houses in the parishes of the metropolis and other populous places. The Committee anticipate also the possibility of rendering such establishments subservient to a better system of parochial relief; and that a very small proportion of the enormous funds raised in some of the larger parishes, consolidated and appropriated to the foundation of one common establishment of the kind in question, would, at no distant period, be amply sufficient to support the poor in consequence of the produc tive labours of the individuals who should be placed there. The beneficial effects of an union of funds has already for some years been experienced in Suffolk, where the parochial workhouses have been superseded by the erection of hundred or district houses, by which means much waste and local abuse of the funds have been obviated, and the poor-rates materially lowered in amount. The Committee cannot conclude this their report without expressing their cordial thanks to Mr Owen, for the liberal manner in which he has met the wishes of the public and of the Committee, by affording every facility for promoting the investigation of his plan, and for the candour evinced by him on all occasions in his intercourse with the Committee." His Royal Highness continued:-Such was the report of the Committee, and here their labours would end, unless it was the wish of the meeting that they should be reappointed, and means afforded them for carrying one of their suggestions into effect. For any future plans or publications of Mr Owen's, however highly they might appreciate his benevolent views, and how ever much they might wish prosperity to his undertaking, they would not be answerable. They now left the matter in his own hands.

In

conclusion, his Royal Highness said, that he would call on Mr Owen to explain himself to the meeting, and if in the course of his address any lady or gentleman wished for a more full explanation of any part of the plan, they would, he had no doubt, be readily gratified by Mr Owen.

Mr Owen then came forward, and addressed the meeting as follows:-" The illustrious Chairman has stated, that this meeting has been convened with a view to find a remedy for the distress which now pervades the great mass of the population of this country. It has been so convened, under the conviction that the distress is not of an ordinary nature, that it will not cure itself by a miracle, but that it now requires the active agency of intelligent minds to remove those obstacles which prevent relief from being speedily obtained. You will not deem it necessary for me to consume the time of the meeting by dwelling on the distress which is known to exist among the poor and working classes, in almost every part of the kingdom. All I shall now say on this part of the subject is, that the extent of the privations and sufferings of four-fifths of the population is unknown to the other fifth, and therefore it is unattended to by them. This one-fifth, however, has the wealth and power of the country at its disposal. This power is more immediately concentrated in the two Houses of Parliament. But Parliament has separated without adopting any measures that can relieve the distress of which the sufferers are compelled, by necessity, so loudly to complain. The prorogation of the Parliament, under the circumstances in which the poor and working classes now are, is a tacit acknowledgment that the Government is ignorant of the means by which relief can be given. I will not

for a moment suppose, that the Legislature of the British empire could discover how to give bread to the hungry, and afterwards withhold such knowledge from the public. The Legislature must feel that the well-being of the British nation depends on the speedy adoption of measures to prevent the mass of the people from starving. The means of relief, then, are hidden from the Government and the Legislature, and they appear to conclude that the evil will cure itself. In this conclusion they are right, only that the cure will not be effected by any of the modes which, probably, they now anticipate. The same cause which created the distress is still in active progress, and, if it shall not be arrested, it will go on increasing until the distress shall become so great that human nature cannot longer submit to it. Thus will the evil cure itself, by forcing society to adopt some efficient system of amelioration, or it must goad the working classes and the country into a revolution. The cause of the distress is the extraordinary increase of mechanical and other scientific power, which has created production far beyond the consumption that the existing arrangements of society permit. The people are at this moment experiencing the same privations and misery, from the excess of production, that savage tribes do from dearth and famine. I ask the intelligent traders, manufacturers, and merchants of this emporium of the commercial world, if they know any profitable market for British productions, either in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America? I know there are none : and why are they not to be found? For no other reason whatever, than that British mechanic and other scientific powers have produced, and sent into the four quarters of the

