The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-08-16 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE.

PRESENTATION OF THE INFIDEL OWEN, THE
FOUNDER OF " SOCIALISM" TO THE QUEEN.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD MELBOURNE.
MY LORD,—The man who promotes his country's honour
and prosperity by wise and virtuous actions justly claims his
country's praise. But it sometimes happens, that the com-
plexion of the times is such as to reflect additional lustre
on conduct that under ordinary circumstances would be
supremely excellent. So also, with the ignorant and vicious—
their actions. though always despicable, may, by peculiarity
of time and circumstance, be rendered doubly odious. Need
I remark, that your lordship's conduct, referred to above, is
a case in point. You are the first minister of the crown, my
lord, and you have presented ROBERT OWEN to Me Queen !
Invective is silence. No amount of reproach would repay
the insult you have thereby offered to this nation : and, as
your conscience must have long since ceased to trouble you
with its desregarded admonitions, there is a probability that
your dogged indifference to the scorn, and contempt in which
you are held by the virtuous of every sect and party, will in-
sure you a continuance of that pitiable contentedness in the
lap of female indolence which your weak effeminate mind
lone has sought after ; and you may now retire from public

life with the gull assurance that no other enormity can pos-
sibly increase the disgust and indignation with which your
name will be handed down to posterity.
To do you justice in this matter, there must be a minute
relation. Language cannot supply terms sufficiently oppro-
brious for a mere general description. Your own character,
and that of your new acquaintance—the extreme wickedness
of the principles be advocates—the critical period at which
you have thought fit to recommend him to the protection
and approval of his sovereign, are all subjects of distinct,
and interesting investigation, that serve greatly to increase
the difficulty of fully exposing the baseness of your conduct
through so confined a medium as the columns of a news-
paper. But lam somewhat relieved by the reflection, that
you will, at least, give me credit for the fullness of my
intentions.

I shall not dwell upon your lordship's character for two
reasons, 1. Because it is already so well known, and 2, be-
cause it would require, and really deserves a separate com-
ment. I say deserves; for, as you must be aware, it is
equally beneficial to public morals to hold up vice to re-
proach, as to exhibit virtue for respect and imitation. Let
us then begin with your friend; Robert Owen. And who is
Robert Owen? A wild enthusiast, born in Wales, in the
year 1771. He was formerly engaged in the cotton-spinning
business, at Manchester, and subsequently joined in the pur-
chase of the mills at New Lanark, of which he was made the
superintendent. To the inhabitants of New Lanark, em-
ployed in these mills, he first proposed his " New Views,"
calling upon them to reject the Bible, and give up all religion.
This, to their credit, they immediately rejected, nor ever
after could be induced to change their determination to
worship the God who made them, and to trust in the Saviour
who redeemed them. In 1817, Robert Owen made his ap-
pearance in London, and by a mixture of cunning and decep-
tion, managed to be well spoken of by the newspaper press.
He delivered two lectures to very crowded audiences, scru-
pulously avoiding all mention of his disbelief in Revelation,
and omitting entirely his disgusting notions of what he terms
" marriage." He also agreed to purchase a very great num-
ber of newspapers, in which these lectures should be reported.
By these means, lie attracted much attention in London, and
by purchasing 20,000 papers, in which be was very favour-
ably referred to, and sending them to various parts of the
world, Ise all at once became universally popular. Having
thus artfully obtained a good name, he began to unfold his
real sentiments, and to attack morality and religion, when he
was immediately deserted. These facts will explain the
cause of his boasted popularity in other countries, and how
it happened that he was at first so well received by foreigners
of distinction. It was the ENGLISH newspapers alone that
gave him a temporary importance abroad.
In 1825, be made a grand experiment of his principles at
New Harmony, in America, which, of course, terminated in
a complete failure, and in establishing those sinks of fraud
and infamy, which he miscalls " Social Institutions," and
" Equitable labour Exchange Bazaars ;" and in connection
with which, in the words of the Infidel Carlile, " have been
exhibited theloulest cases of fraud and prostitution." Such,
my lord, is the man with whom you have recently leagued
yourself, and introduced to your sovereign. The rejected
acquaintance of Richard Carlile, the companion of the Prime
Minister of England.
