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FORTY-THIRD YEARLY EDITION.
ZADKIEL’S ALMANAC
FOR
1873$
CONTAINING
PREDICTIONS OF THE WEATHER;
VOICE OF THE STARS
NUMEROUS USEFUL TABLES;
WITH
A HIEROGLYPHIC;
THE
YEAR
BY ZADKIEL
PROSPERITY.
TAO SZE, &c.
EIGHTY-FIFTH THOUSAND.
LONDON:
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AND PUBLISHED, FOR THE AUTHOR, BY
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�SILVEB ELECTRO-PLATE
Is a Strong Coating of Pure Silver over Nickel,
Equal for wear to sterling Silver. Manufactured, solely by
RICHARD and JOHN SLACK.
Side Dishes and Covers, £ 6 6s
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Cruet Frames, 18s. 6d. to 100s.
Tea & Coffee Sets, £3 10s.
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Everv artic’e
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This is the pure grease of the famed Alpaca, whose silky hair is alike ad
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perfumed with the Australian Wattle.—Family Jars, price Is.
INK SOLVENT.
This preparation instantly removes Ink, Iron-mould and Fruit Stains, from *
all kinds of Linen, Paper, or the Skin, by merely wetting the Stains with the
Solvent. For removing Blots it is exceedingly convenient, as it obviates the
use of an erasing knife.—Is. per Bottle.
COLOGNE DENTIFRICE.
Prepared from the flowers from which Eau de Cologne is distilled. Inesti
mable for the teeth and gums. Sold in boxes, price 2s. It can be sent by post,
or obtained of any chymist or perfumer.
RIBBON OF BRUGES for Fumigation.
Draw out a piece of the • Ribbon, light it, blow out the flame, and as it
smoulders a fragrant vapour will rise into the air.—Is. per Yard, in Box.
EGG \ JULEP, or Nursery Hair Wash.
From the simplicity of its composition this Julep may be used with con
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tidence,
excellenl
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�PREFACE
Again the returning Sun reminds me that it is time to begin
the “copy” for this Almanac. At th§ same time I have to thanl
my numerous friends for their extensive support of my efforts to
maintain Truth and to crush the folly of mankind. The great sale
of over 92,000 copies evinces the vast interest felt in Astrology, and
puts down for ever the absurd attempts to conceal those doctrinewhich were maintained by the great and good King David , who ex
claimed, in the 103rdT’salm, “Bless ye the Lard (Jehovah), all y<
his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure.”
Not a day goes by without furnishing freely evidence of the powe:
of the stars. Only now do I read of the assassination of th;
Governor General of India, who was stabbed twice in the back o:
the Sth of February this year, 1872. I turn to the Ephemeris fo
1822, on the 21st February, at which time he was born; and, lo!
find the Moon at noon that day in r« 28° 19', and the evil Mars i:
close opposition to her, from <7b 29° 14, in which sign, as all astrologer,
know, he rules the back. Hence was he stabbed in that part of tin
*
body.
But there was no kind of fatality in the matter. Had In
been educated aright, had he understood the fundamentals of astro
logy, he might, and. no doubt would, have escaped the fatal blow; fo
he would never have ventured into India, when a large solar eclips
was pending, on the 22nd December, 1870 ; with the Sun, Moon
Saturn and Venus all joined on the place of the malefic Uranus, i
his nativity and in the ruling sign of India !
ZADKIEL, TAO SZE.
* So was II.R.H. Prince Alfred—born with the evil Mais in Leo squarin
the Moon (6th August, 1844), and he also was shot in the hack.
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
The second Edition of the New Principia, price 3 shillings.—The Great
First Cause, price Is.—Handbook of Astrology, vol. i, 3s. 6d.; vol. ii, 4s.
may all be had, post-free, on sending stamps to Zadkieg, care of the
Printer. Letters to the Publisher will not be answered.
The Ephemeris for 1872, 1873 and 1874 will be published on the 1st
November, 1872. Price One Shilling.
ING DAVID TRIUMPHANT: a LETTER to the ASTRONOMERS of BENA
RES, by R. ,T. MORRISON, R.N., M.A.I., Author of the “NEW PRINCIPIA o!
the TRUE SYSTEM of ASTRONOMY.” The Work contains a Diagram of a Lunar
Eclipse, and Rules to calculate one by plain Arithmetic.—Price One Shilling.
LONDON: J. G. BERGER, NEWCASTLE STREET, STRAND.
K
B 2
�JANUARY, XXXI Days.
4
MOON’S CHANGES, &c. D.M. b souths If souths
[zadkiel’s
souths ? souths
h. m.
h. m.
h. m. h. m.
27 aft.
23 aft. 1st 0 51 a. 3 31m 6 33m.
7th 0 30
3 6
6 20
30 aft.
2 40
6 7
27 aft. 13th 0 10
19th 11 49 m 2 15
5 54
Apogee, 16d. 2h. m.'—Perigee,
29d. 2h. m.
25th 11 29
1 49
5 40
First Quar. 5th,
Full Moon, 13th,
Last Quar. 21st,
New Moon, 28th,
D.
D.
M. w.
9
4
8
5
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
®’s
Lo ng-
tuo
h. m.
2 55 a.
2 59
3 2
3 4
3 5
J) rises H. W.
and sets Lon. B.
h. m. h. m.
1 W. Circumcision, ^r.5 51a. ©inp. HVfl3 2 6 a.41 311.40
2 Th. $ 135c$. D d $ 414 m. D.b.6 2 12 14 3 8 10 4 29
3 F. b sets 4 49 aft. Cl fast 4m 55s 13 16 4 9 38 5 20
4 S. if- rises 8 7 aft. Twi. ends 6 8
14 17 5 11
2 5m45
5 s. 2 Sun. after ©Ijrtstmas.
15 18 6 me rn. 6 35
6 M. lEpfpfjunp. ® 135° 2[. $ p. d. 1? 16 19 7 0 21 7 27
7 Tu. S' O b • 2 36° b • Day 7 59 long 17 20 8 1 40 8 28
8 W. Lucian. ® p. d. § . ? g
18 21 9 2 56 9 33
9 Th. $ p. d. If. $ rises 0 51 morn. 19 22 10 4 13 10 41
10 F. 2 sets 8 5 aft. Clock fast 7m 56s 20 24 11 5 26 11 50
21 25 12 6 34 0 1.47
n S. Hil. T. beg. J 150° iy. $ 144°
12 s. 1 Sun. af. ®pfpl). £ A 24
22 26 13 7 33 1 36
13 M. Cam. T. beg. Pl. Mon. ® g & p. d. b 23 27 14 ris es. 2 17
14 Tu. Oxf. T. beg. Q 144° If. ]) d $ 24 28 15 4 a. 54 2 56
15 W. $150°^. J 45° 1? .
[146 a. 25 29 16 6
2 3 32
.16 Th.
6
144° b . 2P-d-<?- J d 24543a. 26 30 17 7 12 4
17 F. © □ S'. 2 144° y. $ in 23
27 31 18 8 22 4 38
18 S. Prisca. Clock fast 10m 48s
28 32 19 9 31 5 10
19 S. 2».af. IE. ® 150° 24. £ 72° 3s 29 33 20 10 40 5 44
20 M. Fabian. $ 135° S
0X0734 21 11 51 6m 2
21 Tu Agnes, ©p.d. tf. S-^rU- Dd 1 35 22 mo rn. 6 40
vv. tlaceni. Day 8 35 long. [ J14 la. 2 36 23 1
3 7 21
23 Th. © g $. £ rises 7 2 morn.
3 37 24 2 21 8 13
24 F. 2 135°
Clock fast 12m 26s
4 38 25 3 41 9 21
25 8. Conn. S. P. Night 15 16 long
5 39 26 5
3 10 35
2t 5. 3 Sun. aft. ^ptp^anp.
6 40 27 6 20 11 53
27 yi. D d 5 1 35 a. J) d b 7 58 a.
7 41 28 7 25 0 a.56
21 Ou. $ souths 7 51 a, § souths 11 7 m. 8 42 N. se ts. 1 51
29 w. © 45u J. Clock fast 13m 27s
9 43 1 5a.37 2 42
30 Th. F.Ch.lbe. $db,-X-2. 2
10 44 2 7
b
*
8 3 32
31 F. Hil. T. e. $ □ $. D d 2 10 22 a. 11 45 3 8 38 4 18
�JANUARY, 1873.
ALMANAC.]
5
January 5th, Dividends due—paid on 8th, on which dal
British Museum, 10 till 4. Fire Insurance due at Christ
mas must be paid. Quarter Sessions, 1st week.
Lunar Influences.
The 4th, 8th, 18th, 23rd, 31st, Saturn
Is in
6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 25th, Jupiter
good
1st, 10th, 16th, 25th, 30th, Mars
. aspect
3rd, 7th, 18th, 23rd, the Sun
with the
1st, 6th, 11th, 22nd, 27th, 31st, Venus
Moon.
1st, 6th, 16th, 22nd, 27th, 31st, Mercury
Seep. 35.
The sign A quarius rules Arabia, Tartary, Russia, Prussia,
Lithuania, part of Muscovy, Lower Sweden, Westphalia,
Hamburg, Bremen, Piedmont, ancient Sogdiana, on the
1
— of Persia.
B. Sim Sun Moon
M. rises. sets. South.
h.
18
28
38
48
E8
68
78
88
98
10 8
11 8
E8
13 8
14 8
15 8
18 8
17 8
18 7
£7
20 7
21 7
■22 7
23 7
24 7
25 7
E7
27 7
23 7
29 7
30 7
31 7
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—January, 1873.
h. m. h. m. The year begins cold and cloudy. On the 2nd,
9 3 59 2a 26 rainy, dull air; on the 5th, high wind, cold air ; 7th,
8 4 0 3 24 a stormy period, gales and ; rain prevail; Sth, mild
air, yet small rain frequent 9th, some rain ; 11th to
8 4 2 4 18 the 13th, violent storms and. squalls; 14th and 15th,
8 4 3 5 8 snow showers prevail, or cold rains; 16th and 17th,
8 4 4 5 55 milder and fairer on the whole; 18th, colder; 19th
7 4 5 6 41 and 20th, fair at intervals ; 21st, rain, yet mild air
7 4 6 7 27 generally; 23rd, cold, unsettled; 21th. snow showers §
snow;
unsettled, snow
7 4 8 8 15 25th, some 29th to 27th, very very tempestuousshowers
and gales;
the end, a
period,
6 4 9 9 4 with much rain and heavy falls of snow.—A season
5 4 11 9 54 able month, yet low barometer and rough weather
5 4 12 10 46 about the 13tA, 14tA, and last three days. On the Y&th
4 4 13 11 38 Saturn changes his sign, bringing a change.
3 4 15 mo rn.
VOICE OF THE STARS—January, 1873.
3 4 16 0 28 “Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens;
2 4 18 1 17 canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth I ”
1 4 20 2 3 —Job 38, v. 33. None but the well-read astrologer
0 4 21 2 47 may hope to do these things; and even then but
59 4 23 3 28 with much imperfection. The benefic Jupiter has
58 4 24 4 9 left the ruling sign of France, for a time, and that
is
cruel
; whence
57 4 26 4 50 land be left to thesundrymischief of Uranusand many
may
expected
deeds of violence
56 4 28 5 31 miseries therein. On the 16th Jupiter will again re
55 4 30 6 15 trograde into Leo, and remain there until July next,
53 4 3L 7 3 which will give France peace, except in April, when
52 4 33 7 55 the opposition of Saturn and Uranus will stir up
51 4 35 8 52 much strife and some bloodshed in that land. Saturn
still rules strong
49 4 36 9 55 on India, Mexicoin Capricorn, and brings many-griefs
and Greece, &c. These willbe re
48 4 38 11 0 markable on and near the 30th day; when Mercury
47 4 40 Oa 5 joins Saturn. The 7th is an evil day for all born on
45 4 42 1 7 the 13th and 14th of January, or on the 15th and
41 4 44 2 4 16th of July, in any year. The whole month prospers
42 4 45 2 58 to all born from the 21st to the 24th of August.
m.
�6
FEBRUARY, XXVIII Days, [zadkiel’s
MOON'S CHANGES, &c. D.M. Ip souths
n. in.
h. m.
First Quar. 4th, 10 6 m.
1st 11 4 m
Full Moon, 12th, 11 33 m.
7th 10 44
Last Quar. 20th, 11 23 m.
New Moon, 27th, 3 22 m. 13 th 10 23
Apogee, 12d. 3h. m.—Perigee, 19 th 10 2
26d. 2h. a.
25th 9 41
D. D.
of of
W. W.
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
24 souths £ souths J souths
h.
1
0
0
11
11
m.
18 m
52
25
54 a.
28
0’s
Long.
h.
5
5
4
4
4
m.
24 m
9
54
37
20
h,
3
3
3
3
3
m.
6 a.
6
5
4
2
D rises H. W.
and sets Lon. B.
I h. m.
J 150° 24,144° <?. Day hr. 5 43 12/5746 4 10 a. 4
4 S. a. CTpipl;. Purif. Can. Day 13 47 511 24
Blasius. Clock fast 14m 8s
14 48
morn.
? 8 $• £ p. d. Ip . Twi. ends 6 48 15 49
0 44
Agatha. 8 □
sets 7 15 m. 16 49
2
3
? A$, 144° 2/. Ip rises 6 38 m. 17 50
3 18
g p. d. . 24 rises 5 34. aft.
18 51 10 4 28
8 S. $ rises 0 5 m. Day incr. 1 46 19" 52 11 5 29
9 S. Srptuagcs. Stinbap. 2 150 $
*
20 52 12 6 20
10 M. D d J$ 6 0 aft. Cl. fast 14m 30s 21 53 13 7
0
11 Tu. 24 150° Ip. Day 9 42 long 2 72 Ip. 22 54 14 7 20
12 W. Q p.d. If. D d 24 5 22 aft.
23 54 15 rises.
13 Th. ^72°24. 2 135° 2[. N. 14 15 1. 24 55 16 6 a.13
14 F.
$ f ets 9 36 aft.
25 55 17 7 21
15|S. ® 8 If, p. d. J . Day 9 57 long 26 56 18 ~8 30
16IS. Srxagcs ma Suntmp.
27 56 19 9 40
L7|M. $ 8'24. Cl.f.l4m 13s. 2gr.H.L.S. 28 57 20 10 53
l8Tu. ? p. d. 24. ]) d
6 48 aft.
29 57 21 morn.
19 AV. $ sets 5 3 aft. Night 13 48 long 0X58 22 0
/
10 ¡Th 5 P- d. . £ rises 11 37 aft.
1 58 23 1 25
21 [F. Q 150° ff, dj- g 150° D
2 59 24 2 44
22 S. Cam. Term div. m. n. © p. d. 2
~3 59|25 ~4 0
23 2>. Sljrobc' Sun. ® 36° Ip . $ p. d. 2 , 4 59|26 5
9
St. Matt. D d * n 48 m. [45° 2 6
?
2
0'27 6
J sets 10 4 a. Day 10 35 long
7
0128 6 43
0'29 7 11
iSsfj ®L © p. d.
? A J1
8
©144°^. J A 24. Hi 0 4a. 9
ON sets.
y souths 9 44 a. Nt. 13 13 long. 10
1| 0i
h. m
5 a. 3
5 47
6m 8
6 51
7 38
8 39
9 53
11 15
Oa.31
1 24
2
8
2 42
3 17
3 48
16.
4 46'
5 16^
5 48
6m 5
6 43
7 27'
31
58
J upiter a morning star till February 15th ; an evening star till Scp'embcr 4th;
a morning star to end.
Venus an evening star till May 5th ; then a morning star to ci d
�FEBRUARY, 1873.
almanac.]
7
February 2nd, Candlemas—Scotch Quarter Day. 14th,
Valentine. Why should not the young send love-letters ?
Lunar Influences.
'
Is in
The 4th, 15th, 19th, 28th, Saturn
good
2nd, 7th, 12th, 17th, 21st, Jupiter
aspect
8th, 13th, 23rd, 27th, Mars
with the
1st, 6th, 17th, 22nd, the San
M-oon.
5th, 10th, 21st, 25th, Venus
J Seep. 35.
5th, 17th, 22nd, 27th, Mercury
Th'e sign Pisces rules Portugal, Calabria, Normandy,
Galicia in Spain, Cilicia, Alexandria, Ratisbon, Worms,
Seville, Compostella and Tiverton.
D. I Sun | Sun I Moon
M. I rises. I sets. | South.
1 h. m. h. m. h. m.
WEATHER. PREDICTIONS—February, 1873.
Temperate during
days; 4th and
1 7 414 47 3a48 5th, stormy and cold, the first three and 7th, snow
frosty air ; 6th
E 7 39 4 49 4 36 showers, cloudy and dull; 9th and 10th, damp air,
3 7 38 4 51 5 24 rather unsettled; 11th and 12th, milder, but south
4 7 36 4 53 6 12 west gales prevail; 15th and 16th, very mild, but
5 7 34 4 54 7 1 high winds prevail, some rain; 17th, brilliant aurora,
6 7 33,4 56 7 51 high wind; 18th, still windy, with some rain; 20th |
period; 22nd and 23rd,
7 7 314 58 8 42 and 21st, a violent storm 25th, fairer; 26th, sudden
much rain falls. 24th and
8 7 29 5 0 9 34 squalls and showers, maybe snow ; 27th, temperate
E 7 27 5 2 10 25 air, fair at intervals.—A fair month generally, with
10 7 265 4 11 14 high barometer. I look for aurora on the 17 th, and
11 7 24'5 6 morn. very high 'winds. Last year, Jupiter in opposition to
12 7 22'5 7 0 0 Mercury brought an aurora over all Europe and Asia.
13 7 20!5 9 0 45 VOICE OF THE STARS—February, 1873.
14 7 18,5 11 1 27
Mars
strong in Scorpio,
therein rules
15 7 165 13 2 8 Barbaryflamessundry other places and p. 23), where'
and
(see
E 7 145 15 2 48 he brings discord and quarrels, as well as many
17 7 12 5 17 3 29 other evils, arising from violence ; which is his chief
18 7 105 18 4 12 delight. These things will be notable on and about
19 7 85 20 4 57 the 6th day. Jupiter retrogrades in Leo ; and therein
20 7 65 22 5 46 he mitigates the troubles of France, arising from the
the
21 7 45 24 6 39 mischievous propensities ofword French people; with
whom almost every hasty
engenders revenge ;
22 7 25 26 7 37 which renders them the least truly Christian people
E 7 05 27 8 39 of all Europe. On the 10th day may be looked for ;
24 6 585 29 9 43 a great struggle in the House of Commons ; probably
25 6 56 5 31 10 45 about a School Bill, or other matter in connection
26 6 545 33 11 45 with Education. Indeed, the 4th brings riots and
uproars in France, and troubles in Rome. Jupiter
27 6 525 34 0a41 brings gain and health to all born from the 17th to
28 6 49 5 36 1 34; the 21st of August, any year. Bat let all born from
the 16th to the 19th of January beware of cold, in-‘ juries to the knees, and troubles by old people, landMarch 3Oth& JunelOth,
: lords and farmers, &c.
Venus’greatest brilliancy
�[zadkiel’s
MARCH XXXI Days.
MOON’S CHANGES, &c.
D.M.
h. m.
First Quar. 6th, 1
Full Moon, 14th, 5
Last Quar. 21st, 10
New Moon, 28th, 0
25 m.
1st
44 m. 7th
19 aft. 13 th
54 aft.
Apogee, lid. 8h. m.—Perigee, 19th
25th
26 d. llh. a.
D. D.
cf of
M. w.
1? souths 7/ souths S souths 2 souths
h.
9
9
8
8
8
m.
27m
6
44
23
1
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
h.
11
10
10
9
9
m.
10 a
.44
18
52
26
h.
4
3
3
3
2
m.
8m
49
28
6
43
nJ.
0a
57
53
47
39
h.
3
2
2
2
2
0’s 4? D rises H.W.
and sets Lon. B.
Long.
h. m.
1 s. St. D. fÿ sets 5 38 m. Least twi. 11 XI
8 a. 59
2 s. 1 Sun. tn ïïrnt. Chad. ) d S 11 12
1
3 M. ©A^. jal?,p. d. £. [49 m."
13
1
4 Tu. 0 45° 1?. $ 150u2[, 36° 2
14
1
morn.
5 W. Emb. W. 2 p. d. 2£. Cl. f. 11m 38s 15
1
1
4
16
1
2 18
6 Th. 2 □ y. Twilight ends 7 40
1
3 24
7 F. Perp. 0135°#. ÿ >|< 1? , 144° , 17
] 9 4 19
8 S. [Day inc. 3 33. g in £. [135° J1 18
9ÎS. 2 Sun. tn lEent. $ A
Jd$ 19
2
1 10 5
10 M. i 1? r. 4 42 m. Cl. f. 10m 24s. [9 55 a. 20
1 11 5 35
21
1 12! 5 59
11 Tu. © p. d. £. D d 4 4 58 aft.
1 13 6 19
12 W. Ereg. 1? p. d.
£ 135° 2[, 144° 22
L3Th.'0 150° 2J., 45° ?.
[<? 23
C 14 6 34
14 F. 'll sels 5 41 m. Day 11 43 long 24
0 15 ris es.
("16 7 a. 31
25
15 8. $ 72° . S rises 10 30 aft.
116 S. 3 Suniiap in "Lent.
¡25 59)17 8 43
'17 M. St. Pat. ÿ 150° $. Nt. 12 5 long 26 59 18 9 57
18 TvL.Ed.K. TE& Jd<? 9 56 m. Cl.f.|27 5919 11 12
19 W. © 144° if.. £ gr. elong.E. [8m8s'28 58 20 morn.
20 Th. © ent.rO 52 a. 0 135° o . ? p.d ¡29 58 21 0 31
w
+
.
21 F. Benedict. 0 >|< Tj. ¿'sta. [iff & | Ot57 22' 1L 49
1 57 23 2 58
22 S. © A $. 2 sets 10 43 aft.
2 56 24 3 57
23 S. 4 S. tn ILtnt. 2 8 E3 56 25' 4 40
24 M. D d 1? 0 27 m. Cl. fast 6m 18s
4 55 26 5 11
25 Tu. Lady Day. £ sets 8 1 aft.
26 W. C souths 8 0 aft. Day 12 30 long 5 54 27 5 36
6 54 28 5 54
27 Th. 0 135° 2£. £ stationary
28 F. i $ souths 0 48 a. N. 11 22 long 7 53 N.! sets.
3
29 S. 0144°^. ]) d ? 9 54 morning i 8 52 1 7a. 51
30 S. 5 S. tn "Lent. ? at gr. brilliancy | 9 52 2 9 17
31 M. J 72° $. D d ? 11 32 morning'10 51 3 10 41
h.
m.
3 a. 59
4 40
5 18
5 57
6ml6
7
0
7 53
9
9
10 39
0 a. 4
1
4
1 46
2 22
2 52
3 21
3 48
4 17
4 47
5 18
5 52
6m.l2
0
7
5
8
9 44
11 21
0 a.34
1 28
2 11
2 52
3 32
4 11
�ALMANAC.]
MARCH, 1873.
9
March 1st, Municipal Assessors appointed. Overseers on
the 25th. Lady Day—rents and insurance fall due. Never
trench on the money provided for rent.
Lunar Influences.
The 4th, 14th, 19th, 27th, Saturn
V
Is in
„ 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 20th, 29th, Jupiter
good
,, Sth, 13th, 22nd, 26th, Mars
I aspect
„ 3rd, 8th, 19th, 23rd, the Sun
( with the
,, 2nd, 7th, 12th, 26th, 31st, Venus
I Moon.
,, 4th, 9th, 20th, 25th, 2jth, Mercury
J Seep. 35.
The sign Aries rules England, Denmark, Germany,
Lesser Poland, Syria, Palestine, Naples, Florence, Verona,
Padua, Marseilles, Burgundy, Saragossa, Cracow, Biimingbam and Leicester.
D. Sun Sun Moon
M. rises. sets. South.
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—March, 1873.
h. m. h. m. h. m. Unsettled at first; 3rd and 4th, a
1 6 47 5 38 2a24 period, much rain, gales and had showers ;very stormy
5th, fairer;
E 6 45 5 40 3 14 6th and 7th, stormy again, lightning or auro a; 9th,
3 6 43 5 42 4 4 windy; 11th to 13th, unsettled, but mild air, aurora
4 6 41 5 43 4 54 seen; 15th and 16th, rather fair; 17th and 18th,
5 6 38 5 45 5 45 showery; 20th and 21st, cloudy, some thunder ; 22nd
6 6 36 5 47 6 37 to 24th, heavy rains, very unsettled ; 25th to 27th,
fairer; 29th, warmer; 31st, rain again.—A rather
7 6 34 5 48 7 29 fair month after the 4th day ; the lilh and 21si to
8 6 32 5 50 8 21 24th, however, will be very unsettled.
E 6 30 5 52 9 10
10 6 27 5 54 9 58
VOICE OF THE STARS—March, 1873.
11 6 2-5 5 55 10 43
Jupiter still retrogrades in the last face of Leo;
12 6 23 5 57 11 26 and therein brings a more settled state of things
13 6 20 5 59 mo rn. among the fickle-minded men of France. Saturn
14 6 18 6 1 0 7 steals on, and euters the sign Aquarius on the 13th.
15 6 16 6 2 0 48 He therein speedily meets the opposition of Uranus,
E 6 14 6 4 1 29 and Arabia, Russia, Prussia, Hamburg, &c., will
suffer from storms and political excitement. France
17 6 11 6 6 2 11 also will witness plots and sudden outbreaks of popu
18 6 9 6 7 2 55 lar indignation against the ruler. The passage of
19 6 7 6 9 3 42 Saturn over the M. C. of a lady of high distinction
20 6 5 6 11 4 33 will bring her trouble ; i ct as she has the Moon rapt
21 6 2 6 12 5 29 par. Jupiter 53° 51' now operating, no very serious
22 6 0 6 14 6 28 matter may be feared. Mars is stationary iu 15° 17'
22nd day ; which indicates earth
E 5 58 6 16 7 29 of Scorpio on themischiefs abounding; the more so as
quakes and other
24 5 55 6 17 8 30 the Sun, that day, aspects the evil Uranus; hence
25 5 53 6 19 9 29 sudden, unexpected and cruel will be the conse
26 5 51 6 21 10 25 quences. Let all born on the 8th or 9th of November,
27 5 49 6 23 11 18 any year, be on their guard, to avoid ill health, rup
and other
28 5 46 6 24 0 a. 9 tures, of August injuries. All born from the 14tli to
17th
will now flourish, and enjoy good
29 5 44 6 26 1 0 health. Those born on or near the 21st of January
E 5 42 6 27 1 50 will suffer from colds and weakness in the legs.
31 5 39 6 29 2 42
�10
VIOON'S CHANGES, &c.
h. m.
First Quar. 4th, 6
Full Moon, 12th, 9
Last Quar. 20 b, 5
New Moon,26th,10
Apogee,
D
of
M.
[zadkiel’s
APRIL XXX Days.
D.M.
36 aft.
1st
51 aft.
7th
47 m. 13th
42 aft.
7cl. lib. a.—Perigee, 19th
25th
23<1. Sb. a.
I? souths 7/ souths (J souths $ souths
h.
7
7
6
6
6
m.
F6m
14
51
29
6
h.
8
8
8
7
7
m.
57 a.
33
9
45
22
h.
2
1
1
0
0
m.
13 m
45
16
45
13
h.
2
2
1
1
0
m.
26 a.
10
50
24
53
u
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
hr
J) rises ' H.W.
®’s
Long. x and sets J Lon. B.
h. m. h. m.|
Tu
sets 3 49 m. Clock fast 3m 52s 11Y 50 4 morn. 4 a. 471
0 5 25
2 W.
rises 3 17 in. Day 12 57 long 12 49 5 0
3 Th. li. Bish. Chick. 0 72° 1?, 150° J 13 48 6 1 12 5 m45
4 F. St. Ambr. Cain. T. ends. $ □ If 14 47 7 2 13 6 29
2 7 19
15 46 8 3
5 S. Orford Term ends. 0 36° J
6 S. paling. 0d
? 36;$. idV 16 45 9 3 38, 8 33
410
6
7|M. D d If 8 4 a. Nt. 10 43 1. [4 5 m. 17 44 101 4
8 Tu.iQ p. (1. ÿ , I; g lÿ. Clock f. Im 49s 18 43 11 4 25 11 32
9 W. $—.........................
19 42 12 4 41 0 a. 33
72° b • C stationary
20 41 13 4 56 1 11'
.0 Th. $ 150° f . If. sets 3 50 morn.
9 1
.1 F. (fioob dfriban. 0 A If. D. br. 3 8 21 39 14 5
.2 S. J lis. 8 25 aft. Day 13 36 long 22 38 15 lises. 2 16
faster Sunbap. 0 30° ?
23 37 16 7 a. 45 2 47
2 3 17
J stationary. ]) d <? 9 32 morn. 24 36 17 9
l5|Tu. B'as. Term beq. Clock slow Oni 3s 25 34 18 10 21 3 471
26 3319 11 39 4 19|
16 W. Oxf. Term beq. Twi. ends 9 7
27 31 20 morn. 4 54
17 Th. 11 stationary. Day incr. 6 11
28 30 21 0 53 5 34
18 F. Cam. T. leg. $ sets 9 55 aft.
29 29Ì22 1 54 5 m56
19 S. Alphege. £ stationary
20 %. Ifoto Sunban. Jrf b 9 21 morn. 0 b 27 23 2 39 6 51
4
21 M. 0 □ $ , 5 150° . Cl. si. Im 25s 1 26 24 3 18 8
2 24 25 3 39 9 38
22 Tu. © □ b • Night 9 46 long
8
0 11
3 22,26 4
23 AV. St. George. £ rises 4 18 morn.
24 Th. 2 □ If. Day 14 22 long
4 21 27 4 16 0a.l2
1
25 F. St.Mark, ©p.d.j'. D d £ 3 8 m 5 19 28 4 30 1
[ $ in aph. 6 18,N. sets. 1 45
26 8. $ souths 5 58 aft.
27 5. 2 S. aft. ®. ®cf(?.>)d?9 28a 7 16 1 8 a.L- 2 26
5
28 M. If sets 2 40 m. Clock si. 2m 40s , 8 14 2 9 35 3
9 12 3 10 53 3 44
¿9 Tu 8 36° 2 . Day 14 40 long
10W. J sets 8 33 aft. £ souths 10 22 m. 10 11 4 morn 4 22
I 1
]
r
�ALMANAC.]
APRIL, 1873.
11
April 5th, Dividends due—payable on the 8th, by whic
time Insurance must be paid. Quarter Sessions 1st week.
Lunar Influences.
The 1st, 10th, 15th, 24th, 28th, Saturn
Is in
„ 2nd, 7th, 12th, -7th, 25th, 29th, Jupiter
good
,, 4th, 9th, 18th, 22nd, Mars
>. aspect
,, 2nd, 7th, 17th, 22nd, the Sun
' with the
,, 5th, 10th, 19th, 23rd, 27th, Venus
Moon.
„ 2nd, 6th, 16th, 20th, 24th, 29th, Mercury A Seep. 35.
The sign Taurus rules Ireland, Persia, Great Poland,
Asia Minor, the Archipelago, the Islands of Cyprus, part
of Russia, Dublin, Palermo, Mantua, Leipsic, Parma,
Franconia, Louvain, &c.
D. Sun Sun
M. rises. sets.
Moon
South.
h. m. h. m. h.
15
2S
35
45
55
E5
75
85
; 95
10 5
11 a
12 5
E5
14 5
15 5
16 5
17 6
18 5
19 4
E4
ai 4
22 4
23 4
24 4
25 4
26 4
E4
28 4
29 4
30 4
37 6
35 6
33 6
30 6
28 6
26 6
24 6
22 6
19 6
17 6
15 6
13 6
10 6
86
66
46
26
06
58 7
56 7
53 7
51 7
49 7
47 7
45 7
43 7
41 7
39 7
37 7
36 7
m.
31 3a 3 4
32 4 28
34 5 21
36 6 14
38 7 5
39 7 53
41 8 39
42 9 23
44 10 5
46 10 46
47 11 27
49 morn.
51 0 9
52 0 52
54 1 39
56 2 30
57 3 24
59 4 22
1 5 22
2 6 22
4 7 20
6 8 15
7 9 8
9 9 58
11 10 48
12 11 37
14 0a28
16 1 20
17 2 14
19 3 9
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—April, 1873.
The month begins quietly. 3rd, showers; 4th,
fair blue sky, and white clouds; 6th, wind and
moisture prevail; 8th and 9th, turbulent, stormy
weather; 10th and 11th, warm air, fair and summerlike ; 13th and 14th, wet prevails, growing weather;
16th and 17th, mild and fair generally; 19th to 21st,
unsettled; 22nd, cold, wet and windy; 24th and
25th, fair and warm; 27th, heat, lightning, rain at
night, fine growing weather, generally, to the end.
—A fair month; very pleasant on Good Friday.
Warm air prevails, except on the 21,st and ‘ ind.
F
The thermometer above the average.
VOICE OF THE STARS—April, 1873.
The opposition of Saturn and Uranus this month
is one of the chief astrological features of the year. It
happens but very rarely. There was an opposition,how
ever, in January, 1829, very near the place of this phe
nomenon. The chief effects will fall on France.
It will be well if the rulers of France do not quar
rel with those of Russia. The opposition of these
malefics falling on the birthday of the King of Den
mark brings to pass a serious trouble to that monarch ;
nor will his neighbour in Belgium be much better off
in this respect. The retrograde march of Jupiter in
Leo will defend France from much bloodshed ; and
this position will greatly benefit all born on or near
the 14th August, in any year. But those born on
the 22nd January and the 24th July will feel the
power of these opposing malefics, and lose relations,
and suffer much trouble by old persons, landlords,
farmers, and other saturnine persons about the 8th of
this month more especially. Venus in Taurus keeps
things tolerably peaceable in Ireland; especially
near the middle of this month.
�12
MAY XXXI Days.
[zadkiel’s
MOON’S CHANGES, &c. D.M. I? souths 'll souths
h. m.
First Quar. 4 th, 0 33 aft.
Full Moon, 12th, 1118 m. 1st
Last Quar., 19th, 11 0 in. 7 th
New Moon, 26th, 9 20 m. 13th
Apogee, 5d. 6h. m.—Perigee, 19th
25th
20d. Oh. m.
D
D.
of
h.
m.
5
5
4
4
4
43 m
20
56
32
8
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
h.
m.
6
6
6
5
5
59 a.
37
15
53
32
souths $ souths
h.
m.
h. m.
11 35 a. 0 17 a.
11 3W 11 40m
10 31 11 5
10 1 10 33
9 33 10 7
*
¡30
D ri ses H. W.
G) s
Lon g- O'? and sets Lon. B.
.*
m.
h. m. h.
1 Th. St.Ph.dc St. J. 0 p.d. 2(., 72° I? 11 S 9 5 Om 1 5 a . 1
2 F. $ sets 1 34 m. Day break 1 59 12
7 6 0 56 5 42
3 S. Invention of the Cross.
]) d
13
5 7 1 38 6m 5
4 s. 3 5. after faster
[Oh 31m a. 14
3 8 2
9 6 55
5 M. 3d?. ]) d If. Oh 32m a.
15
1 9 2 30 7 59
6 Tu. John Evan. g72° !{.. Clock slow 15 59 10 2 48 9 21
7 W. ? p. d. b • Twi e. 10 13 [3m. 34s. 16 57 11 3
3 10 37
8 Th. 5 A
Night 8 49 long
17 55 12 3 16 11 41
9 F. East. Term ends. Ip rises 0 54 m. 18 53 13 3 28 Oa .27
10 S. 0 72°
3 □ 1?. J) d 3 11 40 a. 19 51 14 3 41 1
2
11 s. 4 Sunbap after lEaster. 0 p. d. ? 20 49 15 3 55 1 39
12 M. D ecl. inv. at Gr. J? sta. | 3 □ $ 21 47 16 4 11 2 12
13 Tu. Old May Day. 0 □ 1/
22 45 17 1 is es. 2 49
14 W. If sets 10 56 a. Cl. slow 3 m. 54s. 23 42 18 10a.42 3 23
15 Th. £ g 3 . Day 15 32 long
24 40 19 11 49 4
0
16 F. 5 □
? gr, Hel. Lat. S. 25 38 20 mo rn. 4 41
17 S. D d 1? 3 25 aft. Night 8 22 long 26 36 21 0 42 5 27
18 s. Rogation Sunlrap.
27 34 22 1 18 5m51
19 M. C. T. div. m. n. 0 p. d. Ip . $ p. d. 3 , 28 31 23 1 45 6 53
20 Tu. Day 15 47 long
[d ? 29 29 24 2
6 8
6
¿1 W. ®p.d.$. Jp.d.2f. Cl.s.3m.40s 0n27 25 2 23 9 27
22 Th. Asa. Day. Holy Thurs. b 8 $
1 24 26 2 38 10 39
23 F. Tr.T.b. 0^^, Ab- $ p.d. ? 2 22 27 2 53 11 40
24 S. B. of Q. Viet. $ p. d. 1/. J) d ? 7 3 20 28 3
9 0 a .30
25 S. ittn. af, "Ss. D d £ 0 59m. [56 m. 4 17 29 3 26 1 19
26 M. <1 ug. 0 ecl. vis. at Gr. $ stat.
5 15 N. se bs. 2
3
27 Tu. Ven. Bede. 3 sets 2 34 morn.
6 12 1 9 a .42 2 46
28 W. £ □ 1/. Clock slow 3m Os
7 10 2 10 45 3 27
29 Th. Bing Charles II res. Jr. 2 41 m. 8
7 3 11 33 4 4
30 F. Oxf. T. ends. D d $ 10 38 aft.
5 4 mo rn. 4 43
9
31 S. Oxf. T. begins. Night 7 48 long 10
2 5 0
8 5 24
M. w.
�MAY, 1873.
ALMANAC.]
13
May 1st, British Museum closes for a week; on the 8th
opens from 10 till 7—reading room 9 till 7. 24th, Queen’s
birthday—drink her Majesty’s health and long life.
Lunar Influences.
'i Is in
The 8th, 12th, 21st, 25th, 30th, Saturn
good
„ 4th, 10th, 14th, 23rd, 27th, Jupiter
x aspect
,, 1st, 5th, 15th, 19th, 27th, Mars
with the
,, 1st, 6th, 16th, 21st, 31st, the Sun
Moon.
„ 2nd, 6th, 15th, 19th, 24th, 28th, Venus
Seep. 35.
„ 4th, 15th, 19th, 24th, 30th, Mercury
The sign Gemini rules Lower Egypt, America, Lombardy,
Sardinia, Brabant, Belgium, the West of England, London,
Versailles, Mentz, Bruges, Louvain, Cordova and Nuremburg.
D. Sun Sun Moon.
M. rises. sets. South.
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—Mat, 1873.
Windy, but fair in general at first. A tendency
h. m. h. m. h. m.
the
the 5th
1 4 34 7 20 4a 3 to rain asjoins Sun approaches Venus. On the 7th
the Sun
Venus, and from thence to
2 4 32 7 22 4 56 much rain may be expected ; Sth, windy and fairer ;
3 4 30 7 24 5 47 10th to 13th, a stormy, unsettled atmosphere, the
E 4 28 7 25 6 34 latter day fairer, with white clouds abounding; 15th
5 4 26 7 27 7 18 and 16th, storms of wind and lightning; 17th, cloudy
6 4 24 7 28 8 1 and cooler; 19th, cold air, rain prevails; 21st to
stormy and cool, rain
and turbulent
7 4 23 7 30 8 42 23rd, 24th, showers; 26th, prevails,and some rain ;
air;
cloudy,
8 4 21 7 32 9 23 28th, fa’rer, lightning or aurora at night. The
0 4 19 7 33 10 4 month ends fair, yet cloudy.—-The temperature below
10 4 18 7 35 10 47 the average; and on the 5th, 10th, and 22nd, rain
E 4 16 7 36 11 33 and storms prevail.
IS 4
13 4
14 4
15 4
16 4
17 4
E4
19 4
ft) 4
21 4
22 4
S3 3
24 3
E3
26 3
27 3
28 3
29 3
30 3
31 3
15
13
11
10
8
7
6
4
3
2
1
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
38 morn.
39 0 23
41 1 17
42 2 15
44 3 16
45 4 17
47 5 15
48 6 11
50 7 3
51 7 53
52 8 41
54 9 29
55 10 18
56 11 9
58 0a 2
59 0 56
0 1 51
1 2 46
2 3 38
3 4 27
VOICE OF THE STARS—May, 1873.
On the 10th and 11th, Mars will form an evil
aspect with Saturn and Uranus ; this denotes violent
explosions in mines, and numerous deaths thereby.
In France there will be, when Saturn eomes to
opposition of Uranus, on the 22nd, military riots
and outbreaks, with their usual attendants, deeds of
blood and violence. Jupiter, being in the ruling
sign of France, will mitigate these evils, as we may
hope. On the 3rd the King of Sweden has the
Moon joined with Uranus, and opposed by Saturn,
on his birthday. For him we can only expect a year
of troubles, which will arise from acts of violence in
his country. On the 24th we are glad to see the
Moon joined with Venus; which imports a year of
health, peace and pleasure to all born that day;
and this denotes gain and wealth to Old England.
Let all born at the time the Sun’s place is afflicted
by the malefics, viz,, 23rd January and 26th July,
in any year, be on their guard against sudden per
sonal troubles and accidents. They will be exceed
ingly liable thereto about the 10th and 22nd days.
�14
[zadkiel’s
JUNE XXX Days.
MOON’S CHANGES, &c. D.M. 1? souths 24 souths (J souths $ souths
h. m.
First Quar. 3rd, 6
Full Moon, lOtb, 10
Last Quar. 17th, 3
New Moon 24th, 9
19 m.
1 aft. 1st
31 aft. 7th
12aft. 13 th
Apogee, 2d. Oh. a.—Perigee, 19th
Ud. 2h. a.—Apogee, 30d. 6h.m. 25th
D. D. I
of
M. W.
h.
3
3
2
2
2
m.
40m
16
51
26
1
h.
5
4
4
4
3
m.
7 a.
47
26
6
46
h.
9
8
8
7
7
m.
2 a.
37
15
54
34
h.
9
9
9
9
8
m.
43m
27
15
6
59
<D I
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., <kc.
s << 1 J) rises H. W.
Long. *.aQ 1 and sets Lon. B.
h. m
1 S. TO)ttS. $A,&p.d.Jp. W2f511n 0 6 0m34
2 M.
am. $ -0,144°
[26 a. 11 57 7 0 54
3 Tu. Wt®. ® 72° 1/, 135°
12 55 8 1 10
4 W. Ember IF. Clock slow Im 58s. ÿ 13 52 9 1 23
5 Th. Boniface. 0 36° £ .
[in & 14 50 10 1 36
6 F. 0p.d. ÿ. ÿ 72° If, 135° D ci J 15 47 11 1 47
7 S. © 135° ip. (? sta. Nt. 7 36 loDg 16 44 12 2
0
8 S. Œrinitp Sunbap. 5 135° Ip, 36° J 17 42 13 2 17
9 M. 0 45°
<3 . Iÿ sets 11 4aft. 18 39 14 2 35
10 Tu. b p. d. tÿ. 5 at gieatest bril.
19 36 15 3
3
11 W. St. Barnabas. Clock slow 0m 40s 20 34 16 rises.
12 Th. Corpus Christi. $ 144° Ip,If 21 31 17 10 a. 36
13 F. S 36° I£, A ^,45° J. î d 1? 8 22 28 18 11 19
14 S. Ip r. 10 28 a. If sets 11 43 a. [32a. 23 2619 11 49
15 5. 1 Sun. af. ®rin. 5 16u° Ip
2 4 23'20 morn.
16 M. f sets 1 9 morn. Day 16 33 long 25 20 21 0 12
17 Tu. St. Alban.. © 144° Ip , >|< If
26 17 22 0 30
18.W. 2 rises 154 m. Cl. fast 0m 48s 27 14 23 0 45
19 Th. ? p. d. 2f. ÿ gr. Hel. Lat. N.
0
28 12 24 1
20 F. Ac. Q. Viet. Cam. T. e. © A ¿f 29
9 25 1 15
21 S. P. Q. V. © ent. $ 9 25 m. J) <3 J 025 6 £6 ! 1 33
22^ 2 S. af. ®r. 0 150° ip
1
3 27 1 53
23 M. ÿ sets 9 34 a. Clock fast lm 53s 2
1 28 2 21
24|Tu. St. J. Bapt. Mids. Day. £
J
2 58 N. sets.
25 ,W. £ 36° If. If sets 10 58 aft.
3 55 1 9 a. 26
26: Th 0 p. d. J. D d g 11 19 morn
4 52 2 10
7
27iF. ]) ô $ 9 14 morn. Nt. 7 28 long 5 50 3 10 36
28 S. J 72° y. $ souths 1 30 aft.
6 47 4 10 58
29 S. 3 5. af. ®r. St. Peter, ¿f □ Ip. J> 7 44 5 11 14
30 M. $ souths 1 53 a. [ d 2f 9 27 m. 8 41 6 11 29
h. ID.
5m46
6 32
7 22
8 2
9 32
10 36
11 27
0 a. 16
1
0
1 41
2 24
6
3
3 50
4 36
5 26
5m53
6 49
7 53
1
9
10
4
i>
11
0 a. 5
0 58
1 48
2 32
3 13
3 53
4 30
h?
5
/
5 44
�ALMANAC.]
JUNE, 1873.
J unb 20th, Overseers fix notices of persons who vote for
counties. Parties registered need make no new claim unless
they have changed residence. Quarter Sessions, last week.
Lunar Influences.
The 4th, 9th, l§th, 22nd, Saturn
\
Is in
,, 1st, 6ch, 10th, 19th, 24th, 29th, Jupiter
) good
,, 1st, 11th, 15th, 24th, 29th, Mars
t aspect
,, 5th, 15th, 19th, 30th, the Sun
( with the
„ 2nd, 12th, 16tli, 20th, 26th, Venus
1 ’Moon.
,, 5th, 15th, 20th, 26th, Mercury
' Seep. 35.
The sign Cancer rules Scotland, Holland. Zealand,
Georgia, all Africa, Constantinople, Algiers, Tunis, Am
sterdam, Cadiz, Venice, Genoa, York, St. Andrews, New
York, Bern, Lubeck, Milan and Manchester.
Sun , Siin Moon |
M. rises. sets. Sou th.
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—June, 1873.
I 'h. m. 1 h. m h. m., The month begins with clouds and winds, a’so
3rd, warm and
4th and
’ E 3 50 8 5 5a 13 some thunder. 7th, heat prevails,fair; lightning 5th,
ditto; 6th and
and
and
3 50 8 6 5 56 hail; 9th and 10th, sudden changes, barometer un- ■
3' 3 49 8 7' 6 37 settied, hail showers. 12th and 13th, windy, rain,'
4 3 48 8 8 7 18 aurora seen; 15th to 17th, the hca. increases, fair
5 3 47 8 9i 7 58 generally; 19th, fair and warm; 20th, heat and
thunder prevail 22nd, cooler, cloudy ;
6| 3 47 8 10, 8 40 some thunder; ;26th, slight changes, fair24th, rainy,:
generally
7 3 46 8 11’ 9 25 29th and 30th, serious thunderstorms, dangerous
E 3 46 8 12. 10 13 lightning —After the 17th heat inereai s. The last
9' 3 46 8 12 11 6 tivo or three days stormy ; then cooler.
2i
io 3 45 8
It 3 45 8
12 3 45 8
13 3 44 8
14 3 44 8
E 3 44 8
16 3 44 8
17 3 44 8
ri8 3 44 8
19 3 44 8
20 3 44 8
21 3 45 8
E 3 45 8
S3 3 45 8
24 3 45 8
25 3 46 8
26 3 46 8
27 3 47 18
28 3 47 •8
E 3 48 8
30 3 48 ¡8
13 morn.
VOICE OF THE STARS—June, 1873.
14 0 3
14 1 5 Mars retrogrades in Libra till the 8th, and he then
15 2 7 proceeds on in that s'gn till the 25th. He will
many troubles to
16 3 8 therein bring in China, Japan,England, and produce
disturbances
Austria, and other
16 4 6 countlies, for which see p. 21. At the end of the
17 5 0 month, having again entered Scorpio, he will once
17 5 51 more form a square with Saturn, and stir up scenes
17 6 39 of violence in countries under the rule of Aquarius
Jupiter,
moves
peace
18 7 27 and Scorpio. and meetsthis month, aspectsonwhence
ably in Leo,
only good
;
18 8 14 we may hope that our neighbours in France will be
18 9 3 quiet and enjoy a good time at length, notwith
19 9 541 standing the presence of Uranus in Leo, and Saturn
19 10 47 in Aquarius. The stars shine favourably also on
19 11 42 Rome ; where now we trust there is no presence of
child
evil
mischief called
Let
19 0a36 thatpersonsofborn andor near the 23rdthe Pope. and
all
on
January,
19 1 29 on or near the 26th July, be guarded against specu
19 2 20 lations, and beware of hurts to their legs and ankles ;
19 3 7 and let them also be prepared, towards the end oi
18 3 51 this month, for sudden deaths among the members
and accidents by water in various
18 4 33 of their family, forms.
ways and sundry
�16
souths If souths £ souths 2 souths
MOON’S CHANGES, &c. D. M.
h. m.
First Quar. 2nd, 11
Full Moon, 10th, 6
Last Quar. 16th, 8
New Moon, 24th, 10
10 aft.
1st
33 m.
58 aft. 7th
34 m. 13th
Perigee, 12d. 51i. m.—Apogee, 19 th
27d. 9h. a.
25 th
0. D.
of of
W.
M.
[zadkiel’s
JULY XXXI Days.
h.
1
1
0
0
11
m.
36 m
11
45
20
50 a.
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
h.
m.
3 27 a.
3 7
2 48
2 28
2 9
O’s
Long.
h.
m
7
7
6
6
6
16 a.
0
44
30
17
h.
8
8
8
8
8
m.
55 m
52
51
51
53
. J rises H.W.
_
and sets Lon. B.
h.
m 11.
Ill.
926 38 7 11a .42 6m 4
1 Tu. $ J51?, □ <?. Day deer. 0 5
2 W. Vis.B. V.M. © 45° 2 ■ Cl.fa.3m 44 10 36 8 11 53 6 46
*
3 Th [Dog days begin. £ d
P- d. I? 11 33 9 mo rn. 7 33
6 8 26
4 F. ¡Trans. St. Martin. D d
5 15 a. 12 30 10 0
5|S. O.T. ends. £ p. d. Ijl. Day 16 25 1 13 27 11 0 19 9 29
6 [ S. [ 4 S. af. ®r. Old Mids. D. © 45° If 14 21 12 0 37 10 27
0 11 27
15 22 13 1
7|M. Thomas d Becket. 2 □ If16 19 14 1 31 0a.24
8 Tu. 2 A . $ set 9 15 aft.
9 W. I? 150° If. Clock fast 4m 54s
17 16 15 2 16 1 16
5
10 Th. $ p. d. 2 • 1? rises 8 42 aft.
18 13 16 ris es. 2
11 F. ({ d 1? 2 23 morn. If sets 10 1 a. 19 10 17 9 a. 50 2 54
8 18 10 16 3 42
12 S. $ □ y. 5 72° 2 . Day 16 13 1. 20
5 19 10 37 4 31
13 S. 5 Sun, after ®r. 2 -X
*
150° & 21
22
2 20 10 53 5 20
14 M. $ p. d. cf . g sets 11 27 aft.
15 Tu. St.Swithin. 2 gr. elong. W.
¡22 59 21 11
7 5 m44
16 W. 2 rises 19 m. Clock fast 5m 44s ; 23 56 22 11 22 6 35
17 Th. 5 sets 9 6 aft. Day 16 2 long ¡24 54 23 11 39 7 27
18 F. © 36° If. $ sets 8 37 aft.
¡25 51 24 11 58 8 25
19 S. b> rises 8 4 a. Night 8 2 long
¡26 48 25 morn. 9 26
20 S. 6 Sun. af. ®r. © p.d. J?. J d 2 -27 46 26 0 23 10 32
21 M. gp. d. If. 4 s. 9 25 a. [11 40 m. 28 43 27 0 54 11 43
22 Tu. \Magd. © g >? . ? p. d. #, 135° t? 29 40 28 1 37 Oa.46
23 W. 'Clock fast 6m 10s. Day br. 0 42 0SL38 29i 2 32 1 39
1 35 n.: sets. 2 22
24 Th. $ 144° ¿f. D d $ 7 20 aft.
2 32 1 9 a. 3 3
3
25 F. St. James. © p d. J .
"
26 S. . A tn "ft 0
0 P-d.
H? "*1 3 30 2 9 20 3 38
27'S. 7 S. af.
j) d If 2 56 m. ’[54 a. 4 27 3| 9 35 4 10
28:M. 2 rises 10 m. Cl. fast 6 m 12s
5 24 4i 9 48 4 43
29 Tu. © d W,45° 2,2 45°$. Nt. 8 30 1. 6 22 5 10
0| 5 17
30 W. ? 144° 1?, 72° 7/. $ stationary 7 19 6 10 111 5 51
QI TV. L. 144° If
X e.An+V.0
18
«
1 -7
>71 1 A
OA
itm C
31 Th. I? 144° If. $ souths 11 18 aft.
�ammanaci]
JULY, 1873.
17
July. Dividends due 6th, paid the 8th. Insurance must
be paid this day. 20th, Kates, &c., due 6th April, must
be paid, or votes will be lost.
Lunar Influences.
Is in
The 2nd, 6th, 14th, 19th, 28th, Saturn
good
4th, 8th, 17th, 21st, 26th, Jupiter
aspect
9th, 13th, 22nd, 27th, Mars
with the
5th, 14th, 18th, 29th, the Sun
Moon.
1st, 11th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, Venus
1st, 7th, 16th, 21st, 26th, 31st, Mercury
See. p. 35.
The sign Leo rules France, Italy, Bohemia, Sicily, Rome,
Bath, Bristol, Taunton, Portsmouth, Cremona, Prague, the
Alps, Apulia, Ravenna, Philadelphia, Chaldea to Bassorah.
D. i Sun Sun Moon
M. rises. sets. South.
10 3
11 3
IS 3
E4
14 4
15 4
16 4
17 4
18 4
19 4
E4
21 4
22 4
23 4
24 4
25 4
26 4
E4
28 4
29 4
30 4
31 4
57 8
58 8
59 8
08
1 8
28
38
58
68
78
88
10 8
11 8
12 8
14 7
15 7
17 7
18 7
20 7
21 7
22 7
24 ¡7
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—July, 1873.
Thunder storms and mischievous lightning will
commence the month: dashing rains prevail. 3rd
to the 5th, smart showers and some squalls; 6th and
7th, warm and fair, large white clouds prevail, and
some thunder; 8th to 11th, unsettled, clouds and
showers frequent; 12th to 14th, fair, warm air, St.
Swithin showery; 16th to 18th, fair generally, 20th
to 22nd, cloudy, some dashing rains and thunder;
24th to 26th, rainy, cool air; 27tb, fairer; 29th to
the end, unsettled, sudden heavy rains frequent.—
A fair summer month; good harvest weather; not
very hot, however.
13 mo rn.
VOICE OF THE STARS—July, 1873.
13 0 54 The benefic Jupiter enters Virgo on the 7th day;
12 1 55 hence Turkey, Paris, Lyons, &c., will have peace.
11 2 53 But, although Saturn quits Aquarius on the 13th, we
10 3 46 still find Uranus ruling over France; and, no doubt,
punishes that
to
9 4 36 he thereinhelpless men of nation for its cruelties are
Africa.
8 5 24 wards the crystal, the greatest sinCruelty is, we
told in the
against Heaven.
7 6 12 And undoubtedly it seems so, as being the most
6 7 1 directly opposed to the religion of love. Mars flames
5 7 51 potently from Scorpio, his house, all this month;
4 8 42 and on the 12th day he will be in square to Uranus.
as also in
2 9 36 Mischief may tl en be looked for in France, accidents
Barbary, and other places (see p. 23) ; and
1 10 30 abound then in Liverpool. Near this petiod there
0 11 23 | are some ill transits for the Geiman Emperor; who
59 0al4 ' may expect this summer to suffer thiough females.
57 1 2 ! The above aspect of Mars will bring troubles and
56 1 48 I family losses to all born on the 28th July and near it.
born
to the
August will
54 2 30 iI Those health from the 22ndsuccess; 28thwill all who
have
and general
as
53 3 11 ! were born with the end of Leo, or first degrees of
51 3 50ij Virgo rising, or with the Moon in those parts of the
50 4 30l| Zodiac. Let them, therefore, push their fortunes,
’
48 5 11 and ensure prosperity.
�18
MOON’S CHANGES, &c.
First Quar. 1st,
Full Moon, 8th,
Last Quar. 15th,
¡New Moon, 23rd,
¡First Quar. 31st,
h. m.
D.M.
2 29 aft.
152 aft.
1st
4 41m.
1 30 m. 7th
3 48 m. 13th
Perigee, 9<1. llh. m.—Apogee, 19th
25th
2 Id. 5h. m.
D. D.
of of
M. w.
[zadkiel’s
AUGUST XXXI Days.
Ipsouths ^.souths ¿souths J souths
11.
11
10
10
10
9
m.
21a.
55
30
5
40
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
h.
tn.
1 47 a.
1 28
1 9
0 51
0 32
h. m.
6
5
5
5
5
3 a.
51
41
31
22
h.
m.
8 56 m
8 59
9 4
9 9
9 13
0’s f D rises H. W.
J rises H. W.
Long.
and sets Lon. B.
m, h
o
/ I 1 h. nl> h.- m9ft 14 8 10 a.4')i 6m45
1 F. hammas Day. \ d $ 11 46 a
0
««
10 11| 9110 59 7 26
2 s. Dpd. ¿. Day break 1 36
9 10 11 25 8 21
11
3 5. 8 S. af. ®r. 5 -X- Î
0 9 31
6 11 12
4 M. ? p. d. Ip. y rises 3 66 morn. 12
9
cl.
4 12 morn. ¡10 44
5 Tn. 9 150° Ip. Twilight ends 10 24 13
1 13 0 58 11 67
72° Ip. Cl. f. 5m 36s 14
6 W. Transf.
9 1 a. 1
7 Th. Narneof Jeszts. $ 36° iff. h ô b 14 69 14 2
56 15 3 37 1 55
[9 30 m.
F. Ip sets 3 5 m.
8
54 16 rises. 2 45
9 S. ? 135° ¿. If. sets 8 17 aft.
61 17 8 a. 56 3 33
9 Sun. aft. ®r.
p. d. iff 72° Iff
10
49 18 9 12 4 16
11 M. J sets 10 3 a. Dog days end
47 19 9 28 4 69
12 Tu. ©□<?. ? p. d. If, 45° P
44 20 9 44 5 44
13 VV. 0 Ö ? • Î -X-^. 3 □ <?
2 6m 7
42 21 10
14 Th. $ rises 1 3 mom. Day 14 38 1.
15 F. Assump. B. F. M. Nt. 9 26 long 22 40 22 10 251 6 61
16 S. $ rises 4 35 m. Iff son. 11 0 m 23 37 23:10 55 7 40
24 35 24 11 34 8 44
17 !S. 10 Sunhap after ®rin. $ 36° $
5
lb M. tg. rises 3 6 m. Clock fast 3m 35s 25 33 25 morn. 10
19 Tu. 0 p. d. ÿ . J p. d. Ip • J d Î 5 26 31261 0 24 11 27
20 W. 0 150° • h sets 2 13 m. [28 m. 27 29 27 1 26 Oa.37
21 Th. î p. cl. & . D 6 Iff 4 42 morn. ¡28 26 28 2 34 1 27
1Î
12 F. I If. sets 7 3 ) aft. Nt. 9 51 long 29_ 2429 3 45
23 S. 1 (J p. cl. I?. £ stat, j) <3 If. 8 52 0Hß22N. sets, i 2 46i
" '
24 S. 11 Sunttag after ®rinttp. St B. [a. 1 20 1 7 a. 56 3 18'
2 18 2 8 8J 3 47
-X-1?. Clock fast lm £ 2s
25 M.
3 16 3 8 20( 4 16
26 Tn. 0144° Ip. Day 13 51 long
*
27 W. J sets 9 23 a. Night 10 10 long 4 14 4 8 31 4 4‘
St. Augustine. J rises 1 21 morn. 5 12 5 8 45 5 14
28 Th.____________________
6 10 6 9
29 F. Si. John Baptist beh. J 45° If.
7
3O1S.? 8 >?■ " ' - " 42 aft.
-----m 1
31 5. 12 Sun. after ®r. $ sou. 10 51 m.8
�AUGUST, 1873.
’•]
August.—First two Sundays’ lists of electors on church
doors. 20th, last day for claim to vote, or leaving notice
of objections. Rates, &c., due 1st March to be paid.
Lunar Influences.
The 2nd, 11th, loth, 25th, 29th, Saturn
T
Is in
„ 1st, Sth, 13th, 18th, 23rd, 28th, Jupiter
good
,, 6th, 10th, 19th, 24th, Mars
I aspect
,, 3rd, 12th, 17th, 28th, the Sun
[ with the
„ 9th, 13th, 18th, 24th, 29th Venus
I Moon.
,, 4th, 12th, 16th, 21st, 26th, 31st,Mercury > See p. 35.
The sign l-'irpo rules Turkey, Mesopotamia, from the
Tigris to the Euphrates, Jerusalem, Candia, Silesia, Croatia,
Bagdad, Babylonia, Thessaly, Corinth, the Morea, Paris,
Lyons, Toulouse, Basil, Switzerland, Reading, West Indies.
D. 8 an s un Mo on
M. riijes. Sets. South.
m.
47 5a 54
45 6 41
44 7 32
42 8 29
40 9 30
38 10 34
37 11 37
35 mo rn.
33 0 37
31 1 34
29 2 27
27 3 18
25 4 7
23 4 57
21 5 47
19 6 39
17 7 32
15 8 26
13 9 19
11 10 11
9 10 59
7 11 45
5 0a29
3 1 10
1 1 49
59 2 29
57 3 9
54 3 51
52 4 35
50 5 21
48 6 16
h. m. h. m.
1 4
24
E4
44
54
64
7 4
84
94
E4
11 4
12 4
13 4
14 4
15 4
16 4
E4
18 4
19 4
20 4
21 4
22 4
23 5
E5
25 5
26 5
27 "o
28 5
29 5
30 5
E l5
25 7
27 7
28 7
30 7
31 7
33 7
35 7
36 7
38 7
39 7
41 7
42 7
44 7
46 7
47 7
49 7
50 7
52 7
53 7
55 7
57 I7
58 7
07
1 7
37
5 ¡6
66
86
96
11 6
13 6
h.
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—Avgust, 1873.
The 1st and 2nd days heat prevails; 3rd to 5th,
cloudy, some rain; 7th, showers; 9th and 10th, fair
and warm ; 12th and 13th, heat and thunder gene
rally, dangerous lightning; 14th to 18th, settled and
fair, good harvest weather in general, ] Sth and 20th,
rainy, unsettled; 21st and 22nd, fairer; 23rd, some
thunder about; 25th and 26th, cloudy, cool air; 27th
to 29th, fair; 30th, heavy, dashing rain, and haii
also; 31st, warm air.—A flair month generally, except
about the 12t7i and 13i4 days.
VOICE OF THE STARS—Avgust, 1873.
The Emperor of Austria has an unfortunate biith- !
day, since we find Mars in square to his Sun; which !
gives him quarrels with his neighbours, and some
sudden changes in his affairs. The King of Bavaria |
has the Sun joined with Jupiter on the anniversary 1
of tbe day when he was born. This will bring him
hea th, and is good influence for his affairs genera lv.
It will render him rather more peaceful than usual.
Mars flames fiercely in Scorpio, and we may look
for news of outbreaks in Barbary, Norway, Syria,
&c. But Turkey flourishes, and Paris is peaceful.
The retrograding of Saturn in Capricorn seems to
destroy the equanimity of Greece. On the 30th day
Mars will leave Scorpio, and, entering Sagitta ius,
will soon begin to trouble Spain with violence and
bloodshed. All born from the 28th August to the
4th September will now flourish and enjoy health I
Those born on the 12th August must beware of fire, !
and take care to avoid fevers, and hurts or accidents |
to the delicate parts of the person. This transit of
Mars through Scorpio will bring mischief to the docks, j
and collisions, &e., in and near Liverpool, where
there will be many bankruptcies, and an abundance I
of fraud and knavery practised.
I
�20
SEPTEMBER XXX Days,
MOON’S CHANGES, &c.
D.M.
h. m.
Pull Mood, 6th, 9 9 aft.
Last Quar. 13th, 3 40 aft. 1st
New Moon, 21st, 5 51 aft. 7th
First Quar. 29 th, 2 56 aft. 13th
Perigee, 6d. 8h. a.—Apogee, 19th
25th
20d. 8h. m.
D. D.
of of
M. w.
[zadkiel’s
»2 souths If SOUths cf souths J souths
. m.
Ila.
46
22
58
34
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
h.
0
11
11
11
10
m.
10 a.
51m
32
14
55
h.
5
5
4
4
4
m.
13 a.
5
58
52
46
h.
9
9
9
9
9
m.
20m
25
30
35
40
D rises H.W.
Long. si and sets Lon. B
I__ _ B.
h. m. h. m.
©
/
1 M. Giles. 0 p. d. 1/.
ris. 2 16 m. 9W 4 9 10 a. 40 7m32
2 10( 11 43 8 47
2 Tu. I? sets 1 18 m. Clock si. 0m 31s 10
11
1 11 morn. 10 16
3 W. J <5 Ip 5 21 aft. Day br. 3 12
2 11 43
4 Th. O 3 If, 135° T?. Night 10 40 1. 11 59 12 1
12 57 13 2 33 Oa.48
5 F. Old Bartholomew. $ 150° Ip
6 S. J p. d. $, A . Twi. ends 8 38 13 55 14 rises. 1 44
75. 13 Sun. af. ®rin. Enur. 0 36° Jg 14 53 15 7 a.16 2 29
2 36° 15 52 16 7 31 3 12
8 M. AcWw. B. V. M. 5 144° Ip .
9 Tu. If rises 5 3 m. Cl. si. 2 m 51s [2f 16 50 17 7 47 3 54
17 48 18 8 4 4 35
10 W. 2 3$. Day deer. 3 37
11 Th. £ sets 8 51 a. Night 11 7 long 18 47 19 8 27 6 13
19 45 20 8 54 5 54
12 F. g □ 3'. 2 rises 1 52 morn
20 44 21 9 30 6m 15
13 S. ¿J' A $. Day 12 45 long
3
14 s. 14 55. a. ®iin. Holy Cross. 2 in S3 21 42 22 10 18 7
8
D-X-24 0 42 aft. 22 41 23 11 17 8
15 M. $ 3 4, 36°
<J45°I?. gp.d. 2f 23 39 24 mo rn. 9 39
16 Tu. 0 45°
24 38 25 0 25 11 10
17 W. Ember Week. J 3 Ig 1 27 aft.
25 37 26 1 36 Oa .22
IS Th. 7f 36°$. 3 52 83 morn.
26 35 27 2 46 1 12
19 F. 0 A Ip . Clock slow 6m 21s
27 34 28 3 57 1 49
D 3
3 2 a.
20 S. $ 36°
J 11 5m. 28 33 N. se ts. 2 19
21 s. 15 Sun. after ®r. 5
22 M. 0 ent. === 11 35 a. $ rises 5 30 m 29 32 1 6 a .28 2 47
0A30 2 6 39 3 16
23 Tu. 0 36° 2 • Day 12 6 long
1 29 3 6 51 3 44
24 W. 0 p. d. $ . 2 150° Ip • <? □ 4
2 28 4 7
7 4 12
25 Th. 0 3 g . 2 rises 2 27 morn.
3 27 5 7 27 4 41
26 F. St. Cyprian. Clock slow 8m 46s
4 26 6 7 53 5 13
27 S. £ 72° $. Night 12 10 long
28 s. 16 S. a. ®r. 0 p. d. $ . J 3 <? 5 25 7 8 32 5 50
29 ,M. Michaelmas D. 2 144° Ip [7 10 m 6 24 8 9 25 6m 11
30 Tu. St. Jerome. Ip station. ¿f 36° Ip 1 7 23 9 I10 36 7 5
�SEPTEMBER, 1873.
LALMANAC.J
21
September 1st. Last day for Overseers to send lists to
Clerk of Peace. British Museum closes. 8th, Opens from
10 till 4. Insurance due 30th instant and India bonds.
Lunar Influences.
The 7th, 11th, 21st, 26th, Saturn
1
Is in
2nd, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, Jupiter
good
4th, Sth, 17th, 22nd, Mars
k aspect
2nd, 10th, 15th, 27th, the Sun
with the
8th, 12th, 17th, 23rd, 28th, Venus
Moon.
__ ... 35.
10th, 15th, 21st, 27th, Mercury
See p.
The sign Libra rules China, Japan, parts of India near
„ China, Austria, Bactriana, Usbeck, Upper Egypt, Livonia,
the Caspian Sea, Vienna, Lisbon, Antwerp, Frankfort,
Spires and Charleston.
tD. Sun Sun Moon
M rises. sets. South.
WEATHER PREDICTIONS.—September, 1873.
i
h. tn. h. m. h. m.
Fair and warm at first. 3rd and 4th, thunder
1 5 14 6 46 7a 14 storms prevalent; 6th, rainy; 7th to 9th, fair in
2 5 16 6 43 8 15 general; 10th, showers; 12th and 13th, windy, ra
3 5 17 6 41 9 17 ther unsettled; 15th and 16th, a stormy period,
<4 5 19 6 39 19 18 lightning and meteors. 17th and 18th, fairer; 19th,
fair;
and 23rd,
5 5 21 6 37 11 16 cloudy, cool air; 20th and 21st, storms22nd dangerous
warm ; 24th and 25th, thunder
and
6 5 22 6 34 morn. lightning; 27th and 28th, fair; 29th and 30th,
E 5 24 6 32 0 12 clouds and heavy rains prevail. — The first week fair
8 5 25 6 30 1 5 and u-arni; the month, in general (except about the
9 5 27 6 28 1 56 15th and 16th), favourable for harvest work.
10 5
11 5
12 5
13 5
iE 5
15 5
16 5
17 5
l18 5
5
20 5
E5
22 5
'23 5
24 5
25 5
826 5
127 5
|E 5
¡29 5
B0 6
29 6
30 6
32 6
33 6
35 6
37 6
38 6
40 6
41 6
43 6
44 6
46 6
48 5
49 5
51 5
53 5
54 5
56 5
57 5
59 5
15
25
23
21
18
16
14
12
9
7
5
2
0
57
55
53
51
48
46
44
42
39
2 47
3 39
4 32
5 26
6 21
7 15
8 7
8 57
9 44
10 27
11 9
11 49
0a29
1 8
1 50
2 33
3 20
4 10
5 5
6 3
7 5
VOICE OF THE STARS—September, 1873.
The malefic Saturn hangs about the 26th degree of
the sign Capricorn, in which the Moon was found
when the Emperor of Germany was born. This will
bring him troubles and some sickness of a lingering
nature. But as Jupiter was on his ascendant on his
last birthday, it may be hoped it will be nothing
very serious. In fact, the terminus seems to extend
to the Sun’s conjunction with Saturn, about the 79th
year. The King of Sweden has Jupiter coming to
his ascendant; which will mitigate his normal condi
tion of grief and vexations. On the 15th day Mars
will pass the ascendant of the King of Italy. Let him
avoid dangers to his person at that time; hurts
in hunting, more especially.
He has, however,
M.C. trine Sun = 52° 48', lately gone by; and this
will bring honoursand advantages to Italy. He will
be very much given to fight and quarrel. Jupiter in
Virgo gives peace to Paris. But Mars in Sagittarius
brings Spain quarrels and bloodshed. Saturn in
Capricorn troubles Greece, Oxford, Brussels, &c.,
&c., and all born on the 4th to 10th September
flourish. Those born in mid-January suffer.
�22
OCTOBER XXXI Days.
MOON’S CHANGES, &c.
h. m.
D.M.
[zadkiel’s
¡2 souths H. souths $ souths ? souths
h.
5 31 m.
1st
6 25 m. 7th 7
10 55 m. 13th 6
6
0 10 m.
Perigee, 5d. 7h. m.—Apogee, 19th 6
25th 5
17 d 4h. a.
m.
Full Moon,
Last Quar.
NewMoon,
First Quar.
6 th,
13th,
21st,
29 th,
D. D.
of of
M. w.
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c,, &c.
10 a.
47
24
1
38
h.
10
10
9
9
9
m.
h. m.
0’s
&o D rises H.W.
36 m
17
58
39
19
4
4
4
4
4
40 a.
35
30
26
22
h.
9
9
9
9
9
m.
44 m
48
52
55
59
<o 1
» and sets Lon. B
A
h. Hl, h. irt
8=^=22 10 morn. 8m 2?
1 w. Remigius. Cam. Term begins
0 10 3
5p.d.l[. Cl. si. 10m 9 21 11 0
2 Th.
rises 0 13 m. D. br. 4 13 [43s 10 20 12 1 31 11 32
3 F.
2 Oa.34
11 19 13 3
4 S. 0 72°^. \ sets 11 5 aft.
12 19 14 4 34 1 32
5 s. 17 Sunbap aftrr 0huutp
2
13 18 15 rises. 2
Op. d.2|. <?135°$
6 M.
7 Tu. 2 135° T? . 5 p. d. 2 • Day dec. 5 23 14 17 16 6 a. 7 2 43
15 16 17 6 26 3 25
8 W. « 36° 21. Cl. si. 12m 29s. 8 in
5
9 Th St. Denys. £ □ 1? . Day 113 long 16 16 18 6 52 4
10 F. Oxford Term begins. 0 p. d. ? 17 15 19 7 24 4 43
9 5 25
11 S. Old Mich. Day. $ 36° $. 21 rises 18 14 20 8
5 5m48
12 s. 18 S.af. ®ri. Least twi. [3 36 m. 19 14 21 9
13 M. Trans. K. Edw. $ sets 8 9 aft. 20 13 22 10 11 6 36
10 8a. 21 13 23 11 22 7 40
14 Tu. 2 ris. 3 21 m. }
15 W. ®72°W. 2d,&P-d. 21. Mt.l3|22 12 24 morn. 9 12
16 Th. $ 45° 2 • Clock s. 14m 26s. [20 1. 23 12 25 0 34 10 43
24 12 26 1 45 11 54
17 F. Etheldreda. $ sets 5 22 aft.
18 S. St. Luke. $□$. ])d2197m. 25 11 27 2 56 0 &. 3S
4 1 I«
0 □ b- 2 Ab45°$ 26 11 28 4
19 S. 19 S. a.
20 M. 2 rises 3 39 m. Night 13 40 1. 27 11 29 5 13 1 46
28 11 N. sets. 2 12
21 Tu. g 72° b • Day 10 17 long
29 10 1 5 a. 14 2 43
22 W. 5 p. d. J£. D d $ 11 44 aft.
23 Th. tjt rises 10 59 a. Cl. si. 15m 36s oiriio 2 5 31 3 14
1 10 3 5 56 3 44
24 F. b sets 9 48 a. 21 rises 3 0 m.
2 10 4 6 31 4 IS
25 S. Crispin. Night 13 58 long
3 10 5 7 19 4 56
26 «. 20 Stinifap afttr ®x(nitp
4 10 6 8 23 5 32J
27 M. »¿21. J d ^2 16 morn.
28 Tu. 150° $. £ p. d. b • D d b 8 34 5 10 7 9 41 5m55
7 6 5a
29 W. $ sets 8 2 aft. Cl. si. 16m 10s [m. 6 10! 8 11
7 10 9 morn. 8 14
30 Th B -X-i? • 2 rises 4 9 morn8 10 10 0 34 9 48
*
souths 6 14 morn.
31 Fr. ? -X $ •
Long.
�OCTOBER, 1873.
ALMANAC.
23
October 1st to 15th, Burgess lists to be revised. Insu
rance to be paid by 13th. Dividends payable on 14th, 15th;
Quarter Sessions.
Lunar Influences.
The 5th, 8th, 18th, 23rd, Saturn
\ Is in
„ 8th, 12th, 18th, 23rd, 27th, Jupiter
i good
,, 2nd, 6th, 16th, 21st, 31st, Mars
( aspect
,, 1st, 10th, 15th, 26th, goth, the Sun
( with the
„ 7th, 12th, 18th, 23rd, 28th, Venus
} Moon.
,, 1st, 11th, 16th, 22nd, 28th, Mercury
J Seep. 35.
The sign Scorpio rules Barbary, Morocco, Norway,
ancient Palestine, a part of Syria, Valentia, Catalonia,
Messina, Frankfort, Cappadocia and Liverpool.
D. 1 Sun Sun Moon
M. rises. sets. South.
h.
16
26
36
46
E6
66
76
86
96
10 6
11 6
E6
13 6
14 6
15 6
16 6
17 6
18 6
E6
20 6
21 6
22 6
23 6
24 6
25 6
E6
27 6
28 6
29 6
30 6
31 6
m h.
25
45
65
75
95
11 5
12 5
14 5
16 5
17 5
19 5
21 5
23 5
24 5
26 5
28 5
29 5
31 4
33 4
35 4
36 4
38 4
40 4
42 4
43 4
45 4
47 4
49 4
50 4
52 4
54 4
m. h. m.
37 8a 21
35 9 0
32 9 55
30 10 48
28 11 40
26 morn.
23 0 32
21 1 25
19 2 19
17 3 14
15 4 11
12 5 7
10 6 1
8 6 53
6 7 41
4 8 25
1 9 8
59 9 48
57 10 28
55 11 7
53 11 48
51 0a31
49 1 17
47 2 7
45 3 1
43 3 57
41 4 56
39 5 54
37 6 50
35 7 44
34 8 36
WEATHER PREDICTIONS—October, 1873.
Changes at first and meteors at night; 4th warm ;
6th fair and warm; 7th cloudy7, some showers; 9th
and 10th cloudy, showery and windy; 11th to 13th
fair generally; 15th fair, white clouds prevail; 16th
misty and damp air; 18th and 19th cool air, rainy
and windy; 21st to 23rd fairer, seasonable; 24th to
26th tolerably fair; 27th windy, meteors at night;
28th cloudy, cool and rather unsettled ; 30th and 31st
cool, cloudy, windy.—A seasonable month ; no extreme
of weather, except on and about the YDth.
VOICE OF THE STARS—October, 1873.
.Again is the evil star Saturn stationary in Capricorn.
Therein he brings all kinds of sore troubles for the
lands ruled by that sign : these are chiefly India,
Mexico, parts of Persia, about Circan, &c., Greece,
Oxford and Bulgaria. Now we know that Mexico
has been completely revolutionized since he has been
in the sign; and in India many troubles, of most
serious character, have arisen, such as the Pooka
rising ; where full twenty villages have been utterly
destroyed and 65 poor wretches have been blown
away fiom guns, to convince the people of the
paternal nature of English government. Also the
murder of the Governor General of Indiahas occurred.
In Persia a grievous famine has raged ; Bulgaria has
been the scene of very numerous grievances. Oxford
has been unlucky in many ways, and Greece only has
Either to escaped. On the 15th a conjunction of Jupiter
and Venus, in the 21st degree of Virgo, will benefit
Paris, Turkey and the West Indies, &c. Let all born
on or near the 16th January, any year, beware of
colds and troubles through old persons, buildings,
landlords, &c. Those born the 13th August will gain
in health and wealth. Those born near the middle
of June will be liable to losses and hurts the first
week of this month.
�24
NOVEMBER XX]C Days.
MOON’S CHANGES, &c. D.M. b souths
h. m.
h. m.
Full Moon 4th, 3 48 aft.
1st 5 12 a.
Last Quar. 12 th, 0 48 m.
New Moon, 20th, 3 37 m. 7th 4 50
First Quar. 27th, 8 13 m. 13th 4 28
6
Perigee,2d. lh. a.—Apogee.lid. 19th 4
9h.in —Perigee, SOd 3h. in.
25th 3 45
[zadkiel’s
If souths J souths ? souths
*
h.
8
8
8
7
7
h. Hl.
h. m.
4 17à. 1 0 3m
4 12 1 0 7
4 8 1 0 11
4 4 1 0 16
3 59 1 0 21
a>
D. D.
bo
Remarkable Days,
®’s <1 J rises H.W.
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
Long. JDQ and sets Lon. B.
M w.
«
h. m. h. mJ
1 s. All Saints. 0 45°
9 P. d. 21 91Î110 11 2m. 4 llmlO
2 s. 21 Sun. at ®r. Mich. T.b. 0 □ H 10 10 12 3 32 Oa. 10
3 M. H r. 10 16 aft. Cl. slow 16m 18s 11 10 13 4 59 0 56
4 Tu. D ecl. partly vis. at Gr. D. hr. 5 5 12 10 14 rises. 1 38
5 W.
Night 14 38 long
13 11 15 4 a. 49 2 20
6 Th. Leonard. § 72° If, p. d. $
1
14 11 16 5 19 3
7 F. © 72° b • b pets 8 57 aft.
15 11 17 5 57 3 41
8 8. Cam. T. div. noon. C'J. si. 16m 6s 16 11 18 6 50 4 22
9 5. 22 Sunhap after ®rf. B. of P. of IE 17 12 19 7 54 5
4
10 M. 24 45°W. ?72°W. 8 A W
18 12 20 9
5 5 51
11 Tu. St. Martin. J
ÿ 6 43 morn
19 12 21 10 18 6m 14
12 W. 5 45° b • 71 rises 2 3 morn
20 13 22 11 30 7
9
13 Th. Britius. 0 p.d. W' f sets 8 3 a. 21 13 23 morn. 8 28
14 F. Î □ b • Clock slow 15m 22s
22 14 24 0 41 9 49
15 S. Machutus. D 21 2 35 morn
23 14 25 1 51,10 56
16 3. 23 Sun. af. ®r. 8 45° 2 . H sta. 24 15 26 3
0 11 51
17 M. Hugh. $ rises 5 5 morn
25 15 27 4 10 Oa.32
18 Tu. D ô 2 2 57 m, Twi. ends 6 5 m. 26 16 28 5 23 1
8
19 W.
27 17 29 6 38 1 43
20 Th. 0 ecl. inv. at Gr. 0-X-b • <? 8 h 28 17 N. sets. 2 15
21 F. D <5 8 2 48 aft. Cl. si. 13m 53s 29 18 1 4 a. 30 2 49
22 S. St. Cecilia. $ seta 4 42 aft.
0119 2 5 15 3 23
23^. 24 Sunbap after Œrfnftp. St. Clem. 1 19 3 6 15 4
0
24 M. ? □¥, 5 45° <7. D ô Z 10 0 a.
2 20 4 7 29 4 40 j
26. Tu. Mich. T. ends. 0 p. d. b
3 21 5 8 54 5 26
26 W. 0 p. d, J1. 8 45° b- 2 45° 21
4 22 6 10 20 5 m52 !
27( Th. p. d. b.
sou. 4 28 m. 8 in
5 22 7 11 46 6 52i
28 ! F. ? souths 0 11 a. Cl..si. 11m 45s 6 23 8 morn. 8
2
29| S. ©p.d.$ . 8 AH, 72° 21 . 2 72°b 7 24. 9I 1 12, 9 20
10 S. 1 3. in •a». 0 rf J • 5 P- d T?
8 25 10 2 36 10 33
m.
57m
37
17
57
37
�NOVEMBER, 1873.
VLMANAO.]
November 1st, Borough Councillors elected. 9th, Mayor
ad Aidermen elected Birthday of the Prince of Wales.
Lunar Influences.
Is in
The 2nd, 5th, 15th, 19th, 28th, Saturn
good
,, 5th, 9th, 14th, 20th, 24th, Jupiter
aspect
„ 4th, 14th. 19th, 29th, Mars
with the
,, 9th, 14th, 25th, 29th, the Sun
Moon.
,, 7th, 12th, 17th, 23rd, 27th, Venus
,, 1st, 11th. 16th, 21st, 25th, 29th, Mercury
See p. 35.
The sign SagittariMs rules Arabia Felix, Spain, Hungary,
parts near Cape Finisterre, Istria, Dalmatia, Tuscany,
Moravia, Sclavonia, Cologne, Avignon, Buda and Nar
bonne.
~8
D. un 1S un Moon
M. ri ses. S(its. South. ¡WEATHER PREDICTIONS—November, 1873.
h. m. h.
16
E6
36
47
57
67
77
87
E7
10 7
11 7
12 7
13 7
14 7
15 7
E7
17 7
18 7
19 7
20 7
21 7
22 7
E7
24 7
25 7
26 7
27 7
28 7
29 7
E7
56 4
5« 4
59 4
14
34
54
64
84
10 4
12 4
14 4
15 4
17 4
19 4
21 4
22 4
24 4
26 4
27 4
29 4
31 4
32 4
34 3
36 3
37 3
39 3
40 3
42 3
43 3
45 3
m.
32
30
28
26
25
23
21
20
18
16
15
13
12
11
9
8
6
5
4
3
2
0
59
58
57
56
55
55
54
63
m. The month begin? fair and. mild ; 2nd cool and
rainy; 7th
air;
9a27, changeable; 4th and 5thwindy; lltlicloudy, cool cold,
12th
10 17 9th and 10th unsettled, ; 14th co’d, and and snow ;
some snow in the month
fog
11 91 16th rain, unsettled, many changes; 18th and 19th
morn.■ fair for the season, mild air; 2dth stormy, colder,
0 2I some snow showers : very high winds ; 22nd and 23rd
0 57'.more temperate; 24th and 25th stormy, snow fa'ls ;
26th and 27th
at intervals; 29th
1 55J and 30th stormv still windy, fair air —A fair month,
and cold, frosty
2 53'\rather dr</; bitt very stormy and unsettled about the
3 50 Eclipse of the San.
4 44
5 34 j VOICE OF THE STARS—November, 1873.
6 21 The furious Mars is now raging in Capricorn; and
7 4 I bringing bloodshed in all those places under the rule
see p 27. On
last month he
7 45 I'Of that sign;first house, with athe 7th popular Prince,
entered the
certain
8 25 | whom I counsel to be very guarded about his health
9 5 at present; as the moon on the 9th will be in opposi
9 45 tion of Mars, and this evil aspect falls opposite to the
10 27 place of Mars at birth. He is moreover “ liable to
11 13 inflammatory comp'aints,” as stated page 7 of the ;
“Handbook of Astrolozy,” vol.
However, as
0a 2 Jupiter draws up to the place of II. Moon, I trust *
the
1
0 55 he will escape anything serious at this period. On 1
1 52 I the 20th there will be a conjunction of Saturn and
2 50 Mars in the 29ch degree of Capricorn. Fortunately
3 49 we find Jupiter in trine aspect thereto, which miti-,
mischief. Yet will they rain down storms,
4 46 gates their earthquakes and warlike doings on the
tempests,
5 40 i people ruled bv Capricorn, and partly those under the
6 31 rule of Aquarius. On the 16tn Uranus stationary in
7 21 the ruling sign of France opens up a new list of
8 9 troubles, accidents and deeds of violence therein.
8 58 Births on the 1st to 3rd August will suffer by |
deaths of relations.
h.
C
�DECEMBER XXXI Days.
[zadkiel’s
MOON’S CHANGES, &c. D. M. \ souths H. souths (J souths 2 souths
h. m.
h. m.
h. m.
h. m.
1. m.
Full Moon, 4th, 4 20 m.
LastQnar. 11th, 9 54 aft. 1st
New Moon, 19th, 6 49 aft. 7th
First Quar. 26th, 4 5 aft. 18th
Apogee, 12d. 6h m.—Perigee, 19 th
24d. 9h. a.
25th
D.
of
w.
3
3
2
2
1
23 a.
2
41
20
59
Remarkable Days,
Planetary Aspects, &c., &c.