world, more of every article than the existing arrangements of society permit to be consumed. Here is the true and the increasingly fertile source, of your pauperism, crimes, and discontent. On the subject of the individual sufferings which this excess of production creates through the great mass of the working population of this and other countries, I will not now dilate; for if half the truth on this subject were made known, it would but increase that irritation which now pervades society, but which it becomes the interest of all to allay as soon as possible. By anger and violence no real permanent good can be obtained. You will be impatient to ask, what is the remedy for this excess of production? Is machinery to be destroyed? I reply, No. It cannot be diminished now without creating even more evils than those which are experienced. It is as impracticable to destroy machinery in the present advanced state of society, as to attempt to stop the diurnal motion of the earth, and to give it a contrary direction. Political economists say, that every improvement in science, every addition to mechanic power, must be productive of benefit to mankind. I ask them what is the exist ing fact? Has the situation of the working classes of this country improved within the last forty years, during which so much discovery has been made, and so much new power been created? The theory, however, is true, that every improvement to science ought to be a benefit to mankind. Thus, the increase of productive power from science ought to ameliorate the condition of all ranks and descriptions. Yet facts prove that such increase now deteriorates the condition of more than four-fifths of our population, and does not benefit the remainder. I have sta

ted, that the distress which pervades the country arises from the power of production greatly exceeding the means which the existing arrangements of society permit to consumption; also, that it would be contrary to every wise principle to limit production, because it is from an increase of the powers of production only, that the condition of man can be ameliorated, and that it is now impossible to limit production, without creating still greater evils than those which are experienced. The natural remedy which offers itself, and which nature evidently intends, is to permit consumption to keep pace with production. The next question which arises is, how can this increased consumption be permitted to take place without injury to some classes, with out opening the door to violence and confusion, or without prematurely deranging the social system which at present exists? All the measures of relief which have been hitherto proposed have been erroneous in principle, impracticable in execution, or of too limited a nature to effect the object intended. It would take up too much of the time of the meeting to discuss these plans now, but I am prepared to prove all I have stated. The remedy, then, is to prepare the means by which consumption shall be first raised to, and afterwards made to keep pace with, the increa sing powers of production, whatever they may be, that is, my friends, to speak as a commercial man, that we shall always have a profitable market for all our goods, merchandise, and agricultural produce, whatever may be their amount. This is necessary to relieve you from distress; and this you must have, before you can obtain any permanent or substantial relief; and this relief will be the certain result of those extraordinary powers of production which your

skill, science, and industry have created, whenever they shall be properly applied to practice. The remedy which I propose will ensure those results which learned men have anticipated from inventions in me. chanics, chemistry, and other useful sciences; results which are the reverse of those which science has hitherto produced. Half a century

ago, Great Britain had few paupers; a moderate proportion of labourers, comparatively well paid; and a large proportion of yeomanry, who were indeed the pride of the country; now the majority of the yeomanry have become labourers, many of the labourers have become paupers, and, as a natural consequence, the paupers are becoming vicious. With powers of production in proportion to its inhabitants previously unknown in ancient and modern times, the British Government suffers that power to be applied to destroy the prosperity of the kingdom. In less than the last half century, there is good reason to conclude, that the aggregate productive power of Great Britain has increased as 12 to 1, compared with the actual population. Had this power been understood, and wisely directed, as it advanced, paupers would have become labour. ers, labourers would have become tenants, tenants would have become proprietors, and proprietors would have become more wealthy and in dependent. The plan which I contemplate will certainly effect this change. Pauperism will thus soon disappear; the situation of the labourer will be greatly ameliorated, and he will in a few years, by his improved habits and regular industry, become a small independent joint proprietor; while all the higher classes will obtain their full proportion of this gradually improving prosperity of the country. The arrangements now

before you have been formed on these principles, to enable society to enjoy the advantages of the extraordinary productive power which it has acquired from science; and I offer them as a safe, easy, practicable, and natural means, by which this desirable object may be attained. In the outline of the arrangements before you they appear few and simple; and every one will hastily conclude that he understands them. This is a very natural first impression, but it will prove to be erroneous; for this arrangement is not a hasty and crude combination; it is the deliberate result of much reading, of great reflection, and of long, extensive, and, I may add, valuable practice. Simple as it appears, it combines the essence of the experience of past ages with the advantages and improvements of modern discoveries and practice. Duly to appreciate, and to decide on its merits or demerits, the mind should be previously furnished with just and accurate ideas of human nature, derived from extensive experience; it should have a distinct outline, at least, of the various compounds of ignorance and folly, and of the approximations towards wisdom, into which the practices of the world have at any time formed man; it ought also to have some knowledge, from experience, of what can and what cannot be done by train ing, education, and a new arrangement of circumstances, to improve the individual, and ameliorate the condition of society. It has been called a visionary plan. Name now the individual who, from his experience, is competent to prove it visionary. Some young or inexperienced writers in some of the daily journals freely apply the epithet of visionary to myself; they do so because they do not know my habits; if they did, and saw what at New Lanark

