The Sun. — London, England, 1823-07-30 00:00:00

etscistingfacts, it will he i ns t rumenta l i n permitting, with the most ample means of prevention in its power, the infliction of store misery on five or six millions of the subjects of this Empire than is now experienced by the same number of individuals untie: the most absolute despotism that is to be found in any part,of the world. I trust, however, that our Government will not continue thus to act,--that it will no longer be restrained , • e from doing a positive good by the fear Of .transgressing the fanciful hypothesis of certain ingenious but inexperienced in divaluele. A loan of five to eight millions, well secured on land, houses, and on'the indtletry of those who' would pref.T. employment to idleness, would now rescue Ireland from its miseries, and Go veratnect from its greatest.disgrace. - The loan, too, might be twiny repaid with interest, by a sinking fund, in less than la yens. But, for argument's sake, let us suppose that the whole of this sum was advanced ; suppose it to be all expended, as I P r roPi ei e iri . the purchase of land, the building of well-ar eaagettyrilitges, he establishment of manufactures, the him .eyiroveti .cultivation of the soil by spade husbandry, the pur chasing of iniplements and stock of all kinds, the education of the children of those whose industry will be thus called into aetion, and in creating neatness, cleanliness, order, and system, Where they are now scarcely known. Anti suppose, improbable as it is, that Government should not dayrtty receive back one farthing of the eight millions so 'borrowed and secured, even then, as the money would be ap -13lied directly to give productive employme n t t o t h e now stem eeg peasant, and enable him by his labour to support himself tied family in food and clothes, and to.educate his children ; tied as the measure :would create a great demand for building .rid other materiale, and articles from general society; and as would speedily render unneeessary the maintenance of so .large a military an d p o li ce f orce in Ireland • I contend that even' under the s u pp osition t h at t h e eight million of capital were not to be refunded, nor the interest paid, the British Go- Vernment has not appropriated any eight millions out of the whole of its vast eepentliture, which have produced indirectly, throtigh.revenue and saving of expence, so large a pecuniary return, or a tytime, or a twentieth part of the moral result that .would be obtained through the proposed application of capital to Ireland. So vitally important to that country do I consider such aid to be, at this particular juncture, and so safe do I deem the itecue city which the landed proprietors and others have to offer, if the loan were granted them at 31, or 4 per cent., that I am ready to commence a Hat, if other individuals will follow my example, to give additional security to Government for the re-- payment of such loan, and to put my name down for 6,000/. ; mind in doing so, knowing, as I do, the whole extent of the misery, degradation, and demoralizing circumstances in w hi c h sp many millions of our fellow-subjects are allowed to remain within two days' journey from us, feel that Ido not half per form my duty. IVere these utterly, in themselves, helpless beings, to be seen by many of the rich and benevolent persons of either sex, with whom this nation abounds, and seen, as I have witnessed them, in cabins the most wretched, in the most wretched situations, emaciated from the want of a sufficiency of wholesome food, their children' mingling with the litter of swine, and often in the depth of winter, without f ue l enoug h to ' b o il their daily meal of potatoes,—it is impossible, if Government will not lend a helping hand to change these wretched circum stances, that those individuals who are rich, and who are term ed good, pions, and charitable, can longer allow these things to be, and suffer themselves to be still called good, pious, and charitable. Charitable, indeed I—Where are the wealthy individuals who have any real claim to such epithet, while they wallow in luxury, often the most injurious to them, and at the same time know that millions of their fellow-beings, of their fellow-sub jects_ , suffer as, the Irish peasant n ow su ff ers , an d yet t h ey do not bestir themselves P But whatever others may do, I feel that I shall be impelled, while health and means remain to me, to continue without ceasing to call on the Government and people, until this deep stain on our national character shall be removed. Anil it is also another determination, which the circumstances of the times force upon me, to proceed without d e l a y to p repare a f u ll example in Scotland, of those practical measures from which the world ere long must derive substantial and permanent ad . vantages to an extent of whiCh at present it can form no ade ..quate estimate. This is ,intended to be the parent village, where those who will be required 'to assist in the forming and conducting of other similar establishments will be 'trained. If the system shall prove but half as beneficial in a pecuniary and in a moral view, as from long experience of the certain results of , the influence of circumstances over . human character and affairs, I am warranted in anticipating that it will, then do 1 surely know that the time Is near when these establishment* will be made quickly to extend from parish to county, and from county to kingdom e and from one country to another, until there :shall not be a district: in any part of the world, in which, on ac count of the advantages they are, calculated to secure to human nature, they will not be found to prevail. Those present who are inclined to invest in the parent establish ;:ment any past of their funds at an interest of 5 per cent: to be ,ffitlf gar'. to Messrs. Fry and Chapman in the City, Nmormetta".."4.4 4 .l , •oo,o4.loomssassokoss i ls And as a Society has been formed in Dublin, under the title of the Hibernian Philanthropic Society, for the purpose of form ing one Or more of these establishments in Ireland, and as seve rat thousand pounds have been already subscribed for that pur pose, it is requested that those ladies anti gentlemen who wish to promote the trial of one of the proposed villages in that coun try, will put doivn their names on the saute terms as the Scotch loan has been subscribed for. I wish it, however, to be understood, that from none of these ',Jeans or expetiments do I expect, directly or indirectly, any other advantage than may belong to any other contributor to such loans i or common Member of the Society,' when I shall . take up my anode in one of these communities. And that when 1 ask for any.loan, or other aid or service relative to these es tablishmenteei dee not consider myself as asking any personal favour, whatevelee • I take the interest in them, which you have witnessed, be eniuse I feel that human nature has been abused and 11l treated, and becauie I believe that the principles and plans which I ad vocate will do atiatice las our common nature. The sole return I Seek, or, have ever sought, is to know that some day my fellow beings will be in possession of the full extent of th a t happiness and enjoyment which the exertions of my past life have been employed to secure them ; and, as I feel assured that the fine Is not far distant when this desired object will be attained, I al ' reedy peseess a rich reward for those services, and deem my self most amply repaid."