The National Register. — London, England, 1819-07-26 00:00:00

.~ PM _~. ~,„ .. . , ~......." , . A • ' , i,... . . . i " . # ~,. ' 1 • , - ph _ , b „ . , . ,tp ; j4 . .. atona l/ a t , t toirr+ -N I Our Ilitta, Coittitution ant it a 1336. No. 1232.—V0L. MR. OWEN'S INSTITUTION AT NEW LANARK. In war Number of last week we inserted an ac ..tnant of an Institution which, whether from the 'fricili or opponents of the principles upon which it is established, is folly entitled, as a practical lesson of Political Frennomy to their consideration—we Sisean Mr. Owen's lustitution, at New Lanark From the unquestioned benevolence of that Gentle- Stead intentions, add from the equally capita:timed Benefits wbich have restated to those who have been placed under his care anti eitipleyment, as tainpared with the labourers of the greater part of our Cotton 'Manufactories, 'throughout the kingiore, the La nark Establishment presents itself as •an object of deep and interesting .coneersi. it would be so •at any time and undir.any circumstances, but lie a taisis like the present, when from a long course of b;l3 Government, misery end vice arc, like a noisome pestilence, ragingwith almost •reaistless fury, and :he apparent iaidispositics-t to' retrace a single step of that ill-fated path =Lich has =ducted US to the ',rink of ruin, leaves Cale or nothing to be hailed for iron our public Rake's, evenyglimpte of light which ivay he thrown upon us frentlaser quarters becomes .:outsly valuable, and cannot be disregarded. A few observations tlitrefore upon thirtopic cannot, wenre villing to•believe, be unacceptalfte to our readers. The - Estaldislnent of New Lanark was originally ac jug in t7,•"8-1, by Mr. Dale, of Glasgow, who was *lnduced to adopmhat spot in preference to any other, - 11 y the advantages to be derived from the waters of .he Clyde for woOking the machinery then lately Invented, for sointring cotton yarn. The country wits at that time uncultivated, the inhabitants poor and few in number, and the marls in thcateighbour hood ms heel that the Falls, now so celebrated, were theta unl.now•n to strangers. Laboarers were neecs :arily procured from ether places and he had re ^ourse to the two sodas—first, of procuring children from various puidic charities of the Kingdom, for whom he provided a large house where they were fed, clothed, and educated—seeondly, I)) inducing families to settle round the works, and for these also cottages were erected aml let to theta at the emit reasonable rate. 'klr. l)ale, with every feeling of kindness and ham :pity towards those employed by him, and will: every attention paid to their coat flirt, still found that his Establishment presented , but just the same aTert VAddl so generally per a-ades societies of this kind. The childrer. vete set to work so young, fir he was ao take them at siA or seven years old, sr tat eaciki not have them of all, and COlllllK`li so king, that the hours allotted fl,r ealk.eat'am v..‘re found vise inadequate to any bee.o6ll progress, and the little that remained for relaxation was so scanty that many of them became klwarfs both iu mind and body, many more ran away, -mai all naturally looked forward with impatience Red anxiety to tits hour which was to terminate their apprenticeship, as an hour sf tieliverance from a yoke of intolerable bondage. The adults were able to earn more titan was actually necessary for t.ubsistence, but these earnings were either curtailed by idleness, or their surplus spent iu drunkenness and debauchery ; and thus vice, and immorality, and Pmecty, and debt, -and misery prevailed to US monstrosei.an :stoat as in the corresponding Justi- MONDAY, JULY 26, 1819. tutions of Manchester or Glasgow. Such was the picture of New Lanark when Mr. Owen first un dertook its management, and such the materials -upon which be had to set to work. What it is now, the descriptiou we gave last week, from a most re markable and intelligent eye-witness, bears abun dant testimeay ; and surely it will not be denied that a system capable of effecting such a change, and • produciagauch practical resillts,onght nut either to be treated with indifference or hastily contlemeed. Now any fair and unprejudiced view of each a subject we 41nak may be best taken—first, by considering the.principles—ssecondiy, the practice—and thirdly, the tendene7 et' the whole. 1 he fire!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 best to the worst, from the most ignorant to the most enlightened, Ivey 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 iafloence in the Afars of men.' Stach a principle, it laity not be easy to admit . as for as Mr. Owen would insist, when we contem plate what the world nor; is, and what it always has ibeen ; but it is yet one which it is not only difficult to disprove, but which it is the bounden duty both of Governments atul of individual , to act upon, as if they did admit it. Perfection should always be ' our aim, whether in art, in science, in morals, or is legislation. So long, as an error exists, it should be our object to correct it ; so log as a single viceeon thaws uneubdued it shoe.ld be aliligently and baldly grappled with. Those may, perhaps, even justly, he deemed visionary theorists who flatter themselves 1 with the hepe of Lanishiug both sin and misery from amougst mankind ; but they are at least .enticled to lour gratitude, if they wisely and prudently eet I about the accomplishment of such an undertaking. Mr. Owen is one of those who has dauetketsly buckled en his armour for this conflite, amid liAs happ, in Ws own mind, from tlse total alswenee of ' all apprehension as to the isste uf-the-stru;,:gle. He has holtlly stated in one of his esee.ys, that ~ on th e exp.:rience of a /ire devoted to the subject, he hesi -1 tated not to say, that the members of any con-. 