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The Coimtry Gentleman' s Magazine 



good conduct of the concern. My sole 

 object is to give you a personal pecuniary in- 

 terest in the conduct of the farm, and to 

 endeavour to raise you a little above the 

 position you now occupy as labourers." 



The right hon. gentleman's propositions 

 were very favourably discussed by the men 

 during the day. 



The following excellent article on the 

 above subject, initialed " A. F. B.," we extract 

 from the columns of an American contem- 

 porary. The trans-Atlantic communication 

 is one that will repay perusal. It is Mr 

 Speaker's ideas elaborated and reasoned out 

 more fully than the opportunity of an after- 

 dinner speech usually affords. 



It is never unwise to look about us, seek- 

 ing to find a better way of accomplishing the 

 objects of our daily care and toil. The co- 

 operative system, as it is called, is one of an 

 experimental kind as yet, and we can only 

 regard it with theoretical favour or disfavour 

 as we may see its workings, perhaps, im- 

 properly tested. So untried is this system, 

 that we cannot see how it is to be readily 

 applied to agricultural industry, and yet for 

 what reason may it not be thus applied? 

 Farming is frequently conducted on the 

 general partnership plan, and wherefore may 

 not we take one step farther on and adopt 

 the co-operative method ? We are con- 

 tinually finding our farm help less and less 

 reliable, and less and less profitable ; and 

 why? As the mass of mankind are lifted 

 up into a higher degree of comfort, and are 

 becoming better educated, there is a natural 

 (and proper) tendency to develop the ambi- 

 tion of the individual, and he soon wants to 

 start for himself. This is one of the best 

 evidences of general thrift and a healthy state 

 of society ; therefore let us not speak of it 

 unfavourably, but seek otherwise to find the 

 remedy we need. It must be obvious to the 

 enlightened practical agriculturist that our 

 present hired labour is hardly good enough 

 for the money it costs; we do not object to 

 paying a man four or five hundred dollars 

 per year, provided his labour is worth the 

 sum given, but we do object to pay, over and 



over again, this large sum for labour which 

 is not generally worth it. Labour is truly a 

 commodity in the market, offered in ex- 

 change for what it will bring according to the 

 laws of supply and demand, yet it is of such 

 sensitive character that you have to deal 

 with it with peculiar nicety, or it takes wings 

 and flies away from your control. 



Labour, to be profitably directed, needs to 

 be steady and permanent, so that plans for 

 the near future at least may be developed 

 and carried out. Labour requires to be 

 somewhat interested in the results aimed at 

 to give it good character ; thus the labourer 

 is morally sustained and encouraged to keep 

 doing. Labour is rather inclined to feel it- 

 self antagonistic to capital, and in conse- 

 quence thereof wages a sort of low warfare 

 with it — at least striving to prevent itself 

 from being beaten in the usage. 



Capital and labour are common terms, 

 and resolvable into all manner of shapes 

 and forms. Capital viay arrogate to itself a 

 sort of despotism over labour, or it may 

 combine with it in a perfect union ; it may 

 (as where labour is in great demand) con- 

 cede to labour so much as to seem the 

 milder and more subjective of the two, but it 

 is safe ever to view it as a strong power in 

 no way obedient to the command of labour, 

 yet Avilhng to unite with it on terms of 

 reasonable character. 



In the cultivation of general farm pro- 

 duce, the system of personal interest as ap- 

 plied to the operative or labourer is yet 

 untried, so far as I am acquainted at least. 

 The subject has a freshness about it that 

 invites interest. 



It is, no doubt, much easier to point out 

 the difliiculties of the present system of 

 farm labour than to suggest a good, prac- 

 tical plan as a substitute for it; but a 

 progressive age demands untried systems, 

 and I have faith in the future that it will 

 bring us a better method of paid service 

 than we have known in the past. If any 

 one is less sanguine of this than I am, let me 

 inquire of him if the present system is not 

 preferable to the slavery of the past, or 

 serfdom of other days. 