--( Great approbation. ) TheiVottley Gentleman then read the following Resolutions, Whirl, he said he would ultimately p ro p ose s h ou ld b e adopted by the Meeting : " 1. That it is the opinion of this Meeting that the conditi on of the population of Ireland, gener a lly, requires amelioration. " 2. 'g the causes of their poverty and sufferings are, the „went of productive employment, and the existence of religious differences. " 3. That both, these evils proceed from fundamental errors in the present constitution of society: the former, from the con tinuance of an artificial system ofproductive employment, which is now highly disadvantageous to all parties ; the latter, from -,she notion that there is merit or demerit in opinions, which in all cases are the effects of geographical cirumstanees. " 4. That as circumstances In all cases essentially form the character, the only course that can be rationally pursued with a view to the amelioration of the condition of society is,_ to ende r -, your to acquire, in the fi r st i nstance , an accurate knowledge of the circumstances which are favourable, and of those which are uefavourable. -‘` 5. That Mr. Owen ha's devoted a long anti active life to , this object, anti by deep study amid reflection, by extensive per sonal Communication with the most intelligent of all classes, sects, anti parties, anti by valuable. practical experience, has succeeded in devising a combination of circumstances, which, in their application to society, he thinks will tend materially to improve the human character and condition. " fl. That* does not appear that lie could have any private or individual Interest, s e p ara t e f rom t h e gen e ral. good, in put -Inane this mnde-of conduct. ' /. That heetppeare to be folly convinced, that the eystem which lie proposes to the world, when carri e d I nto execution, will produce.Cne inesfheneficial„ moral ; and pecuniary results, " H. That lie Offers his services to the public in putti ng t hi s ohm into immediate practice, in England, Ireland, and Scot.. And, or to inetitute an experiment to prove its efficacy in all or any of thwe s tountries." A (JERI' cAtit AN, whose name we could not learn, next pre „sented himself, and_ proceeded to read something from a manu script he held in his band; lie read, howeVer,an a tone so very -low, and the whole matter wee so confused, that we were not able even to guess at his meaning he received much interrup tion, but .0111 persevered. , Time conduct of this individual ex cited some temporary disorder; ,he was at length prevailed on to sit down. • •Mr. MAIM), (an hisli-Gentleman . anti a Barrister cif the ,Inner-Tentryli,) said, that. tatsuglnetts an bumble individunl, he protests d against any attempt to r e a li se p l ans so utterly visionary as those of Mr. Owen—lapplause),—lie was ready to concede the full extent of benevolenee which the wannest friend of Mr. Owen could demand, as thenharacteristic of that Gentle beari.—(Applause.)•.e.lle was gratified at the 'respect ability ofthe meeting assembled that day, becumse, consid er i ng the dimness- of time 'meson, it- shewed the deep and lasting lute rest felt in time state of the ceuntrjehm which the Chairman now directed his views. lie agreed with that worthy Gentleman entirely as to time appalling extent of the 'evils under which Ireland was suffering, but he differed with him tote ark as to the remedy he had preposed., Ile (Mr, M.) was satisfied that the Cluurrnan's plan wits utterly.impracticaale ;. it never could, ,never would he carried i nto nxecation.—.(Apidanse and disapprobation.) —The Chairman had described the whole state of society, in every ramification, to be disorganized, cor rupt, mischievous, bad in every respect and for every purpose, and he had, therefore,' proposed a radical change of the system on which mankind had hitherto associated. lie came forth the apostle of a new age, the prophet of a new cPale. He drew the curtain, and dist I .. yed views of the Paradise;Paradise;to which he pro,- posed to condu c t t hem. Anti how was h e t oa CC omp li s h thesepro digiousresults ? By forcing men to : cave t h e i r present occupations, business, and homes, and gathering them from the east and from the west, to form them into communities of perfect felicity in his magical squares and wonderful parallelograms.—(Applause.)— Throwing aside all the principles on which all legislators had hitherto proceeded ; disregarding the passion for distinction, the love of gain, the sense of interest for ourselves and' our children, he wished to amalgamate the population in his fan ciful communities, withall their religious prejudices burning strongly within diem ; with all their individual passions and di vided interests clashing together; and where, of all countries on the face of the globe, had he proposed to try this extraordinary experiment? In that country where those. prej ud ices ,passions,and ' interests struck tigain,ta each other in fiercestcollision ;-(applause) —in that country, subject }hinges to all the complicated evils of misgovernment, the absence of its landlords, the infernal tithing system, and the proscription of its people, because they would not apostatise from the faith of their forefathers ; where for centuries oppression had bowed doWn the peasantry beneath the hoof of the horse, whose rider's sabre menaced with death the murmur 'of discontent—(l°lld applause);—and yet Mr. Owen now appeared, to draw off the attention from those remedies, plain, simple, and just, which might and would benefit that un. happy country, and to give Parliament a pretence, by the obtru sion of his visionary plans, for bringing nothing forward calcu lated to he of serious or permanent service. (Applause and sonic disapprobation ).