7
6
6
6
5
16m
55
34
12
51
3
3
3
3
8
<D
hr
55 a.
50
45
39
34
10
10
10
10
10
27m
34
41
49
58
I
I
®’s
J rises H.W.
Long. 00 and sets Lon. B.
*
<=
h. m. h. m
1 M. $ p. d. <?. f r. 8 26 a. ? in p. 9 t 2R 11 4m 1 llm35
2 Tu. © A
72r 4.
Daybr. 10 26 12 5 29 Oa.28
3 W. b sets 7 25 a. Twi. e. 5 56 [5 43 11 27 13 6 55 1 16
4 Th. If rises 0 55 m. Clock si. 9m 29s 12 98 14 rises 2
2
5 F. <? sets 8 12 a. Day deer. 8 35
13 29 15 4 a »6 2 46
6 S. Nicholas. ® 45° 1?, $ g I£I
14 30 16 5 35 3 28
7 5. 2 Sunbap tn ^biunt. J p. d.
15 31 17 6 45 4 11
8 M Con. B. V. M. £ p. d «S'. D d $ 16 32 18 7 59 4 51
9 Tu.
P- d.$. ? >|< I?, * 2£. %J72
17 33 19 9 13 5 33
0 W. ? 6 ? • 5 stat. Night 16 9 long 18 34 20 10 25 5m55
11 Th. ? 72° . Cl. slow 6m 24s
19 35 2! 11 34 6 42
12 F. 3,135°2{. 5p. d.<J. J <5 If 6 6 a. 20 36 22 morn.
7 31
13 S. Lucy. $ rises 6 27 morn
21 37 23 0 43 8 35
11 s. 3 Sun. in "abb. $ p. d.
22 38 24 1 52 9 41
15 M. 5 rises 6 1 morn. Day 7 47 long 23 39 25 3 4 10 41
16 Tu. Cam. T. ends. ® 135°#, 36c 1?. $ 24 40 26 4 18 11 38
17 W. Ember IF. Oxf. Term, e. [p. d. H 25 41 27 5 34 Oa.25
lb Th. ? A #. Dd ? 0 33 m.; d ? 26 42 28 6 53 1
7
19 F. Clock slow 2m 32s
[11 33 m 27 44 N. sets. 1 50
20 S.
Night 16 15 long
28 45 1 4a. 3 2 3c
21 S 4 Sttnbap in 'glbimnt. ® ent. py 5 29 46 2 5 14 3 11
22 M. ©□4- t ci
4 9m.
[32 a. oyj 47 3 6 39 3 55
23 Tu. 5 A
? 45° 1?. J) <5 J 5 54 a 1 48 4 8
6 4 38
24 w. If ris 11 43 a. $ sets 8 23 a.
2 49 5 9 33 5 27
25 Th. Christmas ©ap. ® 144°$. J 144° 3 51 6 10 59 5m 51
2f F. St.Ste. Cl. f. Om 58s. [4. 5 72°4 4 52 7 morn. 6 42
27 8. St. John Evan. J ris. 7 5 morn,
5 53 8 0 23 7 38
2> 5. 1 Sun. af. ©fj. Innocents. 5 45° l? 6 54 9 1 45 8 45
2M M ? ¡35°^. 5 ris. 6 36 n orn
7 55 10 3 10 9 52
30 Tu. ® p. d. ? . J 36° . Nt. 16 11 1. 8 56 11 4 35 11
1
31 W. Silvester.
souths 2 11m.
9 57 12 5 58 Oa. 5
�ALMANAC.]
DECEMBER, 1873.
27
Dkckmbhk 25th, Insurance due. Make merry, yet
“serve the Lord with gladnessand “give alms:* you
1'
will not repent this on your deathbed.
Lunar Influences.
The 2nd, 12th, 17th, 26th, 30th. Saturn
V Is in
3rd, 7th, 12th, 17th, 21st, 30th, Jupiter
good
3rd. 13th, 18th, 28th. Mars
k aspect
with the
9th, 14th, 24th, 28th, the Sun
Moon.
7th, 12th, 18th. 23rd. 27th, Venus
7th, 12th, 17th, 22nd, 27th, Mercury
- Seep. 35.
The sign Capricorn rules India, Greece, parts of Persia
about Circan and Maracan. Chorassan, Lithuania, Saxony,
Mexico, Mecklenburg, the Orkney Islands, Albania,
Oxford, Hesse, Bulgaria, Styria and Brussels.
Sun Moon
sets. South. I WEATHER PREDICTIONS—December, 1873.
h. m. h. m. h. m. | Fair, but cold and windy at first; 2nd meteors or
4th and
gloomv ; 6th
1 7 46 3 53 9a49 lightning ; stormy , 5th dull, cloudy and snow and fog,
snow falls,
8th to 10th stormy,
2 7 4b 3 52 10 42 but fair at intervals; 12th and 13th fair, but many
3 7 49 3 51 11 38 changes; 14th some snow; 16th changes, damp air;
4 7 50 3 51 morn. 18th rainy; 20th fair; 22nd fair, but high winds pre
5 7 52 3 50 0 36 vail ; 23rd rain and fog; 25th fair, meteors seen, a
6 7 53 3 50 1 34 green Christmas; 27th and 28th colder, frosty air ; 30th
and
E 7 54 3 50 2 31 Ii to the end fog and rain prevail.-—On the 12thwhich
13z7i both Saturn and Jupiter change their sign ;
8 7 55 3 49 3 24 brings sure changes in the atmosphere. After the
9 7 56 3 49 4 13 first week, a tolerably temperate month.
D.
Sun
M. rises
10 7
11 7
12 7
13 8
E8
15 8
16 8
17 8
18 8
19 8
20 8
E8
22 8
23 8
21 8
25 8
26 8
27 8
E8
29 8
30 8
gl 8
57 3
58 3
59 3
03
1 3
23
33
43
43
53
63
63
7 3
73
83
83
83
83
93
93
93
93
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
49
50
50
51
51
52
52
53
54
55
55
56
57
58
4 58
5 41
6 21
7 0
7 40
8 21
9 5
9 52
10 44
11 41
0a40
1 41
2 40
3 36
4 29
5 18
6 7
6 54
7 43
8 34
9 27
10 23
VOICE OF THE STARS—December, 1873.
On the 6th Mars opposes Uranus and on the 11th
Saturn enters Aquarius; hence we shall hear of
troubles in France; where the “ Voice of God ” has
not yet penetrated, nor the people been convinced
that Providence will punish for the national sin
of cruelty to the poor, half-naked inhabitants of
Northern Africa. The 12th is a good birthday for
John, King of Saxony, and for all born that day. The
24th is evil rather for George I, king of Greece. His
revenue will fail and he will be disturbed in his
royal seat. On the 13th Jupiter enters Libra and
brings peace and prosperity to China, Japan, &c.; see
p. 21. Mais in Aquarius disturbs Arabia, Russia and
Prussia, &c.; the more so, as the mischief-worker
Saturn has entered that sign also, and will soon begin
to shower down troubles on the peoples under its
sway. . These will take the form of earthquakes and
political disturbances. All born from the 21st to the
24th September will now be gaining and flourishing,
and will enjoy good health in general. Bat those
born from the 19th to the 22nd January must guard
against losses and family sorrows.
“God save the Queen and Royal Family.”
�PLANETS—LAW AND UNIVERSITY TERMS.
28
[zADKIEL’s
PLANETS, &c.
The Dominion of the Moon in Names and Characters oe the
Planets, &c.
i Mao’s Body, as she passes through
® The Sun.
i the Twelve Zodiacal Signs.
h Saturn. H Jupiter. <J Mars.
i
• __
° 2 Venus. £ Mercury. J The
' T Aries, Head and Face.......... 0 J Moon. ft Dragon’s Head.
i y Taurus, Neck and Throat.... 30 13 Dragon’s Tail.
$ Uranus.
H Gemini, Arms and Shoulders 60 ? Ceres $ Pallas. $ Juno.
i sd Cancer, Breast .and Stomach 90 [$] Vesta, (p Neptune. Astrea.
! ft Leo, Heart and Back.......... 120
Flora. &c., &c.
■ tlj) Virgo, Bowels and Belly ....150 N.B.—Those printed in italics are not
in the zodiac, and have
; =2= Libra, Reins and Loins...... 180 fluence. There are nowno important in
above 100 disco
- th Scorpio. Secret Members ....210 vered between Mars and Jupiter.
J Sagittarius, Hips & Thighs. 240
ASPECTS.
| k? Capricorn, Knees and Hams 270 5 Conjunction.
* Sextile.
;
Aquarius, Legs and Ankles. 300 A Trine. □ Quartile. § Opposition.
)( Pisces, Feet and Toes.......... 330 S □ Semisquare. SSnSesquisquare.
LAW TERMS, 1873.
As settled by Statutes 11 Geo. IV < cap. 70. s. 6.
& 1 Will. IV
1 cap. 3, s. 2.
Hilary Term ................. Begins 3an. 11
Easter ...........................
„ Apr. 15
Trinity........................
„May 23
Michaelmas......................
„ Nov. 2
For Returns see Statute 1 Will. IV, cap. 3, s. 2.
(Passed July 23,1830.
(Passed Dec. 23,1830.)
....Ends Jan. 31
....
„ May 9
....
„ Junel3
...
„ Nov. 25
(Passed Dec. 23, 1830.)
UNIVERSITY TERMS, 1873.
Tbrms.
I Lent..........
I Easter ........
i Trinity....... .
Michaelmas....
OXFORD.
Begins.
Ends.
Jan.
11 April 5
April 1G May 30
May
31 July 6
Oct.
10 Dec. 17
The A ct, July 1.
CAMBRIDGE.
Begins.
Divides.
Ends.
Jan. 13 Feb. 22, Midnight April 4
April 9 May IS, Midnight June 21
Oct.
1 Nov. 8, Noon
Dec! 16
The Commencement, June 17.
REGULATIONS RESPECTING ELECTIONS.
Notice to receive claims for Votes must be given by Overseers on June 20. Lists
of Electors made by July 31. Persons objecting to claims for Votes give notice
by August r5 Barristers hold Revision Courts between September 20 and Oct.
25. Lists copied into books, and the books to be delivered by October 31; such
books considered the Registry of the Electors.
ARTICLES OF THE CALENDAR AND COMMON NOTES FOR 1872.
Golden Number ..........................
12 Ash Wednesday............................... Feb.26
Epact...............
1 Easter Day .............................. Apr. 13
Dominical Letter ............
E Rogation Sunday....... ................ Maj’ 18
Solar Cycle ....................................
6 Ascension Day........................... ...Maj'22
Roman Indiction.........................
1 WiiitSunday....................... . June 1
Julian Period
............. .........6586 Trinity Sunday ........................ June 8
Sundays after Epiphany..............
3 Sundays after Trinity ...............
24
Septuagésima- Sunday .. ..... Feb. 9 Advent Sunday.......................... Nov. 30
The Year 5634 of the Jewish Era begins September 22, 1873. The Mahommeaan
Year, 1290, begins March 1, 1873. Ramadan (Turkish Fast) commences on the
23rd October, 1873. This Year 1873 is the year 2626 of the Foundation of Rome ;
2619 of the Era of Nabonassar, fixed Wednesday, 26th Feb., 747 B.C.
�ALMANAC.]
REGAL TABLES.
29
BIRTHDAYS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY.
Queen Victoria .................. May 24, 1819 Pr. Leo. Geo Duncan Albert. Apr. 7, 1853
The Princess of Prussia ..Nov. 21, 1840
Albert Edward, Pr. of WalesNov 9,1841
Princess Alice of Hesse ..Apr. 25, 1843
Prince Alfred Ernest Albert Aug. 6,1844
Princess of Wales ........... Deo. 1, 1844
Prs.HelenaAugustaVictoria May 25, 1846
Prs. LouisaCarolinaAlbertaMar. 18, 1848
Pr. Arthur Patrick William
Albert............................. May 1,1850
Prs. Beatrice Mary Victoria Apr 14, 1857
Late King of Hanover......... May 27, 1819
Duchess of Cambridge ....July 25, 1797
Duke of Cambridge.......... Mar. 26, 1819
Augusta Caroline, Duchess
of Mecklenburgh Strelitz July 19, 1822
MaryAdelaideof CambridgeNov. 27, 1833
Prs. Viet. Alberta of Hesse April 5, 1863
Princess Eliz. Alex. Louise, Nov. 1,1864
SOVEREIGNS OF EUROPE.
Countries, &c.
To whom subject.
When born.
Began to reign.
England, &c.............. Victoria ....................May 24........... 1819 June 20......... 1837
France.......................Thiers, President •
Russia, &c..................Alexander II............... April 29......... 1818 March 2
1855
Spain........................ Amadeus.................... May 30..........1845
1871
Portugal................... Luis II........................October 31..1838 November 12,1861
Prussia....................... Frederick William V,
Emperor of Germany March 22 ...1797 January 2 ..1861
Netherlands..............William III . ............. February 19.1817 March 17 ....1849
Belgium.................... Leopold II .............. ..April 9 ........ 1835 December
1865
Denmark...................Christian IX.............. April 8......... 1818 November 16,1863
Sweden & Norway ... Charles XV............. . May 3............ 1826 July 8. ......1859
Austria, &c................ Francis ..... ............ August 18.... 1830 December 2 1848
Popedom................... Pius IX........................May 13 .......... 1792 June 16 ......... 1846 |
Italy .................... .Victor Emanuel... ...March 14 ... .1820 March 23 ....1849 i
Ottoman Empire...... Abdul Aziz................. February 9*. .1830 June 25.......... 1861
Greece....................... George I .................... December24.1845 JuneS .......... 1863 I
Bavaria..................... Louis II ............... ..August ¿5.... 1845 March 10 ....1864
Saxony.............. ........ John........................... December 12 1801 August 10... .1854
Wurtemberg ........Charles ....................... March 6 ....1823 June 27.......... 1864
* 15 Chabän, 1245.
KINGS AND QUEENS OF ENGLAND, FROM THE CONQUEST.
(Corrected by Sir Harris Nicolas’s “ Chronology of History.”
Names. Began to reign. Charles I, Jan. 30,1649,
Names. Began to reign
to the restoration of
William I ...1066, Dec. 25 Henry VI ...1422, Sept. 1
Charles II.
William II. 1087, Sept. 26 Edward IV 1461, Mar. 4
Names. Began to reign.
Henry I ... .1100, Aug. 5 Edward V ...14S3, April 9
Stephen ... .1135, Dec. 26 Richard III 1483, J une 2g Ch. II (rest, f) 1660, May 29
Henry II.... 1154, Dec. 19 Henry VII ..1485, Aug. 2g James II . 1685, Feb. 6
Richard I.... 1189, Sept. 3 Henry VIII. 1509, April 22 W.III&My.II,1689, Feb.13
John............. 1199, May 27 Edward VI ..1547, Jan. 28 William III alone, 1694
Henry III ..1216, Oct. 28 Mary I ... .1553, July 6 Anne............ 1702, Mar. 8
Edward I... .1272, Nov. 20 Elizabeth....1558, Nov. 17 George I .... 1714, Aug. 1
Edward II ..1307, July 8 James I .....1603, Mar. 24 George II .. 1727, June 11
Edward III 1327, Jan. 25 Charles I ...1625, Mar 27 George III ..1760, Oct. 25
*
(Oliver George IV ..1820, Jan. 29
Richard II ..1377, June 22 Commonwealth
Cromwell and his Son) William IV..1830, June 26
Henry IV ...1399, Sept. 30
from the execution Qf Victoria ... .1837, June 20
Henry V ... .1418, Mar. 21
* Edward III, King of France, from January, 1340, to May, 1360. Heredita ry
right admitted November, 1272.
f In some historical and in all legal documents, the reign of Charles II is re ck
oned from his father’s death.
�30
[zADKIEL’s
STAMP DUTIES.
STAMP DUTIES.
£ 8. d.
AGREEMENTS, value £5, duty 6d.; above 1080 words, extra
0 0 6
‘ MEMORANDUM or AGREEMENT between masters and mariners of
anj’ ships, for wages or service on any voyage 020
I APPRAISEMENT ol Goods, 2s. 6d.—5s.—10s.—15s.—20a.
APPRENTICESHIP INDENTURES.
If the Premium be under ^30 £10 0
2 0 0 £400 and under £500
- £25 0 0
£30, and under £50 500,
„
600
- 30 0 0
100 3 0 0
50,
„
600,
„
800
- 40 0 0
6 0 0
100,
200 800,
„
1000
- 50 0 0
- 12 0 0
200,
300 60 0 0
300,
,,
- 20 0 0 1000, or upwards
400 vnd where no premium, if the Indenture shall not contain more than
1080 words -----------0 2 6
ff more than 1080 words ----------1 15 0
By 7 and 8 Geo. IV, c. 17.—When bills of exchange or notes which become due
rhe day preceding Good Friday or Christmas Day are dishonoured, notice thereof
may be given on the day next after; and whenever Christmas Day falls on a
Monday, then on the Tuesday next after.
Bills of Exchange and Notes becoming duo on Fast or Thanksgiving Days shall
e payable on the preceding day; and Good Friday and Christmas Day, and
very day of Fast or Thanksgiving, shall for all other purposes as regards bills
md notes be considered as Sunday.
DEBENTURE or Certificate on any Drawback of any Duty or Part of any Duty
of Customs or' Excise, or any Bounty.
s. d.
Where the Drawback or Bounty to be received shall not exceed Ten Pounds 1 0
Where the same shall exceed Ten Pounds and not exceed Fifty Pounds 2 6
And where the same shall exceed Fifty Pounds................................................ 50
RECEIPTS, &c.
LICENSE.
ttECEil’T upon the Payment of Money On all Dogs amounting to £2, or upwards, Id.
Au. Letters of Credit tankers’ Drafts and Cheques (to any Letters acknowledging the safe
amount), Id.
arrival of Bills of Exchange
certified Copy of Register of Marriage,
or other Securities, &c. Birth or Death, Id.
Scrip Certificates transfer in Cost Book Mines, 6d.
To carry a Firearm Proxy in Joint Stock Company, Id.
CONVEYANCE OF ANY KIND.
s. d.
5 0
0 1
0 1
0 1
10 0
8. d.
Annual sum not exceeding 20s. -.--.-.-26
Exceeding 20s and not £12, tor every 20s......................................... 2 6
Exceeding £12 and not £24, for every 4is.
-..-50
Above £24, for every £4-.
.
.
.
• lu 0
�ALMANAC.]
31
STAMP DUTIES, &C.
Inland Bum or Exchange, Draft, or Promissory Note for payment in any
other manner than to bearer on deOrder for the Payment to the Bearer,
mand,
or to Order, at any time otherwise
DUTY
than on demand , of any sum.
DUTY.
8. d.
0 1
Exceeding £5
0 2
n
0 3
10
25
0 6
n
0 9
50
75
»
wo 1 0
100
„
200 2 0
200
„
300 3 0
99
300
„
400 4 0
99
400
„
500 5 0
99
500
„
750 7 6
99
750
„
1,000 10 0
99
1,000
,,
1,500 15 0
99
Foreign Bill of Exchange drawn in,
but payable out of, United Kingdom :
drawn singly, same duty as on an
Inland Bill; drawn in sets, for every
bill of each set,
Not exceeding £5
„
10
„
25
„
50
„
75
8. d
Not exceeding £5 0 1
Exceeding ^5
„
10
0 2
„
10
„
25 0 3
„
25
„
60 0 6
50
„
75 0 9
„
75
„
100
1 0
Promissory Note for payment to bearer
on demand, or in any other manner.
DUTY.
8. d.
Not exceeding £25 0 1
50 0 2
Exceeding £25
50
>>
75 0 3
»
75
»
100 0 4
99
100
„
200 0 8
99
200
„
300
1 0
99
300
»
4OU
1 4
99
400
„
500
1 8
99
600
,,
750
2 6
99
750
„ i,oou 3 4
99
1,000
„
1,500
5 0
99
Foreign Bill of Exchange drawn out
of the United Kingdom, and payable
within same duty as Inland Bill.
Foreign Bill op Exchange drawn and
payable out of the United Kingdom,
but indorsed or negotiated within the
same, duty as on a Foreign Bill drawn
within and payable out of the U. K.
8. d.
Exceeding £100, and not exceeding ...
£200
2 0
„
200
„
300
3 0
„
300
„
400
4 0
„
400
„
500
5 0
„
600
„
750
7 6
,,
750
„
1,000 10 0
(Succession Duty.)
Where the successor snail be the lineal
issue or ancestor of the predecessor, a
duty at the rate ot one pound per cent..
according to the value.
Where the successor shall be a brothel
or sister, or a descendant of a brothel
or sister, of the predecessor, a duty of
three pounds per cent.
Where the successor shall be a brothei
or sister of the father or mother, or a
descendant of a brother or sister of the
father or mother of the predece ssoi, a
duty of five pounds yer cent.
Where the successor shall be a brotnei
or sister of the grandfather or grandmother, or a descendant of the orothei
or sister of the grandfather or grand
mother of the predecessor, a duty of six
pounds per cent.
Where the successor shall be in am
other degree of collateral consanguinity
to the predecessor, or shall be a stranger
in blood to him, a duty of £10 per cent
LEA8E8.
Lease of any lands, tenements, here
ditaments, or heritable subjects at a
yearly rent, without any sum of money
oy way of fine, premium, or grassum
paid lor the same : —
lhe yearly rent not above £5 - 0 6
Above £5 and not above £10
' '
1- 0
10
15
1 6
»,
99
15
20
2 0
99
»
20
25
2 6
»
»
25
50
5 0
99
»
60
75
»
7 6
„ 75
100 - 10 0
.
>>
Above £100, 5s. for every £50, and
I, ...
fractional part thereof.
Warrant oj Attorney.—The same duty
as on a Bond for like purpose.
BON l)tS, MOKTGaGKS, &c.
Boud in England or Ireland, and Per
sonai Bond m Scotland, given as a secu
rity for the payment of any certain sum
of money.
N ot exceeding £50
- 1 ;3
Above £50 and not above £100 - 2 6
I
100
99
150 - 3 9
I
»
150
200 - 5 0
I
99
»
200
250 - 6 ö
,
99
»
250
300-7 6
'
Above £300, 2s.’’(id. for every £1O,
f:_
and fractional part thereof.
DUTÏ .
LET'l'EKb Ul ATTUKJNEY.
�32
[zadkiel’i
USEFUL TABLES.
BANK STOCK
TRANSFER AND DIVIDEND DAYS.
* * Ö»
M 8 of Transfer
Tu
Th F
Day
Y
Due.
— Tu w Tb F
3 per cent. Reduced..
99
99
> April6 and October 10.
— Tu w Tb F
34 per Cent Reduced
99
99
—- Tu — Th F
4 per cent. 1826 .......
99
99
— Tu w Tb F ■ I Jan. 5 and July 5.
3 per cent Consols ..
99
99
— Tu — Th _
Ditto, 1726
.......
99
99
— Tu w Th F
New 3J per cent........
99
99
Imperial 3percent..«
M — w — F _ 11 May 1 and Nov. 1
99
99
— Tu — Th — S
Imperial Annuities ..
99
99
— Tu — Th — si I May 25 and Sept. 25.
Iris h 5 per cent..........
„
»9
99
Irish Annuities, 1794, 1795
— — — Th — s
Hours luí buying, selling, and transferring, from 11 to 1; for accepting, from
HKMi» for uuymg, seeing,
9 to 3; for payment of Dividends, from 9 to 11, and from 1 to 3; and for 3 per
cent. Consols from 9 to 3 every day.
SOUTH SEA STOCK, MW F; 3 per cent. New Annuities, Tu Th S ; 3 per
cent. 1751, Tu Th S; Jan. 5 and July 5. 3 per cent. Old Annuities, M W F;
April and Oct.—Hours of Transfer, from 12 to 1; for receiving Dividends, 9 to 2.
INDIA STOCK, Tu Th, January 5 and July 5; India Bonds, March 31 and
Sept. 30.—Private Transfers made at other times 2s. 6d. extra at the Bank and
India House, and 3s 6d. extra at the South Sea House.
HOLIDAYS AT THE BANK.—Christmas Day, Good Friday, May 1, Nov. 1.
TABLE TO CAST UP EXPENSES.
By Day. By Weck. By Mon. By Year.
£ s. d.
0 0 1
0 0 2
0 0 3
0 0 4
0 0 5
0 0 6
0 0 7
0 0 8
0 0 9
0 0 10
0 0 11
0 10
0 2 0
0 3 0
0 4 0
0 5 0
0 6 0
0 7 0
0 8 0
0 9 0
0 10 0
0 11 0
0 12 0
0 13 0
0 14 0
0 15 0
0 16 0
0 17 0
0 18 0
0 19 0
10 0
sé
s. d.
0 0 7
0 12
0 19
0 2 4
0 2 11
0 3 6
0 4 1
0 4 8
0 5 3
0 5 10
0 6 5
0 7 0
0 14 0
1 1 0
18 0
1 15 0
2 2 0
2 9 0
2 16 0
3 3 0
3 10 0
3 17 0
4 4 0
4 11 0
4 18 0
5 5 0
5 12 0
5 19 0
6 6 0
6 13 0
7 0 0
£ s. d.
2 4
4 8
7 0
9 4
11 8
14 0
16 4
18 8
110
13 4
15 8
18 0
2 16 0
4 4 0
5 12 0
7 0 0
8 8 0
9 16. 0
11 4 0
12 12 0
14 0 0
15 8 0
16 16 0
18 4 0
19 12 0
21 0 0
22 8 0
23 16 0
25 4 0
26 12 0
28 0 0 I
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
£ 8- d
1 10 5
3 0 10
4 11 3
6 18
7 12 1
9 2 6
10 12 11
12 3 4
13 13 9
15 4 2
16 14 7
18 5 0
36 10 0
54 15 0
73 0 0
91 5 0
109 10 0
127 15 0
146 0 0
164 5 0
182 10 a
20.0 15 a
219 0 0
•437 5 0
255 10 0
273 15 0
222 0 0
310 5 0
328 10 0
346 15 0
365 0 0
TABLE OF INTEREST AT EJVE
PER CENT.
Days.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
£1.
d.f.
—
_
—
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
0 1
14
0 1
15
0 2
16
0 2
17
0 2
18
0 2
19
20
0 2
21
0 2
22
0 2
23 ■ 0 3
24
0 3
0 3
15
26
0 3
0 3
27
0 3
28
29
0 3
0 3
30
31
1 0
£2.' | £3.
1
d.f. "Z7
—
—
_
—
0 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 0 1
0 1 0 2
0 1 0 2
0 2 0 3
0 2 0 3
0 2 0 3
0 2 1 0
0 3 1 0
0 3 1 1
0 3 1 1
0 3 1 1
1 0 1 2
I 0 1 2
1 0 1 3
1 0 1 3
1 1 1 3
1 1 2 0
1 1 2 0
1 2 2 1
1 2 2 1
1 2 2 1
1 2 2 2
1 3 2 2
1 3 2 3
1 3 2 3
1 3 ! 2 3
2 0 3 0
4.
£5.
d.f.
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
1
1
2
2
3
3
0
0
1
1
2
2
3
3
0
0
1
1
2
3
3
0
0
1
1
2
2
33
0
0
0
1 0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
1
1
2
3
3
0
1
1
2
3
3
0
1
1
2
3
3
0
1
1
2
3
3
0
1
1
2
3
3
9
�ALMANAC.]
USEFUL TABLES.
33
TABLE OF SEVERAL IMPORTANT EPOCHS, ERAS. &O.
EPOCHS ANO ERAS.
PERIOD OF COMMENCEMENT.
Grecian Year of the World..».............
Julian Period
... ........................
J ewish Mundane Era ...............
Destruction of Troy .......................... .
Building of Solomon’s Temple ........
Era of the Olympiads ..........................
Roman Era ......................... ..........
Era of habonassar ...................
Daniel’s 70 Weeks............ .
Mctonic Cycle .......................................
Julian Year ............... . ............... .
Augustan Era
................
Indiction of Constantinople ................
Christen Era ....................................
Destruction of Jerusalem....................
Era of Dioclesian ................................
Eta of the Hegira.................................
Persian Era ............ .............................
Conquest of England ................... ..
Union with Ireland ............................
TABLE TO CALCULATE WAGES
Pe
Year. Per Mth. Per Week.
Per Day
September 1, B.C. 5598.
January 1, B.C. 4713.
Ver. Equinox, B.C. 3761.
June, B.C. 1184.
May, B.C. 1015.
New Moon, Summer Solstice B.C 770.
April 24, B.C. 753.
February 26, B.C. 747.
Ver. Equinox, B.C. 458.
July 15, B.C 432.
January 1, B.C. 45.
February 14, B.C. 27.
September 1, B.C. 3.
January 1, A.D. 1. A.M. 4004.
September 1, A.D. 69.
September 17, A.D. 284.
July 16, A.D. 622.
June 16, A.D. 632.
October 14, A.D. 1060.
January 1, 1801.
INTEREST TABLE AT FIVE
PER CENT.
1 Month. 2 Months. 3 Months.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
1
0 18
0 0 4|
0 0 01
£
£ 8. d. £ s. d.
£ 8. 0
0 3 4
0 0 94
?
0 0 IJ
1
0 0 1
0 0 2
0 0 3
3
0 5 0
0 1 1|
0
2
2
0 0 2
0 0 4
0 0 6
4
0 6 8
0 1 6}
0
21
3
0 0 9
0 0 3
0 0 6
5
0 8 4
0 1 11
0
31
4
0 0 4
0 10
0 0 8
6
0 10 0
0 2 3}
0 0 4
5
0 0 5
0 13
0 0 10
0 11 8
7
0 2 8}
0 0 4}
6
0 0 6
0 10
0 16
0 13 4
8
0 3 0}
0 0 5}
7
0 12
0 19
0 0 7
9
0 15 0
0 3 5}
0 6
8
0 14
0 0 8
0 2 0
10
0 16 8
0 3 10
0 6}
9
0 0 9
0 2 3
0 16
11
0 18 4
0 4 2f
0 7}
10
0 0 10
0 18
0 2 6
12
10 0
0 4 71
0 0 8
20
0 1 8
0 3 4
0 5 0
13
118
0 4 111
0 0 81
30
0 2 6
0 5 0
0 7 6
14
13 4
0 5 4}
0 0 91
40
0 3 4
0 10 0
0 6 8
15
0 5 9
15 0
0 0 91
50
0 4 2
0 8 4
0 12 6
16
16 8
0 6 11
0 0 10}
60
0 5 0
0 15 0
0 10 0
18 4
0 6 6}
17
0 0 111
70
0 5 10
0 17 6
0 11 8
18
1 10 0
0 6 10J
0 0 11}
80
0 6 8
0 13 4
10 0
19
0 7 3|
1 11 8
0 10}
90
0 7 6
0 15 0
1 2 o
20
1 13 4
0 7 8
0 1 11
100
0 8 4
0 16 8
1 5 0
30
2 10 0
0 11 6
0 1 71
200
0 16 8
1 13 4
2 10 0
40
0 15 4
3 6 8
0 2 21
300
15 0
2 10 0
3 15 0
50
4 3 4
0 19 2
0 2 9
400
1 13 4
3 6 8
5 0
60
5 0 0
1 3 01
0 3 3}
500
2 18
4 3 4 -6 5 0
70
5 16 8
1 6 lOi
0 3 10
600
2 10 0
5 0 0
7 10 U
80
6 13 4
1 10 8}
0 4 4}
700
2 18 4
5 16 8
8 15 0
90
7 10 0
1 14 6J I 0 4 11}
800
3 6 8
6 13 4 10 0 ■
190 1 8 6 8 1 1 18 4} 1 0 5 5J
900 1 3 15 0
7 10 0 11 5
The column of Months is calculated at
For Interest by any other per-centayc
lie ratio of Twelve months in the Year. multiply the amount at 5 per cent. ~bi
1 f the yearly wages be Guineas instead of
and divide
Pounds, for each Guinea add one Penny\ ¡the per-centage required,per cent, forInv5.
ex.—What is £8 at
t c
to each Month, or one Farthing to each [months ï 16d. x 3} 3} 56d.. and tbs'
JVeek.
| 1 divided by 5 is 11 l-5th.=
£
�34
HIGH WATER TABLE,
1873.
[ZADKIEL^Q
TABLE TO BIND THE TIME OF
HIGH WATER AT ALL THE PORTS ROUND GREAT BRITAIN
THE COASTS OF FRANCE AND HOLLAND, &C.
H.M.
H. M.
H.M.
Aberdeen Bar.........0 56 Donaghadee Pier ...7 8 Humber River En
Aberdovy............... 5 19 Donegal Bar ........... 2 58 trance ....................3 23
Aberystwith................5 19 Douglas Harbour....... 9 3 Ilfracombe ............... 3 40
Achill Head ........... 3 53 Dover Pier ............... 9 3 Ipswich ...
,.2 7
Isle de Bas (France) 2 43
Agnes, St., Scilly
2 23 Downing’s Bay,
Jersey, St. Aubin’s...4 3
Air Point................... 9 0
Sheephaven........... 3
Aidborough................8 30 Downs (Stream). ...0
Kenmare River (Ire
land) ................... 1 2?
Alderney Pier........... 4 38 Dublin Bar ............... 9
King’s Road (Bristol)! 38
Amlwch Port ........... 8 23 Dunbar (Scotland) ...0
Kingstown Harbour
Antwerp ................... 2 18 Duncansby Head....... 6
(Ireland) ......
2 28
Arran Isle .............. 9 8 Dundalk Bar ........... 8
Kirkcudbright. ... .9 8
Arundel Bar .......... 9 8 Dundee .................... 0
La Hogue Harbour
Ballyshannon Bar ...3 23 Dungarvon ................ 2
(France) .........
6 38
Batta.......... „................7 38 Dungeness ............ ..8
! Land’s End................ 2 28
Baltimore .............. 1 38 Dunkerque ................1
8 Leith Pier ............... 0 15
Banff
...oom.......1 26 Eddystone ............... 3
Bantry Bay ... ........ 1 39 Exmouth Bar ............ 4 18 Lerwick Harbour
(Scotland) ........... 8 23
Bardsey Island ......5 53 Eyemouth ................ 0 8
Barmouth................... 5 47 i Falmouth....................3 8 Lewis Islands (Scot
land)
....... ...3 53
Barnstaple Bar .......3 23 i Fécamp (France) ...8 38
Calais ........................9 41 Flamboro’ Head....... 2 23 Liverpool Dock ........9 15
Caldy Island ........... 3 53 iFlatholm....... .......... 4 30 London Bridge....... Calf of Man ........... 8 58 Flushing ...............0 47 Margate, Pier .......... 2 2
Caveale Bay ........... 4 2 iFowey . ...................... 3 23 Milford Haven En
3 38
Cantire (Mull)........... 6 53 1 Galloway (Mull)....... 9 8 trance .........
Cardiff ....................... 4 30 Galway Bay............... 2 23 Minehead Pier......... 4 23
Cardigan Bar ........... 4 53 Glenan Islands .... 1 18 Montrose.......... ....... 0 22
Carlingford Bar ....... 8 33 Goeree ( West Gat) 0 22 Morlaix (N. Coast
4 2 France)................... 3 8
Carnarvon Bar...........7 13 Granville..
..9 46 Needles Point.... ....7 38
Chatham ....................0 13 Gravelines
Chausey Islands....... 4 6 Gravesend _____ ..0 37 Newcastle ............... 1 53
Cherbourg ................ 5 51 Greenock (Scotland).9 38 Newhaven ............... 9 43
Chichester Harbour 9 23 Guernsey Pier.......... 4 23 Newport (Wales) .. 4 38
Christchurch Harbour6 43 Gunfleet (R. Thames)2 7 Fore Light (Stream) 0 58
Clear Cape (Ireland) 1 53 'Hartlepool .............. 1 38 Orfordness ................ 8 33
Coquet Island .........0 38 Harwich .................... 9 23 Ostend ..................1 12
8 29 Pembroke Dock Yd. 3 57
Cordonan....................1 49 Hastings .......
Cork Harbour....... In oq Havre de Grace....... 7 45 Pentland Frith ........8 23
Heligoland ................. 8 53 Penzance.................... 2 27
Cornwell Cape....... J
Cowes, I. of Wight...8 38 Bellevoetsluis (Hol.) 0 7 Peterhead ........... 0 22
Cromartie ................9 38 Hollesley Bay........... 9 23 Plymouth DockYard 3 26
Cuckold's Point ......0 6i Holyhead Bay........... 7 53 Portland Race
Cuxhaven.................... 1 7 Holy Island. liar. „. 0 23 (Stream) ................ 7
Portland Road ........4
Dartmouth Harbour..3 58i Honfleur Harbour
........7 23; Port Patrick ....... 8
Deal ......................... 9 8i (France)
Portsmouth Dock Yd.9
]>ee River) Scotland] 22
9
7 PortBiDouth to I.
Dis'otte Hsrbou
*
...4 8
9
1 »n.KV&t«- H»rboU'
Dieppe .......
8 8
I Ratogat ent Phr..J
*
Dinwis Bsy
;
.1 23
�35
PHENOMENA.
ALMANAC.] '
H. M.
H. M.
H.
Ratlilin Island............. 6 53 Southampton ........... 9 33 Tynemouth Bar ....... 0 43
Rye Harbour .............8 33 Spithead (Stream)...7 23 Waterford Harbour...3 43
Salcombe..................... 3 43 Spurn Point................3 13 Wexford Harbour ...5 23
fiialtees ......................3 33 St.Helen’s Harbour...8 53 Weymouth ......... .....4 23
Scalloway ................ 7 38 St. Ives (Cornwall)...2 23 Whitoy...................... 1 38
Scarborough ........... 2 18 St. Malo (France) 3 58 Whitehaven ........... 8 20
Scilly Islands ........... 2 25 Stromness (Orkneys)6 53 Wick (Scotland).......9 0
Seaford ...............
7 86 Sunderland .............. 0 53 Wicklow (Ireland) 6 53
Selsea Harbour ....... 9 8 Swansea Bay ............3 49 Wisbeach................... 5 23
Shannon Mouth ....... 1 43 Ty Bar..... ............0 2 Wranger Oog (E.
Sheerness Dock Yard}. 28 Tees River Bar ....... 1 23 Friesland) .......... 2 7
Shields .....................0 53 Teignmouth Bar.........3 53 Wight (W. end)....... 6 20
Wintertonness........... 5 35
Shoreham Harbour...9 8 Terschelling West
Skerries ................... 2 38 (Holland) .............. 6 33 Woolwich ............0 25
Yarmouth Roads....... 6 33
? Sligo Bay, Ballisadare3 52 Texel, Helder Road
Solebay ................... 8 23 (E. Stream)............. 6 53 Yarmouth, Isle of
Small’s Light ............ 3 20 Torbay ........................3 58
Wight .................. 6 50
JSidinouth .................. 3 50 Tralee Bay ................1 38 Youghall (Ireland) 2 53
Explanation.—To find the time of High Water at any of the above places
for any day throughout the year:—Take out the time of High Water from the
Itatendar for the given day, and add the hours and minutes opposite the name
of the place thereto (but subtract the hours and minutes therefrom when the
name is printed in italics). If the result give an amount beyond 12 hours, take
away that quantity. If the night tide be required at any place, add together
the time of the day tide and that for the next day ; then divide the sum by 2,
and the quotient will be the exact time of the night tide.
EXPLANATION OF THE “LUNAR INFLUENCES.”
1. The Moon joined by good aspect, with Saturn shews a good
day to deal with old folk or farmers, to make wills, purchase land
or houses, to plant or sow or to lay the foundation stone of new
buildings.
2. The Moon so joined with Jupiter is good for trade, or to open
shops or places of business, to deal with merchants, bankers or
clergymen, and generally to begin new undertakings, or to travel
for health.
3. The Moon so joined with Mars is good to deal with surgeons
or cutlers, or martial men.
4. The Moon joined so with the Sun is good to ask favours, or seek
employment, or travel for health.
5. The Moon so joined with Venus is good for all kinds of
dealings with females, and to woo, marry, visit or invite friends or
engage female servants.
6. The Moon so joined with Mercury is good for writing letters
or books, to deal W;th printers or booksellers, or lawyers, and to
send children to school or to bind apprentices' also to travel.
�36
[zADKIEL'f
BIRTHDAYS, &c, OF THE HEIR APPARENT AND HIS
FAMILY.
H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, K.G., b. November 9th,
1841 ; ct. 10th March, 1863, Alexandra, d. of Christian IX, King of
Denmark; b. December 1st, 1844. Their issue—H.R.A. Albert
Victor Christian Edward, b. January 8th, 1864 ; George Frederic
Ernest Albeit, b. June 3rd, 1865 ; Louise Victoria Alexandra
Dagmar, b. February 20 th, 1867 ; Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary,
b. July 6th, 1868 ; Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria, b. November 26th,
1869 ; and an infant Prince, John Charles Albert, b. April 6th,
1871, and who died on the 7 th April, 1871.
PHENOMENA IN 1873.
Stationary Position of the Planets.
21st March, 4h. 21m., Mars. 26th March, lOh. 50m., Mercury.
8 th April, 13h. 3m., Ciranzis. 13th April, 19h. 13m., Venus. 17th
April, 4h. 46m., Jupiter. 17th April. 22h. 30m., Mercury. 12th
May, 2h. 3m., Saturn. 24th May, 20h. 47m., Fe-zzs. 7th June,
5h. 9m., Mars. 29th July, lh. 20m., Mercury. 22nd August. Oh. 3m.,
Mercury. 29th September, 19h. 26m., Saturn. 15th November,
14h 0m., Uranus. 20th November, 7h. Im., Mercury. 9th December,
22h. 29m., Mercury.
Other Phenomena.
1st January, 7h. 46m., 0 in perigee. 5th, 13h. 58m., Mercury's
greatest elongation, 23° 8' W. 13th, 2h. 12m., Ip □ 0, 4h. 13m.,
J? d O- 17th, 9h. 48m., $ □ 0. 23rd, 5h. 56m., $ g 0. 27th, £
in aphelion.
14t.h February, 13h. 52m.,
g ©. 21st, 3h. 27m., g sup. d 0.
22nd, 8h. 40m., ? greatest elongation, 46° 30', E.
7th March, 4h. 0m., 2 in perihelion. 12th, lOh. 2m., $ in peri
helion. 18th, 16h. 21m., § greatest elongation, 18° 26', E. 30th,
$ at greatest brilliancy.
5th April, 13h. 6m., $ inferior <3 O. 15th, lOh. 29m., Ml ci 0.
21st, llh. 2m. U □ 0. 22nd, Oh. 3m., T? □ 0. 25th, 9h. 27m., g
in aphel on. 27th, 2h. 40m, g g 0.
3rd May, lOh. 31m., ? greatest elongation, 26° 28'. Sth, 5h. 51m.,
$ inferior
0. 12th, 16h. 54m., If. □ 0.
8th June, 9h. 17m., $ in perihelion; 21h. 24m., g in superior
(5 ©. 10th, 2 at greatest brilliancy. 27th, 13h. 2m., ? in aphelion.
30th, 18h. 33m., 0 in apogee.
*
14th July, 12h. 17m., ? great elongation, 45° 38', W. 15th, 20h.
34m, 5 greatest elongation, 26° 45', E. 20th, 19h. 36m.,
□ 0.
21st, 16h. 57m.,
g Q. 22nd, 8h. 42m., 8 in aphelion, 28th, 20h.
44m., hl ft. $
.
r
�ALMANAC.]
ECLIPSES.
37
11th August, 21h.-12m., $ □ 0. 12th, 19h. 18m., $ inferior d
30th, 2h. 27m., $ greatest elongation, 18° 8' W.
4th September, 2h. 27m,
3 O; 8h. 30m., $ in perihelion.
24th, 14h. 40m., § superior o Q.
17th October, 22h. 0m., J in perihelion. 18th, 7h. 56m., £ in
perihelion. 19th, 5h. 4m., T? □ 0 ; 23h. 11m., T g 0.
2nd November, 8h. 37m.,
□ 0. 10th, 4h. 9m., $ greatest elon
gation 22° 41', E. 16th, 7h. 49m., $ in perihelion. 30th, 6h. 24m.,
$ inferior d O1st December, 7h. 45m., g in perihelion. 19th, 2h. 41m., $
greatest elongation, 21° 40', W.
0.
ECLIPSES IN 1873.
There will four eclipses in 1873 ; two of the Sun and two of
the Moon.
. I. A total eclipse of the Moon, invisible at Greenwich. First
contact with the shadow at 9h 30’4m, a.m., on the 12th May.
Beginning of total phase at 10h 35-2m, a.m. Full Moon at llh 17’6m,
a.m. End of total phase at 0h 5m, p.m. ; and last contact with
the shadow at lh 9’8ra, p.m. Magnitude of the eclipse (Moon’s
diameter = 1) 1’428. The first contact occurs at 124° from the
Moon’s north limb, towards the east. The last contact 82° towards
the west. It falls in the 22 nd degree of Taurus. It will chiefly
affect the Society Islands and others near them.
II. A partial eclipse of the Sun, visible at Greenwich. Begins
at 7h 36'2m, a.m. Greatest eclipse at 8h 28Tm. New Moon at 9h
20Tm ; and the eclipse ends at 9h 23’4“. Magnitude of the
eclipse (Sun’s diameter = 1) 0’352. It falls on the 6th degree
of Gemini. It there causeth dissension among priests, hatred and
seditions ; and an inveterate hatred of the law of both God and
man. It endures lh 47m, and will, therefore, be operating
on the earth for a year and three quarters. No doubt, that being
visible in the ruling sign of London, it will produce much of its
evil effects on the great city. These will be partly physical; and
we may look for sad suffering by deaths from pestilence ; and were
it not that Jupiter is rising, I should expect the cholera to visit us.
However, as Saturn is found in Aquarius, and in the 6th house, we
may be assured that affections of the head will be very prevalent;
Jupiter being lord of the 8th house (that of death), many deaths
by disease of the heart will be recorded, especially in France ; while in
Ireland defects of the throat will abound.
III. A total eclipse of the Moon partly visible at Greenwich.
First contact with the shadow at 2h 6’2m, p.m., November the 4th.
Beginning of total phase at 3h 8m, p.m. Full Moon at 3h 48’2m. p.m.
Middle at 3h 50’8m. End of total phase at 4h 33’6“. And last conn
�38
general prédictions.
[zaDKIMl’S
tact with the ¡shadow at 5h 35-4“ p.m. The magnitude (Moon’s
diameter = 1) 1-419. And it falls in the 13th degree of Taurus. It
is said to be followed by the death of the queen of some region under
Taurus; and to produce a scarcity of seed and barrenness of the
earth. The Moon will rise totally eclipsed.
GENERAL PREDICTIONS.
The Sun enters Capricorn at llh 53m, a.m., 20i7i December, 1872.
The R.A. on the M.C. will be 17h 50m 30s, and we find rising in
the east X 24° 10'.
Jupiter, lord of the figure, is in Virgo, and m trine to the Sun.
Hence we say that men will be sociable and love one another;
that the “Discord,” of 1872, will in a great degree disappear, and
that they will delight in husbandry and manuring the earth ; that,
fruits shall be plentiful, but soon corrupt; yet seeds will come to
o-ood. There will be many strong southerly winds and these will do
mischief. The worst feature in this figure is Mars in the 7tli.
This indicates, according to Ramesey, “ great dissensions and enmi
ties ; and that men shall be perplexed with theft, much bloodshed,
contentions and wars.” As Mars is in the sign Libra, it is most
probable that we shall have some Chinese squabbles and quarrels.
But as Libra governs Austria also, and as the Emperor of that
country has the Suris opposition of Mars 42° 46', in January, 1873,
we may fear some evil of a martial nature in that direction. The
Moon and Jupiter both being in Virgo, and in the house of sick
ness we may anticipate much disease of the liver and consumption
in this country. Let all liable to such complaints live quietly duiing
the ensuing spring.
The Dragon’s Head in Gemini shews sickness and divers infir
mities to the grandees of the earth; who will suffer from earth
quakes and unwholesome mists; and that there will be wars and
dissensions between great and rich men and men of a middle degree.
There will also be much damage to trees by caterpillars and other
The Dragon’s Tail in Sagittarius imports the dejection of noble
and great men and their misfortunes ; and the rise of ignoble, base
fellows; and the sad condition of judges, counsellors, learned and
wise men, during the influence of this figure of the heavens.
.
On the 7th January, 1873, we find Mars in square to Saturn, being
mutually in each other’s exaltation. This denotes troubles in India
and China, as also much mischief by storms, in Greece, Mexico, and
other countries. Some warlike acts may then be expected against
the power of this country. Mars is exalted above the Moon ; whence
we foresee earthquakes, and those very violent.
Lastly, we find the Sun strong, being near the Mid-heaven, and
�1 almanac.]
'I
GENERAL I'REbiCrioNS.
S')
in trine to J upiter and the Moon. This shews us that there will be
I accomplished some high and remarkable public action, or great
| scientific discovery, during the first three months of the year.
!
The ingress occurs at Washington at 2h 15m 42s, am., when £ 21°
(will be rising, and
11|° on the M.C., with the evil Mars just
inside the cusp and in square to Saturn; yet also is he in sextile
a to Mercury just rising.
!
No doubt this position of Mars will render the rulers in America
j very unpopular, for they will lay on taxes without consideration,
and the revenue in that country will be very defective. The people
if in the States shall be given to delight in astrology and all curious
arts and sciences. It may be hoped that some man of talent there
will set up an Almanac, to show forth the truths of the oldest
science in the world j and, if so, he will have good success, for
f there are but few newspapers there, the editors of which combine
Li ignorance and rancour, as they do in this old country.
b|
The Sun is in the ascendant and in good aspect with Jupiter,
j This foreshows that the season of this figure (three months) will be
'good and prosperous for the people generally through the States,
d
Prag°n’s Head is in the 6th house, which is a token that the
i| air will be healthful and pleasant, and that small cattle will flourish
h| and be gainful to their proprietors.
I Some serious quarrels among great men maybe expected, how| ever, since Mars is exalted above Jupiter, and these may lead to
M duels and other acts of bloodshed. The Dragon’s Tail exalted above
•a| Mercury no doubt shows evil to learned and wise men.
!
i In other countries we find but few notable positions. But it may
be well to draw attention to the places where old Saturn will be on
J the M.C. at this ingress. This will be in 25 degrees of east longitude ; whence he will be then passing over Candia and Andros,
“i Paros, and other islands of the Archipelago. In and about those’
' ,'i P^rts, therefore, may we look for earthquakes, chiefly on and near
^
*
4 the 7th of January, 1873.
The Sun enters Aries at 0h 52m,
on the 20lh March
Il11873, . at London.we find the RA. on the Mid-heaven will be 0h 44m
At this time
..20s, giving <y> 12°, and on the asc. will arise
4° 38'. The active
Mercury is found in T 18° 21', just within the tenth house and
(4 featurn in SOT 0° 33' on the cusp of the 7th, while $ rise? in 1° 58'R.
■ Batum m
/» -r
W Leo ; the Moon being in f 123 39', and
on the cusp of the
oe>l second house in 22° 40'.
i I The Sun is lord of the year, being well aspected and not afflicted
In any way. This shows, says Ramesey, “ that it shall be well with
-im ihe common people ; the year shall be fruitful and successful unto
&A ¡them, as also to great, noble, and rich men, kings and grandees of
■
D 2
EfJ’j WXC1VU.LJ
�40
GENERAL PREDICTIONS.
[zadktel’s ’
the earth ; and that they shall be fortunate in honour, and shall ’
overcome their enemies, be gracious and loving to the people, and
shall do them justice,” &c. AU this applies generally to England,
and especially to Birmingham, Leicester, and other places; for which
see page 9.
We find Jupiter on the cusp of the second house, and this shows
much prosperity to the people, the revenue, and nation in general.
The Sun in the 9th house indicates that the inclinations of the
people are generally to good ; that they shall be fortunate regarding
long journeys and voyages ; and that they shall love and delight in
the law of God and man. Mars on the cusp of the 5th house
denotes that there will be much discord in theatres, fires therein,
and dissensions among their directors, &c. But, as Venus is in the
10th and strong, we may, nevertheless, look for prosperity in exhi
bitions, and success to persons who make music their profession.
Mercury in the 10th tells us that merchants, scholars, and ingenious
men will flourish and do well, and meet many honours from the
Queen and governors. The Moon in the 5th house implies (not
withstanding the evil of Mars) that there will be plenty and merry
making through the land ; yet the Dragon’s Tail in the 5th also (
threatens many troubles through children, and that the education f
bubble will bring grief to the country. Saturn being occidental on 'r
the cusp of the 7th foreshows combustions and underground troubles,
blowing up of mines, and deaths thereby, especially on or about the à
10th of May. These evils will never cease until, by astrology, we &•
learn the time that they are imminent, and thence guard against
them.
The Dragon’s Tail in Scorpio imports many fevers and infirmities
of the breast, catarrhs, and deductions in the throat. Mercury,
exalted above the Moon, speaks of many wondrous feats performed,
and I judge that the art of aerostation will prosper, and that men will
at length prepare to begin to navigate the air ! Also Venus exalted
above the Dragon’s Head imports prosperity, pleasure, and happiness
to great men and nobles, &c.
The position of Mars at the ingress denotes much rain to prevail IJS1
in general throughout the year. And Saturn in Aquarius and, )£jj
occidental imports that violent tempests will prevail also.
The coincident Full Moon will be at 5h 44m, a.m., on the 14th [f4
March.
This figure is generally good also. The chief points therein are
Venus in the 2nd, which brings happiness and fertility of thapt
fruits of the earth. Jupiter is lord of the figure and found in Leo >30
This imports high winds and those mischievous ; even to the blow- vq
ing up trees by the roots ; yet there shall be clear air and whole- Jlgj
some at the end of winter; but in the spring abundance of rain nhs
while in autumn there shall be certainly a plentiful and good harvest,
�ALMANAC.]
GENERAL PREDICTIONS.
41
but people will be troubled with unusual coughs, &c. Lastly, Mars
in the 8th shews that there will be many fearful and terrible sud
den deaths, chiefly by water and poison.
The figure for the Sun in Aries at Washington will be at 7h 43m49 ,
a.m., on the 20th March, 1873. On the M.C. will be 19h 36m 98 of
R.A., and, rising, will be 8 8° 30'. In the ascendant we find Venus
in Q 13° 28', opposed by Mars, in the 7th, in Scorpio 15° 16'. Now
Venus would do very much good in the United States, if free from
this sad aspect of Mars ; the which denotes public quarrels, discord
and wars ; also deceit in merchandizing, with trouble and sadness.
Jupiter is found in the 5th, whence it may be foreseen that the
population will increase rapidly. And Saturn in the tenth, being
strong and well aspected, gives honours and benefits to the people
through their men in power, &c.
Reverting again to the figure for London, and making due allowance
for the difference of longitude at Paris, we find Mercury just on the
M.C.; which implies that the governors in France will again be
changed ; yet the people will do well generally, and the national
funds will improve. True, we find Uranus in Leo and retrograde ;
and that Saturn will come to his opposition on the 8th of April.
This, no doubt, will bring on emeutes and some serious troubles in
France ; though while Jupiter is in Leo, her ruling sign, we may
hope she will escape any great or lasting mischief. On the 10th
May, however, there is a square of Mars to these two planets
(Uranus and Saturn) which will excite their evil qualities, and bring
acts of blood in France.
An Eclipse of the Sun, visible at Greenwich ; New Moon at 9h 20m
6s, a.m., on the 26th May, 1873.
At this time we have lh 36in 12s of R.A. on the Mid-heaven, and
of 14° 0' of Leo rising. We find the eclipse in U 5° 8', and we perceive
that Jupiter is rising in
23° 41'. On the cusp of the 4th is Mars ;
Saturn and Uranus are in elose opposition, from St an(^
placed
in the 6th and 12th houses. This figure is more good than evil;
vet not free from malice ; which will show itself in a great measure
in France, and will not allow London to escape scot free ; nor,
indeed, Lombardy, Belgium, &c. The sun eclipsed, in the first face
of Gemini, causeth dissension among priests ; and inveterate hatred
and seditions. It also brings a tendency to outrageous diseases;
but these latter evils, the benefic Jupiter, rising, will overcome.
Yet Mercury in aspect to Jupiter, and ruling the eclipse, will give
much thunder and lightning, as also some pernicious winds,
with opening of the earth and earthquakes.
A total Eclipse of the Moon, at 3h 48m 23,
4</i November, 1873.
This eclipse takes place with 18h 44m 2s of R.A., on the Mid-heaven,
and T 25° 30' rising. The Moon is found in the ascendant in 8
�42
FACTS AND FALLACIES
[zSlEL’s
12 20'; and she rises totally eclipsed; yet the eclipse is only
partial, in reality, tons in London, in one sense. An eclipse of the
Moon in the second face of Taurus denotes the death of the Queen
of some region under Taurus, and a scarcity of seeds and
barrenness of the earth. This eclipse is ruled by Venus, she being
in Libra. She denotes, as does Jupiter, success and happiness in
most things ; and particularly she causes venereal sports, honour,
fame, joy, &c., happy marriages, abundance of children and felicity
in all things belonging to matrimony. We find Venus, ruler of this
eclipse, in Libra and in close square to Mars ; this shews that
countries (for which see p. 21) will be suffering from violence and
martial acts. Herein we find Mars in Capricorn near the Mid-heaven
and in aspect to the eclipse. This is said to threaten the ruler of
Rome with being stabbed ; but there would require many other
testimonies before I should venture to predict positively such an
event. However, Mars will spend his malice on our rulers ; and
they will be evilly affected towards the people, and act with much
tyranny for some weeks to come. Lie is said to cause wars, tribu
lation and slaughter to young men, when found in such a situation.
The Dragon’s Head in Taurus shews the slaughter of nobles and
great men in the northern parts (say, Ireland), and, in the western,
controversies and dissension between noblemen and the plebeians.
The Dragon’s Tail in Scorpio denotes many fevers and chest diseases
among men, chiefly in Ireland.
Here we find Mars exalted above the Moon ; and this I have fre
quently found to denote earthquakes, and those very violent; also
above the Sun, kings and rulers will go near to be slain treacherously.
The most probable period for these fearful phenomena will be the
19th November and the 9th December. The Moon exalted above the
Dragon’s Head shews damage to rivers and fountains, springs, &c.
THE FACTS AND THE FALLACIES OF “ SCIENCE.”
We know of no man who merits to be accepted as the mouth
piece of science, so much as Sir John Lubbock, Bart, M.P., &c., &c.
He is intelligent and very industrious; and we hope religious. He has
recently given to the world a very clever book, called “ The Origin
of Civilization.” It is cram-full of what he calls “ facts,” in refer
ence to this subject; but what are, many of them, at least, merely
opinions. And he winds up his work by some remarks, that ve
shall give our readers, for purposes that they will presently
perceive.
At page 253 he speaks thus of the Mandingoes, whom of course,
he classes among savages: “They regard the Deity as so remote,
and of so exalted a nature, that it is idle to imagine the feeble
supplications of wretched mortals can reverse the decrees and
�z
ALMANAC.]
OF SCIENCE.
43
charge the purposes of Unerring Wisdom.” They seem, however, to
Have little confidence in their own views, and generally assured
*
Park, in answer to his enquiries about religion and the immortality
of the soul, that no man knows anything about it. Now in this
matter it seems to us that the Mandingoes were perfectly right;
for on such subjects, certainly no man does know anything about
it, until he be enlightened by Revelation.
At page 255 Sir John goes on to favour us with some of his own
ideas ; that is, of his scientific notions. He says, “We know that
a belief in witchcraft was all but universal until recently, even in
OUT own country. This dark superstition has, indeed, flourished for
centuries in Christian countries, and has only been expelled at
length by the light of science. It still survives wherever science has
act penetrated.”
Therefore we see that it is not Christianity, according to Sir John
Lubbock, that helps us to destroy a belief in witchcraft; but only
science, of which one of the latest escapades has been to persuade
us that the “ origin of life ” on this earth is not due to the power
of Him who said, “ Let light be, and light was but it came here
by means of an aerolite, that chance threw upon us, wrapped in
grass and containing a Bug !t
Now we have but little respect for these men of science. We find
that they are quite indifferent to facts, though they pretend to
found their science altogether upon facts observed and well known.
Will any of them, from Sir John Lubbock at the head of them,
to the merest scribbler in the Daily News, who writes at a penny a
line, at the tail, venture to tell us, without a blush for the falsehood,
that they know by their own experience, that there really is not,
and never was, such a thing as witchcraft ? Will they, in defiance
of the Mosaical law against its practice, and in contradiction to the
assertions of the New Testament; will they, we demand to know,
dare to come forward and assert in the face of society, that there is
no such thing really existing as witchcraft, and that there never
was any such thing really practised ?
We go entirely with them, as to the evil, the tremendous evil, of
its practice ; but we will not go one inch on the road to deny the
* Park’s Travels, vol. i, page 67.
+ Pity it is that Sir John never defines what he means exactly by “ Science.”
Bat Mr. G. H. Lewes, another great authority in the scientific world, does
favour us with a definition. He says that “ Science is the systematic co-ordinatioa of the facts of co-existence and succession.”—Page 76 of Aristotle, by G.
Lewes. Well, let us substitute this definition for Sir John’s “Science;”
aad then we read that witchcraft has been “ expelled, at length, by the light of
the qjfstematic co-ordination of the facts of co-existence and succession.” We
hop® that this will become as clear to our scientific readers as mud in a wine
glass.
�44
FACTS AND FALLACIES
[ZADKIEL’S
truth of its existence, largely in former days, and certainly still to a
considerable extent, even “ in our own country.” Does Sir John
Lubbock imagine that those people who profess to practise the
abominable rites of witchcraft, will come to him to explain them,
or will ask his opinion about them ? Let him know that they court
not publicity, they seek not to be known, they invite not the power
of the law to punish them for their deeds. No; such men as they
are, who fear not the evil spirits they dare to associate with, may
still fear the trouble they would fall into if their practices were
made public. Let Sir John Lubbock begin to write an Astrological
Almanac, and he will soon find, if he shew that he knows much
about the matter, that men, and women too, will pester him, as
they do us, for information that may be and has been of use in
their diabolical rites and ceremonies. He will soon find also that
it is not the false glare of science that has checked this unchristian
practice ; but that the mild light of religion alone has enabled some
of those men who have fallen into the temptation to practise such
evils, to abandon them for ever.
Let Sir John Lubbock use his interest in the national schools to
have the truth taught. Let the growing generation learn that there
is no greater sin, before God, than is this dealing with Evil Spirits ;
which constitutes the very essence of that Witchcraft of which Sir
John Lubbock ignorantly denies the existence, but of which there
is far too much evidence existing—when rightly sought for—and
too much evil arising therefrom, to be put down and destroyed
by a mere man of science, forsooth, making a pretence to deny.
Sir John goes on to say, “The immense service which ‘science’
has thus rendered to the cause of religion and of humanity, has
not hitherto received the recognition it deserves.” And he observes
farther, that “ If we consider the various aspects of Christianity, as
understood by different nations, we can hardly fail to perceive that
the dignity, and, therefore, the truth, of their religious beliefs, is in
direct relation to the knowledge of science and of the great physical
laws by which our universe is governed.”*
Our ideas of the foundation of true Christianity have hitherto
been, and still are, notwithstanding this flourish of the man of
science, that it is really the pure gift of God; in other words, the
grace of God, that creates the true Christian, and that when th®
Saviour chose the poor ignorant fisherman, St. Peter, and others
of his disciples, to spread abroad his religion, they were certainly
* Of these physical laws of our universe, we heg leave to hint to Sir John
Lubbock that he and most other scientific men are deplorably ignorant. The
great fact is now becoming known, that all the ideas of Newton as to the vast
size of the sun, its distance, the motion of the earth around it, and all the
consequences of these mistaken ideas, are merely dreams, and are totally desti
tute of one iota of truth and reality.
�ALMANAC!.]
OF SCIENCE.
45
not chosen for any scientific knowledge or acquirements. Away then,
for ever, with these fallacies, and down with this false and foolish
teaching!
It is precisely the same thing when these pretended scientific
men have to do with the question of the truth and reality of the
old astrology. They are, one and all, utterly ignorant of even its
first elements. Yet they set themselves up as judges, and do not
hesitate to condemn it, notwithstanding the proverb, Ne damnent
quae non intelligunt. Ask one of them if he ever tried it, and he
answers, “No, indeed, but—I—am—quite persuaded—that—it—is
—false.”. And this in the face of thousands upon thousands who
have tried it and found it to be true. He expects that a scoff, or
a jeer, will be taken as evidence, where he might find real and
decided evidence of its fallacy, if such were existing Ask him to
erect a figure, or map, of the heavens, and he stands aghast. Yet
can he have the impudence to laugh at what others, better men
than he is, have bowed their head to, in acknowledgment of its
absolute truth. And these are the men who try their best to put
down astrology by infamous laws; that treat its practitioners as
fraudulent men ; yet are those practitioners cognisant of the truth
of what they profess. And this in the 19th century, when we are
told that mankind are ruled by “ science ” and by reason; which
is a plain falsehood, and will be such, while those laws exist.
Why is all this ? Just because of the infidelity of these scientific
men, who see clearly that while astrology exists, the belief in spi
ritual existence, and the intercourse with angelic beings, must and
will exist also ; and this drives these men mad; for in vain do they
hope that the end of a man is as the end of a brute. This feeling
it is that leads these very clea/r-headed “ scientific” men to scoff at
astrology, or the doctrine that the stars, or hosts of heaven, have
anything to do with the characters, or the destinies, of man, or that
they are, in fact, “the ministers of Jehovah, that do his pleasure.”
See Psalm ciii, v. 21. “Bless ye the Lord (Jehovah), all ye his hosts,
y® ministers of his, that do his pleasure.” These sceptics are the
leading men of science in our day; but let us ask, “In what they are
one whit superior to the great men of olden times, whose names
have come down to us, as believers in, and practitioners of astrology?” We will here set forth some of these truly great and good
m®n; none of whom were of the narrow-minded class of men, who
/pretend to judge and condemn what they have never yet examined.
■ Among the Indians we find Buddha and Viera Maditya. Among
the Persians, Zoroaster. Among the Phenicians, Berosus. Among
the Jews, Josephus, Aben Esra, Maimonides, and very many others,
besides the Sacred Writers.
Among the Greeks we find a perfect galaxy of great names : these
are—Thales, Anaximander, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Aristotle, SoD 3
�46
FACTS AND FALLACIES.
[ZADKIEL'S
crates, Plato, Eudoxus, Aratus, Hippocrates, Porphyry, Proclus,
Homer, and Hesiod, &c., &c. Among the Egyptians, Mercurius,
Trismegistus and Claudius Ptolemy.
Among the Arabians, Messahala, Albategnius, Alfraganus, Half,
Alphard, Haly Ben Rodoan, Haly Alrachid, Alkindus, Alpheagius ,
Albumazar, &c.
Among the Romans, Cicero, Nigidius Figulus, Virgil, Horace,
Manilius, Juvenal, and very many others. Among the Moderns,
Roger Bacon, Melancthon, Cardan, Lord Bacon, Nostradamus, Baron
Napier, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Hobbes, Cornelius Agrippa, Arch
bishop Usher, Dr. John Butler, Bishop Hall, Sir Edward Kelly,
John Dryden the poet, Sir Matthew Hale the learned judge, Sir
George Wharton, Placidus de Titus the learned monk of Spain, Sir
Christopher Haydon, Mr. George Mitchell, Astronomer Royal at
Portsmouth, Mr. Flamstead,first Astronomer Royal at Greenwich,
Le Due de Valney, George Digby, Earl of Bristol, Sir Elias Ashmole,
Dr. Culpepper, Dr. Dee, John Milton the poet, Drs. Starkey,
Paitridge, Moore, &c., Sir Richard Steele, and very many others.
But, as has been said, it can serve no good purpose to set forth
more names, since no other science than astrology can offer among
its upholders such a list of never-dying men. If these names do
not affect and shame the men of our day, then are they wilfully deaf
to reason and argument, and obstinately shut out the light of
heaven, lest it should irradiate their understanding and convince
them that they are but men of low and humble conceptions, in no
shape qualified to determine the pathless ways of God, or to mea
sure the extent of His omnipotence.
Burns has justly written of them :—
“ What’s a’ the jargon of your schools,
Your Latin names for horns and stools ?
If honest Nature made yon fools,
What sairs your grammars ?
Ye’d better ta’en up spades and shools,
Or knappin hammers.”
“ A set o’ dull conceited hashes,
Confuse their brains in college classes!
They gang in sticks and come out asses
Plain truth to speak.”
FOREKNOWLEDGE.
“ God foreshews what it is to come upon men, not to grieve
them, but that, when they know it beforehand, they may by
prudence make the actual experience of what is foretold the more
tolerable.”—Whiston’s Josephus, chap. 5, page 66.
�ALMANAC. J
47
PROVIDENCE, OB CHANCE.
How cursed the land, how sad the nation, where
First sprang the thoughts of those, who, worse than
demons, dare
To teach that Chance may rule, or Accident may reign.
And kind, unfailing Providence not deign
To shew its mighty sway! No reason—no design,
But all one blank, that none could yet define.
What! Earth’s wild-rolling seas, and rocks, and trees,
And all the vast variety one sees,
Came helter-skelter hither—none know how!
And shall the sane man to this doctrine bow ?
Shall this be taught, and none have any sense
To scout the base idea, and hold for Providence ?
’Tis ours to teach another law, and hold
That all, ay all, from where the Lion bold,
In Afric’s hot domain, stalks dominant,
Or the huge Elephant, down even to the Ant,
J
Or to the trifling Sparrow, numerous,
Obey one only law, as congruous,
They do their Maker’s will—to live or die.
His hand, seen everywhere, can all supply:
’Tis he alone gives all they have to all his foes,
And rescues those He loves from all their woes.
He is the deep, Inscrutable ! the MIGHTY GOD !
Untold in numbers, Demons fear his rod,
And tremble when He frowns ! Suns are no more,
No longer heard the dread Volcano’s roar;
Earth fades to nothing ; all Creation fails ;
If He but speak the word, e’en Heaven quails !
And all reverts to Darkness, dead, original;
As ere the Light came forth when He did call:
So great, unspeakable is Cabud Al*
’’
He is the Great To Pan—the First, the Last;
The Vast Unknown ; who governed all the Past,
And all the Future knows. Himself unseen,
In one vast hidden space, has ever been;
Unknown to all, e’en angels, who bow down,
And cast before His feet their brightest crown.
From thence He spake, and forthwith sprang the Light;
Th® Sun assumed his form—the Moon came into sight.
Thence He commands, and Earthquakes shake the Land;
Thence calls the Hurricane—Lightnings from His hand
* Cabud Al—the glory, might, or majesty of God!
And mn'
Cabto Jehovah, the Glory of Jehovah!
�48
PROVIDENCE, OR CHANCE.
[ZADKIEL
Fly swiftly o’er the sea ; and dire disease
Sweeps man from off the earth. So, when he please,
The sea may be no more, and barren be the land,
As when wild tempests strike the rock-bound strand.
He gives invention to the mind, and love of kind ;
Courage to the brave, and patience to the hind ;
Beauty to the maid, and wisdom to the head ;
And teaches each man how to gain his bread.
Yes ; all things, or none, arise from Providence ;
To idle Chance, then, let us all cry, “ Hence 1”
If all things, then the works of nature still obey,
And do His will—the moon by night, the sun by day.
And all the powers of all the stars exclaim,
And speak the wonders of His glorious Name !
From the cold point, ycleped “ the Cynosure,”
To where Orion’s lambent light and pure,
Embraces Procyon’s brilliant flame ;
And many a star, of unestablished name,
Pales its bright fire, when Sirius bursts to sight;
Down where the Southern Cross illumes the night.
See the fair victim of old Neptune’s ire,
Andromeda—see Menkar, and see Algol’s fire,
With red Aldebaran, light Capella on her way ;
Where Castor and where Pollux hold their sway.
Next glitters o’er the main, bright Rigel far,
In southern sky ; and in the north Auriga’s star.
Then see the Lion all his treasures hold ;
See Prsecepe and Regulus the bold,
Put forth their powers. See beauteous Spica shew
In Virgo ; and Arcturus, all in Libra’s row.
Next comes the bold Centaur, in Scorpio seen,
Where Antar’s rubious light completes the scene.
These, and a thousand others, influence man ;
Who thinks, in vain, their character to scan.
As blind, he peers where wondrous comets fly,
When wars burst forth and tens of thousands die
So when Eclipses mar the light of day,
And mark o’er man, impotent, all their sway;
Strike down the weak, and terrify the strong;
Such unknown powers to the stars belong.
Yet doth the sceptic see these move and shine,
But not perceive their Maker’s power divine !
Shall ignorant man still dare to question how
They spring and how they shine, and yet not bow,
As taught by nature—wisdom—common sense,
Before the majesty of mighty Providence ?
R, J. M.
�ALMANAC.]
49
ON THE CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN.
Nearly the oldest observer of the national characteristics of the
sundry people of the world, is undoubtedly Claudius Ptolemy. He
says of the natives of this country, that they are “ impatient of
restraint! lovers of freedom, warlike, industrious, imperious, cleanly
and high-minded” (jTetrabiblos, book 2); and he adds that “they
regard women with scorn and indifferencebut that they are still
careful of the community, brave and faithful, affectionate in their
families, and perform good and kind actions.” Yet he says that
the people of Britain, &c., “ have a greater share of familiarity with
Aries and Akars ; and the inhabitants are, accordingly, wilder, bolder
and more ferocious.”
These are the chief of Ptolemy’s notes on the people of England,
generally. He clearly places them under Mars, essentially, and
under Aries (the house of Mars), particularly. But before we
attempt to examine the truth of these statements, we will note the
words of the great Roman poet, who treats on the particular influ
ences of Aries. Of course, we allude to Manilius. He says very
truly and very beautifully, book 5 :—
“For when the world was framed, the Mighty Cause
These powers bestow’d and did enact these laws,
How signs should work, how stars agree,
And settled all things by a firm decree,”
He then describes the first important figure in the sign Aries, viz.,
the ship:—
“ And now, as victor o’er the conquered deep,
He keeps his power and still commands the ship ;
For when the Northern Rudder rears its flame,
And in the fourth degree first joins the Ram,
Whoever’s born shall be to sail inclined;
He’ll plough the ocean, and he’ll tempt the wind ;
He o’er the seas shall love or fame pursue,
And other months another Phasis view :
Fixed to the rudder, he shall boldly steer,
And pass those rocks, which Typhys us’d to fear.
Had no such births been born, Troy’s walls had stood,
No wind-bound navy bought a gale“ with blood ;
No Xerxes Persia o’er the ocean roll’d,
Dug a new sea, nor yet confin’d an old;
No Athens sunk by Syracusian shores,
Nor Lybia’s seas been chok’d with Punic oars ;
Nor had the world in doubt at Actium stood,
Nor Heaven’s great fortune floated on the flood.
Such births as these their hopes to seas resign,
Ships spread their sails, and distant nations join ;
�50
CHARACTER OF THE BRITISH.
[zadkiel’s
The world divided, mutual wants invite
To close again, and friendly ships unite?
Here we read the judgment of that great astrologer, Mamilius, |
who spoke of the men of Britain, as though he had lived after Nelson, 1
or been contemporary with Blake or Boscawen, or had had the |
advantage of fighting under a Brenton or Lord Cockrane, or any I
other of our great naval heroes. For very correctly does Ptolemy I
place Britain under the influence of Aries; and just as truly does the I
poet point out the peculiar bent, or inclinations, of the men born
with that sign rising. It is to this that England owes her naval |i
greatness ; to the natural-born courage of her sailors, joined with Jr
their free, wandering propensities. These it is that lead them to k
“ plow the ocean and to tempt the winds.” And until “ the powers p
of the Heavens shall be shaken,” shall these things produce their |i
natural results. And not until then shall Britain cease to be the fo
sovereign of the seas.
I
Let us now examine what Ptolemy says of the character of our »;
countrymen. We accord with him in all his remarks; and wefe
regret that he speaks so truly of the evil propensity of our people |i.
to treat with scorn the female sex. Have we not always, from his ki
day to our own, treated females with even worse than “indifference ?” r
Have we not allowed them to feel their supposed inferiority ? Does k
not the law render a married woman, in particular, perfectly help-|rj
less, and treat her complaints with “ scorn ? ” Is she not robbed of |q
her property and rendered miserable, too often, by the wretched
man who has got possession of her person and hei’ property by
means of a little set form of ecclesiastical jabber at the altar7
And if this injustice be avoided, is it not so, more by the husband
being “affectionate,” than by any help of the law, or by public
approbation 7 Ptolemy goes on to say that the people are “ wild,
Is
bold and ferocious.” T it not so ? Can any man deny the truth of p
this accusation 7 Does not their “ ferocity ” shew itself in a con■
tinued effort to treat offenders in the most unchristian and unfor■ K
giving spirit 7 Can it be doubted that not many years since we ip
flogged m§n to death in the army and navy; and that we go near to (¡T
do so now in our prisons 7 Not only do we practise bodily torture onk<
offenders in our prisons, but we treat women with “scorn” by the huge?
and beastly iniquities of the “Contagious Diseases ” Acts; and wer.
punish by fine and imprisonment mothers and fathers who hold ink
contempt the disgusting iniquities of the “Vaccination” Acts. Nay,h;
we are now passing a law to flog men for wife-beating; thus demon-L
strating our national character for the ill treatment of women andk.:
for brutal “ ferocity.” Moreover, we flog men for begging and «uchjic
T
acts of “vagrancy,” and our House of Commons upholds sucl p
*
“ferocious” doings, as if to shew that Ptolemy judged us right?
and by no means too severely.
�ij ¡almanac.]
AIDS TO FORETELL WEATHER.
51
I If we look at the present Government’s acts, we find that in India
owe recently put to a horrible death, by blowing them away from
sixty-five out of eighty-nine prisoners captured—a piece of
«brutal and cowardly conduct, that no man in England would dare
flio enact towards dogs. Again, in the House of Commons, on the
ilst June, 1872, we find it stated that one Joseph Townsend was
harged with being an “ incorrigible rogue,” and, was sentenced to
eceive thirty-six lashes with the cat. The Daily News, 22nd June,
\A872, informs us that hereupon “ Mr. Bruce said that the man in
■xj question had several times been convicted of vagrancy, and that
: :pe did not think that the magistrates had exceeded their j urisdiction.”
usCanwe wonder at this cruelty when we know that Maria Tranter is
r<now undergoing five years' penal servitude for an act of vagrancy,
\wiz, for defrauding a man of the sum of one shilling, by pretending to
jjfchow him in a magic crystal the face of a man who had robbed him.
iiiBuah as these are the cruel laws, which fully confirm the assertion
of Ptolemy, that the people of Britain are “ferocious.” Of course, this
ipplies more decidedly to men who are born with Mars rising at
^Lheir birth. If at the same time Mars have any evil aspect to the
..gun or Moon, they become furious and ungovernable, cruel and
¿.¡malicious; and such men fully bear out all that Ptolemy has
dleclared
i
4
AIDS TO THE FORETELLING OF THE WEATHER.
j
{From Ramesey, Astrologia Munda, chap, x.)
Aq
in conjunction of Jupiter in fiery signs, signifies a great
•Httrought; in airy signs, plenty of wind; in watery, floods, continual
lifain ; also inundations and overflowings of water ; in earthy, earthcibuakes and the fall of houses and ecaduation of trees. Judge also
rfhe same when they are in a malicious square or opposition. [But
cjMess extensively.] Saturn in conjunction, square or opposition of Mars
zytn watery signs, denotes rain in winter, autumn and summer ; and
summer oftentimes thunder and lightning ; especially if in fiery
.coigns. In autumn and winter windy, dry weather, when in fiery
■ Jigns. In airy signs in all seasons great winds and sometimes
qwain.
s!«| Nohwrn in conjunction, square or opposition of the Sun, in the
Iwpring denotes cold, rain or hail. In summer much rain, with
^thunder and lightning, according to the nature of the sign. In
. jAutumn tempestuous, stormy weather. And in winter grievous cold,
jdnowy, slabby weather.
uJ Saturn in conjunction, square or opposition of Venus, promises in
.ijihe spring rain and cold ; in summer sudden cold; in autumn
jjkuch rain ; and in winter rain and snow ; especially if the sign be
d'jpatery.
�52
AIDS TO FORETELL WEATHER.
[zadkiel’;
Saturn in conjunction, square or opposition of Mercury, signifie;
wind and rain in the spring ; especially in watery and airy signs
also in summer wind and showers. But if they be in fiery signs
thunder lightning and rain or hail. In autumn wind and cold
according to the nature of the signs ; and in winter cold and snow
Jupiter in conjunction, square or opposition of Mars shews tht
spring to be windy and tempestuous ; a thundering and lightning
summer; rain and storms in autumn ; and in winter cold snows
and sharp winds, according to the nature of the signs.
Jupiter in conjunction, square or opposition of the Sun, in tht
spring signifieth high winds; in summer thunder and lightnnig
and in autumn vehement winds. But in the winter very dry, cold
frosty weather. For the most part they signify thus in everj
sign.
e/zqoiter in conjmiction, square or opposition of Venus, shews
temperate air, according to the nature of the season, all the yea!
long. Yet if they be in watery signs they incline somewhat t«
misling showers.
Jupiter in conjunction, square or opposition of Mercury, denote!
great and vehement winds in every quarterthey are so aspected,
*!!
in airy signs; in watery signs rain ; and in fiery thunder and light
ning, but of no great continuance.
Mars in d , □ or g of the Sun, in fiery signs, promiseth drough I
in summer, dry air in the spring ; in autumn and winter frost; i
watery signs, showers in the spring ; in summer thunder and rain i
in autumn showers, in winter rain and cold.
Mars in d , □ or g of Venus in the spring, will cause sudde; i
great and violent rains ; in the summer and autumn tempests ; bi:
if in fiery signs, or each other’s house, great thunders and ligh f
nings.
Mars in d, □ or g of Mercury in fiery signs causes heat as i
drought in summer; but rain if in watery signs, and sometim
thunder and lightning. In autumn sudden great winds ; and j
winter cold.
The Sun in d of Venus, in the spring causeth rain ; in summ i@
tempests and rain; in the autumn showers and wind; in wint p
much moisture.
The Sunns, d of Mercury, denotes wind and moisture, especially y
watery and airy signs; but in fiery a serene air in summer ai i
frosty in winter. Venus in
Mercury rain in the spring, summ n
and autumn; and snow in the winter and sudden high winds. A]|K
in the summer they raise storms and tempests.
'
Judge also the same in everyone being in sextile or trine ; bl
you must know they are not altogether so bad.
J
[Ramesey might have said also that these inferior aspects fi
quently pass by without doing more than causing the sky to iSd
�AUJANAC.j
FREEMASONRY.
53
overcast with clouds, instead of producing absolutely rain. We must
also remark the parallels of declination, marked p. d. in this Alma
nac ; as they are nearly as potent as even the conjunction.
There are many other rules for judging the weather; but it will
be time enough to learn these, when the student shall have well
mastered the above.—Z.J
FREEMASONRY.
What was the meaning of the ceremonies practised in the Mys
teries, or Ancient Freemasonry ? is an enquiry that has been long
pursued, but hitherto, as is well known, without any satisfactory
result.
The Rev. Dr. Oliver (“History of Institution,’’ page 26) says,
“The mysteries were proclaimed the beginning of a new life of
reason and virtue (Cic De Heg., ii, 14), and the initiated or esoteric
companions were said to entertain the most agreeable anticipations
^respecting death and eternity (Isoc. Panegyr.); to comprehend all
the hidden mysteries of nature (Clem. Strom. 5); to have their soul
restored to the state of perfection from which it had fallen, and at
their death to be elevated to the supernal mansions of the Gods.
(Plat. Phsed.) They were believed also to convey much temporal
felicity and to afford absolute security amidst the most imminent,
dangers by land or water. (Schol. in Aristoph. Iren., v, 275.) A
public odium was studiously cast on those who refused the rites.
(Warb. Div. Leg., i, p. 140.) They were considered as profane
wretches unworthy of public employment or private confidence
(Plat. Phsed.), sometimes proscribed as obdurate atheists (Lucian.
Daemon), and finally condemned to everlasting punishment. (Ori
gen, cont. Cels, 1. viii.) The mysteries professed to be a short and
certain step to universal knowledge, and to elevate the soul to
absolute perfection; but the means were shrouded under the
impenetrable veil of secrecy, sealed by oaths and penalties the
most tremendous and appalling. (Alleurs. Eleusin., c. xx.) Innu
merable ceremonies, wild and romantic, had been engrafted on
the few expressive symbols of primitive observance ; and instances
have occurred where the terrified aspirant, during the protracted
rites, has absolutely expired through excess of fear. But the
potent spell which sealed the authority of the hierophant was the
horrid custom, resorted to in times of pressing danger or calamity,
of immolating human victims. (Diod. Sic., 1. v ; Strabo, 1. iv ;
Euseb. Orat. ad Const.) The selection of victim was commonly
the prerogative of the chief hierophant. (Samones, Brit., i, p. 104.)
The most careful selection and preparation were necessary to deter
mine who were fitted for these important disclosures; and for this
�64
EKEEMASONKY.
[zadkikl’s
purpose they were subjected to a lengthened probation of four
years (Tertul. adv. Valentín.) before it was considered safe to
admit them into the Sanctum Sanctorum, to become depositaries
of those truths the disclosure of which might endanger not only
the institution, but also the authority of the civil magistrate.
Hence to reveal the mysteries was the highest crime a person
could commit, and was usually punished by an ignominious death,
embittered by denunciations of the hottest pains of Tartarus in
another world. (Clem. Stram.; 2. Sam.; Petit in Lege Attic., p. 33.
Si quis arcana? mysteria Cereris sacra vulgasset lege morti addicebatur.) The places of initiation were contrived with much art and
ingenuity, and the machinery with which they were fitted up was
calculated to excite every passion and affection of the mind. Thus
the hierophant could rouse the feelings of horror and alarm, light
up the fire of devotion, or excite terror and dismay; and when the
soul had attained its highest climax of apprehension, he was fur
nished with the means of soothing it to peace by phantasmagoric
visions of flowery meads, purling streams, and all the tranquil
scenery of nature in its most engaging form, accompanied with
strains of heavenly music—the figurative harmony of the spheres.
These places were indifferently a pyramid, a pagoda or a laby
rinth. The iabyrinths of Egypt, Crete, Lemnos and Italy were
equally designed for initiation into the mysteries (Fab. Cag. Idol.,
iii, p. 269), furnished with vaulted rooms, extensive wings connected
by open and spacious galleries, multitudes of secret dungeons,
subterranean passages, and vistas terminating in adyta, which were
adorned with mysterious symbols carved on the walls and pillars,
in every one of which was enfolded some philosophical or moral
truth. The pagans entertained such a very high opinion of the
mysteries that one of their best writers attributes the dissolution
of the Roman polity to their suppression. He says (Josinus, 1. ii,
p. 671), “Whilst therefore the mysteries were performed according
to the appointment of the oracle, and as they really ought to be
done, the Roman empire was safe, and they had in a manner the
whole world in subjection to them ; but the festivals having been ''
neglected from the time that Diocletian abdicated, they have
decayed and sunk into oblivion.
We shall endeavour first to ascertain the meaning of mythology.
That once determined, there is a short and easy method with the
mysteries. These were of much later origin than mythology; and
just as the mysteries that were presented four or five hundred
years ago were dramatic exhibitions ci the Scripture mythology, as
Dr. Colenso and others would term it, so the ancient mysteries
were mere dramatic presentment? fa mythology older than these
same mysteries. Of course no cne would attempt to make out the
meaning of Scripture by a study of the mysteries of the 15th
century.
�U| ALMANAC.]
FREEMASONRY.
It should be remembered, that what to us is mythology was to
hi1 Pagans religion. Jupiter and Neptune, now the subjects of fable
merely, had their temples, priests and sacrifices. It is not true that
tnese
been
mj these fables are the fables of books only: they have in all ages been
..................................
