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m**o-» *—* *-* -h*™ y0 ™ bo**"" loae . 8?,. —»*»tio! .a .v.- : _ ¦ v
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VOL- XI. No 577- LONDON. SATURDir, .NOVE...
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and dividedTrom the rood By * a* French ...
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GLASGOW MUNICIPAL ELECTION. TRIUMPH 01? ...
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Pbtrington.—Cholera still prevails m tin...
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Transcript
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
M**O-» *—* *-* -H*™ Y0 ™ Bo**"" Loae . 8?,. —»*»Tio! .A .V.- : _ ¦ V
m ** _o- » *—* * - * _-h _*™ y 0 ™ bo **"" loae . 8 ? ,. _—»*» tio ! . a . v .- : _ ¦ _v
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« i west ' s every body baiineii Ii noTjody " s _basineta . " _, < eo i helps them that help themselves . " _j . _jyjij-usa for _himself _tmd _, tht devtt take the hind . most , " _~ _~~ _««* ffl _* 5 RE is kothihs NSW under THB SUN , "
T O THE MEMBERS OF THE _RATIONAL LAND COMPANY . Gen tlemen , js ] jallnotagaui call yon , either " my friends " t _< jny children * until you are better behaved _^ more dutiful ; but as the more fortunate , _*? at least many of them , imagine tbat the _^ _nsession ofland and a house constitutes a _£ 5 u to idleness , I address them by the proper tH * „ n ., tl _,. . n *• _wuukui
testa , -u . Above I have given you some old maxims , _ truth of which man ' s actions establish , _while the enmity evinced , towards the Land plan ff 0 B _* ' - prove that it is something new , or , at leas ' * that their opposition proves a great novelty * namely—that it is impossible forman ? alive upon land in his own country . _Perha ps there is not upon record a more _extrag rantor novel piece of folly tban this _assertion , except it be the folly of those who believe . * .
... ..... __ The first objection to the Land Plan was , flat land could not be purchased : that rich _cap italists would club their monies , bid against feargus O'Connor , and buy up all the estates offered for sale . Well , that assertion , of itself , should have proved their hostility to tbe Plan , and their hostility was the best proof of its value to you . The next assertion was , that you were exotics born under ground , reared in a hothouse—tender , and unable to bear the open
The next assertion was , that England was intended by nature to be a manufacturing _country , while ALL OTHERS were intended to be a g ricultural countries , — -that is , that you were to import the raw material—upon which _roa were to expend your slave labour—a distance of some thousands of miles—tojmanufacture it cheaper than those who sent it to you _^ _old manufacture it—and . then to get back your food from other countries wbich would condescend to recei v e your superfluities in exchange for the necessaries of life . This was
Bap tist Noel ' s theory—the Reverend ? nd Honourable Baptist Noel—whose rubbish was poked into every . poor man ' s _hsuse in the kingdom , and for which rubbish he was made Chap _, plain to the Queen . Hy Friends , I cannot continue to address vou as " Gentlemen , " because lam angry with Vou , inasmuch as your ingratitude and indolence are consequences ¦ of a vicious system . This Land Plan of ours has stood more attacks —more assaults— -mere slander ,
vituperation and falsehood , than any plan that ever _cas propounded , and most of all from those who were the most fortunate in being fArst located , and having the greatest indulgence shown to them . The very critical situation in which I have been placed by those parties since August 1847—the period at which the last Conference assembled—must be obvious to ever v man . The Press was open to the foulest febrications , and the fabricator was an
INNOCENT—INOFFENSIVE-INDUSTRIOUS BUT JUGGLED AND DELUDED INDIVIDUAL . Every ear was not open but -cocked—every skull was a gun—every b r ain was combustible matter—every prejudice was a percussion cap—every tongue was a hairtri gger—and every report was said to be an _explosion . In the midst of these fabrications for
fourteen months , and coming , as they did , from those presumed to be best capable of judging , the wonder is , that every cottage has not been levelled to the ground , and every allotment tenantless . But what will strike you as a greater wonder is :, that I should have abstained from replying to any one of those numerous fabrications until I was placed in a situation of having them proved ordisproved before the representatives of the whsle body . And , if anything will convince you of my sincerity in the ]
undertaking , and my desire to elicit truth , jou will find it in the fact that I have invested my money in it , and tbat I have relied upon my ability to refute every slander uttered _against the Land Plan by those who either sought a pretext for returning to drunkenness and dissi p a tion , or those who hoped to frighten me into an acquiescence in their every demand , from a dread of exposure , to circulate which they were aware that the Press and the enemy would be but too ready .
I shall now proceed to remind you ofthe principle upon which the Plan was originally based , and I shall then show you the principle npon which it is now based , and from the contrast you will he able to deduce this fact , that every single alteration has been favourable to the occupant . By our first rules 51 . interest was paid upon the first 82 * . 10 s . expended , and five per cent upon all additional capital . Si > that by the old rules , if 300 / . was expended upon a man s allotment , his rent would be I 6 _t a year , whereas , by the new rules , his rent will be 121 . a year .