Let us now turn to the principles of your new acquaint-
ance. The system advocated by Robert Owen, as your
lordship is aware, is based on the assumption that " Man is
the mere creature of circumstances, over which he has no
controul," and that, consequently, as there is no free will,
" there should be no responsibility. Whence he concludes,
that " In those characters which now exhibit crime, the
fault is obviously not in the individual." (Owen's Esssay's
on Human Character, p. 23.) How consistent in a Prime
Minister to advocate a system like this ! Having excluded
all moral liberty from his system, and reduced man to a mere
" living machine," (Essays, p. 28.) he kindly points out the
error on which society has hitherto been based. From the
earliest ages it has been the practice of the world to act on
the supposition that each man forms his own character,
and that, therefore, he is accountable for all his sentiments
and habits, and, consequenly, merits reward for some,
and punishment for others. Every system which has
been established among men, has been founded on these
erroneous principles." (Essays, page 35.) These errors
being exploded, " the next step," he declares, "is to with-
draw those NATIONAL Laws which chiefly emanate from
that erroneous doctrine, and now exist in jidl vigour, TR AIN-
ING THE POPULATION TO ALMOST EVERY KIND OF CRIME."
(Essays, p. 25.) These are the sentiments of Robert Owen,
and Robert Owen, your lordship, has presented to the
Queen !!! "In the existing state of society," says Mr.
Owen, " there are only two classes, FOOLS and KNAVES."—
(Book of New Moral World, p. 71.) In which of these
classes your friend has ranked your lordship, you have not
yet informed us. Probably you fluctuate so evenly between
the two, that he is unable to decide. We will next enquire
into the practice of the system. Here it will be found that
on many points your lordship is quite at home. " Each indi-
vidual is to have the full liberty of expressing his thoughts
upon all subjects."—(Marriage System, p. 93.) How ex-
tremely agreeable. There is to be " a perfect COMMUNITY
or PROPERTY, and no responsibility."—(" Mental Inde-
pendence," and all his works.) How very convenient ! !
There is to be " no praise or blame, no merit or demerit, no
reward or punishment for any faith or any conduct what-
ever." " There is to be no marriage of the priest, or giving
in marriage."—(Marriage System, p. 63.) But, each indi-
vidual is to have the power of associating at pleasure with
those for whom he feels the most regard and the greatest
affection."—(Marriage System, p. 93.) The secret is out,
my lord ; no one at all acquainted with your lordship's pre-
vious course of life will, after this, need ask the question,
" Wherefore did Lord Melbourne turn Socialist ?" Exces-
sive love for the ladies, and strong objection to the annoy-
ance of moral obligations • and legal restraints are circum-
stances that would, in like manner, influence individuals of
far less fame in these matters than your lordship. Besides,
Mr. Owen, with a cleverness that shows him to be a perfect
master of his subject, has provided against the unpleasant-
ness of having to take charge of the numerous progeny that
under his system would be ushered into the world ; and in
order to allow unrestrained indulgence in the gratification of
the passions, declares, that in his " social communities," as
lie calls these piggeries, " the irrational sounds of husband
and wife, parent and child, would not be heard."—(Owen's
" Mental Independence.") All the children in his collection
are to be taken care of by public nurses, in order that they
may, without exception, be fashioned into perfect specimens.
What delicate, what refined sensibilities your lordship must
have to become the patron of such a system, and to present
its founder to a VIRGIN Queen ! Sufficient has been quoted
to give a faint idea of the MORALITY of Owen's System,—
What is his Religion ?—Splendid. It is a religion fit for the
Pope. "In the New Moral World, there will be no public
worship !—no forms and ceremonies ! !—no temples ! ! !—no
public prayers !!!!—no gloom i ,111—no mortification of the
flesh or spirit "11 I 11—(" Marriage System, Religion," p. 95,)
" for it is impossible that any individual can become rational
until all such worship shall cease."—" Social Bible, p. 13.)
How far this coincides with your lordship's sentiments can-
not easily be determined; for, who ever heard talk of Lord
Melbourne's religion? His morality is notorious. Since
the externals of religion are so obnoxious to Owen's system,
what is to become of revelation. Revelation ! why, it's all
a lie. For, "it is deserving of everlasting remembrance,"
says Robert Owen, " that what the nations of the earth have
been taught by their priests to believe to be divine truths,
have been diabolical falsehoods invented by the priests.
