The National Register. — London, England, 1819-07-25 00:00:00

p / /6 R I, l i e*A 2 kV 4 iipia A )e - • --iatt 21, PlAttow I (PA tztlittr+ Out* Wm!, Comititutionanb 31 ato6. SUNDAY, JULY 25, 1819. No. 1201.—Vot. XII.] [PRICE 94d. MR. OWEN'S INSTITUTION AT NEW LANARK. IN our Number of last week we inserted as ac- NOW of as Institution which, whether from the friends or opponents of the principles upon which it is established, is fully entitled, as a practical lesson of Political Economy to their consideration—we mean Mr. Owen's Institution, ut New Lanark From the unquestioned benevcl..nce of that Gentle latia's intentions, and from the equally unquestioned BeneGts which have resulted to those who have been placed under his care and employment, as compared with the labourers of the greater part of our Cotton Manufactories, throughout the kincrdom, the La nark Establishment presents itself as an object of deep and interesting concern. It would be so at any time and under any circumstances, but in a crisis like the ,present, when from a long course of had Government, misery and vice are, like a noisome pestilence, - ra g ing with almost -resistless fury, and the apparent indisposition to retrace a single step of that ill-Gated path which has conducted us to the brink of ruin, leaves little or nothing to be hoptsi for from our public Rulers, every glimpse of light which may be thrown upon us from other quarters becomes tioully valuable, and cannot be disregarded. A few observations therefore upon this topic cannot, we are willing to believe, be unacceptable to our readers. The Establishment of New Lanark was originally begun in 1784, by Mr. Dale, of Glasgow, who was induced to adopt that spot in preference to any other,' by the advantages to be derived from the waters of the Clyde for working the machinery then lately invented, for spinning cotton yarn. The country was at that time uncultivated, the inhabitants poor and few in number, and the roads in the neighbour hood so bad that the Falls, now an celebrated, were then unknown to la rangers. Labourers were neces :;arily procured from other places, anti he had re course to the two motlea—first, of procuring children from various public charitieu of the Kingdom, for whom he provided a large house where they were led, clothed, and educated—secondly, by inducing families to settle round the works, and for these uh:o cottages were erected and let to them at the most reasonable rate. Mr. Dale, with every feeling et' kindness and humanity towards those employed by'him, and with every attention paid to their com fort, still found that his Establishment presented but just the same aspect which so generally per vades societies of this kind. The children were set to work so wring, for he was obliged to take them at six or seven years old, or he mold not have them at all, anti confined so long, that the hours allotted for education were found quite inadequate to any Lenefitial progrss, and the little that remained for relaxation was so scanty that many of them became dwarfs both in mind and hotly, many more ran away, and all naturally looked forward with impatience and anxiety to the hour which was to terminate their apprenticeship, ns an hour of deliverance from a yoke of intolerable bondage. The adults were able to earn more than was actually necessary for subsistence, hut '..hese earnings were either curtailed by idleness, or their surplus spent in drunkenness and debauchery ; anti thus vice, and immorality, and poverty, and debt, anti misery prevailed to as monstrous an extent as in the corroiontling tutions of Manchester or Glasgow. Such was the picture of New Lanark when Mr. Owen first un dertook its management, anti such the materials upon which he had to set to work. What it is now, the description we gave lust week, from a most re imuktdite and intelligent eye-witness, tears abun dant testinemy ; and surely it will not be denied that a system capable of effecting suck &thane, and producing such practical results, oughtnot either to be treated with indifference or hastily condemned. Now any fair and unprejudiced view of such a subject we think may be best taken—first, by considering the principles—secondly, the practice--and thirdly, the tendency of the whole. The first great foundation then upon which Mr. Owen rests his theory, and proceeds to build up his practice, is this " That any general character, from the lest to the worst, from the most ignorant to the moat enlightened, may be given to any community, even to the world at large, by the application of proper means; which means are to a great extent at the command, and under the controul of those who have. influence in the affairs of men.' Such a printiple, it may not be easy to admit as far as Mr. Owen would insist, when we contem plate what the world now is, and what it always has been ; but it is yet one which it is not only difficult to disprove, but which it is the bounden duty both of Governments and of individuals to act upon, as if they did admit it. Perfection should always be our aim, whether in art, in science, in morals, or in legislation. So long as an error exists, it should be our of jest to correct it ; so longoisit.sinzle vice eon.