By the orig inal rule 3 , as laid down at the Manchester and Birmingham Conference , the cost of all agricultural operations were to be deducted from the Aid Money . At Herringsgate Lowbands , and Minster , not a fraction was deducted . By the old rules there was no provision against the payment of rent , when a half year was due , while none of the occupants have jet beea called upon to pay lent . By the old rules there was no provision for loans , while 7001 . has been advanced , besides the Aid Fund , to occupants at O'Connorville and Lowband * .
Now , such are the alterations as to the former and future standard of rent , and a to _tfhathas been promised , and what hasbeen done for those who have been located ; and now I shall proceed to review tbe alterations that have been made by the Conference in the _programme submitted to the country throug h t he - ' ¦ Xo rthern Star" and explained by Messrs _SZ- 'Giath and Clark . The original programme proposed that occupants should be located by bonus instead of by ballot , which wasillegal _, and could not be continued . The Directors , however , having an interest in the working oat of the Plan , and anxious to preserve good kith _uith the members , made the following
alteration : — Bv the original orogramme , if a man s allotment cost 300 ? .- and if he paid 1001 . bonus , he _* < iuld still pay 12 f . a year xent , or fonr per cent , upon the outlay , whereas by the alteratiun _, if he pays 100 / . bonus , he will pay 8 / . a year rent , being allowed four per cent , as the iaterest upon his 100 / . ; and then , instead of getting a lease for alife and _ninety-nine years , he v . _ill receive a conveyance of his allotment , at a rent-charge of 8 / . a year , thus making it a freehold ; and he will have 3007 . of property ,
of house built , and land purchased at wholesale Price , to mortgage , if he wishes , for 200 X , the _ffian who lends the 200 / . having 300 / . security fjr it , and the labour employed in its _cultivafon ; and , above all , the attachment to the freehold ; and thus the man who pays the nanus returns the Company one-third of its capital , and , according to Mr Grey and Mr f inlaison ' s evidence , there will be no difficulty _p raising the other two-thirds , thus reproducing the whole of the Company ' s capital _•^ ost immediately , and enabling us to carry
_'flouroperations as _speedilyas wecan purchase _« nd and build houses , and that will be just at jhe rate that I can get the money , for in less _"fcn tw elvemonths I could buy ten million pBunds worth of land , although it was stated _^ _ew was none to be had in the market . i will now show you tbe position in which jh ° _se located on the Bromsgrove Estate would J placed under this rule . I can tell within a te shillings what the rent of a four-acre _alloti _-ent there will be , not including ag ricultural _derations , which of course are a distinct r £ * The average rent of four acres and a cottage at Bromsgrove will not exceed 10 / ., so
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that the occupant who pays 100 / . . 'bonus will pay 6 / . a year rent for his cottage and four acres , while I know men in the neighbourhood who are paying 6 / . an acre for land ; and I will now show you why land at Bromsgrove , at any standard price that can be put upon land , is proportionately more valuable than the same description of land in another district . In the . district of Bromsgrove , the whole population is a consuming population . It is in the centre of the mining and nail-making population ;; perhaps the most densely populated in the kingdom . The next proposition is , that those who pay
into the Bonus Fund , but who have not paid enough to entitle them to location , shall be allowed four per cent , upon the amount paid , until it shall have been augmented to that point which will entitle them to location . Now this you will see is a vast improvement upon the Land Purchase Department . Inthe Land Purchase Department the depositorwas obli ged to pay up the whole of his purchase money , as well as 10 / . premium , and 21 . 10 s . for legal expenses and surveying , if : he was a four-acre member ; whereas , now , he pays neither premium , legal expenses , nor survey ing , and need only pay one-third of the purchase money to entitle him to . a conveyance of his allotment ; . :
Lest this 100 * . bonus should he considered a compulsory amount , let me explain it to you . I merely take the standard of lOOZ . while , perhaps , the bonuses may not exceed 50 / . ; but then , the man who pays 50 / ., if that amount entitles him to a location , will have 21 . a-year deducted from his rent , as tbe interest of his 50 / . at four per cent . ; he will receive a lease for a life and ninety-nine years , instead of a conveyance of his allotment , and when he augments the 50 / . to one-third ofwhat the allotment has cost the Company , then he will receive a conveyance , as you will see that this ensures the reproduction of the Company ' s capital without being subject to the legal expenses of mortgaging .
Now I hope that I explain these matters to the meanest intellects . As to the legalisation ofthe Plan , the appointment of trustees , and the assignment of tbe property to those trustees ,, of those facts you are already in possession through the reported proceedings , and now I come to the consideration of a very important proposition , namely : —
THE CLAIMS OF THE MEMBERS NOT YET LOCATED . I proposed , that in order to keep good faith , all who had purchased from balloted members should be the first located . This , however , was negatived , and , I think , most justly , upon the grounds stated by the opponents . They stated tbat the man who would not sell was as well , if not better , entitled to location , than the representative of the man who did sell . In this discussion the Directors took no part ,
further than urging the claim ofthe unlocated members .: I proposed compensation in money , to be g iven at the period at which they would have been located , leaving it t o the Conference to say what the amount of com pensation should be . For instance , if an estate was ready for location in May , tbat those who were to be located upon that estate should receive their compensation in money upon the day on which that estate was ready for occupation .
