Star.
London, England, 1830-02-06 00:00:00

MR. OWEN.

TO THE ARISTOCRACY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

My LORDS AND GENTLED( xx—Circumstances of
former times, existing without your knowledge, have
placed you, in the present day, in a situation in society,
most injurious to yourselves and to the population of the
empire.
In consequence of your artificial condition from birth,
you acquire feelings and sentiments which force you to
become most irrational; and to believe, that the world
was formed solely to administer to your gratification.
Habits of luxury and of self-importance, destructive of
your health and real enjoyment, are thus formed :
and these involve a most useless and unreasonable waste
cf human labour; and absorb the means by which, if
sightly directed, the general happiness of the commu-
nity might be permanently secured.
In consequence of this combination of unnatural and
vicious circumstances, you are encouraged to think, that
the mass of the people exists only, that you may em-
ploy them to promote your own views, and to provide for
your real, or for your still more numerous imaginary
wants.

By these means, an artificial state of society has been
created, which gives you an apparent interest, in direct
opposition to that of the remainder of the British popu-
lation, of which you form but a very small portion. I
say an apparent interest; for such it is not in reality;
there is but one true interest among the whole human
race ; which is, that every individual shall possess the
means of obtaining the beet of every thing for his nature,
be trained to know that these things are, and to enjoy
them rationally.
Your class is a formidable obstacle to the attainment of
these objects ; and it is now requisite, that this obstacle
should be removed : but, you have rights of happiness,
which require attention, as much as those of any other
portion of the community.
Your habits of thinking and of acting have been
formed for you ; and your happiness depends, upon
being free to retain these habits or not, according to your
; leasure ; but arrangements may be made, by which,
without inconvenience or disadvantage to either party,
your interest and happiness, as well as that of the public,
would be permanently secured.
It is possible for you to retain such habits, as custom
may have rendered necessary to your enjoyment of life,
and yet, essentially to aid in the promotion of a change,
in which the happiness of your own posterity, and of all
your fellow-beings, is equally involved.
You have hitherto made the laws, and generally con-
trolled the Government of the British Empire. You have
formed the one, and directed the other, to give and to se-
_

cure peculiar privileges to your order, in opposition to the
superior interests of at least nine-tenths of the whole

population.
Experience has fully proved what effects these privi-
-I.,ges have produced, upon the members of your order, and
upon the public ; and it must now be evident to your-
selves, that, under those privileges, you cannotpossess,
individually or collectively, one in a hundred of the
superior advantages which another state of society will
afford you.
Modern discoveries in physical science, aid of the
real nature of man, have produced a new era in the his-
tory of our race. The discoveries in physical science
may now be made to aid in the creation of more wealth
than the population of the world will desire to consume ;
and the discoveries which have been made of the laws of
human nature have developed the means by which, with-
out awarding particular privileges to any class, the per-'
manent happiness of all may be effectually secured.
The discoveries in physical science have already placed
at the disposal of the British Government a power for the
production of wealth greater than could be created with-
out them, by three times the present number of the pro-
ducing classes throughout the world ; and this power,
enormous as it may appear, is but in its infancy—it is
advancing in a continually increasing ratio, and to its fur-
ther progress there can be no assignable limit.
Wealth and power, therefore, the chief objects of
desire to your order, will, with the exception of a domi-
nion over your fellow beings, which hereafter will belong
to no party whatever, be fully secured to you as indivi-
duals, under the changes about to arise in society.
The knowledge that has been acquired of the laws of
human nature, not only developes the cause of all the evil
that has ever existed in the world, and the means of re-
moving the- cause of that evil ; but it discovers a new
mode for the government of the human race, which will
render contest and competition unnecessary, and will
effectually destroy in man all desire to domineer over his
fellows. For he will clearly perceive that the path of
happiness is to be found in another, and a very different
course ; and the real object of all being to secure hap-
pine.., that course alone will be invariably followed.
Were it possible for you to mistake your interest so
far as to attempt to oppose this change, you would dis-
cover that no efforts of yours can arrest its progress ; but
you may, on the other hand, essentially promote it, by
employing some of your surplus funds, for which you
would obtain an advantageous return, to assist in the crea-
tion of a new arrangement of ci 'as, in confor•
the lay. of - nature, of which

mity to - Iwo our . ~ by means . a
superior character, and an independence, would be insured
to all who shall hereafter be born.
You are even,under the existing notions of society, too
enlightened not to perceive that the old system of the world
is worn out ; that it is now prodacing, among the labour-
iug class, the miseries arising from poverty or the fear of
poverty ; among the middle classes, the miseries arising
from competition and contest; and, among the upper
classes, as well as among the two former, the miseries
arising from universal hypocrisy, the practice of which
the very nature of the system necessarily engenders.
I therefore recommend to your most serious attention,
the study of the principles on which it is proposed to effect
a change in the moral, political, and commercial policy
of the British empire, and to create a new arrangement
of circumstances, in accordance with the new moral and
scientific knowledge which every where pervades the
population of the British dominions ; in order that Great
Britain may now take the lead in saving the world from
the most overwhelming evils, moral and physical, with
which it has ever yet been threatened.
That you may assist in effecting this change, in pro-
portion to the influence which you possess in the empire,
is the earnest desire of
Your faithful servant,
ItOIIIIRT OWEN.
e., belted-eqsare. Fibruart!, 1.30.
Doran, Pan. 2.—Another immense fill of snow took
place last night, which rendered many of the roads again
=bin, and all communication, even on horseback,
!hie town and Deal has been entirely cut off, the
reed being completely blocked up with snow* which is
OW be some places as high as mountains. The ,mail
lea Undon, and the right COSOille, did not reach here
igiMbelitit two hours after the usual Bins. Seamen sky,
t y never experienced the cold so severely at sea as
Airing the last 24 hours.