Star.
London, England, 1817-08-12 00:00:00

• ,
t*, I
*-o,e4' • •
1N..4
11 P,

TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1817.

APUBLIC MEETING will be held at Cm CITY
of LONDON TAVERN, on Touters r, I itts of Augast
neit, when those interested in the Subject, will consider a Plan
to Relieve the Country from its present Distress; to Rernarallae
the Lower Orders, Reduce the Poore-Rate, and gradually
Abolish Pauperism, with all its degrading and injurious Conse-
quences. ROB. OWEN.

Mr. OWEN'S WORKS.—Third Edition.

ESSAYS on the FORMATION of the HUMAN
CHARACTER.

Third Edition.—An ADDRES:i to the !KHASI ('ANTS of
NEW LANARK, on opening the Institution for the Formation
of Character, Jan. 1, 1816.
Third EtIition.—OB'ERVATIONS on the EFFECTS of the
MANUFACTURING SYSTEM.
In the Press—REPORT to the Committee of the Association
fur the Relief of the Manufacturing and I.3houring Poor, laid be.
fore the Committee of the House of Commons on the Poor Laws.

Alto, A FARTHER DEVELOPEMENT of the PLAN con-
tained in the REPORT, with AN:4WERN to OBJECTION*;
to which lb adiitd, an Arcotint or the Effects produced upon the
Female lYlaouc r. in NE WGA E, by the Applicatina in Practice
of tht,e Prii,rit-let, carried-into Elfecation by Mrs. FRY, and
other Benevolent individuals of the iiOCIE FT or FRIENDS,

Also, now first Rrpnnted from a scarce and va'uable fract,
" PROPOSALS (or raising a COI LEGE of INDUS TRY of all
us. fu! TRADES and HUSBANDRY; with Pro& for the Rich,
Sind plentiful Living for• the POOR, add a good Education for
YOU EH; wLiel► will be of Advantage to the GOVERNMEN C,
by the Irczesse of the PEOPLE and their RICHES." Published
by JOHN BELLERS, in 169(1.
Atm, A BRIEF SKE CCU of the RELIC:OUS SOCIETY
of PEOPLE calla SHAKERS, in AMERICA; exhibiting the
PECUNIARY BENEFITS of COI43INEO LABOUR and
EXPENDITURE for Mutual Adv..ntages, during a Period of
HALF a CENTURY. Communicated to Mr. OWEN by
W. S. WA R ma. of Philadelphia, one of the Society of Friends.

Also, GROUND PLANS and LANDSCAPE DRAWINGS,
exhibiting a View of some of the intended ES I'AELISH MEN I'S,
with a detailed Account of the numerous beneficial Effects that
will arlte In Practice front the peculiar Arrangements pt opined.
Published by Longman and Co. Paterrintter-row ; Cadell and
Co. Strand; J. Ilatcbard, Piccadilly; and J. Murray, Albe-
marle-street.

• TO Mk LDI TOR OF TUE STAR.-

•
0.1/.11/=IIIWMI

_
AVOSIST
T.
Sin—Strict justice to the public renders it neces-
sary that my senoimentsand views should he folly 4nd
fairly before it, prior to the Meeting to be held at the
City of London Tavern, at Twelve o'clock on 'l'hurs.
day next, the 14th instant. Your early insertion,
therefore, 01 the lollowing, will confer a favour on,
Sir, your' obliged,
4P, Charlotte-street, Portland-place. Roan Owen.
A SKETCH of some of the Errors and Evils edging twice the
Pitt and Present State of Society, with an EXPLANATION
Of acme of the peculiar Advantage: to be derived from the
Arrangement of the Unemployel Working Classes Into
" Agricultural and Manufacturing Villages of Unity and
Mutual Co-operation,‘" limited to a Population of from Five
Hundred to One ThorusselFive Manfred Persona.
Tn enable the publio torso easily caanprebent
time subject, it is occussary to begin with first prin-
ciples. •
Tnc object of all' human exertions is to be happy,
happiness cannot be attaitted, enjoyed, and secur-
ed, unless all men possess health, real knowledge, and
wealth. •

Hitherto health and real knowledge have been tie-
glecied for the attainment of wealth, and other exclu-
sive individuil objects ; but wilicb, when acquired,
even in the greatest abundance, have been, and ever
will be, found to destroy happiness.
The world is now saturated with wealth—with
abundant means of sti') increasing it—and yet misery
abnunds I Such at this moment is the actual state
of human society. No arrangement, proceeding from
a defined intentl.a to attain an nbject of desire, could
be worse devised than Altai which is now in practice,
•throughnut all the nations tit the earth. Immense,
invaluable energies, competent with ease to procure
'every thing betiefiaial to hunanity, He waste, or are
so misdirected as to delea: the object of all their
wistsek
• The world, however, is now amply supplied with
the means to "stop the current bi human lolly ; to
call those dormant powers into action, and to give a
right straight forward detection to all the energies of
man. *

The means are wanted to give health, real know
ledge, and wealth to all men.
The means surround us, are at our instant disposal,
and exist in a supertsity of abundance; yet the great
mass of the world is in thidepth of ignorance, with-
out the comforts of life ; large proportion of them
are in want Of a sufficiency of food, subject to every
privation, and are to be found at this hour in the midst
of almost inconceivable distress and wretchedness..