" blood
,................................ „
h) written in characters of ” ’ and fire, in widow-burning by
uti Hindoos and in Druse massacres, still in course of perpetration.
1 ' Professor Max Muller thinks he shows that widow-burning arose
from a mistake in the meaning of a single word of the Rig. Veda. If
9m the hidden meaning of the various mythologies, constituting the
sacred book of the heathen, could be deciphered, and shown to refer
id to something else than religion, an end would be put to these evils ;
it. Ji
but as long as these sacred books are thought to have the sanctions
ra of religion, their real meaning being unknown, so long these evils
Ri|will endure.
To investigate, therefore, the nature of mythology is an enter
fit prise of the utmost practical importance. Mythology, after all, is
or should be the great quest: on of the day, even in this fastidiously
Ripractical nineteenth century.
Let him who subscribes his guineas to put down false religions
<>r fanatical wars look to this. In another and orthodox point of
ft’ view, and in the words of Wilkinson (Egypt, iv, p. 166), “ When we
reflect that the allegorical religion of the Egyptians contained many
Kii important truths founded upon early revelations, made to mankind
nj and treasured up in secret to prevent their perversion, we may be
disposed to look more favourably on the doctrines they entertained,
jdjand to understand why it was considered worthy of the divine
legistator to be learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.
Pi We are to show reasons for believing that the basis of m taology
was a certain natural science, or the authority of the amients, and
of course we must interpret the ancients by the ancien's
There is a science, as the ancients believed, the nr st important
vuuvv
w*
nxivxvv
that can be vvxivvxivv J; XVI XV uvwxw with the whole destiny of man,
conceived for it deals nxuxi
F® not only with all the events that will happen to him, as birth,
srrimarriage, occupation, death, but also with his very nature and
marriage,
constitution, mental and bodily. It is self-evident that this is the
all-important thing : it is importance itself: nothing else could be
St» so fit for the foundation of the imposing pomps and ceremonials of
the mysteries and religions. I need only mention the name of
„
___ ..
M Astrology, or the science of foretelling future events, of reading the
O fate of men and of empires in the positions of the heavenly
^bodies.
But the mere general knowledge of astrology, possessed by astro
W
Hog ers, has not hitherto enabled them to solve the great mytho■'? ) logical problems, any more than the general knowledge of mechanics,
EOt1 r ■
... i possessed by the mechanicians of bygone ages, had enabled them to
’
------ ------------------------------ — — —v o----------- o~'
i
yp invent the steam-engine ; and so on with other sciences. So there
�56
FREEMASONRY.
[zadkiel’s
is a certain and peculiar and entirely original application of astro
logy, which we shall introduce as necessary and sufficient for
unravelling the mysteries of mythology.
Before however proceeding to this application, it may be satisfac
tory, though not necessary, to give prima facie reasons for believing
that mythology is astrology. Landseer observes (Sab. Res. p. 191),
“ If the secrets of the mysteries were astronomical, or were so even
in part, the same religious dread which would account for their
being so rarely, if ever, divulged, accounts also for the little that
has been directly imparted and the much that has been withheld
of ancient astronomy.
JEschylus occasionally deals in astronomical notices, blending
with them the sacred charm and elevated pathos of his poetry.
And it is known that rEschylus would have been in danger of
capital punishment for revealing the mysteries, had he not been
able to prove to the satisfaction of the Areopagus that he never was
initiated. Again, why is Herodotus so chary and so vague in his
astronomical notices, when treating of the ancient Sabean nations ?
Why so much freemasonry ? Why, in mentioning the deified
animals of Egypt, which were of astronomic reference, does he fear
to disclose the reasons of their being held sacred ? Why put off his
readers with,“ If I were to explain these reasons I should be led to
the disclosure of those holy matters which I particularly wish to
avoid, and which but from necessity I should not have discussed
at all P
In the “Io” of Plato, Socrates says, “Homer and Hesiod both
write of things that relate to divination” (Astrology is divination.)
Io—“ True.” Soc—“ Well, now, the passages in either of these
poets, relating to divination, who, think you, is capable of inter
preting with most skill and judgment, yourself or some able
diviner
Io—“ An able diviner, I must own.”
Ritter remarks on the Timseus, “ Now as the work of the created
gods possesses such power over the rational soul, the gods who
formed it—the stars—must exercise no inconsiderable influence
upon the lot of all mortal creatures. Plato accordingly believedj
that the fate of man is dependant on the complicated motions of
the stars, and that, by a due and careful contemplation of the
heavens, his future destiny may be discovered.”—Ancient Philo
sophy, p, 374.
That the planets were the real gods of the Egyptians is evident,
if, as is constantly asserted, the gods of that people were the same
as the gods of the Greeks ; “ The seven planets being, in the
words of the philosopher Albricus, the seven first gods of the
heathen, whom he arranged in this order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars,
Apollo, Venus, Mercury and the Moon.”
Thus Albricus, p. 171: Saturnus primus deorum supponebatur j
�FREEMASONRY.
57
*Æars tertius deorum dictus est. This order is adopted, in modern
.iastrology, in the planetary arrangement of the days of the week,
¡and depends on the increase of distance and decrease of the ap.1 parent motion of those bodies.
*
i The same order (see Macrobius) is observed in the Demotic
1 tablets discovered by the Rev. H. Hobart. Wilkinson remarks,
! that “ Clemens of Alexandria, too, placed in the first class of Pagan
. deities the stars or heavenly bodies. The summary of Egyptian
theology, given by Diogenes Laertius from Manetho and Hecatæus,
is in the same spirit, which considers that matter was the first
principle, and the sun and moon the first deities of that people.”
Ritter (Indian Philosophy, p. 90), observes, “ In the more ancient
portion of the Vedas, physical religion prevails. The heavenly
bodies are worshipped as gods.”
We have the following expression in the Cratylus of Plato :—
“ The only gods are the sun, moon and stars.”
In the Timæus the gods are spoken of as revolving—“ As many as
visibly revolve.” Porphyry excelled, as Taylor observes, in all
philosophical knowledge, and was called
“the philoso
pher.” He treats the gods as visible—“ Which gods are as you now
see;” and again (ii, 37)—“To the remaining gods, therefore, to the
world, to the inerratic and erratic stars who are visible gods.”
Of these he says, (ii, 36)—“The Pythagoreans frequently implored
their aid in divination, and if they were in want of a certain thing
for the purpose of some investigation. In order, therefore, to effect
this, they made use of the gods within the heavens, both the
• “Nous avons vu que l'ordre des planètes, selon la croyance des anciens et
aussi des Egyptiens, était Saturne, Jupiter, Mars, Vénus, Mercure. Dans les
quatre tablettes dont nous nous occupons, et où les cinq p'anètes se suivent 28
fois dans le même ordre, il est à croire que cet ordre des noms sera le même
que les anciens.”
This order is said to prevail in the attributing the days of the week to the
planets, according to the order of their rule over the hours of the day; each
day bearing the name of the planet ruling its first hour, as thus : the first hour
of Saturday being dedicated to Saturn, the second to Jupiter, and so on; the
25th, or first hour of the next day, is that of the Sun, which gives its name to
the day; and so on with Monday, or Lundi, Maidi, Mercredi, Jeudi, Ven
dredi—Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The sarcophagi of the monarchs of the 18th dynasty were decorated with
representations of the Sun Mythos—the passage of the Sun through the twelve
hours of the day and those of the night. The Sun passes in a bark, always
accompanied by seven deities, who differ according to the hour, and who appear
to represent the Moon and planetary system. This forms a clue to the mythology
of the 18th and 19th dynasties.—Birch, on the Determination of the Relative
Epochs of Mummies (p. 374).
This system of “ planetary hours,” though at least as old as the 18th dynasty,
appears to be a late affection of astrology. Herbs ruled by the various planets
are gathered in the hours respectively dedicated to those planets.
�58
FREEMASON11V.
[ZADKlKtS t
erratic and non-erratic, of all of whom it is requisite to consider the
sun as the leader, but to rank the moon in the second place; and
we should conjoin with these fire (or Mars) in the third place, from
its alliance with them, according to the theologists. We must call,
therefore, the nature of the stars, and such things as we perceive
together with the stars, the visible gods.—Plato, Epinanis, p. 401.—■
I n the Timeeus the planets are called celestial beings.
The first inventors of astrology were kings, then priests, or
augurs, who derived their augury from the celestial signs. Belus,
king of Babylon, is referred to, and other kings of the Chaldeans
and Assyrians, as Zoroaster, king of the Bactrians. Among the
Egyptians no one but an astrologer was appointed priest. “ Those
who were appointed to the worship of the gods were Chaldeans,
most skilful in astrology.” (Pliny, xxx, 1; Justin., 1. 6.) “The Egyp
tians,” says Wilkinson (iv, p. 153), “predicted future events, both
relative to private occurrences and natural phenomena; for which
purpose Diodorus (i, 81) tells us they took advantage of their skill
m arithmetical calculations; this last being of the highest im
portance to them in the study of astrology. For the Egyptians
most accurately observe the order and movement of the stars,
preserving their remarks upon each for an incredible number of
years ; that study having been followed by them from the earliest
times. They most carefully note the movements, revolutions and
positions of the planets, as well as the influences possessed by each
upon the birth of animals, whether productive of good or evil.
And they frequently foretell what is about to happen to mankind
with the greatest accuracy, showing the failure and abundance of
crops, or the epidemic diseases about to befall men or cattle ; and
earthquakes, deluges, the rising of comets, and all those phenomena,
the knowledge of which appears impossible to vulgar comprehen
sions, they foresee by means of their long-continued observations.
It is indeed supposed that the Chaldeans of Babylon arrived at their
celebrity in astrology in consequence of what they derived from
the priests of Egypt. The art of predicting future events, as
practised in the Greek temples, says Herodotus (ii, 58), came from
the Egyptians'' (See Diod. Sic., ii, 31.) Each of these temples wa3
a planetarum, says Morgan (p. 57), or representation of the heavens»
The principles on which they are constructed are strictly astro
nomical. From the importance they attached to the study of astro
nomy the Druids were termed by the Greeks Saranidee (serenyddion,
from the Kymric seren, a star), astronomers. Their system of edu
cation appears to have embraced a wide range of arts and sciences.
The lowest degree of the mysteries of the Druids conveyed the
power of vaticination, in its minor divisions. Borlase (Ant. Corn.,
p. 67), says, the Eubates or Vates were of the third or lowest class ;
their name, as some think, being derived from Thada, which
�^RlmanAC.]
59
. .¡amongst tlie Irish commonly signifies magic; and their business
Ams to foretell future events.
The Druids practised augury for the public service of the State;
< mt L
7
■; ~ ..
d-¡while-------------- the Eubates were merely fortune-tellers. (Oliver, Hist. Init.,
v
x
?
J ,k 226.) Fosbroke remarks, “The Druids and Etrurian augurs, like
“
the V/lltblLlCai-liS, told fortunes by the planets. Eruidism is not
tile Chaldeans, UVAVA AVALIAAACO KJJ VAAA> jAAUlAAA, VA3. A--/ cvvwvv.iv w ! wt
ta extinct : it still exists in Ceylon, where it is termed Baliism. These
extinct
Cingalese worshippers of the stars generally conceal their opinions.
Townley says the worship consists entirely of adoration to the
heavenly bodies, invoking them in consequence of the supposed
hi influence they have on the affairs of men. The priests are great
1ft astronomers, and believed to be thoroughly skilled in the power and
10 influence of the planets. (Loss, vol.ii, p. 161.)—“ The usual appellation
given by the bards to the sacred inclosure of an open temple was
11 the mundane circle ; and Faber says that the ark was called the
M circle of the world. It follows, therefore, the open circular temple
was thè representation of the ark, which was anciently denominated
fe! CJaer Gaur, or the Great Cathedral, or the Mundane Ark. (In., p. 189.)
P “ The general name of the sanctuary where the peculiar mysteries of
$ Ueridwen were formally celebrated was Caer Sidi, the circle of
©■ revolution, so called from the well-known form of the Druidical
¡9. temple. This phrase, according to Mr. Davies, implies, in the first
hj place, the ark in which the patriarch and his family were enclosed ;
^secondly, the circle of the Zodiac; in which emblems the sun,
i Imoon and planets revolved ; thirdly, the sanctuary of the British
which
r Ceres, _ .. represented both the ark and the Zodiac. (Davies
Myth. Druid., p. 516.)
THE RULE OF GOD OVER THE HEAVENS,
OR HEAVENLY BODIES.
’ In numerous places do we find in the Scriptures the most direct
a assertion that God rules the stars; which is often poetically mend tioned as His riding on them. Thus in the 68th Psalm, 4th verse,
V We read, “ Sing unto God, sing praises to His name ; extol Him that
A- rideth upon the heavens, by His name Jah,” And again in the 32nd
verse we find it written, “Ye kingdoms of the earth, 0 sing praises
li unto the Ruler, Selah.” Our version renders the word MTN, Adoni,
;< by the terms “ the Lord but we contend that being formed from ¡‘"J.
C Dan, a Judge or Ruler, and considering that the translators most
i frequently render the word HIFT', Jehovah, by “ the Lord,” we
>1 do not see why this word Adoni should also be made to have .the
3i| same meaning exactly. This becomes more obviously questionable,
w when we go on to read the 33rd verse, thus : “ To Him that rideth
i, upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old and when we
>i read in the following verse that “the strength of God is in the
�60
THE RULE OF GOD.
[zADKIEl’s '
heavens,” as it is rightly rendered in the margin, since the evanescent
“clouds” certainly cannot be thought,for a moment, to depict the ■
strength of God. AVell, here we find that God is said to ride upon :
the heavens of heavens, which were of old. Now, what can this
signify, but that God is the Ruler of the heavens, which, although
moved by His servants, the angels, are yet altogether subject to
His will, whose fiat first called them into existence ? Rightly, there
fore, did David, in the 20th verse, 69th Psalm, say, “Let the heavens:
and the earth praise Him ; the seas, and everything that moveth i
therein.”
We will now give the original Greek of the twenty-fifth verse ofj
the thirteenth chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, wherein the words
of our Blessed Lord are related, and we will follow these by the
Latin Vatican translation, made for the use of the Catholi :
Church, and termed “the Vulgate.” We shall then present the
French translation by Jaques de Bay, made in 1572, which is
considered to be extremely accurate; and, finally, we shall otter
the authorised translation of the Protestant Testament, and *llow
o
with our own literal rendering. The reader will then perceive that
our Saviour did actually and forcibly declare the existence of th#
influences, or virtud^ or powers, which are in the heavenly bodies.
1st. The Greek runs thus : Kai ol atrfspsf tov ovzavov ’'ercvra^
sr.wlwrovTSS, xal al Svvaasif, at ev to7$ ocpavoi$ trateufycroyi'ai.
2nd The Vulgate Latin for this passage is as follows : Et stellse
cceli erunt decidentes, et virtutes, quae in ccelis sunt, movebuntur.
3rd. The old French translation runs thus : “ Et les estoilles du
ciel cherront, et les vertus qui sont es cieux, seront esmues.”
4th. The authorized Protestant Testament has, “And the stars
of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be
shaken.”
We shall now give the rendering we conceive to be literal and in
exact accordance with the original Greek. It is this : “ And the
stars of heaven shall fail, and the powers that are in the heavens^
shall be shaken.”
The first clause of the verse, if taken in the sense of the
authorized version, would import that “ the stars,” meaning thereby
the heavenly bodies in general, including fixed stars, planets and
comets, should absolutely fall down, on, to, or towards the earth.
But if we examine the word in the original which our version
renders “fall,” viz., ¿/.■zvmTorrff, ekpiptontes, we find it formed
truly from the verb
pipto, to fall ; but not in the direct and
palpable sense of falling down, but in the metaphorical sense of
failing. Thus, when Mr. Parkhurst says “the word is used to
express the destruction of the heavenly bodies, i.e., then fall from
*
�ALMANAC, j
Gl
THE RULE CT GOD
heaven,”* he foolishly adopts the idea of the failure or destruction
of the heavenly bodies being “ their fall from heaven,” as if they
were merely toys ; as if, in fact, they could fall anywhere! If we,
however, will adopt the idea of the destruction or the failure of the
heavenly bodies being signified, which we must do if we read the
preceding verse relating to the Sun being “darkened” and the Moon
ceasing to give her “ light,” we easily discover that the true reading
of the passage is, “And the stars of heaven shall fail?
But it is the latter clause of the verse, which, when truly and
grammatically translated from the Greek, becomes of such vast
importance, because it declares that there are “powers” in the heavens
which shall be, when the heavenly bodies themselves shall be found
to fail, not destroyed with them, but “shaken.” This expression
imports that those “powers” have a mission to perform during the
existence of the heavenly bodies; and that, after the destruction or
failure of these, that mission shall cease to be, although the powers
themselves may continue to exist. And this is quite consistent
with the idea that the Jews have always had, as Maimonides testi
fies, that the powers in the heavens were spiritual beings, or angels.
If so, they may be shaken, but will not, of course, be destroyed.
Now the question arises as to what these “powers which are in
the heavens” are said to be by the Evangelist. He calls them
zzi Swapels • which word is formed from ewagi;, dynamis, which
is equivalent to the Latin terms potentia, vis, virtus, that is,
“power,” “force,” “virtue.” And accordingly we see that the
Vatican Latin translation has “ Virtutes quae in coelis sunt,” the
* virtues which are in the heavens.” And the French translation
is also, “les vertus qui sont cs cieux,” that is, “the virtues which
are in the heavens.” But the word “virtus,” in Latin, signifies not
only virtue, but force, power, strength; as, for example, Deum
virtute, “ by God’s help.” Mr. Parkhurst renders the word in the
text,
dynameis, “angelical powers, angels ; whether good
©r bad.” He adds, that Wolf and others say that the Jews called
angels powers or virtues (see Jalkut Chabdasch, fol. 89, col. 4), as
.Valesius ad Euseb., p. 254 (see Praep. Evang., iv, 6), shows that the
Greeks did. But he farther adds, that this word dynameis meant
^mighty, i. e., miraculous powers? And, lastly, he says that it
signified “ the powers or hosts of heaven? i. e., the stars. “ Avvaat;
and vis in Latin often denote the armies or forces of a kingdom ;
and hence Suydgsi; rwv ovpocvwv (dynameis ton ouranon) denote
the stars, or splendid bodies with which the heavens are adorned.”
The reader will perceive that the learned Mr. Parkhurst here makes
I »jumble of the whole thing ; for he first makes the word dynameis
signify the “powers” of heaven, and then again “the stars.” Now
• "Greek and English Lexicon,
E
�62
THE RULE OF GO».
[zadkiel’s
this is absurd ; because the stars might exist and have no powers ;
as very many foolish folk declare they do. And they may exist
and have “powers,” as the astrologers contend, and as the Saviour
has declared. The cause of this jumble perhaps is, that the Jews
in early times believed all the stars, or heavenly bodies, to be
gods ; and in course of time both Jews and Greeks came to believe
that they were, as Parkhurst states, angels; which explains the ex
pressions of David in the 103rd Psalm, v. 20, where he says, “ Bless
Jehovah, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his command
ments;" and v. 21, “ Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of
his, that do his pleasure" Where we see the doctrine taught that
the hosts or stars of heaven do the pleasure of the Great Jehovah,
as do the angels. But it seems evident that “ the powers that are
in the heavens ” can be no other than the angels. And so Astro
logy has always taught that each planet has its angel, that “ excels
in strength,” as David says. Now these angels, or ministers of
Jehovah, wh® “do his commandments,” have been largely spoken of
by ancient writers. It will now be time, however, to show why, in
the second clause of the 25th verse of the thirteenth chapter of
Mark, I have given the words, “ that are in the heavens,” instead of
‘ that are in heaven,” as it stands in the authorised version.
The Latin and the French both correctly translate the Greek
terms ey roif oupavoi; (en tois ouranois) by “in the heavens and
as these words are in the plural form, there can be no excuse for
our translators having rendered them in the singular. The perverse
negligence with which the translators wrote the passage in the sin
gular, instead of the plural, is very evident if we refer to the
parallel passage in the 29th verse of the 24 th chapter of Matthew.
For therein we find the original Greek is in the genitive plural, viz.,
rwy ovpaytiv (ton ouranon), and the English, Latin and French all
agree in rendering it in the same manner. A mere hasty reference
to the latter passage would have been enough to prevent the blun
der in the other.
It may be well to remark here, that all the translators have
made a slip, however, in rendering the words in the 29th vei’se
of the 24th of Matthew, viz., of acrtpep wstrovvTa.i a,wo Toy ovpavov,
(oi asteres pesountai apo tou ouranou), by “the stars shall fall from
heavenfor, where dvio implies motion, it is better to render it by
“ away fromand therefore the words should be rendered by “ the
stars shall fail away from heavenwhich agrees with the passage
in Mark, and implies that they shall be destroyed. At first sight it
may appear of little moment whether we say with Mark, “the
powers that are in heaven,” or “ the powers that are in the heavens.”
But it is really very important; because the word “ heaven,” taken
in the singular, leads the mind to refer to the dwelling of the
Almighty; whereas, “the heavens” at once gives us the idea of the
�ALMANAC.]
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY.
63
heavenly bodies, or stars, &c., only. Hence we know, from the true
rendering of the latter clause of Mark xiii, v. 25, and the parallel
passage, Matt, xxiv, v. 29, that our blessed Saviour did, in the
most pointed manner, record the fact of his sacred word that there
are powers or virtues in the heavenly bodies, or stars, &c., and as
these are those which we astrologers call ordinarily “ influences,”
we cannot be denied the right to claim the highest possible
authority for the doctrine we teach.
*
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY.
“ Mr. B. Cochrane rosé to call the attention of the House (of
Commons) to the organisation of the International Society. The
Society was growing, and in a country like England an organisation
which sought to abolish marriage, which denied God, which denied
all rights of property, and which preached assassination, ought to be
denounced in the strongest way by all honest men.”—Daily News,
13th April, 1872.
Remarks on the above by Zadkiel.—We agree that Mr. Cochrane
has ground for alarm ; but we would ask him whence has sprung
this teaching of atheism, by the class of men likely to become
members of this denounced Society. Is it not manifest that the
doctrines taught by the so-called men of “ science ” in this country,
who openly teach that life began on this earth from the accidental
falling of a moss-covered stone, containing a bug, from an aerolite,
are the true original of the evil ? It is not the workman, who has
no leisure for such studies, even if he have the ability, that originates
and thrusts these disgusting lies into being. It is the man of
“ science ” to whom Mr. Cochrane should look ; whose doctrines he
should denounce ; and not the International Society, which simply
follows the lead of these men. Let this worthy M.P. remember that
he himself, as a member of the Legislature, has done his best to de
stroy the only true teachers of the existence of a God, as proved by
daily reference to his works, in the Heavens, or in other words, by
the science of Astrology. He has sanctioned a law that treats Astro
logy as a fraud, and punishes its professors as if they were common
vagrants, thieves and vagabonds; although the best and brightest
characters of mankind have been well known as Astrologers.
Will Mr. B. Cochrane prove his own feelings in favour of truth
and righteousness, by some attempt to amend that abominable
* The hymn called Te Deum la/udamus has for many centuries been sung by the
whole Catholic and Anglican Church. It runs thns : “To thee all angels cry aloud :
the heavens and all the powers therein.” Now what are these words to signify, if
there be no powers in the heavens, as the adversaries of astrology declare ? What
mockery to address the Deity in language devoid of meaning Yea, verily, there are
powers in the heavens, as all may know who will examine for themselves ; and these
powers are no doubt the “ministers” of God, who “do his will.”
�ttFECTS Oi' iiAliS.
[zADKlEl/s
A agrant Act ?. If so, we promise him that he will do more to check
the vile teachings of men of “ science,” and to destroy the “ Inter
national, than by a thousand speeches in the House of Commons
against the latter, as things now stand. Let him observe also that
Astrologers have never denied the existence of their Creator; and
let him learn and remember that
“ An un devout Astrologer is mad.”
NO CONJURORS CONJECTURE.
Could a Meteoric Stone,
Pray, Sir William Thomson,
Fall, with lichen overgrown ?
Say Sir William Thomson.
From its orbit having shot,
Would it, coming down red-hot,
Have all life burnt off it not ?
Eh, Sir William Thomson 1
Not? Then showers of fish and frogs
Too, Sir William Thomson,
Fall: it might rain cats and dogs.
Pooh, Sir William Thomson !
That they do come down we’re told.
As for aerolite with mould,
That’s at least too hot to hold
True, Sir William Thomson !—Punch
THE EFFECTS OF MAES IN LEO, IN ANY NATIVITY.
There is no aphorism more settled than that which teaches the
several parts of the body ruled, or influenced, by the signs of the
Zodiac. Among these we find (see page 28) that “ the Heart and
the Back ” are ruled by Leo.
Now I purpose to shew, very briefly, that this rule was evinced
in the case of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred ; and also of the
late Lord Mayo, Governor General of India.
Planets' places at 7h 50m, a.m., on the 6th August, 1844, the day
Prince Alfred was born.
O
o’? ,
f
O
4
/
0
$
/
0
0
/ 0
?
/
oU
0
D
/
5ty>59 3x?12 37,42 13SV18 13ft 53 23SB52 29 ft 20 15^46
R
R
R
Herein we find Mars, the Sun, and Mercury, all in St, Eeo,
ruling w the backand we know that the miscreant, who was
hanged in Australia for the act, shot, the Prince in the back,
�EFFECTS OF MARS.
ALMANAC.]
C5
Planets' places at noon, on the 21s? February, 1822, on which day the
late Lord Mayo was born.
p,
O
4
O
/
0
/
0
/
o
?
/
o
5
/
O
D
/
j 6 #20 22T59 27<rl6 29^14 2X21 26X44 20X22 28ï£19
R
Here we find Mars also in Leo, and in close opposition to tl e
Moon, indicating most serious evil to the noble native in the back,
by a stab, oi’ other wound. If we look to the previous birthday < f
ifhe native, on the 21st February, 1871, what do we behold? Why,
we see Saturn in Vf 7° 23', in close conjunction with Uranus at
birth; and Mars on that day in -"= 7° 10' in exact square with him.
Nothing could have been more plainly indicative of the danger tl e
native would be in at the time. But, perhaps, the most strikii g
position, of all that then occurred, was the place of Uranus at the
end of 50 days, equal to 50 years after birth, the 12th April (the
IMondary direction), he being found in exact conjunction with
Saturn at the previous birthday, viz., in vy 7° 21'!
Yet we find further evidence of the fatal influences that brought
this great man to an untimely end ; for, on the 22nd December,
1870, there was a great visible eclipse of the Sun, in Capricorn,
ruling India.
The places of the Sun, Moon, Saturn, Venus and Mercury were
as follows, at the Eclipse :—•
o î / j ° ÿ / I1
0Vÿ31 0#31 0#52 3#55 16#39
J
©
O
/
o
/
O
*2
/
And we see that the place of Uranus in the radix was yf 6° 20' ;
whence it seems that this eclipse was very fatal to the native, as
appears by the melancholy result.
Of course he was educated according to the fashionable He, that
rules predominant in our universities, viz, that there is no truth in
the doctrine of the stars. Had it been otherwise, he might have
avoided exposing himself to the knife of the assassin ; or, better
still, he might have forbidden those cruel deeds—the blowing
away from guns the miserable sixty-five men engaged in the Kooka
insurrection, which perhaps gave rise to the feeling that led to his
destruction.
Now let us turn our eyes upon the figure of the Prince of Wales.
In that we shall see that in December, 1871, there was also a great
eclipse of the sun, which fell on the 12th December, when His
Royal Highness was at the worst, and thought by many to be
dying. But as on that day the eclipse took place, the sun was
�66
¿EFFECTS OF MARS.
[zADKIEL’s
exactly on the place of Jupiter, at his birth, we saw, and said, and
wrote to many friends, that he would not die, in fact, we believe that
he could not die, as the hyleg (or life-giver) was no ways afflicted.
The following is the figure, under which His Royal Highness came
into the world; and in this figure we find the moon just 30° 16'
from the M. C., which of course, came to the body of the moon just
past 30 years of age. This gives troubles both of body and minrl.
But the moon has but little rule over the life, which depends wholly
on the sun.
Figure of Birth of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.
At lOh. 38m. 12s., a. m., 9th November, 1841, London.
R.A.208.“o.
Let us next behold the eclipse of the sun at 4h l‘5m, a. m., 12th
December, 1870, and we see that the new moon fell in f 19° 44',
in close trine to the place of Venus, and in close conjunction with
the place of Jupiter in this figure,
�EFFECTS OF MARS.
ALMANAC.]
67
Well, on that very day His Royal Highness began to mend,
according to all the newspapers, and then steadily improved in
health; the only drawback being an affeetioa of the hip, which
arises from bad blood therein, as shewn by Jupiter so near ths
ascending degree.
I here give the planets' places at the return of the sun to his own
place, on th® 9th November, 1871.
o
7
o
4
/
O
/
o
o
/
o
?
o
J,
o
D
/
| 1SL16 6Vf20 29 s 50 lltf41 161H55 3^=44 2HTL15 7^14
I R
Here it will be seen that the two malefics, Mars and Saturn, are
nearly conjoined in the ascendant; and the moon lies in square
to them both. This led me to anticipate a serious illness for the
prince ; but as Jupiter was in exact sextile to the moon, I did
not foretel any danger to life; neither was there any such;
although the whole nation were led astray, by ignorance of the
rales and doctrines of astral science, to believe and to apprehend
such danger.
The words I used at page 25, November, 1871, were these : “ On
the 9th the moon is afflicted by a square of Mars and Saturn, which
bespeaks serious losses and troubles for all persons born that day, be
they prince, or peasant; and these will endure through all the ensuing
year of life."
My readers well know how true these remarks really were ; but
they must also see that the whole of the Royal Family, and all the
people of these realms, would have been spared great anxiety and
much alarm, if they had but known the true principles of astrology.
These are as ancient as the stars, firm and unfailing as the great
globe itself! They never yet did deceive those men who could read
their indications, and who fail not to remember, that they are the
servants of the Great Eternal whose fiat called them into being, for
the very purpose that they should do his will !
Hence we read in the original Hebrew, the 21st verse of the
10 3rd Psalm, as follows :—
mi
liis will
rrwa
that do Ministers of his
all his Hosts
*
mn
Jehovah
Bless ye
Here we may note that
Si ^al Tseba Heshemim,
u All the hosts of the heavens,” used in 2 Kings, 23, v. v, imports
generally, all the fixed stars. From the worship of these the greater
part of the pagan world were called Zabians or Sabians.
mm jehovah of Hosts, is frequently used as a title of the Great
�EFFECT OF SATUIiN.
[zADKTET.’s
God; shewing, as it does, “that from Him the host of the heavens
derive their existence and amazing powers, and consequently imply
his own eternal and almighty power. Accordingly the Seventy
frequently interpret
Tsdbaoth, by IIay7azca7cu;, Almighty.
THE EFFECT OF SATURN, &c., IN THE TWELVE HOUSES.
Ceylon, November 25th, 1871.
My dear Sir,—The two copies of your Almanac for 1872, and one
copy of the Companion, with its accompanying, letter, have duly
reached my hands. Please accept my best thanks for the same.
You want, it appears, that I should give my opinion about the
Almanac. What opinion can you expect from an insignificant
astrologer in a remote Island, who can scarcely approach you, or
one of your meanest disciples, in point of erudition, with respect to
this sacred science ? However, I can conscientiously say, that not
only the contents of your Almanac for 1872, but almost all your
Almanacs for past years, contain pure truth, and nothing but truth.
It would be in vain in a letter like this to mention in detail the
exact verification of most of your predictions, even in Ceylon,
unless I undertake to write a large pamphlet on the subject.
Your weather predictions turn out to be exactly correct, even in
Ceylon ; and your unerring calculations on the configuration of the
planets are perfect as perfect could be. The most wonderful and
admirable of all your predictions are especially those with reference
to people born in such a month in any year. I have found them
not only to be exactly true with respect to several persons, in the
course of my practice, but they were verified to a very great extent
in my own case. There are a thousand and tens of thousands of
Budhistical astrologers swarming throughout the Island, but, alas !
their calculations are not at all correct; hence their several failures in
prediction. There are a few of them studying under me the Occi
dental way of casting nativities, and they, I see, are gradually
opening their eyes to the correct system. Thank God we have no
penal laws against astrologers in Ceylon. Besides astrology, there
are different other varieties of occult sciences prevalent and
practised in Ceylon, about which I promised to provide you with a
brief description in my last letter.—Hoping to hear soon from you
*
I remain, my dear Sir, yours ever faithfully—J. P.
1st House.—When Saturn is posited in the nativity (i. e., 1st
house), know that your hands and feet will be swollen; you shall
have to quit your native land, and your father will be subject to
diseases of the abdomen.
2nd House.—When Saturn is in the 2nd, the native will be
sickly, and moneyless; he shall be subject to epilepsy, and will
torn out a regular wanderer.
�ALMANAC.j
EFFECT OF MARS.
69
3rd House.—The God Saturn in the 3rd is good, will give plenty
of gold and silver to the native ; he will cause him (the native) to be
a renowned man, especially for his learning.
4th House—If Saturn be in the 4th, he will cause the native’s,
parents to be sickly ; the native will turn out a great sinner, poor-,
dejected, and a deserted man.
5th House.—If Saturn be in the 5th, the native’s parents will die
prematurely ; he shall lose all his inheritance in his own village,
he shall be entangled in litigation and lose his younger brothers,
daughters, sons and cattle.
6th House.—If the blne-bodied God (meaning Saturn) be in the
6 th, he will confer much eruditeness in learning to the native. He
shall have many persons to attend on him, he shall be rich equally
in moveable and immoveable properties.
7th House.—If Saturn be in the 7 th, the native shall be poor,
will get a wife, but children will die, will be of a very sickly con
stitution, especially affections in the head.
8th House.—If Saturn be posited in the house of death, the
native will suffer from incurable cancers, rheumatism in hands and
feet; will lose wife and children, and, losing all his substance, shall
turn out ultimately to be a ruined man.
9th House.—If Saturn be in the 9 th, the native will commit
many sins, the mother will be sick of dropsy, and the native will
be a renowned atheist.
10th House.—If Saturn be posited in the 10th, the native shall
possess three landed properties; shall have cattle, shall marry
three times, the mother will be suffering from head disease.
11th House.—If Saturn be posited in the 11th, the native’s fame
for kindness and power will be spread throughout the country; be
shall have all riches and comfort this world could afford, and shall
be a learned and an erudite scholar.
12th House.—If Saturn be posited in the 12th, the native will be
driven away from among his relations: the father will be suffering
from a gripe, the native will suffer from an incurable sore in his
leg.
__________________________
EFFECT OF MARS POSITED IN EACH OF THE TWELVE
HOUSES OF THE HEAVENS
(NOT IN THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC).
Translated from an ancient Singhalese Manuscript.
1st House.—If God Mars be posited in the ascendant, he will
cause strife and contention to the native in the village or country
that gave birth to him, and involve him in litigation: he will be
separated from his wife, and will have very few or no children at
all, and endless domestic troubles.
E 3
�70
EFFECT OF MARS.
[zadkiel’s
2nd House.—If God Mars goes to the 2nd house, the native will
be sundered from his father, and will be very unfortunate, losing
all his estates and effects, and will ultimately cause the native to
quit the village which gave birth to him.
3rd House.—If God Mars be posited in the 3rd house, he will
cause the native to be rich in gold and silver, and cause him to
possess three landed properties in three distinct villages, and ulti
mately cause the native to be injured by a bull.
4th House.—If the red-bodied God be in the 4th house, wherever
the native goes he will be implicated in contentions and other
affairs that do not concern him at all; he will be hated by his
brothers, and will ultimately turn out a regular wanderer out of his
own country.
5th House.—If (the son of the earth) Meh& Puth (this is one of
the appellations of Mars), be posited in the 5th, tell surely the
native will never have children, the father of the native must be
continually sick, and say also to a certainty that the native’s wife
has two paramours.
6th House.—If Mars be posited in the sixth from the ascendant,
the native will be powerful and prosperous, and will be favoured by
great men, and will be a famous man, possessing three landed
properties in three distinct places.
7th House.—If the son of the earth be posited in the 7th, the
native will be choleric and bilious, two of his children shall die in
their younger days, and the native himself will be subject to rheu
matism in arms and legs.
8th House.—If Mars were to be in the 8th, or the house of death,
the native will depart his native country, owing to continual
ill-health ; he will for a long time be confined to bed, on account of
the pain he will have to sutler in his legs and arms, on account of
rheumatism : he will have sons and daughters, but they are
perfectly helpless.
9th House.—If God Mars should go to the 9th house, the native
will turn out to be a great debauchee, wandering from place to place
in quest of satisfaction to his animal propensities ; however he will
be somewhat consequential for his having two landed properties of
some value.
10th House.—If Mars be in the 10th, the native will be victorious
in battle, and he will positively overcome his enemies; he will
possess four landed properties inherited from his ancestors, and he
will have plenty of riches.
11th House.—If the son of the earth be in the 11th, the native
will obtain the command of a large host or army; he will be a brave
and a literary man, and will have plenty of sons, daughters and
cattle.
12th House.—If God Mars be posited in the 12th house, the
�^Jj^MÂNAC.]
EFFECTS OF VENDS.
71
-.pther of the native will be indisposed and other people claimlessly
~ 'lherit the landed properties of the native. And these are the unjm rring effects of Mars when posited in each of the twelve houses
fl:
J
rn' f thé heavens.
fTTHE EFFECTS OF VENUS IN THE TWELVE HOUSES.
K Venus in the First House.—If Venus happen to be in the
p©l scendant of one’s nativity, the native shall obtain four landed
j<# »roperties; he will pass his three stages of life in equal happiness,
Oi <nd have plenty of gold and silver.
VjVenus in the Second.—If Venus be posited in the house of subVenus
sub
ViXllW, he W1XX get pXVXXVJ of riches and favours
«
*
—o~.
— —J
stance, 11U will gCU plenty MX XXMXXWM ...... i«,.—v» from kings. The
fa ather of the native will be a learned man; he will have landed proither
pro
perties in three different localities, but he will not Eve himself in
$ my one of them.
’1 Venus in the Third.—If Venus be in this house, the native will
^inherit lands, but he will turn out a favourite of females and will
^possess a beautiful bodily appearance.
Venus in the Fourth.—In the fourth, Venus will cause the native
io have several brothers, but he will lose his father early. Four
-landed properties, and a good musician.
'J Venus in the Fifth.—If Venus be found in the fifth, if the na. live be one of the Royal Family, he will be the ruler of the whole
prorld; he will have several children of very good condition, and
ape will prosper to the end of his life.
jf Venus in the Sixth.—If in the sixth, the native will be poor and
'^possess no riches, and will be suffering from a chronic disorder in
I the belly.
,, Venus in the Seventh—The native will be very learned, will get
m good and an amiable wife, and plenty of children, and he will live
n to the long age of 84 years.
£! Venus in ttie Eighth.—Moderately fortunate, very energetic mind,
„ifond of the parents, and abhor women of low standing.
ij Venus in the Ninth.—The native will be very religious, if not
[rU priest, will get a beautiful partner and be the chief over several.
Venus in the Tenth.—The native will be famous throughout the
| country in which he lives, he will have plenty of cattle, and a large
i tree will stand towards south-east of his house.
Venus in the Eleventh.—The native’s great grandfather will be
, a great man, the native himself will be a very great man, and comp mand the respect of many.
j f Venus in the Twelth.— The native will be suffering from his eyes ;
i unprofitable brothers and children; he will lose his lands by litiga-
�72
[ZADKIEI
MARS MEN AND THINGS.
From, Raphael’s Prophetic Almanac, 1872.
The influence of Mars is doubtless the most active agent in th
system of worlds. It appears to be pointed out by its fiery color
It has been held that Britain (England) is ruled by Aries—-Mar
hence we are nationally Mars-men ; and we have shown ourselv
Hie most active and pioneering amongst the nations of the worl
The Hebrews are held to be under Scorpio—Mars—and where
there a more active and persevering race ? In England the H
brews are more sympathized with than in any other land—astr
logical evidence of the ruling influences and vice versa. Men wl
have the luminaries, or one of them, in aspect to Mars, are t!
pioneers of the world in their various spheres ; they are the worke
and discoverers of hidden things. Let any one take note of tl
position of Mars in the horoscopes of great men, they will readi
perceive the truth of this. Space will only admit of our pointii
to two personages, Napoleon, and our contemporary, Zadkie
The influence of Mars is the most active principle in medicin
Mars governs iron, machinery and the workers therein ; to theses
owe the position we have held among nations. Let none neglect tl
influence and aspects of Mars, especially when of an unfavourab
nature ; for, although the effect may not be so durable, it is moi
potent than that of Saturn.
THE EFFECT OF THE ASCENDING NODE (RAAHU) I
THE TWELVE HOUSES.
1st House.—The enemy of the Sun, in the first house, sha
cause the death of the first wife, shah award four landed propertie
of which three only permanent, and the native shall ultimate!
have to leave his native place for good.
2nd House.—If Panidu (Ascending Node) be in the second, tl
native will be poor and dejected ; the father will die in the youngt
days of the native, but he shall inherit two landed properties.
3rd House.—When Pani (Ascending Node) comes to the 3rd, tl
native will inherit three landed properties, will have fortunate sons
however, he shall be twice married.
4th House.—When Pani comes to the 4th, the native’s brothei
v ill be extremely poor; he shall meet with a fall from a heigh
and he shall never prosper in his native place.
5th House.—If Panidu be in the 5th, the native will not b
blessed with children; he shall be rich, and inherit four lande
properties.
6th House.—If the Dragon goes to the 6th, the native’s wife sha]
be childless, he shall be a renowned man, and enjoy the best-o
earthly prospects.
�ALMANAC.")
EFFECT 01? THE NODES.
73
7th House.—When Palanga (another name for Ascending Node) is
in the 7th, the native will be the head of the family, will get sickly
children, and three landed properties.
8th House.—When Panidu goes to the 8th, he shall cause the
native to be leprous, rheumatism in the arms and feet, and the
native shall have to contend with a turbulent wife.
9th House.—When Panidu goes to the 9th, the native’s grand
father will be transported; all his children will be still-born; how
ever, he shall possess three landed properties.
10th House.—When Pani is in the 10th, the father of the native
will be poisoned, the native shall have to quit three different places
of residence, and the mother of the native shall die.
11th House.—When Pani is in the 11th, the native shall be very
prosperous ; he shall have landed property, and favours from kings,
and he shall be the chief in the family.
12th House.—When Pani comes to the last, the native shall be
entangled in litigation, the father sick, constantly troubled, and
ejected from the house in which he lives, and surely there are two
paramours to his wife.
THE EFFECT OF THE DESCENDING NODE IN THE
TWELVE HOUSES.
1st House.—If Ketu a (name of the Descending Node) be posited
in the 1st house, the native shall have to run away from his native
land; wherever he goes he shall be entangled in litigation ; he shall
get a wife, but the children shall all die.
2nd House.—If Ketu be posited in the 2nd, the native shall have
a mark or a scar on his left arm, and his right leg be bitten by a
dog.
3rd House.—When Bamba is in the 3rd, the native will be much
famed ; he shall have plenty of wealth and cattle, and shall inherit
a lion’s portion from his parents.
4th House.—When Bamba is posited in the 4th, the native shall
be leprous, and the mother will be the enemy of the native, and
she shall be a troublesome woman.
5th House.—When Bamba is in the 5th, the native’s parents are
always sickly, and the native himself shall have no children; he
shall quit his land, and he will be suffering from incessant pain in
the stomach.
6th House.—When Kaatu is in the 6th, the native has to contend
with enemies ; however, he shall have four landed properties and
plenty of riches, but the mother shall be sick.
7th House.—When Bamba is in the 7th, the native shall quit his
place, and the native shall get his inheritance by causing the death
of his parents.
�74
PRANKS OF OLD SATURN.
[zADKIEL’s
8th House.—When Bamba is in the 8th, the native shall prove
very troublesome to the neighbours; will lose all his wealth; parents
sick, and he himself shall be lame.
9th House.—When Bamba is in the 9th, the native shall be a
great sinner, and he shall be a wanderer in quest of fortune; he shall
never prosper in his children, and his mother shall be sick.
10th House.—If Bamba be in the 10th, the native’s legs will be
swollen ; shall quit his country; his mother has a paramour attend
ing on her from a distance.
11th House.—When Bamba is in the 11th, the native’s body shall
appear very lovely and beautiful; he shall get lands, houses and
money. Know this is called the (Sinha) lion’s configuration.
12th House,—When Bamba is in the 12 th, the native shall be
always sick, the native’s wife shall desert him, and elope with some
one else.
THE PRANKS OF OLD SATURN, IN 1872,
THE EARTHQUAKES IN CALIFORNIA.
New York, April 1.
The earthquakes in Southern California have continued two days.
Thirty persons have been killed and one hundred injured at Loan
Pine, and other deaths have occurred in the adjoining hamlets.—
Daily News, 2nd April, 1872.
EARIHQUAKES AT ANTIOCH.
The following special telegram appears in the Times:—
Alexandretta, April 6—Half the towns of Antioch was de
stroyed by an earthquake on the 3rd of April; 1,500 persons were
killed. Great distress prevails in consequence.—Echo, 8 April, 72.
Floods near Oxford.—The lowlandsand meadows around Oxford
are inundated with water—rather an extraordinary circumstance in
April.
THE LATE EARTHQUAKE IN ANTIOCH.
Further interesting details are published of the earthquake which
occurred in Antioch on the 3rd of April. Two-thirds of the houses
in the town have been utterly ruined, including the most ancient
and most durable public buildings, and the remaining houses are so
greatly damaged that there is no possibility of occupying them.
The inhabitants, who are in great misery, are living in tents out
side the town, and are in deep grief on account of the loss of rela
tives and property. The sacrifice of life has been very great; 1,500
Mahometans and 250 Christians and Jews being reported missing.
Close to Antioch is the Isle of Suadia, in which all the houses,
numbering about one thousand, are ruined. In Elonshia and
Eljadida scarcely a building is left standing. Eljalba and Gallack
are also entirely ruined; 3JO persons have perished in the latter
place. When the earthquake took place, Mount Britias was split
�almanac.]
a dirge to war.
75
into two pieces, and a torrent of black water burst forth, tainting
the atmosphere with a strong offensive odour. The shepherds.neat'
the coast state that the sea rose about one hundred feet higher
than usual.—Echo, 25th May, 1872.
EATHQUAKE IN ICELAND.
Copenhagen, May 14.
A schooner which has arrived here from Iceland reports that au
earthquake occurred at Husavik, on the northern coast of the Island,
on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of April. Twenty houses were de
stroyed, but no lives were lost.—Daily News, \5th May, 1872.
“Tempests and earthquake shocks alarm and damage the people.”
January, 1872.
“Earthquakes frequent and terrible, both by sea and land.’
June, 1872.
_______________________
A DIRGE TO WAR.
0, War ! accursed War ! how fell thy deeds !
To tell of half thy crimes, the poor heart bleeds
For now, alas ! thou art more horrible,
More grimly savage—ay 1 more terrible.,
More ruthless, cruel, and more steeped in gore
Thau was thy fellow iu yon days of yore !
Hast thou no sense of wrong ? no human feeling I
Wouldst murder e’en a guileless child when kneeling I
Since thou art habited in German guise,
Lost to all decency, thou hast no eyes
To note the deep disgust the nations feel
For thee, defiant with thy blood-stained steel.
Think not to hand down to posterity
A claim to honour or to verity !
Thy false-tongued champions parade in lies !
Thou smilest grimly when a maiden dies ;
Till Heaven and Earth and Hell, aghast, stand back,
And curse the course of thy infernal track.
A myriad demons from dire depths below—
Whence spirits cursed into demons grow—
Attend thy steps, aud urge thy fated sway,
Till blushes at thy acts the God of Day.
And hark 1 below, the chorus of the dead,
Whom thou hast struck with fatal steel or lead '
They loudly wail thy all-devouring power,
And pray that soon may come the fatal hour
When down to utter depths ®f dark despair
Shall fall thy leaders, in the serpent’s lair;
There, helpless, in dread agony to dwell—
A just reward for making Earth a Hell!—R. J. M.
�76
[zadxiel’s
THE STARS.
The stars, the stars, the beautiful stars.
They come and they go ; and that’s all we know.
They may be the cause of our weal, or our woe.
The stars, the stars, the beautiful stars.
We may think, or may fancy,
Or use necromancy;
The stars still remain—how we cannot explain.
The stars, the stars, the beautiful stars.
They shine, ay they shine ; and seem almost divine.
No mortal may know whence they come, how they go.
’ Pis sweet to regard them, as peaceful they glow;
Unknown as they are—the beautiful stars.
’Tis well to believe them our future abode ;
Where angels will smile on our spirits in peace :
No fear, or alarms, lest our joys should explode ;
For pleasures for ever shall there but increase.
’Mid beautiful stars.
R, J. M.
SAINT PAUL AND «EVIL SPIRITS.”
*
The 12 verse, 6 chap., of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians has
these words : “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against,
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
t his world, against evil spirits in the Heavens.
N ow the translators have in the above verse (and in chap, i, 3,
and ii, 6) been at a loss to render the term ’ETroo^avio;, which is
formed from £7r<, ¿n, and
heaven; so they invented the
term “high places,” which, besides forcing in the word “places,”
destroys the obvious meaning of St. Paul. For he, being a ¿Tew,
knew well that the Jews believed the air to be tilled with evil
spirits. And the whole of this 12th verse, if taken in connection
with the verse just preceding, where he says, “Put on the whole
armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of
the Devil]' is a fine burst of eloquence, arousing his readers to the
remembrance that here, on earth, “we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
evil spirits (or wicked spirits in the Heavens.
)
*
This is further confirmed by the Apostle’s expression in the 16th
verse, where he says: “Above all, taking the shield of faith, where
with ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
one!" lov ttov^om, which means, beyond doubt, of the wicked one,
that is, the Devil.
See Margin,
�ALMANAC.]
77
SATURN AND HIS GRIEVOUS MISCHIEF IN
CAPRICORN.
In my Almanac for 1870, for the month of December, I said that,
“ On the 15th of this month, the slowly moving Saturn creeps over
the southern tropic and enters Capricorn. Therein he will soon
begin to afflict Greece, India and Mexico.” Now this prediction
has been already well fulfilled ; chiefly in India and Mexico, but
ateo in Persia, “about Circan and Maracan,” &c. Not only have
♦■bare been severe storms and destruction thereby on the face of the
earth in India, but the horrid murders of 65 prisoners, by blowing
them away from guns, well marks the brutality of men under the
influence of the above evil planet, and the shocking murder of Lord
Mayo, on the 8th of last February, marks the sway of Saturn over
part of the world. In Mexico there has been one continued
scene of anarchy and revolution, slaughter, cruelty and bloodshed.
« Advices from Mexico announce that anarchy reigns throughout
Northern Mexico.”—D. News, April 1st, 1872.
As to Persia, the D. News, 5th May, has the following from
^Teheran: “ The road is strewn with half-eaten corpses. I had
1 ’ several .times to remove dead bodies from the rooms of the
caravanserai where I lodged. Cannibalism not uncommon.” Bulgaria
J has been terribly disturbed by cruel mobs, destroying the Jews, and
has been
hi even Oxford under the unfortunate in all her doings ; both of these
influence of Capricorn.
ui places being and destruction thereby have been astounding ; as
The floods
shewn by the following, from the D. News, 9th May, 1872 ; “ Bombay
May Sth, in the recent flood in Bellore, 1,000 lives are supposed to
have been lost. Twelve thousand persons are houseless, and
3,(MX) destitute. Forty tanks have burst.”
j
RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE ASSYRIANS.
*
.4
“ All wc can now venture to infer is, that the Assyrians worshipped
^one supreme God, as the great national deity, under whose immediate and special protection they lived and their empire existed.
’
...........................................................................................
Different nations appear to have had different names for their
supreme deity; thus, the Babylonians called him Nebo. The name
of this god appears to have been Asshur, as nearly as can be deter
$
ft . mined at present from the inscriptions. It was identified with that
IQ | of the empire itself—always called “the country of Asshur;” it
entered into those of both kings and private persons, and was also
applied to particular cities. With Ashur, but apparently far inferior
*
I: to him in the celestial hierarchy, although called the great gods,
77
were associated twelve other deities. Some of them may possibly
* ((Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh,”
�78
RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE ASSYRIANS.
[zADKIEL’S
be identified with the divinities of the Greek Pantheon, although it
is scarcely wise to hazard conjectures, which must ere long be again
abandoned. These twelve gods may also have presided over the
twelve months of the year, and the vast number of still inferior
gods, in one inscription, I believe, stated to be no less than 4,000,
over the days of the year, various phenomena and productions of
nature, and the celestial bodies. It is difficult to understand such
a system of polytheism, unless we suppose that, whilst there was
but one supreme God, represented sometimes under a triune form,
all the so-called inferior gods were originally mere names for events
and outward things, or symbols and myths. Although at one time
generally accepted as such, even by the common people, their true
meaning was only known in a corrupted age to the priests, by whom
they were turned into a mystery and a trade. It may, indeed, be
inferred from many passages in the Scriptures, that a system of
theology, not far differing from the Assyrian, prevailed at times
.amongst the Jews themselves. Ashur is generally, if not always,
typified by the winged figure in the circle. Although the kings of
the latter dynasty are sometimes represented worshipping thej
minor deities, I know of no monument on which the earlier .monarchs
are seen adoring any other figure than that of Ashur.”
Mr. Layard says (p. 615), in speaking of the well-known edifice
at Nimroud, that its builder was believed to be Ninus, &c. Colonel
Rawlinson believed this to be his name. He has since suggested
that of Assur-dan-bal. Dr. Hincks reads Ashur-ak-bal. It is cer
tain the first monogram stands both for the name of the country of
Assyria and for that of its protecting deity. We might conse
quently assume, even were other proofs wanting, that it should be I
read Assur or A shur.” [This point is clear enough, if we only look
to the Hebrew name of Ash-shur, which means, Ash, star or fire,
and Shur, the celestial bull. This applied to Venus, because Venus
ruled in Taurus by house; and hence, the country was named after |
her, the land of the Star of the Bull, which was Venus. The character, |
for Ashur is in the cimeiform---- [-, the same as that which begins thefl
word Shushan, the palace, which was, undoubtedly, Venus.—Zac?.]
A Mirage.—The Scotch papers report a mirage at the mouth of I
the Forth on Sunday. The weather was remarkably warm, and in 1
the afternoon there was a dull, deceptive haze. The sea presented |
almost the appearance of a mirror, and the vessels upon it seemed [
to have a double reflection from the sea and the background |i
beyond. At one time the masts and rigging seemed elongated to <
four or five times their natural length, and then in the course of h
a few minutes they were reduced so as to be scarcely visible. At L
other times the vessels appeared to be sailing double—one ship
sea, and one in air. Extraordinary appearances were assumed bysj
�fl ALMANAC.]
PERSECUTION OF ASTROLOGERS.
79
11 the May Island, which rose and fell and changed to all manner of
4 shapes in the course of a few minutes. At one time it appeared a
perpendicular wall, rising to the height of several hundred feet,
4 and shortly afterwards it appeared to be flat on the surface of the
3’sea. All the other objects which came within the range of the
i refraction underwent similar changes, and the illusion lasted with
varying features for several hours.—Pall Mall Gazette.
PERSECUTION OF ASTROLOGERS.
Those readers, who feel an interest in this question, will be rathei’
ip surprised to learn that the Petition to the House of Commons
which appeared in the Almanac for 1872, was sent to not less than
ft three respectable members of the House, with a civil request that it
I ■ should be presented; and that it was politely returned, with a
I
A refusal to present it. No reason was given in either case; nor was
The only
n any statement offered in explanation of such refusal.
S« conclusion we can come to from these circumstances is, that the
(4 several members were afraid of being laughed at, if they were seen
¿b be so far in favour of an investigation of Astrologv, as the pre
senting a Petition in its behalf would indicate. Well, we must
OH submit silently to this indication of the wisdom of the House.
4I And we must hope that when the members are elected by ballot,
II
In the mean time, we beg those of
wi we may have better success.
Eft our friends, who have sent subscriptions to assist this movement,
Pt to oblige us with their present address, that the subscription may
< be returned. We shall not lose sight of the object in view, howi
vr ever, although we perceive that the difficulty is greater than we had
jf
0 apprehended. In the mean time, the history of the present state
;'ix of things may be thus epitomized: In 1824the Vagrant Act was
It contains a clause against fortune-telling either by chiro
a passed.
Not a word is said about Astrology; nor
Mi mancy or “otherwise.”
was it till full forty years after the passing of the act, that
------------ .— ------ o __ __
^magistrates began to read “otherwise,” as embracing all practice of
id that science. They, many of them, now proceed in this way against
jjd, the Astrologers. They send policemen, who always make use of two
vile women, who visit the Astrologer and ask his advice, for which
¿»d|they nay him in marked money. On their leaving, the two policemen
Juwho haw sent them, follow and arrest the artist. The magistrate
.li rarely allows a word to be said in defence of the accused, but con
demns him to a month’s hard labour. What for? The having
defrauded the complainants. But how so? Where is there any
.1’» evidence, such as this Act of Parliament, being a pen«? Act,
requires; viz.,that it be rendered literally and exactly? The women
go with intent to entrap the artist and induce him to break the law;
■br which it is clear they and the policemen ought to be indicted
tvfor a conspiracy; in which also ought to be included the magistrate,
adj Nhenever it can be proved that he was privy to the act.
�80
DR. LIVINGSTONE AND PTOLEMY.
[ZADKIELT
It is not very likely that, in England, and in the nineteenth ten^ury> such a law can be long upheld, or maintained, notwithstanding
the violence of the atheistical opponents to all belief in spirits, 01
spiritual influence on mankind.
DR LIVINGSTONE AND PTOLEMY.
The Times of 6th August, 1872, contains the letters of Dr. Living
stone, which are very greatly interesting. All honour to the enter
prising Ameiican, who discovered the long-lost and eminent
geographer. The following extract from the letters proves that
this really great man, Dr. Livingstone, fully appreciates the know
ledge of Claudius Ptolemy, on the subject of the sources of the
Nile :—
“ The mountains on the watershed are probably what Ptolemy, for reasons
now unknown, called the Mountains of the Moon. From their bases I found
that the springs of the Nile do unquestionably arise. This is just what Ptolemy
put down, and is true geography. No must accept the fountains, and nobody
but Philstines will reject the mountains, though we cannot conjecture the
reason for the name. Mounts Kenia and Kilimanjaro are said to be snowl
capped, but they are so far from the sources, and send no water to any part< I
the Nile, they could never have been meant by the correct ancient explorer ]
from whom Ptolemy and his predecessors gleaned their true geography, so]
different from the trash that passes current in modern times.”
It will be seen that the “ worthy Doctor cannot conjecture thtj
reason for the name of ‘Mountains of the Moon.’ Well, we tel|
him the reason. Ptolemy knew and taught that all Africa” (see pj
18) was especially under the influence of the sign Cancer ; and aa
this sign is the House of the Moon, in which she has the chief
power, we see at once why these, the most celebrated mountains in
Africa, were called after her name. It so happens that Ptolemy!
whose knowledge in geography and astronomy is admitted to b«
unsurpassed, was the very fountain from whence are drawn all th|
doctrines of Astrology, that our savons choose to disbelieve without
any, the least, attempt at refuting by reference to facts. It is t®
such men as Ptolemy, whose name will never die, that we poi# i
when the buffoons who write in newspapers against the truths o |
Astrology begin to bray.
ASTROLOGY.
ooks for sale on astrology, alciiymy, chiromancy, dreams i,
GHOSTS, Magic, Physic, Spirits and Witchcraft. Sibly’s Astrology, two voli t
25s. Raphael’s Prophetic Almanac, 1832 to 1862, 35s. Barrett’s Magus, £112s. 6c
Bromhall’s Spectres, £2 2s. Dee on Spirits, 2 guineas. Soloman’s Key to Magic ( t>
rare MS.), 275 pages, 5 guineas. Webster’s on Witchcraft, 18s. Gadbury’s Nativitie i
and Tables, 18s. Culpeper’s Herbal, coloured, 15s Ferguson’s Twenty Years’ Pre
ternatural Phenomena, 5s. Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy, four books,
guineas
Coley’s Art of Astrology, 8vo. calf, 18s. Magick, a rare MS., by Dr. Parkins, in folia 1
5 guineas. Ramsey’s Astrology, folio, calf, 21s. “ Crystal Ball,” with instruction,! p
guineas. Works of Glanville, Heydon, Lilly’s Astrology, Ptolemy, Salmon, Paij'
tridge, &c. Apply for Catalogues, gratis, to Thomas Millard, Bookseller, 79, Sain' I.
l’aul’s Churchyard, London.
B
�q W.5USAC?]
Si
| EXPLANATION OF THE EMBLEMS IN HIEROGLYPHIC
41
FOR 1872.
, The angel flying over head, with an olive-branch in hand, implied that
A [Peace would be maintained. The twins are shewn (the rulers of America),
¡rand a fire burning between them. This indicates the destructive fire in
^Chicago ; and may be made to import the fire of discord, through the
inland. The ”
English soldier, with drawn sword, imported the new arma
ment undertaken by the Government, in furtherance of their scheme of
The military man holding back a lion by the ears
IS military defence.
speaks plainly of the insidious establishment of “military centres”
sthroughout the land, to keep down discontent. The Turk fully armed
if shews his condition, with a powerful navy and 800,000 well-armed troops.
¡The furious cock aptly paints the new President in France, and all his
fighting propensities. The bull, excited and irate, shews the fearful state
of the Irish people, anent the Galway election, &c. The coffin, with an
English flag thereon, denotes the lamentable death of the GovernorGeneral of India.
N.B. Not one of these emblems was given by any mortal hand. They
nne and all were portrayed in the magic crystal, for the special benefit of
ie readers of Zadkiel.
I
NOAV READY, SECOND EDITION,
©fje Nth) -princtpia;
OR, THE
TRUE SYSTEM OF ASTRONOMY
IN WHICH
tiThe Earth is proved to be the Stationary Centre
of the Solar System,
AND
The Sun is shown to be only 365,006’5 miles
from the Earth.
By R. J. MORRISON, M.Á.I., F.R.H.S.,
COMMANDER, R.N.
LONDON: J. G. BERGER, NEWCASTLE STREET.
FRIGE THREE SHILLINGS.
�82
[zadkiel’s £
FULFILLED PREDICTIONS.
PREDICTIONS.
“ Hence, especially when he [Mars]
reaches the place of this eclipse in
November, 1871, he will bring serious
grief [in Paris].”—Eclipse of the Sun,
December, 1870.
FULFILMENTS.
There were many cases in which this t
Eclipse showed its power; chiefly in r
November, by the shooting of that fine
patriot, Rossel.
“ The talk will be of war and war
The squabble with America came on h
like doings, and the trumpet will re at this time, and the Government en- ii
sound throughout the land. But not gaged to establish “Military centres” t
much harm will come of it."—March, throughout the land. Alas for liberty! j.
1872.
“ A great struggle goes on in the
“ Mr. A. Herbert then rose to se- ?
House of Commons the last week of cond the motion, which was the com-i i
this month.”—March, 1872.
mencement of a scene, the like of I
which has certainly not been wit- fi
nessed in the House of Commons for 0
many years.
“ Mr. Mundella then rose, and saidli
that he had witnessed with feelings |»
the profoundest sorrow the extraordiY
nary scene which, during the past hour,!
had been enacted in that House.”—|Daily News, March 20,1872.
j
“This will trouble him [the King
The King of Sweden was at this timegft
of Sweden] greatly, both in health confined by illness, and reported to belt!
and in the affairs of his kingdom.”— on his death-bed.
j
May, 1872.
“ Mars passing through Taurus will
The Galway election, and all its b
afflict Ireland with much violence.”— fearful scenes of violence, now took o
May, 1872.
place.
“On the 17th and 18th there will
In London took place the great
be three planets joined together, &c. strike among the building trades, and h
Being just on the ascendant of London innumerable others broke out neat i
it will do mischief there. These planets this time. In New York, the most f
in Gemini will very much excite the fearful death-rate occurred.
people of America.”—June, 1872.
“ DEATn-RATE IN NEW YORK.
“ New York, July 6th.
“The deaths in New Yoik during p
the past week have been 1,569, viz, si
three times the average number.”—t
Daily Nevis, July 8,1872.
An attempt to raise the fares on the i;
“ It will affect Egypt, and do some
mischief to the Suez canal.”—Eclipse Canal was made, but frustrated by thi
Sultan.
of the Sun, June 6th.
“ The female sex will not be for
Lady Twiss was cruelly treated
treated©;
miss uioianc
misiiessl^
tunate; but during the next three Miss Diblanc murdered her mistress dB
months will be oppressed and ill- and very many cases of horrid murder»'
treated generally.” — Sun in Capri of women were recorded.
corn, Dec., 1871.
�fc<[ ALMANAC.]
“ In and near Sardinia shocks of an
earthquake and volcanic phenomena.”
—Sun in Aries, p. 39.
“ Great and noble men shall be
w slain ; hut I hope and think this may
s^i refer to Greece and India, rather than
a# to our own country.”—Ibid, p. 39.
“ The evils of this troublesome oppo
sition [Jupiter in opposition to Saturn]
will fall liberally on the people of the
United States, but we see no token of
any public quarrel of importance; nor
do we judge that there will be any
warlike doings in the land.”—Sun in
Aries, p. 39.
“ Mars is in Aries, &c. His diseases
therein will be very extensively pre
valent. Pains in the head, and affec
tions of the eyes, &c.—Ibid, p. 40.
19 H
j “ There will be fightings, and I fear
i some sudden outbreak of war in Spain.
This will soon be put down."—Eclipse
of the Moon, p. 40.
“ Jupiter is now fairly sailing
I through Leo. Commerce [in France]
i lifts her head and smiles.”—July, 1872.
| “ THE YEAR OF DISCORD I ”
I.
T “ Gardens will be much spoiled by
; 'osfeat in June, and fruit destroyed. The
ajiwfruits of the earth Will be much wasted
brdand injured by heat and creeping
ri|jiffllhings.”—pp. 40 and 41, Eclipse of the
tyMUioon.
a.
10
A most violent eruption of Vesuvius
took place; immense destruction en
sued, and very many lives were lost.
The lamentable death of that great
and noble man, Lord Mayo, took place
—“ in India," be it observed.
We all know the sad squabble for
the “Indirect Claims;” and the noted
debates in our Parliament. But all
passed off peacefully—a result that no
human wisdom but that of the stars
could have foreseen.
The deaths by sun-stroke in NevYork were fearfully numerous—some
200 cases in one day took place; and
these were, of course, all “ pains in
the head ! " The death-rate was awful.
“ The highest point the thermometer
reached yesterday was 93 degrees, and
people cried out that the heat was in
sufferable.’’—TVew York Herald.
A very sharp warfare on the part of
the Carlists broke out in June; but, as
predicted, it was “soon put down."
The great French Loan was sub
scribed for, over fourteen times its
amount!
This was the note in the title-page,
and it has been astoundingly fulfilled !
The whole country has rung with dis
cord ! Every class of men, the trades
and servants all through the country,
have been up and waved the Flag of
Discord ! — demanding higher wages
and less work; and this state of things
is yet rife, in July, 1872. “ The House
of Lords gives much trouble,” p. 39,
has been fulfilled, anent the Ballot
Bill. In America Discord has reigned
—the President being iD trouble, and
a Judge of the Supreme Couit put on
his trial.—See D. News, July 24, 1872.
“ The Fruit Crop.—The fruit crop
of 1872 is probably the smallest that
the most experienced and observant
cultivator can call to remembrance.
Our neighbours across the channel are
in much the same plight—the failure is
complete.”—Times, Aug. 6th, 1872.
�HIEROGLYPHIC FOR 18'73.
Printed by B. D. COUSTNS, Helmet Court, 338, Strand, London,
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Zadkiel's Almanac for 1873
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Morrison, Richard James (ed)
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 84 p. : ill. (black and white) ; 18 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Editor name taken from KVK.
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J. G. Berger
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1873
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Astrology
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Astrology
Conway Tracts
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An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Pamphlet
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The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Yggdrasil; or the Teutonic tree of existence
Creator
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Blind, Karl
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 20 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Inscription in ink: "To Moncure D. Conway - as a token of friendship. K.B." Printed in double columns. Reprinted from Fraser's Magazine with some additions. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
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Spottiswoode & Co., printers
Date
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1877
Identifier
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CT69
Subject
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Mythology
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Yggdrasil; or the Teutonic tree of existence), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
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English
Conway Tracts
Norse Mythology
Yggdrasil
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Text
WORK AND WEALTH
ESSAY
AN
ON THE
OF
ECONOMICS
SOCIALISM,
BY
J. K. INGALLS.
ONE
PENNY.
LONDON:
INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY,
*
r
35, NEWINGTON GREEN ROAD, N.
1887.
��WORK AND WEALTH.4
<Ti HAVE chosen the above terms in preference to Labour and
W Capital, because they convey more exact ideas. Thè word
labour carries with it the impression of compulsory, or servile
toil. Capital is a word which economists themselves cannot satis
factorily define, and to which they apply only an arbitrary meaning.
The things signified by work and wealth are subject to no equivocal
interpretation, are understood by all, and stand to each other in the
relation of a natural sequence.
Speaking from the standpoint of the trader, from which political
economists mainly speak, Adam Smith lays down this fundamental
proposition : “ It was not by gold or silver, but by labour, that all
the wealth of the world was originally purchased.” For him the
term labour was appropriate, because, in his time, a large proportion
of the world’s work was performed by bondmen or by hirelings,
even more the mere dependents of the legal possessors of the world’s
wealth than are the workers of to-day.
Starting from this comprehensive, but exact, proposition that work
is the only source from which wealth can be produced or purchased
as an axiom, the opposite of which is simply unthinkable, let us
direct our attention to an inquiry into the manner in which wealth
to appearance is transferred so often in exchange for no equivalent
in labour. Even the trader may be interested in the attempt to
account for the fact that wealth, at first purchasable only by work,
comes to be possessed mainly by those who do no work.
The thing which a man has produced by his work, and which is an
object of desire to himself and others, can be transferred in several
different ways. The natural or simplistic methods are: (r) Force,
involving robbery, theft, and, in an advanced stage, cheating, over
reaching, and advantage-taking of every description ; (2) Gift, involving partial and invidious bestowments, as well as noble gene
rosities ; (3) Hazard, involving all kinds of gaming, and, in the
progress of society, all speculative ventures.
* This paper originally appeared in the Ameiican “ Radical Review.”
*
�4
v
i
The rational method, and one which is arrived at only by culture
and the recognition of social obligations, is mutual exchange.
With the earlier method^ as they have existed in the past, we need
have no quarrel. They were the only ones possible under the con
dition of social and moral development then obtaining. Robbery is
the main element of organic and animated life. The carnivorous
animals all support life by drawing it from orders less powerful or
aggressive than themselves, and even the herbivorous sustain life by
devouring vegetable life. Man destroys the lives of the creatures
beneath him that he may eat their flesh and robe himself with their
furs and skins.. He robs the sheep of its fleece, the silk-worm of its
web that he may clothe himself. That he pursues a similar course
with his fellow is not to be wondered at. Only a conception of the
brotherhood of man and the real dignity of work can win him from
his tendency to devour the substance of the weak and simple who
fall into his hands, instead of producing wealth for himself.
The rude man, who has spent hours in the forest gathering fagots,
but lies down at night without a fire, while another enjoys the genial
warmth those same fagots yield while burning, may have transferred
their possession in several different ways. He may, with a certain
degree of equity, have exchanged them, for different products which
the other had worked to obtain ; he may have engaged in some
game of chance, and lost them wholly ; or he may have been met
by a stronger man, while returning laden, and deprived of his fagots
by force. Or, he already may have been reduced to a bond-slave,
his life having bten spared in war on condition of his submission to
a life of slavery; and thus have given his captor the perpetual
ability to purchase wealth with his and his childrens’ toil.
From the mental state which results from such motives as sway
the successful warrior and slave-holder, to that of the enlightened
moralist and economist who discovers that, if another has created
wealth which he himself desires, the true thing to do is to create
something which the other will equally desire, that so the transfers
may be mutually agreeable and beneficial, is a distance which
requires ages of toil and struggle to overcome.
It may be urged that in the capture and management of slaves,
who would not willingly work if left to themselves, a certain necessary
work was performed, and a larger production of wealth obtained.
If we were to admit this as regards the past, it would serve as no justi
fication for the continuance of slavery ; but it should also be con
sidered that the robber class, until taught by the toil of the indus
trious that labour will produce or purchase wealth, never seeks to
subject the toilers to slavery. Besides, all experience shows that
•••
�5
slavery, so far from promoting industry, begets a general repugnance
to work on the part of both slave and slave owner : thus the thing
urged in its justification is seen to have been caused mainly by
itself.
It was not till after centuries of advancement that civilized nations
began to discourage chattel slavery. Its entire abolition in our
country is a recent event. But by its abolition we have by no
means reached any thing like an equitable system of exchange. We
still have class legislation, protecting the vast accumalations of
wealth and ownership of land in unlimited quantities, just as incom
patible with justice as the older tyranny.
To be able to purchase wealth with others’ labour, it is not at all
necessary to own their bodies. The strong assumed “ property in ■
man ” and “ property in the soil ” at the same time. Now, since the
soil is absolutely essential to the application of labour to productive
uses, he who has an exclusive claim to it can labour under any
tribute he pleases, or deny it opportunity to employ itself or be
employed at all. Since ownership in man has been abolished,
private ownership of land is the chief basis, the great fulcrum, of alt
devices for purchasing wealth by the work of others.
By the workers themselves this power is little understood, because
it affects them indirectly. They come in immediate contact with
their employers, and questions of raising or lowering wages, lengthen
ing or shortening hours, attract their attention and divert it from
more fundamental questions. They hardly reflect that their em
ployers are also subject to the competitive struggle, and are often
broken down by the operation of the same law which shortens the
rations, and renders more and more precarious the employment, on
which the labourer depends.
The indifference of the working-men to this question of the land,
and their failure to obtain even enough of it to enable them to rear
homes for themselves and families, has a curious, as well as sad,
result. Quite twenty-five per cent, of the earnings of labourers,
clerks, and mechanics who do not own a home of their own, goes
to the landlords for rent. In many instances, this is for structures
which have been paid for a hundred times over, and are not worth in
their material the labour of pulling down and carrying away. It is
true that a portion of this rent comes back in payment of repairs,
taxes, etc., but still leaving a large percentage for which labour
receives no return whatever, and may almost be said to yield
voluntarily, thus permitting others, to that extent, to purchase wealth
with their unrequited toil.
Had our Government established a system of easy access to the
*
�6
soil through nationalization of the land or a judicious limitation to
private ownership, the questions arising between employer and em
ployed would have a ready solution. On the recurrence of a de
pression in business, general or special, the parties feeling themselves
crowded would betake themselves to the cultivation of the soil, or
some self-employment; or at least enough would do so to relieve the
overstocked labour market, thus increasing the demand for the
things which had been over-produced.
Out of our semi-feudal land system grow also many of the giant
evils which afflict our commerce and finance. The man who has no
land must hire it or pay for its use, before he can apply his labours
in cultivation, however willing and capable he may be. This basic
necessity of borrowing is the foundation of all other borrowing ;
paying for the use of land is the basis of all rent and usury and
speculative profit of every description. Distressed by unnatural dis-'“*^* possession and deprivation, people are in no condition to resist the
temptation to borrow anything which promises relief, and to pledge
themselves to pay therefor impossible rates of interest. The poor
man, to free himself from present deprivation, borrows the means to
do a little business • the man of considerable means borrows that he
may do more business; and for the result, we have most of the real
estate and much of the personal property of both in the hands of
the money-lender through foreclosures. A large proportion of all
transfers of real estate, especially for the last three years, has been
through foreclosures, and to avoid foreclosures.
An annual half-billion does not cover the amount which goes into
or through the hands of corporations in the form of interest in this
country, not to mention the enormous rentals, private speculative
profits, etc.
The industrious man, who purchases by his work any desired
wealth, gets only one-half, or less, himself,—the other half going to
the usurer, landlord, or profit-monger. These are enabled to pur
chase, or get recognized possession of, this other half through
unlimited control of land, and the system of usance and annuities
growing up from that basis.
It may be said with too much truth that working-men get now
more than they wisely use; but it is still truer that, in proportion as
their share in what they have produced is diminished, they become
more and more indifferent to saving, and more and more shiftless
and unreliable.
It is not the purpose of this paper to attempt to point out what
is right and equitable between employer and employed under our
system of wages. W-hen any considerable portion of mankind
�7
desires equity and mutualism in industry and division, there will be
no difficulty in arriving at exact conclusions. My object will be
more than realized, if I draw attention to these things as they
actually exist, and to the positive relation which work and wealth
sustain to each other, the truth in regard to which can only be
ascertained by careful analysis.
Into all production of wealth only two factors enter: (i) the raw
material—the soil or its spontaneous productions; (2) human effort.
However complex or extended, in the last analysis only these two
elements are found. It is not the carbon and nitrogen, the salts and
gases, of which our food and clothing are composed, which we pro
duce as wealth, but that specific form and aptitude for use which our
work has wrought or effected.
According to that ingenious political economist, Bastiat, even
when we purchase things with money or by barter, we do not
exchange things, but forms of service. The inference, however,
which he draws from this truthful proposition—that, therefore, any
one in possession of wealth to whatever amount must necessarily
have rendered an equivalent service for that wealth (either by him
self, or through an ancestor or donor)—is so monstrous as to be
accepted only by specialists in 11 exact science.” On the contrary,
we find mutuality of service nowhere recognized as at all requisite in
the business transactions of the world. We might as well look for
it under the chattel system, where men and women are bought and
sold, and where labour does not have to be purchased with equiva
lent service, but can be enforced by the lash. Adam Smith says :
“ It is impossible for one to become excessively rich without making
many others correspondingly poor.” This is a result which could
not possibly arise from any mutual exchange of services, or from any
honest transfers of equivalents, any more than we can have an
equation with one side plus and the other minus. Hence it follows
that, where inordinate wealth exists, it has been purchased by the
labour of others than the possessors, and through transfers by force,
fraud or hazard.
To produce or have wealth at all, human effort must be put forth.
Even the spontaneous productions of Nature cannot constitute
wealth, until taken out of their natural state. The savage who has
fagots and game in store for a week has wealth, as compared with
him who has to gather a daily supply. Application and frugality
seem the only requisites for its acquirement. By a wise division of
labour and special adaptation of functions, the wealth of the world
has been vastly increased; but we must not let the complexity of
work and diversity of employments confuse our ideas in regard to
�8
*
the main question,—namely, the source of wealth, and the equity or
iniquity of the present method of distribution.
As society advanced from the simply savage state, the search,
capture, and transportation of natural wealth was followed by various
handicrafts which added value thereto. It was work, nothing less
and nothing more, of hand and brain which formed social wealth
from the resources of Nature. In all these elaborate transforma
tions, we can discover no other earthly agency, nor indeed make any
material distinction in the essential character of these varied services.
One and all are necessary to each other. By no logic can we decide
that one service is more important than another, except in the utility
of its product.
If one has discovered, another secured, and a third transported
the prize to the place where it is needed for consumption, we can
decide no otherwise than that the pay of each should be propor
tioned to the time employed in labour and the useful result accom
plished. Even the labour necessary to divide and distribute it comes
in justly for a share.
So far all must be plain in regard to the facts involved in our
question. It seems to me the principles must also be clear. But
it will be answered that still the distinctions in life and the inequali
ties of distribution of which we complain have been transmitted to
us from previously existing conditions, and result from the operations
of forces that can be traced back through every form of civilization.
This is, however, very far from proving that they exist in accordance
with elementary principles or any rational interpretation of law.
Really it comes to this,—whether we will continue the essential
injustice, while dropping the barbaric methods of the savage, or
attempt a truly scientific solution of the problem of work and wealth.
In the discovery, procurance, and manipulation of natural produc
tions, I have indicated all the steps in the production of wealth.
Services in the preservation or conservation of wealth are equally
entitled to consideration, but cannot be yielded a superior claim.
With our inequitable division, and the disorganized methods of dis
tribution which it begets, the number of traders becomes sadly
disproportioned to the number of actual producers ; and since those
despoiled are chiefly those who perform the most useful labour, the
smart and shrewd seek the more indirect methods of obtaining
wealth. And just here the principle of competition, which political
economists seem to think ought to reconcile the wealth producers to
starvation, does not work with facility, for no one can do a business
at a loss, and hence society has to support numbers to do the work
which one might do.
�9
I may, in this connection, refer to the instrumentality of money
or currency, serviceable in moving crops and the work of distribu
tion generally. Its importance, however, is ’ mainly due to the want
of mutualism in our distributive system and of equity in our methods
of exchange.
A charge for the time-use of this instrument, in defiance of the
sentiments of all moralists from Moses and Cato to Ruskin and
Palmer, has been enforced by our laws, because labour was at the
mercy of the few who hold the soil, and because operations could
be made to pay dividends out of the wealth purchased by the labour
of the poor arid simple. Chattel slavery enabled the planter to pay
interest. ‘Land monopoly enables the capitalist to assume that there
is a usufruct ’to wealth. In return, usury has been the great lever by
which millions of homes have been alienated, and gone to swell the
domain of avarice and love of lordly domination.
As war was the parent of slavery, by which whole families, tribes,
and nations were reduced to bondage,—made “ hewers of wood and
drawers of water” to the victors,—so it has been employed to
enslave labour by the creation of immense national debts, the mere
interest of which is an onerous tax upon the worker. Hazard has
also played as large, if not so conspicuous, a part as war in reducing
labour to the condition of dependence and distress. The liberty of
self, wife, and children, in barbaric times, was often staked. And
when this was not done, borrowing to prolong play was practised, as
to-day in Turkey and in some Christian and even republican
countries, upon conditions and at rates which can have no termina
tion but in life-long bondage or peonage. To relieve present dis
tress, or deluded by the hope of acquiring the ability to live by
others’ labour, many people to-day, who would despise the mere
gambler, fall into a similar fatuity, and wake from it only to find
themselves slaves to the power they expected to use to lay others*
labour under contribution.
I am not urging sympathy for these dupes. I am only pointing
out some of the causes, still in operation, which have resulted in
making the few the actual masters of labour, and given them the
ability to purchase wealth without work of their own. In our country
and time we do not enforce gambling debts as they do in Turkey ;
but we do enforce contracts to pay interest, often just as oppressive,
and only outwardly less barbarous and inhuman.
In.thus tracing the. working of these crude methods, we find that
the productive labour of our time has its .inheritance, through the
wage system, serfdom, and slavery, from primitive subjection to
force; or through speculative trade, from the hazard which ruined
�ro
the victim without permanently benefiting the winner. It is not
important to our purpose to inquire whether the plunderers or
plundered are more to blame, or the greater sufferers. This is plain;
with the land in the hands of the hereditary or speculative lord, the
labourer has no resources for self-employment, however fit or unfit
he may be.
The working-man can obtain independence now only by the
possession of exceptional powers, or by special good fortune, and
then only through schemes and operations which raise one at the
expense of many.
The inheritance of the property class consists of a transmission of
power attained by forceful conquest, or by the varied forms of hazard,
fraud, and corruption. With their wealth they inherit generally the
tendency to take advantage of the necessities of others, and to apply
new methods of overreaching when the spirit of progress will no
longer tolerate the old ones.
1 do not make this application to individuals, but only to those
given to the shrewd use of wealth; well I know that many parvenus
far outdo, in management, those who inherit wealth.
In this country we have changed some things to suit republican
prejudices. For instance, our land is no longer entailed in a family.
Yet it is all falling into the hands of a class; and although the great
fortunes sometimes change to other hands, they are controlled by
those with still greater, and their attitude and relation to industry
remain the same. Of the large fortunes now enjoyed in New York
and New England, many had their foundations laid by successful
privateers and slave traders ; and by other methods no less dis
cordant with principles of natural justice.
The immense fortunes made by two well-known citizens in the
generation now past are quite exceptional, and yet they well illustrate
the present divorced relation between work and wealth. In a certain
sense, both were industrious workers. Each has said of himself that,
when he worked in the ordinary way, his income was trifling. It
was only after lon^ struggle, in which many worthy men went to the
wall, that their fortunes began to accumulate with great rapidity.
Both were greatly indebted to our civil war, which reduced whole
populations to poverty, left the nation three billions in debt, and
sacrificed a million lives. It is also worthy of note that a great
banker at our nat onal capital was made rich by privileges granted
him to trade during the Mexican war. When it is said in justifica
tion of these men that they did not go outside the acknowledged
rules of I usiness. it is admitting that our systems of trade, finance,
etc., are essentially the same as in barbarous ages whose forms we
have discarded.
�11
Another great estate, also recently left in the city of New York
was mainly inherited, being now in the possession of the third gene
ration. In mentioning these instances I disclaim any purpose of
judging the men. They were what inheritance and environment
made them. My only purpose is to show the irrational and fatal
policy which places in the hands of any men, however good or great,
the power to purchase, ad libitum, wealth with other people’s work.
I am quite well aware that for many years to come this remonstrance
will remain measurably unheeded. The workers are so depressed
with hardship, or so readily elated with the prospect of success in
some exceptional field, that they are quite unwilling to look away
from prospects of temporary relief to the consideration of broad
questions of reform, even if they were less idiotically joined to party,
labelled republican or democratic, by leaders who form a mutual
ring, whichever party attains power, and conspire to make the
plunder of public funds and public trusts a fine art.
But from the operation upon the public mind of works like those
of Spencer, Mill, Lewes, and Ruskin, much is to be hoped. Our
own country, also, has the names of men, not unknown to fame,
who are deeply impressed with the importance of this vital social
and ethical problem. Its development promises to take form like
this :
First, As a civil right,—freedom of access to the soil and oppor
tunity of self-employment;
Second, As a principle of law,—the partnership of all concerned
in the production of wealth requiring division of labour;
Third, As a matter of commercial ethics,—equivalents of service
in all exchanges.
In connection with these developments in the intellectual and
ethical field, it occurs to me that there is a probability, at least, of
a movement which shall greatly hasten the downfall of our barbarous
system of division, and the approach of the era when work shall be
the only recognized title to wealth. Within the present century,
men like Robert Owen, Peter Cooper, Gerrit Smith, and many
others who could be mentioned, have shown, with more or less
success, that it is “nobl-e to live for others,” and that personal
interests may be subordinated to social aims. It seems to me no
dream of romance to indulge the faith that, at a time near at hand,
a class of true men and women will arise and form an order, which
will abstain from preying on the results of others’ toil. These social
knights-errant will scorn to rely on the efforts of others for their
support, or to apply to their own use, in any way, that for which
another has wrought. They will no more consider the necessity or
�12
weakness of their toiling fellow a reason why they should overreach
and plunder him, than would the model knight of the days of
chivalry have considered that the weakness and defenceless state of
a persecuted woman was a reason why he should outrage rather than
protect her. These will organize industries on an equitable basis,
promote emigration to districts where the exactions of landlords are
less intolerable, and turn the current of many now questionable,
though well-intended, charities into channels of self-employment and
self-help. It is not too much to hope that they will be able ulti
mately to change the application of the vast amount of labour and
wealth now expended in “ plans of salvation ” to save the souls of
men in a future world, into a broadly beneficent measures of indus
trial organization and social renovation, and thus render possible the
coming of the “ kingdom of heaven upon the earth,” under the
equitable rule of which it<£ shall be given to every one according to
his work.”
PUBLICATION LIST.
P. J. PROUDHON : A Biographical Sketch, with Portrait.
Seymour.
By Henry
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SAMFUNDET DAGEN EFTER REVOLUTIONEN (Society on the
Morrow of the Revolution). Translated from the French into Danish.
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Anarchist.” Reprinted from “The Anarchist,” to which is added an
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By P. J. Proudhon. Post free, i|d.
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THE PLACE OF ANARCHISM IN SOCIALISTIC EVOLUTION.