Mr Edwards , the delegate for Devonshire , stated that the members balloted were promised to be located . within this year . I stated , in reply , that if the money had come in at hall the rate it did when that statement was made that all would have been located before now ; I showed that I had entered into a contract for 1 , 400 acres of land , which would have left over 200 acre s , after locating all the balloted members —thatthe funds fell off from 5 , 000 / ., 3 , 000 l „ and 2 , 000 / ., a week to 20 / . a week—that not one-third of the capital of the Company had been paid up , and that the defaulters , and
not the Directors , were to blame . I further showed , and the Conference unanimously assented , that the interest of those members and of the Company would be best protected by giving them compensation ; I showed that it would take 108 , 0001 . to locate the balloted members , and tbat that amount would not come in as long as all others were debarred of a chance of location , whereas the compensation would be sure to be paid , and within a very
short period , if the priority market was once opened . In this view the Conference acquiesced , when Mr O'Brien proposed that one-fourth of each estate should be assigned to the location of the balloted members , and to this proposition the Conference and the Directors cordially and unanimously assented ; and the effect of which will be the location of the balloted members very much more speedily than they would have been located , if the location of all others was deferred until they were provided for .
It was then proposed , b y Mr Bentley , t hat 15 / . to two-acre men , 22 J . los . to three-acre men , and 30 / . to four-acre men , should be the amount of compensation to be given , those members still holding their scrip and the amount paid for shares to be deducted from those respective amounts . In that case 2 / . 12 $ . would be stopped from the 15 / . ; 3 / . 18 s . from the 22 / . 10 s . ; and 5 / . 4 s . from the 30 / . Mr Edwards proposed that they should receive 57 . a share and still retain their scri p that is 12 / . 12 s . for a two-acre man , 18 / . 18 s . for a three-acre man , and 25 / . 4 s . for a foura cre man , and this proposition was carried all but unanimouslv ; the effect of which will be
that one-fourth of the Bromsgrove Estate will be assigned to the balloted members on the 12 th of May , and they will have the option of taking to their location or receiving the stipulated compensation , I will make one observation upon this Bonus principle . I have sold to members , not balloted , four-acre allotments for 90 / ., they paying- the same amount of rent as if they were located by ballot and had not paid a farthing in the shape of bonus ; others have paid 100 / . and others 120 / . bonus ; whereas , if , under the new system , they had paid 120 / . bonus for an allotment estimated at 12 / . a-year , they would pay 7 / . 4 s . rent , whereas they are now liable to 12 / . rent besides the 120 / .
The next alteration that has been made is , to dispense with the Expense Fund—and I wish you to bear these facts strongly in mind . Firstly . —That , if our capital was fully paid up , we would have a yearly income of 12 , 000 / . at four per cent . —and Secondly , —That I have made , and will make , five times as much out of the rubbish on every estate as will not onty cover the Expense Fund , but constitute a large Surplus Fund for the location of the poorer members .
Thus , we have given another and a great advantage to the shareholders . I now come to the consideration of the most important point , and that which most earnestly and anxiously arrested the attention of the Conference—I _n-ean thelocation ofthe poorer members who could not pay a bonus . By the provisions ofthe Act , under which the Company will be legalised , it is in our power to alter and amend the rules and Deed of Settlement as circumstances may require , and bv economy upon my part , and confidence upon their part , lhave no hesitation in saying that I shall be . able to locate the poorer members very speedily without bonus at all , and much more speedily than under the old rules
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—and for this reason—because all the money made b y me upon the sale of farm houses , and the use of old materials , not valued in the purchase , will , as a matter of course , go into the Loan Fund , and constitute a stock from which the poorest will receive relief , and which—so far from diminishing the capital of the Company—will add to it , as assets to be distributed when its operations are completed . There is also another source from which the poorer members may be located—namely , the LOAN FUND . We may take example by the aristocracy , and the speculating of the
democracy , upon this point ; In London , Manches . ter , Sheffield , ' Birmingham ; : and every large town in England , perfions- put money into RACING SWEEPS , and they draw for a horse , and if SHYLOCKwlns the race , the man who draws the Jew wins the money—that constitutes the SWEEP . So with the Loan Fund . The very poorest in the district may club their shillings , and the paid-up members may put into the Land Sweep , and the man who is most fortunate may draw his amount of bonus—or . two , or three , or fonr , may draw , while none lose their shillings , because in turn they will have the ' benefit themselves— -and more , they may have a Shilling Sweep , or a
Half-crown Sweep , and the man who pays ten shillings may have ten draws , and so with . the man who pays ten half-crowns , while the njechanic , and those better off , may have Pound Sweeps . However , if there was _neither Sweep nor Shylock , what I contend is , _thafc the very poorest of the poor will be located much more speedily under the new , than under the eld , organisation—and I wish you to bear one fact in mind , that when we are legalised , manya man now located will pay a great proportion of his purchase money to get a convey a nce , while we could raise from 70 , 000 / . to 80 , 000 / . upon the property that we are possessed of—thus enabling us to reproduce and locate our members much more speedily .