Is the change then from the•one state to the other
difficult 1 Are there any, insurmountable obstacles in
the way, to prevent the accomplishment of that which
is sn desirable I -

these propensities and qualities may differ in
indivi-
duals ut birth, they may be all so directed, by subse-
quent circumstances, as to be made to form general
characters ; and these characters to be of any—
of the most opposite nature—..even to be made en
tirely irrational, or rational
The progress shall now he slightly traced. as well
as the means, by which the first has been completely
effected ; and a hasty sketch shall also be given, by
which the last may, with equal certainty, be accom-
plished.
In every known region of the earth, tip to the pre-
-1
sent hour, man has been compelled from infancy to
receive the peculiar notions of some sect, some class,
some party, and of some country. In consequence,
each individual has been surrounded by four dense at-
mospheres eferror and prejudice, and through which
he masr look at every object around him. These
Mental atmospheres vary materially in different coun-
tries ; but in all they are so dense, that, (as every
object must he observed through them) each object
becomes distorted or indistinct ; noiie ofthem, in any
co.intry, or by a single individu ii, can yet be seen in
heir just proportions, and in consequence, nature has
liitiierto been !ii.iden from man.

Throughout all past ages, a limited number of in-
dividuals, on various spots of the earth, have been
surrounded with atmospheres, the shades of which
have been more or less differently combined from all'
the other atmospheres, and each of these combina-
tions has presented to the individual, within its
guence, a particular distorti,in of ail the objects of
name peculiar to itself. W en individuals, thus dif-
termtly surrounded, happen to met and converse to-
gether, they soon discover that they do not see ob-
jects alike ; and wholly unconscious of the real cause
of .difference bet seen them, as opposition of feeling as
w,•11 as of seeing is created ; extending front a blight
degree of dislike, to anger, hatred, revenge, death,
and &so uction, in every form and shape. Hence,
frons differences of opinion on noti 'its of sect, arise
the evils slid miseries of human life, which, mere
than all the other atmospheres, of class, party, and
of country, has in every age separated man from man,
and made him a degraded and wretched being.
The several atmospheres of slat. have also created
various feelings of strong separation among men, and
have essentially tended to increase their irrationality
and their misery
The atm .spheres of party and of country have been
equally injurious ; they have, even until now, cote.
pelled man to remain a stranger to his fellows..
A combination of every conceivable degree of
ignorance, weakness, and inconststency.,has bees the
natural consequence of men's actions during such a
state of existence. •