—lf the *plan of Mr. Owen were so beneficial as he represented it, why need he travel from Dan to Beersheba, expounding it in newspapers and in reviews, in pamphlets and 'in speeches—in short, in all imaginable ways ? 'Why had it not been acted upon in that country, where it was most wanted, mid best known ? Yet after seven months of indefatigable exertion and benevolent care in that country, where, above all others, enthusiasm nourished and warmed feeling into life and action, he came to ask an English audience to carry into effect what was impracticable in Ireland. He (Mr. Mahon) did not stand there that day to advocate any system of religious intolerance. Ile objected as much as Mr. Owen to the subjugation of the human mind beneath any yoke of superstition ; but when he saw Mr. Owen endeavouring to sever the links by which the hopes of man's happiness were united to die throne of his Creator— ' when he saw that gentleman setting free all the bad passions and feelings of human nature from the admonitory instruction given from the pulpit and the altar, he could not avoid asking the Chairman what was proposed to be substituted in its place.—(Applause and disapprobation.)—What was to be the future bond of room' obligation, for the uneducated peasant, in the halcyon days of' Mr. Owen's visionary theories t'—(Ap. plause and disapprobation.) --It was now fifteen months since he had heard Mr. Owen detail his system to a mewing at the Freemasons' Tavern, coniposed of much higher and more powerful personages than he saw there assembled. He had then heard announcements of nominal thousands subscribed toinstitute these villages of felicity. His feelings were as strong at that time as at the present, though he had not expressed them. He opposed .1 Ir. Owen this day as a native of the country into which lie sought to introduce his plan. lie denied the justice of the attacks of Mr. Owen on the charitable disposition of the people of England. Whenever charity was advocated, either in aid of any portion of our own population or that of any foreign country, when had Engli s h men b een f ound deficient ?—( a pplanse.),-When were they ever absent in the hour of want? On the contrary, they had come forward, not only at home, but in all parts of the globe over which they weretieat.. tered. With respect to Mr. Owen's plan, he would ask, was it probable that, impracticable as it certainly was here, it cpuld be acted upon successfully in Ireland ? Mr.. Owen was reasoning through the darkened mirror and horoscope of his own imagine- tioh. He was, like Macbeth, grasping an air.drawn dagger. —Though he had the tongues of the apostles, and a more i than human voice to give utterance to them ; though he added I thousands to his list of nominal subscribers ;--his labours, like I manure put on sandy soil, would disappear, and his systeM for ever remain a day.dream., lf, indeed, he was desirous of bene fiting Ireland, let him assist in expunging the code of proscrip. anon by which the peasant was rendered an alien in his native land—(Applauie.)—Let him bring back the absentees. Let him put an end to the exactions of tithe. proctors, middlem9, con-acre men, and canters. Let the infernal system of cleri cal rapacity be abated, instead of giving force to it by the bill of Pains and Penalties against Ireland w hi c h di sgrac ed t h e l ast Session—(Applause.)—Tlien we should indeed see practical benefits bestowed on that long-oppressed country. There would he no necessity for resorting to the quadrangular Arcadia of Mr. Owen. His system might be very well adapt. ed to manufacturing places, where the parties worked at the same loom, and were paid by the same employer, whose in fluence could therefore controul them ; hut the system was not applicable elsewhere. . He (Mr. 'Mahon) admired the bar. mon , benevolence, and wisdom, which had suggested such rev ere, , WWI, the terirritlftilttigptiilp mediately by that gentleman. But before it cou ld b e intro duced into general practice, it would first be necessary to change the constitution of human nature, as it had been wisely formed by our Almighty Creator, who had destined him to " earn his bread by the sweat M ~of his brow." r. Owen h a d certainly succeeded i n obtaining the sanction of Lord Cloncurry, Mr. O'Connell, and some other patriotic Irishmen, by whom a • few hundreds had been subscribed. " Further those deponents say not." He had no doubt that the worthy gentleman had the purest and best intentions, but he (Mr. Mahon) could . not help lamenting that so much time - had been wasted, whi c h , properly employed, might, both to Mr. O wen hi mse lf and. the country at large, have been productive of much more beneficial results. —(Applause.) Mr. YOUNG was rather unwilling 10 obtrude himself for the purpose of defending Mr. Owen's system, as he coniesseel he did not sufficiently understand. it; -but as to the sincerity of that Gentleman, and the greatness of his object, there could. be no difference of opinion. The Gentleman who had just address. ed them so ably and eloquently, had, in his (Mr. Young's)judg. ment, totally misconceived the system, which he wished him self he had heard m ore i n d eta il. fl e di d not understand that Mr. Owen arraigned either Catholic or Protestant as thecause of the misery of Ireland ; it was the system of difference of religious opinion altogether to which Mr. Qwen objected. That difference finally grew into such prejudices, that wen could not regard themselves as brothers t rave lli ng b y many roads to their Father's honse, in which there were many mansions.. Religious perse. cution, the natural and inevitable offspring of this feeling, had given rise to most of the evils that had afflicted mankind.— (Applause.)—Power, originally entrusted for the common good, but abused to the general evil, bad produced all the calaMi. ties under which mankind had suffbred.—(Applause.)