The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-10-11 00:00:00

MR. WALTER, M.P., os REWARDS TO AGRI-
CULTURAL LABOURERS MID BENEFIT
SOCIETIES.

At an agricultural dinner of the Royal FAA Berks
AOSOCiIIaSOII, on Tuesday last, Mr. Walter said—With
regard to cottages slid gardens, they seemed to him to
be very legitimate objects of public reward. These
were all matters which came under the observation of
the public, and they all more or less felt themselves
capable of giving judgment upon them, although he
confessed that in doing the best he could to learn the
merits of the different ploughmen he WAS exceedingly
puzzled to know to whom to award the prizes. (that, if
it be difficult to judge of superior nierit in such cases as
these, which were objects patent to all, how such more
ditticult, nay, impracticable must it be, to judge of the
exact skill or merit in such cases as did nut involve any
overt acts of husbandry, and where such skill could not
be seen by the eye! Such points as length of service,
in case of good character, seemed to him to be beyond
the power of any public body to decide upon. (" Nu,
no.") Very well, then, they had a little difference of
opinion. (Hear, and laughter.) He said so for this
reason—the association professed to judge, not from RA
own knowledge, but from testimonials of this or that
person, being the molter or employer of the person to
be rewarded. He, for one, and everybody who knew
anything of human nature, knew that the testimonials
depended very much upon the character of the master.
He attached more importance to his own eyes than he
did to testimonials of character, for they knew that the
character of the employer might affect it, and it might
be often the fault of the master if the servant did not
get the character which he deserved. (No, no.) He spoke
from his own observation, and he asserted that to lie the
fact. (" No, no," and" Yes, yes.") He had alwaysen-
tertained the opinion that these particular objects were
beyond the province of societies. The right person to
encourage a servant, if he were an object worthy of re-
ward, was not any society, nor any self-constituted com-
mittee, but the master. (Hear.) It was sometimes as-
serted, and his kind-hearted and hospitable friend the
President had himself stated that there was • sort of an-
alogy between the mode of operation of these PAWOCill-
tions and the Queen and the British army. He
however, beg leave to question the correctness of this
analogy. This association was not the Queen, nor were
the labourers the British army. Soldiers were constitu-
tionally the servants of the Queen, and the Queen, as
the head of the State, rewarded them ; but the labourers
were private servants, and the reward for good moral
character and conduct was a matter that rested entirely
with the master. He saw no reason, and would chal-
lenge the meeting to give him one, why the labourer of a
farmer should be considered the servant of the public any
more than the butler, cook, or coachman of any gentle-
111 1111, and be considered as a fit object for public rowan!.
(Bear, hear.) Be would set before them another reason
worthy of consideration, eat that he wished dogmatically
W force h
ineiiiber, he thought otltiiounghnt uhPe°:-:rigihhetm,
frankly butbeteißgstatethehirisemariewsti
uion any question of great social importance. It bad
been very much the hellion of late years among a cer-
tain class of writers to speak about the relation of capi-
tal and labour, and they had found it gave rise to many
unpleasant and dangerous complications in many ways.
They saw • moat formidable struggle now in London of
labourers in various classes against their employers.
He thought that such organisations tended to en-
courage the idea that the labourer was not the
servant of the master, but • sort of &behest
quantity, and people began to feel that men
were not bound to their marten by any tie of duty,
respect, or obligation, but were as public servants, one
man's to-day and another man's to-morrow, and might
come to look to the people to maictain them, instead
of looking to their seastem for rewards. (Hear, hear.)
His opinion was that such a state of things was must
dangerous to encourage, and that it would lead to con-
sequences which they could not but deplore. It must
lead to the humiliation of the self-respect of one elan
or the other. In either care the result must be injurious.
He hoped it would not be considered that he was want-
ing in endeavours to encourage the labourers. He be-
lieved that the true way to encourage the labourer was
by improving his dwelling-place, by giving him a better
cottage (cheers), by encouraging garden cultivation, by
finding him proper schools; and he would mention ano-
ther institution which might be made extremely useful to
' his encouragement—that was, by giving proper direction
and tone to that common and much abused institution
called the Benefit Society. (Cheers.) Frew the report
just published by the Registrar-General it would be
found that the great majority of these iuditutions were
no better than drinking clubs. (Disapprobation.) Be
spoke from a knowledge of the subject and on iuvestige-
bon into the matter. He would say that, us general I
rule, the majority of those clubs were no better than I
drinking clubs. (" No," and counter cries of "Yes.") I
He would give them SOLUe figures. Out of 27,000
societies of this kind registered since the constitution of
them, nearly 7,000 had become bankrupt, lie warn not
decrying benefit societies. He bad set one foot in his
own parish, but on the express condition that it should
not be A drinking society. U they only considered for
one moment the cost and expense which were entailed
upon the labourers by the foolish and improvident
manner in which these societies were conducted, they
would find that the labourers spent m a moat wider
manner ten times as much as was given to them by any
agricultural association. (Disapprobation and cheers.)
He would not trouble them further, but would in con-
clusion say, that though in all points he could not
agree with these associations, yet as • means of promo-
- and bringing people together he
concurred in them. (Cheers.)