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EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: HENRY SEYMOUR.
Price, One Penny.
LONDON : 35, NEWINGTON GREEN ROAD, N.
�
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Work and wealth: an essay on the economics of socialism
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Ingalls, J.K.
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 12 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: Stamp on front flyleaf: South Place Chapel Finsbury, Lending Library. "This paper originally appeared in the American 'Radical Review'". Publisher's list on numbered page at the end.
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International Publishing Company
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1887
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G4968
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Economics
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English
Economics
Socialism
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NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
t-eovi e-
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WORK AND PAY.
�M .m tffM .IT H IM W ................
'
�WORK AND PAY:
OR,
PRINCIPLES OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY.
IN KING’S COLLEGE, LONDON.
WITH
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION-
ON COMBINATIONS OF LABOURERS AND CAPITALISTS.
By LEONE LEVI, F.S.A., F.S.S.,
PROFESSOR OF THE PRINCIPLES OF COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL LAW IN KING S
COLLEGE, LONDON ; DOCTOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY ; AND OF
LINCOLN’S INN, BARRISTER-AT-LAW.
STRAHAN AND CO., LIMITED,
34, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
1877.
The right of translation is reserved.^
�Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Printers, London & Aylesbury.
�TO
SAMUEL MORLEY, ESQ., M.P.
Dear Sir,—
These lectures are the outcome of the Bristol Meeting
of the British Association, when the report of its Committee on
Combinations of Capitalists and Labourers was read and dis
cussed. And they owe their delivery to your earnest desire to
have the important questions at issue between masters and men
treated in a calm spirit and in an impartial manner. I do not
jay claim to the enunciation of any new theories, or to any
novelty in argument. What I have advanced is nothing more
than what the well-established principles of political economy,
recognised alike in their essentials by British and foreign
economists, have taught us.
Your desire and mine is that the relations between capital and
labour be placed on a sound and equitable basis, and I earnestly
trust that the effort now made to bring the principles of economic
science and the interests and aspirations of the working classes
into direct contact and possible harmony may have a beneficial
influence on the well-being of the people.
Believe me, dear Sir, yours very faithfully,
LEONE LEVI.
5,
Crown Office Row, Temple,
March, 1877.
��CONTENTS
RAGE
LECTURE
I. WORK AND WORKERS............................................................ I
II. THE DIVISION . OF LABOUR AND THE WONDERS OF
MACHINERY............................................................................... 17
III. USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY............................................... 33
IV. THE REWARD OF LABOUR..........................................................49
V. TRADE UNIONS.............................................................................. 67
VI. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
.
.
VIII.
.
.
.85
.
.
VII. BUDGETS OF THE WORKINGCLASSES
.96
SAVINGS BANKS AND OTHER INVESTMENTS OF THE
WORKING CLASSES.................................................................. HI
APPENDIX.
(a)
cost of living in 1839, 1849, i859>
1&75 ,
• 129
.
.
. 130
(c) BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES .
.
. 131
(b) wages
in 1839, 1849, 1859, 1873
(D) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THEBRITISH
ASSOCIATION.................................................................. 137
��I.
WORK AND WORKERS.
If I venture to come before you, in this great centre of labour,
to discuss some of those questions connected with “Work
and Pay ” which so often give occasion to quarrels and diffi
culties, it is in the full consciousness that the proper solution
of economic problems depends not only on the right con
ception of abstract theories and principles, but on their being
regarded side by side with the realities of life. I do not pre
tend to be a philosopher, but I would like to be a practical
economist. If I am able to state to you what I consider the
dictates of economic science on the questions before us, you
may also be able to point out to me how such dictates are found
to work in practical life. In any case, should I be unable to
carry conviction into your mind, should you see reason to object
to any principles I may lay before you, I hope you will not refuse
giving due heed to the lessons and warnings of a science which is
essentially connected with the progress and wealth of the nation.
It is cheering to know that we are all wanted in this wide
world ; that all of us have a purpose to accomplish, and that, if
we have only the will to exercise them, our faculties need not lie
dormant, or languish. To me, and to all of us, constituted as
we are, it is a real pleasure to work. I delight in a tableful of
papers. I do not sympathize with the sentiment, dolce far
niente; I rather believe in the adage, “Amind at rest is a
mind unblest.” With our powers of thought and imaginaI
�2
WORK AND- WORKERS.
tion, and with our capacity of invention, construction, and
intercourse, we must be active in order to be happy. The use
of such expressions as “ condemned to labour,” or the “ task of
labour,” or the calling of labour of any kind “ servile,” whilst
we enjoy full freedom of labour, betokens simple ignorance of its
dignity and utility. Sometimes, indeed, we may be disappointed
at the result of our labour. Occasionally, it may be, thorns
and thistles spring where we expected luxuriant fruitfulness
and beauty. But what then ? The necessity to meet our daily
wants, and even our failure to accomplish the object of our
aspirations, often prove a salutary incentive to strengthen and
refine the powers and faculties with which we are endowed.
One thing is absolutely certain, that without labour nothing is
produced. The sun, water, fire, wind, gravitation, magnetism,
the vital forces of animals, the vegetative forces of the soil, the
duration, resistance, and ductility of metals, whatever active
or inert forces may exist, if left to themselves they will not
exist for us, and will be quite indifferent to our happiness. That
they may serve us, they must be turned to our service; that they
may be able to produce, they must be directed in the work of
production. Though they exist independently of us, as agents
of production, they exist only by human industry.
"... Nature lives by labour ;
Beast, bird, air, fire, the Heavens and rolling world,
All live by action ; nothing lives at rest,
But death and ruin! ” *
We often speak of the working classes as a distinct body
of persons upon whom mainly fall the work and toil of life.
What a blunder ! We are all workers. Every one of us, from
the Queen on the throne to the humblest of her subjects, has a
place to fill and a work to do. Some are labouring in directing
and administering the affairs of the State. They are the
Ministers of State, the Governors of Colonies, the whole Civil
* Dyer.
�WORK AND WORKERS.
Service. Some are engaged in extracting the fruit of the soil,
in appropriating, adapting, converting, shaping matter to our
convenience. They work the land. They are busy with animal
and vegetable substances and minerals. Many are fulfilling
various offices for man—curing diseases, teaching youth, pre
serving peace, defending right, punishing wrong, and in a
thousand ways upholding the great structure of human society.
Some work in the field, some in workshops, some in the
mines, and some on the sea. Some labour with the hand,
some with the head, and some with both. Yes, we are all
workers. Strictly speaking, we may not be all producers of
wealth; all labour being, economically speaking, unproductive
which ends in immediate enjoyment without tending to any
increase of permanent stock, or not having for its result a
material product. Yet we can scarcely say that no labour is
valuable which is not immediately employed in the production
of material riches. The genius which enlightens, the religion
which comforts, the justice which preserves, the sciences and
arts which improve and charm our existence, are indirectly, if
not in a direct manner, as truly productive as commerce, which
affords us the enjoyment of the produce and labour of other
countries; as agriculture, which extracts the fruit special to
each soil; and as manufactures, which transform the raw produce
of different countries into articles adapted to the taste and
wants of the opulent, as well as of the masses of the people.
Few, indeed, who truly fulfil the mission to which they are
called, who labour in the sphere a,nd condition in which they are
placed, and who exercise the faculties and talents with which
they are endowed, can be said to be unproductive in this great
laboratory. The whole nation is practically working together
as a great co-operative society, under the very best division of
labour; all the more perfect since it is natural and spontaneous.
Let us perform our part well, and we need not fear but our
labour will be useful.
Ashamed of working ?—
�4
WORK AND WORKERS.
“ Work, work ! be not afraid,
Look labour boldly in the face;
Take up the hammer or the spade,
And blush not for your humble place.
There’s glory in the shuttle’s song,
There’s triumph in the anvil’s stroke,
There’s merit in the grave and strong,
Who dig the mine or fell the oak.
The wind disturbs the sleeping lake,
And bids it ripple pure and fresh,
It moves the grain boughs till they make
Grand music in their leafy mesh.”
I have often wondered at the power of endurance of the
human frame when engaged in some of the most arduous tasks
of manual labour. It must be hard to be continually lifting
enormous weights, to deal with such substances as iron and
steel, to stand the heat of a fiery furnace, or to work for hours
in the very bowels of the earth. But do not imagine that those
who labour with the head have a much lighter work. The head
ache, the excited nerve, the sleepless eye, of the man of letters
are as irksome and injurious to life as the undue exercise of our
physical energies. An agricultural labourer, working in the
open air with mind and heart perfectly at ease, has a greater
expectancy of life than a solicitor or a physician. The distinc
tion, moreover, between manual and intellectual labour is no
ldnger so marked as it once was. It is ungenerous to assume
that the manual labourer employs no skill, for what labour is
there which does not need skill and judgment ? What are the
wonderful results of machinery, those exquisite examples of
handicraft at our Kensington Museum, but so many monuments
of the talent and dexterity of those who are engaged in socalled manual labour ? Among the labouring classes there is a
wonderful and endless variety of talent and skill. Between the
Michael Angelos employed by a Bond Street goldsmith, and the
common labourer employed in the East and West India Docks,
the gradations are most numerous. We speak of a million of
�WORK AND WORKERS
5
men engaged in agricultural work, of half a million in the
building trade, of a third of a million employed in the textile
manufacture, and of a third more in tailoring and shoemaking.
But really these different descriptions of workmen divide them
selves into as many classes as they have special skill and
capacity. Together, they cultivate during the yea 47,000,000
acres of land, rear 32,000,000 sheep and 10,000,000 cattle, ex
tract some ^65,000,000 worth of minerals, produce goods for
export to the extent of ^200,000,000, and bring into existence
ever so many commodities and utilities needed for the susten
ance, comforts, and luxuries of the inhabitants of all countries.
But to what extent each individual labourer assists in this work
it would be difficult to say. I fear the difference is in many
cases enormous.
It is well indeed to remember what are the conditions for
the efficient discharge of duties in the work of production. To
my mind, first and foremost amongst such conditions is energy,
or the possession of a good strong will to work ; for with in
dolence and carelessness no work is done, no wealth is pro
duced. There must be steady and persevering labour, and an
energetic and willing mind to overcome the difficulties which
Nature presents. An impulsive and transient effort is not
sufficient. How far it is true that six Englishmen can do as
much work as eight Belgians or Frenchmen, I do not know;
but to be able to do a certain amount of work, and to give
oneself in earnest to do it, are two distinct things. There is
such a thing, let it be remembered, as idling away our time
whilst we profess to work, as laying 500 bricks in a day when
1000 might easily be laid, as giving five blows to strike a tree-nail
when three ought to be sufficient. A day’s work means a day
of continuous, energetic work—a day in which as much work
is done as can possibly be done, a day in which our powers
and talents are employed in full active service, when the work
is gone through thoroughly, speedily, earnestly. To pretend to
�6
WORK AND WORKERS.
be working when you are wasting your time in idle talk, is to
defraud your master of the value of your service. To make a
show of work is a very different thing from doing real work.
Then there is another consideration. How many days in the
year do you work ? An Irishman’s year used to be 200 days,
instead of at least 300 ; for he had 52 Sundays, 52 market-days,
a fair in each month, half a day a week for a funeral, and some
13 days in the year as saints’-days and birthdays. What a
waste ! “ Alas for that workman who takes all the Mondays
for pastime and idleness, who keeps fairs and wakes, or who
deliberately neglects the work which a bountiful Providence
set before him ! Miserable is he who slumbers on in idleness.
Miserable the workman who sleeps before the hour of his rest,
or who sits down in the shadow whilst his brethren work in
the sun.” * There is enough of forced idleness and slack time
in every occupation, without aggravating the evil by wilful
neglect. “To live really,” said Mr. Smiles, “is to act energeti
cally. Life is a battle to be fought valiantly. Inspired by high
and honourable resolve, a man must stand to his post, and die
there, if need be. Like the old Danish hero, his determination
should be to dare nobly, to will strongly, and never falter in the
path of duty.”
" Let us go forth, and resolutely dare
With sweat of brow to toil our little day;
And if a tear fall on the task of care,
Brush it not by 1”
The national characteristics of each country are sure to be
reflected in the work performed by its people. Her Majesty’s
Secretaries of Legation reported of the French that there is
much instability in their manner of work; that the workmen are
most competent when it suits their fancy to display their skill, but
that, as a rule, they do not work steadily. Of the Germans, that
their work is well performed, but that their chief fault is slowness
and indifference as to time in completing their task. Thequality
* Tynman.
�WORK AND WORKERS.
1
of the work in Italy is not to be despised, but the workmen
require a great amount of watching, their conscience not being
at all sensitive. Of the Swiss, they say that, as a rule, they are
competent for their work, and that they do take an interest in
it. The work of the Dutch is sound and good, but it has not
the polish and finish of the English. The Russians, the Secretary
of Legation reports, seem utterly indifferent as to the quality
of their labour. They take no pride in their work, and require
the most constant supervision. The Turks perform their work
roughly, rudely, and incompletely. The Argentines turn out a
rough and unfinished work. And our friends in the United
States have many short cuts for arriving at what may not be
quite equal to the article turned out in the English workshop.
Rare are the instances where absolute praise is awarded for
energy, where it can be said with truth that the labourers do
really take a pride in their work, and throw their character
into it. What reports are the Secretaries of Foreign Legations
in England sending out to their Governments as regards work
in this country? Is there good foundation for the complaint of
the deterioration of work in many branches of British labour ?
Nearly one hundred years ago, a German writer described the
Englishman as the best workman in the world ; for he worked
so as to satisfy his own mind, and always gave his work that
degree of perfection which he had learnt to appreciate and
attain. As the Frenchman sought to enhance the value of his
manufactures by all kinds of external ornament, so the English
man sought to give his productions in exactitude, usefulness,
and durability a less fleeting worth. Has this important encomium
been forfeited? I do not think so, whatever may be said to the
contrary. As a matter of fact it is seen in the cotton industry
that an English labourer is able to superintend 74 spindles,
whilst a German can at most [superintend 35, a Russian 28,
and a Frenchman 14. Physically and intellectually, the British
workman is better than he ever was. I doubt, indeed, if he has
�8
AND WORKERS.
a rival in his capacity for continuous exertion ; and if there be
reason to lament his disposition to obey with perfect discipline
the mandates of such associations as undertake to protect his
rights, we should not forget that it is that same disposition that
best fits the British workman for taking his place in the modern
organization of labour, where every human hand has work
assigned, the value of which depends on the relation it bears toa great whole.
I am persuaded, however, that the exercise of energy in work
depends in a great measure on the possession of strength and
health ; for it is impossible to work well unless we are in health
and comfort. The body must be in full vigour, the vital energies'
must be elastic and fresh, the mental faculties must be quick
and active, ere we can give ourselves to patient and persevering
labour. Viewed in this aspect, every measure of sanitary reform
has a direct economic value. How can you expect hard-working-
men and women where the very air is tainted by the most noxious
gases ? Liverpool, Manchester, and Salford, said Dr. Farr, are
at the head of a mournful cohort of unhealthy districts which
call aloud for healers. It is not the water, nor the food,
nor the absence of food, nor the clothing that produce the
mischief, but it is the heedless admixture of tallow-chandlery
and slaughter-houses, and the vitiated atmosphere from the
black outpourings from innumerable chimneys, that make the
Manchester artisan pale, sallow, and unhealthy, and that make his
children grow pale, thin, and listless. Many of our workmen,
moreover, have to meet dangers peculiar to their occupations..
They are liable to suffer from exposure to dust and other foreign
substances, from exposure to noxious gases and heated and im
pure air, from mechanical concussions, from peculiar postures of
body, and from excessive exertion. In the manufacture of artificial
flowers or wall-paper with emerald-green, the workers are in
danger of slow poisoning from arsenic. A dozen leaves from
a lady’s head-dress were found to contain ten grains of white
�WORK AND WORKERS.
9
arsenic. Those who have to do with phosphorous are exposed
to its fumes, which produce jaw disease and bronchitic affections.
The workers in lead are exposed to lead-poisoning, and those
who work with mercury to mercurial poisoning ; whilst builders,,
miners, fishermen, and seamen are in special danger of sudden
death from falls, explosions, or storms. Domestic servants,
always at home, comparatively at ease as respects the necessaries
of life, may be supposed to have a good expectancy of life ; yet
carpenters and even metal-workers have better prospects of great
age than they.
But, as I have just hinted, quite apart from dangers of this
nature, other risks follow many of our workmen in their homes.
Born, many of them, in the midst of comparative privations,
living often in low, dingy, uncomfortable houses, how hard it
is for them to maintain anything like freshness and vivacity.
The rents of houses are certainly dear, and they often absorb a
good portion of their weekly wages. Yet I apprehend that a
comparatively high house-rent might be really a good investment,
should it prevent, as it is sure to do, the slow deterioration of
health, the lowered vitality of enjoyment, and the long series of
evils arising from overcrowding. Room to breathe is wanted
everywhere. Much good will, I hope, result from the recent
Act for facilitating the improvement of the dwellings of the
working classes ; and good work is done in London by such
associations as the Metropolitan Association for Improving
the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes, the Improved Indus
trial Dwellings Company, and many other kindred societies.
But all such efforts need the co-operation of the labouringclasses themselves. How much an individual is justified in
spending in house-rent it is difficult to say, circumstances
varying so much. Ten per cent, of the income is, I believe,
generally devoted to house-rent by the middle classes, whether
by paying that proportion for a whole house, or by paying more
and recovering a portion by sub-letting. But ten per cent, of
�IO
AND WORKERS.
the working Oman’s wages, viz., three or four shillings a week
on an income of thirty shillings to forty shillings, is hardly
enough for sufficient accommodation for even a moderate
family. Supposing, therefore, that twelve per cent, be required,
or even fifteen per cent., better far to economise in other
items of expenditure than to live in a house smaller than we
require. In the economic management of a limited income
the first thought should be an airy, wholesome, cheerful
house—a real home for every inmate of the household.
Need I say that there may be a house without a home?
A house where father, mother, and children, some even of
tender age, are absent from six in the morning to six or seven
at night, can scarcely be called a home. Where mothers
cease to nurse their children, and leave them to the tender
mercies of servants, or deposit them at the Creches, there must
of necessity be a frightful mortality of children, a grievous de
generation of the race, and a total absence of moral education.
And when, late in the evening, father, mother, and children
meet together, more as strangers than as members of a common
household, often in the only room they possess, empty and
cheerless, what comfort can they expect ? Alas ! cleanliness in
such a case is out of the question. The fire is out; the food is
not ready; the children’s clothing falls into rags ; and, worse
than all, father and brothers, disgusted, take refuge at the
nearest public-house. I know nothing more essential, both in
a social and economic aspect, than a happy home. “ Home 1
If any of you working men have not got a home yet, resolve,
and tell your wife of your good resolution, to get, to make it at
almost any sacrifice. She will aid it all she can. Her step will
be lighter and her hand will be busier all day, expecting the
comfortable evening at home when you return. Household
affairs will have been well attended to. A place for everything,
and everything in its place, will, like some good genius, have
made even an humble home the scene of neatness, arrange-
�WORK AND WORKERS.
ii
ment, and taste. The table will be ready at the fireside ; the
loaf will be one of that order which says, by its appearance, You
may cut and come again. The cups and saucers will be waiting
for supplies. The kettle will be singing; and the children,
happy with fresh air and exercise, will be smiling in their glad
anticipation of that evening meal when father is at home, and
of the pleasant reading afterwards.” *
In matters of food and drink, I imagine, the British labourer
is better off than the labourers of any other country. Meat is
indeed dear, yet not dearer than in New York or Paris ; whilst
bread is decidedly cheaper, vegetables are abundant, and fish
plentiful. And the people are doing full justice to such bounties.
What a change in the quantities of foreign commodities con
sumed during the last thirty years 1 In 1844, there were ijj lbs.
of tea per head consumed in the United Kingdom; in 1875,
4'44 lbs. In 1844, f lb. of foreign butter ; in 1875, 4’92 lbs. In
1844, scarcely anything of foreign bacon and hams was con
sumed; in 1875, 8-26 lbs. per head. And, whilst the home pro
duction of wheat and flour is as large as ever, the consumption
of wheat and flour of foreign countries increased from iyjlbs., in
1844, to 197 lbs. per head in 1875. How many who are now able
to eat wheaten bread, were thirty years ago content with rye
bread ! and how many who never saw butcher meat from
week to week, now enjoy it every day I Surely we may rejoice
that by a wise legislation the door has been opened for the
importation of the necessaries of life from every part of the
globe ; and that, as a result of the same and of other favourable
circumstances, whereas the number of paupers, including indoor
and outdoor, in 1849 was in the proportion of 573 per cent, of the
population, in 1875 it was only 3’11 per cent. These are facts of
unmistakable importance as regards the well-being of the people.
An important element in the maintenance of health is cer
tainly the duration of labour; but how many hours a day a
* Helps.
�12
WORK AND WORKERS.
workman may safely work in any industry without injury to
his health must depend not only on the age and constitution of
the worker, but on the kind of labour and the spirit with which
the work is performed. I cannot say that, personally, I have
much sympathy with any excessive indulgence for rest; for I
am myself a great worker, having been often at my work sixteen
or eighteen hours a day-—not occasionally, but for weeks to
gether ; nor do I feel the slightest inconvenience from it. Yet
it must be allowed that labour saved is not lost; and that unless
we husband our strength, we stand a good risk of losing it
altogether. I fully approve, therefore, of the legislation respect
ing labour in factories, which limits the number of hours of
work to women and children. But let us not carry the matter
too far. Remember, that even an hour a day extended over say
5,000,000 workpeople, working 300 days in the year, means a
loss of 150,000,000 days a year. Doubtless such loss may be
recovered by increased energy on the part of the workers, and
by the introduction of improved ’machinery. As a matter of
fact, at no time has England produced more than at present,
notwithstanding the extension of the factory laws, and the widely
diffused adoption of shorter hours. But is that a reason why
we should indulge in idleness, beyond what is requisite for
health and moderate enjoyment ?
Hitherto I have dwelt on energy, physical strength, and
health. It is necessary that I should add education as one of
the very first conditions for the efficient discharge of duties
in the work of production. Never was the saying, “ Knowledge
is power,” more truly applicable than at present. Compare the
value of skilled and unskilled labour. The demand for com
paratively unskilled labour may be as great as ever, but the
reward of skilled labour is certainly much greater. It is no new
discovery, though it has, of late, acquired greater prominence,
that in the work of production to sturdy will, patient endurance,
and strong hands, we must add some knowledge of science, a
�WORK AND WORKERS.
13
cultivated mind, and a refined taste. Education and science
must no longer remain the ornament and luxury of the few—
they must become the necessary endowment of the many, if we
will succeed in the great arena of industrial competition.
To what but to science does England owe her great achieve
ments ? Mechanical and chemical science have revolutionized
the productive power of the country. It was but yesterday,
comparatively, that in the coal beneath our feet we found a
primary source of colour which makes England almost inde
pendent of the most costly dyewoods hitherto consumed in’the
ornamentation of the textile fabrics. Yet, with all our dis
coveries, and all our advantages, here we are but little in
advance of other countries, and our only hope of maintaining
our position depends on the success which we may yet attain
in fathoming the inexhaustible secrets of Nature, on the increase
in the number of patient yet ardent votaries of science, and
still more, on the diffusion of education and scientific knowledge,
among the great body of labourers. With the progress of
civilization and refinement all over the world, it is no longer
sufficient now to be able to produce what is cheap and
plentiful, or objects adapted to the common wants of the
masses. If England is to keep her place as the greatest manu
facturing country in the world, we must endeavour, by the
cultivation of the science of the perception of beauty, and by
paying proper attention to the fine arts, to produce articles
suitable to every state of civilization.
Much has been said, of late, on technical education, by
which we understand the teaching of those sciences which
are useful in industrial pursuits. Is it not a sound principle
that the designer should know something of drawing, the
dyer something of chemistry, the miner of geology and
mineralogy? The chairmaker, the tailor, the bootmaker, the
hatter, the coachmaker, and even the pastrycook, all requiresome knowledge of form.
All honour then to the London
�14
WORK AND WORKERS.
School Board for introducing drawing m their scheme of
Elementary Education.
How few, indeed, are at all ac
quainted with the scientific principles of their labour. An
order comes for cloth of a particular shade of colour. How
few can tell, beforehand, precisely, what manipulation will
give it to a nicety ! And if there be one in an establishment
endowed with such knowledge, probably because he stumbled
into it, he is deemed the possessor of a great mystery.
But
why should it be so ? Science need neither be a mystery nor a
monopoly. Its pages are open to all, and let us not think that
its meaning is hid or incomprehensible to the common under
standing With the simplicity of language ordinarily used, and
the constant appeal to real facts by visible demonstrations and
illustrations, the acquisition of scientific knowledge has been
rendered wonderfully easy.
Apart- from intellectual powers, however, I own great par
tiality for the moral. It seems to me that we must elevate, not
the mind only, but the taste and affections of the people, if we
wish to realize true progress. With such huge conglomerations
of people as we have in this metropolis and in our manufactur
ing towns, quite away from the beauties of nature, we do need
museums and galleries to educate the sense of the beautiful.
What a power on our imagination have the common prints
and representations which adorn our walls! What an effect the
ornaments which cover our mantelpieces ! Nor should we
forget that more important even than the cultivation of the
taste and the affections is the possession of good morals and
simple piety. To secure a good reward, the labourer must not
only have a good physical frame, and a proper aptitude for
labour, but those qualities which create confidence and animate
trust. Unless a labourer is worthy of confidence, it is impos
sible that he can be regularly employed. And what is; it that
. creates confidence? Sober and steady conduct, truthfulness
and purity of character, conscientiousness and strict regar
�WORK AND WORKERS.
i5
to duty ; in short, an abiding sense of the responsibility of
our calling.
The requisites of production, John Stuart Mill said, are
two—labour and appropriate natural objects. Certain lands
are more favoured than others in natural productiveness. The
climate has great influence in promoting vegetation, and in
making the people hearty and robust. Numerous external in
fluences, physical, economical, political, and social, determine
more or less the success of labour. Taking it all in all, England
is highly favoured as a field of human labour. Geographically,
she is splendidly situated, on all sides open to communica
tion with all the world.
Her climate is most temperate.
Coal and iron are sources of immense wealth. Her manufac
turing industry is wonderfully developed. The commercial
spirit of her people quite boundless. Her political organization,
based on personal freedom to move, to speak, to meet, well nigh
perfect. Her economical policy is immensely superior to that
of almost any other nation. Can we wonder that her people
are tranquil, that the Queen reigns supreme in the heart of the
nation, and that wealth is increasing at an enormous ratio ?
Where can you find a better field of labour than in
England ? Go to France, and you have no freedom of action
and a constant dread of revolution. Go to Russia, and you
meet despotism all rampant. Go to the United States, and you
find that better wages are scarcely equivalent to the higher cost
of living. Go to any of the British Colonies, and you must be
prepared to work harder far than you are doing in this country,
and to bid adieu to every association and to all the pleasures of
civilized life.
Nowhere, indeed, is labour more appreciated,
nay, I might say more ennobled, than in this country, and no
where is an ampler field afforded for its application.
But if labour is honoured, is the labourer receiving due con
sideration? Are his trials and difficulties taken into account?
Are his wants as a man and a citizen properly recognised ?
�AND WORKERS.
Alas ! I fear not. On the contrary, there is far too ready a
disposition to regard the labourers as a class as ignorant,
wasteful, drunken, idle, and criminal. But where is the evi
dence for such a charge ? In the number signing the marriage
register with marks there is a vast improvement. The Savingsbanks and Building Societies testify that the labouring classes
have saved large sums in recent years. The yearly amount
of production in the kingdom tells us that they have not been
altogether idle ; and if they drink more, or it may be are more
amenable to its consequences than they formerly were, probably
through better police administration, of crime, especially of the
heavier character, they are certainly less guilty. They might
be better, and so we all should be. But let us not indulge in
sweeping condemnations of whole classes of the people. They
are not true, and their effect is most injurious.
In the new organization of labour incident to production on
a large scale, there is abundant scope for the display, by both
masters and men, of those qualities which are essential for the
maintenance of peace and concord. Let the master recognise,
fully and unreservedly, the free position of the workman, and
his absolute right to improve his condition. Let him see that
labour be carried on under conditions, as favourable as possible,
to the preservation of human health and vigour. Let him pro
mote, as far as in him lies, provident habits and intellectual
improvement among his labourers. Let him manifest a per
sonal sympathetic interest in their behalf. Let the master
do all this, and we shall also witness among workmen an in
creasing earnestness and energy in the execution of their work,
a greater interest in the success of production, and a better
disposition to apply all their forces, physical, intellectual, and
moral, towards the surmounting of those obstacles which hinder
and retard the economic progress of the nation.
�II.
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND THE WONDERS OF
MACHINERY.
Within this century, within the recollection of many living
among us, one of the greatest of economic revolutions has taken
place, the consequence of which has far exceeded any human
expectation. It is the substitute of collective for individual
labour, of factory for home industry, and of mechanical for
human labour.
Time was when the weaver was both the-:
capitalist and the labourer ; when the linen weaver cultivated
the flax, heckled it, spun it into yarn, wove it, and sold the web
at the linen market. There was no division of labour in those
days. The producer gloried in his independence. He was his.
own master. He did all the work himself. But production
proceeded slowly in that fashion. And so the capitalist came
to the rescue by supplying the weaver with the material, and
paying him a given sum on the delivery of a given quantity ot
finished cloth. As yet, the loom belonged to the weaver; and if
he had no loom of his own, he worked at a loom belonging to<
some other weaver, in which case he was the journeyman, and
the weaver at whose loom he worked was the master weaver.
But, in time, the loom itself was supplied by the capitalist or
manufacturer; and then the journeyman, free from the master
weaver, came into direct relation with the manufacturer. This
is the system of home industry which existed in this country
2
�i8
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
for a considerable time, certainly till as late as the end of the
last century. And this is the system which obtains to a con
siderable extent in Russia at the present time. Employed in
the actual work of agriculture only a portion of the year, the
Russian farmer spends the remainder in weaving and bleaching.
The home system of industry has been passing away so
rapidly from this country that we are apt to connect all manu
facture with x the machinery and steam power in use in the
Lancashire cotton industry. But it is not so. And I venture
to say that by far the largest amount of production in the north
of Europe, in Asia, and Africa, and largely in America also,
consists of home-made goods, which, though dearer in price,
are in the end cheaper far than the trashy prints, and some
of the highly-sized calicoes and other inferior descriptions of
Manchester goods. The battle of the hand-loom against the
power-loom, of home industry against factory labour, is not yet
quite ended, for in not a few industries, especially in Nottingham
and Leicester, hand-loom weavers are numerous. But of the
final issue of the conflict who can doubt ? In truth, young men
o not take to the old and almost effete system. What remains
of it is carried on by old people, and for those descriptions of
labour only where the hand can work with more dexterity than
the machine itself. But how soon is machinery overtaking
every obstacle 1 And what a change has taken place in the
divorcement of manufacture from agriculture, in the creation
of great cities of labour, in the mode of producing on a
large scale, in the division of labour, and the introduction
of machinery!
From the moment the manufacturing system acquired a
sufficient importance to stand by itself, from the moment the
requirements of manufacture necessitated concurrence and co
operation in the various pursuits necessary for the same, the
manufacturers were compelled to emigrate from the farm
house and the sequestered village, and to constitute themselves
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
into distinct communities. Both industries are indeed inter
dependent. Agriculture gains from the existence of a thriving
manufacturing industry, and is the better for its products.
Manufactures depend upon a prosperous agriculture for a sufciency of food and provision. But the two industries are not
■capable of being prosecuted in like manner. Agriculture does
not admit of the same concentration of labour, of the same
■division of employment, and of the same constancy of labour.
Even steam-power can only be employed in agriculture under
less advantageous circumstances than in manufactures. The
experience of every nation abundantly proves that the more
absolute is the separation between the two industries, the better
■each may be developed in its own manner and fashion. Would,
indeed, that the agricultural could copy a little more from the
manufacturing industry than it appears to be doing ! How
much it has to learn in dealing with diversities of soil, in the
reclamation of waste lands, in the introduction of machines and
implements of husbandry, in the use of manure, and above all
in the economy of labour and the application of scientific prin
ciples in the management of farms ! Some writers used to
•distinguish agriculture from industry, the one being intent
upon the extraction of produce from the soil, the other upon the
shaping, converting, or manufacturing what nature supplies.
But it is not so. Agriculture and manufactures are both indus
tries requiring alike labour, skill, capital. In England, the
divorce is indeed complete ; but they had better look keenly to
one another, and each draw from the other the lessons which it
needs.
Look at Lancashire, the first county which inaugurated the
great change. See how coal and iron have superseded turf
and corn. Behold those illumined factories, with more (windows
than in Italian palaces, and smoking chimneys taller than
Egyptian obelisks. Everywhere you find monuments of in
domitable energy. All you see indicates the march of modern
�20
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
progress. Enter for a moment one of those numerous factories,,
behold the ranks of thousands of operatives all steadily working,
behold how every minute of time, every yard of space, every
practised eye, every dexterous finger, every active mind, is at
high-pressure service. There are no lumber attics nor lumber
cellars ; everything seems cut out for the work, and the work for
it. And what can be more wonderful than those factories far
the manufacture of machines ? Listen to the deafening din.
What power has mind over matter ! What metamorphoses can
human industry perform ! One hundred years ago, Manchester
had only 1,600 inhabitants. Now, with Salford, she has 500,000..
Three hundred years ago, Liverpool was only a fishing hamlet,,
with 138 inhabitants ; now she has 527>°°°. Whilst Westmore
land, a purely agricultural county, has 771 acres to one person,
Lancashire has only 0-43 acres to one person. In 1861, the town
population of England was in the proportion of twenty-four per
cent, of the whole. In 1871, her town population had increased
to such an extent that it constituted fifty-six per cent, of the
whole. The very meaning of the word town has changed.
Whilst in olden times it meant a tract of land enjoyed by a
community, though there might not be a single house in it; in
modern times it has come to signify a place with a multitude of
houses, built side by side, and standing in streets, rows, or
lanes, all as like one another as possible,— the very personation,
of the Coketown of the inimitable Dickens.
Shall we lament the change from the primitive industrial
organization of former days to the complex, and, in many ways,,
the artificial combination of the present time? Is England
the better or the worse for the change? Have the working
classes been injured or benefited by it ? Could we return to the
agricultural system if we would ? And would we return to it if
we could ? Compare the state of England a hundred years ago
and now, by any test you please, socially, politically, and morally,
in education, wealth, power, population, agriculture, and mann-
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
21
factures. Nothing has been stationary. On every side we note
change, progress, improvement.
There are evils connected
with the agglomeration of many people within fixed boundaries,
for where ignorance, vice, crime, exists, oh how contagious it be
comes ! And yet, if you compare the moral condition of the
agricultural and manufacturing districts, you will find that the
latter are by no means inferior to the former, for if there is
an army of evil-doers in our great cities, there are also many
regiments of those who do well. Call the present organization
of labour artificial, capitalistic, or by any title you please, yet
the fact remains that not only is it the inevitable result of
science, civilization, and economic progress, and therefore it
is of no use whatever grumbling about it, but it is on the whole
beneficial to the well-being of the people, an element of strength
and power to the nation at large.
Steam, whose power dwarfs the fabled feats of Grecian
prodigy, has not only torn asunder the manufacturing from
the agricultural industry, but has centred industrial labour
within large buildings and great factories. When human force
was the only motive power, work could as advantageously be
performed in the solitary chamber as in great centres of popu
lation ; but when a force greater than human was discovered,
which far exceeded the energies of any single individual, which
needed no rest, which could be transported anywhere, and
which could be regulated at discretion,—isolated working gave
place to factory labour, and production on a small scale was
immediately superseded by production on a large scale. Of
course, factory labour has its own evils,—but what human
system is free from them ? With a motive power at hand
capable of continuing without intermission, the temptation was
too strong to use human labour as unsparingly. The compara
tively light labour required to assist the machinery, prompted
the employment of women and children; and their strength, by
too long hours of employment, was taxed beyond measure. And
�22
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
so the Legislature had to interfere, in the way of fixing the
number of hours that women and children should be allowed to
work, of taking care that the education of such children shall
not be altogether neglected, of compelling proper precautionsagainst accidents from machinery, of providing for the health
of the workers, and of securing by the right of inspection
scrupulous compliance with the prescribed regulations. And
thankful we may be that the provisions of such laws have been
extended and strengthened, for we do need the protection of
the law against abuse of power, whether by masters or by men.
Apart, however, from such abuses which the law has set itself
to rectify, there is a great principle involved in the present
system of producing on a large scale of very wide reach and
application. Do we not see large farms, large shops, large jointstock companies, and large enterprises, fast superseding small
farms, small shops, small partnerships, and small enterprises ?'
And why? Simply because the expense of management and
the labour of administration do not increase in proportion to the
extension of the undertaking; because expensive machinery may
be more advantageously employed; and because greater economy
of power and administration is thereby obtained. In a largefactory, moreover, the master can exercise more supeiwision of
labour, can have more command over the detail of the work.
And the result is more production, more wealth. The more
united the forces, the greater the momentum.
And what shall I say of the division of labour, which produc
tion on a large scale permits ? Adam Smith has well noted the
increase of dexterity in every particular workman, the saving of
time spent in passing from one species of work to another, and
the happy contrivances for facilitating and abridging laboui
which such division of labour suggests and permits. Nothing, in
deed, is more natural, and yet nothing is more wonderful in the
present organization of labour, than the symmetry of its appor
tionment, the careful regard to the adaptation of the work to the
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
23
worker. But little consideration suffices to convince us that
the surest way to acquire a thorough knowledge of anything is
to concentrate our thoughts, and to devote our energies almost
exclusively upon the one thing before us. No science could be
cultivated with any hope of success, were it not that special
men give themselves to the innumerable researches which are
required for their development. The physician, the chemist,,
the botanist, the mineralogist, the astronomer, each takes upon,
himself the study of special phenomena in nature. Sir David.
Brewster made optics his special study; Professor Owen devoted
himself to fossils; Professor Liebig to organic chemistry
Professor Tyndal to light; Professor Huxley to physiology..
Mr. Glaisher made his experiments on balloon ascents; Dr.
Carpenter made observations on oceanic circulation. The
principle of the division of labour with a view to the greater
concentration of mental energies is of wide application, and,,
wherever applied, it of necessity leads to the greater efficiency
and economy of labour. How natural the division of labour
between agriculture, manufacture, and commerce ! How conso
nant with the laws of nature the preference given in different
countries to special industries 1 What is international commerce
but the result of an extended division of labour ? Of course the
division of labour is limited by the power of exchange. One
may confine himself to one specific branch of industry which
may satisfy one kind of wants only, provided on the one hand
he can find purchasers enough of that commodity as to render
it worth his while producing nothing else, and provided also
there are others ready to satisfy all the other wants. An ex
tended division of labour demands a large and varied con
sumption. In little villages where the consumption of groceries
is limited, the grocer is also the haberdasher, the stationer, the
innkeeper. In London we have shops for certain specific classes
of articles, and no more. But wherever the division of labour
can be advantageously adopted, it is certain to be attended with
�24
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
advantage, at least in an economic aspect. And yet, that too
has its evil, for it has certainly a tendency to concentrate the
mind too consecutively to one operation, and it may have the
effect of weakening a man’s power, and make him become a
mere machine. What fertility of invention, what independence
of thought can you expect from a man who is required to do
but one thing—say, to watch a pair of wheels, or to walk three
steps forward and three steps backwards—throughout his life
time? He will doubtless do that work more perfectly, more
quickly, more economically, but the monotony and the same
ness of the operation, and the want of excitement attending it,
are sure to take away any spirit he might have.
Alas 1 nothing pleases us. Undivided work is very unpro
ductive, too divided work is prejudicial to the human under
standing. I am not ignorant of, and we cannot ignore or deny,
the evils of the present organization of industry; but is it of
any use to complain of them ? Let us the rather strive to
neutralize what is prejudicial, and set into motion remedies and
influences which shall bring good out of evil. Let the church
and the school be active in their work of moral and intellectual
instruction. Let science and philanthropy devise good work
able plans for the well-being of the masses of people huddled
together in places unfit for human habitation. And if the
family circle has still to be broken by the employment of
women and children in factories, let us at least do our utmost
to check vice, waste, luxury, extravagance, betting, gambling,
drunkenness, and the license and wretchedness which meet us
on every side—the result, to a large extent, of a vicious social
system.
If it is to Watt and his wonderful engine that we owe the
use of the new motive power, steam, it is to Arkwright, Har
greaves, Crompton, and many more illustrious inventors and
discoverers, that we owe our machines and instruments for regu
lating the action of force. There is an intimate relation between
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
25
the division of labour and machinery. If, on the one hand, it is
the steam engine and machinery that have rendered division
of labour possible, it is to the division of labour that we owe
the large increase of machinery, The change wrought by
machinery is something wonderful, A woman habituated to
knit can make 80 stitches a minute. By the use of the circular
loom, she can now make 480,000 stitches a minute, showing
an increase of 6,000 times the quantity. To make by hand
all the yarn spun in England in one year, by the use of the
self-acting mule, carrying 1,000 spindles, viz., 1,000 threads
at the time, we would require 100,000,000 of men. I have just
spoken of knitting; but see what is done by the sewing machine.
To make a shirt by the hand it takes at least fourteen hours ; by
the machine, less than two hours. A pair of trousers cannot
be done by the hand in less than five hours; by the machine
it may be done in one. A woman’s chemise, which by the
hand would take ten hours and a half, may be completed by
the machine—ay, ornamented—in one hour. This is indeed
the era of machines. We have the calculating machine and
the electric machine. Hats are made by machinery, and so
are opera-glasses. There is a machine to mould the mortar,
a machine to make cigarettes, and a machine to make neck
cravats. There are machines for measuring the wind, the
evaporation, and the rain; machines for measuring the in
tensity and velocity of light; an instrument for measuring the
interval between the appearance of the flash and the arrival
of the sound; an instrument for measuring the pressure of the
atmosphere, and an instrument for measuring the ten-thousandth
part of an inch.
The machine is simple when it transmits
force in a direct manner; it is composite when it is composed
of so many organs all combined and acting together in the
transmission of force. But whether simple or complex, in
whatever form or description, as a machine, an instrument,
or a tool, their uniform tendency has been to take from the
�26
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
human hand some of the most drudgery work, to produce
largely, to bring within the reach of the lowest classes many
articles which were once rarities and luxuries. Machinery
has lightened human labour of the most irksome tasks, and
opened up to man the widest field for the exercise of his in
tellectual faculties. At one time it was muscular force that
performed most of our work. Now, it is art, it is design, it
is intellect. It is labour just the same, it is true, but it is
nobler, higher, and more befitting our place and destinies.,
more in keeping with our aspirations and ambition. Only
let workmen have sufficient dexterity in passing from one
kind of labour to another, and the introduction of machinery
is certain to prove a blessing, not a curse. But, alas ! it is that
capacity that is sometimes wanting.
Time was when inventions were the products of simple
vagaries, or freaks of the imagination, of ignorant pretenders or
mere charlatans. How to make a wheel turn by itself, and to
get at perpetual motion ; how to clean and keep bright the skin
and flesh so as to preserve it in its perfect state ; how to make
upon the Thames a floating garden of pleasure, with trees,,
flowers, and fountains, and all in the midst of the stream
where it is most rapid;—these were secrets and inventions of
former days which contributed but little to the well-being of
the people. Happily, the inventions, machines, and instru
ments of the present day are of a more utilitarian and sober
caste, and they have immensely augmented, not only the
wealth, but the comfort and the intelligence of the whole
nation—ay, of the whole world. And who are the inventors ?
In many cases our working men themselves, and, strange
to say, those very men who have to perform daily the same
monotonous work, to repeat over and over again the operation
of the same single member of a complicated whole. Yes,
our working men, our artizans, are often able to suggest im
provements in manufacture, and short cuts in workmanship,
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
27
which economise labour, and are of immense value to the pro
ducers. Would that they were justly rewarded! A working man
who has brain enough to invent a new article, or to use a new
process, has a full right to the fruits of his labour, and to be
rewarded for the product of his brain ; and I am glad to know
that sometimes, though not always, they do get the benefit of
their inventions, either in an increased salary, or in a portion of
the profits. Do not imagine, however, that the profits of an
invention can go to any considerable extent into the pockets of the
inventor, for the success of the invention depends often less on
the fact of the invention itself, than on the appliances, energy,
and capital employed in carrying it into practice. I should be
glad if the cost of a patent were greatly reduced, in order to
enable our working men to patent inventions for themselves even
before they communicate them to their own employers ; but oh
how often the most sanguine hopes are placed on worthless inven
tions, how soon they are superseded, how often they prove more
costly than they are worth ! On the whole, the profession of an
inventor is a profitless one, and it is this among other things
that has more than once suggested the expediency of abolish
ing the Patent Laws altogether.
That machinery has immensely benefited production, and
that it has placed a new engine of success in the hands of the
producer, is beyond doubt, for though still depending upon
labour, the machine enables the producer to spare a great
number of labourers, whilst it immensely economises the cost of
production. Once let him have a machine that will do the work
of a thousand men, with only ten persons attending to it, and he
is in a position to distance far any other manufacturer who
wholly depends on human labour. How often indeed a persist
ence on the part of the labourer in asking higher wages than
the business could afford, or demands of conditions of labour
incompatible with its success, or the refusal to perform certain
acts, or to allow other labourers to be introduced for their
�28
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
performance, have driven our manufacturers to introduce
machinery !
But how has machinery affected the working classes? An
inventor once proposed to Colbert, the great minister of Louis
XIV. of France, a machine which would do the work of ten
men. “ I am anxious,” said the minister, “ that men should be
able to live honestly by their work, and you propose to me to
take the work out of their hands. Take the invention, if you
please, somewhere else.” Statesmen are often as ignorant of
economic questions as the least among us, and just as when
railways were projected all manner of apprehensions were enter
tained lest horses, cattle, and carriages should cease to be
required, so when machines were introduced into any branch
of industry, the first thought was, Well, labourers will no longer
be wanted in it. But has it been so ? Calculate the number
employed in the occupation of transport and conveyance before
and since the adoption of the railway system,—the number
employed in the cotton manufacture, or any other textile
industry, before and since the introduction of machinery,—the
number employed in printing, copying, and publishing, before
and since the invention of the printing machine. The first
introduction of machinery may indeed displace and diminish
for a while the employment of labour, may perchance take
labour out of the hands of persons otherwise not able to take
another employment, and create the need of another class of
labourers altogether; but if it has taken labour from ten
persons, it has provided labour for a thousand. How does it
work? A yard of calico made by hand costs two shillings,
made by machinery it may cost fourpence. At two shillings a
yard, few buy it ; at fourpence a yard, multitudes are glad to
avail themselves of it. Cheapness promotes consumption : the
article which hitherto was used by the higher classes only, is
now to be seen in the hand of the labouring classes as well.
As’the demand increases, so production increases, and to such
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
■29
an extent, that although the number of labourers now employed
in the production of calico may be immensely less in proportion
to a given quantity of calico, the total number required for
the millions of yards now used greatly exceeds the number
engaged when the whole work was performed without any
aid of machinery.
And so as regards wages. Doubtless
a manufacturer who has to pay for the use of an invention and
for the cost and maintenance of the machinery, and who needs
only a few labourers able to perform some mechanical act,
might be tempted to take advantage of his position and to
offer less wages. But if the cost of production and the mainte
nance of the machinery are more than replaced by the profits
arising from increasing production, will not a large portion of
those profits, in one way or another, fall on the labouring classes ?
And if to wrork the machinery, in the production of immensely
larger quantities, the manufacturer requires more labourers than
ever he did in the palmy days of hand labour, where will be his
greater independence ? No, no ! Machinery may have decreased,
in some cases, the rates of wages, but it has in all cases increased
the total earnings of the labouring classes. It may have taken
labour out of some, impoverished a few, done injury here and
there, but it has given more labour to the community at large,
and has added immensely to the resources of the artisans
and labouring classes all the world over. M. Bastiat, in his.
excellent work on “ What is Seen and What is not Seen in.
Political Economy,” illustrated.the operation of machinery on
human labour in his usual spirited manner. “Jacque Bonhomme,” he said, “ had two francs, which he was in the habit of
paying to two workmen whom he employed. Suddenly, how
ever, having found out the means of abridging the work by
half, he discharged one workman, and so saved one franc.
Upon this, the ignorant is ready to exclaim, 1 See how misery
follows civilization! See how fatal is freedom to equality 1
The human mind has made a conquest, and immediately a
�3o *
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR AND
workman, falls into pauperism. Even if Jacque Bonhomme
should continue to employ the two workmen, he will only give
them half a franc each, for they will compete one with another,
and they will offer their labour for half the money.’ But it is
not so, since both the premises and the conclusions are false.
Behind the half of this phenomenon which is seen, there is
another half which is not seen ; for what does Jacque Bonhomme
do with the other franc, which he saved ? He employs it in
another work, and whilst the same work is done for one franc
by one workman which formerly required two to do it, extra
work is done with the other franc, which employs the other also.
The two workmen are as much employed as ever, but double
work is done, and so the invention has procured a gratuitous
benefit.”
The introduction of machinery should never be used as a
threat against the demands of labourers. It is mean to i esort to
such an expedient in order to frighten the labourers to acquiesce
in the conditions offered. But remember, machinery is of great
utility to production, and manufacturers may be compelled to
introduce it for the salvation, possibly, of the whole industry.
See what is taking place now in the watch manufacture of
Switzerland. Hitherto watchmaking at Geneva has been almost
entirely a hand-work industry.
But Switzerland stands in
danger of losing the industry altogether, since Germany and
America have learnt to make watches and clocks by machinery.
There is a certain protection, after all, against the sudden intro
duction of machinery in the fact that it is very costly, that it
requires great capital, that manufacturers are very unwilling to
alter their usual course of business, and that, in reality, in some
industries the hand has some advantage over the machine,
though machinery is now becoming so perfect and automatic
that it is impossible to say what it cannot accomplish. It
has been complained that the use of machinery often leads to
over-production, and to gluts of merchandize, which redounds
�THE WONDERS OF MACHINERY.
31
against the well-being of the masses especially by alternations of
great activity and great depression. But a large production of
articles of general use is always attended by increasing cheap
ness, and increasing cheapness most assuredly leads to an
enlarged demand, which soon absorbs any surplus production.
Machine and tool making has become' an important industry.
In x851 it employed in England and Wales 48,000 persons ; in
1861, 117,000; and in 1871, 175,000. In 1851 our exports of
steam engines, and other kinds, amounted to ,£1,168,000; in
I^75> to £4,213,000. We export engines and machinery to
every part of the world. Any one is now at liberty to order from
the British workshop the most complex and the finest piece of
machinery that can possibly be invented. It may be said, What
folly it is to injure ourselves by enabling foreign manufacturers
to obtain an advantage which is exclusively our owp ! True,
England has superior facilities for the manufacture of machinery
in her abundance of coal and iron, but the power of inventive
ness is not confined within the British shores. In 1824, the
Americans were considered as thirty years behind England, and
France was the only country which could be said to rival
England in the making of machinery. Since then, however,
and for many years past, foreign countries have made won
derful progress. As well attempt to shut up all the avenues
of science and knowledge as to secrete from public gaze the
discoveries and inventions which benefit industry and manu
facture.
It is well to realize that many of the primary conditions
necessary to the development of manufacturing industry are
no longer exclusively enjoyed by any country, and it would be
folly for the British manufacturer to remain content and tran
quil, as if he needed to dread no competition, and as if he
could be sure to continue to enjoy the practical monopoly of
the markets of the world.. Greater command over capital,
the possession of mineral resources almost boundless in extent
�32
THE DIVISION OF LABOUR, ETC.
and productiveness, greater commercial sagacity and power of
enterprise, have hitherto kept and may yet keep Britain on a
position of eminence above all her competitors; but in every
one of these elements, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the
United States are striving to advance; and with the most
powerful machinery within the reach of every one, who can
say how soon, from eager competitors, they may become for
midable rivals? It would be a great mistake indeed on the
part of our manufacturers^ to imagine that their only hope to
preserve their supremacy rests in their being able to keep the
wages of labour low. I have no faith in any plan which
begins by starving the labourer. The essentials of real pro
gress must ever consist in increasing power of production, in
greater adaptiveness of our manufactures to the wants of the
masses of the people at home and abroad, and in greater
skill and advancement in the arts and sciences. Emulate
other nations in their efforts to combine beauty with usefulness,
elegance with solidity. Let nothing discourage the investment
of capital in industry. Furbish your intellect to achieve greater
wonders than were ever yet imagined. Let Capital and Labour
march hand in hand, and England need not fear being out
done, however keen the contest, however close the issue.
�III.
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
On the sea-coast of Sicily there was once a wild, lawless,
gigantic race, who, with one eye in the middle of their forehead,
but with strong hands, were constantly employed in forging
thunderbolts for Jupiter. And in this island of Britain, there
are many sons of the sturdy Saxon race who, with two eyes
and both wide open, are constantly forging capital, not for
Jupiter, but for the whole world. A disposition to labour, to
save, and to accumulate ; a growing conviction that wealth is
power, whatever knowledge may be; a keen relish of the
comforts of life, which wealth to a large extent provides ; a
decided aptitude for commerce, industry, and enterprise ; con
fidence in the public institutions of the country; and a firm
reliance on the impartial administration of justice,—these, to
gether with those wonderful inventions and discoveries which
have so enlarged the range and utility of human labour, have
rendered Britain the great storehouse of capital, and at this
moment borrowers from every nation are for ever coming to
this modern Egypt, to buy capital of the living J osephs,—the
Bank of England, the Rothschilds, the Barings, and many
others who keep the keys of the coveted granary. An enviable
position this for England to occupy. The taunt of contempt
once expressed by the title La Nation Boutiquiere (the shop
keeping nation), only betokens the sentiment of jealousy which
3
�34
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
♦
France once felt for this new power in the hands of England.
But if England has got riches, it is because she has been
industrious. If the broad acres of old England have become
more luxurious and productive, if her mineral stores have become
a source of perennial wealth, if her cities are full of people, and
her manufacturing industry has become the wonder of all nations,
it is simply because English labour and English perseverance
have combated valorously with the obstacles presented by
nature. What is the ocean to the daring British manner?
Boldly to the depths of the earth the British miner will
venture, fearing nothing. Nature’s inexhaustible riches and
powers have all along animated the British discoverer to make
unknown sacrifices. And so the British have thriven.
We might suppose that by this time every country would
have become rich. With an old civilization, an immense
population, untold resources, and varied opportunities, what
is it that hindered the accumulation of wealth, and kept
nearly every state in a condition of poverty? Alas! the
work of destruction has been even more effective than the
work of production. The warlike policy of the Roman Empire
was not favourable to the production of wealth. . In the
Middle Ages, whatever was achieved by the thriving cities was
more than destroyed by the injurious influence of feudalism and
barbarism.
Insecurity of person and property discouraged
accumulation. Monopoly diverted the streams of wealth into
narrow channels. Vicious fiscal systems often corroded the
very sources of wealth. The Thirty Years’ War, the Seven
Years’ War, and the French War, brought desolation into every
home, and destroyed, not only all that had theretofore been
produced, but even the produce of years to come, Can we
wonder that under such circumstances but little or nothing
was accumulated ? Cast a glance beyond Europe. In Asia
there has been much hoarding of wealth, but no accumulation
and no workable capital. India has been rather the absorbent
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
35
than the producer of capital. Africa is as yet destitute both
of wealth and capital. And America, the land of promise for
capital, is still, comparatively speaking, a new country, where
the means of investment are always greater than the available
resources for the same. There is no end of openings all over
the world for the disposal of British capital; and for the interest
of the great mass of our population we may well desire that,
whatever the competition, British industry and commerce may
ever prove the safest and the most advantageous investment of
British capital.
Does it seem an easy thing to you to accumulate capital?
Look around. See the vast numbers of persons who find it hard
enough to get their daily bread, and to make the two ends meet.
See the vast numbers earning a good income, yet spending it as
fast as it comes, and never thinking of saving a farthing, far less
of accumulating any capital. Think of the numbers who strive
hard to save, but who, after succeeding for a time, are compelled
to give up the attempt from sickness, misfortune, or losses.
Think of the vicissitudes of trade, changes of fashion, and new
inventions which from time to time disconcert the best conceived
plan. What violent efforts, and what sudden collapses, what
heaving and subsiding, what flow and ebb of fortune, do we wit
ness ! How many try, how few succeed ! It is easy compara
tively to accumulate after a good foundation has been laid ;
but how hard it is to lay that foundation. What judgment,
what decision of will, what disposition to economise, there must
exist to have the slightest chance of success. Doubtless the
present division of property is not all that could be wished.
The laws of primogeniture and entail favour the accumulation
of wealth, at least in land, in comparatively few hands.
Those rich enough to pay income tax on any amount of
profits of trade and industry are only about 16 for every
1000 of the population of Great Britain, and of these much
less than one in 1,000 (0'65) pay on incomes amounting to
�36
USE OF CAPITAL iN INDUSTRY.
^1,000, and upward, per annum. Yet the number of capitalists
might be immensely greater were there more thrift, more com
mon prudence, and more practical wisdom among the people.
I do not speak of the working classes only, but of the middle
and higher classes quite as much, or more. Would that they
had the wisdom to lay by something for a rainy day when they
have a chance of doing so ! Would that they used and not
abused the means which Providence places within their reach !
Realize, I pray you, what capital really is, and what a useful
commodity it is to every nation. Generally speaking, capital
is that portion of an individual’s or of a nation’s wealth which
is applied to reproduction. All property becomes capital so
soon as it, or the value received from it, is set apart for pro
ductive employment. By dint of industry, a shilling to-day,
a pound to-morrow, you gather ^ioo. You resolve to have
a home of your own, and to employ ^25 in furnishing
it, and with the ^75 remaining you determine to set up
a shop. You have got, indeed, ZIO° of your own, but only
^75 of capital.
Just as wealth, in its economic mean
ing, consists of all those things, and those things only,
which are transferable, limited in supply, and directly or
indirectly productive of value, so capital, which is part of that
wealth, must bear the same characteristic. There are many
things most valuable in themselves, which are not, in their strict
economic sense, capital. Capital does not include the instru
ments furnished by nature, without our aid. The water of the
sea, the air we breathe, are not capital, unless, indeed, by labour
we enclose a portion of the sea, or introduce the air into a
building. Capital consists of those things which are created,
and which were previously accumulated by man. To be capital,
moreover, the possession must be a material object, and capable
of transfer. The skill of an artist, the genius of a composer, the
wisdom of a statesman, the talent of a man of letters, the health
and strength of a labourer, are doubtless so many valuable
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
37
endowments to their respective possessors, but they are not of.
a material character, and cannot be transferred. If English
statesmen could transfer a little of their wisdom to the French ;
if British labourers could endow their confreres in France with
a little of their strength and steadiness of purpose; if French
artizans could pass over to British artizans part of their fertility
of invention, and their quickness of perception, what a market
there would be for them all! But these personal endowments
cannot be sold or bought, and, therefore, they do not corrie
within the meaning of the word capital.
I do not know what we should do without capital.
The
riches of nature are profusely scattered, some on the surface
and some on the very bowels of the earth; and human labour is
required to make them subservient to the many uses for which
they are adapted.
Few things are the spontaneous, unaided
gifts of nature, requiring no exertion for their production.
Nature offers its powers and its products.
Industry and
labour discover their latent utility, and surmount the diffi
culties of obtaining such products, and of giving them their
requisite modification.
‘' I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows,
Where ox-lips and the nodding violet grows ;
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and white eglantine.” *
Yet who is ignorant of the wonders of gardening ? What
triumphs of skill do we see in a streak, a tint, a shade
secured by the morning care, the evening caution, and the
vigilance of days bestowed by the diligent horticulturist.
Even labour, however, cannot always act singly. It needs
the aid of tools, implements, and machines. There are in the
United Kingdom immense tracts of cultivable land. Will it
do simply to employ any number of men or women to till, to
plough, to sow, to reap? No. The farmer must erect the
* Shakspeare.
�38
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
steadings. He must clear and drain. He must eradicate noxious
weeds, must make the road, the bank, the fence, the bridge.
He must purchase guano or some other fertilizer. He must have
a sufficient number of live stock. He must have the grubber, the
roller, the harrow, the rake, the reaping machine, the thrashing
machine ; ay, even the steam plough, and the steam engine, if
he can afford it. How can these be obtained, unless there be
something left of previous accumulation whereby to get them ?
Now that something is—Capital. The labourers in the act of
producing must be fed and clothed.
From whom can they
expect their sustenance but from the capitalist ? The very first
use of capital, therefore, is to provide such commodities as are
employed in producing wealth and in supplying the fund neces
sary for supporting labour.
Capital is used in all manner of ways for purposes of repro
duction. We often see our manufacturers intentionally destroy
ing it, in order to obtain the effects which are the direct
consequences of its destruction ; as, for example, they consume
coal in the furnace that they may produce iron. They are
content to see capital used up little by little as in machinery,
or consent to vary its very kind by manufacturing, or shaping
it in new forms, as in the case of cotton, wool, or other raw
material.
Subject certain quantities of cotton and wool to
certain processes ; destroy, in fact, their identity, and you obtain
in their stead shirts, drawers, gloves, shawls, stockings, hose.
Subject wool and woollen yarn to other processes, and you have
Brussels carpets, tapestry, velvets, felt, blankets, beaveis,
flannel, coverlets, etc. Capital is given away in wages as
reward for labour. It is employed in providing, extracting,
or producing materials, as in agriculture, mining, fisheries,
manufactures. It is invested in roads, railways, shipping. But
in whatever way it is employed, capital is the spring, the mover
of labour, and scarcely any work can be accomplished without
t. The greater, indeed, the amount of capital accumulated, the
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
39
larger the amount of work executed. What egregious folly it is
to call capital the natural foe of labour, and the capitalist the
jealous rival of labour. Instead of being an incubus on the
energies of the labourer, or the weight that crushes him down,
capital is the very prop and stay of labour, it is the indispensable
means of all employment, and of all reward of labour.
But there is a difference in the method of employing capital.
On a closer examination of what is required for production, in
the very instances already given, you will find that part of the
capital is employed in works of a permanent character, and part
for temporary and fluctuating purposes. If you wish to establish
a cotton mill, you must needs build the factory and purchase the
machinery ; if you will construct iron works, you must have the
furnaces ; if you will give yourself to agriculture, you must im
prove the land. Now capital so employed cannot be withdrawn
at pleasure. It is for all practical purposes sunk; and all you
may derive from it is a yearly rent or interest. This is techni
cally called fixed capital. But to work the factory, to produce
iron, to cultivate grain or fruit, you must get the raw material,
pay wages, buy the seed, and provide for the thousand require
ments of the business. And this is circulating or floating capital.
The fixed capital of the hunter consists of his gun and dog;
the floating, of powder and shot. The boat and net are the
fixed capital of the fisherman; any food in the boat is the float
ing. The warehouse is the fixed capital of the trader, and so
are his weights or machines ; his stock in trade and effects are
his floating capital. There is this further difference between
fixed and circulating capital, that whilst the fixed always re
mains, the circulating is always spent. You buy land for a
railway, that land remains. You pay money in wages, it goes.
Do not imagine, however, that what is termed fixed capital is
absolutely fixed or indestructible, or that what is termed float
ing is really lost. In truth, the fixed capital, unless renewed,
is in time completely lost. The floating, though temporarily
�40
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
departing, always returns. That the whole floating capital em
ployed, together with a certain amount of profits, shall return,
is the whole aim of the capitalist. Alas if it does not return !
And remember, too, that as all fixed capital must come originally
from the operation of circulating capital, and must be fed by it,
—no factory, no machine being obtainable except by first pro
viding, and afterwards sustaining, labour,—so no fixed capital
can, by any possible means, give a revenue except by the use
of circulating capital; for what is the use of building the factory,
or purchasing a piece of land, unless you are able and prepared
to manufacture cotton or woollen, or to cultivate the ground ?
At home and abroad, wherever this wonderful element, capital,
is distributed, it is employed as floating and as fixed in certain
proportions, not always precisely the same, but still pretty well
balanced. In truth, it is quite a misadventure when either form
takes an undue share of public attention. Suppose, for instance
the construction of public works should require the conversion
of any considerable part of floating into fixed capital, and what
follows ? There will be much less left for the general wants of
trade and ordinary purposes of manufacture, and serious incon
venience may ensue from it.
I wish I could give you some idea of the extraordinary sums
of capital required to carry on the industries of this country.
There are in the United Kingdom some 47,000,000 acres of
land under cultivation, on which farmers sometimes invest
y^'io or ^15 per acre. Allow ^5 10s. per acre on the average,
and you have ^258,000,000 required for agriculture. We have
a large number of industries whose very existence depends
on the constant flow of capital. Some ^80,000,000 sterling
are required for the cotton manufacture; some ^40,000,000
for the woollen; some ^30,000,000 for the iron industry ;
some £70,000,000 for our mercantile marine. Just imagine the
amount required to carry on the foreign trade of the country
--those distant trades, especially, with Australia, India, China,
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
4i
and Japan, which do not allow of quick returns. As many
as ^600,000,000 of capital are invested in our railways, and
I cannot tell you how much has been invested by British
capitalists in public undertakings for water, gas, and docks, in
banking and insurance, and in a hundred other objects at home
and abroad. Yes, abroad also ; for immense sums of capital
are constantly going out from Britain to every part of the
world, to fructify the soil of native industry, to fill waste places,
and to construct great public works. And what a drain is
caused by foreign loans, that new, and in many respects novel,
species of gambling of the present day. Scarcely a year passes
but we have princes and potentates, wealthy states and puny
republics, knocking at the door of the British Stock Exchange
for a new loan. At this moment, a large portion of the debt of
most states in the world, probably ^300,000,000, and more, is
due to British capitalists. This is the way in which capital
is employed. It will not do to keep capital idle, for idleness is
sure to bring about its own punishment. Take it into your head
that you will not work, and of course you get no wages. That
is your well-deserved punishment.
Let capital be kept idle,
and it will bring no interest. That is its punishment. It would
be interesting to know in what proportion capital is employed
respectively in British industry, commerce, and shipping, and
foreign enterprises and loans. I wTill not venture on bold esti
mates, but what is it that determines what specific investment
shall be preferred? Nothing else than what offers the best ad
vantage. It is the same with large as with small transactions.
A fourth or a half per annum per cent, will turn the scale,
whether I will buy American or British funded securities. One
or two per cent, will determine whether agriculture or manufac
tures shall be preferred. It is wonderful what a little difference
often turns the scale, But, mind you, it makes all the differ
ence to those who are to participate in the benefit arising from
the employment of capital, how capital is eventually invested.
�42
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
There is a great difference, for instance, in the various
proportions in which capital is distributed among the several
agents of production even as between different industries. It
has been calculated in France, that for every hundred francs
produced, fifteen go in labour, fifty-five in materials, and the
remainder in the maintenance of fixed capital, fuel, adminis
tration, and profits. According to the census of the United
States for 1870, out of $100 produced, eighteen go in labour,
fifty-six in raw materials, and the rest in interest and ad
ministration.
What are the proportions in England it is
difficult to say, but all industries are not alike. In industries
where the material is of no great value, the proportion
falling on labour for wages may even exceed the proportion
required for the material. But there are industries of just
the reverse character, where the value of the material far
exceeds every other element in the cost of production. In
the production of flour, which is only a process in the further
utilization of wheat, in calico-printing, bleaching, and dyeing,
in the reduction of gold and silver, in the refining of sugar,
the proportion of the produce falling on wages is comparatively
small, in some cases four, six, and eight per cent., and no more.
In the production of hardwares, glass wares, furniture, cotton
goods, bricks, and ship-building, the proportion of the product
falling on labour ranges from twenty to thirty per cent. I have
often been struck at the incongruity exhibited by a man constantly
touching gold and silver, silk or woollen, of the finest description,
yet he himself poor and half-starving. Walk to Spitalfields,
and see the poor silk weaver: he is manufacturing some magni
ficent velvet, or some splendid moire antique; he must be a
‘trusty man, for he is trusted with the material in his own home ;
he must have considerable knowledge of his work, and he must
be at great expense in the maintenance of the loom, and even in
house rent, for he must have as much space and light as he can.
Ask what are his wages, and he will tell you that he has the
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
43
poorest wages, often not better than a common labourer can
earn. Go to a cotton factory, and you see men and women
apparently simply watching a machine, or performing some
mechanical act, now taking a lump of cotton from one place
to another, and again replacing a single thread on the spindle.
Ask what is their earning, and you will find that they get
handsome wages.
Why this difference ? In the one case
the raw material is very dear, and takes away considerable
part of the produce; in the other it is very cheap, and
leaves a good share to be divided among the workers. The
dearer the raw material, whether ordinarily or exceptionally, the
worse for the labourer and the manufacturer, for often in the
difficulty of obtaining the full price the only alternative left is
to work at reduced wages and profits. Happily, in England,
the great bulk of our manufactures are the products of raw
materials of comparatively little value. Whilst France is the
home of the silk manufacture, England is the seat of the cotton
and iron industries. It will not do, however, to say we should
pick and choose the industries which give the best return to
labour. Whatever is most beneficial to capital must also be
equally beneficial to labour, and you may be sure of this, that
the watchful eye of the capitalist will ever be on the outlook
to make a good selection for his investments.
It is difficult to say what we should most dread, either an
unlimited growth of capital, or any sudden stoppage of accumu
lation ; for an unlimited growth would inevitably be followed by
a diminution of profit, and a consequent discouragement of
industry; and a diminution of capital would have results still
more disastrous. As yet, we are -thankful to say, there is no
danger either of the one or of the other. Capital is growing in
England at an enormous ratio. But the demand for capital both
at home and abroad is greater than ever. Nor is it a bad thing,
after all, that some of our surplus should find its way abroad.
John Stuart Mill attributed to the perpetual overflow of capital
�44
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
to colonies or to foreign countries, to seek higher profits than
can be obtained at home, the principal cause by which the
decline of profits in England has been arrested. This, he said,
has a twofold operation. “ In the first place, it does what a fire,
or an inundation, or a commercial crisis, would have done ;—it
carries off a part of the increase of capital from which the
reduction of profits proceeds. Secondly, the capital so carried
off is not lost, but is chiefly employed either in founding colonies,
which become large exporters of cheap agricultural produce, or
in extending, and perhaps improving, the agriculture of older
communities. It is to the emigration of English capital, that we
have chiefly to look for keeping up a supply of cheap food and
cheap materials of clothing, proportioned to the increase of our
population : thus enabling an increasing capital to find employ
ment in the country, without reduction of profits, in producing
manufactured articles with which to pay for this supply of raw
produce. Thus, the exportation of capital is an agent of great
efficacy in extending the field of employment for that which
remains ; and it may be said truly, that up to a certain point,
the more capital we send away the more we shall possess and
be able to retain at home.” Fear not, indeed, the exportation
of capital, so long as it goes to fertilize the land, to create
new means of transport, to animate industry, and to strengthen
and invigorate labour in America, India, Australia, or any part
of the world. But fear such exportation when it goes to act as
the sinews of war, when it is to be employed for destruction,
and not for production, Better far to sink capital into the
deep, than to lend it to any power in Europe—ay, to the British
Government itself—for the support of a warlike policy in any
quarter, and for any purpose whatever.
It is good, after all, to be able to say that, however selfish
and materialistic it may seem at first sight, political economy
has this redeeming characteristic, that it does not teach us to
hide our light under a bushel, to keep what we have to ourselves
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
45
and for ourselves. If you have gathered capital, let it out; do
not keep it in your pocket, nor hide it in an old stocking.
If you have any talent, let it shine. Use it liberally for your
selves and for others. I remember reading a happy illustration
of the principle in question as applied to literary pursuits in
“Excelsior,” a charming publication, edited by the late Dr.
Hamilton. “An earnest mind,” he said, “is not a bucket, but
a fountain; and as good thoughts flow out, better thoughts flow
in. Good thoughts are gregarious. The bright image or spark
ling aphorism, the gold or silver of capital,—fear not to give it
wing, for, lured by its decoy, thoughts of sublimer range and
sunnier pinion will be sure to descend and gather round it. As
you scatter, you’ll increase. And it is in this way that, whilst
many a thought that might have enriched the world has been
buried in a sullen and monastic spirit, like a crock of gold in
a coffin, the good idea of a frank and forth-spoken man gets
currency, and after being improved to the advantage of thou
sands, has returned to its originator with usury. It has been
lent, and so it has not been lost; it has been communicated,
and so it has been preserved ; it has circulated, and so it has
increased.”
We should all remember that, in one sense or another, we are
all capitalists. In an economic sense, labour is an element
distinct from capital. But in a better sense—for it is the sense
of common experience—we stand much more on a level. We are
all labourers, and all capitalists. Taking the working classes
at two-thirds of the entire population, and assuming an average
weekly aggregate earning of thirty shillings for each family of 4'50
persons, the entire income of the working classes will amount
to ^400,000,000 per annum, probably quite as much as the
income of all the middle and higher classes together. You, the
working classes, destitute of all capital, a class distinct from the
capitalists ? What folly ! Multiply that earning of yours at ten
years’ purchase, and your property in your labour income from
�46
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
all sources is worth ^4,000,000,000. Away with all jealousy
between Labour and Capital ! We are all interested in each
other’s welfare : on the success of the capitalist your income
depends ; and on your welfare and happiness, the capitalist’s
chief strength must ever rest.
Moralists have often been led to decry the all-absorbing eager
ness of the present age in the pursuit of wealth, and fears have
been expressed lest the love of money should engross far too much
the heart and mind of the nation,—lest, instead of seeking wealth
as an instrument for the purchase of ease and enjoyment, both
the ease and the enjoyment of a whole life should be rendered
up a sacrifice to its shrine,—lest, instead of its being desired as a
minister of gratification to the appetites of nature, it should bring
nature itself into bondage, robbing her of all her simple delights,
pouring wormwood into the current of her feelings, making that
man sad who ought to be cheerful. Well might Matthew Henry
say, “ There is a burden of care in getting riches ; fear in keep
ing them ; temptation in using them ; guilt in abusing them;
sorrow in losing them ; and a burden of account at last to be
given up concerning them.”
But let us not ignore or forget the many benefits derived from
wealth ; and whilst we condemn an excessive devotion to its
pursuit, let us be ready to acknowledge that the acquisition of
wealth is good in itself as the reward of well-directed labour, of
industry, frugality, and economy. And look at the results !
What power of attraction, what magic influence, does capital
possess ! What wonders does it achieve ! Behold the embodi
ments of capital in our halls and palaces, docks and warehouses,
factories and workshops, railways and canals, parks and plea
sure grounds. What a mighty power is capital, even in politics !
Three millions of British sovereigns haye silenced the grumbling
of the Americans for the concession of belligerent rights to the
Confederate States, and the raids of the Alabama and other
privateers on American shipping. Four millions of hard sove-
�USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
47
reigns have procured to England an interest in the Suez Canal.
What is it that renders Britain so influential in the council of
the nations ? What is it that placed this nation, once so ob
scure, in the foremost place in civilization and science ? Whence,
but by the expenditure of much treasure, has Britain been
rendered the healthy and courted resort of princes and nobles
from all countries ? Look around, and see what wealth is
capable of performing,—what monuments it has raised,—what
agencies it has called into activity,—what encouragement it
has afforded to science, art, and discoveries. What but wealth
has procured for Britain those store-houses of knowledge which
enrich our museums and galleries ? And what but the exist
ence of a class in the full enjoyment of ease and wealth has
given to the nation the immense benefit of a large number of
men who, with refined taste and enlarged views, can give them
selves to those higher objects which foster civilization and
science ? It is the glory of England that she possesses so
many men of position and wealth, who, eschewing the tempta
tion of ease and luxury, are thankful if they are selected to
preside over our hospitals, to take their share in the maintenance
of order and justice, to devote themselves to legislation, to take
an active part in the laborious task of our School Boards.
Many are the examples of liberality, moreover, which redeem
wealth from the charge of sordid avarice or cold unconcern for
human suffering. The names of George Moore and George
Peabody, of Samuel Morley and the Baroness Coutts, are
household words in the national catalogue of benefactors :—
“Those are great souls, who touch’d with warmth divine,
Give gold a price, and teach its beams to shine ;
All hoarded pleasures they repute a load,
Nor think their wealth their own, till well bestow’d.”
And let any cry of distress be heard, do we not see at once a
flow of liberality to mitigate its pressure ? Yes ! let wealth
continue to diffuse blessings such as these, and what a crop of
�^g
USE OF CAPITAL IN INDUSTRY.
beneficence will be gathered !
How much misery will be alle
viated ! What amount of ignorance will be removed 1. What
high purposes will be served 1 In the work of production and
distribution of wealth, most of us are immediately interested.
Let us be thankful for the measure of prosperity this work of
ours procures for us. Let us remember that, whether rich or
poor in gold and silver, it is always in our power to possess the
godlike happiness of doing good, to be benefactors to others,
and to have a perpetual spring of peace and joy in ourselves.
�IV.
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
Are the working classes at this moment receiving such wages as
they are entitled to have ? Do they participate fully and justly in
the produce of their labour ? Do they get a just reward for the
work they perform ? These are the questions before us this
evening ; and certainly I know of no other social theme which
has called forth more continuous, more keen, and more interest
ing controversy. We all know that labour is indispensable for
production, that it must be performed with energy, health, and
intelligence, that it is economised by machinery, and rendered
more productive by the division of labour,—and that, as a whole,
labour is exercised in England under circumstances, physical,
economical, and political, far superior to those of many other
countries. Now let us bring labour face to face with capital, that
element so much dreaded for its power and influence, yet without
which labour cannot proceed. On the one hand, we have the
labourer hard at work in the business of life j on the other, the
capitalist, bringing to the help of labour the fruit of his saving, yet
trying to economise it, and to render it as useful as possible.
Labourers both they are, the labourer and the capitalist, because
all capital is the fruit of labour—saved, not wasted, and em
ployed in reproduction. Whilst, however, there lie before us
the two parties in the great conflict, ever at issue, ever jealous
of one another, and now and again coming to an open struggle,
4
�5°
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
let us keep in mind that the two great factors in the determina
tion of the reward of labour, are not capital and labour, but the
producers on the one hand, as including both labour and capital,
and the consumers on the other. On what condition can the
interests of all parties be satisfactorily established, and any
seeming divergence reconciled ?
I do not know how far you are prepared to give heed to what
economists have to say on a question which so touches your
interest to the quick. I have heard the science charged with
being cold and unsympathetic, yet I believe that its dictates
ought to be listened to with attention, for Adam Smith and
John Stuart Mill, Jean Baptiste Say and Michel Chevalier, did
not give their oracles as from the gods, but as the result of
induction from ascertained facts. And whence the immense
accumulation of wealth within the last quarter of a century,
in which the labouring classes have so much participated,
but from the recognition of the principles of economic science
and the practical application of their dictates to national
legislation ?
The machinery of production and distribution is much more
complicated than we are apt to imagine, for it extends back
to the manifold operations connected with the production and
acquisition of the raw materials, tools, and factories, and reaches
far and away, through manifold ramifications, till the produce
finds its way into the hands of the consumer. In a primitive
state of society, a labourer may easily cut a tree and build a
hut for himself, or work on the virgin soil and draw from it a
scanty subsistence ; but it is not so in the present advanced
civilization. The raw materials come from the most distant
regions. The tools, machines, and instruments are the pro
ducts of exquisite skill. The motive power is no longer the
running steam or the rushing wind.
How extensive, how
systematic, how economically adapted everything must be ere
a labourer can enter into his labour! What scheming, what
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
Si
.organization, what foresight are required in the master in the
conduct of all his operations 1 What a number of agents !
How many are the instrumentalities required to bring the pro
duce within the reach of the consumer, in towns and hamlets,
at home and abroad ! Travel among the Exquimaux or the
Hottentots, penetrate Asia or America, visit the Fair of Nijni
Novgorod, and the bazaars at Constantinople, and everywhere
you find British goods. How came they there? What toil,
what expenditure to bring them there ! How much of the pro
duce of such goods falls into the hands of the producer in
England, and how much is divided and subdivided among the
merchants and traders, carriers and shipmasters, agents and
brokers, engaged in their transmission, who can say ?
Nor is it easy to ascertain how the net amount which eventually
falls into the hands of the producer should be distributed
between the master and the workmen, the capitalist and the
labourer. Deeply interested alike in the results of production,
interdependent on one another for its success, we might fancy
they might easily agree to act jointly in a kind of partnership.
But can the labourer wait till the article is completed and sold,
to divide the proceeds with the capitalist ? Can he work on
the chance that the article may be sold or prove profitable ?
Better for him, in most cases, to receive something prompt and
certain, than a larger sum at a distant time, and contingent on
the success of the enterprise. Nor would such an agreement
answer the interest of the master, for he must look to the best
time for selling his merchandize, and he cannot expose himself
to the pressure of the labourers, or to the danger of disagree
ment. Better for them both to substitute for such an uncertain
issue, which might in the end prove satisfactory to neither party,
the contract of wages, or the purchase and sale of certain labour
for a certain renumeration, the workmen consenting to have
their share of the profits, whatever they be, or their chance
of profit or loss, commuted into a fixed payment. Only let it
�'52
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
be understood that in entering into such a contract the parties
agree on the mutual recognition of property in capital and
labour, and on the absolute freedom on the part of both, the one
to demand, and the other to give, whatever their respective
interests may dictate.
The business of production is one requiring extreme nicety
of calculation. To accept a contract for the building of a
house, to undertake the working of a mill, or to rent a farm,
are alike operations the success of which depends on the
careful estimate of receipts and expenditure. We often speak
of the master as the capitalist, but the capital he requires is a
commodity having a market value, and the cost of which he
must take into account. You wish to establish a cotton mill.
the mill itself may cost you some ^30,000 in land’ bulld'
ings, steam-engines, gas-works, warehouses, and all the fixed
requisites, besides a per centage per annum for repair and
dilapidation. Beyond this, as much capital will be required
for the machinery; and to that, too, a still larger per centage
per annum must be added for wear and tear, and renewal
when worked out. Then you need capital to purchase cotton
and stock for carrying on the trade. You have the insurance
to pay, and the expense of taxes, engines, horses, the weekly
contengencies of oil, tallow, etc.; and the most important
item, the interest of all this capital, which varies from time
to time from 2| to io per cent, per annum. Add now, the
wages of labour, and the remuneration due to the master for
the labour and talent required in the administration—talent
often of a very high order,—and you can form a fair estimate of
the cost of the article produced. But can the manufacturer
count upon recovering the whole of his cost from the consumer ?
Ultimately, indeed, the value of any article is regulated by the
cost of production, whatever that be ; but is there no probability
that the competition between the producers within the same or
in different countries, or the inability of the consumers, may
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
53
compel the producer to sell at prices lower than he had calcu
lated. And if so, the cost of capital and other commodities being
the same, must not the master, if he is to continue to produce,
lower the wages of labour and be content to do himself with
less remuneration ?
It is objected, that before thinking of lowering the wages, the
master should see whether some economy might not be effected
in the expense of distribution, which often absorbs so large a
portion of the produce of an article. It is possible that some
economy may be effected in this direction, but in this matter
the producer is often helpless, the business of production
being quite distinct from that of distribution. Do not imagine
that it would be economy if the producer should attempt to
take into his own hands the business of distribution, for would
he not require double the number of agents, a corresponding
increase in the amount of capital, and double the amount of
profits? But allowing the necessity of lowering both profits
and wages, it is asserted that it must still remain at the
option of the workman whether he will sell his labour at the
lower rates. No one can certainly question the right of the
workman to act on his own judgment in the matter. All I
venture to assert is that the master may be compelled by the
circumstances of trade to offer to his workmen less wages for
the future than he was wont to give for the past. If they will
not accept such lower wages, the master cannot help it, but the
chances are that if they insist on refusing the offer production
may be thereby suspended, for surely the master may be credited
for using the best means in his power to carry on his business,
not only without interruption, but in peace and harmony with
his men, if he can possibly do so.
The motive power which prompts a master in accepting a
contract for the building of a house, in undertaking the working
of a mill, or the renting of a farm, is doubtless profit. It is
with a view to profit that he emplo- s his own capital, and
�54
the reward of labour.
Whatever additional capital may be required in his business ;
and it is with a view to profit that he employs his labourers.
To succeed the master must seek to economise the use of
every element which affects the cost of the produce ; must
choose the best market for it; must endeavour to maintain his
productive power, and avoid any break or interruption of work.
But do you think that it is the interest of the employer to starve
his labourers ? I venture to say, the employer is fully conscious
of the fact that those whom he employs, must be able to live
by their work, that they must educate their children, and they
must have a share of relaxation and enjoyment, without which
life becomes a burden. The master cannot forget that the
best way to make his labourers work well is to pay them well,
or as well as the state of business permits, to keep them happy
and cheerful, strong and healthy ; and he knows, too, full well,
that if he will deal justly by his labourers, they will neither neg
lect their work nor be disaffected, they will neither complain nor
be disposed to strike. Only, the master cannot always control
the course of the market, and he may be compelled to lower the
wages and reduce his profits, lest by keeping the cost of pro
duction too high, he should become unable to compete with the
foreign producers, or to meet the ability of the consumers, and
so lose his custom altogether.
‘ Where is the guarantee, however, that the employer will act
fairly in such calculations ? What if his intentions be solely to
force the labourers to accept lower wages with a view to the
retention of higher profits? What if the statements of bad
trade, or restricted demand, or increasing competition, should
be purposely exaggerated for the same end ? What, m short,
if the wages offered are not justified by the state of the market ?
I fully admit the possibility of such circumstances, and I think
that where there has been between masters and men a long
course of dealings, the men have a moral right to expect from
the master an open and frank statement of the position of the
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
55
business, and of the reasons which necessitate an alteration of
the terms of their contract, before he summarily announces a
reduction of wages. In any case, he should remember that he
has to deal with his labourers as with free men, and that they
will exercise their judgment to accept or not, as they please, the
wages offered. And be sure of this, that if the competition
'among labourers is certain to prove favourable to the employer
in keeping the wages low, the freedom of the labourers,
and an extensive field of labour in the colonies and America,
enable the labourers to resist any attempt of his to lower
wages unduly, and to prevent them falling below what is just
and necessary.
There is, indeed, a minimum below which wages can never
go. Much labour has been expended in ascertaining what
that minimum is, or what is the intrinsic value of labour at
any time ; and it has been said that, as the intrinsic value of
anything is regulated by the cost of production, so the intrinsic
value of labour is ultimately governed by the cost of subsistence
of the labourer and his family. However large the competition
among labourers, the wages can never fall below the cost of
bare living, for the simple reason that if the labourer cannot
live in one occupation, he will leave it and choose another ; and
if he is not able for any other, he will emigrate. This, then, is
the natural or necessary rate of wages, and it is variable ac
cording to the cost of articles of food and clothing, and must
also differ at different times and in different countries. Let it
be established, for instance, that the cost of living in England,
including food, drink, clothing, and house-rent, has increased
twenty per cent, within the last twenty years, and the natural or
intrinsic value of labour must of necessity have risen in similar
proportions.* And must not the intrinsic value of labour be
higher in England, where the labourer eats wheaten bread
* See Appendix A.
�56
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
and butcher’s meat daily, than in China, where a labourer is
content and able to live almost exclusively on rice ?
Happily, this minimum of wages is scarcely ever touched, but
there are industries where the profits of production are extremely
low, and where the competition among labourers is extreme.
Who has not heard of the pitiful cases of the silk weavers and
throwsters, of the needlewomen and kid-glove stitchers, of the
stocking and glove weavers, of the farm and dock labourers ? It
does seem miserable pay to offer z^d. for embroidering a skirt
two or three yards wide, even with the sewing machine. Who has
not felt pain, sorrow, and I may say indignation, when reading
those plaintive words of Hood :
“ With fingers weary and worn,
With eyelids heavy and red,
A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,
Plying her needle and thread—
Stitch ! stitch 1 stitch 1
In poverty, hunger, and dirt;
And still with a voice of dolorous pitch
She sang the ‘ Song of the Shirt.'