—The present views of Mr. Owen. were rather extraordinary. The maxims which he had promulgated were, however, truths worthy of being solemnly recognized by mankind. Every well-wisher to human improvethent must desire the progress of reform gradually. To quarrel with men because they could not think alike was not only cruel but unjust, • because opinion was wholly the effect of circumstances for which mankind could not be accountable. Indeed religion taught us that the jtidg mcnt in the next world .was to be founded, not on the opinions we held, but the good we had done. The inquiry was not w ha t have you believed, but have you clothed the naked and fed the.; hungry? After sonic further observations, the gentleman concluded with expressing his wish that Mr. Owen's plan might be extensively discussed, in . order that it might be thoroughly understood. • [ Mr. WILLs next addressed the Meeting. lle said that he had been constantly employed in considering . the st a t e o f Eng lish peasantry, an d h e an d those who had acted with hint had uniformly found. that the pcasantS who held small portions o land were alwayarnort! comfortable than.thoite who held none The , Worthy Gentleman - , after some further ob servat i ons, pro . eeeded to read certain Resolutions, which however were not pressed `. Mr. Mum; who on rising to address the Meeting was greeted with a burit of applause, said that he felt all the diffi culty of attempting a reply to the opposition...of Mr. Mahon, after the very eloquent terms in which that Gentleman had de livered his sentiments, and which had evidently produced a considerable impression on the minds of thesauditory. lie (Mr. Mudie) had not intended, when lie came to the Meeting, to obtrude himself upon its notice ; but he thought it necessary to obviate the effect produced by the brilliant .but delusive decla mation of Mr. Illabors ; and indeed, as that Gentleman had stated that it was as an Irishman that he had risen to oppose the introduction of what he considered an impracticable and visionary plan into his country ;, so had he (Mr. M.) felt an irresistible impulse, as a native of another diV.sion of the Empire (Scotland), which had the distinction of being the birthplace of Mr. Owen's system, to get up, and, as a Scotch. man, to express his joy and his gratitude to the philanthropic character who occupied . the chair for the intended formation Of one of his communities immediately, at Motherwell, and for the advantages which would thus be conferred upon his country,— (Applause.) he could not deliver himself with the brilliancy of his opponent, he could at least t offer this claim :to the attention and the indulgence of the Meeting, that during six years he had given unremitting attention to the consideration of Mr. Owen's propositions,—that during that period not one day, he verily believed, had passed over him in w hich he had not ixnrained or re-examined some one er other of`the objections to the Van, and he could truly say that there was nbt one day, is the ivltiip course of die same period of time, at the close of which he did not lay his head upon his pillow more and more firmly convinced of the soundness of all the principles upon which Mr. Owen's arrangements were constructed, and of their entire efficacy to ac complish those-beneficent purposes for which they were framed. —(Applause.)--With reference to what had fallen from the Gen tleman who had spoken with so much animation against the sys tem, he would cart on the meeting against allowing themselves to be led e way by 'men of who sometimes substituted glow ing and elegent language for argurne4t, 'and' hy using strildfl,g but inquiry metaphors instead of facts; too often succeeded in carrying away the minds of their auditors from the considerk. don of the real subjects of their inquiry. As one of the in stances of this kind, on the part of Mr. Mahon, and us a proof that he did not possess, or at least, had not evinced that accuracy of observation which was necessary to the for mation of just conclusions on subjects of such a nature as bad been proposed to them that day, he would call to their re collection that he had characterised Mr. Owen himself as erro neously as he had characterised his plans, by representing that benevolent individual as a person who looked at the world through a medium so darkly coloured that it presented him with nothing but sights of horror, and with gloomily distort. ed objects.—(Applause.) —He had said this of Mr. Owen —of that very man, who presented to the world the brightest and most dazzling vision of human fetich, to which the human mind had ever yet given birth !—(Great applause.)--- Ile (Mr. Aludie) had listened with the greatest .attention to every part of the Speech of the Gentleman opposed to him, in expectation that he should at some part of it be fa. vottred with something like argument against the proposi dons before the Meeting; but he found, after casting aside the glittering declainution in which he had indulged, that his only argument, (if argum en t it cou ld b e ca l led), amount. ed to this, that the plan was not only on his own lyre dixit vi. sionary and impracticable, but .that it had been proved to be so, because, although it had been proposed to the people of England,. and to the people of Scotland and of Ireland, it had. not yet been adopt e d by t h em . Wi th equal justice might die Gentleman have said, that because it had been proposed to Mr. Mahon, who had not thought proper to adopt it, that therefore it was impracticable; because Mr. Mahon was not yet convinced of its practicability...--(Hear, he ar , hear 0-- There was, in f ac t, u p on a ll occasions, no argument which deserved less consideration than that which was derived from the obstacles which might be thrown in the way of any mea sure in the outset. If this argument were admitted, hardly any of those measures of practical utility which we now enjoy would have been adopted. There were scarcely any improve. ments, if there was one, in the concerns of society, which had not surmounted numerous obstacles'previous to their practical introduction.—(Applause )—lle would only advert, however, to the slow adoption of the practice of lighting the public streets with gas, becautie that was an instance striking in itself and universally known. After the advantages and the practicability of that mode of lighting had been .demon strated, as fully as any scientific discovery could• he demon strated, except by actual experiment on a large scale, a much longer period had elapsed before it was adopted by the public, than had yet elapsed since the promulgation of Mr. awen's Plans ;—,(Great applause)—and if' that was the case on a proposition so simple in itself, and, so obviously bencti - e;al, as that far the formation of a Oa Light Company, surely it could not b e matter of surprise, and much less could it be assumed as an argument egainst their practiees bility, that the more complicated though more valuable sropositions of Mr. Owen had been during a shorter tine )(lore :the public, without having been reduced to prac tice.