Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1875-02-16

T.e Improvement ia buildings va:
equally marked. The rains we're rebuilt
.rr.u.1el t7 Che proprietor. Light
,'s1uHrs-, be.',l ami haqr.ue,, renc-
Iratei these residences Formerly % miser-
ab.s. Education followed the children
were taught 70 resd. write aud cipher,
ana means taken 90 initial, The adults, IN
She long winter evenings, Ia the language
and methods Of progressive agriculture.
presented .u wors, from the libraries
which NJ. Bignou had established upon
each Of tte three farms. ILs stables
were airy. spacious. and provided with all
convenience. Similar Improvement had
been attained On the animals, themselves.
Formerly hume Gus path, tracked fed an I
heath. the ravines constituted roads, aud
the roads were lost in the swamp. These
were al. discarded. and O system otroads,
intelli-ently surveyed and thoroughly
constructed. took their place.
What has been the huancia. result Of
rhi> enterprise Certainly the metayers
have been greatly benefited in large IN,
crease OF income and comforts Of life, in
educational and social progress. The
proprietor had invested originally 81 22O
francs tie expense Of Improvement,
including the cos; Of contiguous property
purchased, was 1887 francs. Upon
this investment NJ. Bignon received a
return Of ; per cent, an income claimed
20 be superior to revenue from govern
ment stocks. and almost equal TO the
highest profits Of the most doubtful Of
mobile values. At the same time the
value ofthe estate had advanced from
3S4 francs 70 1900 francs per acre.
As early a. le5S, NJ. Biguon received
n honorable reward from his own arroH-
lisssue7.t. and has received many sine
from regional ani steck-growing assOcia-
tons from the Exposition JHirerSetle in
1868 the decoration Of the Legion Of
Honor. and later. an award Of the great
gold medal Of the S7cists Csltrale q dgri-
-llt.re Cs France which At the same
time awards silver medals TO Messlenrs
Dsusset, Gu,,, and Lucbot, metayers Of
Theneui.le, for the part IN the improve
ne1t taken by the meiayels.
The triumph Nh Bignou over the
pTejudices Of tue laboregs, aud his ultimate
success IN achieving as great improvement
IN tie men ss n the land, is TINS recorded
BY NJ Borie. 10 his Official report Of the
inception aud history Of this enterprise
NJ Biguou desired that the demOnstra-
ton should be complete aud that the
transformation which be had conceived
should influence men - wei. a thing
Meu were $50 transformed. We have spok-
q W..h heads Of families, ma.evolent wit
uesses ofthe hrst ESSAYS Of the proprietor
thew Loyalty confessed their error, and
blessed him who had made them what
they we're The misery Of the metayers
Of ls49. which they have not forgotten,
has disappeared from the domestic
hearths. The debts they had been able
70 90 IN debt have been paid Tor
many years their savings have aeeumu-
lated metayers have become prOprietors;
thew own domains worth from 10000 to
81 900 francs; they have metayers IN
der them whom they are educating in
turn,
The families, by Gods blessing, are
augmented but labor has increased with the
number Of children Everybody can find,
in the domain. occupation, and occupation
profitable 10 the community. Thus at
Theneuille. there is no such question as
emigration. nor lack of hands. Labor
does not fail aud workmen are not lacking
for labor. Here Is one Of the capita
consequences of the work, essentially So
cial. Of N. Bignon. By association,
complete, devoted, on the part
Of the proprietor aud his metayers, misery
may be forever banished from our rural
districts; the products Of our soil
may be multiplied; union subsists between
capital ami labor, a union sincere, COM
plete, which becomes profitable to the
whole country.
Is such association practicable? The
testimony Of Theneuille, the example Of
ne other group Of farms, which VI. BignOn
; engaged in constituting upon the same
,asis. proves IL an irrefutable manner
low easy that association is when the
,rcprjetor desires to make it 50. The
xsmp,e &C Tbenemlle. shows that such