Work, work, work—
Till the brain begins to swim !
Work, work, work—
Till the eyes are heavy and dim 1
Seam, and gusset, and band,
Band, and gusset, and seam—
Till over the buttons I fall asleep,
And sew them on in a dream !”
But what is the cause of such low wages ? Some say,
nothing else but the competition among producers to sell their
products sufficiently cheap to attract custom. But pay higher
wages, and immediately a rise on the price of such articles must
be made, which will lessen proportionally their consumption,
and check likewise production. Do not say that the consumers
would pay more if they could not get such articles so cheap.
Probably a great number will, but a large number will abstain
�7HE REWARD OF LABOUR.
57
rom consuming them. The consumption of articles of necessity,
as well as of luxury, is alike governed by the price. Add a
penny to the cost of a single shirt, or to that of a pound of tea,
or a halfpenny to the price of sugar or a loaf of bread, and at
once the consumption is sure to diminish in exact proportion.
And what will be the consequence ? A reduction of production
means a less demand for labour ; and many who are now
obtaining a scanty livelihood, may, instead of getting more,
be doomed to get nothing at all. The wages of agricultural
labour are low, but remember that in most cases the labour is
purely manual, and that the supply of simply manual labour is
always superabundant. Mr. Malthus exhibited with great force
the disagreeable fact, that, whilst the population is capable of
increasing at a geometrical ratio, such as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so
forth, the means of subsistence only increase at an arithmetical
ratio such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. Doubtless, a proper restraint in
the matter of matrimony, and prudence as regards the increase
of our families, might check the excess of labourers, and so tend
to keep wages above their minimum, but we cannot trust on so
much wisdom on the part of the people, and so our only hope
must lie in the vast fields of emigration ever open for our super
abundant population. As an evidence that supply and demand of
labour regulate the wages compare Devon and Northumberland.
In Devon the wages are, say, I2j. a week ; in Northumberland,
20j. But in Devon the supply of labour is far in excess of the
demand; in Northumberland, with the demand for coal-mining
and with Newcastle at hand, full of industries absorbing any
quantity of labour, labour is ever scarce. What is it that lowers
so much the wages in the manufacturing districts but the con
stant influx of agricultural labourers ? As Mr. Cobden tersely put
it, when two workmen run after one master, the wages will fall;
and when two masters run after a workman, the wages are
certain to rise.
There are industries, however,—and I am happy to say they
�58
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
include almost every branch of the artisan population,—where
the wages are not pressed down by excessive supply of labour,
and where fair wages ought to obtain. To be remunerative the
wages ought to provide the workman not only the cost of living
to himself and his family in the locality where the workman
must live,-—in London, if his work be there, or in a provincial
town, if his labour be there,—but also the cost and maintenance
of his tools, the recovery of the cost of his apprenticeship,
some provision for old age and infirmity, and an insurance
against the perils of sudden or early death, especially in those
occupations which are essentially injurious to health. And
some difference should be made, too, for the agreeableness or
disagreeableness of the work. But all these items are repre
sented in the relative wages of different classes of artisans.
What is included in the price of an article, in a certain rate of
wages of labour, in the course of exchange between one country
and another, or in the rate of interest on capital, it is often
extremely difficult to analyse. The Bank rate is, say, 3^ per
cent. In what proportions are included in that rate the value
of capital proper, the commission and expense of the trans
action, and the insurance of the risk ? And so as regard wages.
How much, for instance, of the ninepence per hour goes to meet
the relation of supply and demand of masons or carpenters, the
cost of their tools, and any of the other considerations named ?
Such analyses are not easily made, yet depend upon it the wages
or the price represents the aggregate of all the items which
enter into their value at the time.
It should be remembered that whilst the labourer calculates
what he receives in relation to the compensation he expects for
his work and toil, the employer calculates what he gives in
relation to the amount of work performed for him in return ;
for the same amount of wages may produce twice as much
labour where the labourer is sturdier in strength, and really in
earnest in his work, than where the labourer is weak and
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
59
indolent. And is there not a difference in the power of labour
between the stalwart Northumbrian and the weakly Devonian ?
A greater amount of labour will be performed in a summer
than in a winter’s day, in countries where the people are less
given to enjoyments than in those where pleasure seems
the first and most attractive pursuit. Let us suppose that in
France, Austria, or any other country, a manufacturer should
require twice the number of hands, twice as large a building to
contain the hands, twice as many clerks and bookkeepers and
Overlookers to look after them, and twice as many tools as he
would to do the same quantity of work in England, must he
not pay such labourers less there than he would here? The
rate of wages may be lower in France than in England, and yet
the amount of wages paid for a given quantity of work may be
more in France than in England. “ Profits,” said Mr. Ricardo,
“ depend on wages,—not on nominal but real wages ; not on the
number of pounds that may be annually paid to the labourers,
but on the number of days’ work necessary to obtain those
pounds.”
By whichever standard the rate of wages may be estimated,
the question really at issue between masters and men is whether
or not what is now paid in the shape of wages is just, or below
what is really due to the share taken by labour in production.
There is no concealing the fact that in the mind of many of
our workmen there is a lurking idea that the immense fortunes
amassed by our producers and traders are more or less the
result of an unequal division of the profits of production, and
that they could pay considerably more wages, but they will not.
That indeed, they say, is the real secret of low wages. Only, they
try to cover it under the pretext of the doctrine of the wages or
labour fund. But what is this theory ? According to the econo
mists, the doctrine is simply this : that wages, by an irresistible
law, depend on the demand and supply of labour, and can in no
circumstances be either more or less than what will distribute the
�6o
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
existing wage fund among the existing number of competitors for
the same,—the demand for labour consisting of the whole circu
lating capital of the country, including what is paid in wages
for unproductive labour ; the supply, the whole labouring popu
lation. If the supply is in excess of what the capital can at
present employ, wages must fall. If the labourers are all
employed, and there is a surplus of capital still unused, wages
will rise.
This is the wage-fund theory upon which Mr.
Thornton broke lance with John Stuart Mill. If the question
be asked, Is there such a thing as a wage fund, in the sense
here implied ? exists there any fixed amount which is neither
more nor less than what is destined to be expended in wages ?
Mr. Thornton boldly declares that the supposed barrier to the
expansion of wages as indicated by this theory is a shadow, and
not a reality, for besides the original capital which the employer
invests in the business, there are the growing profits which may
also be used in wages. Mr. Mill, in his review of Mr. Thornton’s
work on “ Labour and its Claims,” in the Fortnightly Review, so
far admitted that there is no law of nature making it impossible
for wages to rise to the point of absorbing not only the funds
which the employer had intended to devote to the carrying on
his business, but the whole of what he allows for his private
expenses beyond the necessaries of life. But, said Mr. Mill,
there is a limit nevertheless, and that limit to the rise of wages
is the practical consideration how much would ruin the employer,
or drive him to abandon his business. In short, just as wages
may be too low, so as to impair the working power of the
labourer, so they may be too high, so as to leave no profit; and
just as excessively low wages will drive the labourer to emigrate,
so unduly high wages will drive capital out of the business.
How far the assumption is correct that employers are
amassing large profits, I am not prepared to say. The under
standing is, that the return of seven per cent, on the capital
invested is a pie, and it cannot be considered excessive when
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
6l
we consider the dangers and vicissitudes of commerce. See
what losses are incurred by bankruptcy. During the last six
years, from 1870 to 1875, the total amount of liabilities of estates
liquidated by bankruptcy, by arrangement, or composition with
creditors, was Ziioj759?ooo> and the total amount of assets
^32,607,000, showing an actual loss to creditors of £78,152,000,
or in the proportion of Z^?000,000 Per annum; and this,
remember, irrespective of the cost of bankruptcy, which in
many cases absorbs nearly the whole of the assets. Suppose,
however, good fortune should favour any branch of production,
and unusual profits be realised, will there not' be a sudden rush
of capital for investment in the same ? For a time, the greedy
employer may pocket large profits, but as soon as fresh capital
is invested, competition causes a larger share of the same to fall
on the labourer, and wages rise, till the rates of profits and the
rates of wages are brought to their normal level. The relation
of profits to wages is often wrongly apprehended. It is an error
to suppose that large profits are the results of low wages, and
low profits the results of high wages. Although an increase of
capital has the tendency to lower the profits, and to increase
wages, the same increase of capital also tends to render labour
more profitable, and to increase the amount of production, which
in turn maintains a high rate of profits. See the operation of
machinery on wages. The investment of capital in machinery
enables the workman to produce tenfold more than he was able
to produce by the hand ; and in proportion as he increases his
productive power, so his earnings increase. A workman at
Bristol said that the extra production of machinery ought to
be divided by masters and workmen.
And so they are, in
certain proportions.
Before 1842, said Mr. Ashworth, the
operative spinner’s wages for the production of 20 lb. of yarn
70’s, on a pair of mules of 400 spindles each, was 43-. yd. (or 2fd.
per lb.), and at this rate his net earnings amounted to about
20s. per week. In 1859, with the improvements effected in the
�62
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
spinning mule, by which each machine carries 800 spindles,
the same workman, with a little extra assistance by piecers
(boys), could earn 30J. icvf. per week net, although the amount he
received in wages for 20 lb. of yarn was reduced from 4s. ^d. to
3J. ii%d. or 2'36d, per pound. Compare the actual earnings of
spinners and others employed in the cotton industry during
the last forty years : they show an increase of 30 or 50 per
cent., besides a considerable reduction in the number of hours
of labour.*
The reason why the employer amasses a larger amount of
wealth in proportion than the labourer, will be found, not in
any usurpation of the share of profits which may belong to
workmen, for that, after all, is a matter of simple contract, but
in the fact that whilst the labourer receives only the proper
remuneration of his labour, the employer not only gets higher
remuneration for his skill, because of a higher order, but also
the profit of his capital, or an annual sum of profit on the
aggregate accumulation of all his savings for years past ;—to
say nothing of the immense advantage of production on a large
scale which the possession of large capital enables the master
to realize, and of his chances of large profits from sudden
changes in the value of produce, to be placed, however,
against the chance of equally sudden losses, the result either of
unusual skill and good fortune, or of sad miscalculations and
blunders.
The wages of labour, the profits of merchants and bankers,
the earnings of men of letters, of barristers and doctors, the
salaries of civil servants, and even the incomes of bishops and
clergymen, are not, I apprehend, so uniformly balanced as we
might wish. Doubtless, the progress of freedom, the extended
knowledge of the use of capital, the progress of division of
labour, the facilities of communication, and the advanced conSee Appendix B.
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
63
dition of certain industries, may tend to the greater equalization
of wages. But such equalization can never supersede the essen
tial difference of earnings of any number of persons, the natural
consequence of greater or less amount of skill, greater or less
amount of energy, health, or special capacities, and of relative
advantage of position for the exercise of certain industries. To
suppose the possibility of any uniformity of wages, irrespective
of such differences of skill, knowledge, industry, and character,
is to imagine that equal enjoyment may be had as the return
for unequal efforts, abilities, and sacrifices. Upon the relative
merits of the payment of wages, by the day or hour, or by socalled piece-work, little need be said. The contract of labour
is doubtless not so many hours, but so much labour for so much
money ; and it should be a matter of simple convenience to both
parties which of the two systems should be preferable. Honestly
performed, and as honestly inspected, piece-work appears to
me to contain the elements of perfect fairness, though payment
by the day may stimulate greater attention to solidity and finish
of workmanship.
I will not venture to assert that present wages are satis
factory. Taking the wages of builders in the metropolis at
9<£ per hour, they may appear sufficiently liberal. But are all
builders earning as much ? How many get no more than
per hour ? How little are the building labourers earning ! Nor
do such wages continue uninterrupted during the year : for at
least two months of the year many of them remain in forced idle
ness. True, the rates of wages are higher now than they were,
but the cost of living has increased also, whilst the standard
of living is altogether altered.
Must they not pay more now
for the education of their children ? Can they do without their
newspapers ? Must they not travel from their homes to their
works ? And ought they not to have their due relaxation on
Bank holidays, at Christmas, and Whitsuntide ? Many items of
expenditure, once deemed extravagant, are now become almost
�64
I
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
as imperative as the necessaries of life. And if the imperial
taxes are higher, are not the local rates greatly increased ? There
are features at work which leave much to be desired in the
economics of the labouring classes. The sudden emancipation
of youth from all family control, and the consequent waste of
recourses which a family purse would avoid, are a decided evil.
The large proportion of married women employed in the textile
industries, is a sad element in the social system. Let the man be
the bread-winner, and the woman attend to household duties.
That is Nature’s rule ; but instead of this, all home comforts are
sacrificed for recruiting the scanty wages of the men, certain to
be destroyed by mismanagement. Happy indeed would it be
for the manufacturing districts of England were every married
woman having a family prohibited working in any factory, for
it is contrary to the course of all nature that mothers should
have to deposit their nurslings with some friend or neighbour,
or perhaps in some institution established for that purpose,
whilst they go out to work for the family living.*
Better wages, and better use of wages, we must still desire.
Think not that higher wages will restrain industry, for the
economic condition of the masses all over ,the world is im
mensely improved, and their means of purchase are decidedly
enlarged. Low wages are the concomitant of declining, not of
prosperous industries. It has been said that high wages engender
idleness and dissipation. I do not agree with such a proposi
tion. Idleness and dissipation are more frequently the conse
quence of misery and want of strength than of comfort, health,
and vigour. A sudden increase of means may, for a time, lead
to extravagance, but let it consolidate itself into a regular income,
and it is sure to create love of property, a desire of acquisition,
and a sense of self-esteem,—the best safeguards against waste and
dissipation. Charge not the recent rise of wages for the un* See Report of Robert Baker, Esq., Factory Inspector, 31st October,
1873, p. 120.
�THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
65
happy condition of large numbers of the labouring classes.
Charge the same, the rather, on the want of education, on the
employment of women and children in factories, and on the
many evils incident to our present, in many respects, artificial
organization of society.
For all the progress achieved during the last half century
in the economic condition of the people, let us be thankful.
What a change in the mode of living from the time of Queen
Elizabeth, when, while the gentlemen provided themselves with
sufficiency of wheat for their own table, their households and
poor neighbours were content with rice or barley, or in time of
dearth with bread made either of beans, peas, or oats. And
we are cleverer, too, as to the true sources of better wages.
Bitter experience has more than proved that war cannot improve
the condition of the labouring classes, for whatever hinders or
interrupts the production of wealth, whatever discourages the
investment of capital, must of necessity reduce employment and
lower wages. True, a sudden demand of men for the army and
navy may cause a temporary diminution of competition among
labourers; but while production is well-nigh suspended, and the
unproductive expenditure excessive, the resources of the people
are sure to suffer. The attempt to .regulate wages by law has been
tried and failed, as might have been well expected. An artificial
barrier of prohibitions and import duties has been tried as a means
to foster the productive power of the nation, but what is the use
of producing, when the people cannot consume ? The fictitious
and dangerous experiment of supplementing wages by poor relief
has also been tried, and abandoned as Communistic in principle,
and economically most mischievous. A better era, a sounder
policy, has been at last inaugurated, and wealth has increased at
a rapid pace. Have the labouring classes profited by the happy
change to the full extent in their power ? Workmen, it is for
you to answer. Are you desirous to improve your condition, to
become yourselves capitalists ? It is quite within your reach, for
5
�66
THE REWARD OF LABOUR.
wages are the parent of all capital. Only, learn to be thrifty.
Beware of little expenses, and you will soon amass capital which
will enable you from labourers to become employers ; employers,
I hope, the more able to deal kindly and justly with your men
because you have yourselves occasionally had reason to com
plain of your own employers.
�V.
TRADE UNIONS.
The tree is known by its fruit. You cannot expect roses from
thorns. And from a legislation which deliberately robbed the
working man of the only true patrimony he possessed—his
labour by compelling him to work at such wages as the master
chose to pay, by one degree only removed from the state of
slavery, where both the slave and his work are the property of
the master j from a legislation which consigned to the common
gaol any one who attempted to improve his wages, and doomed
to the pillory any one who dared attempt to conspire, cove
nant, or promise, with or to any other, that he should not do
certain works but at certain rates, and should not work but
at certain hours and time, you could expect nothing else but
secret societies acting in the most arbitrary manner, dis
countenancing any record of their proceedings, having their
most stringent laws unwritten, and their most significant usages
unrecorded, whose committees were practically irresponsible,
whose threats were not expressed but understood, and whose
punishments were carried out, not in broad daylight, but by in
visible hands. Happily, we may say, the age of secret societies
is now gone by. We have no sympathy for the Templars or the
Jesuits, the Red Cross or the Carbonari, and though we laugh at
the Pope putting Freemasonry in the Syllabus—for we know it
�68
TRADE UNIONS.
not to be any conspiracy against Government and religion, but
a fraternity for the practice of mutual charity, protection, and
assistance—we rejoice to know also that secret societies need no
longer exist, and should have no place in the political, social, or
economical condition of the nation.
There are a few, but very few, who profess to regard capitalists,
as a class, with suspicion, and who account for their existence
simply as an historical accident, owing its birth, perhaps, to
the fact of all nations having begun in slavery. Incapable
of accounting for the fact that for every hundred persons ninetysix are working people and four capitalists, such enthusiasts
are prepared, like Caspar Rauchbilder, a kind of philosophic
sugar-baker, to put society into a cauldron, secure a perfect
vacuum by relieving it of all prejudices and all property, and
from the ashes make a filter, through which this selfish age
shall pass, and emerge a new moral world. But the great
mass of members of our Trade Societies are not such foolish
dreamers. If they fail at all, they fail in contemplating capital
as something to a certain extent antagonistic to labour,—in
striving not for a maximum of production, but for the maxi
mum share of a given amount of production, in endeavouring to
secure for labour the largest share of a product, which is, to
say the least, the joint result of capital and labour. But what
ever be the object, workmen have a perfect right to combine,
and seek such ends as are lawful, in the way they best prefer.
The right to combine with others in order to secure a common
benefit is, I believe, a sacred one, not a whit less sacred
than that of individual liberty; and I rejoice that all laws
against combinations have long ago been abolished. Nay, I
go further ; I believe that the formation of Trade Societies,
within proper limits, is perfectly justifiable, and may be even to
some extent beneficial, for I sympathise with the condition of
many of our workmen, who seldom come into direct contact
with their employers, or who have to deal with masters too
�TRADE UNIONS.
much hardened in the old system of ruling with the iron rod to
be able fully to recognise the higher aspirations of our workmen.
Only, let me say to such societies, and more particularly to
their leaders, that great as is the power of association, it cannot
be all-supreme ; and undoubted as is their utility, there are
rights and privileges which must be likewise guarded and pro
tected. Individual independence, and the right of isolated
action, are quite as essential as the right of association, and no
one ought to be called to abdicate such rights in deference to
-those of the association. Whilst asserting their right to act
in a corporate capacity, they must not ignore the right of those
who prefer to act by themselves and for themselves. What
ever be the proportion of Trade Unionists to the total number
■of workers in any branch of industry, this is not a case where
■the majority can bind the minority, simply because by no act
of theirs, as in a case of partnership, can non-unionists be said
to have delegated to unionists any power to interfere with their
rights and independence.
Much do I deplore any contest between labour and capital.
It is ominous to find, on the one hand, a National Federation
■of Associated Employers established with a view “ to secure,
through the continuance of existing laws and the enactment of
new ones, complete freedom of labour, protection to capital, and
the true interests of national industry,” with their excellent organ
Capital and. Labourj and, on the other, “ a Federation of Trade
Unions,” recently organized, or about to be organized, in view
“ that struggles between capital and labour will probably be con
ducted in future on a far more gigantic scale than we have hitherto
witnessed, with the Beehive, now the Industrial Review, also ably
conducted as their organ. What can we expect from two such
antagonistic forces set in battle array but quarrels and conflicts ?
What better justification could Trade Societies have for their ex
istence than the very fact of such associations among the masters?
The masters justify their unions by the necessity of self-defence.
�70
TRADE UNIONS.
But what other plea is put forth by Trade Unions but selfdefence ? Whether or not the regulations which bind the masters
associations substantially differ from those of Trade Unions is
of less importance than the fact itself, that those who may be
supposed to be more intelligent, and better acquainted with
economic laws, find that union is strength for them as well as
for others, and that instead of resting on the working of economic
laws, they endeavour by united action to offer an effective resist
ance to the claims of labour.
But can labour effectively contend with capital ? Here effec
tive strength does not depend on mere numbers. What though
the proletaires be ninety-six and the capitalists only four in a
hundred? True, labour is property, and capital is property.
But what is the value of labour as property unless employed
by capital ? As well have a Raphael in the Sandwich Islands
as have ninety-six labourers without the four capitalists. And
is not this superabundance of labour a constant source of
weakness ? Even if you succeed in regulating the supply of
labour in this country, can you attempt to do so in foreign
countries ? True, capital can do nothing without labour, but
neither can labour do anything without capital. To both
capital and labour I should say, by all means use your power
and energy in maintaining your rights ; but avoid any resort to
strikes, or the final arbitrement of war, which is sure to destroy
the very spoil you are striving to possess.
Well organized as many of the Trade Societies are, I cannot
help thinking that their constitution is defective, in supposing a
greater equality of capacities and skill in their members than
human experience justifies us in expecting, a greater amount of
intelligence and prescience in their councils or committees than
they can lay title to possess, and in assuming greater authority
to compel obedience to their rules than is consistent with the
nature of a perfectly voluntary society. The members are sup
posed to be, every one, able to earn the average wages which
�TRADE UNIONS.
U-
the trade gives, or the minimum wages which the Union deter
mines, the test of that ability being found in either five years’
apprenticeship or five years’ work in the trade, or the testimony
of any member who may have worked with the candidate.
Are such tests invariably reliable ? Intelligent workmanship is,
I imagine, the result of qualities and circumstances not always
acquired by apprenticeship, nor are many years’ work in a busi
ness a sure guarantee for ability; whilst the testimony which will
satisfy the committee of a Union may not be such as will satisfy
an employer. Within an apparent uniformity of qualifications
there may be an essential diversity of merit. Hundreds of gen
tlemen are called to the bar every year by the Inns of Court
under the same regulations. Can it be said that they are all
equally gifted ? A uniform wage obtains among privates in the
army, but that continues so long only as they are idling in the
barracks, a mass of inert force. Let them be in active service,
and immediately individual valour will show that they are not
a band of uniform automatic machines.
The executive councils or committees are called to fulfil duties
of a most difficult and delicate character. Their efforts are to
secure a fair and reasonable remuneration for labour, to maintain
a fair rate of wages, to provide the means of legally resisting
unnecessary reductions in the price of work, and to allow no en
croachment on the peculiar privileges of the trade. But is it an
easy work to determine what is a fair rate of wages, what is a
reasonable remuneration, when a reduction may be successfully
resisted, or when no such resistance should be attempted ? The
members of council or committees are themselves workmen.
They do not pretend to be guided by the theories or maxims of
political economists. Naturally in favour of high wages and
short hours, are they such impartial judges as to be able duly to
appreciate the real circumstances of the case before acting in any
emergency? True, they are guided by the periodical reports of
the state of trade and wages from every part of the kingdom ;
�72
TRADE UNIONS.
but these very facts are only the exponent of phenomena which
require a deep and extended range of observation on conditions
and circumstances not within the reach of every one. Far be it
from me to detract from the intelligence and practical knowledge
of the councils of such trade unions. I give them full credit for
an earnest desire to form sound opinions on the questions before
them, and to urge the same for acceptance by fair, open, and
peaceful means. Only, it is not in their power to regulate
economical phenomena, and they cannot prevent their action.
The societies are supported by entrance fees, by weekly or
monthly fees, and by fines. Failing to pay the proper contribu
tion, absenting oneself from a quarterly or a special meeting,
mentioning any club transactions to outsiders, omitting to make
a proper report, and performing many more such acts and trans
actions, are visited with fines; whilst a still more hostile system
of ostracism may be resorted to where perfect obedience is not
secured by fines. But is it desirable to enforce obedience among
a large number of men on matters which touch very nearly the
mode of earning a livelihood ? Doubtless the constitution of such
societies empowers the committees to determine the policy to
be pursued, and there would be an end of all authority if it
were left optional with the members to accept or not the de
cision of their committees ; yet the very fact that large sums are
annually collected by means of fines indicates the frequent resort
to compulsion, on every account to be deprecated. On the whole,
I cannot help thinking that a more elastic system would operate
better, and prove in the end even more efficient than the present
stringent method of action.
The principal objects which Trade Unions have in view are
the regulation of the supply of labour and the supervision of the
rate of wages. By controlling the labour of their own members,
by endeavouring to equalize the supply of labour all over the
country, by regulating and restricting the admission of appren
tices, by hindering the employment of boy and woman labour, and
�TRADE UNIONS.
73
by putting obstacles to the employment of non-unionists, the
Trade Societies hope to maintain a monopoly of labour, and
thereby to reduce that competition among labourers which is so
formidable a barrier to the rise of wages. Nay, more; in the
hope of spreading the work among as large a number of members
as possible, they prohibit working overtime. But rules such as
these contravene some of the first maxims of legal rights,
besides being clearly opposed to sound economy. The mutual
rights and duties arising from the contract of labour are simple
and direct—so much labour for so much reward. The master
has a right to employ his labourers or not as he pleases. The
labourer may consent to work or not as he likes. What right
has either to interfere with the free action of the other in any
matter concerning their respective businesses ? The objection
to overtime is justified by the plea that it is essential for any
labourer overburdened with hard work to have time left for in
struction and recreation, and that it is a grievous evil to protract
labour beyond what nature seems to suggest. But to lay down
any general rule, that no man shall labour beyond a certain
number of hours on each day, is to deprive the young and strong
•of the best opportunity they may have of making hay whilst
health and vigour last. It seems very philanthropic to limit the
work of the over-employed that some work may be left for the
unemployed. But it is, I fear, the law of society, that wealth and
employment are not equally distributed. Aptitude for labour is
not a common gift, and if we neglect the work which Providence
places within our reach, it by no means follows that it will be
given to those less fortunate than ourselves.
Apart, however, from any legal or social considerations, what
are the economic effects of any effort to monopolize or regulate
labour ? Are they not to cripple production, which in turn
must react on wages ? Every hour you take from your daily
labour is so much deducted from the profits of production, all
the fixed capital being to that extent rendered less productive.
�74
TRADE UNIONS.
The fewer labourers are at work the less will be produced,
unless new machinery comes to take their place. Whenever
adult labour is employed where boys and women would besufficient, so much encouragement is given to a waste of forces,
which will render production less profitable. But can you pre
vent an increase of labourers in a profitable industry ? High
wages are certain to be attractive. An agricultural labourer in
the receipt of 15^. a week will be too glad to apprentice his son
to an engineer, in the expectation of getting 305-. or 40^. a week.
And it is against all natural and economic law to attempt to
hinder a process so simple and necessary. There is, indeed, a
necessary monopoly of talent which we cannot abolish. The
few actors, musicians, painters, barristers, and doctors, who
may possess learning and skill far excelling those of the masses
of their competitors ; the few workmen absolutely superior to
others in the perfection of their bodily organs, in the dexterity
of their hands and motions, and in the skill with which they
execute their task, must, of necessity, have a natural monopoly
of the work which may be offered. And they are sure to enjoy
the benefit of that monopoly in a larger remuneration than is
obtained by their competitors, as a fair compensation for ser
vices conferred in the work of production. But to pretend to
establish any monopoly whereby labourers, strong or weak,
skilful or ignorant, shall derive an equal remuneration, and
to entertain any expectation that such higher remuneration
may be derived from diminished production—these are wild
notions, which no true economic principle will sanction.
On the question whether or not Trade Unions can exercise
any influence on wages, I am prepared to make some conces
sions. Wherever wages are in any measure governed by
custom, as to some extent in agriculture, a Trade Society
may shake off that dull sloth and produce a sudden improve
ment. Wherever the labourers are in a position so low and
dejected as to be under the necessity of working for wages not
�TRADE UNIONS.
75
sufficient to pay for the simple cost of living, as in the case of
the needlewomen, a Trade Society may, by granting temporary
help with a view to resistance, operate some reform of wages,
though with the almost certain result of either lessening pro
duction, and so causing a diminution of employment, or of
stimulating machinery.. Wherever, moreover, the rate of profit
is larger than is necessary to provide for the interest of capital,
and a legitimate remuneration for the employer’s services, a
Trade Society may, by a vigilant supervision, operate upon the
margin which may exist between the rate of wages and the rate
of profits below which all production would cease, and in all
probability succeed in securing part of the same for labour,
unless defeated either by the competition of labourers among
themselves, or by foreign competition. In the former case,
however, wages will remain low, though the profits may be
high ; and in the latter, wages will fall, and the profits decline
also, or, at most, remain stationary. Under any circumstance
the advantage derived by Trade Unions can only be temporary,
for supply and demand are sure to assert their sway. Shake
off the custom if you can, and yet if there be seven persons
available to one hundred acres, where four are amply sufficient
for agricultural purposes, the competition among the seven
to get the employment which can only be had by four will be
sure to keep wages low. Enhance by artificial combination
the wages in any one business, or in any one district, yet, unless
that rise is supported by increased savings, and by the sub
stantial accumulation of capital, it will not, it cannot be sus
tained. But suppose the employer should secure for himself a
large amount of profits out of what would be due to the em
ployees, or by keeping wages unduly low, what can he do with
such profits but employ them to render them productive ? See
how it works practically. In i860, the exports of the produce
and manufactures of the United Kingdom were valued at
^136,000,000, and the profits assessed to income tax under
�76
TRADE UNIONS.
Schedule D were declared at ^95,000,000.
But trade has
been very prosperous ever since, and the result has been that in
1874 the amount of profits so assessed to income tax amounted
to ^197,000,000, showing an increase of ^102,000,000, which
you may say went all to the masters, since few or no workmen
pay income tax. But wait a little. How was that extra amount
of profits gained but by increased production? During that
period the amount of exports of British produce rose from
^136,000,000 in i860 to ^223,000,000 in 1874. And from that
increased production workmen got increased wages. Allow
that 20 per cent, of the total amount of produce go in wages,
and upon the ^87,000,000 of extra production for exports only,
at least £ 17,000,000 more per annum must have been divided
among labourers in wages. In truth, the excess of profits must
in all, or in part, sooner or later find its way among the people,
and that is the best possible guarantee for an equitable distri
bution of profits among employers and employed.
Trade Unions endeavour to operate on wages by fixing the
lowest rate and by determining that all their members shall
earn at least that low rate. It is not easy, however, to say
what the lowest rate of wages should be under any circum
stances. You observe the state of the market, that it is buoyant;
the number of orders, which appear numerous. You notice a
certain amount of eagerness among the employers in pursuing
their operations. And as everything seems to denote activity
and progress you say wages must rise. But do not misunder
stand high prices for large profits, for a high price may be the
result of pure speculation, to be soon followed by a great re
action; or the result of increased cost of the raw materials,
which may render production even less remunerative. In truth,
it is not possible to fix what the wages should be, any more than
you can fix what shall be the price of any article or the rate of
interest, and any haphazard way of determining what the lowest
rate of wages ought to be, apart from what is produced by
�TRADE UNIONS.
77
the relation of supply and demand, must be uncertain and un
satisfactory. It is somewhat discomforting to feel that we can
do comparatively so little for ourselves, that we cannot secure
a rise, cannot prevent a fall, and must in a manner stand still.
Only depend upon it, economical laws do not stand still, and
they will operate quite irrespective of our action.
It has been urged by Trade Unionists that they do not
demand any uniformity of wages, but that they only fix the rate
under which no member of the Union shall work. Give such
of them as deserve it as much more as you please, but none
shall work for less. What, however, if what you lay down as
the minimum, employers should regard as the maximum ? Give
to the least capable the maximum wages, and what more can the
most capable earn ? Again, it is said it is to protect labour against
the pernicious system of competition by tender, that labourers
must insist upon a uniform minimum rate ; but on what principle
can the labourers make themselves the guardians of the public
interests ?
Weak as is generally the power of Trade Unions with reference
to the determination of the lowest rate of wages, still more doubtful
is the possibility of their being able to maintain any uniformity in
the wages and earnings of their members. If there be no such
thing as uniformity of talent, skill, judgment, strength, vigour,
will, or of anything that constitutes and regulates our real power
to act upon matter, how can there be such a thing as a uniformity
in the value of the part taken by any number of men in the
production of any article? There is no such thing as an
average ability, for what is an average but an ideal abstract
and imaginary medium of an equal distribution of all the
inequalities among individuals of a series ? We say the average
temperature of England is 50° Fahrenheit, but that is made up
of constant changes from day to day, varying from 38° to 71 °.
And so it is with the average life of a man, or the average loss
of ships, or the like. The great value of an average rests in the
�78
TRADE UNIONS.
indication it gives of the medium of the range in those
variations, but that does not destroy their existence. In matter
of labour, though you may form a fair idea of the average
strength and capacity of any number of labourers, that does not
affect the fact of their possessing some more and some less of
those faculties which are required in production, and which con
stitute the very basis and conditions of the earning of wages.
In the engineering trade, the classification of wages with refer
ence to skill must be carried on to a high point, it having been
given in evidence before the Royal Commissioners on Trade
Unions, that in an establishment of more than 900 men there
were as many as 267 rates of wages earned. The introduction
of machinery may have reduced the great extremes, many of
those feats of force and skill which at one time placed one work
man so much above another being now done by machinery.
Yet there is room enough left for the display of superior personal
ability, strength, and judgment, and to attempt to enforce any
ideal uniformity in wages is as unsound in principle as it is
mischievous in practice.
Partly with a view to uniformity of wages, and partly also as
a means of defence against the masters’ attempts to reduce
wages, some Trade Societies have resisted what is called pay
ment by piecework. The different systems of payment of wages,
by time as by the day or hour, or by piecework as according
to results, or by a combination of the two as by time with
relation to so much work done, are respectively adapted to
different descriptions of labour. For the performance of labour
requiring great exactitude and patient attention, payment by
time is probably the best. For the performance of work ad
mitting of great swiftness of operation, payment by piecework
appears fair for the workman and just to the employer ; whilst
for the execution of work demanding both precision of execution
and economy of time, the combined system seems the best
adapted. In any case there can be no doubt that payment by
�TRADE UNIONS.
79
result is the least fallible test of the value of labour, whilst it is
the only mode by which patient labour and superior intelligence
can raise itself above the surrounding level of low mediocrity.
It is alleged against piecework that it incites the worker to work
longer hours than is good for him, that it tempts him to hurry
over the work, and leave it imperfectly finished ; that it is often
abused by the master appointing middle men, or piece-masters,
to fix the price arbitrarily ; that it is used by the master to
■cut down the wages to the minimum, thus preventing the
labourer from deriving any corresponding benefit from his
greater labour and exertion. Far be it from me to justify any
such practices. I admit that the system may be greatly abused
by both masters and workmen. I allow that unprincipled men
may use it as a snare, rather than as a fair mode of rewarding
labour. And I cannot too strongly condemn any attempt on
the part of either to make it the vehicle of fraud and usurpation.
But as to the objections that piecework is a system by which
the weakest always goes to the wall, or that it incites the labourer
to work too much, or that it gives an advantage to the skilful
over the unskilful, I fear that, practically hard as such objec
tions may prove in some cases, they are but futile in this matterof-fact world. A paternal government, be it by societies or by
the State, can never be advantageous, and you cannot inflict a
deeper injury on any number of people than by taking from them
the right to utilize their forces and energies to the maximum of
their power. It is the great recommendation of piecework that
it is conducive to a better reward of skill, strength, and energy,
that it affords the best possible encouragement to improvement
in workmanship, and that it is a beneficial instrument to the in
crease of the productive power of the nation. Some difficulty,
however, does doubtless exist in the adoption of the piecework
system in different industries. Taking as our guide the two prin
ciples already enunciated, that whilst on the one hand the contract
•of labour is not so many hours in a day, but so much work for so
�8o
TRADE UNIONS.
much money ; and on the other, that the wages themselves are
a commutation of something certain and fixed for the uncertain
share which might fall on the workman of the result of produc
tion,—it is evident that whilst piecework affords the best test
of the real amount of work performed, as a basis for the reward
of wages, it still fails in this, that it does not produce that
certainty of earning which the workman very justly appreciates.
In the cotton manufacture, in printing, and in many other
industries, where the work to be done is generally uniform, thevalue of piecework may be estimated with nearly as much
correctness as day-work. But in other industries, especially in
engineering works, where each article is different from the
other, no such certainty can possibly exist. In the printing and
cotton industries, the price of the work is arrived at from ex
tensive experience, by a committee of masters and men. In
such engineering works as I have mentioned, the price named
is simply what the foreman thinks will be a fair remuneration..
To my mind, the method of gauging wages by the actual work
done, however technically just, is not always practicable, and
to force piecework on unwilling labourers, and to provoke a
strike upon that question, is conduct which can scarcely be
justified. If masters and men are to work harmoniously, piece
work must be held out, wherever there is any doubt on the
matter, as an inducement for greater exertion, and not as a hardand-fast rule for the payment of ordinary wages.
It would be interesting to ascertain how far Trade Unions
have proved themselves beneficial to the labouring classes in
the matter of wages. During the last twenty years, all prices,,
salaries, and wages have risen considerably. The salaries of
clerks at the Bank of England and in every house of trade,,
the salaries of assistants in wholesale warehouses and work
shops, are all higher. In consideration that the cost of livingis dearer, and that a higher standard of living has been intro
duced, more remuneration has been asked and granted in every
�81
TRADE UNIONS.
occupation. But is not this owing to the immense addition to
the supply of the precious metals, the largely increased trade, the
-enormous augmentation of capital ? What else but these cir
cumstances have provided for such increase of wages, prices, and
•salaries ? Trade Unions may have clamoured for higher wages
in certain branches of industry. But if masons and carpenters,
•engineers and ironworkers, protected by Trade Unions, have
realized a handsome rise, so have agricultural labourers, and
especially domestic servants, realized it without any Trade
Unions. Simply left to the tender mercies of the law of supply
and demand, a cook and housekeeper who twenty years ago
was well paid at ^16, now cannot be had for ^25 to ^30. See
what supply and demand do in agricultural labour. Take six
purely agricultural counties, such as Devon, Dorset, Wilts,
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge, and six agricultural and
industrial counties, such as Cheshire, Lancashire, the West
Riding of Yorkshire, Durham, Kent, and Monmouthshire. The
average wages of agricultural labourers, and the earnings especi
ally by piece-labour, wherever introduced, have risen everywhere,
in consequence of the increasing amount of capital invested in
agriculture ; but whilst the wages in the purely agricultural
counties have risen 15 per cent., those in the agricultural and
industrial counties, from the simple competition in the demand
for labour, have risen 30 to 40 per cent. Making every allow
ance for special cases, it is absurd to imagine that Trade Unions
have been the main instruments in bringing so much additional
wealth into the lap of the working classes. If by constant vigilance
on the relation of wages to profits, they have caused, in certain
instances, a distribution of any excess at an earlier date than
might otherwise have taken place, it is quite possible that the
sudden rise of wages consequent upon it may have been as
rapidly followed by a reaction. And we well know that frequent
oscillations of wages and uncertainty of earnings are more an
•evil than a boon to the working population. Nor should it be
6
�82
TRADE UNIONS.
forgotten that an employer, who may have for some time been
producing at a loss, has a right to retrieve his position by securing
somewhat more liberal profits for a certain period, before he can
risk to establish a more equitable level between profits and wages.
The employer’s object in production is profit, and unless he has
a fair prospect of reasonable profits, we cannot expect that he
will continue to employ his capital or to engage his services in
the business.
Fears have been expressed, that Trade Unions, by harassing
the employers with constant demands, by thwarting the
operation of supply and demand, and by placing restrictions
on the freedom of labour, have discouraged production, and
placed the industries of the country in danger of foreign
competition. But the statistics of trade do not corroborate any
such fear. During recent years production has proceeded at an
enormous scale, whether through the extension of mechanical
agency and steam-power, which has been enormous, or by the
larger adoption of production on a large scale, or by an
actual increase of manual labour. Nor is foreign competition
more formidable now than ever it was.
An increase of
exports from ^136,000,000 in i860 to ^223,000,000 in 1875,
an increase in the quantity of coals produced from 80,000,000
tons in i860 to 132,000,000 tons in 1875, an increase in the
tonnage of shipping belonging to the United Kingdom from
4,600,000 tons to 6,152,000 tons in 1875, are facts which do
not indicate that the British workman has been idle during
the last fifteen years. And what do we find with respect to
the relative increase of the productive power of different
countries ? Compare the exports of Britain with the exports
of other countries, and you will find that British exports
have increased fully in proportion to those of other countries.
Taking the entire amount of exports of seven principal
countries, viz., France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Austria, the
United States, and the United Kingdom in i860 and 1873, you
�TRADE UNIONS.
S3
will see that the proportion of British exports to the whole
was 37 per cent, in i860, and 37 per cent, in 1874. Nor can
we take the total exports of such countries as a guide to the
great question of danger from foreign competition. Comparing
the exports of manufactured goods, such as cotton, linen, silk,
woollen, from Britain and France in the years 1861 and 1874, it
appears that whilst the exports from the United Kingdom in
creased at the rate of 64 per cent., the exports from France in
creased at the rate of 60 per cent. Since then, I am sorry to
say, the exports from the United Kingdom have been decreasing ;
but trade has been depressed in nearly every country,—the neces
sary reaction from many years of unusual buoyancy.
Trade Unions have been charged with having contributed
to the deterioration of the character of British workmen, by
making them more quarrelsome, more selfish, and more guided
by a spirit of antagonism towards employers than heretofore.
But I doubt the truth of such sweeping charges. In so far as
Trade Unions are concerned, they doubtless consist mostly of
skilled artisans who compare favourably with the great mass
of the labouring classes; whilst as societies they manifest a
degree of organization and a power of management of no mean
order. It must be allowed also that the demonstrations of Trade
Unionists, and the conduct of workmen during any strike at
the present time, contrast favourably with similar exhibitions in
times past. We hear of no incendiarism, no outrage, no riotous
assemblage. The practices at Sheffield were utterly disowned
by the great body of workmen, and though we still hear of
picketing and coercion of different kinds, which the committees
of trade societies would do well to repress as acts of true
cowardice, I am not prepared to join in the cry that our work
men are worse than other people. In the universal progress of
society our workmen have not lagged behind. If they are a
little more quarrelsome than we would like them to be, it is
because they wish to lift themselves up in the scale of society,
�84
TRADE UNIONS.
and because they see the need of protecting their interests,
which were too often heretofore held at nought or trodden
under foot.
Upon the action of trade societies on their benefit funds, I have
scarcely time to touch. For my part, I deeply regret that the
high purposes of a benefit society should be mixed up with the
contentious questions of restraints of trade. I can conceive of
nothing more important than that money laid aside for sick
ness and burials, for widows and orphans, should be perfectly
secure from danger of being swamped up by any warfare with
employers. The best service Trade Unions can render to the
labouring population is to inculcate habits of thrift, and to check
as far as in them lies the evil of intemperance. Let our Trade
Unions abandon the advocacy of theories which are contrary to
sound economy. Let them adopt a spirit of harmony and
conciliation. Let them cease to make war against capital,
which is the necessary handmaid of labour. Let them use only
such means as the law permits, and society sanctions, for the
protection of the just rights of workmen. Let them lead the
mass of labourers in the way of solid progress, and they will
render themselves the benefactors of the people, and be
acknowledged as the friends and trusted helpers of both
capital and labour.
�VI.
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
That masters and men engaged in industries of a most com
plex character, so often disturbed by the introduction of new
methods and machinery, having much in common, yet each
striving for their own distinct interests, should at times find it
difficult to avoid disagreements, is not, after all, a matter to
cause much surprise. The marvel rather is, that such conflicts
occur so seldom, in comparison with the immense number of
employers and employed, and that when they do occur, they
exercise, comparatively, so small an influence on the general
industry of the country.
What gives to such dissensions any degree of importance is
the dire effect they have on the large number of persons thereby
affected,—the consequence of the modern organization of labour.
A passenger ship has often been compared to a floating village,
and so a mill, or a factory, gathers around itself a complete
community, every inhabitant of which depends on the unin
terrupted progress of the special industry. Let the factory or
the iron work be in full activity, and you see hundreds of
families , rejoicing in plenty, dwelling-houses neatly furnished,
tradesmen and artificers all earning sufficient incomes, and if
the employer be a Sir Titus Salt, or a Sir Francis Crossley,
you will find in such communities the church and the school,
�86
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
reading-rooms and savings-banks, the club, and many other
institutions which contribute to the moral and intellectual
advancement of the labouring population. But let a dissension
occur, and a strike or lock-out be resolved upon, and what a
sudden blight falls on the whole prospect, what dejection, what
sufferings 1 Here the full loaf is replaced by the half loaf, there
are poverty and sickness, everywhere an idleness which makes
one sad.
A strike, or the joint action on the part of a body of workmen
or persons employed in any department of business, by which
each and all refuse to work except under certain prescribed
conditions, often with the means of sustenance, or some
approximate equivalent to the loss of wages thereby incurred,
provided for by a common fund, is war, which, as Lord Bacon
defined, is “ the highest trial of right.” And a grave responsi
bility rests on those who resort to such a step on any ground
not clearly justifiable, who rush into it before exhausting every
means of conciliation, and who are not ready to withdraw from
it at any moment when a fair compromise can be effected.
That a war may be just, at least in diplomatic language (for
I doubt the possibility of the justice or moral lawfulness of an
act which carries with it so much carnage and destruction), it
must at least be dictated by the necessity of defending ab
solute rights, and be the very last expedient which a nation can
resort to.
" Force is at best
A fearful thing e’en in a righteous cause.
God only helps when man can help no more.”
Strikes have arisen for the purpose of securing higher wages,
for resisting a fall of wages, for opposing or preventing the
introduction of machinery, for obtaining a reduction of the
hours of labour, for resisting any addition to the number of
apprentices. They have been waged against the employment
of non-unionists, against contract work, against piece-work and
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
«7
overtime, or to secure overtime beginning earlier. Only the
other day there was a strike in London in consequence of
the employment of plasterers to do a kind of work which the
bricklayers thought they were themselves entitled to do. And
in another case, a printing office lost some of its best members
for the sole reason that the masters accepted in their em
ployment one who had not a full certificate of apprenticeship,
though as able as any of the rest. By what criterion shall
we judge of the justice of such a course where there is no
inalienable right to depart from? The labourer has a right
to his wages, but the rate of wages is a matter of contract, and
depends more on the operation of economic laws than on the
will of the master. Where is the right of the labourer to prevent
any economy of labour by machinery ? On what principle can
he oppose the employment of non-unionists? The right to
resist, and the rectitude of the cause for which resistance is
made, are two distinct things.
An impression seems to exist among our workmen that it is
advantageous to them to show that they are in earnest in
resisting any attempt on the part of masters to ignore their just
rights, and that whether they gain or not the object in view in
the particular instance, they are enabled by such resistance to
secure better terms for the future. A strike, say they, is the
only remedy we have in our own hands. What else can we do ?
What, if masters, strong as a money power, presuming on our
weakness, are found to set aside all considerations of moral
duty, to stretch unduly the laws of economic science, and to
impose conditions which we cannot accept,—what other course
can we pursue but refuse to work at their terms, or, in short, to
strike ? Against such considerations, however, be mindful, I
pray you, to place the immediate sacrifices you thereby inflict
on yourselves, the injury you cause to large multitudes who
can ill spare any cessation of labour, the disorganization of the
industry, the hatred and rancour engendered in your relations
�88
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.
with your employers, the chance of failure in the struggle, the
want of security as to the maintenance of your success should
you be so fortunate as to obtain what you strive for, the loss of
wages, the loss and waste of funds the fruit of years of labour
and privations, the injury to theSnation at large ; for remember
that trade is a plant of tender growth, it requires sun and soil
and fine seasons to make it thrive and flourish. It will not
grow like the palm-tree, which with the more weight and
pressure rises the more.” Ere you strike, I pray you, count the
cost. The present dispute in the cotton trade, for instance, is
fraught with danger. Whatever reason there may be for re
vising the standard list, that is no excuse for a strike, especially in
mills where no ground of complaint really exists. Nor have the
masters any justification for a general lock-out simply because
a few workmen in certain mills have unhappily taken such an
objectionable course. I cannot expect that anything I may
say will influence materially the progress of the dispute. But,,
if a word of mine can reach the contending parties, most
earnestly would I urge on the workmen on strike, at once toreturn to their work, on the assurance that a' committee from
both masters and men will be appointed to inquire into the
whole matter and forthwith remove any just ground of com
plaint. And on the masters I would urge not to commit them
selves to joint action in the matter, or to anything like a
general lock-out, which would be the cause of so much trouble
and misery. Ere you resort to a measure so disastrous as to
shut the door of your factories to thousands of innocent labourers,
I pray you, I beseech of you, count the cost.
Before a war is finally resorted to among nations, diplomacy
generally uses its best endeavours to prevent the sad catastrophe,
and certainly no step should be omitted to prevent a strike.
The rules of many Trade Unions prescribe that in case of
dispute, a deputation of two or more members shall wait
on the employer and endeavour to come to an amicable
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
89
arrangement; that the men shall first reason the matter with
their employers; that no strike be resorted to without an
attempt having first been made to settle the matter of con
tention between employers and employed by an amicable
negotiation ; and that where a grievance exists, the labourers
shall, in the first place, solicit their employer or foreman for
relief from the same. Now it is only fair to expect from the
masters that they should follow a similar course, for I do not
think it would be beneath their dignity to descend a little and
reason with their workmen on the ground of dispute between
them. How much misgiving, how much prejudice would be saved,
if masters only condescended to reason with their men, not as
so many hands in their service, but as men, working with and
for them ! When masters give sudden notice of a reduction of
wages, without saying why and under what circumstances, the
men are under the necessity of taking an immediate course,
and having had no previous consultation, or time to deliberate^
they cannot help assuming a position of resistance not easily
altered by subsequent action. It is an unfortunate consequence
of the present organization of labour, or of production on a
large scale, that the employers do not deal with the men
individually, and that they are therefore called to act together
in a kind of combination. But that should not prevent a full
mutual understanding of the matter in question. 'Only, if a
deputation be sent to the masters, let it be composed of the
most trusted members in their employment. In the choice of
an ambassador, care is always taken to send one whose pre
sence shall be acceptable at the Court to which he is to be ac
credited, and similar care should be exercised in the selection
of those who are to represent the wishes and views of the
workmen to their masters. Avoid by all means all causes of
irritation at a time when you engage in negotiations requiring
for their solution mutual forbearance and mutual sympathy.
Whatever be the issue of such direct negotiations, care should
�9°
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
be taken to allow time to work its own good, influence of better
counsel and more ripened judgment. A disposition to strike is
incident to the association of working men smarting under a
sense of wrong. When large numbers have a common griev
ance, a spirit of opposition is speedily engendered, and it is
well if they have not it in their power to act on the impulse of
the moment.
It has been said that Trade Unions encourage workmen to
resistance. Doubtless the feeling that they have such societies
at their back may render workmen less afraid of the issue, but,
on the other hand, an organized society, acting upon rules, must
also introduce an increased sense of order, subordination, and
reflection. Many of such Unions reserve in their own hands the
right of deciding whether a strike should be sanctioned or not.
Some of their rules perscribe that no strike shall be con
sidered legal without the consent of the majority of the lodges,
to all of whom information of any movement has to be sent;
that when a strike for an advance of wages is contemplated by
any lodge, the secretary is to report the same to the Central
Committee, showing the number that would be out, the number
of payable members, the state of trade, and the position of the
Society in the neighbourhood ; that should an attempt be
made unnecessarily to reduce the wages of any of the members,
or to increase their hours of labour unjustly, they shall first
solicit relief from their employers, and afterwards apply to the
president or secretary of their branch, who shall call a com
mittee, or general meeting to inquire into the case ; and that
should the members of any branch leave their employment
without having first obtained the sanction of the Executive
Committee, such members shall not be entitled to the allowance
provided in case of oppression. Would it not be desirable that
the rules of the different Unions on such an important matter
should be more uniform than they appear to be ? I see no
reason why Trade Unions should not operate most favourably
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
9i
in matters of strikes, and when we consider that part of the
funds entrusted to them is expended in the maintenance of
persons on strike, surely it becomes their interest to reduce the
demand for such purposes to the minimum possible.
When a strike has, unhappily, commenced, it is too much
to expect the maintenance of much courtesy between the parties,
and many are the circumstances which tend to increase the
bitterness arising from such a forced suspension of labour.
The time when the strike happens is often most inconvenient,
for advantage is taken of a brisk trade to insist on a rise of
wages, just when the employer is, so to say, at the mercy of the
employed. What if the work in operation was contracted for
on the basis of existing wages ? What if the contractor under
took, under penalties of a heavy character, to complete the work
'within a limited time ? What if the season be towards the close,
and the opportunity of fulfilling the engagement fast hastening
away ? Two persons are engaged in a partnership at will, the
condition being that either can retire when he pleases. Can
either leave at an inopportune moment, when difficult questions
are in suspense, when hazardous contracts are pending ? And
ought there not to be in the relation between masters and
men, as far as is possible and is otherwise applicable, the same
sense and practice of equity as we expect between partners
in trade ? A strike occurs, and in the plenitude of your right
you take your tools and go. Can you compel others to follow
your course ? Can you object to others coming to take your
place? You may wish to force your master to make the con
cession you demand, and you may regret seeing your efforts
frustrated by the avidity of others to grasp the chance of em
ployment on any condition ; but remember, you have no right to
interfere, and if you proceed to violence of any kind, even if it
be a slight assault, if you indulge in such threats as will convey
to the mind of such other parties that you will bring any form of
evil upon them, either in their person, property, or reputation,
�92
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.
with the intent of forcing them to act otherwise than you wish,,
or if you intimidate them by any deed or word which hnight
create fear, or if you molest them or obstruct them in the
exercise of their rights,—in either of such cases you commit a
wrong which may expose you to criminal proceedings.
A reference to past strikes is not very encouraging as totheir good results to workmen. In 1834 the workmen in the
Staffordshire potteries struck for an advance of wages, and
after fifteen weeks the masters yielded. Elated by their suc
cess, however, the men thought they could demand more, and
so two years after they struck for a diminution in the hours of
labour and a restriction in the number of apprentices. But the
masters were not so ready now to make concessions. They
united together, and they decided to suspend their manufacture
whenever the workmen struck to any master. And the strike
was an utter failure, though it cost the men ,£188,000. What
was gained on the previous occasion was more than lost only
two years after. In 1853 a great strike took place at Preston
for higher wages, which were unconditionally demanded. The
masters made some concessions, but these were indignantly
refused. So the mills were closed, 18,000 Jiands were rendered
inoperative, and after a lengthened struggle, in which the men
sPent Z100,000, submission became unavoidable. A few strikes
have proved successful, but many more have utterly failed.
Not many years ago seven distinct strikes took place in
Lancashire, every one of them unsuccessful. They involved
a loss of employment to 38,000 hands. They lasted a long
time one thirty weeks, another fifty weeks—and together they
produced a loss in wages of ,£757,000 ; and if you add to that
sum the profits on capital, and the subscriptions, at | of the
wages, the total loss exceeded £^1,000,000. In the recent un
happy strike in South Wales nearly 120,000 workers stood out
against a reduction of wages, and upwards of £3,000,000 in
wages was actually lost in the contest.
Did they succeed ?
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
93
l?ar from it. They refused, to accept a reduction of ten per
■cent., yet eventually they were compelled by the force of events
-f-0 re-enter work at a reduction of I21> per. cent. ! Suppose,
however, you do succeed in the contest. Remember that you
will have to work a long time at the higher wages before you
■can recover what you have lost by forfeiting the entire amount
week by week. Suppose you strike for 5^. more wages, or for
more in every pound. Dr. Watt made a calculation to show
in how long a time you will get back what you had before. A
week is two per cent, of a working year, or two per cent, of
the wage of one year. Let the strike succeed, and you will
require
year, at the increased rate, to make up for 1
month’s wages lost j 3v years to make up for 2 months
wages lost ; 4-t years to make up for 3 months wages lost ,
94 years to make up for 6 months’ wages lost; and 20 years
to make up for 12 months’ wages lost.
Do not think that the money distributed by the Trade
Societies during the strike goes to diminish the loss of the
persons on strike, for the money so consumed is the saving of
former labour, which might go towards further production. It
is one of the most unfortunate results of a strike, that funds
gained by toil and prudence are expended so fruitlessly in
times of forced idleness. During a strike you not only lose
what you might otherwise earn, but expend what you had
amassed. Nor is the loss confined to the workmen. The
employer is certainly as great a sufferer, for a strike may not
only rob him of his trade for the time being, but may. make
him lose the custom which he possesses, and the labour of men
of skill well versed in the peculiar work he has on hand,
never probably to be replaced, and probably affect also his
permanent power to produce as economically as heretofore.
If the strike be for higher wages when the condition of the
trade or of the nation cannot bear it, either the community will
suffer from the increased cost of the article produced, or else
�94
STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
it may cause the introduction of machinery. A strike may
have the effect of equalizing wages. An industry badly paid
may, by a strike, attract to itself part of the wages which fall
to another; but no equalization of wages can possibly be
equivalent to the production of capital, which alone can support
an increase of wages. If the strike be against the introduc
tion of machinery, it may be the means of the trade being
transplanted to other places. It was probably an exaggeration,,
some years ago, when it was asserted that the frequent strikes
of shipwrights’on the Thames caused shipbuilding to leave the
Thames for the Clyde and the i yne ; the real reason being that
iron shipbuilding found a more natural home where iron and
coals were immediately available. Yet it is no exaggeration to
say that an industry distracted and rendered unproductive in
one quarter may take wing and find rest in another. I have,,
indeed, proved in my previous lecture that up to 1873 at least
the trade and industry of England had not suffered from the
many disturbances which have taken place,—at least, not to any
material extent,—and that foreign competition had not till then
gamed upon British industry. But what has not yet been may
still be. The danger remains, though it may not be imminent.
I doubt the possibility of our ever reaching a time when there
shall be no strikes, for just in proportion as our labouring
population rises to the consciousness of its power, and seeks to
participate in a higher degree in the profits of production, so
the struggle between capital and labour may be expected to be
more frequent. But may we not expect that, side by side with
this, a greater disposition may also be engendered to remove
sources of quarrel, to soften their asperity when they do arise,
and to settle disputes by arbitration and conciliation ? Must
force ever reign ? Is the arbitrement of the sword befitting our
character and position in life. The legislature has done
whatever it could possibly do to provide for the adoption of
more peaceful means. A refusal to leave a matter of dispute to
�STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS.
95
arbitration betokens either haughtiness and arrogance, or
weakness.
I do not think that the appointment of one or
more strangers as arbitrators, be they lords, lawyers, or phi
lanthropists, is a desirable method, for their decision can, at
best, be a simple compromise of the immediate ground of dis
pute ; it will never be able to regulate the subsequent action of
the parties, and will be certain to leave one of the contending
parties dissatisfied with the result. A conciliation board, on
the other hand, within the establishment itself, composed of an
equal number of masters and men, with a neutral umpire, ah
of them having a perfect acquaintance, not only with the case
in point, but with the bearing of the question generally upon
production, and upon the comfort of working as concerning both
masters and men, and each of them possessing the full con
fidence of the parties interested, is sure to give a verdict
entitled to respect and assent. But let it be fully remembered
that it is the essence of arbitration or conciliation that you
commit the matter in dispute to the decision of other parties,,
and that you thereby incur an obligation to abide by their
verdict, whether it may go in your favour or against you,—
provided, of course, the arbitrators or the board confine them
selves strictly to the matter submitted to them. How far any
national board of arbitration may be advantageously established,
seems to me very doubtful. The first essential to success in any
effort for the prevention of disputes, or their early settlement, is
the possession of a conciliatory spirit, and a ready disposition
to consider the rights and interests of both sides. Let that
spirit prevail within the establishment among both masters and
men, and there will be no difficulty in arriving at an equitable
and satisfactory settlement of any disputes, however formidable
they may appear.
�VII.
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
About twenty years ago, a work was published in France, by
M. Le Play, the superintendent of the Paris International Ex
hibition, entitled “ Studies on the Labour, the Domestic Life, and
theMoral Condition of the Working Population of Europe,” giving
accurate and minute details, from actual fact, of all the money
received and expended during one year, by a certain number of
families of the working population in every country in Europe;
the income including the wages of the head of the family, as
well as of the mother and children, counting the actual number
of days they were at work, as well as any income from a garden
or parcel of land, rent of house or field, produce of pasture,
pig, sheep, or from any pension, funds, interest, and any miscel
laneous or accidental sources ; the expenditure divided into
expenses for food and drink, for house, fire, and light, for cloth
ing, for moral, educational, or religious purposes, for taxes,
recreation, or debt. And most interesting it is to compare the
habits of the different people, and the effects of temperature,
climate, race, and religion, on the description and quantity ot
food and drink used, the nature of their amusements, and the
amount devoted to the cause of charity and beneficence. I
imagine, however, that if a similar work were attempted regarding
the various classes of labourers in England, if, instead of com-
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
97
paring the French andthe Russian, the German and the Italian,
the Spanish, Turkish, and Greek labourers, with the English,
the Scotch, and the Irish, we had before us the real income and
expenditure of any number of families in England from among
the agricultural, the manufacturing, and the industrial classes,
in town and country, and in the metropolis, we would find
the same diversity of results, the same strange anomalies, and
the same gulf in the different traits of manner and character,
as can be found among them in any part of the world.
How, then, can I venture to give you the budgets of the working
classes ? Of what guidance can the income and expenditure of
one family of five be to the income and expenditure of another
family of ten ? What is there in common between a bachelor
living in lodgings and a young couple with two babies, and it may
be with a mother or father to keep ? The ways of life are very
different; so much depends on the surroundings of the family, on
the mode in which the parties have been brought up, the character,
the education, the state of health, and a vast variety of circum
stances, that, really, every household is a world of itself. Home
is the Englishman's castle—impregnable and inaccessible ; who
can assail it ? No ; my object is not to pry into matters which
are happily beyond the public gaze, but rather to lay before you
the value and importance of simply taking a good account of
what we are actually receiving, and what we are actually spend
ing, during the whole of a long year. You are aware that one
of the most important evenings of the Session in Parliament is
the evening when the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes his
financial statement j that is, when he reviews all the circum
stances connected with the income and expenditure of the State
during the preceding year, investigates the condition and pros
pects of the nation as respects the future, communicates his
calculations of the probable income and expenditure for the
year to come, and declares whether the burthens upon the
people are to be increased or diminished. This statement is
7
�98
*
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
familiarly known as the Budget, and it is regarded with the
greatest possible interest by the whole nation. Now if this is
a good practice for the State, would it not be an excellent practice
for private individuals also ! The large questions that have
engaged our attention in the previous lectures are most impor
tant. A knowledge of the economic laws which govern the rate
of wages is most interesting and valuable. Still more important,
however, in any case, is it to come home to ourselves, and to
consider whether our own annual income is fully equal to our
expenditure, whether every item of income of every member of
the family is duly gathered, accounted for, and properly utilized,
and whether the expenditure is, in every respect, moderate,
legitimate, and kept within proper control. “ Gear is easier got
than guided.” Have you ever tried to keep a diary? The
difficulty of persevering in it is immense. You require habits
of order and method not often possessed. Carefully to note
down what we are doing, and what happens to us every day, is
as difficult as to register all the money that comes and goes.
Merchants, who make all their payments by cheques, and who
draw all their current money by cheques on their bankers, have
a ready means of ascertaining what they get and expend during
the year. But those who have not the luxury of a banker must
keep a little book for themselves ; and it is wonderful how useful
and interesting it becomes in course of time for a comparison
with the past and a check for the future. Let your wife begin
to put down what she expends, and you begin to put down what
you expend,-—and what a monitor such a record will prove !
The pay of the labourer is his wages, but his earnings will
comprise also the produce of labour from any other industry
at spare hours, any allowance from any society, and the fruit of
any money or property he or any member of his family may have
at the savings bank, building society, trade society, or other
wise. The pay itself may consist either in money or in kind,
or in both ; and where clothing, board, or lodging is given, the
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
99
money value of the same ought to be taken into account. A
sailor who gets 6oj., or 70s., and sometimes 90s., per month,
must remember that during the whole time of his engagement
he is fed and lodged on board. An agricultural labourer often
gets very little money wages. But in Northumberland the
wages include an allowance of corn for a cow or pig, house and
garden, coals, etc. A hind’s poll in Scotland comprises a given
quantity of oats, barley, peas, and land enough for potato plant
ing. In Devonshire, besides the money wage, there is the allow
ance of cider, and a labourer has a cottage for £1, with a patch
of land, from which he can get vegetables for the whole year for
the entire family, and enough to feed a pig, which again becomes
a source of income. A domestic servant gets from ^10 to ^30 a
year, in money, besides board and lodging, which, in London at
least, are equivalent to as much again. In the occupations I have
noted, the combination of payment in money and kind is not
only indispensable, but really advantageous to the labourers. In
calculating the amount of earnings, therefore, do not forget the
value of the advantages you obtain from your employment over
and above the weekly or monthly wages in money.
Where, moreover, there are more earners than one in a family,
where the wife, or sons, or daughters, earn also money, and bring
it into the common purse, that must be calculated also.' I
imagine sons and daughters do not bring to their fathers and
mothers all they earn, or anything like it. Would that they did 1
A very large portion of the earnings of the younger members of
the whole working population is, I fear, utterly wasted, simply be
cause it never reaches the home treasury. The practice of either
father or children allotting any portion of their wages to the
wife or mother for their food, keeping the rest for themselves,
and throwing on the poor mother the burden of making the two
ends meet, is wrong in principle. The boarding system is wrong
when applied to the family. Oh for a return to the patriarchal
system of united and not divided interest! There are thousands
�IOO
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
of families of working people in England where the aggregate
earnings would amount to ^3 or £4 a week, but where no account
is taken of a great portion of the same. I am not exaggerating
when I say that in very many cases fully one-fourth of the
income of the family is, in this way, utterly squandered, leading
to no result, giving no comfort, and only going in waste,
drunkenness, and vice. It is the same, unfortunately, in the
country as in towns. The agricultural villages, which have been
greatly multiplied since the introduction of machinery into agri
culture, are the absorbent of most of the earnings of many hard
working agricultural labourers. The public-house, the music
hall, and other places of amusement, waste away many an income
which could maintain a family in honour and comfort.
In order to make the income and the expenditure meet, there
are only two ways: one is, to increase the income; the other
is, to diminish the expenditure. Don’t you be deceived into
any expectation that you may increase your income by any
other means than by hard work. Don’t you be so foolish as to
renounce any income now in the hope that by renouncing it
to-day, you may get more to-morrow. Get what you can, and
keep what you have, is the way to get rich. Don’t you trifle
with any penny you may get, simply trusting on the continuance
of health and work to earn more. Trust in Providence ? Yes,
but never forget the duty of using rightful means. There is one
source of income, moreover, which we should scorn to resort to,
unless under the direst necessity, and that is, the poor rate. I
am strongly of opinion that the poor law in England is most
destructive to the industry, forethought, and honesty of the
labourers. What more degrading than using the parish doctor
both for birth and death ? What more lowering than the
workhouse? What more inconsistent with political economy
than the supporting, by public rates, of able-bodied labourers ?
It is a noble axiom, that none shall die of hunger,—that the
wealth of the rich shall supply the necessities of the poor. But
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
IOI
it is communistic in essence, and in practice most mischievous.
The subject is a very difficult one, and a change from a system
which has been so long in use might be attended with hardship ;
but it is for the working classes to say how long a compulsory
charity shall be allowed to enervate the very vitals of their
character and independence. They manage poor relief better
in other countries. In Sweden, every able-bodied person is
expected to maintain himself, his wife, and children, as a legal
obligation. In France, there is no legal claim for support.
“ When the virtue of charity ceases to be private,” said M.
Thiers, “ and becomes collective, it ceases to be a virtue, and it
becomes a dangerous compulsion.” In Belgium, the classic land
of pauperism, there is no poor rate. The legal provision for the
support of the poor consists in the donations of the public, vested
in, and administered by, the civil authorities. In Elberfeld there
is a right to relief, but outdoor relief is entrusted to overseers, and
every person applying for help must show that he cannot exist
without it. In Italy there is no legal provision for the support of
the poor. Comparing the proportion of pauperism to population,
England may seem to stand better than any other country; but
remember, the amount of charity in England, over and beyond
any provision of the poor law, is far in excess of what is given
abroad. Look at the report of the Charity Commissioners. See
how much is spent and squandered in every parish. See what
is passing through the poor box in every police office in the
metropolis. The public support of the sick, the lame, the blind,
the old, and the helpless infant, is a duty; but it is a disgrace
in any one who earns enough and, it may be, to spare, to abandon
an old father or mother, a wife or a child, to the miserable
pittance of the parish. It is a shame and a crime, by extrava
gance and waste, to throw our burden off our shoulders. Burden,
did I say ? There is no sweeter joy, no pleasanter duty, than
to contribute to the well-being of our dear ones, our friends, and
our kindred.
�102
BUDGETS OB THE WORKING CLASSES.
It is time, however, to turn to the other side of the account—
the expenditure. There is a well-known saying fitly applicable
to our subject—“ Cut your coat according to your cloth.”
Measure your expenditure by your income. It is a most un
fortunate practice of our Chancellor of the Exchequer, in
making up the financial statement of the nation, that he does
exactly the reverse, by measuring the public income by the public
expenditure. But he can do that, because he has a whole nation
to fall upon, by compulsory taxation. Not so the private
individual. You and I have no other resource than what we
earn; and we must, of necessity, measure our ekpenditure
by that, and by nothing else whatever. In any case, under no
circumstances, allow yourselves to fall into debt, for it is the
certain source of ruin. “Out of debt out of danger.” A very
large number of the plaints brought before the county courts
consist of sums not exceeding 4°r., and many are for sums not
exceeding ij. It is impossible to exaggerate the burden, the
aggravation, the misery, and the dependence of a man who
gets into the habit of purchasing what he requires, often, it may
be, in excess of what he needs, but with the consciousness of
not having the wherewithal to pay for it. “ Cut your coat ac
cording to your cloth.” Never give out what does not come in.
Avoid, above all, shop debt ; for you pay very dear for it, in
exorbitant prices of all you purchase.
I do hope Mr. Bass
will succeed in his effort to abolish imprisonment for debt, as
a discouragement to shops to sell on credit, for then prices would
sink to the scale of cash prices, and shopkeepers would get rid
of a great deal of care. Have the money before you spend it,
and you will be sure to economise it to the very best.
" Ken when to spend, and when to spare,
And when to buy, and you’ll ne'er be bare,”
The expenditure of a working man’s family cannot differ very
much from the expenditure of a person of the middle classes,
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
103
except in this, that the proportion of what is spent in necessaries,
comforts, or luxuries must vary according to the amount of
income. With 5 or. or 6or. a week, you may devote some
portion to the comforts or even the luxuries of life. With 20J.
a week, you may be thankful if you can provide for the neces
saries of life. Our absolute wants usually consist of bread,
flour, vegetables, meat, butter, sugar, tea, and milk ; house-rent,
fire and light, clothing, and the education of children. These
are the necessaries of life. The comforts of life consist, pro
bably, in an extensive use of these very things, plus spices and
condiments, newspaper and omnibus, church and charity,
an excursion, and some insurance for the future. And the
luxuries may consist of tobacco and drink, frivolities, pots
of flowers, keeping of birds, etc. But are we all agreed in
such a classification as this ? Time was when white bread
was a luxury ; now it is an article of common use, as a neces
sary of life. Meat is necessary, but is it necessary to eat it
every day ? And is there not a material difference between
purchasing a prime joint and other portions equally if not
more nutritious ? Clothing is necessary, but what clothing ?
Are bonnets with feathers and flowers necessary ? Are twenty
yards necessary for a dress ? N eed we all dress in silk attire ?
Whether an article of use is to be classed among the neces
saries, comforts, or luxuries of life depends in a great measure
on the standard by which we are guided, on the ideal we form
for ourselves of our own wants.
Looking over a large number of budgets in the work already
■quoted on European labourers, in returns kindly sent to me
direct by several workmen, and in the reports of the Secre
taries of Legation on the industrial condition of the working
classes abroad,* the conclusion I arrive at of a legitimate
appropriation of wages is somewhat as follows : 60 per cent.
* See Appendix B.
�104
BUDGETS OF THE WOEKTNG CLASSES.
is required for food and drink ■ 12 per cent, for'rent and taxes •
10 per cent, for clothing; 6 per cent, for fire and;[light; 1 peicent. for newspapers, omnibus, or travelling;' 4 per cent, for
church, education, and charity; 2 per cent, for amusementsand 5 per cent, for savings. In other words, for every pound of
wages the expense would be-12.. for food and drink; 2s.
for
lodgmg; 3d. forfiring and light; 2s. for clothing; 2ff. for omnibus
and newspaper ; t,. 6d. for church, education, and charity •
for amusements; and u. for saving in any insurance company
or benefit club. But this takes no account of the doctor’s bill
nor of slack time, and it would be only fair that some economy
should be made in either of the items to meet these possible
if not unavoidable, drawbacks. Nor are drink and tobacco’
specially calculated, for the cost of a reasonable quantity of beer
should certainly be included in the 12J. for food and drink
and the cost of the tobacco should be included in the expense
for amusement,-if, by any construction of language, smoking
can be considered an amusement. As a general rule, the neces
saries of life should be first provided ; and whatever excess may
remam may go towards the comforts of life; but, under any cir
cumstance, leave something for saving. It may be kind to be
liberal, and to be anxious to make every member of the family,
day by day, as comfortable as your means allow; but it is
kinder far to provide something for the almost inevitable con
tingency of sickness, want of work, or old age, when you, that
are now the strength and support of the family, are com
pelled sadly to put all work aside, or when any member of your
family, from disease or otherwise, may have to draw more on
your resources than you are able to provide.
Need I say that a considerable economy may be effected in
our. every-day expenditure without abridging in the slightest
manner our means of subsistence and comfort ? You buy | of
an ounce of the best tea, and you are charged fff.—equivalent to
4s- per pound. Buy J pound for cash, and you may get the same
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
105
tea at the rate of y. or 2s. 6d. per pound. Is there not much
waste in our cooking ? Is there not wanton waste in many of our
household arrangements ? A penny here and a penny there, and
soon shillings and pounds vanish. It is, however, impossible,
when we come to details such as these, not to place in the very
foremost rank of waste a very considerable portion of what is
spent in drink. Am I wrong in supposing that a person earning
30^. a week will spend 3^. in drink, that being considered a
moderate allowance for dinner and supper ? Am I exaggerating
when I say that in a very large number of cases that pro
portion is far, far exceeded, the amount so expended often being
more than 25 or 30 per cent, of the income ? What is the use
of reasoning on economy in little matters with such a drain
as this? What can the poor wife do with the very small
amount entrusted to her for housekeeping? And how often
does a dissipated husband make a dissipated wife ! What a
wretched example for children ! What a source of vice and
crime drunkenness is proving over the whole country! I am
not in favour of the so-called Permissive Bill, because it would
introduce strife in parishes, and because I think it would, at
best, be of partial application, and might be applied just
where it is least needed.
Nor can I say that we should
lightly interfere with any legitimate business, or with the
common rights of the people.
If there is a demand, the
supply will most assuredly be forthcoming somehow or other.
No, the reform must begin with ourselves. Reasons of duty,
reasons of self-respect, reasons of education, must impel us
to remove this source of scandal, at any rate, from our own
shoulder, and by our exhortation, and by our example, strive to
blot it out from the escutcheon of England. When I last
visited Liverpool I was attracted by the cocoa-shops established
in the immediate centre of the dock and sea-faring population,
and there I got a mug of cocoa for \d. and a scone for ^d.—both
excellent and satisfying. Take that in the morning, and you
�io6
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES
will find it an excellent preservative against any craving for
strong drink. All honour to Mr. Lockhart for his noble efforts
in that direction. Would that we had such cocoa-shops in
London! Would that public-houses without drink, and public
coffee and working men’s clubs,, were multiplied, for I am sure
there is ample room, and an imperious need, for extensive
efforts in improving the morals of the people in this one direc
tion. I do not trust much in the power of an Act of Parliament
to make people temperate. But I do trust in a sound and
wholesome public opinion, and I appeal to you to create it by
your hearty, spontaneous, and energetic example and action.
Who will help in this glorious enterprise? Do not wait for
great opportunities. Begin at once, and at home. In Mr.
Smiles’ excellent work on Thrift there is a story illustrative of
the influence of example in this matter which is worth re
peating :—
“A calico printer in Manchester was persuaded by his wife,
on their wedding-day, to allow her two half-pints of ale a day,
as her share. He rather winced at the bargain, for, though a
drinker himself, he would have preferred a perfectly sober wife.
They both worked hard, and he, poor man, was seldom out of
the public-house as soon as the factory was closed. She had
her daily pint, and he, perhaps, had his two or three quarts,
and neither interfered with the other, except that, at odd times,
she succeeded, by dint of one little gentle artifice or another,
to win him home an hour or two earlier at night, and now and
then to spend an entire evening in his own home. They had
been married a year, and on the morning of their wedding
anniversary the husband looked askance at her neat and
comely person, with some shade of remorse, as he said, ‘ Mary,
we’ve had no holiday since we were wed ; and, only that I have
not a penny in the world, we’d take a jaunt down to the village
to see thee mother.’
Would’st like to go, John ?’ said she, softly, between a smile
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
and a tear, so glad to hear him speak so kindly,
io7
so like old
times. £ If thee’d like to go, John, I’ll stand treat.’
“ £ Thou stand treat! ’ said he, with half a sneer : £ has’t got a
fortune, wench?’
« £ Nay,’ said she, £ but I’ve gotten the pint o’ ale.’
“ £ Gotten what ? ’ said he.
“ £ The pint o’ ale,’ said she.
“ John still didn’t understand her, till the faithful creature
reached down an old stocking from under a loose brick up the
chimney, and counted* over her daily pint of ale, in the shape
of three hundred and sixty-five threepences, or ^4 4-y* 6^-, and
put them into his hand, exclaiming, £ Thou shalt have thee
holiday, J ohn 1 ’
“John was ashamed, astonished, conscience-stricken, charmed,
and wouldn’t touch it. £Hasn’t thee had thy share? Then
I’ll ha’ no more ! ’ he said. He kept his word. They kept theii
wedding day with mother, and the wife’s little capital was the
nucleus of a series of frugal investments, that ultimately swelled
out into a shop, a factory, a warehouse, a country seat, a carriage,
and perhaps a Liverpool mayor.”
In England, the working classes have not much reason to
complain that their taxes are too heavy. That every subject
of the kingdom should, in proportion to his means, contribute his
quota to the general taxation is a principle of finance universally
admitted.
As members of the commonwealth, we are all,
though certainly in different degrees, interested in securing its
preservation and advancement. The poorest among us feels
an interest, if not pride, in the honour and glory of his fatherland. In truth, we should regard the national expenditure in
the light of an insurance, and the payment of the premuim as
a common duty and privilege. During the last thirty years,
however, nearly every step in the reform of the Budget has
been in the direction of lessening the taxes which pressed on
the necessaries of life, and of increasing the taxes affecting
�10S
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
wealth, industries, and, especially, luxuries. Taxes on sugar, tea,
co ee, corn, and on a vast number of imported articles have
been greatly reduced, or remitted altogether; and in their stead
stamp duties, income tax, land tax, probate duties, and duties on
spirits malt, wine, and tobacco have been newly imposed or in
creased. And what is the result? Of the taxes affecting wealth
and industry, amounting in all to
000,000, the working
classes do not pay more than half a million. Of taxes on ne
cessaries they may pay probably £2,500,ooo-the greater part on
tea. But of the taxes on luxuries, including spirits, malt, and to
bacco, the working classes pay their full quota in some£23,ooo,ooo
a year. But this large sum of taxation, borne by the working
classes under this head, is entirely voluntary. Give up drinking,
give up tobacco, and you avoid nearly every farthing of taxation.
owhere, probably, are the working classes treated with more
consideration than in England. What a pity that greater advan
tage is not taken of this wonderful exemption ! As it is, no tax
of any consequence is paid by the working classes, except in
t e slight addition caused by the duties on the cost of their
spirits, malt liquor, or narcotics ; and no one would grumble if
these taxes were considerably increased.
I have ventured to give what might be deemed a legiti
mate distribution of the expenditure of our working classes
Now, look at the results. I have estimated the total annual
wages and earnings of the working classes at the large amount
o £400,000,000, including money and money’s worth ; but take
no account of money’s worth, and assume only £300,000,000
in hard cash as falling into the hands of our working classes.
And on the proportion given, the money should go in the following
shapes : £180,000,000 would be expended on food and drink;
£36,000,000 in rent; £6,000,000 in firing and light; £30,000,000
m clothing; £3,000,000 in newspapers, omnibuses, and rail
way travelling, £12,000,000 in church, education, and
charity; £6,000,000 in amusements; whilst £15,000,000 would
�BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES. '
109
be reserved, for savings. But is the money so expended ?
Let us see. We may fairly assume that the ,£180,000,000 is
fully expended in food. The £36,000,000 laid down for house
rent tallies, so far, with the census report of 1871, showing
that the rental of houses under ,£20 had an estimated
aggregate annual value of ^32;000?000, Fire and light will
cost quite as much as I have estimated. The amount given for
clothing is, I fear, rather below than above the amount annually
expended. And so, probably, the amount given for amusements
and other items. But as for the ^12,000,000 expended in church,
education, and charity, and ,£15,000,000 reserved for saving,
alas ! where are they ? No, my calculations are fallacious in
two distinct items. Instead of the 60 per cent, given for food
covering the amount expended in drink, that item, to the ex
tent of fully 15 per cent, of the whole income, or £45,000,000,
and also 2 per cent, or £6,000,000 for tobacco, or, in all,
,£51,000,000, must be added as a separate and additional ex
penditure. But if this large amount is really so expended, as
is, unhappily, most likely to be the fact, if it is not indeed
greatly exceeded, what remains for church, education, and
charity, or for savings, or for any other rational purpose ?
Positively nothing. The little saved—probably £3,000,000 or
,£4,000,000 a year—as indicated in the annual increase of the
amount in the savings banks, friendly and building societies,
co-operative societies, etc., is the fruit of the economies of some
families, too few in number to constitute any perceptible
percentage in the whole number of the working population of
the country.
Now this I consider a very lamentable result of the budgets
of the working classes. What wonder if debt and pauperism
be rampant? What surprise can it cause that days of
sunshine and prosperity are so soon followed by dark,’ dark
days of misery and wretchedness ? I hope I may be wrong in
my calculations.
But if I am not, as I fear is not the case, it
�no
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
may not be in vain that I have called your attention to the
subject.
In discoursing upon the budgets of the working
classes, it would be wrong to ignore the thousand cases of
real, unmistakable hardship. That there is real poverty in
the land, that there is suffering, want, and misadventure, who
can ignore? The difficulties of the poor, their valour and
fortitude in bearing with and mastering them, are best known
to those who come most intimately in contact with them.
Their charitable disposition towards their friends in trouble,
their self-sacrifice, their heroism in labour, have been depicted
by the most masterly hands. But I am now speaking to the
great mass of our working men and women, and I say, if you
will avoid falling into the deep mire of calamities, if you will
maintain yourselves in comfort, honour, and self-reliance, look to
your budget, and endeavour so to economise your income that
you may have always enough and to spare.
�VIII.
SAVINGS BANKS AND OTHER INVESTMENTS OF THE
WORKING CLASSES.
The drift of all my Lectures has been—Look well into your
estate. Large economies depend upon little economies. If
you must be liberal in some kind of expense, do try to save in
some other. If you will be plentiful in diet, be at least saving
in drink. Let not your candle burn at both ends. By all
means, try to save. But how ? By putting aside whatever is
not absolutely indispensable for present want, in order that you
may make a reserve for unforeseen eventualities. And be not
ashamed to save. Call it not penury, miserliness, niggardliness,
and the like. A disposition to save for the future, a prescience
of, and a preparation for, what is to come, are just what place
us above the brute. Savages are not thrifty. They live from
day to day.
It is prudence that prompts us to save, and
wisdom that regulates the amount of our savings. It is modera
tion which enables us to realize any saving, and intelligence
which enables us to render it fruitful. And what are prudence,
wisdom, moderation, and intelligence, but the offspring of
civilization and morals? To have no thought for the morrow,
to have no regard for the welfare of friends and relatives, to
make no provision for old age and sickness, to indulge in
waste while the sun shines, never reflecting that after summer
�112
SA TINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
comes winter, are not consistent with our moral duties and
obligations. Is it a true picture of the English what Mr.
Smiles said, that though they are a diligent, hard-working, and
generally self-reliant race, they are not yet sufficiently educated
to be temperate, provident, and foreseeing; that they live for
the present, and are too regardless of the coming time ; that
though industrious, they are improvident—though money-making
they are spendthrift. I would fain believe that the future is too
highly drawn, for, certainly, there is no nation of the world that
puts aside so much wealth from year to year as England. What
is it but thrift that renders this country able to accumulate
capital at such an enormous ratio ? Ask the merchant and the
manufacturer, and they will tell you that they must and do
strain every nerve to increase their capital. The State, it is true,
has no reserve in the Tower to meet any possible contingency of
war as France had, prior to the Napoleonic wars, in the palace
of the Tuileries. We make no account of the blessing of water
when it rains in abundance. We have no public granaries for
the storing of the surplus of prosperous harvest years. Yet
production and saving must be far in excess of our expenditure,
or else how could wealth increase so fast ? No, there is much
saving going on in England, but the effort is made compara
tively by the few. How often do we see calculations, almost
fabulous, of what good could be done if we would only put
aside what is superfluous or wasteful! What number of churches
and schools, of museums and palaces, of parks and gardens,
could be built and provided with the expenses now allotted to
the army and navy, or the sum devoted to the interest of the
national debt, or the amount expended in drink, or any other
luxuries. Alas I alas! the dreams of the reformer are not so
easily realized.
The first step in the way of saving is to spend well.
You
save one pound. Spend it on some evening classes to learn
drawing or mechanics, arithmetic or French, whatever may be
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
113
most useful to you. Remember, we are never too old to learn.
Better late than never. You save another pound. Buy Cassell’s
Popular or Technical Educator. Spend it in, or set it aside to
wards, a new set of tools for your employment. • Lay it out, in short,
in what may be useful to you in improving your fitness for work,
in enabling you to raise yourself and earn better wages. Howmuch has been set aside in tools and implements by our work
ing classes it would be difficult to estimate. A joiner’s tools
may be worth £10, and more, but unhappily with the introduc
tion of machinery the labourer is no longer called to provide
himself with tools and implements, and so this form of saving is
rather diminishing than increasing. Well prepared for your
work, look to your house. By all means let it be comfortable,
cheerful, and well furnished. Mr. Mundella noticed the great
demand for pianofortes and other musical instruments for work
ing men’s houses. Do not indulge in luxuries, but do take a
pride in having a pretty house, a full house, and a comfortable
home. Am I wrong in taking ^10 each, at least, as the
value of furniture in the 3,500,000 houses tenanted by working
people? If so, then some ^35,000,000 or ^40,000,000 must
have been set aside by them in this form.
Under no circumstances, I pray you, keep your money in
your pockets, for it may not be long there. The coin is round,
and it rolls away swiftly. Temptations are strong. The shops
are inviting. If you keep your money loose, you may not have
the fortitude to resist the attraction to spend it amiss. So put
it aside. And where ? Not inside an old stocking, not under a
brick, but at the savings bank. The savings banks only com
menced with the opening of the present century. In 1798,
a Miss Priscilla Wakefield founded a bank at Tottenham, for
receiving the savings of workwomen and female domestic ser
vants. In 1799, an offer was made by the Rev. Joseph Smith,
of Wendover, to receive any part of the savings of the people in
his parish every Sunday evening, during the summer, and to
8
�H4
SA CLEGS OR THE WOREiimG CLASSES.
repay them at Christmas, with the addition of one-third of the
whole amount deposited, as a bounty; and in 1810, the Rev.