—(Great applause.)—j3lr. Male then entered into the statement of various facts, and into the discession of several of the arguments for and against i)ut witlehlier(h m e e v s l i t t l i e o n n ti s y or ) l r l o l t r iu . c O e r i e th i: ; for which we have not room, intended effect on the Meeting, from the cordial marks of approbation with which they were reeeived.l—What, (he risked, towards the conclusion of his address) was there upon the face of Mr. Owen' plan so obviously absurd and impreeticable, that some persons thought themselves' justified in Just glancing at its surface and endeavo ur i ng to treat with ridicule that whiCh they had not fairly and candidly examined ? What were the means by Which Mr. Owen proposed to accom. plish his objects.? They were simply these, the education ee t h e children of the working classes and the poor, on the Most approved modus, and their employment in, he best and most ad ventageous manner wilt this peculiar featur e , cer t a i n l y, t h at they would be enabled to enjoy ft greater share of the productions of' their own industry than fell to their lot at present-4 pplause.)— With respect to the first of these means, it had been said that all tif4ll4lcia.guap...a..i.i...l4o4.l9opissmeasuseUeneer-to-the.irtt ttttt -. EFiracter was wild awl hopeless, and that Mr, O. expected results from education which would never be realised. lie it so: Even Wit were'eoneeded'that Mr.o.`a hopes were too brilliant, still it would be admitted that the effect of education, properly and skilfully Conducted, was to produce at least some degree of ini provement in the human being; and unless any man was prepared to deny that proposition, it would be impossible ter him to continue his opposition to the Plan, on the grounds to which he had just adverted. —(Appl a u se . ) —Wi th respect to the second me an s,—the peculiar arrangements for the employ-. meat of the working classes in communities, it had been ob. jected that the result would be to introduce amongst them habits of indolence, drunkenness, and immontlity. lint did the persons who advanced this objection mean to contend that it was necessarily a result of the congregation of mankind in cizilized society, that they should become corrupt and demara lized ? Did they Mean to contend, that the necessary result of the education, the civilization, and (be employment of men, un der the guidance of scienc e, waitOdeprave the principles of their nature? If so, then all the fancied progress of society was a progress only in error and in wretchedness • and the soon er i t was broken up, and m an ki n d were thrown hack again into die state of the hunter and the savage, the better. There was /10 rational man who could seripusly Intend to advocate such a doctrine as this; and there was no rational man, there. fore, who could, after deliberate examination, deny the efficacy of the means which Mr. Owen proposed to employ.— (Great applause.)—lle (Mr. M.) had during the greater part of his life been occupied with the examination of political and other questions connected with the subject before them. He had aln doting the greater part of his life, had peculiar opportunities of closely observing the character and the habits of the working classes of this country. He appealed to every individual who had numbers of men in his em ployment, whether the certainty of obtaining increased ad. vantages bypiece-work did not stir/Alive workmen to in c re ase d exertions of industry rather than indlieithe weneration of habits of idleness ; —and whether those who liatlecibserved the con duct of' workmen employed upon a .niece • of labour, the aggregate wages of which they divided equally amongst them eelves at the close of each week, were not more regular and industrious than those who worked on their individual ac count ? lie, for his part, had uniformly found that even an idle and a dissolute man, on joining one of these partnerships, or ccnnpunionships, as they were sometimes technically called, became from that moment, from a sentinient of honour and a feeling of just and independent pride, asiFgular, as ihdustrious, arid as sober, as those of his friendsprlati• had previously been the most distinguished for these qualities—l-Mr. hludip conclud ed amidst loud applause by giving his hearty support to the propositions. Mr. HEN MAN said, that to the praise of ameliorati ng t h e condition of hi s Tellow-creatures, Mr. 'Owen was eminently en titled. Even those who differed with him,.gaVe him credit for sincere and benevolent intentions to improve tho.moral condi tion of mankind. He was entitled to the thanks of the Meeting for the able development of his plan which they had heard that day, and he brought before them proofs of success. He (Mr. Owen) made the appeal on behalf of Ireland, and that appeal, he trusted, would riot be made in vain. At New Lanark the plan had been tried, and it, had succeeded ; it had produced much good. Why, then, should lie not try the same principle in Inliand P Not having heard any argument against the pro priety and policy of such an attempt, lie would give the Iteso lutions his cheerful support. Mr. GoultLAY next addressed the Meeting, and in an af fecting manner alluded to the disappointments lie had met with, and the distress to which he was reduced. _Rev. Mr. Citoox said, that societies founded on principl es nearly simil ar to t h at of Mr, Owen had been formed in France and in the Netherlands, and had flourished in both places. Mr. Owl:az next introduced to the Meeting the name of Mr. Hunter, a Gentleman who, while yet a c hild, b a d b een taken from his friends by an American tribe, and continued to live amongst them for 19 years. Mr.`lluxTFtt came forward, and in a short speech, remark. able for modesty and intelligence, said, that in merica be had witnessed the effects of combined operations ; those operations were sofalwys sure to be more productive than the aingle-handed eflbrt individuals. So fully impressed Were the people of America of the truth of this, that there were various instances of individuals of large fortunes who had thrown those fortunes into a common stock with persons of very inferior means merely for the benefit expected to be derived from combined operations. He instanced the cases of Mr. Rapps, Mr. Dur row, and Mr: After some conversation as to the question of adjournment, Mr. OwEN said, that jiffs wish was to submit his plan to the impartial judgment of the world—he was convinced that the day was not distant when he would receive the most decid ed support—till then he would go on. pursuing a steady and unaltered course. He had heard his plan called visionary —now he was always a plain man of business--far from acting like a visionary, ha Wade experiments on a laige scale, and patiently tried them jri every possible way for twenty years ;—having found the result ti be most satisfactory, what course did he en parsue?L-he spent tan 'years in discov individuals of 6fer3t stet, to whose Judgment and knowledge* appealed.