I have now fully explained the alterations that have been made by tbe Conference . There are some few errors , but not of importance , in the report of the proceedings in _. the " . Star . '' _Amongst others , it is stated that I said that the ground at Minster waa cropped . I said no such thing , as the Conference will adgrit , I said that nothing was charged for the agricultural operations performed , but that the Aid Money was given in full . ; And now , my friends , I shall g ive you , consecutivel y , a verbatim account of every charge brought against me , and I will give it
_withoBtTone particle of colouring , and in a form in which every delegate must acknowled ge its truth . It may be , that they were brought forward at different stages of the proceedings , ' but I will give them to you consecutivel y . And I think , when you reflect upon my Scotch political tour , where I went to meet my political assailants , and when I tell you that , on Thursday night last , I addressed a number of my most virulent political assailants in the Peop le ' s Hall in Birmingham , and that , having gained wisdom from past experience , I never was so well received in the most excited times in that town—and when 1
tell you that I had home the most unmitig ated and continuous a bu s e , in every shape and form , from a portion ofthe located members , for the last fourteen months—I feel assured that you will read , not my defence , but their conviction , with pride and pleasure . There were deputies in the Conference from every estate , and I will beg in with O'Connorville , represented by Mr Wheeler —while , in justice to him , I ambound to say , that his statement was devi / id of any , the slig htest , acrimony , and was confined to a representation of the state and wishes of his
brother _^ allottees . Yon shall have each statement , and my reply , in the shape of a dialogue , and then you will understand it . Mr Wheeler stated tbat at O'Connorville the occupants were located at a bad season of the year ; that during their first year bread was excessively dear ; that many had applied the Aid Money of the Company in li quidation of debts that they owed ' in . their districts ; that there was a want of dung- and a want of experience ; that one occupant lost two acres and a half of potatoes by the rot , which would have produced much more than four tons to
the acre but for that calamity ; that the wheat harvest being bad , militated considerably against their prospects ; that be had paid attention to his -crop , and produced twenty-four bushels from half an acre ; that some were in distress because they had expended over 200 / . in buildings and ether improvements ' , that the want of leases to know their position was a grievance of which they complained ; also the difficulty of procuring water for cattle and other purposes , as it took two women , or one s t rong man , to work the pump put in by the Drectors ; and also the distance from a
market town might be favourable to Mr Sillfett ' s position , out operated against theirs ; but from the experience that he now had , he felt cenvinced that no man—the strongest man _—Kjould cultivate an acre of ground to its greatest state of capability , but he felt assured that , in time , all those evils would be . corrected , or correct themselves , and he believed there was a strong desire upon the part of the occupants to make the Plan succeed . " Mr O'Connor replied , that the occupants were located on the lst of May , at
O'Connorville—that was a bad season . They were located at Lowbands in August—that was a bad season . They were located at Minster in March —that was a bad season ; and they were located at Snig ' s End in June , and t h a t was a b a d season—and , therefore , until he was enabled to add a few more months to the year , he should like to know when the proper season would be ? - and that question was one of the propositions ' that would be submitted to the Conference , to name , not the month , but the very day of the month when they should be henceforth
located . "As to bread being dear , it was fortunate for those who got the Aid- Money , and their ground partially cropped , -to have something to fall back upon , and he felt assured that Mr Wheeler would not charge him , or the Directors , or the Land Company , with that calamity . "As to the Aid Money going to liquidate the debts of those who were located , he would ask that Conference whether or no it was ever contemp lated that the . money of the Land Company should constitute a fund for the liquidation of the debts of its members , and whether it was not properly decided that the Aid Money should be appropriated to the improvement of the soil , thereby increasing its value in the reproductive market ?
" As to dung and cultivation—the Company paid nearly 320 / . for the best London dung ; and as to cultivation—with the exception of a head-land here and there—the whole of the land was well cultivated . No charge _wa-j made , and , in addition , 10 / . was expended on the erection of outbuildings , for each allo' _. tee . " With regard to the failure , of the ' potato crop , he ( Mr O'Connor ) trusted that that Conference would pass a stringent resolution , making the Directors responsible , for the -potato rot , the blight in the wb eat , and every other casualty and natural calamity to which the allottees , and all other _ujen , were subjected . But let him ask tbis one question—is a great national project to ha damned by the failure of a sing le crop ? And then , mark what Mr
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_^ heeler had t ' nily told them—or rather understated—that if a man ' s potatoes had not failed , " he Would havejnad over ten tons upon his two acres and a half , which , at sixpence perstone , 6 r 4 / . a ton , would have amounted to 40 / . " ' , ' M ° ' _^ _M _. —Four tons to the acre ! I am prepareditp show that a man riiay grow ten tons . ¦ % -, „ ¦ ' . Mr _Omnor . —I take it at the four , and if his crop ; _y not failed , he would have had 28 / . _abovelis -rent , his house , and an acre and a half _fo- *; j } pthing . Now , can any argument be _morer-sonciugive ofthe stability of this Plan , if ife is not all to be based upon the potato rot * _--.-.-..,.