All the past and present institutions of the world.
are a proof of the ever changing irsanity with which
41:fultlnan eul",liglclof heeshbeevt enveloped.ehangeunde the .
se eirctim -
steugts has disappointed the londrst hams. and the
qtost sanguine expectations ; and while the circurn.
1 linnets are permitted to remain, lolly alone will ex.
I pact any other result from any change whatever, but
1 their entire removal.
Happiness is not one jot nearer the grasp ea single
' individual now, than it was at the li •rtod when we
have the first records of man. Born in ignorance, he
imagined first, and he has ever since been systems
tically taught, that he l•imsell created the motives tor
his own actions : his mind has been forined on this
base ; it has been, and is now, the very foundation of
his thoughts ; it has been crontrined into all the assn.
cistiens of his ideas, and only doubt, disorder, and
contusion of inteilect could folio.
It was truly said, that before man could be wise
and happy, his mind', must be bun agate—that is,
it must be.di.charged of all the inconsistent associa•
tions whith have btrn formed within it ; the tounda-
time must be laid Anew, anti a superstructure raised
of just and usetul proportions, cqnsisient in each and
in all its parts, and such as shall please, gratily,sa.id
delight the eye of all beholders ; that shah beer
the. test of the most scientific investigationc ; th,t
through all future ages, shall satisfy each mind At; it
advances. well trained and unwed, to maturity, that
it is the abode of happ;ntss proceeding from correct
conduct, under the guidance of the best intelligence
and the soundest wisdom ?
Man is born in ignorance, and from his birth he
is surrounded with the errors of sonic sect, some class,
frequently of some party, and always of some country.
He Is consequently rendered iguorant of himself,
of his fellow creatures. and of nature.
The seeds of disunion mud separation are deeply
andlixtensivelv sown during infancy and childhood.
lie is individualized, and made, openly or covertly,
to Ivose every other human being.
is natural wishes are topes* onward towards
haopinesOut Er it strongly. end successfully opposed
by the multitudes around him, and by the ignorantly
devised institutions of society.
As he advances to youth and manhood, the soil
into which the seeds of disunion and separation have
been put, is cultivated with the greatest Care, and
every conceivable means are adopted to cherish the
,plants, ensure their . growth, and secure a plenti-
ful crop.
Such care and culture cannot fail of success ; op-
position to his natural feelings and to all his exertions
to attain happiness, brings forth in due time an abun-
dant harvest of discontent, dislike, displeasure, anger,
hatred, revenge, and.of all the evil passions ; and at
length he becomes intimately involved in all the irra-
tionaltty which must inevitably arise from such a mode
of training and culotte I
kls is comitellesl to k is:insets; and thin tieriotsrance
slaw flind greorgirsiiale kytftitstss I Were any -indivi-
dual to spe ik the truth within either di these deranging
annunpheres of the human intellect, he would be at
mace termed a fool and a madman.
Ffect- His finest *clings, his highest intellectual powers,
land hi. belt energies, must lie waste, or be so misdi-
ad as io produce evil continually.
gkk is a jest and accurate outline of man as bc-

On the contrary, extraordinary as it may seem, the
change will be most easy: No.dtificalty or obstacle
of magnitude will be hoed in the whole progress.
Tan WORLD knew: AND "irk THE EXISTING setts; IT
WILL LOON AT THE NEW ORDER Or THINGS PRI:POSED
--APPROTE--WILL THE OHANOE-...AND IT IS DONE.
Who, or what, shall now' prevent man from being
well trained, instructed, and productively employed t
Who or what shall now prevent him 110,111 being so
trained, inspected, and employed, amidst every com-
fort and enjoyment, when it shall be proved even to
demonstration, that all, witirosi a single exception, shall
be essentially benefited by the change t • •
To proceed systematically in the subject, it is ne-
cessary here to state What man is by nature ; what he
itps been made by the previous circumstances which
have suaroundeal him; and afterwards to thew what
he may be made by surrounding 'him with new car-
cumstances, all of which are stow at the.control of
scanty.
Man, then, is been with combined propensities and
differing in degree of power, and in corn.
binatt. n, s lbcient to create, through life, Weeklies
city and distinctness of person and character. • ,
Bugle:nerve, seuciville p•wer and

1• ,

,t

- ;
(w. 04,,. •
0 z , • 4fravl.)..i7tE

P..!1( - CF..