— Ilu had, ne petsonid object -to getatify:,--he had nn , tish,to find truth in one place in preferen ce to finding it in anSilme r . T o the restikt he ieoked witho u t anxiety—he knew he was right, because he had tried experiments which no one else had tried. —.(Applause.) A motion for adjournment to Friday next, at one o'clock, was then put and carried. *.* In addition to the persons named at the commencement of our report we are informed that there were also present at , the meeting Sir William Young, Mr. ltowcroft, Dr. l'inckard, Captains Rattray and Tomlinson, and manyrespectable mem bers of the Society of Friends of both sexes. Before the Chair was taken every seat was occupied. SPA N. PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. " CADIZ, JULY 7. " The French, perceiving that there is no probability of their success unless they can have the opportunity of quickly striking a decisive blow, are perfectly sensible that their great enemy is Time. They therefore hasten their movements, in doing which they commit great military faults : at the same time they put in motion all the artifices of intrigue and seduction. " Meanwhile public spirit revives in the provinces which the French abandon ; the illusions which blinded .the people are dissipated ; patriotic Guerillas are forming every-where ; the strong places are supplied with provisions and fortified ; the enemy's communications are intercepted ; and the hope is again cherished, that in the present struggle laurels as immortal will be won as those whieh s were the reward of the late contest for independence. " General Mina holds his place still fearless, at the head of his brave troops, and constantly harrasses the French ; the Government is taking measures to provide him with rein forcements which will enable him to undertake more im portant enterprises. The fortresses of Old Catalonia arc de fended with courage and unshaken constancy, as are also San Sebastian and Santona. " The respectable army of General Ballasteros forms one of the principal supports on which the nation relics. In the provinces of Andalusia not occupied by the enemy, General Zayas is actively employed in forming a new corps , which will soon be engagedin important operations. " This interesting point, the isle of Cadiz, the secure asylum of the King, the Cortes, and the Government, is in a complete state of defence. It posgesses a brave and strong garrison ; as adequate naval force, composed chiefly of gun -boats, is rapidly completing; new ma gazines of provisions are formin g and every thing is prepared for successfully repelling any attack which the troops that have so rashly approached our lines may be tempted to make. greatest_confuston prevails in Madrid. The invaders, as was to be expected, find that they cannot act in concert with the ridiculous Junta which they have installed under the name of a Regency. These men have already set about restoring the Inquisition, and all the abuses of the old despotic system. The unfortunate persons whom they have misled will soon see what they have to expect from so illegal, seditiOus, and fanati cal an authority-rill detest their principles, and hasten to join the defenders of.the country. " His Majesty's Zlinisters,- though sensible of the arduous nature of the task imposed on them, are undismayed while dis charging the dutie s o f t h e i r stat i on . They labour to overcome the difficulties and embarrassments of every description with which they are surrounded; and they flatter themselves that by patience, courage, and constancy, they yet will obtain the bless , mg& of peace, and secure the honour and prosperity of Spain.' CADIZ, Jury d.—We are now completely surrounded by And by the French, united with the rebels, and the blockading squadron has been reinforced by several other ships which were at Gibraltar. Notwithstanding; this increased blockade, a quantity of small craft are dropping in, all laden with provi sions. Rice particularly is in great abundanc e ; m ea t is not dearer than in usua l times, and vegetables are br o u g h t f rom t h e opposite sh ore occupied by, the French who dare not di sgust the country p eop l e, who live eiclisively by the Cadiz market. The French line extends from St. linear as far as Conil, but their rear is exposed to the Spanish forces united in Alge tires ; and it is expected that General Ballasteros, who was in Granada, will come forward—in this ease there will be a fair opportunity for the troops stationed here and in San Fernando to make a sortie. The fact is, that the French have yet no fortress of rank in their possession, and their forces arc too much dispersed. JULY s.—The easterly wind continuing, about forty small craft have entered during last night and, this day, all laden with wheat and provisions of every kind. An English brig, laden with codfish, .and another from Guayaquil, with cocoa, have also entered, in spite of the opposition of the French guns; but another English brig, who was reached by their shot, has been obliged to return to sea. JULY G.—An English schooner was this morning near the entrance of the Bay, and under the gun-shot of the Light Tower, when, from the two Franck line-of-battle ships and o w n e e r e frigate , ordered attouaranrc(liisorthtewoEnmg i es sh s d c i l s i t o an on 4 c r, m w a which y i et a. ) r p m u e t d h et: l t f s under the protection - of the castle, the guns of which obliged the French to return, and in this way the schooner was able to proceed with safety to the port. The inaction in which the Spaniards have yet maintained themselves cannot last longer, if they do not expect that the French will retire of their own accord, as the season of the yellow fever is approaching. This is an enemy who frightens them more than the Spanish bayonets. JULY 7.