of the soilj will produce grain and cattle , rather than wine . But by augmenting the quantity of wheat , and of flesh meat , they would lower the price of common necessaries , and increase consumption by putting them within reach of tho working classes . On the other hand , the increased comforts of society would add to the number of those who could drink wine , and consequently improve general consumption . ' ' ¦ '•
France produces 36 , 733 , 223 hectolitres of wine , without counting brandy . It consumes . .... : „ . 23 , 578 , 248 Exports ... ... ... . ; . ... 1 , 351 , 677
Total ' ... ... ... ... ... 24 , 929 , 925 Deduct this sum from the production , and there will remain 11 , 853 , 298 'hectolitres unemployed . These figures demonstrate , not only the mischief but the remedy . They prove the superiority of the home market . over the foreign , for if through the means we have pointed out the stimulus given to the home market would only increase- consumption , by oncrtenth part , which is not improbable , the increase would be 2 , 357 , 824 hectolitres which is double . our exportation .
On the other hand , if our government succeeded , and we are far from anticipating it , in increasing our exportation , one-fifth part of that augmentation would only be 270 , 334 . Labour which creates ; easy circumstances , and those again which add to consumption , form tho real basisjof a nation ' s prosperity . The first duty , then , Of a wise and able minister , 'is to endeavour by improving agriculture and the condition of the masses to . ihcrease home consumption which is now very far from its height .
Speaking statistically , each inhabitant of France annually consumes 271 hectolitres of wheat and barley which make 328 rations of bread per head per annum ; Of butchers ' , meat twenty kilogrammes ; of wine seventy litres ; sugar 3 . 4 kilogrammes . This means . humanly speaking that there . are in France millions who eat neither bread , meat , nor sugar , and who drink no wine . The rich consume 365 rations of bread instead of 328 ; 180 kilogrammes . of meat ; instead of twenty ; and 365 litres of wine instead of seventy ; and fifty kilogrammes of sugar instead of three and twofifths . * '•¦ ' ., ! " We do not produce sufficient , wo do not consume
enough . , Instead of seeking consumers in China let us increase our- territorial wealth , Let them employ all the idle arms for the benefit of all the wretched and indu 8 tribu !)' ; and let them' not forget that Franco , which has been . so richly endowed by Heaven , contains within herself all tho elements of prosperity . . It is a stigma Upon Our civilisation to . think that in the nineteenth century , the tenth part . of oilr population should . 'bo in' rags and perishing from want , amidst manufacturing produce which cannot be sold , and agricultural supplies which cannot be consumed .
To sum up .. ' Tlie system which we propose is tho result of all the' ideas which have emanated from the most' able political economists of . the last half century . In Mr . Gbuin ' s Statistical and Official Agricultural Report , page xxviii , the minister declares that the greatest progress to be obtained is by reclaiming tho waste ' lands which do not yield more than eight francs por acre . = Our project realises that idea .. ' . . ; Everyone animated by a love for his species demands justice , for the working classes , who seem to be disinherited of all tho benefits of civilisation . Our . project confers upon them all that is calculated to improve the condition of man , comfort , education , order , and the chance which is afforded every . One " of elevating himself by his own merit and industry . "
Our organisation tends , ' to , nothing less than the making , m the course of a few years , tho poorer classes the richest association in all France . Now the reward of labour is left to chance or violence . ' The master either oppresses , or the workman revolts . According to our System wages would be fixed , as all human things ought to he regulated , not by force , but according to the just equilibrium established between the wants of those who toil and the necessities of those who provide work . In the present day all flock to Paris , which as a centre absorbs all the energies of . the country ; our system , without injuring the . centre , would carry life to the furthest extremities b y bringing into action eighty-aix new systems , working under the . direction of the government . What is wanted to realise Jsuch a project ? One year ' s pay of the army , . fifteen times the sum given to America , or an expense equal to that employed on the fortifications of Paris . J
This advance would after twenty years , bring back to France , one thousand millions , to the working classes eight hundred millions and a revenue of thirty-seven millions of francs . Let the government put our project into execution , modifying it according to the experience of men well versed in such complicated matters , and who may ' supply useful hints and cast now lights upon them ' Let it take to heart tho great national interests . Let it establish the comfort Of the masses , on an immovable basis and it will , become immovable itself . Poverty would no longer become seditious , when wealth was no longer oppressive . It is a great and holy mission and worthy of man ' s highest ambition , to strive to subdue human na-
Chaptbr V. Review. "' In The . Summary V...
