The National Register. — London, England, 1819-08-01 00:00:00

- tittr+ .171 P , / ' • fr) Attonat --L"k irLt Out . 111110, Caninitutionany lato6. No. 1208.—VoL. XII.] AIR. OWEN'S INSTITUTION AL NEW LANARK. Baring neither room nor opportunity last week , 1 to do more than simply •state :the :principles upon which Mr. Owen has formed his theoryler ame liorating the condition of the Poor, we promised to 'revert again to the some subject, and to submit to our renders our own sentiments both for its.fitness • fur general adoption, and 'the tendency of- its !prac tice, if it could be universally acted on. 'To the first of Mr. Owen's 'general principles, namely, That vice and wretchedness -may .be. totally -eradicated from amongst men, wenintst -acknowledge that all our , experience:of the. world, .anti £1 our-study of the natural condition-of the human race, lead us to give, as far as:opinion can go, a direct negative. Nor even if we. were less di:Toted to question such a theory 'titan we are, could we admit that the assemblage of „large bodies of men and women together, upon Mr. o.'s plan and arrangement would be the most -likely way to effect it. Solitude las its vices, but .these arc both multiplied in kind and in degree wherever the mass of population is brought into a close and confined intercourse. Mr. Owen has, • probably, done more than any other man ever did, under similar circumstances, in warding off these general effects; but, in the first place, only a small mart of his theory has yet beet:l464.st all, even at Lanark, and as far as his first principle is concerned, it has not perfectly succeeded in realizing the hopes he is so anxious to inspire; fir instance, we happen to know that the number of illegitimate . children Paorn in his own establishment, still aver-, ages at least six in the year, and this is nut the best criterion of the suns total of iiiicit intercourse. Again, if we cannot on one hand entirely banish evil, neither do we conceive it to be more.practica ble to enforce, as an universal wstera, positive good. train that no large -Society can ever be brought to so cornet a rule of action .at that their-conduct shall tend with undeviating constancy to tht gene ral as well as individual good, and readily sacvitice every selliA feeling and propensity to the promo tion of public benefit. ills.-Owen may, theoretically, prove that our happiness is inseparably connected with the happiness of the community in which we live ; but the idea is too complex and refined for the great bulk of society to comprehend and pitrsne, .and still less, we should conceive, could this prierally prevaTin a large Cotton Mill, or in any similar Institution. On the subject of Popula tion, we entirely cobteide with .Mr. Owen's. ern slant declarations, and Ave shall again repeat that a Country like ours, with million:, of acres df land yet uncultivated, with an-enormous capital, reckoning all nut - tuitional debt wtaier this head, with thousands ; of 'hands starvieg Lim wart of work, and yet paying thirteen or fourteen. millions sterling in a single year for foreign cow, may and is, in a very unnatural • and mprosferous state of society ; but it can never be said to . tic over-peopled. Any drain upon its population must also aggravate the very evils under which we labour. it mug aiminish home consump tion, it must impair the revenue, it most weaken at national strength. We entirely agree again with Mr. Owen, that a large portion of our misery is to be traced to the enormous eatent to which we have pushed our manufactures, a position which will • luardy be guestioued wbeu we contemplate the state SUNDAY, AUGUST .1, 1819. of our manufacturing population at the present mo. ment. Five and twenty years ago, or the case is still stronger if we go a little further back, to the inventions of Watts and Arkwright, Agriculture was the great employment of our peoPlei at least , our husbandmen constituted two third* of the lower classes. Now, b; the returns of 1811, it appeared that Agriculture was the calling of but one out of three, which, if Mr. Owen's calculation be correct, the power of the machinery introduced .and applied to manufactures is •equal to the additional labour of . , 200 millions. For the almost endless quantity of goods , thus wrought an adequate demand can now be no longer 'found. A revulsion most necessarily follow. Our 'Government has long been actively employed in miserable and wretched oxpeidients, in bolstering up.a state of society which is every day becoming more manifestly rotten, whilst the solid property of the land hum been loaded with imposts, and its produce depreciated by the continued depre ciation of money, 'All in times of pressure the infe• riot soils can be no longer cultivated at all. Mr. Owen's remedy is to make all those employed under him hue:sandmen, as well as artisans and ma nufacturers. fie" would have a large tract of land attached to every establishment upon his new Sys tem, to be..cultivated by the spade only, and. en tirely 'kept in order. and all the welt performed by those who are -one part of the day *pinning or weaving, or employed in some epecitss ef manufac ture. This may be very plausible, but it directly vio lates the doctrines of every former able writer on political economy, w:to have all hold the division of labour to' be the peat and leading principle of so cial union, the best read us perfection in the works of art, and without which very little progress•conhl be looked fin. indeed, -we cannot help thinking that Mr. Owen would find his- cotton spinners, for he has not yet tried it, to he very moderate farmers, and his farmers very bad spinners of .otottot twist. With respect to Educatiou, upon which 'Mr. Owen lays so touch strew., we should entirely agree with him, that it is both a'thibt and a boon of inestimable value•to the rising generation. But we do not exactly see how nutty of its noblest advantages are