The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-01-04 00:00:00

TILE CO-OPERATIVE

In a pamphlet lately published, entitled " Owenirrn
rendered consistent nith our Cid' and Religious System," •
we have an account of the social arrangements which are to
lay the foundation of this new Millenium. A time may
possibly arrive when these holy allies shall be so purified
from all earthly desires as neither to marry nor be given in
marriage; but as the process of purification is naturally
slow, these Sons and Daughters of harmony must go on for
the present, on the old jog-trot system of population.
Accordingly we are informed, that " when all the ar-
rangements shall be complete, the Society will give notice,
by advertisements, that it is ready to receive 500 girls,
from 16 to CIO years of age, virtuous and beautiful, and
not under forefeet one inch in height. These will imme-
diately commence a course of education, under the di-
rection "of Mr. Hamilton, the females of his family, and
assistants;' at the end of which their marriages will take
place, after the following manner :
" All the partners will assemble in the great hall, serving for
church. the ladies on one side, yeast', and in uniform dresses; the
men also In the costume of the Hamiltonian Society on the other;
and after sermon and prayer. to invoke the blessing of the Al-
mighty, and to entreat Him to arrange the marriages of .these
people for their mutual happiness and their several good, the
head partner, and the minister, assisted by the foremen of all the
committees, will put the written names of the men in one box, and
the written names of the girls in another. Then withdrawing
to some distance from etch other, the head partner (by the way,
we hear too much of this head partner), after mixing up the names
of the men, will draw one out and proclaim it aloud. The
minister immediately draws out the name of a girl from his box,
when the persons so called come forward, and receiving their
tickets or written names, immediately walk out of the church
into the square or lawn appointed for that purpose. If content with
the decision of heaven, fur such is it conceived loft so drown indo.
bilably are, they return, and seat themselves together in a certain
part of the church, appointed for that purpose. If not contented
with their lots, they throw their tickets back into the boxes
whence they were severally drawn; and returning each to his and
her former places among the candidates, their lots will be drawn
over again, with the same ceremony, until all be content. Should
the whole terminate, and yet one or more of the gentlemen not have
found a mate, he or they return to the town establishment, and the
supernumerary girls remain in the country, until the renewal of ,
this ceremony, to be appointed by the Society."
Dr. Johnson, according to his good-humoured biographer
Boswr.r.i., gave it as his opinion that marriages would be
quite an happy as they are, if they were all made by the
Lord Chat,cellor ; and with due reverence for these enthu-
siasts of New Harmony, we should be disposed to prefer
the decision of the Chancellor to their mode of drawing love.
lots, even with that privilege of redrawing, should we be
dissatisfied with the prize, and disposed to throw it again
into the wheel. It has ong since been agreed by philo-
sophers, that happiness and misery cons'st chiefly in the
imagination, and certainly whether the dose be of lore, law,
or physic., if it does but exhilarate, the rest is matter of very
little concern. If the Co-or KRA TM:3 were not so nearly
allied to the purity and perfection of angels, we should con-
sider their tracing the determination of their marriage-
chances to the decision of heaven as a shameless profan-
ation ; but in an assembly of fanatics there is always much
to be pardoned ; and it IP, besides, very difficult to tell
which is most to blame—the Knaves that make such an as-
' section, or the Fools that believe it.
• Vide Co-operative Magazine, No. I.