—lt is confidently asserted that Ballasteros will came from Granada with twelve thousand infantry and two thOusand cavalry, to attack the French stationed on the opposite side of Cadiz: The French Admiral, the day before yesterday, assured the Commander of the Royal George steam-vessel, that he might land at , an d ta k e away from Culiz, p as . sengers, of every description, except the King and the Royal Fatrily„. Thi French from the opposite place are so badly inforined with regard to the condition of Cadiz, that they advised the passe igers of the Royal George, who arrived here yesterday from St. Lucar, to bring with them son ic bread, which they Sir William A'Court has received dispatches from Govern ni'ent by the English cutter man of war. lie still remain s at Seville. The people are very much dissatisfied with it. [Prom the Redactor General (ftlse 13th.] CADIZ, JULY 13. MINISTER or WA it.—Ttie Governmelt has positive infor mation that the Goneral• in-Chief of the French army in front of this isle has determined to give orders to the land and sea forces tinder his command, that from the 15th of, this month they shall fire on every person quitting the island and present ing themselves before the French forces. PACKETS.—This is to give notice to the public, that not., withstanding the blockade of the enemies, there frequently leave this place packets with letters fbr the provinces and towns free from the enemy on the part of the East and West, so that the authorities and individuals of ancient Galicia, Asturias, and part of Castile, not o ccu pied b y t h e enemy, may write to every part of the East, as tar as Barcelona, and the free places of the interior, and vice versa, with the security that laying out of consideration the contingencies for which the Government cannot provide, the letters will arrive at their respective des tinations. According to the notice received this day from Puerto de Santa Maria, there are no other news there than the arrival of ' the Gen. Villavicenzio, the return of the Fathers of San Juan de Dios in their convent, and the inhabitants beginning to feel disgusted at the rough treatment of their guests. In Xeres the Fathers Vietorios have taken possession of their convent, and the Carthusians are about to be reinstated. ( Prom tl, Espertador of the 13th July.) PROCEEDINGS OF TIIE CORTES, 12TH JULY. ' Various Resolutions of Committees respecting the sale of goods taken from the enemy, the better organization of the army, and literary property, were discussed. There was ordered to be added to the Act, the particular vote of Sieur Lopez Cuebas; contrary to the approbation of the proposition, that on the conclusion of the ordinary Cones they should not leave the Isle of Cadiz. . • There was read, and approved of, a proposition from Senor Bertran de Lis, that the Keaolution of the Cones, by which it was agreed that the Deputi es s h ou ld not separate from the Isla on the conclusion of the ordinary Sessions, an exception be made for those to whom the Government may find it convenient to ,give a military commission. PARIS PAPERS. a x N 7 jarc I r tl it . f . ; l P a i r t s .t h v ai aT il E fo L ne E e r y T: l PR RN G t : i hed at h ead -quarters at Budalona on July 111 3 the following Order his of the Day conce • concerning the ,alb of Iliolinos-del-Rey and Martorei e • - ", Thi enemy occupied a position on th e Ll o b regat, a t Molinos.del-Rey, and at Martorel. "On July 9 Lieutenant -General Donna md" u caused him to be attacked on the first of these points by the 3d and ,26th re giments of the line, and by.the 6th IltisSarS,.and on the second by the 1 8theind the Bth Chasseur;. " The rising of the Llobregat hindered them fr om •ng across it; the thi r d regiment forced themselves ov w ading across it; the third regiment forced themselves over the brid ge earryindtheir arms, and sustainin • g an mated tire. Bri ga di er-General Count Laroche-Ayinon; Col. Fantin•des-Odoarts, Lientenant.Colonel Fitzjames, marched at the head of this brave regiment. The 18th of the line, com manded by Brigadier-General Achard, was opposed during the greater part of the day to a force double their own. " The enemy, forced from all these positions, was thrown back on Villa Franca. On the same day the garrison of Bar celona made a sortie on the road of Mt:linos-del-Rey. Two battalions of the 60th, and the 32d of the line, posted at Es- Wee-as under the orders of Brigadier-General Vasserot, drove back the enemy with the greatest loss. Since these actions which add to the glory of the 4th corps, the operati ons reletive: to the in vestment of Barcelona are pursued without any obstatle. We have to regret several brave men, end among them a cap. taro of the 3d reginienz of infantry. " General Dennadieu ment derable numb er o f Officers. ions with great pr a i se a cons i. " The general opinion among the army is, that if the attack had been executed as combined by the Marshal, and if lien. Donnadieu had waited till the division of Curial had arrived, it would have been completely successful. But Gen. Donna dieu thought himself sofficiently strong to act alone in this business. In the meantime Milans has arrived at Villa Franca, where he augments the number of his troops, and it is said that he is preparing to attack our army, by combining his operations with those of the garrison of B a r ce lo na . Th e wounded of Gen era l Donnudieu's division have been sent to Grenolles. " Colonel Casas has left Barcelona at the head ef eig'it hun dred rniquelets, tbrmed of Catalonians, who haVe take n refuge in that place; he has gone to join Milans. " On the 10th, a column of 2000 men made a sortie from Barcelona with two pieces of artillery—it was directed towards Sarria, but was repulsed by the 19th, and retired to Gracia ; a battalion of the 7th attacked it, and forced it to retreat, and pur sued it in the plain, in spite of the lire from the town. A few men were killed and wounded on both sides. " On the 13th another sortie took place. The enemy divided his troops into two columns —one stopped under the cannon of the town towards Sarria, the other ( a b out 1 ,200 men) marched to Horta—it see m s to have had the intention to attack the left of the troops established at Gracia. The third battalion of the 32d, and the first of the 60th took the enemy in flank, and put him in disorder, and made him retreat.' • " Tjse 4th squadron of the sth regiment of chasseurs set out the day before yesterday from Puycerda for Vida " The garrison of the islands de las ,Vedas, consisting-of 81) men, 4:Titillated on the 15th. Our troops took possession of the place on the 16th, and found 17 pieces of cannon and provi- Nimes for two months. These islands are situated at the mouth of the Ter, half a league from the coast, and ere barren and destitute of inhabitants. There is no water, allrthe fortifica tions consist of two batteries, established on the heights, and served as a place of range for all the privateers on the coast. The garrison obtained water from the mouth of the Ter, but as soon as we placed a past of 150 men at Herlit, on the coast, where thereis a small port, the centre of all the commerce of the neighbourhood, the garrison was unable to procure any supply of water, and what they possessed being exhausted, they were obliged to capitulate. " In the largest of these isl an d s , d ur i ng the war orindepend ence, General Lacy organized the armies of Catalonia. We occupied all the province; it was not possible to collect and or ganize troops there, the recruits were therefore sent to this island, and as -soon as battalions were formed, clothed and armed, they were sent into Catalonia."