Henry Duncan founded the Parish Bank Friendly Society at
Ruthwell. These were the days of small things, but institutions
of this nature soon multiplied, and so a Bill was introduced in
the House of Commons by Mr. Whitbread to make use of the
Post Office machinery for the purpose of receiving and repaying
the savings of the people, though matters were not ripe for that
step. However, in 1817 the first Act was passed upon the subject,
authorising the formation of savings banks for the purpose of
receiving deposits of money for the benefit of the persons de
positing, allowing the same to accumulate at compound interest,
and to return the whole, or any part of the same, to depositors,
after deducting the necessary expense of management, but
deriving no profit from the transaction. The limit of the de
posits was set at ^100 for the first year, and /50 for every year
following, and the interest allowed to depositors was 4 per cent,
net; the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt
paying the trustees for the amount invested with them, at the rate
of 3d. per day for every ^100, producing an interest of ^4 iu. 3^.
Some change was made in the limits of deposits in 1824, reducing
it to ^30 for the first year, and ^30 for the subsequent ones; the
whole not to exceed ^150, and interest to cease when principal
and interest amounted to ^200,—as at present. But money
having become less valuable, in 1844 the interest to depositors
was reduced to ^3 os. iod. per cent, per annum. And how
great has been the success of such measures ! In 1817, on the
first formation of these banks, the amount due to depositors
was^^ooo. In 1831, the amount rose to ^15,000,000, and
thirty years after, in-1861, it reached £42,000,000. By that
time, however, the proposal to make use of the Post Office for
facilitating the employment of the savings of the people acquired
more force from the failure of some savings banks, whilst the
eagerness shown by the people in France in responding to the
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
115
appeal of Napoleon III. for one loan after another, with full
confidence in their national securities, commended the use of
the Post Office as an instrument for multiplying the means of
depositing the savings of the people all over the country, as
alike convenient and advantageous. So the suggestion years
before made by Mr. Whitbread was taken up in earnest. And
in i860 Mr. Gladstone laid before the House of Commons a
plan which became the basis of the pi esent system. For a
short time, the old savings banks somewhat suffered from the
presence of these fresh competitors, but they speedily recovered,
and now whilst the Trustees Savings Banks have an amount as
large as ever, or ^42,000,000, the Post Office Banks, so suddenly
sprung up, have already in hand ^25,000,000—making in all
^67,000,000.
This amount is supposed to represent, at least to a large ex
tent, the savings of the labouring classes. There is no means,
however, of ascertaining the classes of persons to whom such
deposits really belong. The probability is that not an incon
siderable portion of such savings belongs to the middle classes,
who need such instruments of saving quite as much as the
working classes. If we take two-thirds of the whole amount
as belonging to the working classes, the sum to their credit
would be ^45,000,000. Nor is this all, for there are a large
multitude of small savings banks connected with Sunday
schools, churches, and other societies, which are of great value,
and which would be found to have together a handsome sum.
The present Post Office Savings Banks fail in their not being
open in the evening, particularly on Fridays and Saturdays,
in their not receiving less than one shilling at a time, and in
their limiting the deposits to ^3° a year. The Society of Aits
and the Provident Knowledge Society represented these wants
to the Postmaster-General, and whilst he consented to open the
banks in the evening, at least gradually, he objected to the
diminution of deposits to less than ij. on the ground of expense-
�u6
SAJHNGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
As it is, every transaction of a depositor, whether he pays in
or draws out money, costs the State nearly 6d. Let the de
posit be i^„ and for each transaction the cost may be ij.
To the objection against the limits of £3o, the Postmaster
said that it was necessary to maintain it on account of
expense, and also for the purpose of keeping clear of com
petition with the ordinary business of bankers. Meanwhile,
however, the National Penny Bank has been founded, in which
our friend Mr. Hamilton Hoare takes a deep interest. It is
open in the evening. It has school branches and workshop
branches, and it is perfectly safe. Patronise it with your pennies,
Do not imagine, indeed, that every penny or pound once de
posited at the savings banks is allowed to remain there. Far,
far from it. It is an advantage certainly of the savings bank
that you have no trouble in taking out whatever you need, but
remember the pith and marrow of the transaction is to keep the
money there. Once taken out, unless, indeed, for the purpose
of a better investment, and it is done. Look at the accounts for
1875, for England only. During that year the old Trustees
Savings Bank received /6,656,000, and actually paid out
^7?O49?OO°? or more than they got. True, some of that money
has possibly been transferred to the Post Office Savings Banks,
and there we find that they received in the year .£8,779,000,
and paid back £6,864,000. But, certainly, it is not satisfactory
that, with receipts amounting in all to upwards of £i5,ooo,oooj
the amount left, or saved, in all the savings banks in one year,
was only £1,5 22,000. Just imagine how many must have tried to
save something, and how few have been able to manage it. How
many must have started with a good resolution, how few were
strong enough to keep to it. And how many must have used
the savings banks simply for a temporary convenience, probably
till Christmas or Whitsuntide, or till the want or the fancy
came to buy something. Thankful, indeed, we may be that
so much has been gathered, and that such a substantial sum
�OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
H7
as /45 000,000, or thereabout, remains there on account of the
nrkino- classes Only remember, it is the accumulation of very
- a matter of fact, if we compare the deposrts
per head of the population in 18S1 and .874, - find tha he
smallest per centage increase has been m England
Whilst^
England the increase was at the rate of 53 pei
•>
it was 175 per cent., and in Scotland 200 per cent.
In connection with savings banks I pray you to remember that
by allowing 3 per cent, per annum the nation loses a large sum
of money every year* The Post Office Savings Banks allow only
per cent., and I venture to say that with the present low
value of money it will not be long before the Trustees Savings
Banks will have to revise their system, unless they obta
greater freedom in the choice of investments. In France, the
savings banks invest their funds in landed and other real pro
perty^ well as in the public funds. In Belgium, they even dis
count bills. InHolland,theylendonmortgages. Needlsaytha
in the United Kingdom all the deposits are invested in the Bntis
funds 7 Whether or not greater latitude might be allowed in the
investments consistently with sufficient security, .s a question for
grave consideration. Comparing the savings bank system in
England and other countries, it would appear that England stands
far ahead, in Europe at least. In 1874, m England and Wales,
the savings banks had £2 yn 8<Z. per head, Scotland £1 1 w.
Ireland nr., France gs. toil., Holland Jr. 4rf, Austria 36s. yi.,
Germany 3^., Switzerland 84s., Italy r6r. 6.. While Great
Britain had 9,436 depositors for every 100,000 persons, Switzer
land had 20,3m, and France only 5,600. But, for purposes of
comparison, you must take into account other faculties of invest
ments, and the habits of the people. The workmg people 0
France and Belgium are less venturesome than those of Englan .
* On the 20th November, 1876, the deficiency from the amount of the liabilitS of tie Government, and the value of the securities held by the Com
missioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, amounted to £a,5^,727
�H8
0^
l^OA^VG CLASSES.
They prefer becoming rentieres, or fundholders, to having money
at their disposal at the savings bank, and still more they like a
plot of ground which they may call their own. The subdivision
o and in France certainly favours this, and the Frenchman
e lghts m it. In England land is not to be had. The funds
o not present much facility for investment. Whilst in England
no m°re than 228,696 persons are entitled to various amounts
of dividends on the several kinds of stock in the public funds, in
rance the number of fundholders is given at 5,500,000. It is
safety and physical grasp of the property that mostly attract
the Frenchman. The Englishman is quite prepared to hazard a
ittle more for profit. After all, the savings banks offer no suffi
cient compensation. All they do is to keep for you any sum
of money you please, paying you as high a rate of interest as
and indeed more than, money is worth in this great storehouse
of capital.
Next to having some ready money always available in case
of need, we do well if we can make provision to secure some
help m case of sickness, or special contingencies ■ and here come
to our aid the many friendly societies. In the savings banks
e depositor’s capital remains his own, he has full freedom to
use it howsoever he likes, and can withdraw it whenever he
likes. In a friendly society the capital of the members con
stitutes a common fund; the investor is understood to devote the
amount to the object of the society, and he can get the fund
back only on the happening of certain events. The purposes
of friendly societies are very varied. They relieve members in
sickness and old age ; they furnish proper medicine and medical
attendance; they provide members with assistance when tra
velling in search of employment; they assist them when in
istress ; they provide a sum on the death of members for their
widows and children; and they defray the expense of burialcomplete list of such societies in every part of the kingdom
would show how extensively the spirit of association is in opera-
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
tion First is the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows Next is
the Ancient Order of Fore^XtXVd" ReZite
Zpeyran“ FrieX' sXyZ for its motto, “ We will drink
LX for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded
"Z Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons, fo
ever.” Besides these, and among many others we ha«t e^
c*
a »
TJparts of Oak Benefit Society?
Dreids” “The Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds,” “The Order
golden Fleece,” “ The Stat of the E-t,” and many mu,
numberin'* together one million and a quarter of members Aft
heTe come the burial societies, with another milhon mid hatf of
members. Then the societies
ZdLiXs ” aL
Sisters ” the “ Comforting Sisters,” the United Siste ,
Xe Daughters of Temperance.” The Scottish Societies go
by the names of “ The Humane,” “ The Protector,
Accord” “The Thistle” Ireland has her Emerald Isle T
bne So’ciety,” the “ Adam and Eve Tontine,” the “ St. DommiP
“St Ignatius,”“St. Joseph,” andmany more. Besides the frien y
societE proper, there are the trade unions, which are friendly
societies and something more ; the industrial an provi en
societies, constituted for carrying on trade ; the loan socie i
and co-operative societies, which have of late made wonderfu
progress. These friendly societies have been ivi e
y
commissioners into seventeen classes. And even these byno
means exhaust all the varieties of societies thus formed. A
y
all solvent? Can they be all recommended? Their object is,
doubtless, good, their intention excellent. But do they Kt e
proper precautions in their investments of money. Do they t
sufficient account of the rate of mortality in the different emp oyments. Are the returns they give reliable ? Should W society
of this character be allowed to meet at public-houses
I
hone the Act recently passed may eventually afford sufficient
guarantees for the 4,000,000 members interested in sue
�120
SA™rCS OF THE WORIawG CLASSES.
societies, having together about g'to,000,000 or ZI2 000 000
"aXa‘
°f thCir
ove^xx:: xx xxxsfrom bWers’
yourseives with such societies, XXXXZXX
are registered, those whose accounts are properly audited and
ose which can produce real certificates that they are sound
solvent, and safe.*
ouna’
.. °.f friendl>'societies th= most useful, when properly used are
«
certa-n
AXr
"r ; “d theSC
”gSa° yiS
"’1WSe
te™inatin»’
F“Xbe
J- °r Peil°dlcal sums> "’h>oh accumulate till the
ate sufficient to give a stipulated sum to each member
When the whole is divided amongst them. The members of
funds
sue societies may have the amount of their share in anticipation
by allowing a large discount,-not all, however, but such as by a’
sort of auction, bid the highest sum of discount, the repayment
bemg secured by mortgages on real or household property The
P-mnent societies do not disso.ve upon the completion of the
ares In a termmatmg society a person must either become
member at the time the'society is established or else pay a
rge amount of back subscriptions. In a permanent, one mac
become a member at any time. In a terminating, one does not
now ow ong he has to continue his payments, and how much
ay withdraw. In a permanent, he does. Together they
have a capital of some ^2,000,000, of which perhaps ,£8,000,000
may belong to the working classes. Are building societies advantageous as an investment for the working classes ? Are they
sa^e.
toperly conducted, a building society ought to be safe,
FrieJdlySodetv^n1305^ tHat
Government shou’d establish a National
the PostOffice Savin*s Banks;
of the causes and d ° t
%
X
abS6nCe °f any reliable data
cost of management n nd°th
]iaMity to decePtion2 the
meats
&
’
he dlfficulty of securing the continuance of pay-
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
121
for it invests its funds in houses and other real property, and
it ought to be able to calculate exactly what its funds at com
pound interest are likely to produce. And as for conveni
ence, I can conceive no investment more attractive than one
which may enable you in a comparativly few years to have a
house of your own. In London, indeed, the distance between
your house and your work, the expense of living in the suburbs,
and the uncertainty of remaining long in any employment m
any locality, may prove an obstacle to the purchase of a house,
but I cannot conceive a more mischievous disposition m any
family than that of being continually shifting from place to
place. “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” What waste is the
expense of removing ! What unfixedness of habits '. What
discouragement to beautify your house—to make it a home.
Stay still, my friends. And by all means if you can, buy a house
for yourselves. It is the best and most profitable expenditure
you can possibly make.
The building society will provide you with a house to dwell
in. The friendly society will see that in sickness you have a
doctor, and that on your death you may have a decent burial.
But what of the friends you must leave behind? For any
security to them, you must have recourse to the provident
principle of life insurance. Based on the fixedness of the law
of nature, which not only lays a bound to our natural life, but
seems to indicate what proportion of any given number of
human beings is likely to die, at every age, the life insurer
is ready to take upon himself the obligation to pay a certain
amount to your friends and relatives whenever you may die,
be it to-morrow or fifty years hence, provided you engage to
pay, and do actually pay, every year, as long as you live, a fixed
annual premium. Suppose you have a wife and children, and
you are anxious that when you die they shall not remain pemless. If you are thirty years of age you will have to pay, say,
£2 is. 6d. per annum to secure ^100 at death for your friends.
�122
SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
But mind you—and this is a hard measure in life insurancethat if you do miss a single year, you lose all you have put in.
er, say, ten years, you may surrender the policy to the Office
and get some allowance for what you have paid. But not be
fore But can workmen engage to make annual payments, and
an they be sure of continuing them ? This is indeed the difficu ty, or the collection of weekly payments is very costly, and
hitherto, where insurance has been tried among working men, the
proportion of lapses is very large. It is certainly an advantage,
in life insurance, that it compels you to make some self-sacrifice
nay, to make a very hard struggle every year, somehow, to pay
the premium; for the longer you pay it the safer is the policy.
ou are not likely to grudge paying the premium, because you
wish for yourself length of days, whatever it may cost. And the
insurance company will be glad if you live very long, if you be
come a very centenarian, for then it will get the premium out of
you twice or three times over. But workmen having uncertain
employments have great difficulty to meet the demands of life
insurance. Nevertheless, 1 do wish life insurance could be ex
tended among the labouring classes, for it is of great comfort
and benefit, and the upper and middle classes use it largely, up
wards of £300,000,000 being insured upon their lives, upon which
they pay more than £ 10,000,000 per annum in premium. The
Government has provided for the granting of Government
annuities and insurance in connection with the Post Office ; and
there if you only succeed in paying the premium for five years,
you will be entitled, if you wish to discontinue it, to the sur
render value. But the working classes do not seem to have taken
much advantage of the plan. Founded as far back as 1865, con
tracts have been entered into for the purpose by the Post Office,
for less than £300,000. Insurance companies do not come to
you. You must go to them. If you do decide upon insuring, take
care to choose the safest office ; for valuable as life insurance is,
it should not be forgotten that’the actual solvency of the com-
�SAWINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
123
puny depends on the accuracy of the data upon which it carries
on its business, on the rate of mortality which they
™
the rate of interest which they are able to realize,. an
portion of income from premium which they are able tc. reserve
for future expenses and profits. Inthe words of Messrs. Malcolm
and Hamilton, who have reported on the accounts o insurance
companies, “taking insurance business as it ex
country, where adequate premiums are charged, and live
selected with care, the public cannot be misled if, when seek
ing an office in which to effect an insurance, they select one
which transacts its business at a small percentage of wor mg
cost, and does not anticipate its profits.”
. .
I have mentioned among the friendly societies, the co
operative societies, both for distribution and production. Co
operative societies may be regarded as a means of invest
ment, and as a mode of securing a more liberal reward for
labour. It is not indeed put forth that either co-operative
societies or industrial partnerships can supersede effectua ly, or
in any important degree, the present relation of capital an
labour, as by far the simplest and capable of the wides
application, yet it is conceived that by affording grea er
encouragement to save, and ampler opportunities tor the
profitable use of such savings, many who at present have
other prospect than that of remaining m a condition of com
parative dependence, may eventually become possessed of a
small capital. How to give to the consumer direct access o
the producer ; how to give to the immediate producer, that ,
labour, direct access to capital, either directly, by an antecede»
act of aggregate saving on the part of the producer himself or
mediately, by crediting the immediate producer or labourer with
the necessary capital,-these are the objects which co-operation
seeks to obtain. Co-operative societies have been formed or
distribution and production, and even for credit. The con
ception is certainly simple and practical. Here are a hundre
�■24
SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
men goring yearly’ Say< Z4° each> at Ieast> of commodities,
which if bought wholesale will cost no more than £3o Form
a co-operative society to buy direct such provisions from the
producer, and the profit which the retailers would have gained
Will form a substantial economy to the consumers. Or let the
price of the commodities consumed remain as they would be if
so
y retailers, and let the profits accumulate in the hands of
such society; and you will have, by degree, a handsome capital
belonging to such members, which may be employed in prouction. And thus, from a co-operative society for distribution
you may easily rise to a co-operative society for production’
Here are a thousand operatives, each having a small savinoGather them savings together to form the capital. Let the con
tributors be themselves the operatives, and the combination
will seem perfect. But how should the relative rights of capital
and labour be adjusted ? The workman, as a capitalist, has an
interest m increasing, as much as possible, the profits of the
establishment, but as a workman he is still more interested in
securing a liberal rate of wages. Here an antagonism of
interests is sure to follow, and it is a great question whether the
problem admits of a satisfactory solution. But I have supposed
t e existence of capital in the hands of the labourers. What
if they have no such capital? Can they be credited with it ?
What security can they offer? Shall we ask the State to lend
capital to such labourers if the capitalists will not incur the
usk ? The idea is in itself preposterous.
Take, however, the most probable case, where labourers have
on y a very small capital. Shall we encourage them to em
ploy their savings in co-operative societies for production ? A
arge portion of the success which attends commercial operations
is the result of the skill and shrewdness of those who engage in
them. Capital is an important element, but the capacity to
know when and where to buy and to sell, and the possession of
a spirit of adventure balanced by prudence and caution, are
�12'5
SA RINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
elements of enormous value in securing success. Can working
men lay claim to such knowledge and foresight
If they
have to depend upon others for the management of such
dertakings, is there no danger of their falling into the hands
of designers and schemers, who will soon squander
savings?
e 1
Of the many"^“^X'CeTXcceeded.
1
t chas are for distribution-as grocers, drapers, and proven
dealers—have succeeded exceedingly well, scarcely anyt formed
for productive purposes can show any real gam.
Whils the
Rochdale Equitable Pioneers-as grocers, provision dea e ,
drapers, tailors-realized a goodly sum, the Rochdale card manu
facture realized nothing, and so in a number of instances. The
recent abandonment of the principle of industrial partner^.by
Messrs. Briggs has been exceedingly disappomtmg to the fnends
“ co-operatfon ; and so also has the breakdown of the Ouseburn
Engine Works, of the Shirland Colliery, and the Industnal Ba
in Newcastle. To my mind, there is no royal road to.wealth
The workman must, in some measure, become a capitalist
before he can seek to become a co-operator with the capitalist
in industrial enterprise. And when he has amassed a ittb sum
let him take care what he does with it. In these d y , P
duction on a small scale has no chance of success m competition
with production on a large scale. Great enterprises, w,th la ge
capital, are carried on at much less expense, and can always
command greater facilities. Lay you a solid foundation for your
advancement in a substratum of real capital, foster >t bypru
deuce and foresight, increase it by legitimate means, and yo
may depend upon it that in Z/«t? you will have the surest sa eguard for independence and improvement.
§ The introduction of limited liability in joint stock compam
has opened for the working classes the avenues_ to commercial operations to any extent. All you require is capital,
�^6
SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
and this capital you must gather, little by little, by hard labour
and, it may be, by continuous toil and hardship. Gentlemen it
requires some amount of heroism to set aside any fragment’of
our present income for our future wants, to deprive ourselves
it may be, of needed comforts that we may provide for con
tingencies at present, at least, beyond our ken. But it is worth
doing. A pound to-day and another to-morrow. Now five
pounds and anon ten—it is astonishing how soon the sum grows
if you are only careful. But be you extra cautious how you’
invest your savings, for the more labour we have to give to
the acquisition of small incomes and the accumulation of small
savings, the more incumbent it becomes on us to be on our
guard, lest we should lose it all by carelessness or misemployment. Trust not on the Government to protect you. Keep your
eyes open, and mind what you are about, for once you lose what
you have got, it is extremely difficult to get it again. After all
it is not much we want. Strive for more, but be content with
your lot.
Man s rich with little, were his judgments true ;
Nature is frugal, and her wants are few :
Those few wants answer’d, bring sincere delights ;
But fools create themselves new appetites.”
But, my friends, is it only money that we should seek after?
Are there not treasures of knowledge, treasures of benefaction,
treasures of inward joys and happiness, that we may aspire to
obtain ? Must we all strike the same path ? Have we all the
same talents ? Have we all the same opportunities ? Thirtytwo years ago, a comparative youth came to England, from the
centre of Italy, unknowing and unknown. He had but one talent
—not that of the Universities, either of Oxford or Cambridge,
Pisa or Bologna ; not that of riches, or of fame ; but one com
mon to all—an open eye and an open mind, with perseverance in
duty, and hope and faith to cheer him in his path. He planted
that talent in the British soil, and there it lodged summer and
�SAVINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
127
winter, and winter and summer, giving little signs of life; but
it was growing, and it gave fruit in the establishment of a
Chamber of Commerce in Liverpool, in a work on the Com
mercial Law of the World, and another on the History of Britis
Commerce. And that talent is still growing, and has made its
possessor a barrister-at-law, a member of not a few scientific
societies, and the Professor of the Principles of Commerce
and Commercial Law in King’s College, London ;-the very
one who has now the honour and the pleasure of addressing to
you these Lectures. If you could trace the antecedents of many
of those who are now great, how often would you find that it is
not fortune, or birth, or estate, that produces our best men, but
labour, perseverance, force of will. Read Smiles’ “ Self-made
Men ; ” and you will find that Hargreaves and Crompton were
artiza’ns, and Arkwright a barber. That Telford and Hugh Miller
were stonemasons, and Trevithick amechanic. That Lord Tenterden the judge, and Turner the painter, were both sons of barbers.
That Inigo Jones the architect, and Hunter who discovered
the circulation of the blood, were carpenters. That Cardinal
Wolsey and Defoe were sons of butchers ; that the immorta
John Bunyan was a tinker, and Herschel the astronomer a
bandsman. That James Watt was the son of an instrument
maker, and Faraday the son of a blacksmith ; that Newton’s
father was a yeoman, with a small farm worth iia 6^. a year ;
and Milton the son of a scrivener. That Pope and Southey were
sons of linendrapers, and Shakspeare the son of a butcher
and grazier. That Lord Eldon was the son of a Newcastle coal
fitter and LordJSt. Leonard the son of a barber, who began life
as an errand boy. AU honour to them I Strive you to be like
them.
“ Lives of great men all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
�128
SA VINGS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.’’
Let our occupation be high or low in public estimation,
he is a great man who, by high character and self-mastery,
by culture and industry, by application and perseverance,
secures for himself a true individuality ; and who, with powers
fully developed, and faculties duly expanded, uses whatever
talent he may possess to the glory of God, and to the benefit
of his fellow-creatures.
�appendix a.
Statement of the weekly expenditure, in 1859, of a family consistm«
wife, and three children, whose total wages averaged th'rtV
P
week, as compared with the cost of the same arttclesm 875,>8^ and
|> 1839.—“ Progress of Manchester,” by D. Chadwick, Brit.sh Assomation
1861, revised by Dr. Watts.
|
Articles.
Expenditure in
i875-
Expenditure in
1849.
Expenditure in
1859.
Expenditure in
i
|(I.) Bread, Flour, and
Meal.
S|8 41b. loaves (32 lbs.) .. 6 Id. per 41bs.
IL a peck of meal........... is. 10d.pr.pk.
||l a doz. (6 lbs.) of flour is. lod. pr.dz.
6d. per 4lbs.
is.6d. perpk.
1s.10d.pr.dz.
5Jd. per 41b.
is.8d. perpk.
is.8d. per dz.
5
4
2
I
81- 7 I. per lb
4 9
4
oj
2
O
0
9
6
4
3
xs.4d. per lb. 0
8
0
3
6
8Jd. per 41b.
is-4d. perpk.
2S.4d. per dz.
(II.) Butchers’ Meat
and Bacon,
;lbs. of butchers' meat 8'd. per lb.
dbs. of bacon ................
6Jd. per lb. .
(III.) Potatoes, Milk,
and Vegetables.
2 score of potatoes .... is. per score
7 quarts of milk ............ 4d. per qt. .
Vegetables ....................
tl
is. per score
3d. per qt. ..
I
;. per score
1. per qt. ..
is. per score
3d. per qt...
;. 4d. per lb.
5. 4d. ,,
2S. per lb.
(IV.) Groceries, Coals,
etc.
Jib. of coffee
Jib. of tea ....
31bs. of sugar
albs, of rice ..
1 lb. butter.. ..
21bs. of treacle
rjlbs. of soap
Coals................
Candles...........
xs. id. per lb
I
I
0
I
0
5
6
0
6
6
Rent, taxes, and water
Clothing .........................
Sundries .........................
I
0
0
II
I
.
4
3
2
9
Totals
• 30
0
0
5*
sJ
0
�APFENDIX.
130
AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS OF THE COTTON OPERATIVES.
Week of 69
1839
s. d.
Steam-engine tenders
24 0
Warehousemen .... 18 0
Carding stretchers
7 0
Strippers, young men, women, and
girls....................................... 11 0
Overlookers....................................... 25 0
Spinners on self-acting Winders,
Males
.
.
.
. 16 0
Piecers, women and young men 8 0
Overlookers ..... 20 0
Reeling Throttle, reelers, women 9 0
Warpers
..... 22 0
Sizers............................................... 23 0
Doubling, Doublers, women.
7 0
Overlookers...................................... 24 0
Agricultural—
Devon
Somerset.
Cheshire .
Durham .
i860.
Per week.
8s. to 12s.
12s. ,, 14s.
15s.
15s. to 20s.
Builders—
Masons .
hours.
1849
s. d.
28 0
20 0
7 6
12
28
0
0
14
28
0
0
19
32
18
0
0
0
6
0
0
6
0
20
10
26
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
25
16
9
22
9
22
23
7
25
18555s. per day.
1850.
Per month.
Seamen, London—
Mediterranean
.
45s.
...
.
50s.
...
North America
East India and China 40s.
Australia
40s.
Week of 60 hours.
1873
1859
s. d.
s. d.
32 o
30 0
26 o
22 0
12 o
8 0
...
...
9
23
25
9
28
...
30
12
26
30
12
32
o
o
o
o
o
6
o
6
o
1872.
Per week.
9s. to 12s.
13s. ,, 20s.
16s. 6d.
17s. to 20s.
1876.
96. per hour.
...
...
...
...
1874.
Per month.
70s. to 80s. ... 80s. to 90s.
80s. „ 95s. ... 85s. „ 95s.
60s. „ 65s. ... 80s. „ 85s
70s.
�APPENDIX.
APPENDIX B.
BUDGETS OF THE WORKING CLASSES.
Great Britain.
(From the “ Times," November Vjih, 1872.)
Weekly Expenses of a Farm Labourer in 1872 in East Sussex :—
Per week.
£ s. d.
£, s. d.
0 7 0
7 gallons of flour
.
.
0 i 4
1 lb. butter
.
.
0 0 4
2 oz. tea *
.
.
.
.
.
0 0 7
2 lb. sugar *
.
.
0 1 3
2 lb. cheese
,
.
0 0 3i
Milk
....
.
.
0 O 2
1 lb. soap
.
.
0 O I
Soda and blue .
.
.
0 0 10J
i| lb. candles .
.
.
0 O 7
Schooling
.
.
0 0 3
Cotton and mustard
•
•
0 I 0
Washing and mangling .
.
.
0 2 0
Rent
....
0 15 10
Extra expenses per annum :—
£> s. d.
Benefit club .
Boots
....
Clothes ....
Tools ....
Faggots ....
Extra food in hop drying
1
O IO
4
0
0
0
0
0
12
4
2
I
0
2
7
4
14
0
4
0
equal to 0 3 0
o 18 10
�132
APPENDIX.
Income and Expenditure of a Tobacco Spinner in Edinburgh, the Family
consisting of Six Persons. Income: Father, 25s.; Boy in the Telegraph
Service, 6s.—total, 31s.
Expenditure :—
£
Bread, 361b. ; meat, 4Mb. ; flour, 71b. ;
rice, ilb. ; potatoes, 10J lb ; sugar,*
51b ; tea, * Jib. ; coffee, * Jib. ; butter,
0
i|lb.......................................................
Beer,* 4 pints; spirits nil; tobacco,*
0
302.........................................................
House rent ......
0
Coal and gas...................................
0
Clothing............................................
0
Taxes....................................................
0
vhurch or chapel, 4d. ; amusements,
rd.; benefit club, is. id. ; doctors
bill, and sundries, 2s. 6d.
0
Zr
16 6
0
2 4
8
I
4 0
0 34
2
4 0
IO
94
Per cent.
Taxes.
54
s. d.
0 6
6
7
6
13
I
I
9
0 34
13
IOO
64
2
Income and Expenditure of a Printer, Single Man, living in London.
Income £1 16s. od. a-week :—
z s. d.
Bread, i21b. ; meat, 41b. ; flour, 41b. ;
potatoes, 81b.; sugar,* ilb.; tea,* 202.;
coffee,* 2oz. ; butter, iooz.
Beer,* 14 pints ; spirits, * 1 quartern ;
tobacco,* 40Z........................................
House rent...................................
Coal and gas......
Clothin
......
Church, amusements, laundress .
Per cent.
0 9 8
4i
0 3
■0 5 0
0 2 6
0 I 6
0 2 6
0 2 6
21
1 4
Z*
3
8
Taxes.
II
6
II
IO
IOO
1
7
�APPENDIX.
*33
France.
{From Lord Brabazon s Report, vFjz, p. 45.)
Average. Expenditure of a Married Day Labourer’s Family, consisting of
Father, Mother, and Three Children, with a Collective Income of
£24 is. 7d.
£. s. d. Per cent.
Bread,* vegetables, meat,* milk, salt
59
13 15 7
6
I 7 2
Wine* beer,* and cider* ....
I 13 7
7
Lodging* (tax on doors and windows) .
I
5
5 8
Firing*....................................................
I
0 4 6
Taxes....................................................
16
3 12 9
Clothing*....................................................
6
I
5 9
Other expenses............................................
£23
5 0
IOO
Prussia.
{Dr. Engel’s Table.}
Percentage of the Expenditure of the Family of
A Working Man with A Man of Middle A Person n easy circum
stances with
Class with
an income of
an income from Z 9° an income from ZrS0
from
to Z 220 a year.
Z45 to Zoo a year.
to ZI2° a year.
Per cent.
. 62
Subsistence
. 16
Clothing .
.
. 12
Lodging .
Firing and lighting 5
Education, public
.
. 2
worship
Legal protection
. 1
Care of Health
. 1
Comfort, mental and
bodily recreation 1
IOO
Per cent.
55
18
12
5
3’5
2
2
i’5
IOO
Per cent.
50
18
12
5
5'5
3
3
3‘5i
TOO
�134
APPENDIX.
Netherlands.
(Mr, Locock's Report, 1871, p. 351.)
Weekly Expenses of a Mason, with a Wife and Two Children :—
Bread,* butter, milk, sugar,*
coffee,* suet, flour, potatoes,
Per cent.
s. d.
greens, meal, salt, bacon, oil,
II 11
tobacco,* soap,* etc.
53
2 0
House rent
9
6
I 3
Firing*
....
2 1
Clothing * .
.
.
9
Sundries ....
• 5 3
23
22 6
.
100
Switzerland (Bale).
(dZ. Gould's Report, 1872, p. 366.)
Yearly Expenditure of a Working Man’s Family :—
Bread, coffee, chicory, milk, potatoes, butter, oil, meat, vege£ s.
tables ....
29 6
Rent...................................
IO 8
Wood
....
4 0
Taxes
....
0 6
Clothing ....
6 0
Sick Fund
0 16
d.
2
O
O
5
0
0
50 16 7
Per cent.
57
.
20
8
.
0
.
12
3
.
100
Russia.
Annual Expenditure of a Peasant Family, consisting of Father and Son, Two
Brothers, and a Third Young Man, in the Province of Novgorod :—
(Consul Michel's Report on Land Tenure, p. 63.)
z * d.
8o| bush, rye from the land, 361b. fish, 1
sack wheat, 2.88 bush, buckwheat, salt ...
30 o
Dress,* boots, etc.
.
.
.
.
.
2 13 4
Taxes, Imperial and Provincial, at 3 roubles
per male .......
1 4
Village priest
.
.
.
.
.
o
�APPENDIX.
135
(Consul Gregnon's Report, 1871, p. 54.)
Estimated Expenditure for a Single Man, Factory Hand, for a
d.
Day’s Living in Riga
3 lbs, Russ, rye bread, at 2A copecks
si
1 lb. Russ, meat
....
3k
Coffee,* sugar, and milk.................................................. 12
Potatoes.............................................................................02
Butter........................................................................ ......
Herrings...............................................................................
Barley meal..............................................
.
. ok
10
To the above must be added lodging, capitation-tax, clothing, and per
sonal expenses.
(Consul Campbell's Report, 1872, p. 312.)
A Manufactory Workman’s Monthly Expenditure at Helsingfors
s. d.
£ s. d.
Food,
24 to30 marks .
. o 19 o to 1 3 9
Fuel,
2 ,, 2j „
.
. o 1 7 „ o 2 o
Lodging, 10,, 12 ,,
.
.080,, 096
Clothing,* 10 ,, 12J ,,
.
. o 7 o ,, o 9 6
1 15 7
2 4 9
United States (Pennsylvania).
(Mr. Consul Kortright’s Report, 1871, p. 921.)
Weekly Cost of Living of Two Parents and Three Children
in Philadelphia:—
Bread, flour, meat, butter, cheese,
Per cent.
sugar,* milk, coffee,* tea,*
£ s. d.
fish, salt, eggs, potatoes,
I 8 6 .
fruit
.
.
,
.
.
■
54
. 24
0 13 0
Rent............................................
6
0 3 3 •
Light * and Fire
.
.
0 7 5 •
Clothing *
....
■
14
0 0 4! •
Taxes...................................
•
2
0 0 9J
Other Expenses
2 13 3
100
�136
APPENDIX.
United States.
(From the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of the Statistics of Labour.}
Percentage of the Expenditure of the Family of a Working Man
with an income—
From ^60
ZI2O
/150
Above
Z90
Average
to Z90. to/'lCO. to/150. to ^zso. ^250.
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent.
Subsistence.
. 64
60
63
56
5t
58
Clothing
10-5
19
14
• 7
74
15
Rent .
. 20
15
16
14
i5'5
17
Fuel
. 6
6
6
6
5
6
Sundry Expenses 3
6
6
10
6
5
—
----------■
----- IOO
IOO
IOO
IOO
IOO
IOO
�APPENDIX.
137
APPENDIX C.
Report of the Committee of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, on Combinations of Capital and
Labour. Lord Houghton, D.C.L., F.R.S. (chairman); Jacob
Behrens, Esq.; Thomas Brassey, Esq., M.P.; Frank P.
Fellows, Esq.; Archibald Hamilton, Esq.; Professor Leone
Levi; A. J. Mundella, Esq., M.P.; Wm. Newmarch, Esq.,
F.R.S.; Lord O’Hagan; R. J. Inglis Palgrave, Esq.; Professcr
Thorold Rogers. Submitted by Professor Leone Levi, and
ordered to be printed and laid before the Association.
Your Committee appointed to inquire into the economic effects
of Combinations of labourers or capitalists, and into the laws of
Economic science bearing on the principles on which such
Combinations are founded, have already stated in their preli
minary Report made last year, the course they have thought
to take in order to ascertain the exact views held by both
employers and employed on the subject in question. Although
the general objects of such Combinations, whether of capitalists
or labourers, are well known, both from the written rules, which
bind them together, and from the action taken from time to
time, your Committee have deemed it desirable to come into
personal contact with some representative men from both classes,
with a view of finding whether they do now stand by the rules
of their Unions, and how far they are prepared to defend them.
And for that purpose, your Committee resolved to hold a con
sultative private conference of employers and employed m the
presence of the members of the. Committee, where they might
discuss the questions involved in the resolution of the British
Association, and with a view of reporting thereon to the same.
The points more especially inquired into were the following :—
1 st. What determines the minimum rate of wages ?
2nd. Can that minimum rate be uniform in any trade, and
can that uniformity be enforced ?
3rd. Is Combination capable of affecting the rate of wages,
whether in favour of employers or employed ?
�138
APPENDIX.
4th. Can an artificial restriction of labour or of capital be
economically right or beneficial under any circumstances?
For the discussion of these questions your Committee had
the advantage of bringing together a deputation from the
National Federation of Associated Employers of Labour, in
cluding Messrs. R. R. Jackson, M. A. Brown, H. R. Greg,
Joseph Simpson, J. A. Marshall, R. Hannen, and Henry Whit
worth. As representing labour : Messrs. Henry Broadhurst,
Daniel Guile, George Howell, Loyd Jones, George Potter, and
Robert Newton; Mr. Macdonald, M.P., and Mr. Burt, M.P.,
having been prevented from attending. And on the part of
your Committee there were Lord Houghton, Professor Rogers,
Mr. Samuel Brown, Mr. W. A. Hamilton, Mr. Frank Fellows,
and Professor Leone Levi.
Many are the works and documents bearing on the questions
at issue. Of an official character we have the Report of the
Royal Commission appointed “ to inquire into and report upon
he organization and rules of Trade Unions and other associa
tions, whether of workmen and employers and to inquire into
and report on the effects produced by such Trade Unions and
associations on the workmen and employers and on the relations
between workmen and employers and on the trade and industry
of the country.” Of an unofficial character we have the Report
of the Committee of the Social Science Association “on the
objects and constitution of Trade Societies, with their effects
upon wages and upon the industry and commerce of the country.”
Of special works we have the late lamented Professor Cairnes’
“ Leading Principles of Political Economy,” Mr. Thomas
Brassey’s “Work and Wages,” and Professor Leone Levi’s
“Wages and Earnings of the Working Classes.”
The chief functions of Combinations, whether of Capital or
Labour, being to operate on wages, your Committee were
anxious to ascertain by what criterion the parties interested
ordinarily judge of the sufficiency or insufficiency of existing
wages. The first test of the sufficiency of wages is the re
lation they bear to the cost of the necessaries of life. “The
minimum of wages,” said Prof. Rogers, “ is the barest possible
amount upon which a workman can be maintained ; that
which, under the most unfavourable circumstances, a man is
able to obtain.” But the minimum thus estimated can only be,
and is, submitted to under circumstances of extreme necessity.
“ I believe the minimum rate of wages,” said one of the repre
sentatives of labour, “ is that which, under the worst circum
stances, the worst workman gets from the worst master.” We
cannot, therefore, take the minimum rates so considered as a
proper basis for the sufficiency of wages. How far insufficient
wages in relation to the cost of living in the U nited Kingdom is
�APPENDIX.
139
a cause of the large emigration which is taking place fiom year
to year it is not possible to establish ; * but, doubtless the pros
pect held out in the distant Colonies and in the United States
of America of considerable improvement has been for some
time past and still is a strong inducement. to those m receipt of
insufficient wages in this country to emigrate to other lands
Your Committee are desirous to point out in connection with
this question that not only has the cost of some of the principal
necessaries of life greatly risen within the last twenty years but
that in consequence of the general increase of comfort and
luxury many articles of food, drink, and dress must now be
counted as necessaries which some years ago were far beyond
the reach of the labouring classes ; whilst house rent, especiallyadapted for the labouring classes, is considerably dearer. If,
therefore, the cost of living be taken as a guide to he rate of
wages, it would not be enough to take into account the cost of
the mere necessaries of life. A higher standard of living having
been established, it would be indispensable to compare the
wages of labour to such higher standard. Your Committee are
not satisfied, however, that it is possible to regulate wages
according to the scale of comfort or luxury which may be
introduced among the people, and are compelled to assert that
it is an utter fallacy to imagine that wages will rise or fall m
relation to the cost which such supposed necessaries or indul
gences may entail.
.
,
A better test of the sufficiency of wages is the relation they
bear to the state of the labour market; and tested by that
standard the minimum rate of wages which workmen are at
any time prepared to accept is the least which they think they
are entitled to have under existing circumstances, the 1 rade
Unions guiding them, as to the state of trade and the value of
labour at the time. Unfortunately, however, what workmen
think themselves entitled to have does not always correspond
with what employers find themselves able to grant. Primarily
the wages of labour are'determined, by the. amount of capital
available for the purpose of wages in relation to the number
of labourers competing for the same. But the amount ot
capital employed in any industry is itself governed by con
siderations of the relation of the cost of production to the
market price of the produce—that is, to the price which the
.consumer is able or willing to give for the same : the cost of
production including the cost of materials, the value ot capital,
the cost of superintendence, and the wages of labour.
* The average number of emigrants in the last ten years from the United
Kingdom, from 1862 to 1873, was 239,000 per annum. In 1873, the total
number was 310,612, and in 1874, 241, 014. The emigration to the United
States decreased from 233,073 in 1873, to 148,161 in 1874.
�140
APPENDIX.
Objection has been taken at the Conference to this method
for arriving at the rate of wages ; and it was urged that instead
of taking the price of the article produced, or the interest of
the consumer, as the basis of the calculation, the first ingredient
in the cost of the article should be the price to be paid to the
workman in producing it. But a serious consideration will
show that the employer cannot ignore what the consumer can
or will pay any more than the share which the value of capital,
the cost of superintendence, and the cost of the materials have
upon the cost of production ; for he must cease producing
altogether if he cannot both meet the ability of the consumer
to purchase his article and successfully compete with the
producers of other countries. Your Committee think that it is
not in the power of the employer to control the proportion of
the different elements in the cost of production, each of them
being governed by circumstances peculiar to itself. The value
of Capital, as well as the value of the raw materials, is regu
lated by the law of supply and demand, not only in this
country, but in the principal markets of the world. The cost
of superintendence and the wages of labour are likewise governed
by the relation of the amount of capital to the number seeking
to share in the different employments. The employed say,
“'We must have certain wages. We care for nothing else.
Labour is our property. We set our value upon it. If you
will have our labour you must pay what we ask for it. And
if such wages should require a rise in the market price, let the
consumer pay it.” What however, if the consumer will not
or cannot pay sufficient price to enable the employer to pay
such wages ? What, if he can get the article cheaper else
where ? Must not production cease if there be no market ?
And where will be the wages if there be no production? Nor
should it be forgotten that a general rise of wages producing
an increase of the cost of all the commodities of life reacts on
the masses of the people, and thus far neutralizes the benefit
of higher wages.
Disagreements between employers and employed are often
produced on the subject of wages by the fact that all the
elements of the case are not within the cognizance of both
parties ; experience showing that in making a demand for an
advance of wages, or for resisting a fall, workmen are of
necessity groping in the dark as to the real circumstances of
the case. One of the chief advantages supposed to result from’
the organization of Trade Unions is the competency of their
leaders to give solid and practical advice to those interested,
as to the condition of the labour market; and we have no
doubt that this duty is in the main honestly performed, but it is
very much to expect that such leaders should universally possess
�APPENDIX.
141
laive and liberal views enough to vindicate the exercise of their
enormous power, and such constant and accurate knowledge
of the multiple facts of the case as would enable them to
exercise an almost infallible authority. On the other hand,
were it possible for employers, who are not in the dark in such
matters, to make known to their own workmen the grounds of
the action they propose taking before the resolve is carried
into execution, your Committee are convinced that many
disputes would be avoided, and much of the jealousy which
now exists between the parties would be removed. The recent
lock-out in South Wales illustrated the need of such a course.
Had the facts which Lord Aberdare elicited from the principal
colliery firms in Glamorganshire been made known previous
to or simultaneously with the notice of a fall, it is a question
whether such a widespread calamity would have occurred.
It is perhaps a natural but unfortunate circumstance that
employers are seldom found to take the initiative in allowing
a rise in wages when the state of the market permits it as they
are in case of a fall, and spontaneously to offer what they must
sooner or later be compelled to grant. A more prompt and
politic course on their part in this matter would go far to
neutralise the hostile action of Trade Unions.
Your Committee were anxious to ascertain how far is it in
the mind of the employed that the employers obtain for them
selves too large a share of profits at their expense. Your Com
mittee were assured that no such doubts are entertained, though
cases were produced supporting such suspicions by reference to
the time of the great rise in the price of coals in 1873, when
workmen’s wages did not, in the opinion of the representatives
of labour, rise to anything like the proportion of the masters’
profits.* Your Committee admit that in cases of great oscilla
tions in prices, the share participated either by the employers
in the shape of profits, or by the employed in the shape of
wages, may be for a time greater or less than their normal
distribution would justify. And it is possible that some portions
of these extra profits may be unproductively spent or so em
ployed as not to benefit the parties more immediately _ con
cerned, and even used in totally alien speculations. Yet, in the
main, the working classes must receive in one way or another,
a considerable advantage from them, there being .no doubt that
the largest portion of such extra profits will be reinvested in the
* Mr. Halliday’s evidence before the Committee of the House of
Commons on coals, was that, though the custom was to give to work
men a portion of any rise of prices in the shape of increasing wages,
the proportion being an additional 2d. a day for every 10L a ton, the
rise in wages was often id. per ton only and sometimes nothing, whilst
when the price rose ar. 6d. to 55. a ton the wages were only increased 3^.
a day.
�142
APPENDIX.
ordinary industries of the country. In the end, however, wages
and profits will be divided among the producers in proper pro
portions, and if at any time profits or wages should be larger
than they ought to be, we may be quite sure that ere long the
competition of capitalists will tend either to the lowering of
prices or the raising of wages so as to make profits and wages
gravitate towards each other.
Immediately allied to the question of the determination of a
minimum of wages is that of their uniformity. In the opinion
of many Trade Unions, all workmen of average ability in any
trade should earn the same wages, the average ability of each
man being understood to have been determined in advance by
the fact of his being admitted as a member of the Union. But
a man is subject to no examination, and is generally admitted
upon the testimony of those who have worked with him, whose
evidence must frequently be fallacious and insufficient. Nor
does it appear that the rejection is absolutely certain even if
the applicant should not be deemed a man of average ability,
the acceptance or rejection of the party being always optional
with the lodge to which he is introduced. Your Committee are
therefore not satisfied that any guarantees exist that every
member of a Union is able to earn a fair day’s wages for a
fair day’s work ; and they cannot, therefore, agree in the pro
position that all workmen should be entitled to uniform wages
on the ground of uniform ability. But another reason has been
alleged for the uniformity of wages—which is still less tenable
than the former—viz., a supposed uniformity of production in
dependent of skill. The right of the workman to a uniform
standard of wages was stated to be the production of an article
which, though demanding less skill to perform, is of equal
utility and is proportionally as profitable to the employer.
Your Committee must, however, entirely demur to the principle
that, in the apportionment of wages, no account should be
taken of the skill brought to bear on the execution of the task,
since a system of that nature would act as a premium on in
feriority of workmanship. Again, by another test should the
right of each individual to earn certain wages be determined,
and that is by his productive capacity. Professor Levi asked
whether that was taken into account when the workman was
assumed to be of average ability ; and the answer was that the
amount of production depended largely upon the skill. “ The
more skilful a man is the more he will produce.” But whilst, in
so far as this answer was correct, it contradicted the principle
embodied in the preceding test, the answer itself did not take
sufficiently into account that skill is not the only element in
effectiveness of labour. There are qualities of mind, judgment,
and even of heart, disposition, and of moral character, which
�APPENDIX.
143
go far to increase or diminish the efficiency of labour ; and of
such qualities the employer is, of necessity, a far better judge
than any Union can be. That under ordinary circumstances
wages in any trade should tend to uniformity is quite possible.
The facility of communication and the extension of intercourse
of necessity equalise prices and wages : but any attempt to
compel uniformity of wages among any large number of men
of varied capacity must of necessity prove a source of dis
appointment. Much, again, may be said in favour of a common
standard of wages in any industry, as avoiding the embarrass
ment necessarily encountered in any attempt to adjust the
rate to the exact worth of each individual. Yet it is impossible
to ignore the fact that, whilst a uniform rate is sure to operate
unjustly in favour of persons who may be wanting in fairness
of dealing or capacity for workmanship, in the nature of things
it is almost incapable to exist over a wide area, having regard
to the varieties in the prices of fuel, carriage, house accommo
dation, or of the means of livelihood, as well as in the cost of
raw materials and in the processes employed as affecting the
rate of production of each individual. On the whole, your
Committee find that an absolute uniformity in the rate of wages
in any trade, though to a certain extent convenient, is neither
just nor practicable, whilst any effort to compel uniformity in
the amount of earnings of any number of individuals must
prove fallacious and wrong as an illegitimate interference with
the rights of industry.
A still more important question in connection with the subject
is how far Combination of any kind can affect permanently or
temporarily the rate of wages. Upon this, as might be ex
pected, the most divergent opinions are held by the repre
sentatives of Capital and Labour. The employers of labour,
standing on the solid principles of political economy, deny that
Combinations can under any circumstances affect the rates of
wages, at least in any permanent manner. The argument
adduced being that if workmen are entitled to higher wages
they are sure to get them, since, under the law of supply and
demand, whenever it is found that profits trench unduly upon
wages fresh capital is sure to be introduced, which provides for
the raising of wages. The employed, on the other hand, con
fidently appeal to past experience, and point out the fact that
almost every increase of wages has been due to the action of
Trade Unions. They say that without Combination workmen
cannot secure the market price for their labour, but are to a
certain extent at the mercy of their employers. That in trades
where one establishment employs a large number of workmen
the employers can discharge a single workman with compara
tively slight inconvenience, while the workman loses his whole
�144
APPENDIX.
means of subsistence. That without the machinery of Com
bination the workmen, being dependent upon their daily work
for their daily bread, cannot hold on for a market.
Your Committee are not prepared to deny that Combinations
can render useful service in matters of wages; but they think
that it is impossible for them to frustrate or alter the operations
of the laws of supply and demand, and thereby to affect per
manently the rates of wages. Combination may hasten the
action of those laws which would undoubtedly, though perhaps
more slowly, operate their own results. The limited power of
Combinations is in effect admitted by the workmen themselves.
“We do not say,” said one of the workmen’s representatives,
“ that Trade Unions can absolutely interfere with supply and
demand, because, when trade is very bad, they cannot obtain
the standard ; when it is good they easily raise the standard.
What they do is, they enable workmen sooner to strike at the
right time for a general advance. They get the advance sooner
than if they were an undisciplined mob, having no common
understanding. And when trade is receding, the common
understanding enables workmen to resist the pressure put upon
them by their employers. It helps them in both ways, and the
workmen find they can act together beneficially.” The ground
here taken by the working-men is not at variance with sound
economic principles. But there is yet another way in which
Trade Unions may prove useful, and that is by rendering wages
more sensitive to the action of the state of the market, and so
preventing the influence of custom to stand in the way of the
operation of supply and demand ; for there are such occupa
tions, as agriculture, where custom often exercises imperious
rule even upon wages. As has been well said by M. Batbie,
Wages do not change unless the causes for the change exercise
a strong influence. If the conditions of supply and demand do
not undergo a great change, wages continue the same by the
simple force of custom. The variations of wages are not like
those of a thermometer, where the least clouds are marked,
where one can read the smallest changes of temperature. They
may rather be compared to those bodies which do not become
heated except under the action of an elevated temperature, and
remain quite insensible to the slight modifications of the atmo
sphere. Until a great perturbation takes place in the conditions
of supply and demand, no one would think of changing the rate
of wages.” * After making every allowance your Committee
cannot admit that Combinations have any power either to raise
permanently the rate of wages or to prevent their fall when the
conditions of trade require the same, as recent experience abun* See M. Batbie's article on "Salaries in Bloek's Dictionnaire de la
Politique."
�APPENDIX.
145
dantly shows, and, whilst admitting that Combinations may be
beneficial in accelerating the action of economic laws, your
Committee cannot be blind to the fact that they produce a
state of irritation and discontent which often interferes with
the progress of production.
Limited as is the power of Combinations to affect the rates
of wages, still more limited is their power to affect materially the
progress of productive industry. The Royal Commission on
Trade Unions reported that it was extremely difficult to deter
mine how far Unions have impeded the development of trade,
whether by simply raising prices or by diverting trade from cer
tain districts, or from this to foreign countries. The representa
tives of capital at the conference alluded to, endeavoured to
prove that certain branches of trade have permanently been
injured by the Unions. Whether the fact can be established or
not, it is undeniable that British trade has enormously increased
within the last twenty years, and that the exports of manufac
tured goods are on a larger scale now than they were at any
former period.*
What is perhaps most objectionable in Combinations of labour
is the method they often pursue in order to operate on the rates
of wages ; for they are not content with making a collective de
mand on employers for a rise, but endeavour to force it, or resist
a fall, by restricting the supply of labour and increasing the need
of it. One such method, explained at the Conference, seems to
your Committee peculiarly objectionable. A representative of
Labour said that when depression of trade comes, by means
of associated funds the men are able to say to the surplus
labourers, “ Stand on one side—you are not wanted for the time
being. If you go on with your labour at half-price, it will not
mend the trade; we will not let you become a drug on the
market, putting every other man down, but we will sustain you.”
In three years, your Committee were informed, over £100,000
was thus paid for unemployed labour, in the hope that undue
fall in wages would be prevented by keeping labourers out of
* The following were the quantities of some of the principal articles of
British produce and manufacture exported from the United Kingdom in
1854 and 1874 ;—
Coal and Coke ...
Copper
Cotton Yarn
Cotton Manufacture
Iron
...............
Worsted Manufacture
1854
tons 4,309,000
cwts. 274,000
lbs. 147,128,000
yds. 1,692,899,000
tons 1,175,000
yds. 133,600,000
Increase
per cent.
1874
13,927,000
709,000
220,599,000
3,606,639,000
2,487,000
261,000,000
223
159
49
”3
112
71
The total value of British produce exported increased from £135,891,000
in i860 to £239,558,000 in 1874 or at the rate of 76 per cent.
IO
�146
APPENDIX.
the market. Your Committee are of opinion that the artificial
prevention of a fall of wages when such a fall is necessary and
inevitable, is economically wrong, and can only have the effect of
still more injuring the condition of workmen, since by so doing
they only throw hindrances in the way of production, which is
the parent of all wages. Equally objectionable in your Com
mittee’s opinion, as interfering with the freedom of labour and
with the general economy of production, is every regulation of
such Trade Unions that excludes from employment in the trades
all who have not been regularly apprenticed, or any rule which
should set a limit to the number of apprentices. Professor
Cairnes, commenting on the monopoly thus advocated by Trade
Unions, said, “ It is a monopoly, moreover, founded on no prin
ciple either of moral desert or of industrial efficiency, but simply
on chance or arbitrary selection ; and which, therefore, cannot
but exert a demoralizing influence on all who come within its
scope—in all its aspects presenting an. ungracious contrast to all
that is best and most generous in the spirit of modern demo
cracy.”
The only other question on which your Committee will report
is whether an artificial restriction of labour, or of capital, can
under any circumstances be economically right or beneficial. It
is, indeed, scarcely necessary to say that any restriction of
Labour or of Capital, having the effect of limiting production,
must of necessity prove injurious. Yet it may be a point for
consideration whether under certain circumstances it may not be
better for either Labour or Capital to submit to the evil of re
striction in order to avoid a still greater evil, of producing at a
loss, or working at rates of wages not sufficiently remunerative.
The labourers justify their proceedings in this respect by refer
ence to the practice of producers. One of the representatives of
labour, speaking on this subject, said :—“No doubt there.is not
a working man in Lancashire who would not say that limitation
was an injury. Generally that there should be the largest pos
sible production in a given time is no doubt a true law, but every
trade must regulate that according to its own necessities. The
ironmaster blows out his furnaces when an increased production
would injure; the cotton manufacturer runs his manufactory short
time ; and the labourer limits the production.” There is little or
no difference in the relative position of Capital and Labour as
respects their need of continuous production. Primarily, both
employer and employed alike depend upon production as the
only source for profits and wages. Whilst the employers have
the maximun interest in producing as much as possible, from the
fact that the fixed capital which they cannot withdraw would lie
dormant and unproductive while the forge or mill is silent, the
employed find it thier interest to aid in such production inas-
�APPENDIX.
147
much as they depend upon it for their means of subsistence.
The argument of the employed against a proposal for a reduction
of wages is expressed in the words, “ If you have too much of an
article in the market and you cannot sell, I would rather limit
the quantity in your hands than aggravate the evil and take less
money for it.” But by refusing to work when the employer is
able or willing to continue producing, or by not submitting him
self to accept lower wages when the inevitable law of supply
and demand compels the same, the employed only aggravates
his own position, whilst he places the employer in a still worse
strait; the certain consequence of the withdrawal of labour being
to discourage production, to enhance the cost, and to increase
the difficulty of foreign competition—injurious alike to the pro
ducer and to the whole community.
A frequent source of contention between employers and
employed is the mode of paying wages—viz., by time, such as
by the day or hour, or by piecework. There appears to be no
uniform practice on the subject. While in some branches of
industry the rule is to pay wages by piecework, in other branches
the rule is to pay by time—the reason probably being that whilst
in some branches it is easy to establish a scale of prices at
which the work is to be paid for, in other branches such a scale
could not easily be framed. In so far as the method of pay
ment can be considered to affect production, it seems to your
Committee that whilst payment by piecework is likely to pro
mote quantity of production, payment by time is more likely
to promote precision of execution. Your Committee cannot
believe what has often been alleged, that payment by piecework
is often offered to conceal any reduction of wages. If honestly
acted upon on either side, payment by piecework has, in the
opinion of your Committee, all the elements of fair justice. But
the question in any case is not of sufficient importance to justify
a breach of the friendly relation which should exist between
Capital and Labour. When either party has any decided prefer
ence for one system, it seems advisable that the other party
accept the same.
The economic effects of Strikes and Lock-outs are well known,
and it matters but little which party in the contest in the end
may prove successful. In recent years Strikes and Lock-outs
have occurred among coal and iron miners, the building trade,
engineers, the cotton trade, ship-builders, and most of the trades
and industries of the country, each and all of which have caused
serious losses on the community at large. In the opinion of
your Committee a well-devised system of conciliation is the only
proper and legitimate method of solving labour disputes. And
your Committee cannot too strongly express their sense of the
grave responsibility which rests on either employers or em-
�148
APPENDIX.
ployed when, regardless of consequences, they resort to a step
so vexatious and destructive as a strike or lock-out.
Your Committee are of opinion that the British Association
will confer a lasting benefit if, on its pilgrimage in the principal
industrial towns in the United Kingdom, it will seize every
opportunity for the enunciation of sound lessons of political
economy on the questions in agitation between employers and
employed. It.was suggested to your Committee that workmen
should be admitted to the meetings of Section F at a reduced
rate, and they commend the proposal to the consideration of
the Council. Your Committee would also recommend to the
Council to urge on Her Majesty’s Government the importance
of promoting, as far as possible, the study of political economy,,
and especially of those branches of industrial economy which
most intimately concern the industry, manufactures, and com
merce of the country. Your Committee have learned with
pleasure that the Cobden Club are prepared to offer some
encouragement for the teaching of political economy to the
labouring classes, and your Committee would suggest that the
Chambers of Commerce might advantageously take similar
means in the great centres of commerce and manufacture. In
the opinion of your Committee, a proper sense of the necessity
and utility of continuous labour, an earnest desire for the
achievement of excellence in wTorkmanship in every branch 01
industry, and a keen and lively interest on the part of one and
all to promote national prosperity, are the best safeguards against
the continuance of those disturbances between Capital and
Labour which have of late become of such hindrance to success
ful production. In the great contest which Britain has to wage
with other industrial nations, it is the interest of both masters
and men to be very careful, lest by raising the prices of British
produce and manufacture too high they should no longer be able
to carry the palm in the arena of international competition.
Your Committee regret the death of their much-esteemed
member, Mr. Samuel Brown, who took an active part in the
proceedings. Professor Fawcett, M.P., was unable to act.
But your Committee have pleasure in reporting that the Right
Hon. Lord O’Hagan, Mr. Thomas Brassey, M.P., and Mr. A. J.
Mundella, M.P., were added to the Committee.
LEONE LEVI,
Secretary.
Augusty 1875.
�INDEX
Agricultural Industry, condi
tion for progress of, 19
Arbitration -versus Strikes, 94
British Workman, characteristics
of, 7
— productive power of, 8
Butter, consumption of, in 1844 and
1875, 11
Bacon, consumption of, in 1844 and
1875, 11
Building Societies, object of, 120
— permanent and terminating, 120
Competition, foreign effects of
machinery on, 32
Capital, production in England of,
33
— causes which arrested the growth
of, 34
, .
— difficulty of accumulating, 35
— obstacles to the diffusion of, 35
— what is ? 36
— amount employed of, 41
— what determines the investment
of, 41
— proportions of, distributed in
production, 42
— stoppage of, accumulation of, 43
— consumption of, 44
•— exportation of, 44
— abuse of, 46
— relation of, to labour, 49
— distribution of, between masters
and men, 51
— and labour, partnership of, 51
Capitalists, how regarded, 68
Combinations, Old Laws on, 67
Co-operative Societies, for produc
tion and distribution, 123
Co-operative Societies, advantages
of, 124
Day's work, what is it? 5
Division of labour, advantages of, 23
— disadvantages of, 24
Drunkenness, means of surmount
ing, 105
Drink, amount expended in, 109
Education, necessary for produc
tion, 12
— technical, advantages of, 13
England as a field of labour, 15
Employers’ calculation of wages, 52
— duties towards employed, 54
— profits, 60
— risks of, 61
— power to amass wealth, 62
Earnings, of workmen, sources of, 99
— collective, what, 100
Expenditure of workmen, distribu
tion of, 103
— economy in, 104
Earnings of workmen, total amount
of, 108
Expenditure of workmen, total
amount of, 108
French workman, characteristics
of, 6
Food and drink, consumption of, in
England, n
— expenditure of workmen in, 104
Firing and lighting, expenditure cf
workmen in, 104
Friendly Societies, objects of, 118
— amount invested in, 119
German
of, 6
workman,
characteristics
�150
INDEX.
Health necessary for production, 8
Houses, healthiness of, 9
— high rents of, 9
Home, advantages of, 10
Home industry, condition of, 18
Hand loom and power loom, 18
Italian workman, characteristics
of, 7
Insurance (life), benefits of, 121
— amount insured, 122
— Government, 122
Labour, pleasures of, 1
— necessity of, 2
— value of, 3
— productive and unproductive, 3
— manual and mental, 4
— condition for the efficient dis
charge of, 5
— dangers attending, 8
— duration of, 12
— skilled and unskilled, 12
— division of, 22
— need of capital to, 37
— reward of, 49
— relation of, to capital, 49
— supply and demand of regu
lating, 57
— difficulties of, in contending
wages with capital, 70
Lancashire, progress of, 19
Liverpool, increase of, 20
Labourers capitalists, 45
Morals an element in production, 14
Manufacture, divorcement of, from
agriculture, 19
Manchester, increase of, 20
Machinery, advantages of, 25
— character of, 26
■—■ effects of, 27
— relations of, to wages, 30, 61
— exports of, 31
Minimum wages, limits to, 85
Natural powers, utility of labour to,
37
r ,
Needlewomen, low wages of, 56
Overtime, action of Trade Unions
on, 73
Pauperism, rate of, in 1849 and
1875.- 11
Production on a large scale, advan
tages of, 22
— machinery of, 50
—• requirements for, 52
— cost of, 52
Population, increase of, effect of, on
wages, 57
Piecework, payment by, 78
Pay, what, 98
Poor Law, effects of, 100
— in Sweden, 101
— France, 101
— Belgium, 101
— Eberfeld, 101
Post Office Savings Banks, amount
in, 114
Swiss Workman, characteristic
of, 7
Steam-power, advantages of, 21
Strikes and lock-outs, chances of, 85
— what, 86
— causes of, 86
— supposed advantages of, 87
— means to avoid, 88
— how promoted by Trade Unions,
90
— circumstances attending, 91
— effects of, 85
— cost of, 92
— losses caused by, 93
— arbitration or conciliation, 'versus,
94
Saving, duty of all respecting, 112
— first steps in, 112
Savings Banks, history of, 113
— amount invested in, 115
— post office and trustees, 116
— amount per head in England and
Wales, 117
— Scotland, 117
— Ireland, 117
— France, 117
— Holland, 117
— Belgium, 117
— Austria, 117
— Germany, 117
— Switzerland, 117
Tea, consumption of, in 1844 and
1875, 11
Trade Unions, limits of usefulness
of, 68
— limits of rights of, 69
— constitutional defects of, 70
— membership of, 71
�INDEX.
Trades Unions, councils of, 71
— fees in. 72
— objects of, 72
— monopoly of, 72
— objection of, to overtime, 73
— operation of, on wages, 74
— effects of, on foreign competi
tion, 82
— effects of, on the character of
workmen, 83
— and benefit funds. 84
— rules of, respecting strikes, 88
Tobacco, expenditure of workmen
in, 104
Taxation, effects of, on workmen,
108
Workmen, united labour and pro
duction of, 5
— difference of skill among, 5
Wheat and wheat flour, consump
tion of, in 1844 and 1875, 11
Wealth, benefits of. 46
Wages, what are, 51
— relation of, to profits, 53
Workman, interest of employer in,
54 ,
Wages, lowering of, 54
— minimum rate of what, 55
— of artisans, 58
— what are the elements of, 58
— cost of, 58
Wage-fund, theory of, 60
Wages, effects of machinery on, 61
— uniformity of, 62, 71
— use of, 64
— effect of war on, 65
— attempt to regulate by law, 65
— effects of prohibition tariffs on,
65
— effects of Poor Law on, 65
— how affected by Trades Unions,
76
Working-classes, Budgets of, 96
Wages in money and in kind, 99
Workmen, taxes affecting, 107
Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Printers, London & Aylesbury.
��
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Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Work and pay; or, principles of industrial economy. Two courses of lectures delivered to working men in King's College, London. With report of the Committee of the British Association on Combinations of Labourers and Capitalists
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Levi, Leone [1821-1888]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 151 p. ; 20 cm.
Notes: Part of the NSS pamphlet collection. Includes bibliographical references and index. Printed by Hazell, Watson & Visey, London and Aylesbury. Appendix A: Statement of the weekly expenditure of a family ...whose total wages averaged thirty shillings per week ... B: Budgets of the Working Classes. C: Report of the Committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and Combinations of Capital and Labour.
Publisher
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Strahan and Co., Limited
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1877
Identifier
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N438
Subject
The topic of the resource
Labour
Industry
Trade Unions
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Work and pay; or, principles of industrial economy. Two courses of lectures delivered to working men in King's College, London. With report of the Committee of the British Association on Combinations of Labourers and Capitalists), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Industrial Organisation (Economic Theory)
NSS
Trades Unions
Wages
Work
Working Class-Great Britain
-
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PDF Text
Text
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Women in France
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Perrier, Amelia
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 213-219 p. ; 23 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. From The Dark Blue 2 (October, 1871). Attribution of journal title and date: Virginia Clark catalogue. Author cited as "A.P." - attribution from Virginia Clark catalogue. The Dark Blue was a London-based literary magazine published monthly from 1871 to 1873.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[s.n.]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1871]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G5321
Subject
The topic of the resource
Women's rights
France
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (Women in France), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Conway Tracts
Women
Women's Rights
Women's Rights-France
-
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7aa044a7db482df87cba22cb1217a07d
PDF Text
Text
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SUPREME COURT OF OHIO.
DECEMBER TERM, 1808.
William Wiswell
William Greene,
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William Goodman, and Others. /
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ARGUMENT FOR THE PLAINTIFF.
This action was brought to restrain the Trustees of the
First Congregational Church of Cincinnati from selling its
real estate (house of worship) and dividing the proceeds
thereof in pursuance of certain resolutions alleged to have
been adopted at a meeting of the corporators, April 11th,
1859.
The Church was incorporated by a special act of the
General Assembly, passed January 21st, 1830. (Local
Laws, vol. 28, pp. 28, 29).
Section first enacts that Elisha Brigham, William Greene,
and three others, “ and their associates for the time being,”
shall be a body corporate, with perpetual succession, etc.
Section second authorizes the corporation to sue and be
sued, plead and be impleaded, etc.
Section third authorizes it to acquire any estate, real or
personal, by purchase or devise, and to hold the same; but
the net annual income of all such property, except the
house of worship and the parsonage-house, shall not exceed
four thousand dollars. “And provided, also, that all such
/
�[ 2 ]
property, with the house of worship and parsonage-house,
shall be considered as being held in trust, under the manage
ment and at the disposal of said corporation, for the pur
pose of promoting the interest of their church, defraying
the expenses incident to their mode of worship, and main
taining any institutions of charity or education that may
be therewith connected: Provided, moreover, that when
money or other property shall be given, granted, or be
queathed, or devised to said corporation for any particular
end or purpose, it shall be faithfully applied to such end or
purpose.”
Section fourth provides for the election of five trustees,
annually, on the first Monday of April.
Sec. 5. “All elections shall be by ballot, and deter
mined by a majority of votes; each member of the corpo
ration being entitled to one vote in this as in all other
matters touching the interests of the corporation.”
Sec. 6. “ That an owner of a single pew, in the house
of worship, shall be entitled to all the privileges of mem
bership.”
Sec. 7. “ That extra meetings of the corporation may
be called by the trustees, at any time, on their giving five
days’ previous notice in any one of the newspapers of Cin
cinnati.”
Section eighth defines the powers of the trustees; but
provides “that they shall make no by-law or pass any
order for the imposition of any tax, or the sale of any
property, on account of the corporation, unless by the
consent of said corporation, expressed by a majority of
the members present, legally assembled.”
':
The other sections have no especial importance.
On the 23d of March, 1830, Elisha Brigham conveyed
•' to the Church, by its corporate name, for a valuable consid
eration, the real estate now in- controversy, at the south
west corner of Race and Fourth streets, Cincinnati.
�[ 3 ]
On the 19th of July, 1855, the Society adopted a preamhle,za constitution, and certain by-laws. (Printed Rec
ord, pp. 22, 23.) Very few attendants at the Church
omitted to sign these. Agreed Case, clause 12. (Printed
Record, p. 15). The constitution, article second, declares:
“In addition to those persons who are qualified to be
members under the act of incorporation, all who sign these
articles shall become members; but any person may withe
draw from the society by filing a notice to that effect with
the secretary.”,
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.
Article fourth declares “ the duty of the members and
officers to co-operate together in promoting the objects of
the society, as specified in the preamble, by a regular at
tendance on its meetings ” and observance of the by-laws.
On the 26th of February, 1859, thirteen^ members ad
dressed a letter to the trustees (Printed Record, pp. 34,
35) requesting them “to call a meeting of the Society to
consider the propriety of a change for another pastor.”.!
The petitioners say, in this letter, that they differ “widely”
from Rev. Mr* Conway, the pastor in office, with regard to
his views of Christian truth, and believe that his influence
over them, “ for good,” as a clergyman and a pastor, is at
end.. . . i. < i -xh Thereupon, March 21st, the trustees called a meeting
of the “pew-owners and pew-renters” only, for the 28th
of March, “to consider the question of further retaining
th$ services of Rev. Mr. Conway as pastor of the church.” .♦
(Printed Record, p. 25).
... ■■ ■ j
At that meeting, March 28th, a-resolution was offered,
by Mr. Greene, in these wordsr .
•' -if.,
“ That it is desirable to retain Mr. Conway as pastor of
this church, and that his services as such are acceptable.”
Pending the discussion of which, a question arose as to
the qualification for suffrage; whereupon the chairman, Mr.
Hosea, decided that only “ pew-owners ” could vdte.
(Printed Record, p. 29).
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,
*
�[ 4 ]
Mr. Goodman then moved that each “pew rented or
sold ” should be entitled to one vote; which Mr. Kebler
moved to amend by adding that no member should have
more than one vote—which amendment was adopted by
twenty-one to twelve.
“ The vote was put to pew-owners only, by direction of the
Chair, against the protest of Mr. Iioadly and others.”
(Printed Record, pp. 29, 30).
The question then recurred upon Mr. Goodman’s motion
as thus amended, and it was lost (on two trials) by a tie
! vote.
This question, also, by direction of the Chair, “under
protest as before,” was put to the pew-owners only.
(Printed Record, p. 30).
The meeting, after some ineffectual discussion, adjourned
until March 30th.
At the adjourned meeting, Mr. Hoadly moved to
amend Mr. Greene’s resolution by substituting what fol
lows :
“ Whereas, this Society is so divided in sentiment that
the members can no longer work and worship together as
one harmonious whole,
“ Resolved, that--------- be a committee to draft a plan
for a just division, and report the same to the annual
meeting.”
The substitute, after several preliminary votes, was
adopted—Yeas, 27; Nays, 9. But, on each vote, the
Chair allowed only “pew-owners” to be called, and Mr.
Hoadly protested against the limitation.
Four of the defendants, William Greene, George Car
lisle, William Goodman, and Jeremy Peters, were appointed
the committee to report a plan of division. (Printed Rec
ord, pp. 31, 32).
At the annual meeting, April 4th, the Committee “ re
ported, verbally, that it would be advisable to dispose of the
church-property, and, if legal, to divide the proceeds in the
proportion of the interest of the pew-owners, the proceeds
�[ 5 ]
to be used for the purpose of establishing two churches,
but doubts having arisen as to the legality of such a
proceeding, they had decided to report their doubts and
$sk instructions.” Whereupon the subject was re-commit
ted to the same gentlemen, with authority to employ
counsel and take legal advice. (Printed Record, pp. 32,
33).
At the same meeting, and preliminary to a choice of
trustees for the ensuing year, Mr. Greene moved that pew
venters be authorized to vote upon all questions. “ Carried
unanimously.” (Printed Record, p. 33).
At an adjourned meeting, April 11th, these resolutions '
were adopted:
1. “That Messrs. Greene, Carlisle, Goodman, and Peters
be appointed a committee with power to sell the Church
real estate, at private sale or public auction, or to lease the
same perpetually, at their discretion, and that the trustees
convey the same by deed of general warranty when sold,
or, if leased, that they execute the necessary lease.”
2 “That the trustees, after paying the debts of the
church, transfer and hand over to a new board of trustees
of a new religious society, to be formed by part of the
members of this, such a proportionate part of the proceeds
of said church-property as fairly may belong to such mem
bers forming a new church, reckoning according to the
valuation of the pews, including sums now standing to the
credit of parties which are not represented by pews.”
The vote upon these resolutions was submitted to the
“ pew-owners ” only, and was carried in the affirmative.
“A committee of two [Messrs. Anthony and Kebler]
was then appointed,” says the record, “ to wait on the sev
eral pew-owners, and obtain their directions, in writing, as to
the corporation to which they desired their respective in
terests to belong.” (Page 37).
At another adjourned meeting, April 25th, the commit
tee in reference to the real estate reported that they had,
as yet, been unable either to sell or let the same; where-
�[61
upon Mr. Force moved that they be required to advertise it
for sale, at auction, on the 16th of May, unless previously
sold or let by private contract, and at such terms as the
committee might prescribe.
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At this stage of proceedings, the plaintiff interposed—and
the Court of Common Pleas enjoined the trustees then in
office (Messrs. Greene, Goodman, Allen, Harrison, and
Hoadly) as well as Messrs. Carlisle and Peters, together
with the corporation by name, from selling the church
property as proposed.
: J
Meanwhile, a number of the members had formed a sep"
arate religious society, ^Church of the Redeemer,” and
adopted a covenant as well as a constitution and certain
by-laws for themselves. (Printed Record, pp. 20, 21, 22).
These define the qualification of membership in the new
society, provide for the election of its trustees, etc.
’
■ I. - We insist that the resolutions of April llfh, 1859,
were'toot adopted by the First Congregational Church in
the mode required by the Sth section of its charter.
The letter of February 26th requested the trustees to
call a meeting of the “ Society ” to? consider the question
of discharging Mr. Conway from his pastoral office; instead
of which, the trustees called a meeting of the “ pew-oWners
and pew-renters” only, and thus, by the terms of their
notice, excluded all other members from participation or
even attendance.
At that meeting (March 28th) the chairman, Mr. Hosea,
directed every question to be put to the “pew-owners”
only, and thus excluded a portion of those (pew-renters)
whom the trustees had summoned.
It seems that the “pew-owners” present, thirty-two,
were divided in opinion, equally, as to the right of “ pew-
�[7 ]
renters ’’ to vote; and by that equality of division, in which
his own vote was counted, the mandate of the Chairman be
came conclusive.
- , ; L’
,f
We acknowledge that li pew-owners ” were members of
the corporation: the 6th section of the charter so declares
in express terms. But they were not the only members.
The corporation was created, in presenti, by the first sec
tion of the charter:
“ That Elisha Brigham, William Greene, Nathaniel Guil
ford, Jesse Smith, Christian Donaldson, and their associates
for the time being, be and they are hereby created and
declared a body corporate and politic, by the name of the
First, Congregational Church of Cincinnati, and, as such,
shall remain and have perpetual succession; subject, how
ever, to such future regulations as the Legislature may
think proper to make touching their matters of mere tem
poral concernment.’’
. v....p,,
When this charter was granted, January 21st, 1830, the
First Congregational Church had no house of worship: it
had none, as appears by. , the record, until after the deed
from Elisha Brigham, March 23d, 1830, and until the pres
ent building was erected and completed. There could be,
of course, not a single pew-owner. But there was, never
theless, a body corporate and politic—composed of Messrs.
Brigham, Greene, Guilford, Smith, Donaldson, and “ thenassociates ” at that time. And this body corporate and
politic,“ as such,” was to remain, and to have perpetual
succession. It was to consist of all who, from time to time,
should be associated, by the name of the First Congrega
tional Church of Cincinnati, for public worship. (Milford
and Chillicothe Turnpike Co. v. Brush, 10 Ohio Rep. 113,
114; Fire-Department of New-York v. Kip, 10 Wendell,
269; Lessee of Frost v. Frostburg Coal Co. 24 Howard,
278). i Jt was not merely a corporation in abeyance until
a house of meeting had been erected; else how could it
receive any title, as grantee, by the deed of Brigham?
Nor will its corporate existence be determined, or impaired.
�[ 8 1
by the destruction or sale of its church-edifice; else how
can the resolutions of April 11th, 1859, be any thing less
than an act of suicide ?
And yet, as all must agree, the destruction of the
church-building would extinguish, utterly, the title of the
pew-owners. (Price v. Methodist Episcopal Church, 4 Ohio
Rep. 541; Freligh v. Platt, 5 Cowen, 496; Voorhees v.
Presbyterian Church of Amsterdam, 8 Barbour, 151, 152;
Matter of the Reformed Dutch Church, 16 Barbour, 240,
241; Wheaton v. Gates, 18 New York Rep. 404, 405;
Wentworth v. First Parish in Canton, 3 Pick. 346, 347.
See, also, Pawson v. Scott, Sayer, 177, 178).
The design of section sixth, in the charter, is only to
confer upon a pew-owner the privileges (temporal) of mem
bership, without his being a member in fact. It can have
no other meaning consistent with legal principles.
As to pew-renters, merely as such, they are not corpor
ators. (Leslie v. Birnie, 2 Russell, 114.) The “associates”
of the Church, as a religious society, are the persons who
hold the corporate character by succession from those named,
originally, in the charter. (Robertson v. Bullions, 1 Ker
nan, 247, 248, 249, 250; Wyatt v. Benson, 23 Barbour,
327.) And it is for the Society to declare, in the form of
a constitution or by-law, who shall, and who shall not, enjoy
the right of suffrage. Or, if there be no express rule, the
question must be determined by a reference to past usage.
(The State v. Crowell, 4 IJalsted, 411.)
But we have, in the present case, an express rule. The
constitution adopted by the society, on the 19th of July,
1855, declares that “in addition to those persons who are
qualified to be members under the act of incorporation
pew-owners) all who sign these articles shall become
members.”
That leaves nothing to doubt or argument, and even
precludes any question of usage. It is said that Messrs.
Greene, Stetson, and Walker expressed the opinion, pri
vately, at some time or other, that only pew-owners could
�L 9 1
vote; but, with all respect to those gentlemen, their
opinions, in this regard, are inadmissible. Opinions do
not even tend to prove the usage in such cases. (Attor
ney-General v. Drummond, 1 Drury & Warren, 353).
That the exclusion of a number of members, and es
pecially of a whole class, from voting upon any question
where the consent of the corporation, as such, is requisite,
will avoid the proceeding utterly, seems not to be dis
putable. (Case of St. Mary’s Church, 7 S. & Rawle, 530;
1^.543).
II. It is said, however, that on the 23d of May, 1859,
the First Congregational Church adopted other resolutions
to the same effect:
“ Whereas, it is for the interest of this church that its
property should be sold, and the proceeds distributed to
the two bodies into which the membership is divided, if the
same can legally be done,
“ Resolved, that we consent to a sale of the real estate
of the church upon the following terms: one-fourth cash,
balance in one, two, and three years, with interest from the
day of sale, payable annually, the deferred payments to be
secured by mortgage on the premises, the proceeds to be
equally divided between this Church and the Church of the
Redeemer.
* Resolved, that the trustees be instructed to enter their
appearance in the Court of Common Pleas, in the suit
brought by William Wiswell against them and others, and
ask that Court to give judicial sanction to, and to direct the
trusts of the charter to be carried out by, such sale and
division.”
These resolutions constitute no defence to the plaintiff’s
action: they were not passed, or even proposed, until after
the action had been commenced, and the injunction al
lowed. Can the Court give them any “judicial sanction ?
�[ 10 ]
(JI. We answer (first) not in this form. The act of
March 11th, 1853, “ to authorize religious societies to dis
pose of real estate in certain cases,” Swan & Critchfield,
vol. 1, p. 371, declares:
;•?
Sec. 1. “That when any real estate shall have been,
or may hereafter be, bequeathed [devised] purchased, do
nated, or otherwise entrusted to any religious society in this
State, or to any of the trustees or officers of any such
society, for the use and benefit of any such society, or for
any other purpose, and such society shall be desirous to
sell, exchange, or incumber, by mortgage or otherwise, any
such real estate, it shall be lawful for the Court of Common
Pleas of the proper county, upon good cause shown, upon
petition of any such society, or some person authorized by
them, to make an order authorizing the sale or incum
brance of any such real estate; and said Court may include,
in such order, directions how the proceeds of such sale or
incumbrance shall be appropriated or invested: provided
such order shall, in no case, be inconsistent with the
original terms upon which such real estate became in
vested in or intrusted to such religious society.”
A"
Sec. 2. “ That where any religious society shall petition
as provided for in the preceding section, all persons who
may have a vested, contingent, or a reversionary interest
in the real estate sought to be sold or incumbered, shall be
made parties to said petition, and such parties shall be
notified of such petition in the same manner as is or may
be provided for in cases of petitions for partition of real
estate: provided, that the provisions of this act shall not
extend to any grounds used or occupied as burial-places
for the dead.”
The act to provide for the partition of real estate, passed
Feb. 17th, 1831, section third, requires notice, by publica
tion or personal service, for a term of forty days. (Swan
& Critchfield, vol. 1, pp. 895, 896).
There are four classes of persons to whom (as defend
ants) the second section of the act passed March 11, 1853,
�L 11 ]
may -refer: 1. The heirs of Brigham. 2. Pew-owners and
lessees. 3. Corporators as such. 4. Mortgagees and other
incumbrancers. We need not inquire which of these, or
whether all of them, should have been cited; for nobody
was cited ; by the answer ot cross-petition, and no process
ever issued.
♦
■sm-'
f It is not a case in which some of the pew-owners or cor
porators dould, as defendants, represent the rest: the statute
requires that “all ” of them (if any) shall be made parties.
If it be alleged that the corporation could file a petition,
ex parte,in this instance, as representingall the corporators
(pew-owners included) and that the heirs of Brigham have
no. reversionary estate, and; there are no incumbrancers,
we answer that such a petition must be filed separately,
and proceeded with, as far as possible, according to the
terms of the statute.
' .
t
Aitiall events, inasmuch as they constitute no defence to
; the*original action of the plaintiff, and as they can not be
the foundation of a counter-claim against him, except as
one pew-owner in many, the resolutions of May 23d are
wholly beside the present case. (Code, sec. 94. Hill v.
Butler, 6 Ohio State Rep. 216, 217).
• .i
hm
2u;The resolutions never were adopted by the Trustees
of the church.
. »
Th£ Trustees ould not sell the property without the con
sent of. the corporators legally assembled; but that is in
tended by the charter (section eighth) as a restraint upon,
and not as a substitute for, their separate discretion. The
minority of the Church can not be deprived of the right to
have a (subject < of such’ importance considered by the
trustees, in their distinctive capacity, as the guardians of
its temporalities. (The People v. Steele, 2 Barb. S. C.
Rep. 397, 398).
•
.
Nor can the votes of the trustees, individually, given at
a meeting of the corporators, and in that character, supply
this defect. (Rex v. Mayor and Aidermen of Carlisle,!
�[ 12 ]
'
Strange, 385, 386. See, also, Commonwealth v. Cullen, 13
Penn. State Rep. 133).
3. The meeting of the corporation at which those reso
lutions were passed (May 23d) had not been legally con
vened.
It was not a regular meeting, but was called by the
trustees, as an “ extra ” meeting, in virtue of the seventh
section of the charter. The usual rule is that such meet
ings require notice to each corporator, personally, as well
of the time and place as of the particular business to be
considered. (Rex v. Langhorne, 6 Nev. & M. 203). We
agree that personal notice, in this instance, was unneces
sary—the charter having authorized “ extra ” meetings to
be called by an advertisement in one newspaper. But the
charter has not dispensed with the necessity of specifying,
in such advertisement, what particular business is to be con
sidered. (Rex v. Mayor of Doncaster, 1 Burrow, 738;
Rex Faversham Fishermen’s Co. 8 Term Rep. 356).
A general statement would suffice, perhaps, for the trans
action of ordinary business, but not for the election of an
officer, the imposition of a tax, the sale of lands, or
(especially) the transfer of corporate property to some of
the members. (Savings Bank of New Haven v. Davis, 8
Conn. Rep. 191,192).
There is no presumption that all the members attended
at such a meeting, nor that they understood (except as
particularly stated in the notice) what business was to be
transacted or proposed. (Wiggin v. Freewill Baptist
Church in Lowell, 8 Metcalf, 312).
The advertisement (Printed Record, p. 40) was in these
words:
i
“ To the Members of the First Congregational Church of
Cincinnati:
“ You are hereby notified to attend an extra meeting of
the Church, to be held on Monday evening, May 23d, 1859,
�at 8 o’clock, at the church edifice, corner of Fourth and
Race streets, for the purpose of considering the propriety of
selling the real estate of the corporation, and for other purThe sufficiency of this may be determined by asking
whether it contains a suggestion that the proceeds of the
sale, if made, would be applied to other than the ordinary
corporate uses.
' That was the essential part of the business’which actually
transpired. Many corporators may have regarded it as a
question of indifference whether the society retained the
present church and premises, or sold them and purchased
another lot, in some other neighborhood, for the purpose of
building a larger house, or of building a smaller house and
devoting a larger sum to the maintenance of the pastor, or
to the endowment of such “institutions of charity or educa- >
tion ” as the charter contemplates; and being indifferent, as
between those alternatives, may not have cared to vote or
attend. But the same corporators would have attended
and voted (as we may well assume) if they had been
warned that one-half the proceeds of sale, or anything like
it, would be given to another religious society, and thus
forever placed beyond their control.