Therefore, in future, for divine truths, read priestly false-
hoods, and gross and injurious deceptions. It has been in
this manner that the priests have contrived to call their
marriages, which they have devised, a divine ordinance."—
(Marriage System, p. 62.) Hence, "The religions founded
under the name of Jewish, Jehovah, God, or Christ, are all
composed of human laws, &c. And, as all religions and
codes of laws are founded on the error, that there is merit or
demerit in belief and in feeIings—RELIGIONS and Laws
must have originated in some error of the in'aginalion."—
(Book of New Moral World, p. 68.) From this to open
Atheism is an easy gradation. Accordingly we are told, that
it is "an error as to free will, that has led man to create a
personal Deity, author of all good, and a personal Devil,
author of all evil, to invent all the forms of worship, &c.
And yet, there is not one single fact known to man to prove
that any such personalities exist or ever did exist, and in
consequence, all the mythology of the ancients, and all the
religions of the moderns, are mere fanciful notions of men."
" And every attempt to force a belief on mankind on this
subject, can lead only to error, confusion, and crime.—(Book
of the New Moral World, p.,46.) These, my lord, are the
sentiments of Robert Owen, and Robert Owen, your lord-
ship, has presented to the Queen !!! One other quotation,
and I will cease to disgust by repeating such gross abomina-
tions. " Marriage is the sole cause of all prostitution. It
is a Satanic device of the priesthood to place and keep man-
kind within their slavish superstitions. " There is, there-
fore, no hope whatever for you until you acquire sufficient
strength of mind to overcome this evil, and openly denounce
it both in principle and practice." " Until you put away
from among you and your children this accursed thing,
(Owen's own italics) you will never know what real happi-
ness is.—(Marriage System, p. 78.) Yet Robert Owen has
been presented to our Virgin Queen ! 1 !
My Lord, I have done. Folly and wickedness so palpable
require no comment, and future ministers, wanting an apo-
logy for the viciousness of their sentiments, and a pretext
for the base betrayal of their trust, will need only to recal
the fact, that at a time when this country was in a state of
internal siege, from the lawless proceedings of a band of
misguided men, encouraged by the political licentiousness of
the times, and made the tools of a few designing knaves
seeking power at the expense of others' peace and safety—
when Popery on the one hand, and Socinian philosophy on
the other, threatened to destroy our Holy Sion, by polluting
the fountains whence our youth imbibe those Sacred Truths
that constitute her life and strength—when open infidelity
stalked forth at noon-day, and the dispensing of blasphemies
was become a separate vocation—when RELIGION ! LAWS !!
and MARRIAGE !!! were openly denounced, and unqualified
sensualism defended as a natural prerogative,—then it was
that the founder of these obscenities was presented by the
Prime Minister of England to a VIRGIN QUEEN ! Were it
possible to collect all the terms of reproach our language af-
fords, and to produce, by concentration, a single expression
of censure equal to the whole, that would not have half the
force of the simple statement, that you have PRESENTED
ROBERT OWEN TO THE QUEEN; and the severest libel es.
published against a first minister of the Crown, is the praise
bestowed on your Lordship in the periodical advocating
" Socialism." PHILOPATRIAS.

THE DOCK COMMITTEE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.
Sia, through the medium of your valuable journal,
,—I beg
to make a few remarks on the recent report of the Dock Com-
mittee, so far as relates to their observations on the Mer-
chant's Memorial.
The sub-committee of the dock committee commence their
report by regretting that the memorial was not accompanied
by any of the parties who signed it. This commencement
artfully insinuates that the merchants might have changed
their opinions if so examined,'aud is also intended to rid the
dock committee of the obloquy attaching to them for their
dictatorial proviso conveyed in the dock secretary's letter of
28th of May.
The dock committee are not entitled to assume that the
merchants declined to substantiate their complaints, as the
memorial to the dock committee states—" But if there be any
branch of the subject upon which you may think proper to re-
quire further information or suggestions, we shall be willing
again to communicate with you, either personally or in writ-
ing. as you may prefer."
The sub-committee summarily dispatch all the merchants'
suggestions by saying that most of them have at various times
had the attention of the dock committee.