—(Conttitutionnel.) [From the Journal des Dibots.] MADRID, Jut Y 21.—We have received here, from Port St. Mary, intelligence. of a sortie made by the troops of Lb... Cortes. Tho Revolutionary Generals assembled all the disposable men they had in G a di z an d t h e I sle of Leon to make an effert inefire.a. e ,A your of their expiring cause. From tl to 9,000 men, headed by the militia of Madrid and Scribe, who shouted with all their Intgrir, - " - V/Ve - Riego !" came out by different points under the protection of the fire of the batteries of the respective forts, but all their courage evaporated on the flying of our balls. A few companies of our soldiers overthrew into the canal the whole of this mass. The truth is that these poor m en , sent b y the Cortes to b e butchered, will scarcely fight fbi a cause which the greater part of them cordially detest. They were nearly 20 to 1, and they scarcely kept together tin hour. The lesson has been severe, anti it will be felt by the Cortes; 1,500 men were either wounded, killed or drowned. We onle lost a few soldiers; five or six officers were wounded. A Freirch refugee Officer was found on the field of battle, both whose legs bad been car ried away by a cannon shot, in despair at having betrayed his country to serve such wretched men ; he cried out—" Put an end to me that I may at least peri s h on the field of battl e ." I t was thus th a t the sorties from Barcelona were all. made at the expence of the fbreign legion. Some persons believe that this Officer was General Lallemand ; but. this is not certai. We have also th e b est accounts of Generals Molitor, Bourc a k, and FOURTH CORPS. ['EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER.] BAOELONA,Ju t. v . 21.—Our movement is decided—.toemor row we march upon Ignahtda. Circumstances wonderfully fa vour us. It is announced to us that the inhabitants of the en virons of Villa Franca have declared for the Boyd cause, which gai ns groun d rapidly. The country between titeLlobre gat and the Ebm is one of those in Catalonia where the number of Royalists is the most considerable. Mans() is with lifilans and Llobera. We go on rapidly towards the denouement. Rams, Ju tr 27.—We advise foreigners who are int eres t e d in the resist a n ce o f C a di z, not to allow themselves to be led away by the statementa of the Courier Franaiis to, he at the expense of sending thith er cargoes, wh i ch would intallablY hill into the ha n d s o f R ear A dmiral Baron Hamelin, whose tell and devotion are completely seconded by that of all th 4 officers commanded by Lieut. serving under liii orders, and by the ardour of the crews which they command. c clichrtiselitoutadieriz,tuiten,dcothaeoLpiyerianiineeco, order ---those who sincerely desire peace, of which the deliver ncerr. The friends or ance of King Ferdinand will be the pledge—may regard it as certain, that the , Revolutionists are as strictly blockaded in Cadiz by sea as by land, and that the epoch of the subniission of that place wily. not be di.slant. [From the Constilutionnel.] . circumspect in re . m the Mini-. i inaPrkAißitigsoi njALeYco2n7tratit-eioanrsewehNiceehetolitnte.golYall sterial Journals on the affairs in Spain, and we score+l.,' allow ourselve s to consider as !,urprizing the telegraphic c:! <; ..!ch we have given this inorning.from th:_. Moelteer, We lit i ~... ~•,,. ever, with justice' be astonished at seeing all at :. . : ~i , i ) men make a sortie front the Isle of Leon to attte:, 0.: - - , pie when . two days before Some Ministerial Jourr.: :—!:,..t1 tis, there were not more than 3,(100 men there, and wl; : . c.!. -.,4.),:e who pretend to be better', informed, only mad;: ti:e garrison: amount to 6,000 men, remarking at the same time diet we hail before the 'lace three times as many men as it c.ontsined. TheD)., , ,'.4,. Blanc of yesterday, published serious reflections on the war in Spain. If wentay believ e that Journal, "the wrecks of the C onstitut i onal forces have contrived to s helter them selves in the fortitietl places which the Revolution had provid ed for itself, and these have become so many fortresNer, which cannot be reduced but by the combined efforts of French bravery and European policy; and if the policy which directs this war continues to receive no impulse but from the Stock owbisthtinicactynewnhtaictiloinvi,,itil? ecnictiarbyinctizpi t h is tin at Paris and the heads of the Treasury, we say it irlonawiisiiirlaug untlienaarcehhiacraiactheirtco.i: rests and social security." But it is with Catelonia that the Jesuits of the Dra pea* Blanc are particularly busied, and.they give themselves up tis strategical calculations, after which they must be entitlea to Lieutentuit-liencrals' Co mmissions. On this . • point they are directly opposed to the illinisterial Journals. The campaign . • is wi th out fixed plan, and the Drapean Blanc had one which . t rand would Lot have disow 1 I-he I d had the in- ./i net : t . t!i co . nand he would have ) - i ursued lima with tour columns or ;• ti) equal force, which woeld it he - encircled ' ana l- end have and anal hilated him ; " het " the Reverends,. " This would have )1 leen too strew* f ' a I ,_ . . , t , or /idle caw:tele." Aline is no longer a Man inn ; he is now th'e St 'foetus of Catalonia ? who by bold marches ;I i , and count , ill cr.rnarches has bailed partial anti unconnected operations, [Prom tlic rourier rranQais•J: The Tribunal of Abdtird i . l lo senttnced 31. Zichel to time* nths immisonnient Cr hiving distributed the letter of the Peptities of the Upper Rhine to its Constituents. 4 k.