* A Litre is .. , 2 , 1 . 188 pints Knglish . Hectolitre .. .. 'J . C . 413 gallons . Kilogramme ,, ,, 3 jh , joe , 5 drachms ,
lure , to heal all woundi , to sooth the sufferings of humanity by uniting the people of the same country in one common interest , and by accelerating that future , which civilisation will sooner or later usher in . In the beginning of the last century La Fontaine uttered this sentence , which is too often true , but always sad and so destructive of society , order , and
Chaptbr V. Review. "' In The . Summary V...
hierarchies . " Itell you in plain French our enemy is our master . " In the present day tho aim of every wise government should bo to bring about a timo when it might be said , " Tho triumph of Christianity has destroyed slavery . Tho triumph of tha French revolution has destroyed serritude , and tlW triumph of democracy has destroyed pauperism . "
Chaptbr V. Review. "' In The . Summary V...
CALCULATION OF THE EXPENSES AND RECEIPTS OF AN AGRICULTURAL COLONY . 23 Franc * £ 1 . ; 1 , 000 Franc * £ i 0 . ; 1 , 000 , 000 440 , 000 . AT TUB BND OF TUB PIBST THAR . Expenses . Francs . Receipts . 1781 Workmen at 318 francs ' 566 , 358 120 Families , ono as three workmen ... 114 , 480 190 Managers at 36 francs 0 , 840 19 Directors at 1 , 800 francs 34 , 200 One Governor ... 6 , 000 Value of Seed 82 , 638 7124 head of Cattle , at 30 francs 30 cents 257 , 888 Outhouses 100 , 000 Management 10 , 000 f $ \ "I - 31 , 807 lt » 2 barracks _ 4 21 , 000 120 ditto for families "' . " * " , * '" * " 12 * 000 Government Implements of husbandry 50 , 000 gift . TotaI 1 , 293 , 972 1 , 293 , 273 IXrB . VSBS B . VD OP SHCO . W TKAB . Expense * . Franeg . Bocelpbs . France . bamc expenses as year preceding ... 1 , 210 , 212 120 New Families , I Director , and 12 Managers 116 , 712 120 barracks ... ... ... ] 2 000 Rent of new land ... 31 , 807 Implements ... 5 iooo Government 1148 701 Management , 4 c ^ 2 , 500 Produce of 3 , 502 acres .. ' . * . ' . " . ' . ' . ' . 234 , 530 Lwisii i ^^ I a . XD OP THIRD THAB . Expenses aa before 1 , 378 , 231 Government , 851 , 660 Addltl 0 n 168 , 019 Produce of 3 , 562 acres 463 , 060 Produce ot same at 65 francs 231 , 530 1 , 540 , 250 1 , 540 , 200 BSD OP rOUBTH MAR . From Government 325 , 089 -. ! ¦ ¦ 3 , 562 acres , at 195 francs 694 , 500 ^ 5 ?" 1 , 546 , 250 Same at 130 403 , 060 Additions ... 168 , 019 Same at 65 231 , 530 ' Total 1 , 714 , 269 Total 1 , 714 , 269 HMD O ? riPTH TBAB . Expenses ... 1 , 882 , 288 Revenue of former years 1 , 714 , 260 Gradual increase 694 , 590 ' ,- j 3 , 408 , 859 1 , 883 , 288 Profit 526 , 571 At the end of ten years the Revenue would be 5 881309 The Expenses . , . „ _ 2 , 722 , 383 .. Troflt ... ... ... ... ... 3 , 158 , 926 At the end of twenty-three years the Expenses would bo 4 , 402 , 573 The Revenue 13 , 891 , 800 ———• Profit ,. i ... 9 , 489 , 227 TAKB BlOnil-SIX DEr-ABTJtBHTS AXD TUB BESULT WOULD BB : — Annual Receipts 1 , 194 , 694 , 800 Expenses of 88 Colonies ., ... 378 , 623 , 278 Profit 816 , 012 , 522
The Adjourned Inquests On The Children I...
