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

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 the
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-