In the case of the Mayor and Aidermen of Carlisle,
1 Strange, 385, which was a mandamus to restore one
Poulter to the office of capital citizen, it appeared that the
corporation consisted of a mayor, aidermen, bailiffs, and
capital citizens, together composing a common council and
having the power of election, but that the power of amotion
was in the mayor and aidermen only; that, on such a day,
the common council was assembled, and Poulter,. being
summoned, would not attend; whereupon, for a cause con
fessedly legal, the mayor and aidermen made an order for
his amotion. Pratt, C. J., said:
“An aiderman, when he receives a summons to appear at
the common council, considers with himself that they are a
�[ H ]
great many ©f them, and probably his single voice will not be
wanted, and therefore he stays at home; but when he is
summoned to meet withnthe mayor and other aidermen
only, then, says he, there are but twelve of us in all, and
therefore my voice and advice (which the others have a
right to) may goda great way: besides, the powers lodged in
us, as a court of mayor and aidermen, are of an higher nature
than our other powers; and therefore, upon both aecounts>
my presence may be necessary, and I will bo--sure to. be
there. All this is natural enough, and is it then reason
able the others should proceed to act as mayor and aider
men only, when they come together in common council?
* * * (It weighs nothing with me that the cause .of
removal happened sitting that assembly; for they ought to
have broke up, and summoned him again to appear before
them in tiieit J distinct capacity.”
mandamus
awwrdedw
WiituiU ; :
1
o.jnwn
ulj \-
In Wheaton y. Gates, 18' New York Rep. 395, 396; <a
case parallel with this, and hereafter to be speciallymentioned, the Court observed' a wide distinction between the'
sale of its lands, by a religious society, with intent tor em-;
ploy the proceeds for some Corporate purpose^ and a sale in
order to divide the proceeds among the corporators
.
“ The scheme of the trustees, conceding that the applica
tion to the County Court was made by the authority! of the
, board, was an entire one—to sell the church-lot, and-dis-1
pose of the proceeds in the manner stated in the petition
and in the order; They did not ask to sell in order to pay
the debts, and that the balance of the proceeds might
remain in the treasury, subject to future appropriation for:
the purposes of the society. Upon the statement in the
petition, th©' debts amounted to only a small proportion of
the value of the property; and if we look to the auction-sale
which was actually made, it will be seen that there was a
surplus of nearly $9,000 after providing for the mortgage
of $2,700; and the remaining debts were trifling, not much
exceeding the value of the personal property. It is not
�represented, in the petition, that a sale was necessary for
the payment of the debts, and the referee has found that
such a necessity did riot in fact exist. The petition asked
that this considerable surplus should?' be distributed among
the pew-holders, and the Court so ordered. The general scope
and object of the proceeding, it appears to me, was the
division of the property of the society among the owners of
pews. The- sale was sought for that purpose, and the pay
ment of the debts was only incidental.” (Pages 402,403).
The answer, in this case, dees riot pretend there is any
necessity of a sale for the payment of * debts, nor for any
other purpose than a division of the proceeds.
■.?
ni>
,0'riiH'•:*« O-i
7O
jusejodtr/jpihritfqoU
o) TOWO'I on »«d
orfT
III. The resolutions'of'May 23d, as well as those’of
April 11th, are illegal in assuming to direct an application ’
of the proceeds of Corporate’ properly to other than cor
porate uses. i •.<"
b,-'I VK>.
jft.W '
The charter (section third) declares that all the property
acquired by the corporation, including the house of worship
and the parsonage-house, u shall be considered as held in
trust, under the management and at the disposal of said
corporation, for the purpose'-of promoting the interest of
their church, defraying thf'expenses incident to their mode of
worship, and maintaining any institutions of charity or edu
cation that may be therewith connected”
i
u ;':
The resolutions*of April 11th direct the trustees, after
paying the ;debts Of the church, to “ transfer and hand
over to 'aneurboard of trustees ofia new religious society, to
be formed by part of the members of this, such a propor
tionate part of the proceeds of said church-property as fairly
may belong to such members forming a new church, reckon
ing according to the valuation of the pews,” etc. v*aw * /
Those of May 23d direct the proceeds “to be equallydivided between this Church and the Church'of the Re
deemer.” And they ask the Court for judicial sanction,
�[ 16 ]
and that, “by such, sale and division” the “trusts of the
charter ” may be rendered effectual.
We answer that “ such sale and division ” will destroy
the trusts of the charter; and, therefore, no Court can
authorize, or even tolerate, the scheme. (Case of St.
Mary’s Church, 7 S. & R. 558, 559; Milligan v. Mitchell,
3 M. & Craig, 83, 84).
The term “ interest of their church ” in the charter (sec
tion third) is explained and limited by the words which
immediately follow it—“ defraying the expenses incident to
their mode of worship, and maintaining any institutions of
charity or education that may be therewith connected?
Copulatio verborum indicat acceptationem in eodem sensu.
(Broom’s Legal Maxims, 450, 451).
The corporation has no power to hold, or even to acquire,
lands or money for the support of any religious society
except its own; and, a fortiori, can not devote to the sepa
rate use of another society, religious or secular, the lands
or the money, or any portion of them, acquired for its own
use. A single corporator may object, and the assent of all
the corporators would not legalize such an act. (Bagshaw
v. Eastern Union Railway Co. 7 Hare, 114).
Wheaton v. Gates, 18 New York Rep. 395,396, was the
case of a Congregational Church which had fallen into dis
order, and some members of which had constituted a new
society, called a pastor, and separately organized them
selves. The trustees of the old corporation agreed, by
a vote of two-thirds, with the assent of the corporators,
“almost unanimously,” after two re-considerations of the
subject, to disband its membership, sell the church-propperty, and apply the proceeds, after payment of its debts,
to the use of the several pew-owners. The County Court,
under a statute similar to our own, had sanctioned this
agreement, and it had been partially carried into effect.
But some of the members brought an action to restrain the
trustees from any further proceeding in that direction, and
to have the entire agreement annulled.
�[ 17 ]
Per Curiam. “ The trustees had no authority to dis
tribute the property of the society among its individual
members, or any class of them. Their duty was to preserve
and administer it in the promotion of the purposes for
which the corporation was created. The Court could not,
according to the statute, approve of a plan for any applica
tion of the moneys arising upon a sale, except one which was
considered to he for the interest of the society as an associa
tion which was to continue. organised for the purposes of its
creation. There is a sense in which it might promote the
interests of the individuals composing this religious organ
ization to dissolve their connection, and establish new rela
tions ; but this is not what is meant by the statute. It was
not in the power of the trustees, or a majority of the
members of the society, or the County Court, or of all
these authorities together, to abolish the corporation, or
dissolve the society. If every individual having any in
terest in the matter should concur, it might be done;
because there would be no one to question the act. But
while any number of the members desire to continue the
connection, all the others can not, by their own act, dissolve
it. Now, it is not possible that it could be considered to
be for the interest of the society, in the legal and proper
sense of that expression in the statute, to dissolve it, and
distribute its property among its individual members.”
(Pages 403, 404).
The distribution attempted by the resolutions of April
11th, 1859, was to be “ according to the valuation of the
pews,’’ and without any regard to the corporators at large.
This would be clearly illegal; inasmuch as the owners of
pews have no right, as owners, or part-owners, in the land,
or in the church-edifice. (Wheaton v. Gates, 18 N. Y.
Rep. 404, 405; Matter of the Reformed Dutch Church,
16 Barbour, 240, 241; Price v. Methodist Episcopal
Church, 4 Ohio Rep. 540, 541).
*
The resolutions of May 23d, 1859, are quite as objec
tionable. They propose a division of the proceeds, “equally,”
2
‘ '
I
�[ 18 1
between the members of the Church who remain and those
who have seceded from it. That is only a gift of a part of
the corporate property to a part of the members, and for
their separate and individual use.
Of what consequence can it be, in a legal point of view,
that the seceding members intend to endow another church,
even of the same persuasion ? That might, or might not,
be for the interest of religion, but can not be for the inter
est of the old corporation as such. It diminishes the
property of the corporation, and disables the corporators
who remain (by so much) to defray the expenses incident
to their mode of worship, or to establish and maintain
institutions of charity and education.
As truly observed by the Court of Appeals, in Wheaton
v. Gates, 18 N. Y. Rep. 404, there is no “legal and proper
sense ” in which it can be for “the interest’’ of the First
Congregational Church, as a corporation, to distribute the
proceeds of this land, upon a sale, or any portion of the
7 proceeds, to the members of the Church as individuals, or
as divided into two societies; and this whether the mem
bers apply their respective shares to secular purposes, or,
by applying the means thus obtained to the foundation and
maintenance of a “ new ” religious society, relieve them
selves from an expenditure otherwise unavoidable.
The gentlemen who constitute the Church of the Iter
deemer deny that they have seceded from the First Con
gregational Church. IIow can it be otherwise ?
We engage in no discussion whether the “views of
Christian truth ” inculcated by Rev. Mr. Conway be, or
be not, in accordance with those entertained by the found
ers of the First Congregational Church. There is a way to
ascertain that, but not in the present action, or upon the
pleadings hitherto filed. By the discipline of such soci
eties (Keyser v. Stansifer, 6 Ohio Rep. 365) a majority
of the members decide all questions of faith and prac
tice—as effectually as, in other religious organizations,
�[19 ]
they are decided by bishops, presbyters, and priests, or by
convocations, synods, councils and conferences.
The gentlemen who signed the letter of February 26 th,
1859, commenced by arraigning Mr. Conway before the
proper tribunal; but instead of persevering in that course,
and abiding the result, abandoned the Congregational
Church and founded the Church of the Redeemer.
It is not material to inquire what differences, if any, can
be predicated of the “preamble ” in one and the “ coven
ant” in the other. We take the seceders at their own
word: that they differed “ widely ” from Rev. Mr. Conway
“ in his views of Christian truth.” They refused, for that
reason, to attend upon his ministry, and have organized
“ a new religious society ” in which their own sentiments
are to be inculcated. No man denies their right to do
this; but, in doing it, they can not destroy the identity,
nor impair the usefulness, of the Church which remains.
(Trustees of the Presbyterian Congregation of Fairview
v. Sturgeon, 9 Penn. State Rep. 321, 322; lb. 329, 330;
Attorney General v. Hutton, Drury, 520, 521; Smith v.
Smith, 3 DeSaussure, 557 ; lb. 582, 583, 584).>
Nor is it material whether the seceders were a majority
or a minority of the old organzation. They left it; and
that is enough. (Baker v. Fales, 16 Mass. Rep. 503, 504 ;
Den v. Bolton, 7 Halsted, 214, 215; Cammeyer v. Cor
poration of the United German Lutheran Churches, 2
Sandf. Ch. Rep. 214).
Where dissensions have arisen, and schism follows, al
though it be decided, judicially, that there is no intelligible
difference in doctrine or opinion, those who adhere to the
old organization are,, entitled to its property in exclusion
of all others. (Craigdallie v. Aikman, 2 Bligh, 529; Same
Case, on former appeal, 1 Dow’s Pari. Cas. 15, 16 ; Foley
v. Wontner, 2 Jac. & Walker, 247. See, also, Field v.
Field, 9 Wendell, 394).
It is said that the members of the Church of the Re-
�[ 20 ]
deemer are yet corporators in the First Congregational
Church. Then they ask of the other corporators a right to
use, separately^ one-half the corporate property, and to
retain, at the same time, a proportionate interest in the
residue. It must be so; or else they regard themselves as
no longer connected with the old organization.
Nor is it material whether a majority of those who re
main have, or have not, consented to such an arrangement,
although nothing of that sort appears. It would be none
the less illegal, and any corporator has a right to object.
(The State v. Steele, 2 Barb. 397, 398; Stebbins v. Jen
nings, 10 Pick. 193, 194; Attorney-General v. Hutton,
Drury, 507).
It may be said that this separation was made necessary
by reason of the personal objections which Mr. Conway had
provoked against himself, involving questions somewhat
more of a social than theological character. Whilst this
was, perhaps, an element that entered into the programme
of those who withdrew from the church, at the same time
it is perfectly obvious that they did not subscribe to the
theological doctrines taught by Mr. Conway as the pastor
of the First Congregational Church, and that was the con
trolling motive for the separation on their part. This is
shown in several ways: 1st. The paper of the 26th of
February, 1859, signed by thirteen of those who were dis
satisfied (Printed Record, pp. 34, 35) is designed to
effectuate his removal, for the sole reason of their “ widely
differing from the Rev. Mr. Conway, our pastor, in his
views of Christian truth” 2d. The attempt to depose
Mr. Conway, without any other accusation against him.
3. The Covenant which they adopted when they formed
the “ Church of the Redeemer.” (Printed Record, p. 20).
We do not profess to enter into an examination of the
the theological evidences at hand to prove that Mr. Conway
taught the true doctrines of the Unitarian Church. A
�[ 21 ]
careful examination and consideration of these evidences,
to be found in the printed works of such lights of the
church as Dr. Chalmers, Clark, Bellows, Martineau, Fro
thingham, Higginson, Longfellow, Furnace and others, have
left us no room to doubt that Mr. Conway preached the
Unitarianism of the First Congregational Church, and of
those whose munificence founded it, and sustained it for
so many years in its infancy, and remained its steadfast
t friends in all its years of poverty and prosperity. If, then,
they went off because they could not agree with the major
ity who remained, on theological questions, they became
seceders, and, by retiring, lost all the interest they may
have had in the church-property, and the right to partici
pate in the management of the affairs of the church, both
secular and ecclesiastical.
If the court will carefully consider the Covenant of the
Church of the Redeemer and the other papers (to be
found in the Printed Record) which were, from time to
time, adopted by the First Congregational Church as
declarations of religious principles, and Mr. Conway’s
pastoral letter, to be found in the Printed Record, commen
cing on page 26, they will be able to appreciate the theo
logical difference to which we have referred. But as we
have said elsewhere, we do not wish to enter upon this
discussion.
The error of the defendants consists in supposing that
the corporators of the First Congregational Church have
some right, as individuals, in its property, and, therefore,
may disband it, or divide it, in order to obtain their re
spective shares. They have no right except as corporators;
and that must be enjoyed within the corporation, and ac
cording to the charter, by-laws, and established usage. It
can not be enjoyed as members of another religious so
ciety, corporate or unincorporated, nor as individuals.
(Methodist Episcopal Church v. Wood, 5 Ohio Rep. 287).
�[ 22 ]
Nor is it possible to suppose that two religious societies,
with different constitutions and by-laws, each with a board
of trustees and a pastor, can co-exist under one form of
incorporation. That allegation was made in the same case
(Methodist Episcopal Church v. Wood, 5 Ohio Rep. 287,
288) but was totally rejected.
. ’ !
It is argued that a division of the corporate property
would be for the spiritual welfare of all the members (as
well those who remain as those who have seceded) and
examples are cited in proof and illustration. That may be
true; but, as yet, Courts of civil jurisprudence have not
attained such heights of enquiry.
But, whatever the advantage to corporators, temporal or
spiritual, we must again specify a distinction between their
interest and the interest of the First Congregational Church
as a body politic and corporate. For the corporation is
quite another thing, in law, than the mere aggregate of its
members. (Society for the Illustration of Practical Know
ledge v. Abbott, 2 Beavan, 567 ; Bligh v. Brent, 2 Y. &
Collyer, 295). It is an artificial person, and has the fac
ulty of using its own property and funds. The charter
requires it to use them, in this instance, for particular pur
poses, and under its immediate supervision :
“ All such property, with the house of worship and the
parsonage-house, shall be considered as held in trust, under
THE MANAGEMENT AND AT THE DISPOSAL OF SAID CORPORATION,
for the purpose of promoting the interest of their church,
defraying the expenses incident to their mode of worship,
and maintaining any institutions of charity or education
that may be therewith connected.” (Sec. 3).
How can the “ trust ” be fulfilled, as the Legislature com
mands, after the First Congregational Church shall have
transferred, irrevocably, to the Church of the Redeemer
as well “ the disposal ” as “ the management ” of one-half
its wealth ? And yet the Court is asked to “ sanction ”
a sale of the house of worship, at public outcry, and with
out any other necessity or cause, in order to accomplish a
�[ 23 ]
result so illegal. Baker v. Fales, 16 Mass. Rep. 496, 497,
deserves to be read in this connection.
Smith v. Swormstedt, 16 Howard, 288, contravenes no
part of our argument. That was a case of trust for the
benefit of individuals — “traveling, supernumerary, and
worn-out preachers, and the widows and orphans of such
preachers” — and not of trust for an object beside the
interest of individuals. The property had been created
by the efforts of the beneficiaries themselves, and was
wholly subject to their disposition in General Conference
assembled. They had agreed upon a plan of administra
tion resulting from their own schism, and yet perfectly in
accordance with the original design; to which plan, for
the reasons we have just indicated, the Court gave its coun
tenance. (16 How. 304, 305, 306).
The error of the Circuit Court was in confounding such
a case with one like the present. (5 McLean, 369, 370).
Nor do we question the authority of Keyser v. Stansifer, 6 Ohio Rep. 363, in any particular. That was a bill
exhibited by a trustee who, “in a course of discipline,”
had been expelled from a Congregational society, “ Partic
ular Baptists,” and other members who had seceded from it,
charging the officers and members who remained with cer
tain errors in religious faith and practice. “ This claim is
not set up,” said Judge Lane, “ because the minority are
excluded, but because it is asserted the majority have
* deserted the principles under which the association was first
organized.” (Page 365). The decision would be conclu
sive in a similar suit by the members of the “ Church of
the Redeemer” against the First Congregational Church
and its adherents.
Much has been said, by opposing counsel, as to the
advice of Courts in other religious controversies ; but those
controversies differed, all of them, in some essential partic-
�lar, from the present one. We find no instance in America,
nor in Great Britain, where judges have spoken with toler
ance of selling a house of worship, “ at auction,” peremp
torily, in order to relieve gentlemen who desire to establish
a new church from the usual expense of such an enterprise.
R. M. CORWINE.
GEO. E. PUGH.
�
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Victorian Blogging
Description
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Pamphlet
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William Wiswell v. William Greene, William Goodman, and Others. Argument for the plaintiff.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Ohio. Supreme Court
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: Cincinatti
Collation: 24 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: Plaintiff R.M. Corwine and Geo. E. Pugh. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Hearing held December Term, 1862. "This action was brought to restrain the Trustees of the First Congregational Church of Cincinnati from selling its real estate... and dividing the proceeds". [Front page]. Compare 'William Wiswell against William Greene et al' in Conway Tracts 6.
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[s.n.]
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[1862?]
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G5265
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (William Wiswell v. William Greene, William Goodman, and Others. Argument for the plaintiff.), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
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English
Subject
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Trials
Unitarianism
Conway Tracts
Court cases
First Unitarian Church
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Tl'.RM, Igga
WILLIAM WISWBLL against WILLIAM GREENE, et al.
Reply to the Argument of II. C. Whitman, Esq., Counsel for the
Church of 4m Redeemer.
Counsel for tlie defen dmtsBffimt treiwif those memllrs who
went off because of their “ widelyWfferin|H’ with the pastor in
his religious views, are secederslthey lose all legal right to the
Church property. But he .says they are not seceders, because
they did not go off of “ their own motion.” Here he has mis-'
taken the facts. Let us see how they are. When this suit was '
brought, there was no agreement to divide and separate. There
was no second or independent organization formed, but Messrs
Hosea and associates, refused to attend the preaching of the
pastor, and kept up a constant clamor for a sale and division
or the unconditional deposition of the pastor. After this suit
was brought, they organized another religious society, called
the Church of the Redeemer. Notwithstanding the injunction
herein granted, and the pendency of this suit, they continued
to agitate in the Church until they succeeded in getting the
resolutions of 23d of May passed.
. Did they go off with the consent of those who remained?
Was it intended that they should Constitute a branch of the f
First Congregational Church, Averned by its Trustees, the A.
funds to be invested-by them and the new oiBanization con- ,
trolled by them? Was it a society organized Unfhin the juris
diction and under the control of those trustees y Was the Firs®P*'
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Congregational Ohtirch to control and mafiago it in any way
whatever ? The record answers all these questions in the neg
ative ? Again: those members went off before there was any
division, some before the litigation and some after it was com
menced. No sale could be had until the Court sanctioned it,
and yet long before they filed their answer in this case, the
Church of the Redeemer was organized, an antagonism of the
old ChurchHand to all intents and purposes they ceased to be
members of the First Congregational Church. They were not
driven out of the Church, but left of “ their own motion.”
They voluntarily withdrew, organized another, and independ
ent society, without respect to the one they withdrew from,
proclaimed a new covenant or creed and completely ignored
the First Congregational Church, the doctrines therein taught
having become heresies Po them. If this is not seceding, it is
difficult to understand what state of case will make it out.
II. Counsel for the Church of the Redeemer admits that if
this is a case of a division of the Church property among
individual members, it would not be valid, but he denies that
it is such a case. Let us see.
• 1st. When this suit was brought to restrain the sale of the
property, there was no separate organization. 2d. When the
resolution of the 11th of April was adopted there was no such
organization. The demand on the part of these gentlemen,
who went off, that Mr. Conway should be dismissed, because
they could not accord to his religious views, coupled with the
threat, which they instantly executed, that they would no
longer worship under his administration, all took place before
they procured the passage of the resolutions of the 23d of May.
These were steps taken by them, as individuals, as pew-owners,
and predicated of what they called their personal rights as
such, viz.: their ownership in the Church property as pewowners. They desired to retire from the First Congregational
Church, and to take with them their respective shares of the
property as measured by the value of their pews.
They did nothing afterwards that was not predicated of this
claim. Counsel speaks of an equitable rule of division, i. e.,
that the property should be equally divided. That rule was
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proposed by these dissatisfied gentlemen because they claimed
their pews in value represented about one-half of the value of
the whole church property.
III. I am not able to perceive Hie force of the counsel’s
proposition, that the cause of religion in this Church will be
promoted by granting the prayer of his clients to divide this
property, Ho speaks of the impossibility of his clients longer
remaining in that Church, because if they do it will be filled
with “ discord and strife.” To avoid this, he eloquently appeals
to the Court to let them take one-half of the property and
“ depart in peace.” How far this condition of things accords
with what the counsel says al*n«r place in his brief, when
speaking to the proposition of secession, it is not worth while
here to speak : nor do I stop to inquire who is responsible for
this 11 discord and strife.” I may remark that this state of
things is not exactly consistent wit»S|laiouM tMmngs. It
may be inquired if a division is made, how the First Congrega
tional Church is to be benefitted, or the cause of religion, in that
Church, promoted, by giving these gentlemen, who will, counsel
fears, “agitate” if they stay, one-half of the property to go away.
The resolutions do not contemplate,. nor do the parties
expect, that they are in any way to be held awountable by the
First Congregational Church, for the disposiwn they may make
of the funds so to be paid over to them. TItom ch^^tc^md they
will take the money, by force of their ownership as pewowners, and will do wit™ it whatever they may choose, which
may be to build up another Church, or divide it among them
selves, and use it for any other purpose. The moment the
Church property is divided, the tHu^Bcontemplated by the
Charter and the founders of thoMiurch ceases to control such
of it as is given to these scceders.
IV. Counsel claims that it would promoffl the interest of the
First Congregation® Church, to give these dissaj^^ed pew
owners one-half of the property, and let them go off and form
another Society. Not being able to see that, ^raqui™whether
it can seriously be claimed that this Church can divide up its
property, and give one-half of it to establish another Society,
for the promulgation of different religious tenets and doctrines
�than those taught in the Church? Nay, more: is it claimed
that this property can be used to establish another Society,
outside of this one, beyond its control, having no connection
with it? Counsel is not very explicit in this; occurrent nubes;
and yet the case shows that these gentlemen want the property
to set up an independent Society, beyond the jurisdiction of
and having no connection whatever with, the First Congre
gational Church. I know he claims that unless it is done,
there will be “ bitter feelings,” and a wreck of the Church.
How can that be ? These malcontents have left it, have formed
another Society, and, it is to be hoped, are in the full fruition
of that peace and calm which they could not find with their
late co-worshipers in the old Church. Of course they would
not return to “stir up the strife,”.which drove them from it.
How, then, can such dreadful things befall the “ old church.”
“ Peace and concord^ reign there now. I will not say it is
because these gentlemen have left the “ old church.” However
that may be, I am not prepared to believe that they will
voluntarily return there, if they apprehend a renewal of the
terrible scenes which the counsel so elegantly depicts and so
mournfully deplores.
I have examined the cases cited by counsel for the Church
of the Redeemer.
The case in 21 Conn, does not sustain the point for which it
is citedw
There is no such case as that of Uckerly v. Leyer, cited as
being in 2 Serg. & Rawle, 38.
The case referred to in 2 Wendell has no bearing whatever
on the proposition for which it is designed to use it; and the
paragraph particularly referred to is wholly outside of the
case, and the mere obiter dictum of the judge who drafted the
opinion.
The case in 23 Barb, is directly adverse to the proposition
for which counsel cites it. So, too, of the case of the Methodist,
Church v. Remington, 1 Watts, 227; and, also, the case in 1
Watts & Serg.
�[ 5 ]
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MOTION TO DISMISS.
I call the attention of the Court to the motion to dismiss
this suit. It will be observed that the suit was instituted to
prevent a sale of the Church property as was contemplated
by the resolutions of the 11th of April and the 23d of May,
1859.
It will also be observed that the Church has repealed those
resolutions, and all others, which were designed to provide for
a sale of the Church and a division of its property. It like
wise appears that the trustees who filed an answei’ in the
case, in the Common Pleas, by their counsel, Messrs. Taft and
Perry, have requested their answer to be withdrawn, as they
no longer desire to sell the Church property. I, also, file the
letter of Messrs. Taft and Perry, requesting the answer to be
withdrawn; also the notice served on the counsel of the Church
of the .Redeemer, and Taft and Perryjadvertising them that
this motion would be made by the plaintiff. Copies of the
Church resolutions and the order of the Trustees, were served
«n the counsel of defendants. This motion is made, because
there now remains no necessity for pursuing this suit fur
ther. The object being to restrain the sale of the Church
property, now that there will be no sale, the further prosecu
tion of this suit is rendered superfluous. The right to dismiss
a pending suit, before final action, I suppose will not be ques
tioned, unless new rights have supervened, and that will not be
seriously contended in this case. In the first place, supposing
the resolutions to divide the property had been legally passed,
and gave any of the parties a right which they did not enjoy
before this suit was brought, having been passed “lis pendens,”
they can claim nothing through these resolutions. In the second
place, the power of the Church which passed the resolutions,
to elect to repeal them, and to decline to sell the property, can
not be questioned. That power is reposed in them, to be exer
cised only within the Charter. Supposing that the Chureh
may sell and divide, they may elect to sell or not sell, at a par
ticular time, according to their discretion. But if it can be
�done at all, it can be done only by the sanction of the Court.
2 Kents Com. 314; 3 Barb. Ch. 122. At common law it
could not be done at all, and it is by no means clear that it can
be done in Ohio, except upon the precedent consent of all the
members, under the statute of March 11th, 1853, Swan, 247,
which must be strictly pursued. It is very clear that the
Court will not require the corporation to sell its property.
16 Barb. 241; also, 23 Barb. 335. ,
If these gentlemen, who claiifi to be participants in the
fund, acquired any new rights by the resolutions of the 23d of
May, it was to enjoy them when the property is sold, but they
can not compel a sale against the judgment of the Church and
the Trustees. The sale is one thing and the division of the
proceeds another and very different thing.
There is no decree or judgment in this case. The one ren
dered by the common pleas was vacated by the appeal, and the
case comes into the court by reservation. It is, as if this suit
was now to be heard for the first time.
The case of Wyatt v. Benson, 23 Barb. Sup. C. II., 339, de
cides that no intervening or precedent action of the Church or
the Board of Trustees can impair the plaintiff’s right to ques*
tion the validity and legality of any order of sale made by
them. The order’ of sale and the declaration as to the dispos
ition of the proceeds, are yet in fieri, not having been, exe
cuted, and no rights having been acquired under th pm, it is
not only in the power of the corporation to rescind such order
of sale, etc., but the Court will refuse to act when the Trustees
ask to withdraw their application for a sale. The application
can be made by none but the Society itself, or by some one
authorized by them. Swan, 248. The supplemental answer
now filed by the Trustees takes away from the Court all power
to order a sale.
R. M. CORWINE,
*
Attorney for the Plaintiff and the Trustees.
�SUPREME COURT OF OHIO.
WILLIAM WISWELL against WILLIAM GREENE, et al.
Reply to some of the Points made by Mlsrsl Whitman & Collins, in
their Oral Argument.
1st. Counsel for defendants say that the opinion of the
lawyers given to the Trustees, (Printed Record, page 3G), was
followed inEMJpassage of the resolutions of the 23d of May*
Thisd® a mistake. An examination of that paper will show
that they advised that the division should be made in such a
way as that thcTcharter should be complied with: that is, that
no second organization could be made, except it was a part of
the First Congregation®. Church. That is the fair interpreta
tion of it. See the last paragraph in that opinion, and note its
guarded language.
2nd. On the application to withdraw the answer of the
Trustees, counsel say that the court should not entertain it,
because thewesolutions of the 2Gth May, 1862, were not passed
by a legal body, and because they were passed after this case
was reserved. I answer if that is true, it does not help the
resolutions of the 23d of May, 1859, since they weHpast after
this suit was brought. The one is no bettei’ than the other, so
far as this objection is concerned.
3d. The resolutions of the 23d of May do not pretend to
dispose of the question, but leave the whole matter to 'the
Court, to whom it is referred for “Judicial /Sanction.” How
could those membersBwho withdrew, after their adoption,
claim that they gave them any rights, or conferred upon them
�any privileges until the court
them? ^he whole
question was purposely left in abeyance. They could have
taken no steps in the purchase of property predicated of these
resolutions. It is not, therefore, a case of vested rights, as the
counsel suppose. No legal rights could intervene by reason
of what these resolutions contain. The Corporation could do
nothing in the way of disposing of the property, or dividing
the proceeds without the sanction of the Court. So that the
whole thing was immature—was in fieri.
CORWINE.
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Dublin Core
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Victorian Blogging
Description
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Title
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William Wiswell against William Greene et al: reply to the argument of H.C. Whitman, Esq., Counsel for the Church of the Redeemer
Creator
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Corwine, R.M.
Ohio. Supreme Court
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [Cincinatti]
Collation: 8 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Hearing held December term, 1862. The case concerned a schism in the First Congregational Church, part of the congregation disapproved of Conway and left; questions arose of dividing church property. Compare 'Ohio. Supreme Court of Ohio. William Wiswell v William Greene, William Goodman, and others' in Conway Tracts 10.
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[s.n.]
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[1862?]
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G5614
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Unitarianism
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (William Wiswell against William Greene et al: reply to the argument of H.C. Whitman, Esq., Counsel for the Church of the Redeemer), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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Text
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English
Conway Tracts
Court cases
First Unitarian Church
Moncure Conway
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29ff36be7e502b57433456b40d88f817
PDF Text
Text
WILL CHRIST
SAVE US?
AN EXAMINATION OF
THE CLAIMS OF JESUS CHRIST TO BE CONSIDERED
THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
BY
G. W. FOOTE.
Price Sixpence.
LONDON :
R. FORDER, 28 STONECUTTER STREET, E.C.
1893.
��M17I
NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
WILL
CHRIST SAVE US?
G. W. FOOTE.
LONDON:
R. FORDER, 28 STONECUTTER STREET, E.O.
1892
�LONDON :
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY G. W. FOOTE,
28
STONECUTTER STREET, E.C.
�Will Christ Save Us?
----------♦----------
Christian Churches are big firms in the soul-saving business.
The principal of all these firms is a person who is said
to have established the trade nearly nineteen hundred years
ago. Some sceptics have doubted his very existence, but
they are generally held to be obstinately blind or wilfully
captious. Yet in any case it is indisputable that if Jesus
Christ ever lived he died, and though he is declared to
have risen from the dead, he is also said to have ascended
into heaven. He is no longer on earth, except in a theological
or mystical sense. The salvation business is carried on
by his agents, real or fictitious, appointed or self-appointed.
They charge various rates, and issue diverse prospectuses.
It seems impossible that the founder of the business can
authorise such contradictory advertisements or such various
price-lists; nevertheless the many different firms, who all
pretend to be branches of the original house, and sometimes
to be the original house itself, are all busy, and some do
a roaring,, profitable trade.
Soul-saving, as we have said, is the business of all these
Christian establishments or branches. Many people, however,
are doubtful whether they have souls to save, and they are
not the least moral and intelligent members of the human
species. Science is leaving little room for souls in our
economy. Evolution shows a gradual line of development
from the lowest to the highest orders of life, and it is more
and more difficult to see where the soul comes in. The very
Churches, indeed, are beginning to appreciate the growing
indifference on this subject, and are issuing manifestoes
about their intention to save men’s bodies as well as their
�4
Will Christ Save Us?
souls. General Booth himself was obliged to follow this
line when he wanted to raise £100,000 for the promotion
of his scheme of Salvation.
All these Christian establishments or branches profess
to be powerless in themselves. Their strength and efficacy
are derived. They do all things through Christ. It is he
who works in them. They vend salvation medicine, but he
is the patentee. We may therefore set them aside, and deal
with him, his recipe, its virtues, and its testimonials.
We will consider, first, the disease for which he offers
a remedy. He is to save us, but what is it he is to save us
from? We are told it is from sin, and its consequences.
What then is sin ?
If sin is offence against our fellow men, inflicting misery
upon them for our own interest or gratification, or with
holding assistance when we might render it without greater
injury to ourselves, it is hard to see how Christ can save
us from it. Preaching appears to be of little avail. Didactic
morality has always been barren. Many a boy has written
“honesty is the best policy” all down the length of his
copybook, and gone to the playground and sneaked another
boy’s marbles. Have all the billions of sermons fiom the
pulpit had any appreciable effect on the morale of human
society? But culture, wise conditions of life, examples of
actual heroism, flashing utterances from the brooding depths
of genius, an arresting picture, a pregnant poem, a story
of love stronger than death, of virtue stronger than doom;
these have improved and elevated men, and quickened
the springs of goodness in millions of hearts.
Selfishness is the root of much evil. In the natural sense
of the word it is the only sin. But how will Christ save us
from selfishness ? We are told that he gave his life for us
and this should make us kind to our fellows, out of mere
gratitude. He did not die for us, however; every man
has to die for himself. If it be meant that he gave his
�Will Christ Save Us?
5
life as an atonement to God, we reply that such a transaction
is unintelligible. Jurisprudence does not allow one person
to atone for another ; and how can the suffering of innocence
diminish the selfishness of guilt ? Supposing Jesus Christ
to be merely a man, he could n ot bear the sins of the world
upon his own shoulders. Supposing him to be God, does
it not seem farcical for God to atone to himself, satisfy
himself, pay himself, and discharge himself?
Sin, in the form of selfishness, vitiates our nature ;
its consequences afflict our fellow men; and neither the
interior mischief noi’ the exterior evil can be remedied by
theological hocus-pocus.
Setting aside the huge improbabilities of the Crucifixion
story, and treating it as substantially true, it is impossible to
regard Jesus Christ as a real martyr. He died for no prin
ciple. He was not called upon to renounce his convictions.
The slightest exercise of common sense would have saved his
life. His end was rather a suicide than a martyrdom. His
trial and execution are an incomparable tragic picture, which
has made the fortune of Christianity; but if we allow reason
to operate in the midst of terror and compassion, we cannot
fail to perceive that the tragedy involves no ethical lesson or
heroic example.
We are equally disappointed if we turn to the teaching of
Jesus Christ. Nearly all his ethics have a selfish sanction.
Future reward and punishment, the lowest motives to right
conduct, are systematically proffered. Those who forsook
family and property for his sake were to receive a hundred
fold in this life, and a still greater profit in the next life.
“ Great is your reward in heaven ” Was his highest incentive,
except in occasional moments when he was truer to the
natural instincts of sympathy and benevolence. Not in such
teaching is the cure for selfishness, but rather its intensifica
tion. A finer spirit breathed in the Pagan maxim that
“ Virtue is its own reward.”
�6
Will Christ Save Us ?
Christ cannot save us from selfishness, because he appeals
to selfish motives. Still less, if possible, can he save us from
the consequences of selfishness. No man or god can do thatWhat is said is said, what is done is done. The lie, the
slander, the innuendo; the harsh word, the malicious smile,
the savage frown; the fraud, the curse, the blow; these have
passed from effects into causes, and produce misery in ever
widening circles, as the stone dropped into a still lake pro
duces an extending circle of ripple, whose vibrations continue
when lost to the perception of human eyes.
Even if we admit the blamelessness of Christ’s life, for the
sake of argument, without laying stress on many high
qualities that were lacking in his nature, it is impossible to
regard him as our “ great exemplar,” and in that sense as
our Savior. Regarded as God, he is beyond our imitation.
We have not his means, he had not our weakness. If he was
“ tempted as we are, yet without sin,” he was not tempted as
we are. The external solicitation is powerless without the
internal proclivity. Public-houses are the same to drunkards
as teetotallers, yet they alternately attract and repel. On
the other hand, if we regard Jesus as a man, how are we to
imitate him then ? Most of his life-story is miraculous. We
cannot cure the sick, give sight to the blind, hearing to the
deaf, speech to the dumb, or restore dead sons and brothers
to their mothers and sisters. Our powers and duties are
more prosaic. VTe want incentive and guidance as husbands
and wives, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, friends
and citizens: and here the example of Jesus fails us as utteily
as his teaching.
Let us first look at the example and the teaching of Jesus
from the domestic standpoint, which is of incalculable impor
tance.
The unit of the human race is neither the man nor the
woman; it is the family. Here the supplementary natures
of men and women find free scope, as husband and wife, and
�Will Christ Save Us?
7
as parents, whose various functions, alike on the physical
and on the moral side, are equally necessary to the nurture
and education of their offspring. The family, indeed, is the
ark of civilisation, containing the sacred elements of
humanity, and preserving the germ of all social organisation
amidst the worst disasters that flow from the folly and
wickedness of nations or their rulers.
In this respect the example of Jesus is worthless. He
was certainly not remarkable for filial devotion. Of his
relations with his brothers and sisters we know next to
nothing. He was not married, * and was therefore unac
quainted with the duties of a husband and a father. What
ever else his example may be worth, it is entirely valueless
in regard to domestic obligations. Men, and even gods, can
only be an example to us so far as they have been in our
position. Without this qualification their very advice is
apt to provoke laughter or impatience; a truth which is
reflected in the proverb that bachelor’s children are always
well brought up.
The teaching of Jesus, on this point, is as barren as his
example. It is a singular fact, which rarely attracts the
attention of believers, that the domestic ethics of Christianity
are not to be found in the Gospels, but in the epistles of
Saint Paul. Jesus does occasionally condescend to touch the
question of sexuality, which lies at the basis of all our social
life; but on such occasions he is either enigmatic or repulsive.
He appears to have regarded sexual relations in the spirit of
an Essenean. One of his sayings went still farther; it
prompted the great Origen to emasculate himself as a candi
date for the kingdom of heaven. Another fervent disciple
of Jesus in our own age, the great Russian writer, Count
Tolstoi, argues that no true Christian can enter into the
marriage relation. He quotes a number of the sayings of
Jesus in support of his argument. And what is the answer
of the Churches ? Their only answer is silence. They dare
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Will Christ Save Us ?
not meet him on this ground. They trust his article will bo
forgotten, and they act on the maxim “ the least said the
soonest mended.”
In a certain sense the virtue of industry is a part of
domestic morality. Although every worker may be regarded
as a cell of the entire social organism, it is not for society
that he primarily labors, but for his own subsistence and
the maintenance of his family. Now Jesus never taught
the virtue of industry. “How could he,” asks Professor
Newman, “ when he kept twelve religious mendicants around
him?” Here again it is to Saint Paul that we must go
for ethical teaching. So far as Jesus can be understood,
he taught a doctrine of special providence which cuts at
the roots of thrift and foresight. “ Take no thought for
the morrow,” and similar maxims, would, if acted upon,
reduce civilised communities to the condition of the lowest
savages, who live from hand to mouth, and feast to-day
and starve to-morrow.
The only escape from this difficulty is to treat such
maxims as mystical, hyperbolic, or allegorical. It is difficult,
however, to regard them in this light, when we remember
the whole drift of Christ’s teaching. We have not a few
isolated texts to deal with, but a whole body of inculcations,
culminating in the advice to a rich young man to sell all
he possessed and give the proceeds to the poor; advice,
indeed, which was universally acted upon by the primitive
Church, if we may trust the narrative in the Acts of the
Apostles.
We may further remark that if Jusus did not mean
precisely what he said in these numerous instances, the
Churches are bound to tell us two things; first, what he
did mean; secondly, why he spoke in a misleading or
perplexing manner. Was it worth while to cloud the path
of salvation with dark sayings ? And if a writer or speaker
does not mean what he says, is it really possible for anyone
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9
to be certain what he does mean ? Unless language is used
with its ordinary significance, every man will interpret it
according to his fancy, and the conception of its meaning
will vary with taste and temperament.
So much for Christ’s example and teaching with respect
to domestic morality. We will now, before examining his
other teaching, briefly consider his claim as “the great
exemplar ” in the more general sense of the words.
Not only is it impossible for us to imitate his miracles;
not only does he afford us no practical example in the
ordinary duties of life; his example in all other respects
is perfectly useless. As a god, we cannot imitate him;
as a man we cannot imitate him either, since it is impossible
to ascertain his real character; and the very fact that he
has been worshipped as a god precludes his serving as a
human model.
Let us elaborate these propositions a little. When a king
is dethroned it is undignified for him to take part in public
affairs. He should retire into private life. In the same way, as
Professor Bain observes, a dethroned God should not set up
as a great man, but retire into the region of poetry and
mythology. “ He who has once been deified,” says Strauss,
“ has irretrievably lost his manhood.” This is the reason
why Unitarianism, despite wealth, learning, and ability
achieves no success amongst the people. It is also the reason
why Christian panegyrists of the character of Jesus indulge
in such hectic eloquence. They must maintain a certain
feverishness; a lapse into cool reason would betray the
hollowness of their cause.
Jesus as a man is one of the most shadowy figures in
history, and his outlines perpetually shift as we read the
gospel narratives. It was this confusing fact which prompted
the following objection of Strauss to regarding the Prophet
of Nazareth as a human model:—
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“ I must have a distinct, definite conception of him in whom I am to
believe, whom I am to imitate as an exemplar of moral excellence. A
being of which I can only catch fitful glimpses, which remains obscure to
me in essential respects, may, it is true, interest me as a problem for
scientific investigation, but it must remain ineffectual as regards practical
influence on my life. But a being with distinct features, capable of
affording a definite conception, is only to be found in the Christ of faith,
of legend, and there, of course, only by the votary who is willing to take
into the bargain all the impossibilities, all the contradictions contained in
the picture; the Jesus of history, of science, is only a problem; but a
problem cannot be an object of worship or a pattern'¡by which to shape
our lives.”
Thus the “great exemplar” vanishes in the light of
rationalism; it can only exist in the twilight of faith.
There is, however, a more subtle and plausible aspect of
this “ great exemplar ” fallacy, which imposes on some who
are entirely free from orthodox superstition. It imposed
even on John Stuart Mill. That great man’s essay on Theism
was published after his death by Miss Helen Taylor, who
confesses that it had “ never undergone the repeated exa
mination which it certainly would have passed through
before he would himself have given it to the world,” and that
even its style is “ less polished than that of any other of his
published works.” At the close of this unfortunate essay
there occurs the famous panegyric on Christ. It is an
unusually rhetorical piece of writing for Mill; its statements
betray a great want of information on the subject, and its
reasoning is remarkably loose and inconsequent. Neverthe
less it has been eagerly seized upon by Christian apologists ;
and, as Professor Bain remarks, the inch of concession to the
existing Theology has been stretched into an ell. Mill dis
misses contemptuously the doctrine of Christ’s divinity, and
declares that the Prophet of Nazareth “ would probably have
thought such a pretension as blasphemous.” Yet he treats
it as “ a possibility ” that Christ was “ a man charged with a
special, express, and unique commission from God to lead
mankind to truth and virtue.” “ Religion,” he says—meaning
of course Christianity—“ cannot be said to have made a bad
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11
choice in pitching on this man as the ideal representative
and guide of humanity.” And he adds that even the un
believer would have difficulty in finding “ a better translation
of the rule of virtue from the abstract into the concrete,
than to endeavor so to live that Christ would approve our
life.”
“ My dear sir,” might the unbeliever reply to Mill, “ your
illustration and argument are alike arbitrary and fantastic.
Profound scholars like Strauss, and patient, well-informed
thinkers like George Eliot, plainly declare (and who can
seriously dispute it?) that the materials for a biography of
Jesus Christ do not exist. The ideal Christ is a creation of
centuries ; nay, the process still continues, each generation of
Christians. adding to, subtracting from, or in some way
modifying the never-finished portrait. The real Christ, if he
ever existed, is lost beyond all hope of recovery; he is buried
under impenetrable mountains of dogma, legend, and
mythology. In vain will you search the New Testament for
any coherent conception of his personality. The protean
figure is ever passing into fresh shapes; a hundred contra
dictory aspects flash upon your baffled vision. The total
impression upon the beholder is, as it were, a composite
photograph, representing types and qualities, but no individu
ality. To make it one’s ideal is only self-delusion. Even if
this objection be waived, and the intelligible personality of
Christ be conceded for the sake of argument, why should a
rational, self-respecting man bind himself to the perpetual
study and emulation of one type of character ? The seeker
for moral beauty, like the seeker for intellectual truth, should
gather honey from every flower that blooms in the garden of
the world. And why should Christ be made the ideal critic
of our actions ? Many a man devotedly loves his mother, or
cherishes her memory. Would it not be a safe rule for him
to act so that the dear dead or living parent would approve
his conduct ? But even this rule, in the wisest and loftiest
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Will Christ Save Us ?
estimate, is too personal and limited. It would be better to
act so that every honest man would approve our conduct;
better still, to act so as to secure our own approval. Let
men be true to themselves, let them broaden and deepen
their intellectual light, let them gain what help they can
from the example of great and beautiful lives, let them con
sider the consequences of their deeds; and having acted, let
them practise the benign art of self-reflection, bringing
their conduct before the inner tribunal of a sensitive con
science, whose judgment, if sometimes mistaken, will always
be pure and nearly always decisive. For every man who
takes the trouble to think (and without thinking what avails?)
will always know himself better than he can be known by
others; and thus the verdict of his own conscience is not only
superior to the brawling judgment of the ignorant world
outside him, but even superior to the judgment of the wisest
and best, who can never know exactly his motives, his powers,
and his necessities, or the myriad circumstances of his
position.”
Having seen that Christ is no real exemplar, and that fie
cannot save us from sin in the form of selfishness^ let us now
consider his power to save us from sin in its theological
significance.
The Christian theory is delightfully simple, and at the
same time brutally crude. It is not entirely derived from
the Gospels, but the Epistles are an integral part of the
Christian revelation, and a successful attempt to discard the
inspired authority of Saint Paul would eventually wreck the
entire structure of Christianity.
We must start with Adam, in whom all men sinned, as in
Christ all men are saved, who will be saved. The grand old
gardener, as Tennyson calls this mythical personage, was
created as the father of the human race. He was placed in
the Garden of Eden, and allowed to eat of the fruit of every
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13
tree except one, which was strictly forbidden. He was also
given a wife, who was made from one of his ribs, extracted
while he lay in a deep sleep. These two were the only
inhabitants of the garden, but there came a visitor, called
Satan, a powerful rival of the creator. This subtle and wily
adversary tempted the woman to taste the forbidden fruit;
she yielded, and induced her husband to taste it also. For
this act of disobedience they were expelled from the garden;
they were cursed by -their offended God, and the curse fell
upon all their posterity. Sin had vitiated their once pure
natures, and this vitiation was necessarily transmitted to their
offspring. Thus the whole human race is corrupt; in other
words, full of original sin.
This original sin puts enmity between God and his
creatures. God hates sin and must punish it. Every
sinner, therefore—and all men are sinners—owes God an
infinite debt, not because his sin is infinite, but because he
sins against an infinite being. But finite men can never
pay an infinite debt; therefore they are doomed to eternal
imprisonment in Hell, where the God of infinite justice
and mercy immures and tortures his wicked children.
This theory is set forth by hundreds of Christian divines,
in thousands of treatises, but no one puts it more cleaily
than the once-famous Rev. Charles Simeon in Nine Ser
mons on 1 he Sorrows of the Son of God, preached before
the University of Cambridge.
“ We, by sin, had incurred a debt, which not all' the men on earth, or
angels in heaven, were able to discharge. In consequence of this, we
must all have been consigned over to everlasting perdition if, Jesus had
not engaged on our behalf to satisfy every demand of law and justice.
.... Jesus having thus become our surety, our debt ‘ was exacted of
him, and he was made answerable ’ for it. . . . Hence, when the time
was come, in which Jesus was to fulfil the obligations he had contracted,
he was required to pay the debt of all for whom he had engaged ; and to
pay it to the very utmost farthing. It was by his sufferings that he dis
charged this debt.”
The suffering of Jesus was but for a time, but as an infinite
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Will Christ Save Us?
being he suffered infinitely, and hence his death was “ a full,
perfect, and sufiicient propitiation for the sins of the whole
world.
Such is the metaphysical juggling of Christian
dogmatists!
Now if this orthodox scheme of salvation be closely
examined, it will be found to be rotten to its foundation.
Adam never fell, and we are not inheritors of his vitiated
nature, nor participators in his curse. No such persons as
Adam and Eve ever existed. Their very names are not per
sonal but generical. Only modern ignorance or ancient
mythology speaks of the “ first parents ” of mankind. Evolu
tion does not admit the conception of a first man and woman.
The simian progenitors of the human race did not suddenly
develop into the genus homo. They did not wake up one
morning and find themselves men. Their progress was slow
and gradual, precisely like the psychical progress of humanity
since it virtually became such. Nature does not advance by
leaps and bounds, but by infinitesimal changes which only
amount to decisive alterations in vast periods of time. This
is the teaching of modern science, and in the age of Darwinism
the old story of the special creation of man falls into its proper
place, beside the other guesses of ancient ignorance.
If Adam did not fall, because he never existed, there is an
end to the Christian doctrine of original sin. The just and
merciful God, of whom we hear so much, did not curse his
children in the Garden of Eden for violating a prohibition
which had no moral significance; nor did he involve in the
curse the whole of their unborn posterity. The idea is only
mythological. Yet it adumbrates a certain truth. We now
perceive the great law of heredity, which applies in the
mental and moral as well as in the physical world. Children
do inherit something from their parents; not sin, for that is
an act, but tendency, disposition, or whatever name it passes
under. And in all of us there are passions inherited from
our far-off brute ancestors, that do war against our highest
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15
interests. But these passions are not in themselves a curse.
The evil is one of excess, or want of equilibrium, which it is
the business of social and individual culture to rectify. Take
away our passions, volcanic and insurgent as they sometimes
are, and you would reduce us to nonentity. Passion is our
motive power. Let the intellect and conscience employ this
natural force, directing it to the permanent good of each and
all, which in the long run are identical.
The new truth supplants the old error, at the same time
preserving whatever grain of verity it concealed. Only the
most docile and degraded slaves of superstition now believe
the hideous doctrine of original sin as it was preached by our
Puritan forefathers, and is still set forth in the creeds of the
Churches. Generous natures always revolted against it.
Loving mothers, bending over their little ones, never thought
them reeking masses of spiritual corruption. The answering
love in the child’s eye, the clasp of its little fingers, its
appealing helplessness, and its boundless trust, nursed the
holy flame in the mother’s heart, until it grew into a fire of
affection that consumed the evil dogma of birth-sin with
which the priest sought to over-lay her natural instinct.
Stern old Jonathan Edwards, that consummate logician of a
devilish creed, was not deflected from “ God’s truth ” by the
smiles of his children; but it is said that he never quite
convinced their loving mother. The logic of her heart was
better than the logic of his head.
Obliged to dismiss, as we are, the story of the Fall and the
doctrine of Original Sin, what becomes of the Atonement ?
Must it not go with them? Every student of religion
perceives that the doctrine of the Atonement is a last subli
mation of the old theory of Sacrifice. Men were once
slaughtered to appease the wrath of the gods; animals were
substituted for men as civilisation progressed; finally a
compromise was effected in the death of a man-god, whose
blood was a universal atonement.
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Will Christ Save Us ?
The savage origin of this central dogma of Christian
theology is betrayed in its nomenclature. “ Without shedding
of blood there is no remission.” “The blood of Christ
cleanseth from all sin.” “ Washed in the blood of the Lamb.”
Such are the flowers of speech in the garden of the Atone
ment. And who that has ever heard it fails to remember the
famous hymn ?—
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged within that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
This language of the shambles would never be adopted by
civilised people. It comes down to us from ages of barbarism.
We lisp the words before we comprehend their meaning, and
familiarity in after years deadens our sense of horror and
disgust. Only when we break through the mesh of custom
do we realise the shocking nature of the “ holy ” language of
our hereditary faith.
Having once begun to reflect upon it, we soon perceive the
absurdity of the doctrine it expresses. We see it is false,
immoral, and foolish. Punishment is justifiable only as it
aims at the protection of society or the reformation of the
criminal. Having satisfaction out of somebody is simply
vengeance. Jesus Christ, therefore, could not be “ a propitia
tion ” for our sins, unless God were a brutal tyrant, who went
upon the principle of “ so much sin, so much suffering,”
regardless upon whom it was inflicted. Nor could the suffer
ings of Jesus Christ, borne for our sins, even if they appeased
our angry God, either remove the consequences of our illdoing in human society or prevent the inevitable deterioration
of our characters. And when we consider that God the Son,
who makes expiation, is “ of the same substance ” with God the
Father, who exacts it; and that the discharge of this “ debt ”
is like robbing Peter to pay Paul; we lose all control of our
risible muscles, and drown the demented dogma in floods of
laughter.
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17
What honest man would be saved by the loss of another ?
It were noble for a friend to offer to die for me; it were base
for me to accept the sacrifice. He who hopes for heaven
through the sufferings of an innocent substitute, is not worth
saving, and scarcely worth damning. People are growing
ashamed of the advice to “ lay it all upon Jesus.” Selfrespecting men and women prefer to bear their own respon
sibilities. It is disreputable to sneak into heaven in the
shadow of Jesus Christ.
According to orthodoxy, Jesus saves us from the wrath of
God, who seems to be in a permanent passion with his
children. To speak plainly, he saves us from hell. But the
belief in future torment is dying out in the light of civilisa
tion and humanity. Men have advanced, and their god must
advance with them. Hell is being recogniseds^as “ the dark
delusion of a dream ” by the most educated, thoughtful, and
humane of our species ; and the progress of this emancipation
may be measured by the desperate efforts of the more astute
clergy to “ limit the eternity of hell’s hot jurisdiction,” or to
explain away a literal hell altogether as a false interpretation
of metaphorical teaching.
Salvation from hell in another fifty or a hundred years will
be universally laughed at, if not forgotten, in all civilised
countries. And the fate of the Devil is no less certain.
“ Deliver us from the evil one ”—as the Lord’s Prayer now
reads in the Revised Version—will only be a monument of
old superstition. The great bogie of the priest is going the
way of the . bogies of the nursery. We do not need to be
saved from Old Nick. Our real peril is in quite another
direction. The suggestions of evil do not come from Satan,
but from our own faulty and ill-regulated natures. Stupidity,
ignorance, sensuality, egotism, and cowardice; these are the
devils against which we must carry on an incessant warfare.
It may of course be plausibly argued that Christ was (and
is) God; that, being so, his ability to save us, here and hereB
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Will Christ Save Us?
after, is unquestionable; that, having the power to save us,
he may be presumed to have the desire; that he is the Son
of “ our Father which art in heaven,” and that we may—and
indeed ought to—rely upon his mercy and generosity for our
salvation.
Now there are two fatal defects in this argument. In the
first place, it is not clear that Christ was God; in the second
place, it is not clear that, if he was, he will certainly save us.
The deity of Christ has always been rejected by a more or
less numerous section of professed Christians. Learned
books have been written to prove that the doctrine is incon
sistent with the teaching of Christ and the utterances of the
primitive Church. Even an outsider, who studies Christianity
as he studies Buddhism or Brahminism, sees that the doctrine
of the deity of Christ—or the dogma of God the Son—was
slowly developed as primitive Christianity made its way
among the Gentiles. It required centuries to reach its per
fection in the metaphysical subtleties of the great Creeds,
which are accepted alike by Protestant and Catholic. Peter,
in the Acts of the Apostles, speaks to his countrymen of “ the
man ” Jesus whom they had slain; the god Christ was an
after construction of the Grasco-Oriental mind.
We do not propose, however, to trouble the reader with
laborious proofs of this position. We prefer to leave the
historical ground—at least in the present inquiry—and to
tread the ground of common knowledge and common sense.
Apart from history and metaphysics, for which the popular
mind has neither leisure nor inclination, and in which it is
often as easy for a skilled intelligence to go wrong as to go
right—there are only two ways in which the belief in Christ’s
divinity can be supported. It may be argued that he was not
born, and that he did not live or die, like a mere human
being; and that his supernatural career proves his deity. Or
it may be argued that he taught the world what it did not
know, and could never have discovered for itself.
�Will Christ Save Us?
,19
We will take the second argument first; and in reply w©
have simply to observe that a very slight acquaintance with
the teachings of antiquity will convince us of the truth of
Buckle’s statement, that whoever asserts that Christianity
revealed to mankind truths with which they were previously
unacquainted is guilty either of gross ignorance or of wilful
fraud. The note of absolute originality is lacking in the
utterances of Christ; what he said had been said in other
words before him; and it is inconceivable that God should
come upon earth, and go through all the painful and un
dignified stages of human life, merely to inform his creatures
of what they had already discovered.
Let us now take the first argument—the supernatural career
of Christ. We are told that he was born without a father;
but whoever will read the Gospels critically, without the
slightest reference to any other authority, will see that they
do not contain the first-hand testimony of any valid witness.
If the Gospels were written in the second century (as they
were) they are no evidence at all. If they were written
by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they are still no
evidence of the miraculous birth of Jesus; for neither of
those writers was in a position to know the facts. The
only persons who could know anything about the matter
were Joseph and Mary. Joseph himself could only know
he was not the father of Jesus; he could not know who
was, Mary, indeed, knew if there was anything uncommon ;
but she does not appear to have informed any one; in fact,
she is said to have kept all these things hidden in her heart.
How then did the Gospel writers—or rather two of them, for
Mark and John were ignorant or silent—how, we ask, did
they discover the minute details of the annunciation and
miraculous conception ? Joseph and Mary appear to have
kept the secret, if there was one to keep; and during all the
public life of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, not a whisper
transpired of his supernatural birth ; on the contrary, he is
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TPzZZ Christ Save Us ?
unsuspectingly referred to as “ the carpenter’s son ” by his
neighbors and fellow citizens.
Were such “ evidence ” as this tendered in a court of law,
it would damnify the case for which it was adduced; and
Catholics are sagacious in reminding the Protestants that the
witness of the Bible is insufficient without the living wit
ness of the Church.
A miraculous birth is necessarily suspicious. The advent
of a Cod should be entirely supernatural. It is not enough
to dispense with a father; he should also dispense with a
mother. Both are alike easy in physiology. But when there
is a mother in the case, it is natural to suppose that there is
a father somewhere.
With regard to the miracles of Christ’s life, however they are
acceptable to faith, they are not acceptable to reason. There
is an utter lack of evidence in their favor—at least of such
evidence as would be admitted in a legal investigation. It
is this fact, indeed, which induces advocates like Cardinal
Newman to lay stress upon the “ antecedent probability ” of
the New Testament miracles; which is only supplying the
deficiency of evidence by the force of prepossession. Even
the Resurrection is unattested. There is no first-hand evi
dence, and the narrative is full of self-contradiction. This is
perceived by Christian apologists, who have abandoned the
old-fashioned argument. They say as little as possible about
the Gospel witnesses. They stake almost everything on Paul,
who is not mentioned in the Gospels, who never saw Jesus in
the flesh, who only saw him in a vision several years after the
Ascension, and whose testimony (if it may be called such)
would be laughed at by any committee of inquiry. They
also argue, in a supplemental way, that the early Christians
believed in the resurrection of Christ. Yes, and they believed
in all the miracles of Paganism. But in any case belief is not
evidence; it is only, at best, a reason for investigation. The
resurrection was a fact or it was not a fact, and the disincli-
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21
nation of Christian writers to face this plain alternative is an
indication of their own misgivings. A counsel does not resort
to subtleties when he has a good case upon the record.
The deity of Christ, therefore, is very far from proved; it
is even far from probable. Faith may cry “ He was God,”
but Reason declares “He was man.” Even, however, if he
were God, it does not follow that he will save us. What he
may do behind the curtain of death is only a conjecture. In
this world it is patent that God only helps those who help
themselves; he also helps them as far as they help them
selves ; that is, he does not help them at all. Prayer is no
longer a hearty request for divine assistance. Christians ask
on Sunday, but they do not expect to receive on Monday.
Their supplication is formal and perfunctory. They know
that it will not deflect the lightning from its path, or turn
the course of the avalanche, or divert the lava’s stream, or
change the line of an explosion, or banish a pestilence, or
bring rain in drought, or draw sunshine for the crops, or
quicken the growth of a single blade of grass, or diminish
by one iota the statistics of human crime.
It is, of course, impossible to prove that Jesus Christ did
not work miracles; nor is it incumbent upon the unbeliever
to attempt such an undertaking. He who asserts must
prove; other persons have only to try his arguments and
weigh his evidence. Is not every prisoner in the dock
presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be guilty? And
should not the career of every being in the form of humanity
be presumed to be natural until it is proved to be super
natural ?'
This much, however, may be safely asserted by the
unbeliever—that whatever miracles were wrought by Jesus
Christ were only useful to his contemporaries; that he does
not posthumously save their successors from pain and
hunger, and disease and death; and that he certainly has
not through the Religion he came to promulgate, and the
7
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Will Christ Save Us ?
Church he came to establish—in the least degree succeeded
in saving the world, or any part of it, from evil and mianry
Let us expatiate a little upon each of these assertions; so
that, if they are disputed, they may first be understood.
There is no suggestion in the Gospels, or elsewhere in the
New Testament, that Jesus wrought any miracle on an
extensive scale, except the feeding of some thousands of
people at a religious picnic, by supernaturally multiplying a
few leaves and fishes, so that they served as an ample repast
for the hungry multitude. This was very convenient—for
that particular assembly. But of what service was it after
wards to the rest of mankind ? Has it ever filled out the
pinched cheek of want, put fresh blood in the blue lips of
famine, or new fire in the dull eyes of despair ? Babes have
died at the drained and flaccid breasts of their mothers, and
strong men have withered into shadows, for whom a little of
the miraculous food of Christ would have meant a real and
blessed salvation.
The other alleged miracles of Jesus Christ were entirely
personal. A blind man has his sight restored and a deaf
person his hearing; a dumb man is made to speak, who
might, perhaps, as usefully have remained silent; a cripple
is enabled to walk, a diseased person is healed, a widow’s
dead son and a sister’s dead brother are restored to their
loving embraces. All this was very interesting—at the time;
though it seems to have had a marvellously feeble effect upon
the Jews. But of what interest is it now ? Jesus did, indeed,
promise that his faithful disciples should work miracles
even greater than his own, and for a while they are said to
have done so; but their powers in this direction very
curiously declined as they came into contact with the educated
classes, and except in the most ignorant parts of Catholic
countries it is impossible to find a trace of the miraculous
virtue that was to be the “ sign of them that believed.”
Accordingly, the apologists of Christianity seek refuge in
�Will Christ Save Us 7
23
an arbitrary assertion, and a vague, unsustainable, and irre
futable argument. The arbitrary sssertionis (not in Catholic,
but in Protestant countries) that the miraculous powers of
the disciples of Christ ceased at some time aftei* his Ascen
sion. They do not say when; and it is easy to prove that
the miracles of the Church since the days of Constantine (for
instance) are better substantiated than the miracles of the
primitive ages. Still more extravagant, if possible, is the
argument that, whatever may be said as to individual cases
of miracle, the establishment of Christianity and its perpetual
maintainance is a miracle of miracles, a colossal and perma
nent proof of the ceaseless care of Christ for the salvation
of mankind. Logic, indeed, is powerless against the
assumption of something supernatural behind the Christian
Church—proof and disproof being alike impossible; but so
far as its history can be traced, its growth and progress are
entirely natural, like the growth and progress of Buddhism,
Mohammedanism, or any othei’ system that has arisen within
the historic period.
In any case the Christian Church has not saved the world.
Christianity lives upon the falsification of history in the past,
and irredeemable promises in the future. Its apologists
have systematically blackened the ancient civilisations; they
have taken credit for such improvement in human society as
was inevitable in the progress of two thousand years; and
against the objection that the world is still in a very wretched
condition, they have replied that Christianity has not had
time enough to produce all its beneficial fruits. Give it
another two thousand years, and it will turn the wilderness
into a paradise, and make the desert bloom with roses!
Now no one can give Christianity another two thousand
years; and if prophecy is easy, it is also unprofitable. What
will be will be, at the end of two thousand years as to-morrow,
but none of us will live to see it. Let us, therefore, take a
more practical course. We will take a few broad character
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Will Christ Save Us ?
istics of progress, and see what has been the effect of
Christianity upon European civilisation. In other words,
we shall ask whether Christ has saved the world; and the
result will help us to answer—as far as it can be answered—
the further question whether he will save the world.
There is one indispensable condition of all progress—
Liberty of Thought. Truth is the highest interest of man
kind ; it cannot be found unless we are free to search for it,
and even if it were found we could nevei- be sure of it without
examination. And it is impossible to say which of us will
find the next truth that may revolutionise the belief and
practice of society. Wise man was he, wrote Carlyle, who
said that thought should be free at every point of the com
pass. The wider the area of selection the greater the
variety; and he who seems one of the most insignificant of
men may link his name with a great discovery, a splendid
invention, or sublime principle. You cannot tell where your
Arkwright, Watt, or Stephenson will come from; your
Edison may be a street-arab selling newspapers; your
Shakespeare and Burns are born in unknown poor men’s
houses; your philosopher of the century may be unknown,
or half contemptible, until he flashes his truth upon the
minds of the few, who become his apostles to the many;
your social regenerator may live and die despised, or perish
in the prison or on the scaffold, and only earn fame and
gratitude when his ashes cannot be gathered from the
general dust of death.
Let thought be free then; free as the air, free as the
sunshine. Set it no limits. Let its only limit be its power
and opportunity. Let genius contribute its wealth, and
mediocrity its mite, to the treasure-house of humanity.
This priceless freedom of thought has always been hated
by Christianity. No religion has ever equalled it in steady,
relentless oppression. In every age, and in every nation, it
has called unbelief a crime. It has punished honest thinkers
�Will Christ Save Us?
25
with imprisonment, torture, and death; and threatened
them with everlasting hell when beyond the reach of its
malice. It has blessed ignorant faith and damned earnest
inquiry ; it has prejudiced the child and terrorised the man;
it has protected its dogmas with penal laws after usurping
authority in the schools; it has excluded Freethinkers from
universities, parliament, and public offices, when it could
not murder them; and even in the most civilised countries
it still clings to enactments against blasphemy and heresy.
It has fought Science, trampled upon Freethought, and
opposed every step of Progress in the name of God.
Christianity has always lent itself to the arts of pi'iestcraft.
All its ethical teaching—which is scattered, various, and
sometimes self-contradictory—has been overshadowed by its
supernatural elements. There have ever been some, it is
true, who have made a faith for themselves out of the finer
maxims of the Hew Testament, and held it up as the real
Christianity. But these have been only as a few loose stones
lying about a mighty edifice. The great mass of Christians,
in every age, have been under the dominion of priests; a
body of men who, except in very low states of barbarism,
where superstition comes to the aid of such culture as is then
possible, are always in a common conspiracy against the
progress of mankind. Strife for precedence and authority
took place at a very early period in the primitive Church, and
continued until Christendom was a vast hierarchy. Popes,
cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, have lorded it over the
common herd. Even in our own age, when the spirit of
democracy is abroad, the most successful novelty in Christian
organisation—namely, the Salvation Army—is a sheer
tyranny; a fact which shows that Christianity, despite a few
convenient texts paraded by “ advanced ” Christians, is in
natural harmony with the principles of despotism.
It is idle to cite particular texts against this perennial
tendency. We must judge a system by its general spirit»
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Will Christ Save Us ?
and its general spirit by its prevalent practice. Even if we
were to admit, for the sake of argument, that there is no
obvious connection between the doctrines of Christianity and
the existence of priestcraft, it would still remain a fact that
the religion of Jesus Christ has been manipulated by priests
for their own advantage, and the robbery and oppression of
the people; and surely a religion which, during eighteen
centuries, has not been able to save itself from this disgrace,
is never likely, either in the immediate or in the remote
future, to effect our salvation.
Everywhere in Europe, America, and Australia, at the
present moment, Priestcraft, in some form or other, directs
the energies of the Christian faith. If they were ever
separate, the two things are now in absolute alliance. Prac
tically, they are one and the same; they stand or fall
together. Do we not see that those who break away from
Churches, swim or drift down the stream of Rationalism ?
Quakerism itself, after two centuries of sturdy protest against
priestcraft, is now dwindling. Christianity arose quite
naturally in a superstitious age, when the old national
religions of the Roman Empire had fallen into discredit, and
the populace was ready to embrace a more universal religion;
but it never could have been upheld in subsequent ages with
out the combined arts of political and ecclesiastical despotism •
the altar supporting the throne, and the throne the altar; and
both exploiting the ignorance and credulity of the people.
Had freedom prevailed, and free scope been allowed to
inquiry, the Church would long ago have perished, with the
whole system of Christian supernaturalism.
After Liberty of Thought comes Education. The one is
necessary to make the other fruitful. And Christianity has
never been a true friend of education. We are often pointed
to the colleges it established in the dark ages; but it made
the darkness of those ages, and it did not establish the
colleges. It simply took possession of them, and made all
�Will Christ Save Us ?
27
permitted learning its subject. Even the study of ancient
literature, which followed the Reformation, was a sheer
accident, at least in religious circles. In order to maintain
their challenge of Rome, the Reformers had to appeal to
antiquity; and thus, as Bacon observed, the “ ancient authors,
both in divinity and humanity, which had long time slept m
libraries, began generally to be read and revolved.” Those
sleeping authors were only roused for the purpose of contention, not from any desire to extract their wisdom for the
welfare of mankind.
Why, indeed, were those ancient authors allowed to sleep
so long in libraries ? Why was the dust of so many centuries
allowed to accumulate upon them P The proper answer to
this question is to be found in an appeal to Christian
Gibbon remarks that the primitive Christians “ despised
all knowledge that was not useful to salvation.” Some of
their leaders, in the second century, were obliged to study
“human wisdom” inorder to reply to their Pagan adversaries; but a great majority were opposed to this policy.
They wished, as Mosheim observes, to “ banish all reasoning
and philosophy out of the confines of the Church.” After
the triumph of Christianity under Constantine it became
unnecessary to oppose the advocates of Paganism by any
other weapons than proscription and imprisonment. From
that moment the darkness crept over the face of Europe.
The Council of Carthage, in the following century, forbade
the reading of Pagan books. “ The bishops,” says Jortin,
“ soon began to relish this advice, and not to trouble their
heads with literature.” Some of the Byzantine emperors,
less bigoted than the Church dignitaries, tried to cherish
learning; but they were defeated by the ecclesiastics, who,
as Mosheim tells us, “ considered all learning, and especially
philosophic learning, as injurious and even destructive to
true piety and godliness.” What wonder that in the fifth
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Will Christ Save Us?
century “learning was almost extinct” and “only a faint
shadow of it remained ” ?
After a dismal lapse of hundreds of years the clouds of
intellectual darkness began to lift from the face of Europe.
Mohammedan learning slowly spread through Christendom.
All the knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, medicine
and philosophy, propagated in Europe from the tenth cen
tury onward,” says Mosheim, “was derived principally
from the schools and books of the Arabians in Italy and
Spain.”
After the Reformation the Jesuits carried on the work of
education among Catholics. Their object was simply to train
promising young men for the service of the Church. And
the same policy obtained in Protestant seminaries. The
clergy and the privileged classes, as far as possible, mono
polised the extant learning. The wealthier middle-class
gradually gained a share of it, but the common people were
left m the outer darkness. Even in the early part of the
present century they were still excluded. The student of
history is aware that the Christian Churches steadily opposed
popular education. English bishops, in the House of Lords,
voted against the first Education Acts; a famous Bishop of
Exeter remarking in debate that the education of the lower
classes would render them proud and discontented, and
unwilling to work for their superiors.
When it was seen that popular education was bound to
come, the Churches resolved to take time by the forelock.
To prevent Secular education they set up schools for Christian
education. And this is still the secret of their interest in
the working of the present Education Acts. Their real
anxiety is about their own dogmas; they care not for educa
tion, but for theology. Church and Dissent fight each other
at School Board elections. The real issue between them is
what sort of religion shall be taught to the children. Were
religion banished from public schools; were State education
�Will Christ Save Us ?
29
made purely secular; parsons and ministers would cease to
display any interest in the matter.
With respect to education, as in the case of every other
element of progress, we shall of course be met with the
hackneyed objection that Christ has not opposed it. The
crim A will be laid to the charge of the Christian priesthood.
Be it so. We must then ask if there is anything in the
teaching of Christ in favor of education. Where is it to
found, even by the fondest partiality? Jesus himself,
in all probability, was but poorly instructed. His disciples
belonged to the ignorant and unlettered classes. Nor is
it likely that he ever conceived the value of any other
education than the reading of the Jewish Scriptures. The
curriculum of the great schools of Greece and Rome would
have astonished him; he might even have regarded it
as a waste of time, or a wicked self-assertion of the human
intellect.
Cardinal Newman has said that Christianity was always a
learned religion. In a certain sense this is true, though
purely accidental. A kind of learning was needed by
Jerome, who translated the Old Testament into Latin;
a higher learning was required when the Greek of the New
Testament became practically a dead tongue; and a still
higher learning when the Bible and the Fathers were
minutely discussed by the opposed schools of Protestant and
Catholic divinity. Giants of such learning arose in this
mighty contest. But it must be admitted that their learning
was entirely subsidiary to theological disputes. We have
already observed that it was confined to the clergy; we
must now add that it was not very profitable, except in
quite an indirect way, to the general civilisation of Europe.
The vital spring of modern civilisation is science; the
study of nature and of human nature. Shakespeare was as
much a scientist as Newton. We must never narrow science
down to the investigation of physical phenomena. Psycho
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Will Christ Save Us ?
logy and sociology are as noble and fruitful as astromony
and chemistry. It must be admitted, however, that the
study of physical science gives power and precision to our
study of mental science; accuracy in objective investigation
must, in the main, precede accuracy in subjective investi
gation; and as physics precede biology, so biology must
precede sociology.
The methods and conclusions of physical science are there
fore indispensable, apart altogether from their practical value
in providing the material basis of civilisation. Let us inquire
then, what is the relation of Christianity to this requisite of
all real and durable progress.
We shall pass by the fatuous argument that Christianity is
a friend to science because many eminent men of science have
been Christians. Suffice it to say that they were not pro
duced by Christianity. They were born and reared in
Christian countries, and hence they became Christians. Men
of genius have arisen in all civilisations. They were the
gift of Nature to the human race. Scientists, artists, poets,
historians, and philosophers, were born with genius; they were
taught to be Christians, Mohammedans, Jews, Brahmans, or
Buddhists. Genius belongs to no creed; it belongs to
Humanity.
Should it be argued that the fact of men of science having
been professed Christians shows that there is no real opposi
tion between science and Christianity, we should reply that
this is taking a very narrow view of the situation. The real
questions to be considered are these; first, is there anything
in Christianity calculated to make it hostile to science ;
secondly, has it displayed hostility to science through its
chief teachers and great organisations ?
There is something in Christianity calculated to make it
hostile to science. Its sacred books are defaced by a puerile
cosmogony, and a vast number of physical absurdities ; while
�Will Christ Save Us ?
31
its whole atmosphere, in the New as well as in the Old
Testament, is in the highest degree unscientific.
The Bible gives a false account of the origin of the world ;
a foolish account of the origin of man; a ridiculous account
of the origin of languages. It tells us of a universal flood
which never happened. And all these falsities are bound up
with essential doctrines, such as the fall of man and the
atonement of Christ; withimportant moral teachings andsocial
regulations. It was therefore inevitable that the Church,
deeming itself the divinely appointed guardian of Revelation,
should oppose such sciences as astronomy, geology, and
biology, which could not add to the authority of the
Scripture, but might very easily weaken it. Falsehood
was in possession, and truth was an exile or a prisoner.
Even the science of medicine was hated and oppressed.
It was seen to be in opposition to the New Testament
theory that disease is spirit ual—which is still the current
theory among savages. Medical men saw that disease
is material. Hence the proverb “Among three Doctors
two Atheists.”
Christianity has been called by Cardinal Newman “a
religion supernatural, and almost scenic.” It is miraculous
from beginning to end. Setting aside the extravagances
of the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Acts of the
Apostles are replete with prodigies. Scarcely anything
is natural. Not only is the career of Jesus entirely
superhuman; his very disciples suspend the laws of nature
at their pleasure; they miraculously heal the sick and
raise the very dead.
A history so marvellous fed the superstition of the multi
tude, confirmed their credulous habit of mind, and prejudiced
them against a more scientific conception of nature. It also
compelled the Church to oppose the spread of rational inves
tigation. The spirit of science and the spirit of Christianity
were mutually antagonistic. A conflict between them was
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Will Christ Save Us ?
inevitable. The natural and the miraculous could not dwell
together in peace. The conquests of the one were necessarily
at the expense of the other. This was instinctively felt by
the Church, which could not help acting as the bitter enemy
of Science.
Accordingly we find that the splendid remains of ancient
science were speedily destroyed. The work of demolition
was almost completed within a century after the conversion
of Constantine. Hypatia was murdered by Christian monks
at Alexandria. The magnificent Museum of that city was
also reduced to ruins, and its superb Library was
burnt to ashes or scattered to the winds. Astronomy,
physics, geography, optics, physiology, botany, and
mechanics were annihilated. Before another century had
elapsed they were utterly forgotten. Oosmas Indicopleustes,
a Christian topographer, gravely taught that the earth was
not round, but a quadrangular plane, enclosed by mountains
on which the sky rests; that night was caused by a northern
mountain intercepting the rays of the sun; that the earth
leans towards the south, so that the Euphrates and Tigris,
which run southward, have a rapid current, while the Nile
has a slow current because it runs uphill!
Science simply ceased to exist in Christendom, and it did
not revive for hundreds of years; not, in fact, until Christian
torches were lit at Mohammedan fire. The light of Alexan
drian science was followed by the long darkness of Christian
superstition. “ Looking at the history of science,” says Dr.
Tylor, “ for eighteen hundred years after this flourishing
time, though some progress was made, it was not what might
have been expected, and on the whole things went wrong.”
Things went wrong. Yes, and Christianity was the principal
cause of the mischief. There is no clearer fact in the course
of human history. And it is equally clear that when Science
reappeared in Europe, after an absence of a thousand years,
the Church once more attacked it with tiger-like ferocity.
�Will Christ Save Us ?
33
Astronomy was the first object of the Church’s wrath. It
gave the lie to the Bible theory of the earth being the
centre of the universe; the sun, moon, and stars merely
existing to give it illumination, or to decorate the sky. It
opened up vistas of time and space in which the Christian
ideas of the universe were lost like drops of water in the ocean.
Farther, by diminishing the relative importance of this
world, it tended to discredit the notion that God was chiefly
occupied with the sins, the repentances, and the destiny of
mankind.
Astronomy came to Christendom from the Mohammedans.
Like other sciences it was unknown in Europe after the
triumph of Christianity, during “the long dead time when
so much was forgotten ”—to use the forcible language of Dr.
Tylor. “ Physical science,” the same writer says, “ might
almost have disappeared [from the world, that is] if it had not
been that while the ancient treasure of knowledge was lost
to Christendom, the Mohammedan philosophers were its
guardians, and even added to its store.” Galileo invented
the pendulum three hundred years ago ; but Dr. Tylor tells
us that “ as a matter of fact, it appears that six centuries
earlier Ebn Yunis and other Moorish astronomers were
already using the pendulum as a time-measurer in their
observations.” According to Professor Draper, the Moham
medan astronomers made catalogues and maps of the stars,
ascertained the size of the earth, determined the obliquity of
the elliptic, published tables of the sun and moon, fixed the
length of the year, and verified the procession of the
equinoxes. “ Meanwhile,” says Draper, “ such waB the
benighted condition of Christendom, such its deplorable
ignorance, that it cared nothing about the matter. Its atten
tion was engrossed by image-worship, transubstantiation, the
merits of the saints, miracles, shrine-cures.”
This indifference lasted till the end of the fifteenth century,
when it was broken by the great navigators, like Columbus
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Will Christ Save Us?
De Gama, and Magellan, who settled the true shape of the
earth, practically demonstrated its rotundity, and struck a
death-blow at the old teaching of the Church. Then came
the great astronomers, Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, who
completed the work of destruction by restoring the true
theory of the universe.
The treatment of these great men shows us the real spirit
of Christianity. Copernicus was called “ an old fool ” i»y
Martin Luther. His great work On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Bodies, kept back from publication for thirty-six
years through fear of the consequences, was condemned as
heretical by the Inquisition, and put upon the Index of
prohibited books, his system being denounced as “that
false Pythagorean doctrine utterly contrary to the Holy
Scriptures.”
Galileo invented the telescope, and with it perceived the
phases of Mercury and "Venus, the mountains and valleys of
the moon, and the spots on the sun. He demonstrated the
earth’s orbit and the sun’s revolution on its own axis. A
terrible blow was given to the cosmogony of the Church and
the book of Genesis. Galileo was accused of heresy, blas
phemy, and Atheism. The Inquisition told him his teaching
was “ utterly contrary to the Scriptures.” He was required
to pledge himself to desist from his wickedness. Tor sixteen
years he obeyed. But in 1632—only 260 yearB ago—he
ventured to publish his System of the World. He was again
brought before the Inquisition, and compelled to fall upon his
kneeR and recant the truth of the earth’s movement round
the sun. Then he was thrown into prison, and treated with
great severity. When he died, after ten years of martyrdom,
the Church denied him burial in consecrated ground.
Giordann Bruno, the poet-prophet of the new astronomy,
was imprisoned for seven years, mercilessly tortured, and at
last burnt to ashes on the Field of Flowers at Borne.
It will be said that these persecutions were the work of
�Will Christ Save Us?
35
Catholics. But were the Protestants more friendly to science ?
Martin Luther railed at Copernicus, and John Calvin hunted
Servetus to a fiery death at the stake.
Christianity has now lost its power of opposing science.
But even in the present century it has barked where it cou d
not bite. It was Christian bigotry which made the author of
the Vestiges of Creation conceal his identity; it was orthodox
prepossession which so long prevented Sir Charles Lyell from
admitting the truth of evolution; it was Biblical teaching
which inspired all the pulpit diatribes against Charles Darwin.
Evolution has practically triumphed, but where its evidences
are still imperfect the clergy continue to trade upon the con
jectures of ancient ignorance.
The effect of Christian doctrine upon the lay mind, even in
a high state of development, may be seen in Mr. Gladstone’s
defence of the Bible. His labored absurdities, and unscru
pulous special pleading, show a deep distrust, not only of the
teachings, but of the very spirit of Science.
There is, indeed, an essential opposition between Science
and Christianity. The whole atmosphere of the Bible is
miraculous. Nor is the New Testament any improvement in
this respect upon the Old Testament. It incorporates the
savage theory of disease as the work of evil spirits. Its
stories of demoniacal possession belong to the ages when
madness was treated as a spiritual disorder. The narrative
of Jesus casting devils out of men and sending them into pigs
is an aspect of the same superstition which inspired the
terrible text “ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” And
the healing of disease by Paul with magic handkerchiefs, or
by Peter with his Bhadow, goes down to the lowest depths of
credulity.
Net a single sentence is to be found in the New Testament
showing the slightest appreciation of science or philosophy.
It is clear that the writers of those books looked for the
speedy second coming of Christ. Nothing therefore was of
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Will Christ Save Us ?
any importance in their eyes except an earnest preparation
for “ the great and terrible day of the Lord.”
This superstition of the Second Advent is not yet extinct
in Christendom. It still retains a hold upon millions of the
most stupid and illiterate; and its strength, after so many
centuries, and amid such hostile influences, enables us to
realise its tremendous power in the early ages of Christianity.
The great majority of Christians are, of course, emanci’
pated from this superstition. They take it for granted that
the earth and the human race will exist for thousands and
perhaps millions of years. They are reconciled to the idea of
mental, moral, and material progress in this world. Never
theless, their inherited instincts, the teaching of their religious
instructors, and the reading of their sacred scriptures, make
the most pious and zealous among them look askance at
Science, even while they are ready to enjoy her benefactions.
They feel that she is the natural enemy of their faith.
The clergy themselves treat science in precisely the same
spirit, only their hatred is sometimes tempered by discretion.
The more ignorant and presumptuous still denounce “ science
falsely so called,” preach against Darwinism, and dread every
new scientific discovery. They share the feeling (in their
small way) of Leibniz, who declared that “ Newton had robbed
the Deity of some of his most excellent attributes, and had
sapped the foundation of natural religion.” They also share
the feeling of those who asserted that the use of chloroform
in cases of confinement was an impious interference with
God’s curse on the daughters of Eve. The better instructed
and more cautious clergy profess a certain respect for science.
But it is a respect of fear. You may tell by their faces, tones,
and gestures, that they detest it while they sing its praises.
They are unable to disguise their real sentiments. When
they are most successful they merely treat Science as the
prodigal son, who has too strong a taste for husks and swine
�Will Christ Save Us ?
37
and is to be coaxed into renting a pew and taking the com
munion.
Let us pause for a moment to see how Science, having
grown to manhood in spite of the murderous hostility of the
Church, has completely subverted the ideas that were the
very foundation of Christianity. The notion that God was
solely concerned with the salvation or perdition of the inhabi
tants of this little planet was connected with, and supported
by, the belief that this world is the centre of the universe,
and that all the other heavenly bodies existed for its
advantage. That belief is for ever annihilated, and with it
the religious conception it countenanced and cherished. The
notion of the world’s antiquity, based upon the Bible
genealogies from Adam to Christ, is dwarfed and made
ridiculous by the discovery that the world has existed for
myriads of ages, and man himself for a period immensely
greater than the orthodox chronology of six thousand years.
But the most terrible blow at the Genesaic theory has been
struck by Darwinism. It is now certain that Adam was not
the first man; nay, that there never was a first man. Man
is not a special creation, but the highest product of a long
process of evolution. The story of the Ball, therefore, is
only a piece of ancient mythology. Man is not a fallen
creature, but a risen organism. He did not degenerate from
a paradisaical condition; he was not cursed by God; he did
not need an atonement. Thus the historic doctrine of Chris
tian salvation is deprived of its basis and meaning. Man did
not die in Adam, and cannot live again in Christ. The
salvation which was proffered to the world was founded upon
a complete misunderstanding of its history, its nature, and
its necessities.
Seeing, then, how fantastic is the religious salvation of
Christianity, let us pursue our inquiry into the character of
its natural salvation. Let us see, that is, in what respect it
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Will Christ Save Us ?
has aided or hindered the political and social progress of
Europe.
It has already been shown that Christianity opposed
liberty of thought and the advance of science, and did not
befriend the education of the masses of the people. We shall
now see that its political and social influence has always been
conservative, and never progressive.
Misty-minded sentimentalists affect to regard Jesus Christ
as the most illustrious of democrats. It is difficult, however»
to find the slightest justification of this view. He himself
paid tribute to the Roman tax-gatherer, and taught “ Render
unto Caasar the things which are Csesar’s.” His language to
his disciples was that of a would-be tyrant, as the word was
understood in the vocabulary of the free people of Greece.