_"TheriBas regards thB 200 / . expended on buildings * - * / _, ¦ •' - ¦ ' - .: MrWheeler . _-fi said , and on the land as well . .. Mr Q _, Connor . —Well , admitted that the bulk was _^ expended in buildings ; and , as he often told them , the produce of the soil would soon build ' a" house , but the house would never / cultivate ' . _'jihe'hpil . :. ; ' ' / l _? He would now , cbm . e to ;; Mr Wheeler ' s _admission-ri _^ at _. h _^ had produced three quarters of wheat ? frpm ; half anacre > and upon that he would test the value of the Land Plan . Three quarters tojjialf ah acre is six quarters to an acri andj _^ 50 fi , a . _Wrter , or 63 . 3 d . the
bushel-, . wa _^ e _% op _vwouldratoni , 15 / . to the acre , and turni ps ,: or another crop , may be sown in the same ground ; but taking it _asthe one crop , and estimating the rent of four acres at over what it will be if they reduced it to il . per cent , upon the , outlay ,, this would be the position of that man—he would have 3 / . above his year ' s rent , a ; five-roomed cottage , outbuildings , and an acre of straw and three acres of land for nothing ; and , I think , the straw answers the complaint of the want of dung .
" But Mr Wheeler has most ingenuously admitted the stability , the value , and the practicability of the Land Plan , when he fays that no man can cultivate an acre of ground ; and when the delegates bear in mind that every farmer in the kingdom pays his rent , the interest of his capital , maintains and educates his children , keeps hunters , drinks wine , and lives well upon the profit made on slave labour , when , as a matter of course , the free labourer will work harder for himself .
. * • As to leases , he begged to tell them that although ayerseto taking _anysucb power upon himself until' trustees ¦ were appointedalthough he was entitled by law to do so—yet he would be prepared to name a day when he would give to the occupants , who were prepared to pay up their rents , leases according to the terms prescribed by that Conference . " As to water , Mr Wheeler was perfectly aware that tbere were two -wells sunk to an
immense depth , and that , subsequentl y , at the desire ofthe occupants , a pump was also sunk , to which he ( Mr O'Connor ) was opposed , well knowing that at such a depth it would be expensive to repair it and hard to work it ; but in order to show the position of the allottees , as compared with the farmers inthe neighbourhood , the farmers were obliged to go a great distance to fetch the water , while the allottees had it comparatively at hand ; and knowing the value of water and all other conveniences , he was prepared to say that when the members did their duty he would be prepared to make tanks , as he had at Minster Lovel , and to put pumps in every man ' s back kitchen .
"The last proposition that he had to comment upon was , the distance from a market town . He begged to say that they were nearer a , market town than Mi * Sillett was—that they were within less than three miles of a market town ; but he would not confine his answer to that assertion , he would make it . more complete , and it was this—that what was a potato , a cabbage , a turnip , a carrot , or any other food under the walls of a market town , was butter , pork , bacon , cheese and other
commodities , at a hundred , nay , a thousand miles distant from a vegetable market ; while , in the one p lan they had the manure produced for their consumption , in the other case they had none . In conclusion , he begged to tender his thanks to Mr Wheeler , for tbe very discreet and temperate manner in which he submitted his propositions , and , he hoped that he had answered one and all , to the satisfaction of Mr Wheeler , and the Conference . ( Cheers . ) Mr Wheeler said , that nothing could be farther from his . intention or inclination than
to urge against the scheme what might be fairly charged upon circumstances and casualties that had occurred . ( Hear , h ear . ) ; Mx O'Brien next made his representation as delegate for Lowbands , Snig ' s End , and the Cheltenham district . He said , that he had to lay before the Conference a true state of the pitiable condition ofthe allottees at Lowbands , and the first question to which he would call their attention was that of draining . The old drains , that were curved and crooked , were
stopped up , and straig ht drains were made . That , in many instances , the water had _^ _eased to flow , and the main drains were so smajl and confined , that they were wholly useless . That the land was not cultivated previous to the allottees taking possession , but was merely scratched over . That the potatoes last year , like the present , were a complete failure , and the poor creatures had nothing to live upon . That manure was promised them , and Mr O'Connor had promised them lime to mix with the soil that was taken out of the foundations .
1 hat , in many instances , the allottees got no dung at all , and scarcel y any more than four loads . That the wheat , generally speaking , was a comp lete f a ilure , and so were the potatoes . That he had made a calculation of one man's return for 200 days' work , and found that it only amounted to 7 / . lis . He had ex pended ; 35 / . himself upon the improvement of the _school allotment . He kept nearly an acre itt grass ,- and found it very profitable ; and , therefore , he would propose that , in future , a fourth of every man's allotment should be kept in grass . That the land was not oi a
good quality , and that Graham —one of the allottees who had before been referred to , and his family , were without shoes and clothes . That nine pence was all he had received since he went there as schoolmaster , and that the poor creatures were obliged to sell . He was convinced himself of the practicability of tbe Plan when once set fairly going , as he believed even Mr O'Connor had fallen far short in his statements of what the Land was capable of doing . Then old Farmer Lee—so often referred to b y Mr O Connor—who was actually obliged to pick up stones off his land ,
and sell them to / buy coals . Mr O'Connor replied , and said [ that he was sorry t . hat the last delegate had not made his _representation in the same spirit that Mr _Wheeler made his ; nothing was more easy than to trump np a statement based upon fi gures and calculations 5 and nothing was more unjust than to attempt to excite the feelings of that Conference by false and unfounded representations ; and he ( Mr O'Connor ) would now proceed to show _^ that , without an exception , every statement made by Mr O'Brien was unfounded .