1 inanity mey by &vete; be trained to live without i idleness, without poverty, without crime, and with out ponishment. His next great principle is to implant in all those under the influence of his system, this single motive of' action, vie. " the happiness of self, dearly understood aid uniformly pursued,which is only to be mitt iieed by conduct that must promote the happiness of the ennununity." This principle we cannot either blame or deny. ‘Ve have been taught by generations now long past away the very same doctrines. The illustriouF sages of antiquity infiwmcd ems, that virtue is its own reward ; that no had man is happy ; that public good was but the %wept° of individual merit, and m short that self love and social were the same. The other, and less abstracted principle of Mr. Owen are, " that population well-gverned hi wealth and strength ; that more them treble the amount of in habitants see now }nave might be easily supported and rendered happy by judicious mansgement. —That emigration is a ptnitive evil which deserves to be rather checked than encouraged, that we are become. a people too decidedly of manufacturers and merchants—that the ge neral efre , :t of such a character is to teach decep- Lnucz 94d. tion and to generate a spirit destructive of that of ee and honest sincerity, without which men cannot make others happy, nor enjoy happiness theinseive , . That our Agriculture, as the great and only brut foundation of national Independence and virtue ought to he esp...:.ially fo:-tered and enccuragctl. That our Foreign Trade, insteatFof being tile pri m,ry of both of Gavertimmt and of mei,latit •, libtruld 1:e held as quite subordinate to Home Growth '77:. and Home Cmisnuartion. . And, lastly, that a ears: ' ' till, extended, and univenal system of Ediantion tin• Children is lalispensalim to the proinot ion of habits of order, indes.try, piety, and moral improvement. Such are ti . .e..g.ncral basis and groundwork of Mr. Owen's •.lews awl institution, and ns Eir as th , y have been acted on at New .Lariart, they seem •t+ have led to the most happy and teneticialends. as the practice and tendency of such a scheme ap plied to other plaees, and adopted as a great national System of Policy and Legislation, is both a distinct. question., and Reserves timre fu'.l -consideration than either thile or spa.:e w ill now admit, we defer tali nest Loth ;hesc important heads. The late Gj.ienil l rrtim, of the Life Guare.=, tuts fortunately persuaded to sell nut alxmr before liis cleat:). by which his family gaI:AA sx. - - ing of nciirly fifteen thousand pounds, liir which Le sold his commissions. His death was unexpected, us his constitution a short time ago appeared sou ad and excellent. On Friday last, two donlreTs were .i'nil i , i. Joiner's wood, Kent, belonging to Sir John E. , ..;, adjoining Chisiett-park, tied with chaise-reins to tire shrubs, completely starved to &tab, having de_ voased ovary ediWe subatuttee within roach. I. is tipposed they were stolen awl tied there by some villain or villains who have been since..appreheittl. eil ' and have -consequently left the wretched ani mals to perish - thus miserably. ' Tuesday, Joseph Wilfred 'Parkins, Esq. Citizen and Haberdasher, attended the Court of Aldermen, aml .gave bond to take upon himself tli , Otfice of Siierilf of Lewlert grid Middlesex, on the .28th of September next. The festivities et Stowe, the scat of the Marquis of Buckingham, in celebration of the marriage of his son and heir, Lord Temple, commenced on Tuesday. A number of marquees are pitched on the lawn, in front of the house, for the accommodation of the company. Th.- Duke and Duchess of York, and the Duke of Wellington, are invited, together with Lord and Lady Temple, Lorti and Lady Aruntlel, Lord Westmeath, Sir George and Lady Nug.iit, Lord Nugent, I .urd ebolmtaideley, and several other persons of rank and eminence. At the York sessions, Thomas English was 5.2:1• teneed to be transported for 7 years, tbr having, in conjunction with Henry Fcitrby, stolen Whs. of mutton. On hearing his sontence, he exclaimed, " Thank you! I t.oly wish it had been a better steak. Tvo mete to be ttansported titr (Sibs. of nn. ton! And tl—d if either of us ett is tt " II 4, uq. , doom her fatal 'sesta." e or too. al,ertee • inx . occurred in hitelLelJ uu iV rebuses say se,ge.t, inshe J. nth of J, "hr ui.ll, a 1141.1E4, e 1111.041 VII is the Arrif ite Of . 441:d C•.., and fora: •rly sill apl)fi la lee 144 1,,.a-m-or 1 works. lhealforel. The rPtir•ell ••a% it and recoiled* Woe its_ beta boucle by a labil alliill44l 414141 rine 4.44 4.7italir44 appe.erance of bring a ell. The r 7,4 •y treptowts of hydrophobia a ere displ eyed net IV:lh:rut ,Y moi wag warty, whale lees medical atteuelaist, ade speed: y cquvietee'A It way a 4 unarmed 4*.t,e eirani it i of alley wfl.th dONC , I .copeote.l) froth hien irritated every thine: con tiguous daring his iiedeseri.talele e.utterets...a, hr retained a peeled pre.eeice Or 411 . 15141, 111 wnlru lOU Ii our, Or Ihr name of life hew s : ration, several times previous to Whisk lie hark ed like • di... UII Tud.4o , e'nnisht Mr. Pet. r Perry. a prinripni firrk im lII.' Udall. of Moth did teal , I a node es. retiree! U. h hed.roolo., *here he had rem: d for adtrly an hour. whew the admit pistol 14:i4 le..•er.i, and an OA 4111 1 / 4 .141g Ord., the udoieuenetegelith in-see ea. loured wells reser. leaviast dim Itir4ed a pit...l !atu it modes. •he aas .1.4 quite dead. asvidanee was obi:omA s hut he raper et at nit.. k the twat seitorn.og. Ila had ear some there heel ii, 4 • iltief Led 1i4444. ‘ MIA hied tofu ii IV lit.ot it \ 1111.'.4111, i-r for some thee before the owl tee 'hely : his eh.:r.:,t kJ' fur lilleZTi43 ‘4iir 4444i31101-til