is in daily practice, they would perhaps begin to doubt whether they were prepared to lead the public mind as to what is visionary or what is practicable. It is, however, for the public to judge, whether more sound and useful knowledge may not be reasonably expected from thirty years' daily extensive experience, than from their ingenious conjectures, or their occasional random and contradictory assertions. But several popular objections have been urged against it: such as occur to me I will now briefly notice :— First, It has been asserted, that the plan is impracticable: Secondly, That, if practicable, it would enslave and degrade the poor and working classes: Thirdly, That it would make the poor and working classes too comfortable and happy, and in consequence that population would increase too rapidly. I have well considered these objections; and I know that each of them proceeds from a limited view of the subject, from the want of general experience, and from some fundamental errors respecting human nature, which many have been compelled to receive from infancy. These, and every other objection that may be made, I am ready to discuss in the most full and ample manner. To obtain speedy and effectual means of fairly replying to all the objections which can arise to the measures I propose, this meeting has been convened; and from you I now ask those means. Acting on this principle, I now state, that the plan before you must be carried into execution both from necessity and motives of private interest; that it cannot be introduced into practice without necessarily creating a great change throughout the whole fabric of society. So thoroughly convinced am I of this truth, that it is my most carnest wish

to submit to examination the whole of the principles and practices connected with this plan, that they may undergo the most trying ordeal to which they can be put, that a competent judgment may be passed upon them, and the public mind no longer held in suspense; that if the principles and practices thus recommend ed should prove erroneous, the subject may be dismissed from the pub. lic mind; but that, if such examination prove them right and good, our suffering fellow-creatures may be speedily relieved from the distress which now overwhelms them, and the country be put in possession of that gradually increasing prosperity to which it is so justly entitled by its unequalled science, skill, capital and industry. For this purpose, I recommend that separate committees of investigation shall be formed from a mong the principal classes, whose interests and influence now govern the country, and that each committee shall report to a future public meeting their opinion as to the probable effects which the measures I should explain to them may have upon the interests of the class for whom they were appointed to investigate. Should such committees ever be appointed, it is my intention to procure a large room, in some convenient part of the metropolis, put up the models, and, if necessary, attend daily to give whatever information may be required, and answer such objections as must naturally exist in the minds of the different parties. Much as might be said in explanation of my proceedings, your time will admit only of that which is most essential; and as some who are present may wish, and are justly entitled, to engage your notice, I will now conclude, by briefly recapitulating those sentiments which I wish to press upon your attention, The 1st is, That the coun

2. That

try is in great distress. the principal cause which occasions such distress is the rapid increase of machinery and other scientific power, which create productions more abundantly than the present arrangements of society permit to be consumed. 3. That machinery, and productive power from science, cannot now be restrained without creating still greater evils. 4. That if scientific productions could be limited, it would be most unwise to limit them, because as they increase abundance of all kinds, they ought, and may be made to be highly useful and advantageous to all ranks and classes. 5. That the only proper and natural relief from the existing national distress is, to prepare judicious practicable means, by which gradually, and without injury to any individual, consumption may be raised to the present power of production, and afterwards made to keep equal pace with it. 6. That this principle applied to practice will elevate the whole scale of society; while the opposite principle, now in practice, must necessarily force the great mass of the people to descend rapidly into poverty and misery. 7. That while all admit that something must be done,' it will at the same time be admitted, that nothing effectual can be done without creating a great change, a change even from adversity to prosperity. 8. That Parliament has been prorogued without adopting any effective measures of relief for the poor; and thus has it been tacitly acknowledged, that the Government and the Legislature have not sufficient practical knowledge of the poor and working classes, and of their concerns, to devise measures for their relief. I mean no disrespect by these observations, either to the Government or the Legislature; I merely state a simple