" Firstly . As regards the drainage . It was a curious charge , or rather a curious assertion , _ie-say that crooked curved drains were preferable to strai ght drains ; but the fact was , that not asingleold drain was stopped up—that all the drains ever made were straight drains , marked out with a line , and pipes put intc
«I West's Every Body • Baiineii Ii Notjo...
them . And as regards the main drains , there they were visible to the eye ; and what he asserted was , that on the best drained estate , hr England , there were not us good main drains .. They were open drain * and well made . The pipe drains discharged into them , and when one failed to work by the passage being stopped , nothing was more easy than to discover where the stoppage was , and to repair it . And Mr O'Brien had not stated that tiles were given to every man and drawn for every man , who chose to make more drains ; nor had he stated the impossibility , of cultivating ground , building houses , and draining at tbe _sametiirie ; nor was it stated , or even contemplated , that the landj _ shouId be drained . He next eame
to—•• The failure of the potatoes last year . Now this was not true , as the potatoes at Lowbands last year were , in nine cases in ten , boasted of as being a _splendid crop , and he had himself seen five or six pounds produced fiem a single root-Then as to---"The tillage ofthe ground , and" its character . The moment a man _js located . he- thinks he becomes a farmer by made , and ! Mr O ' Brien .
who told us yesteiday that three :, months ago his hands were as delicate as any lady ' s in the land , is not only a better farmer than me , but is prepared to speak to what he never saw . But what lie ( Mr O'Connor ) asserted was , that Lowbandswa 8 considered the craek farm in the heighh 6 urhbod * ---that the _teAantwhdirented it paid 336 / . a year rent , and the farmer who bid within 20 / . ofwh . athe ( MrO'Conno _»*) gavefor it , must ha ve been as great a fool as himself _.
"Then as to the cultivation . It was ploughed most of it three times ; it was dragged * it was crushed with a patent crusher ; it was fine harrowed , and after that any lumps that were then left were broken by what in Ireland they call "beetles , '' that is , large wooden mallets with long handles , _| and so well was it cultivated that those who saw the farm in March said they would not have known it in July . Nothing is more easy than to make those kind of statements , but there were many present who Baw the Land , and he defied any to contradict a word that he had asserted .
"Then as to their beinjz promised dung and lime to mix with what came out of the foundations—it is a pure fabrication . Dung was not promised , and he ( Mr O'Connor ) had recommended the allottees to buy a couple of waggon' loads of lime themselves , and mix it with the foundations , and five or six only did so . But now he would come to Mr O'Brien ' s assertion , that some allotments got no dung , and some others not more than four loads . Now these were the reports—the malicious reports—which all men anxiously circulated , and which it was difficult for a single individual to
refute . But let the Conference hear and mark the fact . There were about forty acres pared and burned , aud when Mr O'Brien alluded to the allotments that got no manure , he had not the candour to tell you that pared and burned ground neither gets , nor wants , any manure but the ashes , which is the best of manure . He did not tell you tbat a half acre of Land was planted for each allottee with potatoes , and a half-quarter of an acre for each allottee was manured for cabbages and Swede turnips and he did not tell you that that quantity for each allottee was manured to an extent that
astonished the farmers in the neigbourhood , that the potatoes were planted with the spade , and in the best manner , and that the ground for t he c a bb a ges a nd Swedes , besides being ploug hed and harrowed lwas all digged . He did not tell you that very nearly the remainder of each man ' s allotment was highly manured with ashes and guano , and sown with turni ps , and that if the turnips were bad it was because of the lateness otthe season , He did not tell you that upon 110 acres ofthe Land that was not burned there was 1830 double horse-loads of the best manure—all stable and cow
dungeither put upon the Land or behind the cottage upon each allotment . He did not tell you that there were nine tons of guano and hundreds of loads of ashes put upon the land or distributed amongst the allottees . Now what I assert , and I defy contradiction , is that there was not a farm in England ' ma hig her state of cultivation , or more hig hl y manured , than the Lowbands farm . And I state it in presence of those who saw it , and I defy contradiction . Why the dunghills were the talk ofthe country . " As to the 71 . Us . for the 200 days' work , the calculation was too minute—it was something he could not grapple with . Then , as to
Graham and his family being without shoes and stockings—it was a rank falsehood . Graham held four acres , and was a credit to his class . lie worked on Lowbands as a labourer , aad when he came there he ( Mr G _^ Connor _;) had to lend him six shillings , to buy a shovel and a pickaxe , and , to his credit be it spoken ,, he was almost the only man who did not get the loan money and he said , his rent was there whenever it was called for ; and when hs eaw him lie was _well'dressed , _and"his mother was well-dressed , and it was miserable to make these exciting statements , which were- totally without foundation .