THE ADJOURNED INQUESTS ON THE CHILDREN ItEMOVED FEOM THE TOOTINO ¦ INFANT . PAUPER ASYLUM . INQUEST AT ST . PANCRAS . On Thursday afternoon , January 18 th , Mr .. G . J . Mills , the deputy-coroner for Middlesex , and the jury empannelled on tha body of John Joseph Coster , One of the children who had died in St . Pancras Workhoiise on"hid removal from- Tooting , je- » ssembled at the Elepliant and' Castle , King ' -s-road , Camden Town , further to prosecute their inquiry . - Mr . John M'Gahet , tho clerk to tha directors of the poor of . St . Pancras , was first re-called . Ho said—The engagement with 'Mr .. Drouot for farming out the children was not a contract in writing . Mr . Drouet promised to appropriate a particular building to the St . Pancras children ; there was to be necessary warmth with regard to the bedding , and
they were only to sleep two m one bed . Mr . Drouet , in case of sickness , was to supply all medicines , medical treatment , and nurses . The sum agreed to be paid was 4 s . 6 d . per week . Before the directors agreed with Mr . Drouet for that sum , they considered whether that was a sufficient sum , and found that it was Is . per week more than -they , could be kept here for . - . The Foeeman . —And thus rob us ratepayers of li . per week for each child . The Cdbonkb : —The question is , whether any party should be allowed to make , a profit out of these children . There could be no doubt that every ounce of food which Mr . Drouot . could save would diminish his expense with regard to these children , and
thereby increase his own profit . Evidence continued . —The first report as to Mr . Drouet ' s establishment was on the 8 th of June , when some oftho children complained that they did not have so much to eat as in the workhouse , and that several had run away- 0 n the 11 th of July , a report was presented by Mr . Douglas , approving the cleanliness and general management of , Mr . Drouet's establishment . On the 22 nd of August , a report was received from Mr . Johnson , one oftho district medicalofficersr-that he had been called to see the boys Joseph Sherrard , aged eleven , and Henry , aged nine , ! wlio had been removed up hero from Tooting .. The former had a wound in his log ar ising from a kick , which would not have been
produced in a child in a sound state of health . The wound on the other child ' s head was alleged tohava been inflicted by the schoolmaster . The children were staying with thoir uncle and aunt in William ' s Mews , and were both in a very low and emaciated condition . In consequence of the receipt of this report , the board of directors sent down Mr , Robinson , the workhouuo surgeon , and Mr . Johnson , to Tooting , to examine the St . Pancras children . s Mr . Robinson's report bears date August 28 th , and after , enumerating fifty-eight cases of ophthalmia and other diseases , chiefly eruptions , contains the following important paragraph : — " I did not fail to notice , from the examination of the above boys , that they had undergone a change , certainly not for the better . The general
charaeteristics were wasting of tho limbs , debility , boils , Ac . Although seme fifteen or twenty , upon leaving the workhouse ; were more or less indisposed , I am prepared to say they were not so delicate generally as they are at present . As to the cause , which may have operated to produce this alteration , perhaps recent removal from friends and change of air , may have contributed , but the symptoms are decidedly characteristic of bad food or an insufficiency of food . With regard to tho cases of the two children—Sherrard ( one of whom is since dead ) Mr . Johnson has reported , and I need not add anytliing to that , report . I think a groat deal of sevorityr-not to use a harsh term—has been exercised by the masters and others in authority , as well as some out of authority , towards the boys . " H . C . Robinson , " Surgcon ' to St . Pancras Workhousa .- "
The ConoMB . —Now , what , resolution did tho board como to in reference to this report of their medical officer ? ¦ " ' ¦ Mr : M'Gahey . — Mr . Drouet was directed to attend the board , and having had both Mr . Johnson ' s and Mr . Bobinson ' s reports read to him ; ho pledged himself to institute a most rigid inquiry into any alleged ill-treatment of the children . The - first report of the committee who went down to Tooting , after the outbreak oftho cholera , stated that fiftyseven children had been taken ill , and that eleven