% tismes unsubdued it should be diligently and boldly grappled with. Those may, perhaps, even justly, be deemed visionary theorists who flatter themselves with the hope of banishing both sin and misery from amongst mankind ; but they are at least entitled to our gratitude, if they wisely and prudently set about the accomplishment of such an utulertaking. Mr. Owen is one of those who has dauntlessly buckled on his armour for this conflict, and he is happy, in his own mind, from the total absence of all apprehension us to the issue of' the struggle. He has boldly stated in one of his essays, that "on the experience of a life devoted to the subject, he hesi tated not to say, that the members of any com munity may by degrees be trained to live without idleness, without poverty, without crime, anti with out punishment. Ibis next great principle is to implant in all those under the influence of his system, this single motive of action, viz. " the happiness of self, clearly understood anti uniformly,pursued.wltich is only to be attained by conduct that tnust promote the happiness of the community." This principle we cannot either blame or deny. We have been taught by generations:now long past away the very same doctrines. The . illustrious sages of antiquity informed us, that virtue is its on n reward ; that no bad man is happy ; that public good was but the aggregate of individual merit, and in short that self love anti social were the same. The other, and less abstracted principles of Mr. Owen are, that population well-governed is wealth and strength ; that more titan trehle the amount of in habitants we now have might be easily supported and renderA happy by judicious management. —That eni4::rAt ion is a positive evil which deserves to L, rather checked than encouraged, that we ar, become a people too decidedly 1 1 of manufacturers and mereltants—that the ge neral effect of such a character is to teach deeet tion and to•generate a spirit destructive of that opea and honest sincerity, without which men cannot make others happy, not enjoy happiness themselves. That our Agriculture, as the great and only firm foundation of national Independence and virtue ought to b 2 especially fostered and encouraged. That our Foreign Trade, instead of being the Fri. teary object both of Governanent and of meeeliiiita, should be hell as quite subordinate to Home Growth and 'Home Consumption. And, lastly, that•a care ful, extended, and universal system of ,Education fin-Children is indispensable to the promatien of habits of order, industry, piety, and moral improvement. Such are the general basis and groundwork of Mr. Owen's views and institution, and as far as they have been acted on at New Lanark, they seem to have led to the most happy and beneficial ends. But as the practice and tendency of such a scheme ap plied to other places, and adopted as a great national system of Policy and Legislation, is both a distinct question, and deserves more full consideration than either time or space will now admit, we shall defer till next week both these important heads. It is expected that the Prince Regent will embark on board the Royal George yacht, at Brighton, the day after the races in that town. His Royal High ness will take a cruise along •the coast to Plymouth, view , the breakwater and .dock in that quarter, and subsequently sail for the Isle of Wight., where the fleet of Noblemen's yachts will rendezvous. The late tieneral Barton, of the Life Guards, wasfortunately persuaded to sell out about six weeks before his death, by which his family gained a,say.. ^lttZef nearly fifteen thousand pounds, fbr which he sold his commissions. His death was unexpected, as his constitution a short time ago appeared sound and excellent. On Friday lag, two donkeys were found in Joiner's wood, Kent, belonging to Sir John Fagg, adjoining Chislett-park, tied with chaise-reins to the shrubs, completely starved to death, having de voured every edible substance within reach. It is supposed they were stolen and tied thereby some villain or villains wbo.bave been since apprehend ed, anal have consequently left the wretched ani mals to perish thus miserably. Tuesday. Joseph Wilfred Parkins, Esq. Citizen and Haberdasher, attended the Court of Aldermen, and gave bond to take upon himself dm Office of Sheriff of London and Middlesex, on the 28th of September lleNt. The fCstivities at Stowe, the seat of the Marquis of Buckingham, in celebration of the marriage of his son anal heir, Lord Temple, commenced tan Tuesday. A number of marquees arc pitched on the lawn, in front of the house, for the accommodation of the company. The Duke and I)aeliess of Yurk, and the Duke of Wellington, are invited, together with Lord and Lady Temple, Lard and Lady Ar.:nrle/, Lord Westmeath, Sir .-Oeorge and Lady Nugent, Lord Nugent, Lord Chtalmondcley, and several other persons of rank anal eminence. ii V ORO V/10 na l --.Anmtr, r fatal ilntaw e of Obi; '.Varm int inelads occurred in Sheffield un 1% cdors 'ay night, in the 4.nlid of J rw ell, s miner, employed in the .ervice if Mews. Rooth nod C.a.,-and formerly an limo.. mire tat the Loo-moior Jr..., work., litildford. The at-ceased was YII ,4.111-e of nee, and recollects bacilli been bitten by aiiiinal shout 12 •wrok. since ; the wound iy as in the that ,I, and since presented an appc.iranee it being or 11. The List sy au p;ottis of hydrophobi a were dim! ised on K"edncsd iv adman;; r.srly, when his medical attrition': were s i .e.sliiy c o n s hiced it wiln a confirmed ca e. TUe quantity rat copi , tw•ly from him it evcry than, aala tigisous : cloying lit indescrtliahle ufe mg., he retainad pet feet presence of mod, I ill w ithin two ISIS., of the dam.: of life being eitilict, several times previous to o loch he birti..- ed like a do ! . On Tiwsilas Mr. Peter Perry, 3 pl illeip:11 clerk i n It,.' Mink it Il,n h Id anti Co Fa:minith, retired to h bed-horn, o here he had remained fnr neatly sat limn% o non the repast of a pistol was heard, and an alarm twin:: R iven, the 11.110 i Innate resubmit!) oat foistml welts , rio t di.clurged ra pltiol Imo his month. A. lie was no t go of des - a, <l-s"5 was 00150'11 , 41 4 but be e% pie- at a i ono o'clock the next morning. Ile hail for some time heel, in a dejected awe, and had shown evident symptoms cf ito utity for some linos before the noel meanly event : his character ter merit) , was tit:impeachable.