" As to the proposition of Mr O ' Brien—* that one quarter of each allotment should remain in grass '—though a practical agriculturist , he appears to have lost sight of an important fact , which is this—when I buy an estate , all the grass land is in a lump , and all the tillage land is in a lump ; so that I should find it rather difficult to select an acre ef grass out of four acres of stubble , or four acres of p lou g hed ground . "He would now deal with the assertion . of
Farmer Lee being obliged to p ick stones off his land to buy coals / And if ever thera was a malicious insinuation , this , he . would _parove , was one of the most malicious . Now , what was the fact ? and it was a singular _thiag that he ( Mr O'Connor ) was , most providentiall y , in a situation to answer insidious statements which appeared to carry weight upon their face . Now , here was the fact . Whan he ( Mr O'Connor ) was at Lowbands . with , Mr
Crawford , in June , Lee brought them out to the roadside , and showed them a large heap of stones that he had gathered off the land , and said that the road surveyor had contracted to buy them , and he asked him ( Mr O'Connor ) what they were worth , observing , —* You see that will pay some of the labour on the land . ' Now , he would ask , if theva could be trumped up a mora paltry , but apparently a more pa _» thetic story ?
"But now he would come to the real and the irrefutable position of a four-acre man at Lowbands ; and he felt assured that that Conference would he thunderstruck when they heard it , and then heard their complaints . The four-acre men had received 50 / . in hard cash . The allotments were cultivated in 1847 ; each had half an acre of potatoes , aud a portion p lanted with cabbages and Swede . turnips . A large proportion of the remainder sown with turnips , and the remainder in the most perfect state for putting in wheat . In October , there were four bushels of wheat sent to each , from Minster Lovel , of the very best description of seed , for a change . Mr Kershaw . —Only three _.
Mr O'Connor . —Well , three . I thought it was four ; but that was enough of seed for an acre and a half . _They got two cwt . and a half of guano in _baga . They had a quantity of dung behind the \ r houses . They had fully a year ' s firing bohind the cottage . Every allotment was divided by a French furze . hedge ,
And Dividedtrom The Rood B * A* French F...
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Vol- Xi. No 577- London. Saturdir, .Nove...
VOL- XI . No 577- LONDON . SATURDir , . NOVEM _^ : _fc J : _848 : " .. „ _^*^™ _<*^ r _" ' - ' _: _*¦ . _^ . -. ¦ . v . ; - .- - _¦ : ¦ ' _:,, ¦ _BMiHMga and _Sixpence per Quarter
And Dividedtrom The Rood By * A* French ...
and _dividedTrom the rood By * a * French furze hedge . There was a double nw of pear-trees and apple-trees , of the very lest description _, planted at each side of _^ yery _^^ road ( _r . and _not-opg sixpence had been paid by * any of them , and now they grumble I ( Shame ; ¦ shame . ) And now he would establish their character for in * dustry . He would ask Mr ' O'Briea whether it was true or false , that a number 0 ! those French furze hedge-rows , which are _teaser , and require to be well weeded , are choked ap > and smothered with weeds ? - _a _^ _landdividedTrons the _roadbVaFraiiftl . _# _* .. _« _-
Mr O'Brien _^ -I am sorry to say , it is tod true , in maDjr instance * . - Mr O'Connor . —Then , Good God , is ii n ' oj dear that noshing can \» done for those men * And is it not clear that as one scabby sheep infects the whefe flock , tbat a few of those idle fellows may threw discredit upon the whole Elan ? And he begged to remind the Conferi _* ence that there were-but a few of the vermin _^ but that the _vertain had the ear of the enemy . Me would now sunn up . the grievances of thg 4 men of Lowbands . _^ _Ihefour-acre men , like al others , had their ground highly cultivated , an * highly manured . Half an acre of potatoes , cabbages , and Swedes , almost ready for
use—nearly a pound ! a-week in money—three bushels of tlie best seed ! wheat—two bags and a half Of the best _guano—theW allotments dU vidted with furze seed—a double raw of apple and pear trees planted*—a > house , rent free— _- firewood behind the doo » i . and two years crops —and _notjone single fraction paid . ( Loud cheers . ) Now , then , while ia this state , they were consulting amongst themselves as to whether they should pay any rent or not . Thus scheming as to how they should rob the poor . . MrO'Brien . —I deny that . They certainl y consulted 9
an attorney about it ,. _Ibzuzlvter . ) . _UUUU-U-U au attorney _aoouc it .. _^ i > auglrter . ) . Mr O'Connor . — -Weill thai * looks something like it . But what he told then * and their attorney ; and that Conference was , that , under those circumstances , he-would eject every man who did not pay his rent _; and that-Conference wQuldbear tbis fact in aifld' - _^ -and it was the great _^ _faciP-that _thejange ? to such a Cpmnany ai that was the management _©& its affairs being entrusted to an _individual who-, at the expense of honour , would seek popularity by silencing the complaints of those who could be won and
kept silent ' by misapplyingr the funds ofthe Company to their use , while those who are unlocated were robbed and deceived . ( Hear , hear . ) In that consisted the strength of this Company , thathe , who had the principal management ofthe monies , _eotuld always answer the complaints of the growling by an appeal to his own integrity . ( Hea * _* hear . ) It was a well known fact that Company ' s money was considered a legitimate source of plunder for all ; but while he gave his own money , and his time freely , he was economical—nay , s t ingy , of the monies ofthe poor ; and he would illustrate this from what he had done for some of the occupants at Lowbands * Before thev were