had died . Thatthey had met Dr . Addison , of Guy s Hospital , and other medical gentlemen , and that every care had been paid to the children , and steps taken by Mr . Drouet to " alleviate the disorder . The Cohonbr said , this report entirely differed from , that of-Mr . Grainger , the medical superintending inspector of the Board of Health . . . ; Mr . M'Ga ' uky said , that the ^ circumstance * had materially changed between the Tuesday , and tho Friday , the day Mr . Grainger went to Tooting . The St . Pancras children wero removed , under the advice of the Board of Health , on Saturday week
Mr : Thojus E . Baker , one of the directors of the poor , said lie . had had twenty-four years' experience of the cholera as a military surgeon m India , and had seen hundreds of cases . Had visited the children several times . When I first went some of the boy a complained that they had not had enough to eat . We made no examination of the boys with their-clothes off . I considered the ventilation of the dormitories generally good . ,,,.,, ; The Coroner . —It is a most singular fact , that , whilst all these children who have heon farmed out at Mr Drouet ' s have fat and ruddy faces , indicating the most robust health , under their clothes their bodies presented a most poor and emaciated appear-^ Mr Bakeb continued . —! am not aware that , the children had flour used for making their porridge at Tooti '' ¦
ng . „ .... ,, , , . The CoaosBB . — Tho fact is that such grttol was nothin" better than bill-stickers' paste ; and there can bc ° no wonder , under such a diet , that the children have pot-bellies and are emaciated . Can you tell the jury the cause of the outbreak of cholera at Tooting ? Mr . Baker . —When I went down on the Tuesday I went into the school-room , and I was at once struck with the atrocious smell , and directed the master to open tho windows , which face the north * . east ; , The master gajd it would be so cold , and
The Adjourned Inquests On The Children I...
added that the wind had been blowing from tha north-east for several days . Here was the secret The windows had been closed , and the children liad themselves produced tho poison which destroyed them . That , in my opinion , was the main cause . Mr Edward Pitt , agent ¦ to the directors of tha poor of St . Pancras , was called to show what the computed cost of tho children was in the workhouse previous to thoir - removal to Tooting , which amounted to 3 s . 7 d . per week .. . John Woodhousk , ono of the boys , was next ex * aminod . ~ Hc said : I was sent to Mr . Drouet ' s from
St . Pancras workhouse in May last . I knew deceased , Joseph Coster . When he went to Tooting ho was in good health . He had the itch after he had been at Tooting about two months . None of th » St . Pancras boys had the itch when they went there . Coster had sores all over his ribs , and many other boys had sores about their backs and arms . Some of the boys had bruises about their bodies by being knocked about by Mr ; Harding , the schoolmaster . A boy named Harris was . ; violently beaten by the schoolmaster with a thick stick for telling his mother that he had been previously ill-used . A nurse , who overheard the conversation , told the schoolmaster . Tho stick with which the boys were beaten was thicker than that candle . Harris complained
to Mr . Drouet of having been violently beaten , and Mr . Drouet told Mr Harding he would not allow it . Several boys ran away , and when they were brought back they had their heads shaved as a punishment . When the gentlemen came to visit us we had cleaa shirts put on . When the gentlemen asked us if we had enough to eat , we all , " except two or three , said " No . " Wo had not enough bread to eat . We only had bread every other day for dinner . I do not think wo had the proper quantity allowed . We did iiot all have a knife and fork at dinner , and those who had not got them , ate their dinners the best way they could . Wo always had gruel for breakfast , and I think it was ma " de with flour and water . I never had bread and milk there . We always had