has been made—and as he is made -. under an the
past and present systems.
Were I nu* to desceed to particulars; to give a
faithful representation in detail of the errors, incors-
sistencies, and of the miseiies which arise from the
existing arrangements of society throughout ail its
plus ; the putilic mind would be too suddenly en.
rghtened for its own happiness; ignorant and no-
trained as it yet is, it would not retain the reqiiisite
patience to all e: the cl:ange to be :rare, effected ;
.•
to proceed only as speedily as practical measures will
adinit ; it would ton eagerly press forward to seize
the good which in doe tia'e shall be-certainly pi teed
within its grasp, and by sech overleste it world in.
jtcre aril destroy many in its crmrse. In effecting this
change—and win,re is Is • existing mind that can now
comprehend its magnitude ?--it is my most ardent
wish, my anxious desire, that the lest pressis•le ;rrf.
ration should he created ; that it should be accost:-
pi:shed withorwany real injury to a human being 1....
Those who possess comprehension of mind, .ind some
prartic it knowledge of the exisiing state of society,
will understand the purport of this language. and
w iil of course act accordingly.
Yes, my friends, full of toliy, intinnsistency, and
wretchedness, as al! the existing systems are, Mrs retro
net 4 Lathed Ly 44s:formed and rude hand:. A single
premature sir ill-advised step, were it now to be take",
might retard our . best founded hopes, and deprive
some getter scions yet to come of that happiness whi:h
othetwise we and our children shall surely enjoy in
no incoranderebie degree.
Allay, therefore, your present irritations do trot
urge forward any ill digested. or rather sindiges:ed
plans of premature Ttlor al ; yet attend with all your
p over: of tarnesiness to the pr ceediess "• i..ii are
about to cninm. ere, and in the shot test possible .inn,
for your ov:n eruid and for the benefit of post rity,
you shall be i Moved from the existing miser ii 8, you
shall he put in possession of all the comfort and en-
joyment that can be advantageous to human beings.
To eeennipl;sh, however, this great end, without
injury to any one, i: is absolutely necessary that all
the existing institution; should be supported for a
time AS C ey are, to enable them to protect, And be-
neficially direct and cuntroul, the mielny change
which is coming rapidly von us and upon all ra-
tions ; from which it is ••tterly impossible for us .cs -
escape ; and from which, when it shall be prfer:),
understood, not one of us shall desire to escape s on
the c•astrary, one and s'll of uc wad hail it as the bar-
bitigh of whatever is rood for individual man, and
advantageous for him it. his social rapacity.
When ti slit princi,ues are acted upon, it it, and
seer will be, unnecessary to deceive the public; the
lluth may be told for or against any national impre.-
.i,.ns with advantage to every just cause ; and this
course 513.41 be nowadopsed.
"'Vire. eteseegoveintrg Powers of F.nrope and Ames
rice. with a kw unimportant esceptions, are not in
reality opposed to the practical improvement of co.
ciery ; they wish its advance, and, when they shall
isely understand how it Can be effected, they v. ill net
withhold their Active assistance.
The Ministers of Oat county—and I know them
well—.do n,,t possess sufficient energies and practical
knowledge to lead the public mind as it iinw ought
to be kel ; and their pilitical opponents possess still
less useful. ',tactical, knowledge. State:nun in all
roriat, i s hove yet to /tarot the min.-J.:des of the scans? Mai
atoPI enable th-az t,
.covern `rates so as to *ale tkontelva
and At iiroitir happy.
But um Mulls ers possess kind and amiable dispo.
anions, and a real davre to ameliorate the condition
of alt ranks. I have tor five years put their pa.
tience, their tempers, and their inclinations, to a test
winch cannot dvveflV file;
and although it is correctly
true that they do not possess the requ:sities to lead
the national mind into new and untried, but abso-
lutely necessary. imOroirement—for, this they leave
;to others; yei. it ;is My rlief that many of them ar,s
I sincerely willing and desirous to go with and ACC )tn-
Iparry the public in that course whenever the ptrlic
;hail be duly pi. pared and 'provided for the journey.
-They are now as conscious as any other class in so•
ciety, that the way in which they find themselves
fast advancing. is the AO roqd to confession and iniisr.y.
And here. as I am AUXiOtis that not wie of my bsir-
lives should be misutiderstoo.:, it is necesary to say,
that when in e preceding publication I stated that it
would be more just for the Secretary of Slate for the
Home Department to be dooble.ironed and in 11.. w.
fratiLey: rather than the prior boy of 16 years of age, who
his birth had been negleted by society; although
this statement was then as it is nor:, the genuine ez-
ssion of my feelings and judgment, yet it was TIC
: any degree intended to Wound the feelings of rr
E.ir
d filslasouth.

Some part of the public, it seems, has supposed
Mherwene, althi..ogh his Loids:iip could not mistal
my meaning. I have received numberless masks
kindness and attention fro:n him— I have at this nao-
Mont a lively impression of the. urbanity of his man.
nets—and it is but justice to him to say, that
readily gave his assntatice to Mrs. Fry, to enable
her to proceed with her good work among the feasak
prisoners in Newgate. Still, however, the Secretary
of State for the Home Department is pursuing, and
for some time to come I tear must pursue, a course
which creates in its coriseqttenees more cruelty and
injustice than may be herons to him and many
others—and, therefore, notwithstAnding I feel a re:
regard for the individual, I must c.ppme, with ail
my powers, the errors of the system under which be
Acts—and I hope the time is not far distant, when hs
Also will lead his utmost Ministerial ,Aid to introduce
a better.

Of the existing systems I trust it es unnecessary kr
rne now to -say more, thin that I consider mem
wretched indeed ! but, bad as they are, they must
be protecteJ until a b:•tter shAtlte actually in practical.

We will now •iew man under the new einem-
stances in which he is ati:,•ot to be plAced.
the ngw, 315 Un4ej Z.'"Z old, he w•iil be born in

dandin;J:w.
ears of ale, who
yet it was not
kelwgs of my
, has rtiPPore„d
tid not nsista‘z.
erless masks of
ire at this roo-
ky of his 11142.
o say, that ke
Fry, to amble
ong the female
• the Secretary
pursuing, and
lirSue, a course
iv cruelty and
'an and many
ig I feel a real
Tvbet, with all
'rider which be
astir, when ht
,d to introduce
nnecetrarl: for
viisider wens
ire, they must
fly in prarticu'
Dew tirellol.
d.
yid be born in