entitled to the loan , he had lent one £ 14 10 s . of his own m'mey , another £ 10 , another £ 5 , another £ 5 , and another £ 6 . One had honestly paid him the largest portion of the £ 5 he lent him ; another who never worked a day , got the Aid Money , tbe Loan Money , and ib from him ( Mr O'Connor ) , and cat off " to America . "Now , Gentlemen , in conclusion , I invite every man who has any—the slightest— -complaint to urge to come _forward and state it before this Conference , and I will answer it
, not b y sophistry but b y facts ; while I apprise you that , henceforth , the rules you lay down shall be strictly abided b y , as it is better that you should ride us , the Directors , with spurs , than allow us too much latitude ; and , notwith . standing all the odium that has been cast , or attempted to be cast , upon this Plan by the rascals who have beeu most fortunate , and who have the servile Press at their command , I
swear that I would rather have four acres of the Company ' s Land , at the Company ' s rent , than sit behind a desk or stand behind a counter at a salary of 41 . a week . And those idlers who want to sell , to go back to the girt palace , will not understand that they themselves are depreciating the value of their owe property in the market . ( Hear , hear . ) Dc _; not talk to me about the _Small-Farm system ; 1 took five Members of Parliament to Lowbands in June . Mr Sharman Crawford , a practical agriculturist , was one of them . They were not onl y delighted hut were astonished and amazed beyond measure , and such a sight of teeming abundance was never seen in
England upon the same amount of land . But yet I am chargeable wiih the potato rot and the wet harvest . Well , the same may be said of Sni g ' s End , which some viper says was badly cultivated ; that , teo , was like a garden ia July , and , but for the potato rot , would have astonished even the occupants . Now , I trust I have satisfactorily and calml y replied to every assertion of Mr O'Brien ' s and that this Conference will affirm it . ( Hear , hear . ) And another word and I have done .. It is this , that those who sell now in this dreary month of November , when May-day comes will only be too happy to add what he can get within the time to what he got , and to go back again to his allotment . ''
Mr Kershaw , who appeared as a deputy from Lowbands , then made his statement . He said that it cost him 6 s . Qd . for nails and ! gimlets for building his pig sties — that he had sold pigs to the amount of between 5 / . and 6 / . —that it had cost him 5 ? . to buy coals to boil food for pigs-that he now had pi gs for which he refused between 7 / . am * 81 . —that his harvest was yet unthrashed , and that the allottees were in a miserable condition , and none of them could pay rent , and he has paid so much tor _^ seed and straw , and five shillings for two pails /'
Mr 0 Connor " -Theposition » f the Lowbands deputy is truly awful . I _caanot say a word akout tlie 6 s . bd _^ it is very minute ; the money Deceived for the pigs has , of course , gone to the stock of capital . He has over 71 . worth yet , and all his harvest , and he is not nble to pay 6 _J . rent 5 but as to the cost of seed , surely there never has been a failure in any crop to the extent that would not return the amoant of seed sown or p lanted . "
Next came Mr _Beattis , the deputy from Minster , who claimed 3 _& 1 5 s . above the Aid Money , for work performed upon his allotment ; and this part of the proceeding is so interes t ing , that , _altheugh it occurred upon two separate days , I shall give it continuously , not to break the thread . Mr Beattie gave th © most melancholy account ofthe condition of the allottees at " Minster ,
and especially of his own . He stated that his allotment had not . been cultivated since the days of Adam ; thjat his privy had been raised by a flood ; that he had to employ seven men to remove huge coots and stones ; and that he had expended aU his Aid Money ,, and was now in a state of utter destitution ; that nothing had been done to his allotmeak , and that he did not kn _' w what to do , _fCoal ' _imed to tte Four A page , J
Glasgow Municipal Election. Triumph 01? ...
GLASGOW MUNICIPAL ELECTION . TRIUMPH 01 ? THE CHA . RTIST CA . SDlDA . TE OVBR THE LORD P 8 _QVQ 3 r . AND M _, P . FOR _QfcAaeOW , On Tuesday _Iant , Mr James Moir , at the request of a numerous bod ; of electors , contented the second ward against _Alexander _Ilastie , Lard Provost , and Member of _Parliament for Glasgow ; and although ererr _influeooo waa used , and . raocey lavishly expended by the _honourable member to secure his return , Mr Moir was placed at the _hesd of tbe poll . At the close a * four o ' c loek , the numbm were—Moir , 186 ; Gilmonr , 176 ; nud llaslie , 160 . The return of uer old friend J & rcea Moir , ba 3 ? iven great satisfaction to tha _Charti-ts of Glasgow , aod will ba hilled with delight by the Chartists of England and Scotland generally .
Pbtrington.—Cholera Still Prevails M Tin...
_Pbtrington . —Cholera still prevails m tins town and the neighbourhood . Last week one death oc . curred—that of a Mr Robson , 8 n officer of Excise , _Thrae or four new cases hava been reported , _soms Of them with faint hoee 6 of recovery ,
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 11, 1848, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_11111848/page/1/
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