meat on Sundays , Tuesdays , and Fridays , but I don't think any of the boys had a proper allowance of meat . The soup days are the best dinners . The St . Pancras food is far better than at Tooting , and we get more to eat here . I would sooner be hero than at Tooting . Some of the Chelsea boys were beaten 1 > y the schoolmaster for telling the gentlemen of the Cholsoa Board they had not enough to eat . Those boys names arc Rowc and Cutler ; but Cut- * ler is now dead . After such complaints were made ) tho boys wero put upon short diet . We had no difference in oilr clothes in the summer and the winter . We had no flannels on until the day before wa came home from Tooting . I went out to work at hay-making in the summerwith twenty-four
other-, boys , in Mr . Wakins' fields . I received no wage * for it , ' nor do I know if any one else did . Tho boys sometimes slept three in a bed , and when they web tho bed thoy are put four in a bed as a punishment , and had to lay oil cold oilcloth , with a straw bed underneath . I have known boys so hungry that they have got over the palings to cat the stuff out of tho pig-tubs and the wash given to the pigs . Thomas Woods , another boy ten years of age , said I would sooner ho at St . Pancras Workhouse than at Tooting , because I did not get enough to eat there . We did hot have enough bread'thero . When the gentlemen came and asked us if we had enough to eat , I said "No . " Iknow where the hog-tub was , and
have seen'boys go and pick things out of it and eat them because they were hungry . Janb Alfobd , aged sixteen , cxaffiincd .- ^ She complained of the insufficiency of food . We were not warm enough , as the clothes given us were not sufficiently thick . I was afraid to complain of not having enough food , because the girls said , it I did Miss May , the matron , would' box my cars , if I was to go back there again I should like more meals . When we washed we had no towels , and had to wipe ourselves on our pinafores . None of the St . Pancras pirls could eat Mr . ; Prouet' « gruel , as it wasmado so salt- and it was made of flour and arrowroot and water . We had dry bread and water instead . Wa had bread and milk in St . Pancras workhouse .
Isabella Garbow , another girl , corroborated tha evidence of the last threo witnesses . In answer to the coroner , Mr . M'GAnBT observed , that ' Mf . Drouet for some time refused to take the girls on account of some interference on theirpart , and he begged to read to the coroner and jury tha following letter from Mr , Drouet , by which they would see that the Poor Law Board were responsible for the St . Pancras girls being sent to Tooting : — ' " " Tooting . ' Nov . 10 , 1848 . ' . ¦ " Sir , —Richard Hall , F , sq .,. Poor Law Inspector ,
in company with — ' . Tufiiell ,. Esq ., one of her Majesty sinspeetor . * of pauper schools , have thia day visited this establishment respecting the pauper girls of St . Pancras coming here . , I am directed by them to inform . the directors of St . Pancras that they arc satisfied I have accommodation to rcceiva the pauper girls now in the workhouse .. " It will therefore rest , with the directors to in * form me when thoy wish them received . "Iam , Sir , your obedient servant , " To Mr . M'Gahey , " B . T . Drouzt . " Clerk to tho Directors of St . Pancras . "
The Coronhr observed , that this clearly showed that tho Poor Law Board did exercise an authority over Mr . Drouet ' s establishment . There being no further evidence , Mr . Mim , in addressing the jury , said , ha thought that , the ovideace clearly indicated that there wero two parties really culpable , viz . — -tho manager of Mr . Drouet ' a establishment , and thoscj who had placed tha children-there ,- if the jury were clearly of opinion that the cholera , of which they had died , had boon produced either from want of food , or from-the nature of the food , or from any other treatment they liad received at Tooting . The room was at eight o ' clock cleared of strangers , and after a discussion lasting nearly tws hours , the pury returned the following special verdict unanimously : —
" W » find that John Joseph Coster died from malignant cholera , that disease occuring in him afi a time when ho was suffering from the effects of inefficient diet , deficient warmth of clothing , and impure airat Surrey-hall , Tooting . And the jury add to their verdict an expression of their regret that the directors of the poor of St . Pancras did not bind Mr . Drouet tho proprietor of Surrey-hall , to lulai his duty to Bush * la ^ »«» lw ° * ^^ * °
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 27, 1849, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_27011849/page/7/
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