New-York tribune., 1867-01-07

rising and taking shape among the men, that they
mean to work as hard as they please in future, IN
spite of Unions and fhe Devil But if the masters
suppose that they will find these new con'-
bipatious one whit more easy to manage on
the old pan and to drive along the ola roaus
than the old-fashioned Unions, take II they VIII
not be long in finding out their mistake NO. OH,
denend upon IT, there is nothing for us III England
now, but a fall from our high place frank accept
ance of anew and better order Of things, and an ad-
mission of the great body of the people into partner
ship with us, politically, industriay, socially You
win call this the march of democracy, and am not
going to argue or quarrel over the name to which,
have not the sghtestobection But be it democracy,
or be it socialism, any other dreaded name, which
towards and comfortable folk choose TO call it, there
is the alternative The crisis is upon MS, knocking
loudly at our DOORS peremptory in demandingwmch
road we mean to take. This in short on looking back
through the year to gather up what lessons one can
from (which sat down to do last night IN inc
performance of my duty your cleaner III these ola
world fields-was the one fact which came out clear
and awful dwarfing all other matters until one had
scarcely patience to notice them at ALL What Is the
laying of the Atlantic Cable or the accession OF the
Tories to power, the rituastic movement, OF the
money panic, or the reform movement as IL mas
hitherto shaped itself TO this death grappe between
labor and capital which is threatening every people
in the world. more or less but which has actually
been upon us, in England, this Summer and Au-
tumn of 1861 Out of the throes and dust of the
conflict the voice which is calmer thar silence Is ask
ING us "are you EngliSlnmen enough 10 plant the
banner of Christ on the last stronghold of the devil
the stronghold of trade and commerce. Can you
make Justice and fellow work, and self sacrifice the
laws by which the production and consumption OF
the good things which have provided for my child
rem are in future to be govenedP AT the times OF
our ignorance God has winked bearing patiently all
this talk of enlightened sefnterest and laws of sup
ply and demand and the poor never ceasing from the
land and the thousand other distortions OF His truth
which MammOn has been sowing in our lntellects
and whispering in our ears. But now tins Is past,
and our trial. our day of the Lord, is upon u.s. Can
we meet it, or must the scepter pass from usi
hope your readers viii not think profane oT mad
speak the words of sober conviction conviction
which has been coming on me during 20 years of
earnest watching and working here. You, with your
unlimited field for all kinds of labor, and elbow room
of ali kinds material and social and spiritual, can
scarcely by any effort of mind or will place your-
selves in our position. These same questions and
problems meet ycu no doubt, and yon have TO fight
the same battle but your death struggle of our time
has been ON another field. But think for mnent oi
the stress which would be upon you If You had no for
ess no Western virgin lands and fthe whole of your
neople were suddenly compressed within the area Of
a couple of States That is the neaTestapproach you
can make TO our English standpoint and then the
thousand withes which bind the limbs of an old
country have be taken into the account An estab-
lshed Church. an old and powerful aIisocracy, the
venerable institutions and traditions which have
.rrovn through 1000 years and hedge us in, In our
law counts our municipal institutions, our univers-
t. .;.la, b,xs AT
in many ways for upholding national life such a.
we English have made il, and shall keep it, IN pros
peIitv and adversty through evil report and good
report No true Englishman would be without them,
he sure of that however 'stoutly be may strive Tor
reforming their abuses. but they add enormously to
the difficulties of snch struggle as that in which
this Christmas and New-Year of 1867 finds us, and
Which will not depart from now till We have
fought il fairly through. And so, TO come TO pfac
ical conclusion, look upon the establishment and
development Of partnerships of industry among us
rs the fact of the past year. l have noticed them
more than once I1hnk, in this correspondence but
your readers must bear with me for recurring 70 them
again aud again They get the mere surface news OF
this Old World from many other sources and don't
hold myself bound to furnish them with current facts
md gossip unless something Of real interest hangs to
them. What correspondent has 70 do, according to
Is
the life of his own country, with view to make the
deep under currents the real vital movements visi
bic and comprehensive to bis readers. And follow
ing this method come TO the above result and con-
clusion The first pioneers among these industrial
partnerships have all stood the test of the change in
the principles and system which their trade Is
conducted with astonishing success. Crossley Co.
have combined their whole business OF carpet and
wooden manufactures, collieries &c, into one i'm
mense concern, in which every workman may, be a
shareholder and there is no more successful finn at
this moment in England. Briggs q Co. have gone even
further in their collieries, and give share in profits
in proportion to wages earned, even TO those work
people who are not shareholders; and the same may
be said of GTeening a. CO. of Manchester and several
other old firms. A dozen new partnerships are OH
the eve of starting and everyday hear of masters
in different trades who are converting their old
firms into industrial partnerships This is an en-
iirely different measure, you must remember, from
that which has been going by the side of it, of the
conversion Of many bankrupt and few solvent
businesses into limited liability companies. The
latter is nnetenths rotten has already las in the
case of Overend, Curnoy & Coz been the cause of
widespread misery; the former is, trust, as yet
thoroughly sound, and is for many weary watcher
the dawn of brighter day. If it rises, as we hope
aud pray, old England will in half generation be a
Better place TO live in even than the United States
There can't show you better if | write for an hour
what NV views aud hopes are than by those few
words If you want TO feel as much as possible III
sympathy with MS of the gospel Of industry III
the old home, take down your In Memol1am' and
read Ring out wild bells to the wild sky" And in
the time accept al good wishes of the new year.
for oc and field and workshop, and study, in out
eongs and incomings, from the midst OF dense
London fog which has been smothering us for this
three days, and II should tlIinlsl playing old goose
berry with all The prize beef and mutton which is
lhc lnnn for