He promised them that when he came into his kingdom they
should sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. It was a promise as magnificent, and as empty, as
Don Quixote’s promise of a governorship to Sancho PanzaNevertheless, as we may presume it was made in good faith,
it must be held to indicate something very different from a
republican sentiment.
Simon Peter enjoins us to “ Pear God and honor the King ”
— quite irrespective of his deserts. “ Let every soul,” says
Paul, “ be subject unto the higher powers : for there is no
powei’ but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God.”
He adds that whoever resists any established authority “ shall
receive unto themselves damnation.” According to tradition
this was uttered in the reign of the cruel and detestable
Nero, who would have been a greater scourge than he was if
the Romans had not acted on other maxims than Paul’s, and
forcibly terminated his sanguinary career.
Professor Sewell, who once filled the chair of Moral Philo
sopher at Oxford, in a work of considerable ability, entitled
Christian Politics, quotes many other texts from the New
Testament in corroboration of Paul’s teaching. He then
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39
declares that 41 It is idle, and worse than idle, to attempt to
restrict and explain away this positive command. And the
Christian Church has always upheld it in its full extent.
With one uniform unhesitating voice it has proclaimed the
duty of passive obedience.”
There is no disputing Professor Sewell’s dictum on this
point. He spoke as a Churchman, not as a sceptic; he knew
the history of Christianity, and was competent to pronounce
an authoritative judgment.
Gibbon had previously remarked, in his sarcastic way, that
it was this feature of Christianity which attracted the
admiration of Constantine. “ The throne of the emperors,
he wrote, “ would be established on a fixed and permanent
basis if all their subjects, embracing the Christian religion,
should learn to suffer and obey.”
The doctrine of passive obedience is strongly enforced in
the sermon “ Against Disobedience and Wilful Rebellion ” at
the end of the Book of Homilies, which, according to the
thirty-fifth Article of the Church of England, is full of “ a
godly and wholesome doctrine,” and is therein appointed “ to
be read in Churches by the Ministers, diligently and dis
tinctly, that they may be understanded of the people.”
The first rebel, according to this Homily, was Satan him
self, who was expelled from heaven. “We shall find,” it
says, “ in very many and almost infinite places, as well of the
Old Testament as of the New, that kings and princes, as well
the evil as the good, do reign by God’s ordinance, and that
subjects are bounden to obey them.” “ A rebel,” it declares,
“ is worse than the worst prince, and rebellion worse than
the worst government.” And in proof of this doctrine it
cites many passages of scripture, and many illustrations from
Bible history.
The universality of Christian teaching on this subject is
strikingly exhibited in the History of Passive Obedience
Since the lieformation, dated Amsterdam, 1689. It is a rare
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and curious book, written with energy and great learning.
The author ransacks the theological literature of two cen
turies, and shows that the doctors of all schools, including
the Puritans, upheld the doctrine of passive obedience, and
the absolute unlawfulness, nay, the heinous sin, of rebelling
against any prince, however weak, vicious, cruel, or
despotic.
Christians who have rebelled against tyranny have violated
the teaching of the New Testament. They have acted on the
impulses of their own nature. Oliver Cromwell disobeyed
the injunctions of Peter, Paul and Jesus. John Hampden
was more of a Jew than a Christian, and more of a Roman
than either, when he drew his sword against his king.
Mazzini, Garibaldi, Victor Hugo, and Kossuth, if the Chris
tian scriptures be true, were guilty of insurrection against
the ordinance of God.
George Pox and the Quakers were consistent Christians.
They obeyed the order of Jesus to “ resist not evil.” If they
were smitten on one cheek they turned the other to the
smiter. Count Tolstoi preaches, and as far as possible prac
tises, the same doctrine. Every form of violence, he says, is
inconsistent with the teaching of Christ. Not only the
soldier, but the policeman, is in opposition to the Sermon on
the Mount. Count Tolstoi believes it would be an un
Christian act to kill or injure the wretch he might find
ravishing his wife or slaying his child. Active resistance to
evil must never be offered; passive resistance is all that is
permitted; and the rest must be left to Providence.
To certain minds of a soft, peaceful, and humane disposi
tion this doctrine is attractive. But it would never quell
the world’s tyrannies. Wolves do not care for the pious
bleating of sheep.
Inquiry shows us that political freedom has been systemati
cally opposed by the Christian Church, and always won in
spite of it. The English bishop who once declared in the
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41
House of Lords that “ all the people had t>o do with the laws
was to obey them,” voiced the real spirit of Christianity.
Political freedom is, indeed, a very recent phenomenon in
modern society. A hundred years ago it was as unknown
in other parts of Europe as it is to-day in Russia. Czars,
emperors, kings, and aristocracies held the multitude in sub
jection. The people were outside the pale of such constitu
tions as existed. Prussia and Austria were sheer autocracies.
Spain and Italy had less civil freedom than a province of the
Roman Empire. France had no constitution before 1789.
England had a parliament, but the House of Commons was
filled with nominees of the House of Lords. The suffrage
was confined to a handful of citizens. For this reason Shelley
described the House of Commons as a place
Where thieves are sent
Similar thieves to represent.
“ Infidels ” won political liberty for France. Rousseau
was a Deist; Mirabeau, Danton, and many other leading
spirits of the Revolution were Atheists. Christianity is still
on the side of reaction in the land of Voltaire, while Republi
can and Freethinker are almost convertible terms.
“ Infidels ” were the chief fighters for political freedom in
England. Thomas Paine, who wrote the Age of Reason,
was found guilty of treason for penning the Rights of Man.
Bentham was a Freethinker, and probably an Atheist.
James and John Mill were Freethinkers. Shelley, Byron,
Leigh Hunt, Landor, and most of the Chartist leaders were
all tainted with “ infidelity.” Christian leaders were gene
rally on the side of wealth and privilege, while Freethought
leaders were always on the side of the people.
Ebenezer Eliot, the Corn-Law rhymer, exclaimed—
When wilt thou save the People,
0 God of mercies, when ?
Not thrones, 0 Lord, but peoples,
Not kings, 0 God, but men !
This exclamation was uttered eighteen hundred years after
the death of Jesus Christ, in a land which boasted of being
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the most Christian on earth. This is itself a proof that
Christ had not saved the people. Their salvation since has
been due to other causes ; chiefly, it must be said, to the
progress of science, which is the great equaliser. Was it not
Buckle who declared that “ the hall of science is the temple
of democracy ” ?
One of the most significant facts in recent history was the
the attempt of the German Emperor to strengthen his power
over his subjects. Feeling that the democratic movement
was threatening his throne, he introduced a Bill in the
Reichstag by his ministers, providing that Christian instruc
tion should be given in the public schools, even when scholars
were children of Freethinkers. Happily the Bill was defeated.
King-deluded ” as Germany is, she has outgrown such
illiberalism. Yet the very fact that the Emperor sought
to Christianise the young more completely, in order that
they might grow up his very obedient slaves, is a striking
proof of the essential antagonism between Christianity and
political freedom.
Christian apologists are often obliged to confess that their
faith has cherished, or certainly countenanced, the super
stition of the divine right of kings ; a superstition that is
even now Btamped on our English coinage, although in a
dead language which makes it less obstrusive. Nor can they
deny that the maxims of free government are rather found
in the writings of the philosophers and historians of Greece
and Rome than in the pages of the New Testament. They
sometimes contend, however, that it is not the object of
Christianity to meddle with political polities ; that its prin
ciples and sentiments enter as a leaven into human life; and
that its influence is to be traced in the gradual improvement
of human society. In other words, Christ saves us individually
and socially, and the outcome of this in the sphere of politics
is left to the ordinary course of things.
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Now it is plain to every candid student of history that
Christ has not saved the world from social evils, and equally
plain to the student of philosophy that he is incapable of
doing so. The Civilisation of modern Europe is not the
creation of Christianity, nor has it conformed to Christian
methods. Comparatively speaking, it is a thing of yesterday.
It came in with the dawn of modern Science. We have little
in common with our Christian forefathers of the Middle
Ages, still less with our Christian forefathers of the Dark
Ages. The Grgeco-Roman world, as Mr. Cotter Morison
observes, went down into an abyss after the days of Con
stantine. “ The revival of learning and the Renaissance,” he
says, “ are memorable as the first sturdy breasting by
humanity of the hither slope of the great hollow which lies
between us and the ancient world. The modern man,
reformed and regenerated by knowledge, looks across it, and
recognises on the opposite ridge, in the far-shining cities and
stately porticoes, in the art, politics, and science of antiquity,
many more ties of kinship and sympathy than in the mighty
concave between, wherein dwell his Christian ancestry, in
the dim light of scholasticism and theology.” This truth
was in Shelley’s mind when he wondered how much better
off we might have been if the Christian interregnum had not
occurred, and civilisation had been carried on continuously
from the point reached by the Pagan world.
What a picture is drawn by Professor Draper of the
squalid life of our ancestors only a few hundred years ago.
In Paris and London the houses were of wood daubed with
clay, and thatched with straw or reeds. They had no
windows and few wooden floors. There were no chimneys,
the smoke escaping through a hole in the roof. Drainage
was unknown. A bag of straw served as a bed, and a wooden
log as a pillow. No one washed himself; the very arch
bishops swarmed with vermin, and the stench was drowned
with perfumes. The citizens wore leather garments which
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lasted for many years. It was a luxury to eat fresh meat
once a week. The streets had neither sewers, pavements,
nor lamps. Slops were emptied out of the chamber shutters
after nightfall, Hlneas Sylvus, afterwards Pope Pius II.,
visited England about 1430. He describes the houses of the
peasantry as built of stones without mortar: the roofs were
of turf, and a stiffened bull’s-hide served for a door. Coarse
vegetable products, including the bark of trees, were the
staple food; bread was quite unknown in some places. Is it
any wonder that famine and pestilence raged periodically ?
In the famine of 1030 human flesh was cooked and sold; in
that of 1258, fifteen thousand people died of hunger in London;
in the plague of 1348 all Europe suffered, and one-third of the
population of France was destroyed. Nor was the moral
prospect a whit superior. “ Men, women, and children,” says
Draper, “ slept in the same apartment; not unfrequently,
domestic animals were their companions; in such a confusion
of the family, it was impossible that modesty or morality
could be maintained.” Sexual licentiousness was so universal
that, on the introduction of the dreadful disease of syphilis
from America, it spread with wonderful rapidity, and infected
all ranks and classes, from the Holy Father Pope Leo X. to
the beggar by the wayside.
For this wretched state of things the only remedy was
knowledge. Science was necessary to alter the environment,
and produce the conditions of a happier and purer life.
Christianity had nothing to offer but charity. This is an
admirable virtue in its proper sphere, but a poor substitute
for independence and self-respect. Charity will go to a
plague-stricken city; it will tend the sick and comfort the
dying. Science will guard the city and drive the plague
from its gates.
Christ has not, therefore, been our social savior any more
than our political savior. The modern (in fact, very recent)
improvement in the general condition of the people, is solely
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45
owing to the conquests of Science. Were our vast accumula
tion of scientific knowledge and appliances to be lost, it is
easy to see that Christianity could not save us from falling
back into a state of barbarism.
It is frequently alleged that Christ has saved the Western
world from the curse of Slavery. This is a most ridiculous
assertion. Slavery has nearly always been under a religious
sanction. There is no instance in the history of the world of
religion having abolished the ownership of men and women
and the traffic in human flesh and blood. The great causes
of emancipation have been economic and material.
His
tory,” says Mr. Finlay, the great historian, “affords its
testimony that neither the doctrines of Christianity, nor the
sentiments of humanity, have ever yet succeeded in extin
guishing slavery, where the soil could be cultivated with
profit by slave-labor. No Christian community of slave
holders has yet voluntarily abolished slavery.” Mr. Finlay’s
assertion is profoundly true, though the fact is disguised to
superficial observers. Slavery was abolished in the West
Indies by England, who compensated the slave-owners. True,
but not until England had completely outgrown her own
slavery of the feudal system. In the United States, also, the
Confederate party of the South tried to maintain slavery,
with the sanction and blessing of the ministers of religion.
The Federalists of the North were against slavery, and they
put it down within the Union, because they had reached a
higher stage of industrial development.
So much for the fact, and now for the theory. What right
has anyone to say that Slavery could be abolished by Chris
tianity ? Christ himself never uttered a word against the
institution. His object was personal piety, and not social
reformation. Not a single Apostle so much as hinted a
dislike of Slavery, though it was condemned by the leading
Stoics as unjust and inhuman. St. Paul sent a runaway slave
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back to his master, with words of kindness, bat without one
word against Slavery itself. All the great Christian writers,
from Basil to Bossuet, through a period of thirteen hundred
years, taught that Slavery was a divine institution. It was
defended as such by Christian jurisprudists in the eighteenth
century. Mrs. Beecher Stowe, in America, said that the
Church was notoriously in favor of Slavery. “ Statesmen on
both sides of the question,” she said, “ have laid that down
as a settled fact.” Theodore Parker showed that 80,000
slaves were owned by Presbyterians, 225,000 by Baptists, and
250,000 by Methodists. He declared that if the whole
American Church had “ dropped through the continent and
disappeared altogether, the anti-Slavery cause would have
been further on.” Professor Moses Stuart, the greatest
American divine since Jonathan Edwards, announced that
“ The precepts of the New Testament respecting the demeanor
of slaves and their masters, beyond all question recognise
the existence of slavery.” Mrs. Beecher Stowe, in her Key to
Uncle Tom's Cabin, prints a great number of resolutions in
favor of Slavery as a Bible Christian institution, passed by
all sorts of Churches in the Southern States. One sample of
these precious documents may suffice ; it emanated from the
Harmony Presbytery of South Carolina—
“ Resolved, That slavery has existed from the days of those good old
slaveholders and patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (who are now in
the kingdom of heaven), to the time when the apostle Paul sent a runa
way home to his master Philemon, with a Christian and fraternal letter
to this slaveholder, which we find still stands in the canon of the
Scriptures ; and that slavery has existed ever since the days of the
apostle, and does now exist.
“ Resolved, That as the relative duties of master and slave are taught
in the Scriptures, in the same manner as those of parent and child, and
husband and wife, the existence of slavery is not opposed to thé will of
G»d ; and whosoever has a conscience too tender to recognise this
relation as lawful, is ‘righteous over much,' is ‘wise above what is
written,’ and has submitted his neck to the yoke cf men, sacrificed his
Christian liberty of conscience, and leaves the infallible word of God for
the fancies and doctrines of men.”
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Equally striking facts are cited in the series of Anti
Slavery Tracts, edited by Wilson Armistead, of Leeds, in
1853, and apparently published for the English Quakers.
Pronouncements in favoi’ of Slavery are given from a host of
American ministers. Bishop Hopkins, of Vermont, for
instance, was asked, “ What effect had the Bible in doing
away with slavery ?” He replied, “ None whatever.” Mis
sionary, Tract, and Bible Societies, were all abettors of
Slavery. Fred Douglass, the runaway slave, cried out thus
in one of his eloquent speeches: “ They have men-stealers
for ministers, women-whippers for missionaries, and cradle
plunderers for church-members. The man who wields the
blood-clotted cowskin during the week fills the pulpit on
Sunday, and claims to be a minister of the meek and lowly
Jesus. . . . We have men sold to build churches, women
sold to support the gospel, and babes sold to purchase Bibles
for the poor heathen! . . . The slave auctioneer’s bell and
the church-going bell chime in with each other, and the bitter
cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious
shouts of his pious master. . . . The dealer gives his blood
stained gold to support the pulpit, and the pulpit, in return,
covers his infernal business with the garb of Christianity.”
Enough has been said to show that the Bible has been used
as the slaveholder’s manual, that Christianity did not abolish
Slavery, that the institution flourished for centuries under
the sanction of the Christian Church, that Christian divines
blesBed it and approved it with a text wherever it was
possible and profitable, and that it only disappeared in very
recent times under the influence of a higher type of
material civilisation. It Bhould be added, however, that
Slavery has always found an enemy in Freethought. It was
the sceptical Montaigne who first denounced the villainies of
the Spanish Conquest of America; it was the sceptical
Montesquieu who first branded negro slavery as wicked; it
was the sceptical Voltaire who took up the same attitude in
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Will Christ Save Us ?
•a later generation; and the first pen couched against Slavery
in America was wielded by the sceptical Thomas Paine. Let
it also be remembered that Christian England was not the
first emancipator of slaves. “The first public act against
slavery,” says Professor Newman, “ came from Republican
France, in the madness of atheistic enthusi&sm.”
Christ has been no savior of the world in respect to the
condition of woman, which is one of the best criteria of
civilisation. The ordinary Christian, seeing polygamy prevail
beyond the borders of Christendom, and monogamy within
them, imagines the difference is due to Christianity; and his
clerical guides, who know better, confirm him in the delusion.
Here again it is obvious that religion only consecrates the
established social order. It sanctions polygamy in the East
and monogamy in the West. Christianity found monogamy
existing, and did not create it. Greeks, Romans, and even
Jews, in spite of the Mosaic law, had become monogamists
by a natural evolution. Polygamy was illegal in the Roman
Empire at the advent of Jesus Christ. Nor did any dis
turbing influence arise from the conversion of the Northern
barbarians, for monogamy existed among the Teutonic tribes,
who held women in high honor and esteem, and allowed them
to participate in the public councils.
Had monogamy not prevailed before the triumph of Chris
tianity, it is difficult to see in what way the new faith would
have established it. There is not a word against polygamy,
as a general custom, from Genesis to Revelation. Jehovah’s
favorites were all polygamists, neither did Christ command
the marriage of one man with one woman. The Mormons
justify polygamy from the Bible, and the United States
government answers them, not by argument, but by penal
legislation. Concubinage is also justified from the Bible.
The more a man is steeped in the Christian Scriptures, his
sexii.,1 and domestic views become the more patriarchal.
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49
Christianity, indeed, has been woman’s enemy, and not her
friend. Christ’s own teaching on sexual matters is much
disputed. His language is very largely veiled and enigmatic,
but it gives a strong plausibility to the opinion of Count
Tolstoi, that sexual intercourse is always more or less sinful,
and that no one who desires to be Christlike can think of
marrying. St. Paul’s language is more precise. He plainly
bids men and women to live single; only, if they cannot do
so without fornication, he allows of marriage as a concession
to the weakness of the flesh. Essentially, therefore, he
places the union of men and women on the same ground as
the coupling of beasts. Further, he orders wives to obey
their husbands as absolutely as the Church obeys Christ;
coating the pill with the nauseous reminder that the man
was not made for the woman, but the woman for the man.
Following Christ and Paul, as they understood them, the
Christian fathers lauded virginity to the skies, emphasised
woman’s dependence on man, and treated her with every
conceivable indignity. Their language is often too foul to
transcribe. Let it suffice to say that they were intensely
scriptural in thought and expression. Taking the story of
the Fall as true, they regarded woman as the door of sin and
damnation. Logically, also, they saw in the birth of Christ
from a virgin, a stigma on natural motherhood. Under the
old Jewish law, every woman who brought forth the fruit of
love was “ unclean.” This sentiment survived in the Chris
tian Church. It was deepened by the miraculous birth of
Christ, and strengthened by contact with the great oriental
doctrine of the opposition between matter and spirit; a
doctrine which lies at the root of all asceticism, and is the
key to the sexual morbidity of all the creeds.
These are debateable matters, and it is easy for Christian
rhetoricians to find ways of escape by subtle methods of
interpretation. The Bible becomes in their hands “ a nose
of wax,” as Erasmus said, to be twisted into any shape or
D
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direction. Plain matters of fact, however, are not so easily
perverted; and an appeal to history will show that Chris
tianity lowered, instead of raising, the whole status of women.
Principal Donaldson (and it is well to take a clerical
authority) is the author of an important article in the Con
temporary Review for September, 1889, on “ The Position of
Women among the Early Christians.” It is very unflattering
to Christian vanity, and it has been answered by silence.
“ It is a prevalent opinion,” says Principal Donaldson, “ that
woman owes her present high position to Christianity, and
the influences of the Teutonic mind. I used to ¿believe this
opinion, but in the first three centuries I have not been able
to see that Christianity had any favorable effect on the
position of women, but, on the contrary, that it tended to
lower their character and contract the range of their
activity.” He points out that at the dawn of Christianity
women had attained great freedom, power, and influence in
the Homan Empire. “They dined in the company of
men,” he says, “they studied literature and philosophy,
they took part in political movements, they were allowed
to defend their own law cases if they liked, and
they helped their husbands in the government of pro
vinces and the writing of books.” All this was stopped
by Christianity. “ The highest post to which she rose ”
in the Christian Church “ was to be a door-keeper and
a message-woman.” A woman bold enough to teach was in
the eyes of Tertullian a “ wanton.” The duties of a wife were
simple—“ She had to obey her husband, for he was her head,
her lord, and superior; she was to fear him, reverence him,
and please him alone; she had to cultivate silence; she had
to spin and take care of the house, and she ought to stay at
home and attend to her children.”
Sir Henry Maine had previously observed, in his remark
able Ancient Law, that Christianity tended from the first to
narrow the rights and liberties of women. Not Homan juris
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51
prudence, but the Canon Law, was responsible for the dis
abilities on married women that obtained in Europe down
to the present century. The personal liberty conferred on
married women by the middle Roman law, in Sir Henry
Maine’s opinion, was not likely to be restored to them by a
society which preserved “ any tincture of Christian institu
tion.” Married women, however, in every civilised country
are now rising into a position of legal independence; and this
is but a revival of the best Roman law, which prevailed before
the triumph of Christianity.
It must be a remarkable fact, to any thoughtful Christian
who is interested in the great problem of woman’s emancipa
tion, that the most strenuous advocates of her rights during
the past century have belonged to the sceptical camp. The
first striking essay on the subject was written by Condorcet.
It was Mary Wollstonecraft, the wife of William Godwin,
and the mother of Mrs. Shelley, who wrote the first important essay on the subject in England. Shelley himself
was an ardent champion of sexual equality. His poignant
cry, “ Can man be free if woman be a slave ?” expresses the
very essence of the question. Jeremy Bentham, Robert
Owen, and John Stuart Mill, are a few of the names in the
subsequent muster-roll of custodians of the high tradition;
indeed, it is hardly too much to say that Mill’s great essay
on The Subjection of Women marks an epoch in the history
of social progress. Let it be added that the Ereethought
party has steadily upheld the banner of common rights, making
absolutely mo distinction in position or service between men
and women. The Christians are but slowly and timidly
following in the wake of a party they affect to despise.
Descending from the mothers of the race to its criminal
members, who are still a large section of the community, let
us see what Christ or Christianity has done for them; or
rather for the society which they curse and disgrace. The
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Christian method of reform is preaching. Sublime, pathetic»
or ridiculous, as you happen to regard it, is the Christian
belief in exhortation. It is a legacy from the pre-scientific
ages. A clergyman mountB a pulpit, informs people that
they ought to be good, tells them that in view of a future
life and a day of judgment honesty is the best policy, and
imagines that he has done a good stroke of work for the
moral elevation of society. How profoundly is he mistaken!
It is not thus that human beings are really acted upon. The
way to empty gaols, said John Ruskin, is to fill schools; and,
although this is a partial and exaggerated statement, as
epigrams are wont to be, it expresses truth enough to show
the utter futility of the common “ spiritual ” recipes for
human salvation.
Let our yearning for social improvement be ever so intense,
it is only by scientific methods that we can do any lasting
good. Social diseases must be studied like bodily diseases,
and the proper remedies discovered and applied. To preach
at sinners, either by the way of promises or threats, is in the
long run, and in a general way, as idle as to preach at
persons who suffer from fever or rheumatics.
“Man,” said D’Holbach, “will always be a mystery for
those who insist on regarding him with the prejudiced eyes
of theology.” “ The dogma of the spirituality of the soul,”
he added, “ has turned morality into a conjectural science,
which does not in the least help us to understand the true
way of acting on men’s motives.” Accordingly, it was not
until the Christian view had largely given place to the
scientific view, in ethics and in jurisprudence, that any
radical reform was possible m the treatment of crime; which
is, by the way, a very different thing from the amelioration
ppisons, with which we associate the name of John Howard.
Criminology is an impossible science while we are under the
dominion of Christian ideas. The criminal is merely endowed
with an extra quantity of original sin, which must be
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counteracted by spiritual agencies; indeed, it is still set
forth, in the language of indictments, that the prisoner in
the dock was instigated by the Devil. Madness itself, while
Christianity was dominant, was “ an intolerable exaggeration
of this perversity.” “ It is certainly true as an historical
fact,” says Mr. John Morley, whose words we have jusi
quoted, “ that the rational treatment of insane persons, and
the rational view of certain kinds of crime, were due to men
like Pinel, trained in the materialistic school of the eighteenth
century. And it waB clearly impossible that the great and
humane reforms in this field could have taken place before
the decisive decay of theology.”
Science is indeed far more humane than Christianity. It
does not boast so much about its “ great heart,” but it keeps
its eye upon the problem to be solved. At the present
moment the science of Criminology is almost exclusively in
the hands of materialists, who smile at the notion of “ sin ”
and scorn the idea of “punishment”; regarding crime as
moral insanity, and aiming at its treatment by scientific
methods, without cruelty to the criminal, but rather with
the same constant firmness and gentle skill which we have
learnt to apply to the victims of mental insanity.
The jurisprudence of Christian ages was savage and
scandalous. When madmen were beaten to drive the Devil
out of them, it is no wonder that criminals were treated with
monstrous severity. Torture, for instance, was common and
systematic; it was not only applied to accused persons, but
even to witnesses. “ It is curious to observe, says Mr.
Henry C. Lea, “that Christian communities, where the
truths of the gospel were received with unquestioning
veneration, systematised the administration of torture with
a cold-blooded ferocity unknown to the legislation of the
heathen nations whence they derived it. The careful restric
tions and safeguards, with which the Roman jurisprudence
sought to protect the interests of the accused, contrast
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Will Christ Save Vs?
strangely with the reckless disregard of every principle of
justice which sullies the criminal procedure of Europe from
the thirteenth to the nineteenth century.” The death
penalty was inflicted with shocking frequency in every part
of Christendom. Until the early years of the present cen
tury it was common, in England, to see men and women
hung in batches, some of them for petty o fiences, such as
stealing goods to the value of five shillings; and when the
great Romilly attempted to reform this ferocious law, he
was opposed by the whole bench of bishops in the House of
Lords. Since then we have witnessed a vast improvement;
not in consequence of Christ’s teaching, or the spirit of
Christianity, but in consequence of the general spread of
science, education, mental liberty, and democracy; or, in
other words, the progress of secular civilisation.
Coincidently with this movement there has been a diminu
tion in the statistics of crime. What could not be effected
by pulpit anathemas and penal cruelty, has been effected by
wiser and nobler agencies. In England, for instance, since
the passing of the Education Act of 1870, the number of
convicted prisoners has largely decreased, despite the con
siderable growth of population; and it is worthy of special
notice that the principal decrease is among the youthful
offenders.
Christian nations are fond of boasting their superior
virtue, yet it is among Christian nations that we find the
worst developments of th& three great vices of gambling,
drink and prostitution. The present Archbishop of Canterbury,
in a volume entitled Christ and His Times, confesses that
“ Intemperance is in far greater rage and ravage ” in England
than it was “ among those Gentiles ” denounced by St. Peter.
His Grace confesses, also, that England is debauching whole
populations of “heathen.” “The earth’s long-sealed dark
continent, stored with her grandest products,” he declares,
�Will Christ Save Us ?
55
“ is being developed for the wealth of the world through the
application of intoxication to its innumerable tribes by
civilised traders and Christian merchants.” With regard to
prostitution His Grace admits that we are in a sorry plight.
“ The streets of London,” the Archbishop says, “ fling temp
tation broadcast before youth and inexperience,” and “ Our
medical authorities speak of a river of poison flowing into the
blood of this nation.”
These are shameful words to come from the highest
dignitary of the richest Church in the world. And the
shame lies in their truth. After eighteen hundred years of
Christianity, it is very questionable, if allowance be made
for mere differences of manners as distinguished from morals,
whether the Christian nations do in practice exhibit a higher
level of morality than many of the “ heathen ” nations. The
general practice of Christian apologists is to single out some
particular virtues in which we have an advantage, to the
neglect of other virtues in which we are distinctly inferior;
and then to bid us plume ourselves on our superiority. But
this special pleading is abashed by such admissions as those
of Archbishop Benson. Christian nations are the greatest
gamblers and drunkards. Christian nations have. almost
a monopoly of prostitution. The vice of Christian cities is as
bad as any recorded of the worst imperial cities of antiquity.
Perhaps the corruption is not so widespread, and it is
covered with a thicker veil of decorum. Some improvement
has no doubt taken place, especially amongst the middle and
upper-lower classes; but some improvement might be
expected in the course of two thousand years. What there
is of it is not enough to establish any great ethical claim on
behalf of Christianity. It has not reformed the world, as a
divine revelation should do ; in other words, Christ has not
saved us morally ; and what he has not done in such a long
past, he is not likely to do in any possible future.
�56
Will Christ Save Us?
Poverty is another curse of Christian countries. From the
point of view of material comfort, there are myriads of our
pauper and semi-pauper population who are far worse off
than the slaves of ancient Greece and Rome. St. Peter
spoke of a suffering population. “ We know of one,” says
Archbishop Benson, “ which can only just exist, hanging on
a sharp edge of illness, hunger, uncleanness physical and
moral, incapacity mental and bodily, in full sight of abund
ance, luxury, and waste.”
Christianity promises many fine blessings to the poor, but
they are only realisable in heaven. Poverty is represented as
a blessing in itself. Jesus seems to have regarded it as a
permanent characteristic of human society, and the Church
has been ready to do everything for poverty except to remove
it. But its abolition is the chief object of modern reform.
Poverty is not a blessing; it is a curse. It is “ an imprison
ment of the mind, a vexation of every worthy spirit,” wrote
Sir Walter Raleigh; nay more, it “provokes a man to do
infamous and detested deeds.” Poverty is one of the chief
secrets of popular abasement. Even in the sphere of
economics, strange as it may sound to the superficial, it is
not low wages that are the cause of poverty, but poverty
that is the cause of low wages. Yes, it is absolutely
indispensable to a civilisation worthy of the name, that
poverty—the want of the necessaries and decencies of lifeshould be exterminated. But there is nothing in the teaching
of Christ, or in the traditions of Christianity, to be helpful
in the accomplishment of this great object; indeed, it would
appear from a study of Christian writings that the poor are
providentially kept in that position as whetstones for the
rich man’s benevolence. The Gospel of Giving has been
preached with incredible vigor and unction, and even now
it is the pride of Churches to act as rich men’s almoners.
But giving, if excellent in crises, is bad as a policy; it pre
supposes folly or injustice, or perhaps both, and it perpetuates
�Will Christ ¡Save Us ?
57
and intensifies the evil it affects to mitigate. The true,
deep, and lasting charity is justice ; and for that the world
has looked to Christianity in vain. It will be a glorious
moment when the poor despise the “ charity” which wealth
flings to them as conscience-money or ransom, when they
acorn the eleemosynary cant of the Churches, when they cry
“ Keep your bounty, and give us our rights.”
Meanwhile it is well to observe the industry with which
the apostles of Christ shun the “blessings” of poverty.
They do not take it themselves, they recommend it to others;
it is good for foreign export, bad for domestic consumption.
Blessed be ye poor ” is the text. The clergy never say
«< Blessed are we poor.” They preach with their tongues in
their cheeks, and an Archbishop is the greatest harlequin of
all. How Christ has saved the world from poverty may be
seen in the fact that, nearly two thousand years after his
advent, an Archbishop is paid £15,000 a year to preach
“ Blessed be ye poor.”
There is nothing in the teaching ascribed to Christ which
indicates that he understood poverty to be a curse, or that he
had the slightest appreciation of its causes or its remedies*
He was a preacher and a pietist, with the usual knowledge of
secular affairs possessed by that description of persons. Wellmeaning he may have been; there is no reason whatever to
dispute it; but good intentions will never, by themselves,
■effect the salvation of mankind.
On one occasion the Prophet of Nazareth gave a counsel of
perfection to a wealthy young man. It was to sell his
property and give the proceeds to the poor. Can anyone
conceive a greater economical absurdity? Most assuredly
we want a better distribution of wealth, but this is not the
method to bring it about. It would simply plunge all who
have anything into the slough of poverty. Such advice is a
counsel of ignorance or despair : of ignorance, if the teacher
thinks it would help the poor; of despair, if he regards
�58
Will Christ Save Us ?
poverty as irremediable, and aims at nothing but an equality
>
of misery.
Christ’s teaching as to poverty, if reduced to practice,
would pauperise and ruin society. Of course it may be
contended—it has been contended—that the advice to sell
out for the benefit of the poor, was solely meant for the
individual to whom it was tendered. But this is inconsistent
with the practice of Christ’s disciples, who must surely have
been in the most favorable position to understand his meaning.
They held all things in common, and those who had posses
sions sold them and paid the price into the common exchequer.
Here again, however, the later disciples of Christ find a
convenient explanation. According to Archbishop Benson,
for example, it was “ no instance of Communism,” but “ au
extraordinary effect to meet a sudden emergency.” Such
are the devices by which it is sought to escape from a
palpable difficulty ! Whenever the plain meaning of Scrip
ture is unpleasant, it is always nullified by artful interpreta
tions. But the slippery exegetes, in this particular instance,
overlook the fact that they are explaining away the only
practical bit of Christ’s teaching with respect to poverty.
They remove a difficulty and leave a blank. And there we
will leave them.
So great is the practical failure of Christianity to save
mankind in this world—so great its failure to save us
from the evils that too often make a hell on earth—that
two distinct lines of apology are pursued by its advocates.
According to the first, it was not the object of Christ to save
us from mere worldly evils; according to the second, we
might have been saved in this very sense of salvation, but we
have obstinately rejected our Redeemer.
As a representative of the first line of apology we select Mr.
Coventry Patmore, who is a Roman Catholic, and a poet of
some distinction. “ Some,” he remarks, “ who do not consider
�Will Christ Save Us ?
59'
that Christianity has proved a failure, do, nevertheless, hold
that it is open to question whether the race, as a race, has been,
much affected by it, and whether the external and visible
evil and good which have come of it do not pretty nearly
balance one another.” Mr. Patmore denies that it was the
main purpose of Christ, or any part of his purpose, that
“ everybody should have plenty to eat and drink, comfortable
houses, and not too much to do.” Neither material nor
moral amelioration was to be expected: on the contrary,
Christ was so far from prophesying “ that the world would
get better and happier for his life, death, and teaching, that
he actually prophesied “ it would become intolerably worse.
“ He tells us,” says Mr. Patmore, “ that the poor will be
always with us, and does not hint disapproval of the institu
tion even of slavery, though he counsels the slave to be
content with his status.” Christ came to save those who.
would, could, or should be saved from their sins, and fitted
for the Kingdom of Heaven. “ It was practically for those
few only that he lived and died,” and, shocking as it may
seem, it is the teaching of the New Testament.
This is clear, emphatic, and straightforward. With such a
defender of Christianity as Mr. Patmore even an Atheist can
have no quarrel. They may salute each other respectfully
across an impassable chasm.
It is not so easy to select a representative of the second
line of apology. The name of such is now Legion. They
tell us that Christ has been blindly misunderstood or wilfully
misrepresented. He was the great, the sublime preacher,
they say, of the doctrine of human brotherhood, which, if
reduced to practice, would make earth a heaven. His Sermon
on the Mount, they add, is the charter of our secular
redemption.
Now if Christ has been misunderstood, or even misrepre
sented, for two thousand years, some at least of the blame
must surely attach to himself. Why did he not expiess
�60
Will Christ Save Us ?
himself with the clearness of a Confucius. a Cicero, a Seneca,
a Marcus Aurelius? We are told that he used oriental
metaphors; true, and metaphors are good adornments, but
bad foundations. Something plain, solid, and satisfying
should form the basis of every structure.
As for the doctrine of human brotherhood, it was taught
before Christ, and after him by moralists who owed nothing
to his influence. Besides, such a doctrine is but a poor
truism or a barren platitude unless it takes a practical shape
in government and society. Louis the Fourteenth would
have allowed that the meanest peasant in France was his
brother in Christ. Such a broad generalisation means any
thing or nothing, according to individual circumstances.
What is wanted is something more precise, something
addressed to the intellect as well as the emotions. What is
the real value of a doctrine of brotherhood which saw nothing
wrong in slavery? What is the worth of it when the agri
cultural laborer and the landlord sit and listen to it in the
same church, and go their several ways afterwards with no
sense of incongruity, the one to slave for a bare pittance, and
the other to live in comparative idleness on the fruits of his
“ brother’s ” labor ?
With regard to the Sermon on the Mount—which, of
course, is no sermon, but a disorderly collection of maxims—
it has well been described as a series of “ pathetic exaggera
tions.” The moment it is discussed as a basis of action,
nearly every sentence has to be explained, qualified, or hedged
in with reservations. “ Resist not evil ” means, resist evil,
but resist it passively. “ Take no thought for the morrow ”
means, take as much thought as is necessary. “ Blessed are
the poor in spirit ” means, blessed are the rich who do not
keep their noses too high in the air. “ Blessed are the
meek ” works out as, blessed are those who stand up for their
rights. The way in which Christian Socialists turn and
twiBt, amplify and contract, explain and obscure this Sermon
�Will Christ Save Us?
61
on the Mount, is a fine illustration of how men will trim and
decorate their gods sooner than discard them altogether,
Morally, it may be “ touching.” Intellectually, it is contemp
tible. In any other cause it would be treated as downright
dishonesty. We are bound to tell these Christian Socialists
—or Social Christians, as some of the species would prefer to
be designated—that they are lacking in subtlety. Archbishop
Magee knew what he was about in declaring that any society
which tried to base itself upon the Sermon on the Mount
would go to ruin in a week. This he knew was indisputable,
except by softs, cranks, or lunatics. But he did not there
fore abandon the Sermon on the Mount. He sheltered it
behind a pretty, convenient theory; namely, that its injunc
tions are meant for the Church, not for the State—for the
individual, not for society—for Christians, not for citizens.
Jeremy Taylor also knew what he was about in declaring
that the clauses of the Sermon on the Mount are not com
mands, but counsels of perfection. Intellectually, this is not
contemptible; it is very clever—whatever else we may think
of it; whereas our Christian Socialists, or Social Christians,
play the confidence trick too clumsily, being as open as a hat
through the whole performance.
From any rational point of view, it is impossible to regard
Jesus Christ as the savior of the world. For a god, his
failure is egregious. His apostles were to go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature; according to the
last chapter of Mark, those who believed were to be saved, and
those who disbelieved were to be damned. Eighteen centuries
have rolled by, and little more than a quarter of the world’s
inhabitants even profess Christianity. Missionaries are still
laboring to convert the “ heathen,” but the proselytes they
make are not a tithe of those who are lost to the Churches
at home through scepticism or mere indifference. Further,
the “ revelation ” through Christ is so obscure, so compli-
�«2
cated, or so self-contradictory, that Christendom is split up
into a multitude of sects, each declaring itself the only true
custodian of “ the faith once delivered unto the saints.” The
only points on which they are universally agreed, are the
cardinal doctrines of pre-Christians religion. To imagine
such a poor, confused result as the work of a deity, is to sink
gods below the level of men. To bid us regard it as the work
of a being at once omnipotent and omniscient, is to insult
the very meanest intelligence.
Christ is a failure also as a man; though, perhaps, it is
less his fault than his misfortune. The true story of his
life—if, indeed, he ever lived at all—has been buried under
a monstrous mass of myths and legends. The sayings
ascribed to him have given rise to endless disputes and
bitter quarrels, in the course of which blood has flowed like
water and tears have fallen like rain. His very name has
been an instrument of terror and oppression. Priests and
kings, age after age, and century after century, have used it
to delude and despoil the people. The nails of his hands and
feet have been driven into the brains of honest thinkers; the
blood from his wounds has been turned into a poison for the
veins of society. Could he see all the frauds and crimes done
in his name, he would wish it to perish in oblivion.
In no sense has this Galilean saved the world. As a simple
man, and no god, how could he possibly do so ? The world’s
salvation is far too huge a task for any man, let him be ever
so wise and great. It is a task for the soldiers of liberty,
truth, and progress in every age and every land. Why
should millions of men be constantly bending over the tomb
of a single dead young Jew ? Is not the whole world a
sepulchre of poets, artists, philosophers, statesmen, and
heroes? Do not the stars shine like night-lamps over the
slumbers of our mighty dead ? And why confine ourselves
to one little country, one petty nation, and one type of cha
racter ? Kot in Palestine, not in Jewry, not in Christ, shall
�. TP7ZZ Christ Save Us?
63
we find all the elements of human greatness and nobility.
Let us be more catholic than our forefathers. They were
narrowed by a creed; we will be as broad as humanity. It is
a poor, cowardly spirit that dreads the cry of “Lo here!” or
“ Lo there!” The wise, brave man will be curious and eclectic.
He will store the honey of truth, beauty, and goodness from
every flower that blooms in the garden of the world.
�TT
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Will Christ save us?
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Foote, G. W. (George William) [1850-1915]
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 63 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: Cover subtitle: An examination of the claims of Jesus Christ to be considered the savior of the world. Publisher's series list on back page. Part of the NSS pamphlet collection.
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R. Forder
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Christianity
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Jesus Christ
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Salvation
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Text
f nationalsecular society
WHY WOMEN SHOULD
BE SECULARISTS.
21 Cecture,
•*
BY
LOUISA
SAMSON.
PRICE TWOPENCE.
$
LONDON:
PROGRESSIVE PUBLISHING COMPANY,
28 Stonecutter Street, E.C.
1891
��B 3118
A-
®II)D Women shoulJr be Secularists,
has been said that “ every nation has got the government it deserves.’
The same might, perhaps, be as truthfully, or as untruthfully, stated
regarding its religion. I am inclined to question the veracity of that
proverb. If we had, in the past, taken such an axiom for granted, all
great progressive movements would have been impossible. We must re
member, however, that reforms, political, religious or social, have always
originated with minorities—they have generally been fought for in the
face of popular scorn, derision, or laughter, worked for amid persecution
and hardship, accomplished finally by dint of stern resolve and noble
self-sacrifice. And when these great reforms or progressions have be
come accomplished facts, the people have looked back shudderingly at
what, before, they were content to accept without grudge; and come to
regard, perhaps, as barbaric and repulsive, what at one time was con
sidered natural and convenient. The emancipation of the slaves might
never have been accomplished, if the individual desires of the slaves
themselves had been first consulted. Long years of slavery and of
oppression had rendered thousands of them apathetic and indifferent to
freedom. Had it not been for such men as Rousseau, Voltaire, and
Montesquieu, France might never have shaken herself free from the
grinding oppression of the monarchy; while to Mazzini and Garibaldi,
the prophets and liberators of Italy, is due, perhaps, the turning point
in that country’s history. Political and religious freedom go hand in
hand—the women of England need both. To-day they are pleading for
political rights—for a voice in the making of the laws they are compelled
to obey, and in the levying of the taxes for which they are made
responsible ; to-morrow they will throw oft the shackles of superstition,
and breathe the pure air of religious liberty of thought.
I am addressing myself particularly to women to-night, because we
are told, and I admit with truth, that women are the backbone of the
Christian Churches to-day. The congregations of our churches and
chapels are composed mainly of women, while among Freethought
audiences and societies women are decidedly in the minority. However
much we regret the fact, it is nevertheless true. And the reason is not
far to seek. Through long ages the education of women has been
neglected. Their need for mental progress has been entirely ignored.
t
I
�4
The Church, which owes so much to woman, has always been the one
to insist upon her position as the chattel and the slave of man ; to deny
to her intellectual liberty, to oppress her with the chains of servitude
and the bonds of ignorance.
It is an admitted fact, and I do not suppose the most devout or
bigoted Christian would attempt to deny it, that superstition has always
been the handmaid of ignorance. The Christian creed had its origin in
mythological tales, its first followers were drawn from the uneducated
classes, its teachers were illiterate men; its devotees from then until
now have been composed, to a large extent, of men and women who
have been ready to accept, without thought, the teachings of its priests,
while those who have rejected it have usually been men who have
studied science and the phenomena of nature. And so heresy has
spread wherever science has set her foot, honest unbelief has flourished
in proportion as education has advanced, and those who have been denied
the benefits of scientific culture have remained correspondingly in the
grasp of ignorance and religious credulity.
In order to understand the state of mental poverty which, until
recently, women occupied, it will be necessary to take a glance into the
past, and to consider, for a short time this evening, the conditions and
surroundings of the women of the Old and New Testaments. In the
second and third chapters of Genesis, we are introduced to the “first
woman,” who, according to that account, was made by God, as a sort
of after-thought, out of the rib of Adam as he lay sleeping. She is
taught, almost at the commencement of her career that she is an in
ferior animal: “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule
over thee” (Gen. iii. 16). The book of Genesis then goes on to recount
how this inferior creature, this woman, held a conversation with a ser
pent (and evidently animals had the power of speech in those wonderful
days), and that in accordance with the directions of the serpent (who
seems to have had far more knowledge of the world than either she or
Adam), she picked an apple and handed one to her husband, who “like
wise did eat,” and who, as soon as he was found out, after skulking be
hind the trees, threw, like a coward, all the blame upon his wife.
Throughout the Old Testament women are treated with contempt.
They are bought and sold in the same way as other objects of merchan
dise. Rebekah was bought with precious things by Abraham’s servant
for Isaac. The account of the purchase is given in Genesis xxiv. 53.
Jacob paid seven years’ service to Laban for each of his two first wives
(Gen. xxix. 15-28). In the twenty-first chapter of Exodus, from the
seventh to the tenth verses, permission is given for men to sell their
daughters into slavery. We find also that, in many cases, there were
�5
actually no formalities of marriage. Sarah made a present of Hagar,
her maidservant, to Abraham ; in the words of the Bible, “she gave her
to her husband Abraham to be his wife ”; and when he was tired of her
he sent her away, with her child, into the wilderness, with the magni
ficent present of a piece of bread and a bottle of water from his stores
of wealth. And this, we are told in the twenty-first chapter of Genesis
and the twelfth verse, was with the express permission of God.
In Exodus xxi. 4 it is related that in the case of a man being a slave,
and having married during his term of slavery, when he went free he
had to leave behind his wife and his children; he had to “go out by
himself,” while his wife and family became the property of his master.
A little farther on (Deut. xxiv. 1) we find that after a man had taken a
wife, if she found no favor in his eyes, he might “ write her a bill of
divorcement, give it into her hand and send her out of his house.”
After he had turned her out, she might, if she liked, go and be another
man’s wife; and as nothing at all is said about giving her money, or
food, or clothes, it is probable that she would have to do that or starve.
After she had been cast adrift a few times, it is just as likely she would
prefer starvation. It is just as well to notice, too, that the woman had
no appeal. The husband was the accuser, the judge, and the jury. All
he had to do was to write out his sentence of divorce, give it to his wife
and send her away into the wide world. Women might also be taken as
captives of war, outraged and then cast aside. Express directions for
this kind of treatment are given in the twenty-first chapter of Deuter
onomy from the tenth to the fourteenth verses. Polygamy was general
among the peoples of the Bible ; perhaps the most remarkable example
of a much married man is that of Solomon, “the wisest man who ever
lived,” one of whose acts of wisdom was the possession of 700 first-class
and 300 second-class wives. But we do not need to rely only upon the
teachings of the Old Testament to find proof of the low estimation in
which women have always been held in Biblical times.
In Corinthians it is stated, “For the man is not of woman, but the
woman of the man; neither was man created for the woman, but the
woman for the man,” and again, “Let the women keep silence in the
churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are
commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they
will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a
shame for women to speak in the church.” If a woman has a healthy
desire for information, it is nipped in the bud. If her husband be as
ignorant as herself, she must be content, and ask nothing further.
But this is not all. In the 5th chapter of Ephesians we read: “Wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord, for the
�6
husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
Church, and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the Church is
subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands
in everything.” Nothing is said here about the beautiful doctrine
of forbearance one with another—no suggestion of mutual friend
ship and comradeship, which should exist in all true marriages.
Peter, in fact, commands the wives to couple their conversation
with fear. The New Testament looks upon marriage as a sort of
necessary evil. St. Paul taught that it was only to be adopted
as a concession to the weakness of man’s animal nature. That
purity and dignity of life, or that intellectual and sympathetic com
panionship should be the attributes of marriage never seems to have
occurred to the New Testament teachers. Mr. Lecky, in his History of
European Morals, says that marriage, under Christian rule, was viewed
in the most degraded form. The notion of its impurity, too, took many
forms, and exercised for some centuries an extremely wide influence
over the Church.
There is not one word in the New Testament condemnatory of poly
gamy. The restriction to one wife appears only to apply to bishops and
deacons (1 Tim. iii., 2, 12). Writing of the mediaeval Christians, Lecky
says: “ Christianity had assumed a form as polytheistic, and quite as
idolatrous as the ancient Paganism.” Sir William Hamilton, too, in his
Discussion of Philosophy and Literature, dealing with later Christianity,
and speaking particularly of Luther and Melancthon, says : “ They
promulgated opinions in favor of polygamy, and went to the extent of
vindicating to the spiritual minister the right to a private dispensation,
and to the temporal magistrate the right of establishing the practice, if
he chose, by public law.”
Professor George Dawes tells us that on December 19, 1539, at
Wittenberg, Luther and Melancthon drew up the famous Concillium,
authorising Phillip of Hesse to have a plurality of wives. This impor
tant document bears the names of nine of the most prominent men of
the Protestant Reformation. I find, from the same authority, that
John of Leyden established the practice of polygamy at Munster, and
drove from their homes all those who dared to oppose the odious custom;
and other Protestants followed his example. Until quite lately, the
Mormons, who are an extremely religious sect, practised polygamy.
The Mormons take the Bible as their moral guide, and are so sancti
monious that even their dances and festivities are opened and closed
with prayer.
It is instructive to compare the treatment of women under the rule
of Christianity with that of the ancient Romans. Moncure Conway,
�7
in one of his able discourses in South Place Institute some years ago
said, “ there was not a more cruel chapter in history than that which
records the arrest, by Christianity, of the natural growth of European
civilization as regards woman. In Germany it found woman partici
pating in the legislative assembly, and sharing the interests and counsels
of man, and drove her out and away, leaving her to-day nothing of her
ancient rights but the titles that remain to mark her degradation. In
the Pagan countries of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, woman’s position was
far higher than under Christian sway. The Egyptians neither degraded
her by polygamy nor kept her secluded. The Greeks, who at first treated
their women almost as slaves, gradually improved their condition, and
learnt from the Egyptians the arts of humanity and justice towards
women.” Lecky, in his Position of Women, says: “On the whole,
it is probable that the Roman matron was from the earliest period a
name of honor; that the beautiful sentence of a jurisconsult of the
Empire, who defined marriage as a lifelong fellowship, of all
divine and human rights, expressed most faithfully the feelings of the
people, and that female virtue had, in every age, a considerable place in
Roman biographies.” Long before the era of Christianity, the great
poetess Sappho flourished, of whom Plato spoke in such high terms of
honor. In ancient Greece, women taught in the philosophical schools,
and lectured on scientific and literary subjects. The last prominent
popular representative was Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, the
mathematician, who not only expounded the doctrines of Plato and
Aristotle, but commented upon the writings of Apollonius. But just at
this time Christianity was coming into power, and one of its apostles
was St. Cyril, who succeeded Theophilus to the Bishopric of Alexandria.
Hypatia was a heretic, St. Cyril was a Christian. One day as Hypatia
was proceeding to her lecture hall, she was set upon by a mob of monks
who, under the religious direction of Cyril, stripped her naked, dragged
her into a church, and there murdered her. They afterwards cut her
body to pieces, scraped the flesh from her bones with shells, and cast
the remnants into the fire. St. Cyril, the pious minister of Christ, was
never called to account for this terrible crime. In fact, to the Christians
the extermination of heretics was no crime, and so philosophy was
stamped out and destroyed, just as the great Alexandrian Library was
destroyed by Theophilus, the uncle of this St. Cyril, who for fear of the
heresy which inevitably accompanies knowledge, did away with the
grand array of literature which had been collected by the Ptolemys—
the Ptolemys who, in the words of Draper, “ recognized that there is
something more durable than the forms of faith, which, like the
organic forms of geological ages, once gone, are clean gone for ever, and
�8
have no restoration, no return. They recognized that within this world
of transient delusions and unrealities, there is a world of truth; and
that that world is not to be discovered through the vain traditions that
have brought down to us the opinions of men who lived in the morning
of civilization, nor in the dreams of mystics, who thought that they
were inspired. It is to be discovered by the investigations of geometry,
and by the practical interrogation of nature. These confer on humanity
solid, and innumerable, and inestimable blessings.”
I have endeavored to show that Christianity has always been the
enemy of education and of science. Such men as Galileo and Giordano
Bruno have fallen victims to its bigotry and intolerance. Servetus was
roasted to death over a slow fire, by order of Calvin, because he had the
audacity to think for himself upon religious matters. Dr. Draper, in
his Conflict between Religion and Science, says of the Inquisition, that
“ in general terms, its commission was to extirpate religious dissent by
terrorism, and surround heresy with the most horrible associations;
this necessarily implied the power of determining what constitutes
heresy. The criterion of truth was thus in possession of this tribunal,
which was charged to discover, and to bring to judgment, heretics
lurking in towns, houses, cellars, woods, caves, and fields. With such
savage alacrity did it carry out its object of protecting the interests of
religion that between 1481 and 1808, it had punished 340,000 persons,
and of these nearly 32,000 had been burnt.”
It has often been argued that persecution only emanated from the
Catholic Church. But Protestants have persecuted Catholics ; both of
these Christian sects have fallen upon each other whenever they have
had the chance. Not much more than 300 years ago, in the reign of
Elizabeth, who boasted of her religious tolerance, within twenty years
more than 200 Catholic priests were executed, while a yet greater num
ber perished in the filthy and fever-stricken gaols into which they were
plunged (Green’s Short History of the English People).
Whenever the Church has been most powerful, she has been most in
tolerant, and by “ the Church” I mean all communities whose thoughts
are bound by religious creeds. To-day the Church is losing her power
with the spread of education, and she is becoming more tolerant. One by
one, the old doctrines are slipping from under her feet. Priests of the
Established Church, like Archdeacon Farrar, have rejected Eternal
Punishment by Hell Fire; and the Inspiration of the Bible, the Birth
of the World 6,000 years ago, the Universal Flood: all these things which
at one time it was death at the stake to deny, are not now insisted upon
by many ministers of the gospel, who claim to be of the Broad School
of Christianity. And why are these things not as true to-day as they
�9
were a hundred years ago ? Simply because the pure light of science
has streamed upon them, and civilization is crumbling to atoms the
theories which have descended from primitive and barbaric times ; be
cause men and women are profiting by the experiences of the ages
because the inventions of railways and the telegraph, of newspapers,
and of the postal system are placing within reach of the poorest the
knowledge which, in the past, was withheld from them.
Now, it may be asked, What do I mean by Secularism? I mean,
the religion of this life. Secularists are constantly charged with
“negativeness.” We are charged with pulling down with one hand,
and building up nothing with the other—or rather we are accused
of expending all our energies upon the work of destruction, and with
constructing nothing—because, say the Christians, we have “nothing
to construct.” Let us see, therefore, what code of morals our Secular
ism embraces. Secularism sees only this world. It does not pretend
to waste valuable time, which might be employed in practical work
for the good of humanity, in discussing whether there may or may
not be, in some far off misty region, which has never yet been defined,
another world where all the ills of this one may be set right. Our
experience of this world has never proved to us, by any possible
method of reasoning, that another one, which at best must be an im
aginative one, will be any improvement on the present. We are content
to place the mythologies of the Bible upon a par with the mythologies
of Greece, or of Rome; to read the writings of the Biblical prophets
only as we might read the literature of other and more ancient reli
gions ; to study the welfare of our fellow creatures, to do right for the
love of rectitude, and not for the hope of a future reward, or the fear of
a future punishment. We hold that only by making happiness for
those around us, and by endeavoring, individually, to make the world
a little brighter for our having lived in it, can we hope to gain happi
ness for ourselves. We believe in the liberty of thought and of speech,
but we do not believe in any individual attempting to explain the
workings of some supposed cause, outside the universe of which, like
us, he knows nothing. We believe in concentrating our efforts upon
the improvement of this world, which is all the world we know of.
If this other world, with which Christians are apparently so well ac
quainted, should really exist; according to their own creed, only a very
few people are to get there. “ Strait is the gate and narrow the way,
and few there be that find it.” There will be no room for the heretics,
for the great reformers and inventors of all ages, for such men as
Galileo, or Bruno, or Spinoza. Truly the Secularist would rather seek
immortality in the hearts of men, the Secularist would rather recognise
�10
the eternity of great works accomplished, of liberties won, of all those
influences which can never die, than he would sigh for the paltry glory
of never-ending psalm-singing and knee-bending. But, alas, with all
our progress, with the gradual rejection of creeds among men, we
women, the larger part of the community, are still bound by the fetters
of the Church. Yet, as we gather by slow degrees the advantages of
education, which have until recently been withheld from us, so surely
shall we begin to think, to reason, and so to doubt. The great cry against
women is, that they “do not think.” Yes! but you have not let us
think. You have withheld from us the means by which we should have
been taught to think. We have only been thrown the crumbs which
fell from the table of knowledge. In an excellent article by Dr. Fitch,
in the latest edition of Chambers' Encyclopaedia, upon Education, he
says, speaking of endowed schools of the 18th, and the beginning of the
present century: “It is to be observed that while schools of the charity
class were open to girls, the whole of the grammar school education
was provided for boys only. There is scarcely a record in all the
voluminous reports of later charity commissions, of any school whose
founder deliberately contemplated a liberal education for girls ; certainly
not one which fulfilled such a purpose, whether it was contemplated by
the founder or not. A girl was not invited to the university or grammar
school; but she might, if poor, be needed to contribute to the comfort
of her ‘ betters,’ as an apprentice or a servant, and therefore the
charity schools were open to her.” It is only recently that some of the
Universities have partially thrown open their doors to women ; the
secular University of London led the way. Even now, when women,
as in the case of Miss Fawcett, outstrip the men in intellectual attain
ments, they are not allowed to receive the honorable rewards of their
work.
Fortunately, the emancipation of women has begun, the spirit of the
age points to freedom, and by and bye, when the myths and super
stitions of religious creeds shall have taken their places far back amid
the shadows, women shall stand side by side with all honest men, work
ing hand in hand with them in the arena of life for the commonweal,
given the same opportunities, the same rewards, the same inducements
for effort. And I would have you bear in mind that in order to have
strong intellectual men, in order that the race may grow in mental as
well as in physical vigor, it is necessary that the minds of women
should be cultivated.
The ancient Spartans, who were remarkable for the wondrous vigor
and strength of their men, recognised this necessity, at any rate as
regards the physical education of their women. They desired men of
�11
strong bodily configuration ; their ideal heroes were hardy, daring, and
resolute. Professor James Donaldson, writing in the Contemporary
Review, in 1878, says of the Spartans: “ The one function which
woman had to discharge was that of motherhood. But this function
was conceived in the widest range in which the Spartans conceived
humanity. In fact, no woman can discharge effectively any one of
the great functions assigned her by nature without the entire culti
vation of all parts of her nature. And so we see in this case. The
Spartans wanted strong men: the mothers therefore must be strong.
The Spartans wanted brave men; the mothers therefore must be
brave. The Spartans wanted resolute men—men with decision of
character: the mothers must be resolute. They believed with in
tense faith that, as are the mothers, so will be the children. And they
acted on this faith. They first devoted all the attention and care they
could to the physical training of their women. From their earliest
days the women engaged in gymnastic exercises ; and when they reached
the age of girlhood, they entered into contests with each other in
wrestling, racing, and throwing the quoit, and the javelin.” Farther
on in his essay, Professor Donaldson says: “ Such was the Spartan
system. What were the results of it ? For about four or five hundred
years there was a succession of the strongest men that possibly ever
existed on the face of the earth. The legislator was successful in his
main aim. And I think that I may add that these men were among
the bravest. They certainly held the supremacy in Greece for a con
siderable time, through sheer force of energy, bravery, and obedience to
law. And the women helped to this high position as much as the men.
They were themselves remarkable for vigor of body and beauty of form.”
Dealing with the education of the Spartan women, Donaldson says:
“Many of the wives were better educated than their husbands, and the
fact was noticed by others. ‘ You of Lacedemon,’ said a stranger lady
to Gorgo, wife of Leonidas, ‘ are the only women in the world that rule
the men.’ ‘ We,’ she replied, ‘ are the only women that bring forth
men.’ There is a great deal of point in what Gorgo said. If women
bring forth and rear men, they are certain to receive from them respect
and tenderness, for there is no surer test of a man’s real manhood than
his love for all that is noblest, highest, and truest in women, and his
desire to aid her in attaining to the full perfection of her nature.”
And so even now, late in the day as it is, we have begun to learn the
lesson that it is necessary, if men would advance, the women should
advance also.
Ah ! but we are told, women are not logical like men, they are more
impulsive, they are naturally more sentimental and superstitious. I
�12
admit it, but I contend that their position in these respects is the result
of their past training, or, rather, neglect of training. Does not the
tree of ignorance always bear the fruit of superstition? And just in
proportion as women become educated so do they become logical and
self-reliant. No one, however, pretends to deny that the highest
education and belief in Christianity often go together. But one must
remember, also, that part of the doctrine of Christianity is “to become
as little children ”—or, in other words, when dealing with religious
questions, it is necessary to accept the Bible narratives, with the simple
credulity of children. When an educated person comes, therefore, to
deal with Christianity—if he wishes to remain true to his faith—he
must necessarily put inductive and deductive reasoning out of sight; he
must be prepared to swallow whole, miracles, resurrections, marvellous
births, and other wonders, without the slightest attempt at mental
mastication. In dealing with these matters, the educated Christian is
compelled to throw reason and logic to the winds, or his belief would
falter. But it is impossible to settle these matters without the use of
reason. The Christian must therefore be content to shelve them, and
he finds the usual hackneyed phrase very useful at this crisis: “ These
are mysteries, ive do not attempt to understand them.” Now, that is where
the Secularist differs radically with the Christian. The Secularist main
tains that it is the duty of every man and woman to reason out, upon
the lines of experience, each and every question which affects the pro
blem of life. Secularists cannot see tl^e necessity of making exceptions
to this rule whenever religion is concerned. Naturally, women who
have always been kept in subjection—who have been taught that blind
unquestioning obedience and servile submission are qualities which
they should possess, are more readily adaptable to religious dogmas than
men, who have always enjoyed a wider freedom than women. Sub
mission to the rule of the Church, and humble reverence for its mini
sters have always been part and parcel of religious teachings.
As I have said, too, men are, by their training in the past, and in the
present, more logical in thought than women. It has often occurred
to me that this is one reason, out of many, why women are more
devoted to the Christian faith than men. It, however, only partially
explains it, because, as we have just seen, a vast number of people are
content to put into the background their logic and reason when they
come to deal with questions of belief.
And by following this plan they are, as they think, honestly able to
accept Christianity in its entirety, and to regard belief in such matters
as the Trinity, the Incarnation and the Atonement as essential to their
salvation. Individuals of this school, like Jonathan Edwards, or, to
�13
take examples of the present period, men like Mr. Spurgeon or Dr.
Talmage, are, as far as their religion is concerned, perfectly consistent;
and for my part I would far more respect men of this type than those
who belong to what is called the Broad school of Christianity, the men
who are neither true to Christianity nor Secularism; but who, to use a
vulgar phrase, run with both hare and hounds, and endeavor to keep
within distance of the advanced thought of the nineteenth century
while at the same time they pander to the superstitions of a creed
which is barbarous and unfit for a civilised community. I am not con
tending, however, that consistent Christians are not honest. I know
that great names are cited upon the side of Christianity, such as those
of Mr. Gladstone, Cardinal Newman or Sir Isaac Newton; and that, on
the other hand, Secularists can refer to such men as Charles Darwin,
Herbert Spencer, or Colonel Robert Ingersoll as having rejected the
Christian dogma. The real fact is that great names prove nothing so
far as individual thought is concerned. What we need to do is to
think for ourselves,—what we have no right to do is to control the
thought of others.
Mothers have no right to take advantage of the plasticity of their
children’s minds to instil into them doctrines which by and bye they
will have to unlearn. Of all confidences there is none greater, none
more unfaltering, than that of the child in its parent. Long before
reason has grown, the myths of the Bible have been related as veritable
facts to the infant mind. Slowly but surely the child is moulded for
the Church prison, and its impressionable nature stamped with creed
and dogma. What a terrible responsibility is this! and yet it is under
taken every day and every hour by the mothers of our nation, under
taken as a duty, as a labor of love—undertaken, too, with honesty and
sincerity. And so the child is sent out into the world, handicapped at
the outset; his mind warped with the narrow tenets of the Christian
faith. He goes forth to take his part in the world’s struggle wrapped
round with the mantle of superstition, which clings and drags around
his mental form, impedes the free movement of his thought, and
obstructs his reasoning faculties. And for this, as I have said, the
mother—nay, the education of the mother—is responsible. Well, in
deed, if women were taught to
Then would the wider field of
duty appear; the individuality of the child would not be sacrificed to
the authority of the parent; the spirit of enquiry would be nurtured
and stimulated; and the child would gain in self-reliance and percep
tion, while he would be untrammelled with delusions and faiths. We
have no right to bind the intellects of our children. We have no right
to pollute their minds with the horrible doctrines of Everlasting Dam
�14
nation and of the natural depravity of man; we have no right to
describe to them the barbarous and bloodthirsty actions of the men of
the Bible, and fill their youthful minds with horror at the awful doom
awaiting those who will not accept these stories as divine.
One duty at least we owe to our children—to give them fair play. I
do not mean, by that, that we are to bring them up in ignorance of
Biblical knowledge. Such knowledge is necessary and useful. But so
also is a knowledge of other religions of the world. The history and
development of Buddhism, of Hinduism, of Muhammadanism, and of
other ancient or modern faiths are of value to every thinking individual,
inasmuch as something may be learned from each oHthem. But if we
place before our children the religion of the Bible, it is surely our duty
to acquaint them with the important fact that it is but one out of
many religions ; and that having special prominence in this country, it
is perhaps necessary to study in particular its history and methods.
I think it is generally admitted that women are both practical and
sympathetic. If the great majority of women were Secularists, how
much more temporal work might be done. The time spent in praying
to the God of the Christians to grant favors or to avert disasters, to
alter decrees which, at the same time, he is supposed to have immut
ably determined, might be occupied in useful work; the hours spent at
the confessional or at the altar might be employed in the discharge of
the duties of citizens; the days given to Scripture reading would be
spent in the search for truth; the observance of religious rites and
forms would give place to following after the teachings of science; the
inmates of nunneries, at present shut away from the world, and offici
ating only in the solitudes of the cell, as the brides of Christ, would
become earnest, active workers, helping to spread the doctrine of intel
lectual freedom.
Let us look for a moment at some of the work that is being accom
plished to-day in the name of Christianity; and it may be as well to
bear in mind that women are always to the front whenever practical
work is to be done. Let us take, for instance, the British Women’s
Temperance Association. Perhaps no organisation for reform is more
energetic or can show better results than this society. But what I
want to draw special attention to is that the work is said to be done in
the, name of Christianity. Now, putting aside the fact that the founder
of Christianity on more than one occasion clearly sanctioned the prac
tice of wine-drinking, it must be obvious to anyone jwho at all seriously
considers the matter, that the drink question has absolutely nothing
whatever to do with any distinctive creed. In order to reform a drunk
ard he must be brought to see that excessive drinking is injurious to
�15
himself; that unless it be given up it will sooner or later end in the de
struction of his body. (I say nothing about the soibl because, according
to Christians, the repentance of an hour is sufficient to atone for the
sins of a lifetime, and is a certain passport to glory.) I say, then, that
the acceptance or non-acceptance of a creed has nothing to do with the
drink question. In fact, the followers of Muhammad set the Christian
bishops and priests a good example, for one of the Muhammadan rules
is abstention from intoxicating liquors, and the Muhammadans have no
taverns or gaming houses. Christians, too, are in the habit of sending
out batches of missionaries to preach the gospel of Christ to the poor
deluded heathen; and the same ships that carry the missionaries are
loaded with barrels of vile, adulterated rum which it is intended they
should consume in the intervals of digesting the good news which these
Christian ministers preach to them. The North American Indians are
indebted to Christianity for the introduction of drunkenness among
them! Then there is the great Peace Movement, started in this country
chiefly by the Quakers. Both the Peace Society and the International
Peace and Arbitration Society has its Female Committee, a band of
women who are pledged to support arbitration and use their influence
to put down war in the name of Christianity! And yet the Archbishop
of the Christian Church, as by law established, publicly consecrates the
flags of the army, and in times of war the Christian priests pray to the
God of the Christians to bless the murderous work of hewing down their
fellow creatures or blowing out their brains. Take, for instance, the
case of the Zulu war, when thousands of Zulus, fighting in defence of
their own country, and with only assegais to defend themselves against
the scientific weapons of civilised England, were butchered wholesale by
the English soldiers; who, upon their return to this Christian land, were
publicly applauded for their heroic deeds, and upon whose breasts her
Most Gracious Majesty the Queen pinned medals of honor. And then
the drums rolled and the trumpets played, and the ministers of the
Christian Church offered public thanksgiving to God for this glorious
victory. And the women—the peace-loving women of England—knelt
within the Church pews and joined devoutly in the national thanks
giving. And yet the Peace Movement is called a Christian movement!
and the religion which has been responsible for centuries of oppression
and bloodshed poses as affording its blessing and sanction to English
Peace Societies.
But I might go on interminably enumerating the great reform move
ments of the age which have been engendered by the spirit of progress
and of humanity, and which are totally distinct from any question of
creed or belief. I maintain that all great progressions tending towards
�16
political or social freedom, all noble endeavors to better the conditions
and surroundings of mankind have been undertaken in spite of and not
as a consequence of Christianity. I do not need to remind you of the
prominent place that women have taken in the secular work of the
Salvation Army. I am endeavoring to show how much the secular
work of women is impeded, and not advanced, by the Christian creed.
If the women of the Salvation Army devoted themselves entirely to
secular work, so much the more would their services be of value to the
community. But it is at least one step nearer truth when religionists
of the nineteenth century admit practically, if not theoretically, that
the salvation of the body is of more urgent necessity than that of the
soul; it is at least one point gained when secular work comes first and
spiritual work second; it is a significant sign of the times when Chris
tians are forced to admit that the only way in which it is to-day possible
to keep alive their creed among the poorest classes is to sandwich the
Atonement in between a good supper and a night’s rest, and silver the
pill of Eternal Damnation with a coating of material help. The Chris
tian women of the Salvation Army have, -in spite of themselves, had
to reject at least one of the teachings of the New Testament. If they
had followed the advice of St. Paul in one particular respect they could
not have undertaken the positions of preachers; they would have had
to “keep silence”; and if the women had kept silence, I will venture to :i
say the Army would not have become the big thing it has turned out to 'f
be. Mr. Stead, in his article in the Review of Reviews for October, ’.A
1890, says that the Salvation Army was “largely founded by a woman,”
i
and that “the extent to which the Salvation Army has employed women 2
in every department of its administration has been one of the great J.:
secrets of its strength.” I am not quoting this remark in order that
women may appear to take special credit, but only as proving the truth 'J;
of the assertion that women possess, perhaps in particular, the faculty ,
of persuasion.
The conversion, therefore, of women to Secularism will mean the.ijBft
increase of Secularism among men, and among the children who will be
the men and women of the future; it will mean the gradual relinquish
ing of prayer for helpful work; it will mean the abandonment of peni
tent submission for the display of energy in improving the surroundings
of life; it will mean the closing of the eye of faith in the supernatural
and the increase of confidence in noble self-effort; it will mean the ulti
mate death of .tyranny and fear and the beautiful realisation of the
Brotherhood of Man.
J .
j.
o
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Why women should be secularists : a lecture
Creator
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Samson, Louisa
Description
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Place of publication: London
Collation: 16 p. ; 19 cm.
Notes: Part of the NSS pamphlet collection.
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Progressive Publishing Company
Date
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1891
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N604
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Women
Secularism
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Why women should be secularists : a lecture), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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English
NSS
Secularism
Women
Women Freethinkers
-
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Text
Why should Charles Voysey
be supported?
A LETTER TO A FRIEND,
FROM
A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
It may be well to inform the reader that neither the writer
nor his correspondent are connected with
Manchester Meeting.
LONDON:
PROVOST & CO., HENRIETTA ST., COVENT GARDEN.
1871.
��WHY SHOULD CHARLES VOYSEY
BE SUPPORTED?
Friend,
I thank thee for thy letter received a few days
ago. It is always interesting and useful to have a plain
honest opinion and judgment, especially when they
differ from our own. I fully agree with much that
thou says, but not by any means with all.
It seems to me that Charles Voysey is a man who
has sacrificed every outward consideration for the sake
of his religious convictions, that he is able to say as few
men of the present generation can—“ I have left all,
and followed Thee.” More than this, there is abundant
evidence that he is a man of a deeply earnest religious
spirit. This is amply sufficient to command the sym
pathy of all who really value religious liberty, and
freedom of religious thought; and who believe it to be
the highest duty and privilege of man to follow that
Light which is revealed in his own soul, and the Guide
which speaks to him there. This alone ought to be quite
sufficient to command the sympathy of every Quaker.
It is not needful to enquire whether there is a theo
logical agreement before extending sympathy and help.
By so doing we assist in keeping up the old and still
prevalent idea that Dogma and Creed must be the basis
of religious fellowship. This idea is the basis of sec
tarianism and the parent of all that intolerance and
My
dear
�4
TF7?y should Charles Voysey be supported I
want of charity, which have more or less disgraced the
history of every organized church and ecclesiastical
body.
Thou says thou art ignorant of my “ theological
position,” and enquires if I “ share Charles Voysey’s
opinions”; and thou “regrets to think of my name
being cast in with his.” As a matter of fact, there are
many points on which I differ widely from him, more '
widely probably than thou dost. In my apprehension,
he looks at many passages in the Bible, and at much
of its teaching, from a partial point of view, and
mistakes its real character.
Much reference has been made to the manner in
which Charles Voysey treats the character of Jesus
Christ. I understand the position he takes to be this.
If certain things which the New Testament records
concerning the sayings and doings of our Lord are true,
then His character cannot have been what it is asserted
to have been. Hence the conclusion is that the Bible
records have, in these respects, come down to us incor
rectly or imperfectly.
This is such an important item in the accusations
made against Voysey, that, at the risk of seeming
tedious, I must quote some illustrations from his
writings. The following beautiful passage speaks for
itself:—
“ If my temper towards some chief priests in my own
age makes me read with delight those revilings of the
chief priests by Jesus, and feel glad at the abuse poured
upon them, it reveals to me the fact that I am stirred
by revengeful or, at least, very angry feeling—that I
am in a state of hatred. But if I prefer to think of
Jesus as one who did no sin, neither was guile found
in His mouth, who, when He was reviled, reviled not
again, when He suffered, He threatened not, I am aware
that my temper is improved, and that I prefer the more
gentle and patient picture by reason of my own pro
gress. In this way, if we do not actually make our
�Why should Charles Voysey be supported ?
n
own image of Jesus, we at all events change it at will,
taking away features that we have ceased to reverence
and admire, and adding others that we have learned to
consider still more noble than we have ever worn.
Whatever is to us loveliest, purest, gentlest, most
loving, most manly, that is to us our Christ; and so
long as His name is cherished in the hearts of men,
and taken up adoringly on their lips, it will surely
stand as a sign or symbol of what God wishes us to be ;
and His loving life and loving death will be to us the
example of what He wishes us to do. In any case, we
must own that, if St. Peter’s account of Jesus be the
truest, few, if any, of our race have yet reached so high
a perfection. He is still the firstborn among many
brethren, and none can dispute His right to be called
the 1 Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.’ ” *
The nature of Voysey’s belief in Christ as our Saviour
appears in the next passage :—
“ God’s work of salvation is never ended; for, as we
rise higher and higher, the attainments we thought so
good become hardened into habits, and cease to be vir
tuous ; while the weaknesses which we once excused
are regarded no longer with leniency, but must be con
quered and trampled down as sins. And God uses
men and women to help Him in his work of salvation.
Good fathers and good mothers, good husbands and
good wives, faithful friends, and good masters and good
servants, are all saviours, as much and more so to us
than the noble army of martyrs and the glorious com
pany of apostles and prophets. So too, only in the
highest degree, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Saviour,
enlightening the world by His own beautiful life, and
by the good news of a Heavenly Father’s love, which
He brought into the darkness of a despairing world.
Whatever helps to reveal the constant love of God the
Sermons, vol. iii. pp. 231, 232.
�6
II hy should Charles Voysey be supported 1
Father for us all—whatever helps to rekindle our dying
love for Him, and for each other—that, in the best
sense, is a means of salvation. And wherever men and
women are, in however slow a degree, amending their
lives, and becoming more and more a blessing and hap
piness to those around them, whatever be their creed,
there surely is the Almighty and Most Merciful God
at work ‘redeeming their lives from destruction, and
crowning them with loving-kindness and tender
mercies.’ ” *
Voysey constantly expresses the highest reverence
for the character of Christ, and his aim is to remove
blemishes which he believes the Scriptures themselves
place upon it. Whether the passages in question are
susceptible of a different meaning and complexion than
that which he gives to them is another matter alto
gether.
Thy letter specially refers to the conclusion of Voysey’s
recent “ Lecture on the Bible,” where he comments on
Jesus saying to His mother, “Woman, behold thy Son.”
Even if we admit the adjectives which he applies to
this scene, it is perfectly clear from the context that
Voysey looks upon the account as false, and in no way
accuses Christ of acting in a manner which he so
deprecates.
I cannot resist again quoting from his writings, to
show how Voysey endeavours to teach men to follow
Christ:—
< Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself and take up
his cross, and follow me.’ We call ourselves the dis
ciples and followers of our Lord . . . but the majority
of us Christians are about as ignorant of the character’
and work of Christ as the apostles were. Few ever
think of Him as ‘ one who came to bear witness unto
Sermons, vol. ii. pp. 10, 11.
�Why should Charles Voysey be supported I
7
the truth,’ and as one whose great object was thereby
to deliver men’s souls from bondage, and to save them
from their sins. Most of us Christians either forget or
do not even know the meaning of Christ’s coming to
bear witness unto the Truth, to live and die for it;
while many of those who contemplate the death and
passion of our Lord regard it only as a means of deliver
ance from everlasting punishment............. God’s call is
to speak the truth boldly, let the consequences be what
they may ; man’s advice is to be very cautious, and not
at all bold, and to be guided entirely by reference to
the consequences. This is the Church of to-day, and
I deliberately, but sorrowfully, say, we neither under
stand Christ, nor follow Him. If any will truly come
after Him, at however humble a distance, he can only
do so by ‘ denying himself and taking up his cross.’ . . .
I have been speaking much, if not altogether, in refe
rence to the clergy—to the following Christ in teaching
unpalatable truth. But there is even a far more im
portant following of Him than this, to be done day by
day, by each and all of us, in our own homes, where
every one ought to give way and to deny himself that
he may do better for others. The crosses of life are
not always heavy, but they are daily and constant, and
it just makes all the difference between a true and a
false following of Christ, whether we systematically
refuse to bear our own cross, laying it or trying to lay it
upon some one else instead, or take it up submissively
and cheerfully, as something doubly precious and sanc
tified, as sent by God for the good of our souls, and as
sent also by Him as a means of comforting and saving
the lives of others. . . . Our true reward, our highest
happiness on earth as well as in heaven, depends on
our following Christ, not merely in the great and rare
struggles of the human mind after truth and liberty,
but also, and most of all, in our daily living in a spirit
of true self-denial, and seeking only the peace and
welfare and happiness of those around us. Let us pray
then that, both in our public and private callings, the
�8
JP7z?/ should Charles Voysey be supported ?
same mind may be in us which was also in Christ
Jesus. For, £ if any man have not the spirit of Christ,
he is none of His.’ ” *
“ They rightly judged that God had reversed the
ignorant judgment of men—that Him whom men had
rejected and crucified, God had exalted to highest
happiness above, and to the position of Prince and
Lord in the hearts of His followers. They rightly
judged that ‘ God had highly exalted Him, and given
Him a name which is above every name’—subject only
to God Himself, who is, and was, and will for ever be,
our all in all. This is right and proper loyalty to
Jesus Christ as the noblest of the Sons of God whom
the eyes of men had ever seen.”!
Thou uses the expression—££ follower of Charles
Voysey.” There is nothing which he himself would
more strongly deprecate. In a private letter, written a
few months ago, he says :—“ Truly I am glad I am
what I am ! A poor and undignified country parson.
Had I been a Bishop, what shoals of worldly, frivolous,
pandering followers I might have had, men whose souls
were barren, dry, and empty, and as really irreligious
as the blind devotees of the Stock Exchange or the
Race-course. As it is, all my work is simply the con
quest of Truth over prejudice, error, ignorance, and
every worldly influence. The man is forgotten in what
he says. And so it should ever be; for all the Truth
he utters is God’s, and not his at all. I cannot accept
the title of Guide. All I want is to lead men to their
only Guide—the God of Truth and of Love, and to
regard those who are privileged to speak Truth, as only
fellow-labourers, full of faults and errors —£ earthen
vessels ’— into which some little Divine Treasure has
been poured. It has been the great mistake of humanity
* Sermons, vol. iv. pp. 99—104.
+ Sermons, vol. iv. pp. 35, 36.
�Why should Charles Voysey be supported ?
9
to surround the teacher with a halo which serves to
conceal his imperfections, and at the same time to
dazzle the observers. For this reason, Paul the Apostle
left on record his painful humiliation, which, for want
of an interpreter, has never had its due weight in keep
ing his followers from regarding him as infallible. The
whole blunder and perversion of Christianity to-day,
has been o'wing to the calling of Jesus ‘ Lord, Lord,’
instead of doing God’s will as He directed us. I have
a horror of being thought to be more than I am, or of
standing even for one moment on my own authority,
as a dictator to the minds and hearts and lives of my
fellow-men.”
We may well say, “How are the mighty fallen,”
when such a man as this does not receive the united
moral support of the Society of Friends. The real
reason of this is, that the Society of Friends has become
one of the Churches and Sects, out of which it was
George Fox’s mission to call the Children of God. It
is impossible that thy “ liberal Friend correspondent,”
whose letter thou quotes, can have any comprehension
of Voysey’s spirit when he says, “We are to cease to
listen to Christ, and hearken to the Rev. Charles
Voysey.” The spirit of Quakerism teaches us to follow
no man, neither Fox, Penn, Barclay, nor Voysey.
William Penn, in his Preface to George Fox’s Journal,
speaking of the first “ Friends,” says :—
“ They directed people to a principle by which all
that they asserted, preached, and exhorted others to,
might be wrought in them, and known through expe
rience to them, to be true. Which is a high and dis
tinguishing mark of the truth of their ministry. Both
that they knew what they said, and were not afraid of
coming to the test. For as they were bold from cer
tainty, so they required conformity upon no human
authority, but upon conviction. And the conviction
of this principle, they asserted, was in them that they
preached unto. And unto that they directed them, that
�10
TJ'Vzz/ should Charles Voysey be supported?
they might examine and prove the reality of those
things which they had affirmed of it, as to its mani
festation and work in man. And this is more than the
many ministries in the world pretend to. . . . Which
of them all pretend to speak of their own knowledge
and experience ? or ever directed men to a Divine prin
ciple or agent, placed of God in man, to help him?
And how to know it, and wait to feel its power to work
that good and acceptable will of God in them.”
In George Fox’s writings he constantly testifies to
the same thing :—That “ the Light which every man
that cometh into the world is enlightened with, is the
salvation to the ends of the earth”; that “ this was
Christ’s doctrine,” that “ this Light is Christ, the sub
stance, the righteousness of God.” He says
“ How
is man’s salvation wrought out hut by the power of
Christ within ? How is the old man destroyed but by
Christ within? . . . Who feels Christ within feels
salvation.” *
And Charles Voysey says :—
“ God or Love is the Father of the Divine Nature of
Jesus and of men. He has begotten us all, and as
children of Him we possess part of His own life and
spirit. ... I know there is plenty of wickedness
amongst us, quite enough even in the best of us to
say—1 Father, I have sinned against Thee, and am no
more worthy to be called Thy Son,’-—to make us echo
the Apostle’s graceful apostrophe, 1 Behold what manner
of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God ! ’ But then how could
we tell that God is so good, and that we are unworthy
of His Fatherhood, if it were not that God is already
dwelling in us and revealing Himself to us ? No book,
nor word of man, nor word of Jesus, could of itself
make us feel what God is, and why we are unworthy
of our high calling as His Sons. This is only and
* See many passages, especially in vol. iii. of G. F.’s Works,
American edition.
�Why should Charles Voysey he supported ?
11
solely due to God’s indwelling-—to the Spirit which He
Himself has begotten in us. Therefore as God was in
Christ, so in like manner, though not yet in like degree,
He is in us, or we should never have been able to learn
any truth about Him, or to feel our sonship, or to bewail
our own unworthiness. . . . Let us thankfully accept
at the lips of Jesus the assurance of a tie between our
selves and our Heavenly Father which nothing can ever
break. For if Jesus dwells eternally in the bosom of
the Father, so also do we; for His Father is our Father,
and His God is our God.” *
It is to my mind an entire perversion of the true
facts of the case, to speak of “the disastrous effects
which the support given to Charles Voysey has had at
Manchester.” Rather should we speak of the disastrous
effects produced by the undue assumption and exercise
of ecclesiastical power,—the same old story, and the
same old temptation, into which Churches have ever
fallen.
I hope thou wilt excuse the extreme plainness with
which I have written, and that my meaning is also
plain. I hope also I do not lose sight of the dangers
from which thou warns me;—that it may be quite
possible, even with the best intentions, to pursue a
mischievous course, and one which is prejudicial to the
cause we have most at heart. At the meeting which
I attended in London, I expressed the belief that the
worst thing we could do would be to take any action
which would tend to form a “ sect of Voyseyites.” This
feeling was united with by the meeting. So far as I
can understand the spirit which is now guiding Charles
Voysey’s line of action, it may be summed up in the
following extract from one of his later sermons :—
“ If a man is convinced that he has found a faith
more true, more helpful, more consoling, than other
Sermons, vol. iv. pp. 206, 208.
�12
Why shoiddXhharles Voysey be supported ?
faiths which are common in his time, it is surely that
man’s duty to try and teach that faith to his fellow
men. In proportion as he himself has found it to be
more elevating, more comforting, more consistent with
reason and experience, so surely he ought to be more
eager and constant in proclaiming his own faith, and in
doing what he can to lead others to embrace it also.
I am one of those who think they have found a nobler
faith, and I feel sure that my faith is to be found
in the Bible, and that it was taught by the Hebrew
Prophets and Psalmists, and by Jesus of Nazareth most
of all.” *
The great need of the present time seems to me to be
the preaching of a religion of Life—not of doctrine—
not of belief. That God is the Father of all men, and
will instruct all men in the way in which they are to
walk. This is the substance of Charles Voysey’s teach
ing. He is at the present time its representative man.
Therefore he must be supported; notwithstanding he
may at times be mistaken, and even say harsh, weak,
or bitter things. I have felt and do feel it a privilege to
have rendered him some little moral and material help,
and to have been the means of conveying to him
from others, both material and spiritual expressions of
sympathy.
I am, thy friend sincerely,
* * # # *
1, viii. 1871.
* Sermons, vol. iv. p. 3.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Why should Charles Voysey be supported? A letter to a friend, from a member of the Society of Friends
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 12 p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway. Scribbled marks in ink on last page.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Provost & Co.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1871
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
CT3
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
A Member of the Society of Friends
Subject
The topic of the resource
Heresy
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Why should Charles Voysey be supported? A letter to a friend, from a member of the Society of Friends), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Charles Voysey
Conway Tracts
Heresy
Quakerism
Society of Friends