FARMERS' REGISTER— CULTIVATION AND WASTE LANDS, &c. 143 



have not only submitted to the removals, but con- 

 sidered them as advantao;eous. The same system 

 has been tried in Ireland, amon<j others by Lord 

 Palmerston, at the su2;gestion of Mr. Nimmo, the 

 engineer; and, as far as we have been able to learn, 

 the success has been complete. But we have 

 somewhat digressed from our main subject. 



Of the Pauper Colonies, the one which Mr. Ja- 

 cob selects for illustration is that of Frederick's 

 Oord. The originator of the scheme was General 

 Van den Bosch. The general, while in the island 

 of Java, had formed a connexion with a Chinese 

 mandarin, whose skill in farming he had admired, 

 and who had under him a colony of emigrant Chi- 

 nese. This connexion turned out so well, that the 

 general, on his return to Europe, was able to sell 

 his estate for six times the original cost. Though 

 the plan which the mandarin and his colony of emi- 

 grants adopted in cultivating the Javanese estate 

 be not mentioned, it is by no means improbable, 

 that it was the same with that adopted in the Ne- 

 therlands — only allowing for the difference of cli- 

 mate and produce; as General Van den Bosch 

 could not cultivate his own estate in Java to so 

 much profit, till he entered into the arrangement 

 with Tjan-hoeck, the mandarin. In justice, there- 

 fore, we ought to consider the plan as originally a 

 Chinese, and not a Dutch one, though the Dutch 

 have the merit of introducing it into Europe. Gen- 

 eral Van den Bosch laid before the King of the 

 Netherlands a plan for a pauper establishment, 

 which at once met with the royal patronage. A 

 public meeting Avas held at the Hague in 1818, 

 and a society of beneficence formed, and two com- 

 mittees organized for its management. The first, 

 or committee of beneficence, consisted of twelve 

 members, — or a president, two assistants or asses- 

 sors, and nine members, one of whom acts as se- 

 cretary. The president was appointed for life, the 

 assessors annually , but capable of being re-elected : 

 and the president was Prince Frederick, the se- 

 cond son of the king. The members form four 

 sub -committees: finance, instruction, correspon- 

 dence, and general purposes ; the first and second 

 having each an assessor for chairman, and the 

 others choosing their own. 



The second committee, or committee of superin- 

 tendence, consists of twenty-four members, who 

 elect their own president and secretary. This 

 committee examines and audits the accounts, 

 watches the expenditure and operations of the so- 

 ciet)', and directs the prosecution of those who do 

 not conform to its regulations. 



Having received the sanction of the king, the 

 society was recommended to all the local authori- 

 ties, and soon found itself in possession of £5380, 

 obtained from more than 20,000 members. Hav- 

 ing obtained funds, and made the necessary ar- 

 rangements, the society purchased the estate of 

 Westerbech Sloot, on the east side of the Zuider 

 Zee, and not far from the town of Steenwyk. 

 This estate cost them £4660; and it contained 

 from 1200 to 1300 hundred acres, about 200 of 

 which was under a sort of culture, or covered 

 'with bad wood, and the rest a mere heath. They 

 Met the cultivated land, about one-tenth of the 

 I whole; deepened the Aa, (which runs through the 

 estate,) so that it is navigable for boats, and built 

 store-houses, a school, and dwellings for about fif- 

 ty-two families, of from six to eight persons each. 

 Their operations were begun in September, 1818 ; 



by the 10th of November the houses were ready ; 

 and the communes sent some poor families 



The total expenses of each family, in 

 money, was as follows : — 



Building each house, - - - 



Furniture and implements. 



Clothing, - - - - - - 



Two cows, or one cow and ten sheep, 



Cultivation and seed, first year. 



Advances in provisions, - - - 



Advances of other kinds, 



Flax and wool to be spun, 



Seven acres uncultivated land, net, 



Total establishment, £ 



This estimate is between £22 and £23 for each 

 individual, and they are expected to repay it to the 

 society in rent and labor, besides maintaining them- 

 selves, in about sixteen years. Each allotment of 

 seven acres is laid out in a rectangle, having the 

 house toward the road with one end, and the other 

 reaching fifty feet into the allotment. The dwel- 

 ling occupies the part next the road, then comes 

 the barn, after that the stalls for the cattle, and be- 

 hind these the reservoir for manure, in which every 

 particle of vegetable and animal refuse is carefully 

 made up into compost, with the heath and moss of 

 the land; the preparation of this compost being one 

 of the most essential of their labors. While un- 

 der the society they are subjected to a kind of mili- 

 tary regulation, all their work being done by the 

 piece; they assemble at six in the morning in sum- 

 mer, and even in winter, and those who do not an- 

 swer to their names at the rol -call, get no wages 

 for the day. When the labor of the day is over, 

 each receives a ticket stating the amount of wa- 

 ges ; and for that he may procure food from the 

 store at fixed rates. Those who are at first una- 

 ble to support themselves get credit, but they must 

 pay afterwards. The women spin, weave, and 

 knit, at first from purchased v/ool and flax, but as 

 soon as possible from the produce of their own 

 flocks and fields. A day and a half's work every 

 week is allowed for the support of the sick, the in- 

 firm, and those who are not fit for labor ; and for 

 this those who work are allowed one shilling per 

 day in summer, and eightpence in winter. The 

 whole of the necessaries and appointments are re- 

 gularly inspected with military care, and such as 

 have been wasteful are obliged to make good what 

 they have destroyed. It will be borne in mind that 

 the whole stock out of which each family of seven 

 or eight persons is to find support and if they can, 

 effect some savings, is the stock of £ 141 13s. 4d., 

 and the seven acres of waste land — not only waste 

 land, but land which is of a description not the 

 most susceptible of cultivation. The careful pre- 

 paration of manure, the most remarkable feature 

 in Chinese husbandry, is the grand resource ; and 

 the result is far from discouraging. We shall not 

 give the details; but the following are the sums of 

 produce and expenditure for one year : — 

 Total produce - - -- -£47 15 

 Expenses, including rent, (about 



12s. an acre) - - - - - 39 11 8 



Surplus each year 



£8 3 4 



The desire of gain and the approbation of the 

 superintendents are, in general, found to be suifi- 