not lost by the syneua to which Mr. Owenavould apply it. It' they rentaimmembers of his community it may benefit the possessors for private ulificittior, it may give a tone to their manners and elevate nod expand thsir minds. But the very greatest objection we have to Mr. Owen's whole scheme is, that it renders those antler its infinence torpid to all those passions of the soul which are the pureats of whatever is great cod dignified and noble in the intercourse of life. There is no field fbr ' emulation, there is Ito spirit of independence ; it may give the poor man much, but it takes much front hint ; it rubs him even of the comforts et' his,! own fire-side. He is no longer his own house s keeper, and his wife is equally excluded from. the important diseharge of mast domestic duties. is to be fed at a common table, to bestholtzl from a common stock, to be the creature of treatta:nt in • every habit and every motion of his life. z V.'e can. not therefore help thinking that: if ltir Owen's theory was fully tried, whialc it is aot at • New- I at nark, as we must again remind our readers, both he and his protegees would 'find themselves greatly disappointed, an, I that those:of outman poor who have been ItCrttstuultal to taltrt , LVvtliat tm g cares nod . • [PRICE Did. anxieties with Ate little (domestic joys of their own cottage, wettliliiigit , under such a regime, and like the country mouse in the fable say, "give me back my quiet narrow hole, with freedom, though I may base nothing to nibble but a little oaten straw."— Lastly, Mr. Owen's 191161..t° us quite inap t44lB plicabld to any other situatt l im, than Where a large cotton or wool:A.1i manufacture can be advantageously connected with it, and these we certainly think have already spread quite tar enough. A steam engine would be neither useful, wholesome, or or namental .to by far the largest portions of oar English parishes. Of the good Mr. Owen has dune at home .nobody can Lear or rend without feeling grateful to him for snels a spirit of benevolax, that his system may du good in many other place there can be no doubt ; it is as a general eyslon only that we speak of it, it iG as e.g,eneral system only that we must withhold front it our approval. At a time so critical, and important, we should gladly have.offered to oar readers a few observations on the Meetings of the Reformers, awl on the mea sures adopted lately by the Government respecting them. But we ple.lged ourselves last week to-devote our comments to Mr. Owen's Plan, and felt it right to discharge that obligation. •Yet we cannot help even here just adding, that we are informed front every quarter that nothing caw exceed the grief and disappointment of the self-calledcriends.of our hap-. py establishments at the complete failure of their ai tempts to turn.these meetintfrinto • riot. The se• zure of Harrison at the very 'height of popular feel ing, and the perfect - onlet with which he was suffered to be earned a ciroumstance which every one will and must contemplate, as speaking more in praise of the spirit of the Mob, and if they continue to act as they did,at Smithfield, the appellation will hardly be them, than it does 'for those who would have .loaded there to acts which might l o ne again furnished u plea fur sub verting our liberties ; but inure of this next week. Lstraet•of. a Letter, dated Rio de Jancrio, 2.stit Nlay:— •• 'lke delay itt the sailing of the packet affords me the opportunity ler hew - ming 'nu, that a yeshel from Buena Ayres, in !II da)s . passage, has bioatht aGrzette.euntailiii: an othci:ll repent of the Covernor df Connintho, dated 9- a of April, siddri•hhet to the Sops me threetoe of Chili. i• • aidniaore it, to the following efect Tnat the night before a whaling-ship had al rived at the poet of Coquiontni, and Iltit the Captain had communicated what he had observed pee trims to his sailing from Ctillao °lithe Fitt of Minch, ns lot ions —That nn the `Mil Feltruary,ithe .hip Sao Martin hod the frigate O'llirgins, under cowl nfa thick foe. stood into Caillts, and ty etc not perceived until the moment a hen they opened their tire ne I bedishe Spumes frigates I, iag under the batteries.; they rk••bired a tii,•itnihh gun-moat, argil aft. r and itninterritfOrd tire of too bon the Chili sh•ps male hail for thel•danit of San Lois, nz:s. '• The Sonnist. !skips sidlered st•sesety in their hulls, rig% ging..awd own i the Postriol. hail three tnr•n killed, and the Captain of the tf II %lightly Kituudt•d ; they received very fittit 4 4winstge, which u :Li repaired immediately, nod on Ibr YSthvr Willie( torbi nary , the „ eht an again, to recoono4ne. M I too 40 to 341 Onus, eery tired at he,r, hat wi!l t rile, I ; 'hr did two fire a 011, and afte► havit.,; woonitiplitthed her ohj. , rt, she rejiitue.i the San fitartio„ si.the island of Sao Lorenzo, wh:re both remained, block aakag rattail. _ •• The Lauttiro and Chricvloico had keen despatched. to intercept a convoy from Piinams, rip sisting of five laden merchantmen wider ....Ivor of an armed ship. The Spanish ship Viclwia. laden alto timber, coming from Chloe and td beta captio..l Lord Cueii ;ate; the offered to ransom her for 12.000 ir,, but the Vier- Admiral would not listen to the propnval. "On the 21st inst. arrived heti., tor Mass shop of war. from Liw.y and I alcalivano, bavtn, oar eil from the littler putt opt the gth of April. doe hits ma hoard 'l,3oo,lllilit dot urv, of %hurls tae gariiter pert was tr issitipped into tier from fa , Andromache fri4ste, tl e tuile is believe:l to ki• Sp•itisn piopeit retnJveil is consequence id the alarm v. hick prevail, iii Li no. The Itiossoin will shoisly sail for ;n.41 Commodore 11 , pw . .ra, w tar Crenle fugale, will psocr• d t.• the Piicific in nhout ver %seem.' 11 ilte•hire Elret:n.7.—State of t:,c Poll at the clay: of the 10th do.: Mr. iLauet, Astley, 1965. Q 4 . 1. • "V C Om. • A.* l / 4 46. 4 t l iN trx.,.•,. • • 1 •