principles; and the system must necessarily commence under disadvantages, in consequence of the acquired feelings and habits of mankind. We should therefore avail ourselves of every facility which pecuniary means can bring to our aid, and dispense with none of the advantages of comprehensive and complete arrangements. I observed upon one of the tables the Report of the Emigration Committee; and, at the suggestion of Henry Neville, I extracted the following opening paragraph. "There are extensive districts in Ireland, and districts in England and Scotland, where the population is redundant; in other words, where there exist a very considerable proportion of able-bodied and active labourers, beyond the number to which any existing demand for labour can afford employment:-That the effect of this redundancy is not only to reduce a part of this population to a great degree of destitution and misery, but also to deteriorate the general condition of the labouring classes :-That by its producing a supply of labour in excess as compared with the demand, the wages of labour are necessarily reduced to a minimum which is utterly insufficient to supply that population with those means of support and subsistence which are necessary to secure a healthy and satis factory condition of the community:-That in England, this redundant population has been in part supported by a parochial rate, which, according to the reports and evidence of former committees specially appointed to consider the subject, threatens, in its extreme tendency, to absorb the whole rental of the country; and that in Ireland, where no such parochial rate exits by law, and where the redundancy is found in a still greater degree, a considerable part of the population is dependant for the means of support on the precarious source of charity, or is compelled to resort to habits of plunder and spoliation for the actual means of subsistence." "There," said Neville, after I had finished transcribing the passage, "" you observe that the members of the committee,-those who enact laws for the punishment of robbery and theft,-proclaim to the world that men are compelled to live by 'plunder and spoliation.' But certainly truth is at last making some progress. The redundancy is not considered in relation to the quantity of food, but to the means of procuring it,-to the existing demand for labour; in other words, to the institutions of the country. But whenever a redundancy appeared, and from whatever cause, the disciples of Mr. Malthus pointed to it as an irresistible proof of their sagacity." "Here," said he, "in the last number of the Quarterly Review, the cause is referred to this you must also transcribe." "The various machinery now used in manufacturing cotton has enabled one man to perform the work of 150. Now the lowest computation supposes 280,000 men,some say 350,000 men,-to be employed in it Hence the work now performed in this single branch, would, half a century ago, have required 42,000,000 of men,-according to some, 53,000,000; that is to say, at the lowest computation, more than twice as many men, women, or children, as now people the British Island." "At this period," proceeded Neville, "there is scarcely any branch of manufacture or any employment, not excepting even the management of vessels, in which manual labour is not superseded by machinery. That the Political Economists, who will soon be cultivating land of the first quality' in a remote region, should have beheld the continued increase in this enormous addition to the supply of labour, and yet expect that the working classes could accommodate the supply to the demand, is sufficient to account for their numerous inconsistencies." I am much inclined to think that the plans recommended by this society are the only remedy ade quate to the magnitude of our difficulties; and I will, in a few days, furnish you with some papers which will explain more fully the general principles as well as the details of the projected communities. CHARLES WANSFORD. After the perusal of the manuscript Saadi retired for the purpose of writing to Almured, as a vessel was on the point of sailing from Greenock. Before the hour of rest was arrived, he had completed the following letter. CHAPTER XII. "The friends of reason, and the guides of youth, your Saadi to Almured. REJOICE, my revered friend,-rejoice, Almured, for soon shall Persia be happy under the benignity of councils. Often have I listened with scepticism to your glowing descriptions of the future happiness of man, when his changing policies should be superseded by the invariable principles of science; but now I have ceased to wonder at your enthusiasm, and I look back with surprise at my own ignorance, when observing the simplicity of the regulations by which these societies are governed. The letter I addressed to you within two days of my arrival, conveyed an account of the external appearance and local situation of the communities; but as you will be anxious to learn the character of the inhabitants in general, I will now briefly state the result of my observations after a few weeks' residence. I confess with shame, that so little attention had I devoted to this interesting subject, that whenever a community upon a system of equal property was mentioned, I always pictured to myself some fanatical or religious society, such as those of the Shakers, and Moravians, where peculiar doctrines must necessarily prevail, as an indispensable bond of union: judge then how great was my surprise to find, instead of a people contracted in their views, a race of men of benevolent and liberal sentiments, of manners elegant,-highly intellectual, and of noble aspect. The stranger on his first arrival, is struck with the solidity and splendour of the edifices, the luxuriance of the fields, gardens, and parks, the profusion of the products of foreign commerce, and of domestic industry; at the same time remarking the small portion of time in which the inhabitants are productively occupied. In a few days, however, he discovers the secret, in the judicious appliance of every talent or power, physical or mental, both individually and collectively. As the diminutive ants by their united efforts remove in a few hours the enormous weight from their citadel, so do the inhabitants accomplish Hercnlean objects with a rapidity which, to those who have not observed the power derived from the simultaneous and concentrated exertions of large numbers, appears almost incredible. For the more stupendous results of their combination, they are indebted to the mutual aid of several communities, alternately assisting each other, and also to the astonishing power of their machinery, which is brought to the very highest perfection. Chemistry and mechanism, and indeed the general principles of all the sciences, are familiar, theoretically and practically, to every individual. With such qualifications, united to vigorous health, you will readily conceive them to be most efficient co-operators. Besides the vast superiority these people exhibit in mental attainments, they differ from all others in the careful and peculiar education of the females, who are equally well-informed with the men upon all subjects to which they subsequently devote the same attention: indeed, the superiority found in either sex appears to arise from the opportunities which their respective avocations afford them, after arriving at an adult age.* In a knowledge of those sciences the practical application of which requires greater strength, the men generally excel; but in those best suited to the habits of females, their perception is most improved. In the study of the nature and operations of the human mind, from which the Persian ladies are debarred, the females here are the most assiduous; for as the care of infants and of the earliest instruction of youth belong to them, it is considered of the greatest importance that they should be well grounded in whatever relates to the formation of character; and this knowledge, they say, is acquired less through the medium of metaphysical writings, than by a daily observation of the living subject. The high intelli "That both sexes are equally capable of being taught, of comprehending, appreciating, and making their own, all the knowledge accumulated on moral and physical subjects, and judging of that knowledge, similar facilities being afforded to each, the most ample experience has fully proved."-Thompson's Appeal of Women, p. 136. |